CT     THE      <$> 

O    LIBRARIES    ~ 
u 


*       C">     OF      I*** 

GENERAL 
LIBRARY 


1  f4   3 

\\V\W  LUTHEfl  BEF0R1     I  II]    DIE1    \T  WORMS 


N  l.W     i  ORK 
R    CARTER    b&  CANAL  STREET. 


HISTOR Y__ 


01,.  COLL. 


.COLL.  ^ 

I  IBEARY.  J 

X.YORK.    ) 

GREAT   REFORMATIO/ 


SIXTEENTH    CENTURY 


GERMANY,   SWITZERLAND,  &c 


BY  J<.  H;   MERLE   D'AUBIGNE, 

PRESIDENT  OF  THE  THEOLOGICAL  SCHOOL  OF  GENEVA,  AND  MEMBER  OF  THE  "  80CIETE  EVANGELIttUE- 


THE  FOUR  VOLUMES  COMPLETE  IN  ONE. 


NEW    YORK: 
ROBERT    CARTER,    58    CANAL    STREET, 
AND  PITTSBURG,  56  MARKET  STREET. 

1846. 


STEREOTYPED   BY   THOMAS   B.    SMITH, 
216  WILLIAM  STREET,  NEW  YORK. 


PRINTED   BY   JOHN   T.   TROW, 
33  ANN  STREET,  N.  Y. 


PREFACE. 


The  work  I  have  undertaken  is  not  the  history  of  a  party.  ■'.  It  is  the  history  of  one  of  the 
greatest  revolutions  ever  effected  in  human  affairs, — the  history  of  a  mighty  impulse  communicated 
to  the  world  three  centuries  ago, — and  of  which  the  operation  is  still  everywhere  discernible  in  our 
own  days.  The  history  of  the  Reformation  is  altogether  distinct  from  the  history  of  Protestantism. 
In  the  former  all  bears  the  character  of  a  regeneration  of  human  nature,  a  religious  and  social 
transformation  emanating  from  God  himself.  In  the  latter,  we  see  too  often  a  glaring  depravation 
of  first  principles, — the  conflict  of  parties, — a  sectarian  spirit, — and  the  operation  of  private  in- 
terests. The  history  of  Protestantism  might  claim  the  attention  only  of  Protestants.  The  history 
of  the  Reformation  is  a  book  for  all  Christians, — or  rather  for  all  mankind./' 

An  historian  may  choose  his  portion  in  the  fipld  before  him.  He  may  narrate  the  great  events 
which  change  the  exterior  aspect  of  a  nation,  or  of  the  world  ;  or  he  may  record  that  tranquil  pro- 
gression of  a  nation,  of  the  church,  or  of  mankind,  which  generally  follows  mighty  changes  in 
"  social  relations.  Both  these  departments  of  history  are  of  high  importance.  But  the  public  in- 
terest has  seemed  to  turn,  by  preference,  to  those  periods  which,  under  the  name  of  Revolutions, 
bring  forth  a  nation,  or  society  at  large  for  a  new  aera, — and  to  a  new  career. 

Of  the  last  kind  is  the  transformation  which,  with  very  feeble  powers,  I  have  attempted  to  de- 
scribe, in  the  hope  that  the  beauty  of  the  subject  will  compensate  for  my  insufficiency.  The  name 
of  revolution  which  I  here  give  to  it,  is,  in  our  days,  brought  into  discredit  with  many  who  almost 
confound  it  with  revolt.  But  this  is  to  mistake  its  meaning.  A  revolution  is  a  change  wrought  in 
human  affairs.  It  is  a  something  new  which  unrolls  itself  from  the  bosom  of  humanity  ;  and  the 
word,  previously  to  the  close  of  the  last  century,  was  more  frequently  understood  in  a  good  sense, 
than  in  a  bad  one  : — "  a  happy — a  wonderful  Revolution"  was  the  expression.;  The  Reformation, 
being  the  re-establishment  of  the  principles  of  primitive  Christianity,  was  the  reverse  of  a  revolt. 
It  was  a  movement  regenerative  of  that  which  was  destined  to  revive  ;  but  conservative  of  that 
which  is  to  stand  for  ever.  Christianity  and  the  Reformation,  while  they  established  the  great 
principle  of  the  equality  of  souls  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  overturned  the  usurpations  of  a  proud 
priesthood  which  assumed  to  place  itself  between  the  Creator  and  his  creature,  at  the  same  time 
laid  down  as  a  first  element  of  social  order,  that  there  is  no  power  but  what  is  of  God, — and  called 
on  all  men  to  love  the  brethren,  to  fear  God,  to  honour  the  king. 

The  Reformation  is  entirely  distinguished  from  the  revolutions  of  antiquity,  and  from  the  greater 
part  of  those  of  modern  times.  In  these,  the  question  is  one  of  politics,  and  the  object  proposed  is 
the  establishment  or  overthrow  of  the  power  of  the  one,  or  of  the  many.  *.The  love  of  truth,  of 
holiness,  of  eternal  things,  was  the  simple  and  powerful  spring  which  gave  effect  to  that  which  we 
have  to  narrate.  It  is  the  evidence  of  a  gradual  advance  in  human  nature.  In  truth,  if  man,  in- 
stead of  seeking  only  material,  temporal,  and  earthly  interests,  aims  at  a  higher  object,  and  seeks 
spiritual  and  immortal  blessings, — he  advances,  he  progresses.  The  Reformation  is  one  of  the 
most  memorable  days  of  this  progress.  It  is  a  pledge  that  the  struggle  of  our  own  tunes  will  ter- 
minate in  favour  of  truth,  by  a  triumph  yet  more  spiritual  and  glorious,  j 

Christianity  and  the  Reformation  are  two  of  the  greatest  revolutions  In  history.  They  were  not 
limited  to  one  nation,  like  the  various  political  movements  which  history  records,  but  extended  to 
many  nations,  and  their  effects  are  destined  to  be  felt  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
\  Christianity  and  the  Reformation  are,  indeed,  the  same  revolution,  but  working  at  different  pe- 
riods, and  in  dissimilar  circumstances.  They  differ  in  secondary  features : — they  are  alike  in  their 
first  lines  and  leading  characteristics.  The  one  is  the  re-appearance  of  the  other.  The  former 
closes  the  old  order  of  things  ; — the  latter  begins  the  new.  Between  them  is  the  middle  age.  One 
is  the  parent  of  the  other  ;  and  if  the  daughter  is,  in  some  respects,  inferior,  she  has,  in  others, 
characters  altogether  peculiar  to  herself. 

The  suddenness  of  its  action  is  one  of  these  characters  of  the  Reformation.  The  great  revolu- 
tions which  have  drawn  after  them  the  fall  of  a  monarchy,  or  an  entire  change  of  political  sys- 
tem, or  launched  the  human  mind  in  a  new  career  of  developement,  have  been  slowly  and  gra- 
dually prepared  ;  the  power  to  be  displaced  has  long  been  mined,  and  its  principal  supports  have 
given  way.  It  was  even  thus  at  the  introduction  of  Christianity.  But  the  Reformation,  at  the 
first  glance,  seems  to  offer  a  different  aspect.  The  Church  of  Rome  is  seen,  under  Leo  X.,  in  all 
its  strength  and  glory.  A  monk  speaks, — and  in  the  half  of  Europe  this  power  and  glory  sud- 
denly crumble  into  dust.  This  revolution  reminds  us  of  the  words  by  which  the  Son  of  God  an- 
nounces his  second  advent:  "  As  the  lightning  cometh  forth  from  the  west  and  shineth  unto  the 
east,  so  shall  also  the  coming  of  the  Sou  of  man  be." 


This  rapidity  is  inexplicable  to  those  who  see  in  this  great  event  only  a  reform :  who  make  it 
simply  an  act  of  critical  judgment,  consisting  in  a  choice  of  doctrines, — the  abandoning  of  some, 
the  preserving  others,  and  combining  those  retained,  so  as  to  make  of  them  a  new  code  of  doctrine. 

How  could  an  entire  people  ? — how  could  many  nations  have  so  rapidly  performed  so  difficult  a 
work  ?  How  could  such  an  act  of  critical  judgment  kindle  the  enthusiasm  indispensable  to  great 
and  especially  to  sudden  revolutions  ?  But  the  Reformation  was  an  event  of  a  very  different  kind  ; 
and  this  its  history  will  prove.  It  was  the  pouring  forth  anew  of  that  life  which  Christianity  had 
brought  into  the  world.  It  was  the  triumph  of  the  noblest  of  doctrines — of  that  which  animates 
those  who  receive  it  with  the  purest  and  most  powerful  enthusiasm, — the  doctrine  of  Faith — the 
doctrine  of  Grace.  If  the  Reformation  had  been  what  many  Catholics  and  Protestants  imagine, — 
if  it  had  been  that  negative  system  of  a  negative  reason,  which  rejects  with  childish  impatience 
whatever  displeases  it,  and  disowns  the  grand  ideas  and  leading  truths  of  universal  Christianity, — 
it  would  never  have  overpassed  the  threshold  of  an  academy, — of  a  cloister,  or  even  of  a  monk's 
eel!.  But  it  had  no  sympathy  witli  what  is  commonly  intended  by  the  word  Protestantism.  Far 
from  having  sustained  any  loss  of  vital  energy,  it  arose  at  once  like  a  man  full  of  strength  and 
resolution. 

Two  considerations  will  account  for  the  rapidity  and  extent  of  this  revolution.  One  of  these 
must  be  sought  in  God,  the  other  among  men.  The  impulse  was  given  by  an  unseen  hand  of 
power,  and  the  change  which  took  place  was  the  work  of  God.  This  will  be  the  conclusion  ar- 
rived at  by  every  one  who  considers  the  subject  with  impartiality  and  attention,  and  does  not  rest 
in  a  superficial  view.  But  the  historian  has  a  further  office  to  perform : — God  acts  by  second 
causes.  Many  circumstances,  which  have  often  escaped  observation,  gradually  prepared  men  for 
the  great  transformation  of  the  sixteenth  century,  so  that  the  human  mind  was  ripe  when  the  hour 
of  its  emancipation  arrived. 

The  office  of  the  historian  is  to  combine  these  two  principal  elements  in  the  picture  he  presents. 
This  is  what  is  attempted  in  the  present  work. — We  shall  be  easily  understood,  so  long  as  we  in- 
vestigate the  secondary  causes  which  contributed  to  bring  about  the  revolution  we  have  undertaken 
to  describe.  Many  will,  perhaps,  be  slower  of  comprehension,  and  will  be  inclined  even  to  charge 
us  with  superstition,  when  we  shall  ascribe  to  God  the  accomplishment  of  the  work.  And  yet 
that  thought  is  what  we  particularly  cherish.  The  history  takes  as  its  guiding  star  the  simple  and 
pregnant  truth  that  Gon  is  in  History.  But  this  truth  is  commonly  forgotten,  and  sometimes  dis- 
puted. It  seems  fit,  therefore,  that  we  should  open  our  views,  and  by  so  doing  justify  the  course 
we  have  taken. 

In  these  days,  history  can  no  longer  be  that  dead  letter  of  facts  to  recording  which  the  majority 
of  the  earlier  historians  confined  themselves  It  is  felt  that,  as  in  man's  nature,  so  in  his  history,  there 
are  two  elements, — matter  and  spirit.  Our  great  writers,  unwilling  to  restrict  themselves  to  the 
production  of  a  simple  recital,  which  would  have  been  but  a  barren  chronicle,  have  sought  for  some 
principle  of  life  to  animate  the  materials  of  the  past. 

Some  have  borrowed  such  a  principle  from  the  rules  of  art ;  they  have  aimed  at  the  simplicity, 
truth,  and  picturesque  of  description  ;  and  have  endeavoured  to  make  their  narratives  live  by  the 
interest  of  the  events  themselves. 

Others  have  sought  in  philosophy  the  spirit  which  should  fecundate  their  labours.  With  inci- 
dents they  have  intermingled  reflections, — instructions, — political  and  philosophic  truths, — and  have 
thus  enlivened  their  recitals  with  a  moral  which  they  have  elicited  from  them,  or  ideas  they  have 
been  able  to  associate  with  them. 

Both  these  methods  are,  doubtless,  useful,  and  should  be  employed  within  certain  limits.  But 
there  is  another  source  whence  we  must  above  all  seek  for  the  ability  to  enter  into  the  understand- 
ing, the  mind,  and  the  life  of  past  ages ; — and  this  is  religion.  History  must  live  by  that  principle 
of  life  winch  is  proper  to  it,  and  that  life  is  God.  He  must  be  acknowledged  and  proclaimed  in 
history  ; — and  the  course  of  events  must  be  displayed  as  the  annals  of  the  government  of  a  Su- 
preme Disposer. 

I  have  descended  into  the  lists  to  which  the  recitals  of  our  historians  have  attracted  me.  I  have 
there  seen  the  actions  of  men  and  of  nations  developing  themselves  with  power,  and  encountering 
in  hostile  collision  ; — I  have  heard  I  know  not  what  clangour  of  arms ; — but  no  where  has  my 
attention  been  directed  to  the  majestic  aspect  of  the  Judge  who  presides  over  the  struggle. 

And  yet  there  is  a  principle  of  movement  emanating  from  God  himself  in  all  the  changes  among 
nations.  God  looks  upon  that  wide  stage  on  which  the  generations  of  men  successively  meet  and 
struggle.  He  is  there,  it  is  true,  an  invisible  God  ;  but  if  the  profaner  multitude  pass  before  Him 
without  noticing  Him,  because  he  is  "  a  God  that  hideth  himself," — thoughtful  spirits,  and  such  as 
feel  their  need  of  the  principle  of  their  being,  seek  him  with  the  more  earnestness,  and  are  not 
satisfied  until  they  lie  prostrate  at  his  feet.  And  their  search  is  richly  rewarded.  For,  from  the 
heights  to  which  they  are  obliged  to  climb  to  meet  their  God, — the  world's  history,  instead  of  offer- 
ing, as  to  the  ignorant  crowd,  a  confused  chaos,  appears  a  majestic  temple,  which  the  invisible 
hand  of  God  erects,  and  which  rises  to  His  glory  above  the  rock  of  humanity. 

Shall  we  not  acknowledge  the  hand  of  God  in  those  great  men,  or  in  those  mighty  nations  which 
arise  ; — come  forth,  as  it  were,  from  the  dust  of  the  earth,  and  give  a  new  impulse,  a  new  form,  or 
a  new  destiny  to  human  affairs?  Shall  we  not  acknowledge  His  hand  in  those  heroes  who  spring 
up  among  men  at  appointed  times  ;  who  display  activity  and  energy  beyond  the  ordinary  limits  of 
human  strength  ;  and  around  whom  individuals  and  nations  gather,  as  if  to  a  superior  and  myste- 


PREFACE.  V 

rious  power  ?  Who  launched  them  into  the  expanse  of  ages,  like  comets  of  vast  extent  and 
flaming  trains,  appearing  at  long  intervals,  to  scatter  among  the  superstitious  tribes  of  men,  an- 
ticipations of  plenty  and  joy — or  of  calamities  and  terror?  Who,  but  God  himself?  Alexander 
would  seek  his  own  origin  in  the  abodes  of  the  Divinity.  And  in  the  most  irreligious  age  there 
is  no  eminent  glory  but  is  seen  in  some  way  or  other  seeking  to  connect  itself  with  the  idea  of 
divine  interposition. 

And  those  revolutions  which,  in  their  progress,  precipitate  dynasties  and  nations  to  the  dust, 
those  heaps  of  ruin  which  we  meet  with  in  the  sands  of  the  desert,  those  majestic  remains  which 
the  field  of  human  history  offers  to  our  reflection,  do  they  not  testify  aloud  to  the  truth  that  God 
is  in  History?  Gibbon,  seated  on  the  ancient  Capitol,  and  contemplating  its  noble  ruins,  ac- 
knowledged the  intervention  of  a  superior  destiny.  He  saw, — he  felt  its  presence  ;  wherever  his 
eye  turned  it  met  him  ;  that  shadow  of  a  mysterious  power  re-appeared  from  behind  every  ruin  ; 
and  he  conceived  the  project  of  depicting  its  operation  in  the  disorganization,  the  decline,  and  the 
corruption  of  that  power  of  Rome  which  had  enslaved  the  nations.  Shall  not  that  mighty  hand 
which  this  man  of  admirable  genius,  but  who  had  not  bowed  the  knee  to  Jesus  Christ,  discerned 
among  the  scattered  monuments  of  Romulus  and  of  Marcus  Aurelius, — the  busts  of  Cicero,  and 
Virgil, — Trajan's  trophies,  and  Pompey's  horses,  be  confessed  by  us  as  the  hand  of  our  God? 

But  what  superior  lustre  does  the  truth — that  God  is  in  history — acquire  under  the  Christian 
dispensation  '  What  is  Jesus  Christ — but  God's  purpose  in  the  world's  history  ?  It  was  the  dis- 
covery of  Jesus  Christ  which  admitted  the  greatest  of  modern  historians*  to  the  just  comprehen- 
sion of  his  subject. — "The  gospel,"  says  he,  "  is  the  fulfilment  of  all  hopes,  the  perfection  of  all 
philosophy,  the  interpreter  of  all  revolutions,  the  key  to  all  the  seeming  contradictions  of  the  phys- 
ical and  moral  world, — it  is  life, — it  is  immortality.  Since  I  have  known  the  Saviour,  every  thing 
is  clear  ; — with  him,  there  is  nothing  I  cannot  solve."t 

Thus  speaks  this  distinguished  historian  ;  and,  in  truth,  is  it  not  the  keystone  of  the  arch, — 
is  it  not  the  mysterious  bond  which  holds  together  the  things  of  the  earth  and  connects  them  with 
those  of  heaven, — that  God  has  appeared  in  our  nature  ?  What !  God  has  been  born  into  this 
world,  and  we  are  asked  to  think  and  write,  as  if  He  were  not  every  where  working:  out  his  own 
will  in  its  history  ?  Jesus  Christ  is  the  true  God  of  human  history  ;  the  very  lowliness  of  his  ap- 
pearance may  be  regarded  as  one  proof  of  it.  If  man  designs  a  shade  or  a  shelter  upon  earth, 
we  look  to  see  preparations, — materials,  scaffolding,  and  workmen.  But  God,  when  he  will  give 
shade  or  shelter,  takes  the  small  seed  which  the  new-born  infant  might  clasp  in  its  feeble  hand, 
and  deposits  it  in  the  bosom  of  the  earth,  and  from  that  seed,  imperceptible  in  its  beginning,  he 
produces  the  majestic  tree,  under  whose  spreading  boughs  the  families  of  men  may  find  shelter. 
To  achieve  great  results  by  imperceptible  means,  is  the  law  of  the  divine  dealings. 

It  is  this  law  which  has  received  its  noblest  illustration  in  Jesus  Christ.  The  religion  which 
has  now  taken  possession  of  the  gates  of  all  nations,  which  at  this  hour  reigns,  or  hovers  over  all 
the  tribes  of  the  earth,  from  east  to  west,  and  which  even  a  sceptical  philosophy  is  compelled  to 
acknowledge  as  the  spiritual  and  social  law  of  this  world  ; — that  religion,  than  which  there  is 
nothing  nobler  under  the  vault  of  heaven, — nay,  in  the  very  universe  of  creation  ; — what  was  its 
commencement  ?  .  .  .  A  child  born  in  the  meanest  town  of  the  most  despised  country  of  the 
earth  : — a  child  whose  mother  had  not  even  what  falls  to  the  lot  of  the  most  indigent  and  wretch- 
ed woman  of  our  cities, — a  room  to  bring  forth  ; — a  child  born  in  a  stable  and  placed  in  an  ox's 
crib  .  .  .  .  O  God  !   I  acknowledge  thee  there,  and  I  adore  thee. 

The  Reformation  recognised  the  same  law  of  God's  operations :  and  it  had  the  consciousness 
that  it  fulfilled  it.  The  thought  that  God  is  in  history  is  often  put  forth  by  the  Reformers.  We 
find  it  on  one  occasion  in  particular  expressed  by  Luther,  under  one  of  those  comparisons  familiar 
and  grotesque,  yet  not  without  a  certain  sublimity,  which  he  took  pleasure  in  using,  that  he 
might  be  understood  by  the  people.  "  The  world,"  said  he  one  day,  in  a  conversation  with  his 
friend  at  table, — "  the  world  is  a  vast  and  grand  game  of  cards,  made  up  of  emperors,  kings,  and 
princes.  The  Pope  lor  several  centuries  has  beaten  emperors,  princes,  and  kings.  They  have 
been  put  down,  and  taken  up  by  him.  Then  came  our  Lord  God  ;  he  dealt  the  cards  ;  he  took 
the  most  worthless  of  them  all,  (Luther)  and  with  it  he  has  beaten  the  Pope,  the  conqueror  of  the 
kings  of  the  earth  .  .  .  There  is  the  ace  of  God.  '  He  has  cast  down  the  mighty  from  their 
seats,  and  has  exalted  them  of  low  degree,'  as  Mary  says." 

The  age  of  which  I  am  about  to  retrace  the  history  is  most  important  for  our  own  generation. 
Man,  when  he  feels  his  weakness,  is  generallyjnclir.ed  to  seek  assistance  in  the  institutions  he 
sees  standing  around  him,  or  else  in  groundless*inventions  of  his  imagination.  The  history  of  the 
Reformation  shews  that  nothing  new  can  be  wrought  with  "  old  things,"  and  that  if,  according 
to  the  Saviour's  word,  we  need  new  bottles  for  new  wine,  we  need  also  new  wine  for  new  bottles. 
The  history  of  the  Reformation  directs  men  to  God,  who  orders  all  events  in  history  ;  to  that  divine 
word,  ever  ancient  in  the  eternal  nattfre  of  the  truths  it  contains,  ever  new  in  the  regenerative 
influence  it  exercises,— that  word  which,  three  centuries  ago,  purified  society,  brought  back  the 
faith  of  God  to  souls  enfeebled  by  superstition,  and  which,  in  every  age  of  man's  history,  is  the 
source  whence  cometh  salvation. 

It  is  singular  to  observe  many  persons,  impelled  by  a  vague  desire  to  believe  in  something 
settled,  addressing  themselves  now-a-days  to  old  Catholicism.     In  one  view,  the  movement  is 

*  John  Von  Muller.  t  Lettre  a  C.  Bonnet 


PREFACE  TO  THE  THIRD  VOLUME. 


At  a  period  when  increased  attention  is  everywhere  drawn  to  those  original  documents  which 
form  the  basis  of  Modern  History,  I  gladly  add  my  mite  to  the  general  stock. 

In  the  former  portion  of  this  work,  my  attention  was  not  confined  to  the  historians  of  the  time, 
but  I  judged  it  right  to  compare  the  testimony  of  the  witnesses,  letters,  and  earliest  accounts ;  and 
had  recourse  to  the  authority  of  manuscripts,  particularly  one  by  Bullinger,  which  has  since  been 
printed. 

But  the  necessity  for  recourse  to  unpublished  documents  became  more  urgent  when  I  approach- 
ed the  Reformation  in  France.  The  printed  materials  for  a  history  of  the  Reformed  opinions  in 
that  country  are' few  and  scanty,  owing  to  the  state  of  continued  trial  in  which  the  Reformed  con- 
gregations have  existed. 

In  the  spring  of  1838,  I  examined  the  various  public  libraries  of  Paris,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  a 
manuscript  preserved  in  the  Royal  Library,  and  never  (as  I  believe,)  before  consulted,  throws 
much  light  on  the  commencement  of  the  Reformation. 

In  the  autumn  of  1839,  I  consulted  the  manuscripts  in  the  library  of  the  conclave  of  pastors  of 
Neufchatel,  a  collection  exceedingly  rich  in  materials  for  the  history  of  that  age,  since  it  includes 
the  manuscripts  of  Farel's  library.  I  am  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  the  lord  of  the  manor  of 
Meuron,  for  the  use  of  a  manuscript  life  of  Farel,  written  by  Choupard,  in  which  most  of  these 
documents  are  introduced.  These  materials  have  enabled  me  to  reconstruct  an  entire  phase  of 
the  Reformation  in  France.  In  addition  to  the  above  helps,  and  those  supplied  by  the  Library  of 
Geneva,  an  appeal  inserted  by  me  in  the  columns  of  the  Archives  du  Christianisme,  led  to  other 
communications  from  private  individuals,  to  whom  I  here  return  my  grateful  acknowledgments, — 
and  especially  to  M.  Ladevese,  pastor  at  Meaux. 

It  may  be  thought  that  I  have  treated  at  too  much  detail  the  early  progress  of  the  Reformed 
opinions  in  France :  but  those  particulars  are  in  truth  very  little  known.  The  entire  period  occu- 
pying my  Twelfth  Book  has  but  four  pages  allotted  to  it  by  Beza;  and  other  historians  have  done 
little  more  than  record  the  political  progress  of  the  nation. 

Many  causes  have  combined  to  postpone  the  appearance  of  the  present  volume.  Twice — has 
heavy  affliction  interrupted  the  labour  of  its  composition,  and  gathered  my  affections  and  my 
thoughts  at  the  graves  of  beloved  children.  The  reflection  that  it  was  my  duty  to  glorify  that 
adorable  Master,  who  was  dealing  with  me  by  such  moving  appeals,  and  at  the  same  time  minis- 
tering to  me  of  His  heavenly  consolations,  could  alone  inspire  me  with  the  courage  required  for  its 
completion. 

Aux  Eaux  Vives 
pres  Geneve. 


PREFACE  TO  THE  FOURTH  VOLUME. 


When  a  foreigner  visits  certain  countries,  as  England,  Scotland,  or  America,  he  is  sometimes  pre- 
sented with  the  rights  of  citizenship.  Such  has  been  the  privilege  of  the  "  History  of  the  Reforma- 
tion of  the  Sixteenth  Century."  From  150,000  to  200,000  copies  are  in  circulation,  in  the  English 
language,  in  the  countries  I  have  just  mentioned;  while  in  France  the  number  hardly  exceeds 4000. 
This  is  a  real  adoption,— naturalizing  this  Work  in  the  countries  that  have  received  it  with  so 
much  favour. 

I  accept  this  honour.  Accordingly,  while  the  former  Volumes  of  my  History  were  originally  pub- 
lished in  France ;  now  that,  after  a  lapse  of  five  years,  I  think  of  issuing  a  continuation  of  it,  I  do 
so  in  Great  Britain. 

This  is  not  the  only  change  in  the  mode  of  publication.  I  did  not  think  it  right  to  leave  to  trans- 
lators, as  in  the  cases  of  the  former  Volumes,  the  task  of  expressing  my  ideas  in  English.     The  best 


E//V 


translations  are  always  faulty ;  and  the  Author  alone  can  have  the  certainty  of  conveying  his  idea, 
his  whole  idea,  and  nothing  but  his  idea.  Without  overlooking  the  merit  that  the  several  existing 
translations  may  possess,  even  the  best  of  them  is  not  free  from  inaccuracies,  more  or  less  important. 
Of  these  I  have  given  specimens  in  the  Preface  to  the  New  Translation  of  the  former  Volumes  by 
Dr.  White,  which  has  been  revised  by  me,  and  which  will  shortly  be  published  by  Messrs.  Oliver 
and  Boyd.  These  inaccuracies,  no  doubt  most  involuntary,  contributed  in  giving  rise  to  a  very 
severe  contest  that  took  place  in  America,  on  the  subject  of  this  Work,  between  the  Episcopalians 
and  the  Baptists  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Presbyterians  on  the  other, — a  contest,  that  I  hope  is  now 
terminated,  but  in  which  (as  a  New  York  correspondent  informed  me)  one  of  the  most  beneficial 
and  powerful  Christian  Societies  of  the  United  States  had  been  on  the  brink  of  dissolution. 

With  such  facts  before  me.  I  could  no  longer  hesitate.  It  became  necessary  for  me  to  publish, 
myself,  in  English  ;  and  this  I  accordingly  do.  But  although  that  language  is  familiar  to  me,  I  was 
desirous  of  securing,  to  a  certain  extent,  the  co-operation  of  an  English  literary  gentleman.  Dr. 
Henry  White,  a  Graduate  of  Cambridge,  and  Member  of  a  Continental  University,  has  had  the 
great  kindness  to  visit  Switzerland  for  this  purpose,  although  such  a  step  exposed  him  to  much  in- 
convenience, and  to  pass  with  me  at  Geneva  the  time  necessary  for  this  labour.  I  could  not  have 
had  a  more  enlightened  coadjutor;  and  I  here  express  my  obligations  to  him  for  his  very  able 
assistance. 

I  therefore  publish  in  English  this  Continuation  of  the  History  of  the  Reformation.  I  do  not 
think  that,  as  I  publish,  myself,  in  this  language,  any  one  will  have  the  power,  or  will  entertain  the 
idea,  of  attempting  another  publication.  It  would  be  a  very  bad  speculation  on  the  part  of  any 
bookseller;  for  where  is  the  reader  that  would  not  prefer  the  original  text,  as  published  by  the 
Author  himself,  to  a  translation  made  by  a  stranger  1 

But  there  is  a  higher  question — a  question  of  morality.  Of  all  property  that  a  man  can  possess, 
there  is  none  so  essentially  his  own  as  the  labours  of  his  mind.  Man  acquires  the  fruits  of  his 
fields  by  the  sweat  of  his  servants  and  of  his  beasts  of  burden;  and  the  produce  of  his  manufac- 
tures by  the  labour  of  his  workmen  and  the  movement  of  his  machines ;  but  it  is  by  his  own  toils, 
by  the  exercise  of  his  most  exalted  faculties,  that  he  creates  the  productions  of  his  mind.  Accord- 
ingly, in  putting  this  History  under  the  protection  of  the  laws,  I  place  it  at  the  same  time  under  a 
no  less  secure  safeguard, — that  of  justice.  I  know  that  it  is  written  in  the  consciences  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Channel  and  of  the  Atlantic:  Ye  shall  have  one  manner  of  law,  as  well  for  the  stranger 
as  for  one  of  your  own  country:  for  I  am  the  Lord  your  God.*  To  English  honour  I  confide  this 
Work. 

The  first  two  Books  of  this  Volume  contain  the  most  important  epochs  of  the  Reformation — the 
Protest  of  Spire,  and  the  Confession  of  Augsburg.  The  last  two  describe  the  establishment  of  the 
Reform  in  most  of  the  Swiss  cantons,  and  the  instructive  and  deplorable  events  that  are  connected 
with  the  catastrophe  of  Cappel. 

It  was  my  desire  to  narrate  also  the  beginnings  of  the  English  Reformation ;  but  my  Volume  is 
filled,  and  I  am  compelled  to  defer  this  subject  to  the  next.  It  is  true  I  might  have  omitted  some 
matters  here  treated  of,  but  I  had  strong  reasons  for  doing  the  contrary.  The  Reformation  in  Great 
Britain  is  not  very  important  before  the  period  described  in  this  volume ;  the  order  of  time  compel- 
led me,  therefore,  to  remain  on  the  Continent;  for  whatever  may  be  the  historian's  desire,  he  cannot 
change  dates  and  the  order  that  God  has  assigned  to  the  events  of  the  world.  Besides,  before  turn- 
ing more  especially  towards  England,  Scotland,  France,  and  other  countries,  I  determined  on  bring- 
ing the  Reformation  of  Germany  and  German  Switzerland  to  the  decisive  epochs  of  1530  and  1531. 
The  History  of  the  Reformation,  properly  so  called,  is  then,  in  my  opinion,  almost  complete  in  those 
countries.  The  work  of  Faith  has  there  attained  its  apogee :  that  of  conferences,  of  interims,  of 
diplomacy  begins.  I  do  not,  however,  entirely  abandon  Germany  and  German  Switzerland,  but 
henceforward  they  will  occupy  me  less  ■  the  movement  of  the  sixteenth  century  has  there  made  its 
effort.  I  said,  from  the  very  first:  It  is  the  History  of  the  Reformation  and  not  of  Protestantism 
that  I  am  relating. 

It  is  not,  however,  without  some  portion  of  fear  that  I  approach  the  History  of  the  Reformation 
in  England  ;  it  is  perhaps  more  difficult  than  elsewhere.  I  have  received  communications  from  some. 
of  the  most  respectable  men  of  the  different  ecclesiastical  parties,  who,  each  feeling  convinced  that 
their  own  point  of  view  is  the  true  one,  desire  me  to  present  the  history  in  this  light.  I  hope  to 
execute  my  task  with  impartiality  and  truth.  But  I  thought  it  would  be  advantageous  to  study  for 
some  time  longer  the  principles  and  the  facts.  I  am  at  present  occupied  in  this  task,  and  shall  con- 
secrate to  it,  with  God's  assistance,  the  first  part  of  my  next  Volume. 

Should  it  be  thought  that  I  might  have  described  the  Reformation  in  Switzerland  with  greater 
brevity,  I  beg  my  readers  will  call  to  mind  that,  independently  of  the  intrinsic  importance  of  this 
history,  Switzerland  is  the  Author's  birthplace. 

I  had  at  first  thought  of  making  arrangements  for  the  present  publication  with  the  English  and 
Scotch  booksellers  who  had  translated  the  former  portions.  Relations  that  I  had  maintained  with 
some  of  these  publishers,  and  which  had  gained  my  esteem  for  them,  induced  me  to  adopt  this 
course.  They  were  consequently  informed  by  letter  of  my  purpose,  and  several  months  later  I  had 
an  interview  with  some  of  them  at  Glasgow.  I  told  them  of  my  intentions,  and  desired  to  know 
theirs.  They  replied,  that  they  could  not  communicate  them  immediately,  since  they  would  first 
have  to  come  to  an  arrangement  with  their  colleagues,  in  order  to  make  me  a  proposal  in  common. 
It  would  appear  that  they  did  not  succeed.     However  that  may  be,  and  although  I  allowed  a  suffi- 

*  Levit.  xxiv.  23. 

2 


X  >  PREFACE. 

cient  period  of  time  to  elapse,  I  received  no  communication  from  the  associated  publishers.  But  at 
the  same  time,  one  of  the  first  houses  in  Great  Britain,  Messrs.  Oliver  and  Boyd  of  Edinburgh, 
who  were  introduced  to  me  by  my  highly  respected  friend  Dr.  Chalmers,  made  me  a  suitable  and 
precise  offer.  I  could  wait  no  longer;  and  on  the  very  eve  of  my  departure  from  London  for  the 
Continent,  after  a  sojourn  of  three  months  in  Scotland  and  in  England,  I  made  arrangements  with 
them  which  have  since  been  definitively  settled,  and  the  Work  is  now  their  property. 

The  French  laws  are  positive  to  protect  literary  property  in  France,  even  if  it  belongs  to  a  foreign- 
er. I  am  less  familiar  with  the  English  laws ;  but  I  will  not  do  England  the  injustice  of  believing 
that  its  legislation  is  surpassed  by  that  of  France  in  justice  and  in  morality. 

J.  H.  MERLE  D'AUBIGNE. 
Eaux-Vives,  Geneva,  January  1846. 


CONTENTS. 


BOOK    I.— Page  9. 

% 

STATE    OF    EUROPE    PRIOR    TO    THE    REFORMATION. 

Rise  of  the  Papacy — Early  Encroachments — Co-operation  of  the  Bishops — Unity  of  the  Church — 
Visible  Unity — Primacy  of  St.  Peter — Patriarchates — Policy  of  Rome — Charlemagne — Disor- 
ders of  Rome — HiWebrand — the  Crusades — Spiritual  Despotism — Salvation  by  Grace — Pela- 
gianism — The  Church — Penance — Indulgences — Purgatory — Tax  of  Indulgences — The  Pa- 
pacy and   Christianity — Theology — Dialectics — Predestination — Penance — Religion — Relics — 

*  Morals — Corruption — Disorders  of  the  Priests — Bishops  and  Popes — Alexander  VI. — Ceesar 
Borgia — General  Corruption — Ciceronians — Efforts  for  Reform — Prospects  of  Christianity — 
State  of  the  Papacy — Internal  Divisions— Carnality  of  the  Church — Popular  Feeling — Doctrine 
— Development  of  Mind — Revival  of  Letters — Philosophy — Principle  of  Reformation — Witnesses 
— Mystics — Wiclif— Huss — Witnesses — The  Empire — Peace — State  of  the  People — State  cf 
Germany — Switzerland — Italy — Spain — Portugal — France — Low  Countries — England — Bohe- 
mia and  Hungary — Frederic  the  Wise — Men  of  Letters — Reuchlin — His  Labours — Reuchlin  in 
Italy — Contest  with  the  Dominicans — The  Hebrew  Writings — Erasmus — Erasmus  and  Luther 
— Hutten — Liters  Obscurorum  Virorum — Hiitten  at  Brussels — Sickingin — Cronberg — Hans 
Sachs — General  Ferment. 


BOOK    II.— Page  59. 

THE    YOUTH,    CONVERSION,    AND    EARLY    LABOURS    OF    LUTHER. 

1483—1517. 

Luther's  Parents — Birth  of  Luther— Luther's  Early  Life — Magdeburg — His  Hardships — The 
"  Shunamite" — Recollections — The  University — Discovery — The  Bible — Mental  Agitation — 
Visit  to  Mansfeldt — Luther's  Resolution — The  Farewell — The  Convent — Humiliations — Endu- 
rance— His  Studies — Ascetic  Life — Mental  Struggle — Monastic  Tendencies — Staupitz — Stau- 
pitz  and  Luther — Present  of  a  Bible — The  Aged  Monk — The  Change — Consecration — Luther 
at  Eisleben — Invitation  to  Wittemberg — First  Instructions — Lectures — The  Old  Chapel — His 
Preaching — Journey  to  Rome — Sickness  at  Bologna — Luther  in  Rome — Effects  of  his  Journey 
— Pilate's  Staircase — Confession  of  Faith — Luther  leaves  Home — Carlstadt — Luther's  Oath — 
Luther's  Courage — Attacks  the  Schoolmen — Spalatin — Luther's  Faith— His  Preaching — Lu- 
ther on  Idolatry — On  Superstitions— His  Conduct— George  Spenlein — The  True  Righteousness 
—Luther  and  Erasmus — Christian  Charity — George  Leiffer — Luther's  Theses — His  Visitation 
— Plague  at  Wittemberg — The  Elector  and  the  Relics — Spalatin — Duke  George — Luther's 
Sermon — Emser — The  Supper — Free  Will — Theses — Nature  of  Man — Doctor  Eck — Urban 
Regius — The  Theses  sent  to  Eck — Effect  of  the  Theses. 


BOOK    III.— Page  102. 

THE    INDULGENCES    AND    THE    THESES. 

1517—1518. 

Tetzel — Confessions — The  Sale — Penance — Letter  of  Indulgence — Relaxations — A  Soul  in  Pur- 
gatory— The  Shoemaker  of  Hagenau — Myconius — A  Stratagem—VOpinions  of  the  People-r- The 


Miser  of  Schneeberg — Leo  X. — Albert — Farming  Indulgences — Franciscans  and  Dominicans — 
Confession — A  Calumny  Refuted — Luther's   Sermon — The  Dream — Theses — Letter  to  Albert 

Efforts  for  Reform — The  Bishops — Spread  of  the  Theses — Reception  of  the  Theses — Effects 

of  the  Theses — Myconius — Apprehension — Opposers  at  Wittemberg — Luther's  Answer — De- 
jection of  Luther— Motivesy-Tetzel's  Attack — Luther's  Answer — Luther's  Boldness — Luther 
and  Spalatin — Study  of  the  Scriptures — Scheurl  and  Luther — Albert  Durer — Tetzel's  Reply — 
Disputation  at  Frankfort — Tetzel's  Theses — Luther's  Theses  Burned — Outcry  of  the  Monks — 
Luther's  Composure — Tetzel's  Theses  Burned — The  higher  Clergy— rPrierias — The  Romish 
System — The  Disciple  of  the  Bible— VThe  Doctrine  of  the  Reformation-i-Luther's  Reply  to  Pri- 
erjas — Hochstraten — Doctor  Eck — The  "  Obelisks" — The  "  Asterisks"^— Scheurl  Attempts  Rec- 
onciliation— Luther's  Tracts — "  Who  art  in  Heaven" — "  Our  Daily  Bread" — "  Remission  of 
Sins" — Effects  of  Luther's,  Teaching — Luther's  Journey — The  Palatine  Castle — The  "  Para- 
doxes"— The  Disputation—Uts  Results-ij-Bucer — Brentz — The  Gospel  of  Heidelburg — Effect  on 
Luther — The  Old  Professor— Return  to  Wittemberg. 


BOOK    IV.— Page  151. 

LUTHER  BEFORE  THE  LEGATE. 

May  to  December,  1518. 

The  Pope — Leo  X. — Luther  to  his  Bishop — Luther  to  the  Pope — Luther  to  the  Vicar-General — 
The  Cardinal  to  the  Elector — Sermon  on  Excommunication — Luther's  Influence — Diet  at 
Augsburg — The  Emperor  and  the  Elector — Letters  to  the  Pope — Citation  of  Luther  to  Rome — 
Intercession  of  the  University — The  Legate  De  Vio — The  Pope's  Brief — Luther's  Indignation 
— The  Pope  to  the  Elector — George  Schwarzerd — Melancthon — Luther  and  Melancthon — 
Staupitz  to  Spalatin — Luther's  Resolution — He  sets  out — At  Nuremberg — Luther  at  Nurem- 
berg— De  Vio — Serra  Longa  and  Luther — Return  of  Serra  Longa — Prior  of  the  Carmelites — 
Serra  Longa — Luther  and  Serra  Longa — The  Safe  Conduct — Appearance  before  the  Legate — 
First  Interview — De  Vio's  Proofs — Luther's  Replies — A  Proposal — Luther  and  De  Vio — Lu- 
ther's Declaration — The  Legate's  Answer — Luther's  Request — Third  Conference — Luther's 
Declaration — The  Legate's  Answer — Luther's  Reply — The  Cardinal  Foiled — Rumours — De 
Vio  and  Staupitz — Luther  to  Carlstadt — The  Communion — Departure  of  Staupitz — Letter  to 
the  Legate — Luther  and  the  Legate — Luther's  Letter  to  the  Legate — His  Appeal — Luther's 
Flight — Nuremberg — The  Legate  to  the  Elector — Luther  to  the  Elector — Graefenthal — Luther 
•  to  Spalatin — Luther's  Intended  Departure — A  Critical  Hour — Deliverance — Dissatisfaction  at 
Rome — The  Pope's  Bull — Luther  Appeals  to  a  Council. 


BOOK    V.— Page  192. 

THE    LEIPSIC    DISCUSSION 1519. 

The  Pope's  Chamberlain — Luther  in  Danger — Favourable  Circumstances — Tetzel's  Fears — Mil- 
titz's  Caresses — Retractation — Luther  proposes  silence — The  Legate's  Kiss — Tetzel  rebuked — 
Luther's  Letter — Opposed  to  Separation — De  Vio  and  Miltitz  at  Treves — The  Reformed  Opin- 
ions Spread — Luther's  Writings — Contest  seems  to  Flag — Eck — The  Pope's  Authority — Lu- 
ther Answers — Alarm  of  Luther's  Friends — Truth  Secure  of  Victory — The  Bishop's  Remon- 
strance— Mosellanus — Arrival  of  Eck — An  111  Omen — Eck  and  Luther — The  Pleissenburg — 
Judges  Proposed — The  Procession — Luther — Carlstadt — Eck — Carlstadt  s  Books — Merit  of 
Congruity — Scholastic  Distinction — Grace  gives  Liberty — Melancthon — Eck  claims  Victory — 
Luther  Preaches — Quarrel  of  Students  and  Doctors — Eck  and  Luther — The  Roman  Primacy 
— Equality  of  Bishops — Christ  the  Foundation — Insinuation — The  Hussites — Commotion  in 
the  Audience — Monkish  Horror — The  Indulgences — Attention  of  the  Laity— Eck's  Report — 
George  of  Anhalt — The  Students  of  Leipsic — Results  of  the  Disputation — More  Liberty — Ac- 
tivity of  Eck — Melancthon's  Defence — Firmness  of  Luther — Staupitz's  Coolness — Christ  given 
for  us — Infatuation  of  the  Adversaries — The  Lord's  Supper — Is  Faith  Necessary — God's  Word 
a  Sword — Luther's  Calmness. 


CONTENTS.  XI11 

BOOK    VI.— Page  223. 

THE    ROMAN    BULL,    1520. 

Candidates  for  the  Empire — Charles — Francis  I. — The  Crown  Offered  to  Frederic — Charles 
Elected — Dangers — Frederic  to  the  Roman  Court — Luther's  Feelings — Melancthon's  Alarm 
• — Schaumburg— Sickingen — Hutten — Luther's  Confidence — Faith,  the  Spring  of  Works — 
The  Author  of  Faith — Attack  on  the  Papacy — The  Three  Barriers — All  Christian  Priests- 
Corruptions  of  Rome — Germany  in  Danger — Call  for  Reform — Marriage  of  Priests — The  Em- 
pire— Conclusion — Success  of  the  Appeal — Rome — Policy  of  Rome — Separation — The  Swiss 
Priest — The  Roman  Consistory — Condemnation — Melancthon — Melancthon's  Hearth — His 
Studies — Melancthon's  Mother — The  Gospel  in  Italy — Luther  on  the  Mass — "  Babylonian  Cap- 
tivity" of  the  Church — Baptism — No  other  Vows-*— Miltitz  at  Eisleben — Deputation  to  Luther 
— Conference  at  Lichtenberg — Luther's  Letter  to  the  Pope — Union  of  Christ  and  the  Believer 
— Arrival  of  the  Bull  in  Germany — The  Students  of  Leipsic — Eck  at  Erfurth — Luther's  Feel- 
ings— The  Pirckheimer  Family — Luther — Ulric  Zwingle — Luther's  Answer — Fresh  Move- 
ments— The  Bonfire  of  Louvain — Luther's  Tranquillity — Appeal  to  a  Council — Struggle — Burn- 
ing of  the  Pope's  Bull — Luther  and  the  Academy — Luther  and  the  Pope — Melancthon  to  the 
States — Luther  encourages  his  Friends — Melancthon  to  the  Fearful — Luther's  VocatrtJh — The 
Bible  and  the  Doctors — Retractation-VAleander  the  Nuncio— The  Nuncio  and  the  Emperor — 
The  Nuncio  and  the  Elector — Duke 'John's  Son  Intercedes — The  Elector  Protects  Luther — 
The  Nuncio's  Answer — Erasmus  in  Cologne — Erasmus  and  the  Elector — Erasmus's  Declara- 
tion— Erasmus's  Advice — The  Confessional — Luther  on  Confession — Antichrist — Luther's 
Cause  Gains  Strength — Satires — Ulric  Von  Hutten — Carnival  at  Wittemberg — Staupitz 
Alarmed — Luther's  Labours — Progress  of  the  Reformation. 


BOOK    VII.— Page  269. 

THE    DIET    OF    WORMS,    1521.       JANUARY    TO    MAY. 

Difficulties — Luther  summoned  to  Worms — Public  Opinion — Efforts  of  Aleander — Fresh  Charges 
Against  Luther — Aleander  Rouses  Rome — The  Bull  Fulminated — Luther's  Motives — Political 
Councils — The  Confessor — And  the  Chancellor — Unavailing  Manoeuvres — Erasmus's  Declara- 
tion— The  Briefs — The  Threats — The  Audience — Speech  of  Aleander — Rome's  Defence — Ap- 
peal to  Charles — Effects  of  the  Nuncio's  Speech — Feelings  of  the  Princes — Duke  George's 
Speech — Character  of  the  Reformation — Charles  Gives  Way — PublicjjOpinion — Luther's  Se- 
renity— Death  and  no  Retractation — Summons — Safe-Conduct — Fears  of  the  Elector — Holy 
Thursday  at  Rome — The  Pope  and  Luther — Luther's  Courage — Bugenhagen — Persecution  in 
Pomerania — Amsdorff — Schurff— Hutten  to  Charles  V. — Luther's  Farewell — Luther  at  Wei- 
mar— Cavalcade  of  Erfurth — Justus  Jonas — Preaches  at  Erfurth — Faith  and  Works — The 
People  and  Luther — Luther  to  Spalatin — A  Stratagem — Luther's  Resolution — Enters  Worms 
— Death  Song — Capito  and  the  Temporisers — Citation — His  Prayer — The  Strength  of  the 
Reformation — Luther  Repairs  to  the  Diet — The  Diet — Luther  is  Encouraged — Luther's  An- 
swer— Luther's  Prudence — The  Spaniards — Luther's  Vow — Luther  Again  Before  the  Diet — 
Luther's  Speech — Requires  Proof  of  Error — A  Warning  Voice — Repeats  his  Speech  in  Latin — 
New  Attempt — Calm  in  the  Midst  of  Tumult — Duke  Eric's  Offering — The  Elector  and  Spal- 
atin— The  Emperor's  Message — The  Safe-Conduct  in  Danger — Enthusiasm  for  Luther — Con- 
ciliation— Concourse  to  Luther — Philip  of  Hesse — Conference  at  Abp.  of  Treves — Wehe's  Ex- 
hortation— Private  Conversation — Cochlaeus's  Proposal — Bursting  of  the  Wine  Glass — Con- 
ference at  the  Hotel — Final  Conference  with  the  Archbishop — End  of  the  Negociations — Lu- 
ther Ordered  to  Quit  Worms — Luther's  Departure  from  Worms — His  Letter  to  Cranach — Lu- 
ther's Letter  to  Charles  V.— The  Curate  of  Eisenach — Charles  Signs  the  Decree  Against  Lu- 
ther—The Edict  of  Worms— Luther  Among  his  Relations— The  Ways  of  God— The  Wartburg 
— The  Reformation  Under  a  Cloud. 


BOOK    VIII.— Page  318. 
the  swiss— 1484— 1522. 


Democracy — Mercenary  Service — The  Cottage  of  Wildhaus — The  Herdsman's  Family — Young 
Ulric — Ulric  at  Bale — Ulric  at  Berne — Jetzer  and  the  Ghost — Jetzer's  Visions — Exposure  of  the 


CONTENTS. 


Dominicans— Passion  for  Music— Wittembach— Schinner— The  Labyrinth— Zwingle  in  Italy- 
Principals  of  the  Reformation — Zwingle's  Studies — Zwingle's  Classical  Studies — Paris  and  Cla- 
ris  Oswald  Myconius — CEcolampadius — Zwingle  and  Marignan — Alarm  of  the  Pope — Dawn 

of  the  Reformation— Effects  of  the  Defeat  at  Marignan— The  Two  Worlds — Our  Lady  of  the 
Eremites— A  Learned  Society — Zwingle  Transcribes  the  Scriptures — Zwingle  Opposes  Error — 
Effects  of  his  Preaching — Zwingle   and  the  Legate— The  Bishop  of  Constance— Stapfer  and 

Zwingle The    Preachership — The    Candidates — Zwingle's    Confession — Zwingle    Elected — 

Leaves  Einsidlen— Reception  by  the  Chapter— Zwingle's  Mode  of  Lecturing — Zwingle  opens 
the  Gospel— Effects  of  his  Preaching— Opposition— Familiar  Manner— Love  of  Music — Imita- 
tion of  Christ— The'  Colporteur— Samson  at  Berne— The  Dean  of  Bremgarten— Henry  Bullin- 

ger Samson  and  the  Dean — Zwingle's  Studies— Samson  and  the  Helvetic  Diet— The  Baths 

of  Pfeffers — The  Critical  Moment— Zwingle  Attacked  by  the  Plague — His  Sick  Bed  and 
Hymn — General  Joy — The  Adversaries— Effect  of  the  Visitation— Myconius  and  Xyloctect — 
Myconius  Goes  to  Lucerne — Capito  and  Hedio — Opposition  of  the  Monks — The  Unnatural  Son 

Zwingle's  Gentleness — Fall  and  Recovery  of  Man — Expiation  of  the  God-man- -No  Merit 

in  Good  Works — Power  of  Love  for  Christ — Effects  cf  his  Preaching — Dejection  and  Courage 
-^-Zwingle  and  Staheli — Violent  Attacks — The  Reformer  of  Berne — Haller's  Dejection — Os- 
wald Persecuted — H.  Bullinger — Gerold  Von  Knonau— Roubli  at  Bale — War  Between  Francis 
and  Charles — Foreign  Service  of  the  Swiss — Ferment — Truth  Triumphs  Amidst  Opposition — The 
Bishop's  Deputies — The  Councils; — The  Parties  Confronted — The  Coadjutor  and  Zwingle — 
Zwingle's  Answer — Hofman's  Charge — Zwingle's  Reply — The  Bishop's  Mandates— The  Arch- 

eteles The  Bishop  Appeals  to  the  Diet — Zwingle  and  the  Monks — The  Nuns  of  Oetenbach — 

Defeat  of  Biocca — Francis  Lambert — Preaches  at  Zurich — The  Commander  of  the  Johannites 
—Carnival  at  Berae— The  "  Feeders  Upon  the  Dead"— The  Scull  of  St.  Ann— Appenzel— 
Adultery  and  Murder — Zwingle's  Marriage — Meeting  at  Einsidlen — Petition  to  the  Bishop — 
The  Meeting  at  Einsidlen  Breaks  Up — A  Scene  in  a  Convent — Myconius  at  Lucerne — Effects 
of  the  Petition — The  Council  and  the  Diet— Friburg — Treatment  of  Oswald — Oswald  Encour- 
aged  Oswald  Quits  Lucerne — Zwingle's  Family  Alarmed— His  Resolution — Zwingle's  Prayer. 


BOOK    IX.— Page  328. 

LUTHER    LEAVES    THE    WARTBURG. 

Aspect  of  the  Church— Effects  of  Luther's  Teaching— Wisdom  of  God— Agitation  of  the  People 
—Luther  and  Melancthon— Tidings  of  Luther's  Safety— The  Imperial  Edict  Powerless— The 
"  Knight  George"— A  Safe  Solitude— Luther's  Sickness— Alarm  of  his  Friends— The  Confes- 
sional—Luther's Health— Feldkirchen's  Marriage— Marriage  of  Priests— And  of  Friars— Monk- 
ery—Luther on  Monastic  Vows— Dedication  to  His  Father— Sale  of  Indulgences  Resumed— 
Luther's  Letter  to  Spalatin— Luther  to  the  Cardinal  Elector— Effect  of  the  Reformer's  Letter- 
Albert  to  Luther— Joachim  of  Brandenburg—"  The  Last  shall  be  First"— Luther's  Fitness  for 
the  Work— Of  Translating  the  Scriptures— Luther  and  Satan— Luther  Quits  the  Wartburg— 
The  Sorbonne— Luther's  Visit  to  Wittemburg— Progress  of  the  Reformation— The  Monk  Ga- 
briel—Interference of  the  Elector— Frederic's  Caution— Attack  on  Monkery— Thirteen  Monks 
Quit  the  Convent— The  Cordeliers  Threatened— Decision  of  Monastic  Vows— Carlstadt's  Zeal 
—The  Lord's  Supper—  Town  Council  of  Wittemburg— Errors  of  Popery— Fanatics  of  Zwickau 
—The  New  Prophet— Nicolas  Hussman— Melancthon  and  Stubner—  Melancthon's  Perplexity 
—Carlstadt's  Zeal— Contempt  of  Learning— Occupations  of  the  Elector— Luther's  Dejection— 
His  Test  of  Inspiration— Edict  of  the  Diet— Luther  Leaves  the  Wartburg— Primitive  Church 
—Two  Swiss  Students— A  Strange  Knight— Supper  at  the  Inn— Luther  on  His  Journey— Let- 
ter to  the  Elector— Reception  at  Wittemburg— Meditation— Luther  Preaches—  I  aith  and  Love 
—God's  Way— Luther  on  the  Lord's  Supper— Effect  of  Luther's  Sermons— Luther  s  Modera- 
tion and  Courage— Stubner  and  Cellarius— Order  Restored— Scripture  and  Faith— 1  he  Vision- 
ary Pen— Publication  of  the  New  Testament— Effects  of  Luther's  Translation— I  he  ''Loci 
Communes"— Original  Sin— Free  Will— Knowledge  of  Christ— Effect  of  Melancthon  s  Tract 
—Henry  VIII.— Catherine  of  Arragon— Bishop  Fisher  and  Sir  Thomas  More— Cardinal  Wol- 
sey— Henry  VIII.  Writes  against  Luther— Royal  Theology— The  King's  Vanity— Luther  s 
Indignation— His  Reply  to  Henry  VIII.— Literarv  Courtesy-^-More's  Attack  upon  Luther- 
Henry's  Attachment  to  More— Henry's  Letter— Spread  of  the  Reformation— 1  he  Augustine 
Monks— The  Franciscans— The  People  and  the  Priests— The  New  Preachers— Power  of  the 
Scriptures— Religion  and  Literature— The  Press— Spread  of  Luther's  Writings— Luther  at 
Zwickau— Duke  Henry— Ibach  at  Rome— Diffusion  of  the  Light— University  of  Wittemburg 
— Principles  of  the  Reformation — Transition  State  of  the  Church. 


CONTENTS.  XV 


BOOK    X.— Page  438. 

MOVEMENTS    IN    GERMANY. 

Movement  in  Germany — War  between  Francis  I.  and   Charles  V. — Inigo  Lopez  de  Reculde 

Siege  of  Pampeluna — Loyola's  Armed  Vigil — Enters  a  Dominican  Convent — Mental  Distress — 
"  Strong  Delusions" — "  Belief  of  a  Lie" — Amusement  of  the  Pope — Death  of  Leo  X. — Charac- 
ter of  Adrian  VI. — The  Pope  attempts  a  Reformation — Opposition  at  Rome — Designs  against 
Luther — Diet  at  Nuremburg — Osiauder  at  Nuremburg — The  Pope's  Candour — Resolution  of 
the  Diet — Grievances — The  Pope  to  th*  Elector — The  Pope's  Brief — The  Princes  fear  the 
Pope — "  The  Fiery  Trial" — "  The  Failing  Mines" — The  Augustine  Convent — Mirisch  and 
Probst — Persecution  at  Miltenburg — The  Inquisitors  and  the  Confessors— The  Fate  of  Lambert 
— Luther's  Sympathy — Hymn  on  the  Martyrs — The  Legate  Campeggio— Evasion  of  the  Edict 
of  Worms — Alarm  of  the  Pope — The  Dukes  of  Bavaria — Conference  at  Ratisbon — Subtle  De- 
vices— Results  of  the  Ratisbon  League — The  Emperor's  Edict — Martyrdom  of  Gaspard  Tauber 
— Cruelties  in  Wurtemburg — Persecution  in  Bavaria — Fanaticism  in  Holstein — The  Prior  and 
the  Regent — Martyrdom  of  Henry  Zuphten — Luther  and  Carlstadt — Opinions  on  the  Lord's 
Supper — Carlstadt  Leaves  Wittemburg — Luther  at  Jena — Luther  and  Carlstadt — Luther  at 
Orlamund — Interview  at  Orlamund — On  the  Worship  of  Images — Carlstadt  Banished — Carl- 
stadt Retires  to  Strasburg — Assembly  at  Spires — Abridgment  of  the  Reformed  Doctrine — Albert 
of  Brandenburg — The  Word  of  God  Not  Bound — All  Saints'  Church — Abolition  of  the  Mass — 
Nature  of  Christianity — Letter  to  Councillors — On  the  Use  of  Learning — Religion  and  the  Arts 
— Essence  of  Christianity — Music  and  Poetry — Abuses  of  Painting — Insurrection  of  the  Peas- 
antry— The  Reformation  and  Revolt — Fanaticism — "  The  Spirit" — Munzer  Preaches  Revolt — 
Liberty  of  Conscience — Luther's  View  of  the  Revolt — Luther  to  the  Peasantry — Murder  of 
Count  Helfenstein — Warlike  Exhortation — Gotz  of  Berlichingen — "  Radical  Reform" — Defeat 
of  the  Rebels — Munzer  at  Mulhausen — Anxieties  at  Wittemburg — The  Landgrave  Takes  up 
Arms — Defeat  and  Death  of  Munzer — Thirteenth  Article— Luther  Calumniated— Rise  of  the 
New  Church — The  Revolt  and  the  Reformation — The  Last  Days  of  the  Elector  Frederic — The 
Elector  and  the  Reformer — Duke  George's  Confederacy — The  Nuns  of  Nimptsch — Catherine 
Bora — The  Deserted  Convent — Luther's  Thoughts  on  Matrimony— Luther's  Marriage — Do- 
mestic Happiness — The  Elector  John — The  Landgrave  Philip — Poliander's  Hymn — New  Ordi- 
nation—Diet at  Augsburg— League  of  Torgau— The  Evangelic  Union—"  The  Rulers  Take 
Counsel  Together" — The  Emperor's  Message — The  Reformation  and  the  Papacy. 


BOOK    X  I.— Page  493. 
the  swiss.     1522 — 1527. 

Spiritual  Slavery— Christian  Liberty — Effect  of  the  Gospel  on  Zwingle — Leo  Judah  at  Zurich — 
The  Challenge — Zwingle  and  Faber — Zwingle  Tempted  by  the  Pope — "  Zwingle's  Passion" — 
Tract  against  Images — Wooden  Idols — The  Unterwalders — Public  Meeting — Hoffman's  De- 
fence of  the  Pope — The  Mass — Schmidt  of  Kussnacht — Results  of  the  Conference — Oswald 
Myconius  at  Zurich — Thomas  Plater — The  Swiss  Aroused — Hottinger  Arrested — His  Mar- 
tyrdom— Persecution  Invoked — Swiss  and  German  Reformations — The  Jewish  and  Pagan  Ele- 
ments—Zwingle's  and  Luther's  Tasks— The  Council  and  the  People — Abduction  of  OExlin — 
Riot  and  Conflagration — The  Wirths  arrested — The  Prisoners  Surrendered — A  Spectacle  to 
the  World—"  Cruel  Mockings"— "  Faithful  unto  Death"— Father  and  Son  on  the  Scaffold 
— Abolition  of  the  Mass — The  Lord's  Supper — Brotherly  Love — Zwingle  on  Original  Sin — 
Attack  upon  Zwingle — The  Gospel  at  Berne — Heim  and  Haller — Ordinance  of  the  Govern- 
ment—St. Michael's  Nunnery— The  Convent  of  Konigsfeld — Margaret  Watteville's  Letter 
— Liberation  of  the  Nuns— Pretended  Letter  of  Zwingle— Clara  May  and  Nicolas  Watteville — 
The  Seat  of  Learning — 03colampadius — Flight  from  the  Convent — CEcolampadius  at  Basle 
— Jealousy  of  Erasmus — Hiitten  and  Erasmus — Death  of  Hutten — Vacillation  and  Decision 
— Erasmus's  Quatrain — Luther's  Letter  to  Erasmus — Motives  of  Erasmus  in  Opposing  the 
Reformation — Lamentations  of  Erasmus — Arguments  for  Free  Will — Premature  Exultation — 
A  Test — God's  Working— Jansenism— The  Bible  and  Philosophy— The  Three  Days'  Battle 
— Character  of  False  Systems — Conrad  Grebel — Extravagances — "  The  Little  Jerusalem" — 
The  Anabaptist  Feast — Horrible  Tragedy — Discussion  on  Baptism — Opinions  not  Punishable — 
Popish  Immobility — Zwingle  and  Luther  — Zwingle  on  the  Lord's  Supper — Consubstantiation — 
Luther's  Great  Principle — Carlstadt's  Writings  Prohibited — Zwingle's  Commentary — The  Sua- 
bian  Syngramma — Need  of  Union  in  Adversity — Struggles  of  the  Reformation — Tumult  in 


CONTENTS. 


the  Tockenburg — Meeting  at  Ilantz — Comander's  Defence — Doctrine  of  the  Sacrament — Pro- 
posed Public  Discussion — Decision  of  the  Diet — Zwingle  in  Danger — The  Disputants  at  Baden 
— Contrast  of  the  Parties — Eck  and  (Ecolampadius — Zwingle's  Share  in  the  Contest — Mur- 
ner  of  Lucerne — Haller  and  the  Council  of  Berne — Reformation  in  St.  Gall — Conrad  Pel- 
lican — The  Mountaineers — Alliance  with  Austria — Farel  Appears. 


BOOK    XII.— Page  545. 

THE    FRENCH.       1500—1526. 

The  Reformation  in  France — Persecution  of  the  Vaudois — Birthplace  of  Farel — La  Saint  Croix — 
The  Priest's  Wizard — Farel's  Superstitious  Faith — The  Chevalier  Bayard — Louis  XII. — The 
Two  Valois — Lefevre — His  Devotion — Farel's  Reverence  for  the  Pope — Farel  and  the  Bible — 
Gleams  of  Light — Lefevre  Turns  to  St.  Paul — Lefevre  on  Works — University  Amusements — 
Faith  and  Works — Paradoxical  Truth — Farel  and  the  Saints — Allman  Refutes  De  Vio — Pierre 
Olivetan — Happy  Change  in  Farel — Independence  and  Priority — Of  the  Reformation  in  France 
— Francis  of  Angouleme — Two  Classes  of  Combatants — Margaret  of  Valois — Talents  of  the 
Queen  of  Navarre — The  Bishop  and  the  Bible — Francis  Encourages  Learning — Margaret  Em- 
braces the  Gospel — Poetical  Effusions — Of  the  Duchess  of  Alencon — Margaret's  Danger — 
Violence  of  Beda — Louis  Berquin — Opposition  to  the  Gospel — The  Concordat — The  Concordat 
Resisted— Fanalicism  and  Timidity — The  Three  Maries — Beda  and  the  University — The  King 
and  the  Sorbonne — Briconnet  in  His  Diocese — The  Bishop  and  the  Curates — Martial  Mazurier 
—Margaret's  Sorrows — Strength  under  Trial — Death  of  Philibert  of  Nemours — Alone,  not 
Lonely — The  Wandering  Sheep — Briconnet's  Hope  and  Prayer — Sufficiency  of  the  Scriptures 
— Lefevre's  French  Bible — The  People  "  Turned  Aside" — Church  of  Landouzy — The  Gospel 
and  the  French  Court — Margaret's  Lamentations — Briconnet  Preaches  Against  the  Monks — 
Two  Despotisms — Briconnet  Draws  Back — Leclerc  the  Wool-Comber — Leclerc's  Zeal  and 
Sufferings — A  Mother's  Faith  and  Love — Secret  Meetings  for  Worship — Berquin  Impris- 
oned by  the  Parliament — Charges  Against  Berquin — Liberated  by  the  King — Pavanne's  Re- 
cantation and  Remorse — Zeal  of  Leclerc  and  Chatelain — Peter  Toussaint — Leclerc  Breaks 
the  Images — Uproar  among  the  People — Martyrdom  of  Leclerc  and  Chatelain — The  Gospel 
Expelled  from  Gap — Anemond's  Zeal — Farel  Preaches  to  His  Countrymen — Pierre  De  Sebville 
— Anemond  Visits  Luther — Luther's  Letter  to  the  Duke  of  Savoy — Farel's  Arrival  in  Switz- 
erland— (Ecolampadius  and  Farel — Cowardice  of  Erasmus — French  Frankness — "  Balaam" 
— Farel's  Propositions — Faith  and  Scripture — The  Reformation  Defended — Visits  Strasburg 
— Ordination  of  Farel — Apostolical  Succession — Farel  at  Montbeliard — The  Gospel  at  Lyons 
— Anthony  Papillon — Sebville  Persecuted — Secret  Meetings  at  Grenoble — Effects  of  the  Bat- 
tle of  Pavia — Trial  and  Arrest  of  Maigret — Evangelical  Association — Need  of  Unity — Christian 
Patriotism — Influence  of  Tracts — The  New  Testament  in  French — Bible  and  Tract  Societies 
— Farel  at  Montbeliard — Oil  and  Wine — Toussaint's  Trials — Fdrel  and  Anemond — The  Image 
of  Saint  Anthony — Death  of  Anemond — Defeat  and  Captivity  of  Francis  I. — Consternation 
of  the  French — Opposers  of  the.  Faith — The  Queen-Mother  and  the  Sorbonne — Cry  for  "He- 
retical" Blood — Parliament  Establishes  the  Inquisition — Charges  Against  Briconnet — Cited  Be- 
fore the  Inquisition — Dismay  of  the  Bishop — Refused  a  Trial  by  His  Peers — Briconnet's  Temp- 
tation and  Fall — Retractation  of  Briconnet — Compared  with  Lefevre — Beda  Attacks  Lefevre 
— Lefevre  at  Strasburg — Meets  Farel — Berquin  Imprisoned — Erasmus  Attacked  by  the  Monks 
and  the  Sorbonne — Appeals  to  the  Parliament  and  the  King — More  Victims  in  Lorraine — 
Bonaventure  Rennel — Courage  of  Pastor  Schuch — Martyrdom  of  Schuch — Peter  Caroli  and 
Beda — The  Martyrdom  of  James  Pavanne — The  Hermit  of  Livry — Seized  and  Condemned — 
Resources  of  Providence — John  Calvin — The  Family  of  Mommor — Calvin's  Parentage — Cal- 
vin's Childhood — His  Devotion  to  Study — Infant  Ecclesiastics — Calvin  Proceeds  to  Paris — 
Reformation  of  Language — Protestant  France — System  of  Terror — The  "  Babylonish  Captivity" 
— Toussaint  Goes  to  Paris — Toussaint  in  Prison — "  Not  accepting  Deliverance" — Spread  of 
Persecution — Project  of  Margaret — For  the  Deliverance  of  Francis — Margaret's  Resolution — 
She  Sails  for  Spain. 


BOOK    X  III.— Page  625. 

THE    PROTEST    AND    THE    CONFERENCE.        1526 1529. 

Twofold  Movement  of  Reform — Reform,  the  Work  of  God— First  Diet  of  Spirt; — Palladium  of  Re- 
form— Proceedings  of  the  Diet — Report  of  the  Commissioners — The  Papacy  described — Destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem— Instructions  of  Seville — Change  of  Policy — The  Holy  League— Religious 


CONTENTS.  xvii 

Liberty  proposed — Crisis  of  the  Reformation — Italian  War— Emperor's  Manifesto — Italian  Cam- 
paign— March  on  Rome — Revolt  of  the  Troops — Papal  Army— The  Assault — The  Sack Ger- 
man Humours — Violence  of  the  Spaniards — Profitable  Calm — Constitution  of  the   Church 

Philip  of  Hesse — The  Monk  of  Marburg — Lambert's  Paradoxes — Friar  Boniface— Disputation 
at  Homburg— Triumph  of  the  Gospel  in  Hesse— Constitution  of  the  Church — Synods — Two  El- 
ements  in   the  Church — Luther  on  the  Ministry — Organization  of  the  Church — Evils  of  State 

Interference — Luther's   Letter  to    the  Elector — German    Mass — Melancthon's    Instructions 

Disaffection — Visitation  of  the  Reformed  Churches — Important  Results — The  Reformation  Ad- 
vances— Elizabeth  of  Brandenburg — A  Pious  Princess — Edict  of  Ofen — Persecutions Winde- 

ler  and  Carpenter — Persecutions — Keyser — Alarm  in  Germany — Pack's   Forgery League  of 

the  Reformed  Princes — Advice  of  the  Reformers— Luther's  pacific  Counsel — Surprise  of  the  Pa- 
pist Princes — Pack's  Scheme  not  improbable — Vigour  of  the  Reformation — Alliance  between 

Charles  and  Clement— Omens — Hostility  of  the   Papists — Arbitrary  Proposition  of  Charles 

— The  Schism  completed — The  Protest — Principles  of  the  Protest — The  Supremacy  of  the  Gos- 
pel—Union  of  Truth  and  Charity — Ferdinand  rejects  the  Protest — Joy  of  the  Protestants Ex- 
ultation of  the  Papists— Peter  Muterstatt — Christian  Unity  a  Reality — Escape  of  Grynsus 

Melancthon's  Dejection — The  Princes,  the  true  Reformers — Germany  and  Reform — Union  ne- 
cessary to  Reform — Difficulty  of  Union — A  Lutheran  Warning — Proposed  Conference  at  Mar- 
burg— Melancthon  and  Zwingle — Zwingle's  Departure — Rumours  in  Zurich — Hoc  est  Corpus 
Meum — The  Discussion — Figures— Scripture  explained  by  Scripture — The  Spiritual  Eating— 
Zwingle's  Old  Song — Agitation  in  the  Conference — Metaphor— Christ's  Humanity  Finite — Tes- 
timony of  Augustin — Luther's  Violence — End  of  the  Conference — The  Landgrave  mediates 
— Their  Last  Meeting — Zwingle's  Emotion— Sectarian  Spirit  of  the  Germans — Brotherhood 
Rejected — Christian  Charity  Prevails — The  Real  Presence — Luther's  Dejection — State  of  Polit- 
ical Affairs — Luther's  Battle  Sermon. 


BOOK    XIV.— Page  672. 

THE    AUGSBURG    CONFESSION.       1530. 

Two  Striking  Lessons — Charles  V. — The  German  Envoys — Boldness  of  the  Envoys — The  Land- 
grave's Present — The  Envoys  under  Arrest — Their  Release  and  Departure — Meeting  of  Charles 
and  Clement — Gattinara's  Proposition — Clement's  Objection — War  Imminent — Luther's  Ob- 
jections— The  Saviour  is  Coming — Charles's  Conciliatory  Language — The  Emperor's  Motives 
— The  Coronation — Alarm  of  the  Protestants — Luther  advocates  Passive  Resistance — Briich's 

Noble   Advice — Spiritual    Armour — Luther   remains    at  Coburg — Charles  at  Innspruck Two 

Parties  at  Court — Sentiments  of  Gattinara — The  King  of  Denmark — Piety  of  the  Elector 

Wiles  of  the  Romanists — Augsburg — The   Gospel   Preached — The   Emperor's  Message The 

Sermons  Prohibited — Firmness  of  the  Elector — The  Elector's  Reply — Preparation  of  the  Confes- 
sion— The  Church,  the  Judge — The  Landgrave's  Catholic  Spirit — Augsburg — Violence  of  the  Im- 
perialists— Charles  at  Munich — Charles  and  the  Princes — The  Procession — Enters  Aucrsburg 

The  Benediction — Charles  and  the  Landgrave — The  Margrave  of  Brandenburg — The  Emper- 
or's Silence — Failure  of  the  Interview — Agitation  of  Charles — Refusal  of  the  Princes — Proces- 
sion of  Corpus  Christi — Exasperation  of  Charles — The  Sermons  prohibited — A  Compromise  pro- 
posed— A  Compromise — Curiosity  of  the  Citizens — The  New  Preachers — The  Medley  of  Po- 
pery—Luther Encourages  the  Princes — Veni  Spiritus — Mass  of  the  Holy  Ghost — The  Sermon 
— Opening  the  Diet — The  Elector's  Prayer — Insidious  Plan  of  the  Romanists — Valdez  and  Me- 
lancthon— Evangelical  Firmness  Prevails — Zeal  of  the  Elector — The  Signing  of  the  Confession 
— Luther's  Anxiety — Luther's  Texts — Luther  to  Melancthon — The  Palatine  Chapel — Recollec- 
tions and  Contrast — The  Confession — Prologue — The  Confession — Justification — Free  Will  and 
Works — Faith — Luther  on  the  Confession — Abuses — Church  and  State — Duty  of  the  Bishops 
— Epilogue — Remarks  on  the  Confession — Church  and  State  Distinct — Remarks — Moderate 
Tone  of  the  Confession — Defects — A  New  Baptism — Effect  on  the  Romanists — Luther  de- 
mands Religious  Liberty — Luther's  Dominant  Idea — Song  of  Triumph — An  Ingenuous  Confes- 
sion— Hopes  of  the  Protestants — Failure  of  the  Popish  Intrigues — The  Emperor's  Council — 
Luther  opposes  Concession — Infatuation  of  the  Papists — Scheme  of  the  Romish  Doctors — Me- 
lancthon's Explanation — Refutation — Charles's  Dissatisfaction — Interview  with  the  Princes — 
The  Swiss  at  Augsburg — Zwingle's  Confession — Afflicting  Divisions — The  Elector's  Faith — 
The  Lion's  Skin — The  Refutation — Imperial  Commands — Melancthon's  Prescience — Policy  of 
Charles — Stormy  Meeting — Resolutions  of  the  Consistory — The  Prayers  of  the  Saints — Two 
Miracles — The  Emperor's  Menace — The  Mask — Omens — Tumult  in  Augsburg — Philip  of 
Hesse — Temptation — Union  Resisted — The  Landgrave — Protestant  Firmness — Philip  of  Hesse 
— Flight  from  Augsburg — Alarm  in  Augsburg — Metamorphoses — Unusual  Moderation — Peace, 
Peace — The  Mixed  Commission — The  Three  Points — Romish  Dissimulation — The  Main  Ques- 
tion— Church  Government — Danger  of  Concession — Pretended  Concord — Luther's  Letters — 
The  Word  above   the  Church — Melancthon's  Blindness — Papist  Infatuation — A  New  Commis- 

3 


xviii  CONTENTS. 

s|on — The  Landgrave's  Firmness — The  Two  Phantoms — Concessions — Rome  and  Christianity — 
Irritation — The  Gordian  Knot — The  Council  Granted — Alarm  in  Rome — Menaces — Alterca- 
tions— Fresh  Negotiations — Protestantism  Resists — Luther's  Exhortation — The  Elector  of  Sax- 
ony— The  Recess  of  Augsburg — Irritating  Language — Apology  of  the  Confession — Intimidation 
— Final  Interview — Messages  of  Peace. — Exasperation  of  the  Papists — Restoration  of  Popery 

Tumult  in  the  Church — Union  of  the  Churches — The  Pope  and  the  Emperor — Close  of  the 

Diet — Attack  of  Geneva — Joy  of  the  Evangelicals — Establishment  of  Protestantism. 


BOOK    XV.— Page  751. 

SWITZERLAND — CONQUESTS.       1526 — 1530. 

Three  Periods  of  Reform — Two  Movements  in  the  Church — The  Two  Movements — Aggressive 
Spirit — The  Schoolmaster — Farel's  New  Baptism — Farel's  Studies — The  Door  is  Opened — Op- 
position— Lausanne — Picture  of  the  Clergy — Farel  at  Lausanne — Farel  and  the  Monk — Oppo- 
sition to  the  Gospel — The  Converted  Monk — Christian  Unity — State-Religion — A  Resolution 
of  Berne — Almanack  of  Heretics — Haller — Zwingle's  Exhortation — Anabaptists  at  Berne — 
Victory  of  the  Gospel — Papist  Provocations — Proposed  Disputation — Objections  of  the  Forest 
Cantons — Important  Question — Unequal  Contest — A  Christian  Band — The  Cordeliers'  Church 

Opening  of  the  Conference — Christ  the  Sole  Head^Remarkable  Conversion — St.  Vincent's 

Day — A  Strange  Argument — Papist  Bitterness — Necessity  of  Reform — Zwingle's  Sertnon — 
Charity — Edict  of  Reform — The  Reformation  Reproached — The  Reform  Accepted — Faith  and 
Charity — First  Evangelical  Communion — Faith  shown  by  Works — Head  of  Beatus — Threat- 
ening Storm — Revolt — Christ  in  Danger — A  Revolt — Energy  of  Berne — Victory — Political 
Advantages — Romish  Relics — Nuns  of  St.  Catherine — Contests — Spread  of  Reform — A  Popish 
]y[iracle — Obstacles  in  Basle — Zeal  of  the  Citizens — Witticisms  of  Erasmus — Half  Measures — 
The  Petition — Commotion  in  Basle — Half  Measures  Rejected — Reformed  Propositions — A 
Night  of  Terror — The  Idols  Broken — The  Hour  of  Madness — The  Reform  Legalized — Erasmus 
in  Basle — Objections — Principles  of  the  Reformation — Farel's  Commission — Farel  at  Lausanne 

Farel  at  Morat — Neufchatel — Farel's  Labours — Farel's  Preaching — Popery  in  Neufchatel — 

Resistance  of  the  Monks — The  Hospital  Chapel — Civil  Power  Invoked — Guillemette  de  Vugy — 
The  Feast  of  Assumption — The  Mass  Interrupted — Farel's  Danger — 111  Treatment  of  Farel — 
Apostles  and  Reformers  Compared — Farel  in  the  Cathedral — The  Idols  Destroyed — Interposi- 
tion of  the  Governor — Reflections — Plans  of  the  Romanists — The  Governor's  Difficulties — Pre- 
liminaries— Hatred  and  Division — Proposed  Delay — The  Romanist  Protest — The  Voting — Ma- 
jority for  Reform — Protestantism  Perpetual — The  Image  of  St.  John — A  Miracle — Popery  and 
the  Gospel — Reaction  Preparing — Failure  of  the  Plot — Farel's  Labours — De  Bely  at  Fontaine — 
The  Pastor  Marcourt — Disgraceful  Expedient — The  Reform  Established — Remarks. 


BOOK    XVL— Page  790. 

SWITZERLAND  —CATASTROPHE.       1528 1531. 

Christian  Warfare — Zwingle — Persecutions — Austrian  Alliance — Animosity — Christian  Exhorta- 
tion— Keyser's  Martyrdom — Zwingle  and  War — Zwingle's  Error — Zwingle's  Advice — War  of 
Religion — Zwingle  joins  the  Army — War— *The  Landamman  iEbli — Bernese  Interposition- 
Swiss  Cordiality— The  Zurich  Camp— A  Conference— Peace  Restored — Austrian  Treaty  Torn 
— Zwingle's  Hymn — Nuns  of  St.  Catherine — Conquests  of  Reform — The  Priest  of  Zurzack — 
The  Reform  in  Glaris — Italian  Bailiwicks — The  Monk  of  Como — The  Monk  of  Locarno— Let- 
ter to  the  German  Church — The  Monks  of  Wettingen — Abbe"  of  St.  Gaul — Kiliankouffi— So- 
leure — A  New  Miracle — Popery  Triumphs — The  Grisons  Invaded— Forebodings  to  Berne- 
Mutual  Errors— Failure  of  the  Diet— Political  Reformation — Activity  of  Zurich — Diet  Arau— 
Blockade  of  the  Waldsleddtes— Indignation — France  Conciliates — Diet  at  Bremgarten — The 
Five  Cantons  Inflexible — Zurich — Zwingle's  False  Position — The  Great  Council — Zwingle  at 
Bremgarten — The  Apparition — Zwingle's  Agony — Frightful  Omens — The  Comet — Zwingle's 
Tranquillity— New  Mediations — Deceitful  Calm — Fatal  Inactivity — Zurich  Forewarned — 
Manifesto  of  the  Cantons— The  Abbot  Wolfgang — Infatuation  of  Zurich — The  War  Begins — 
A  Fearful  Night— The  War — Army  of  Zurich— Zwingle's  Departure— Anna  Zwingle — Army 
of  Zurich— Battle  of  Cappel— The  March — Ambuscade — The  Banner  in  Danger — The  Banner 
Saved — Terrible  Slaughter — Slaughter  of  the  Pastors — Zwingle's  Last  Moments— Barbarity  of 
the  Victors — The  Furnace  of  Trial— Distress — Zwingle  is  Dead — Funeral  Oration — Army  of 
Zurich — Another  Reverse — Inactivity  of  the  Bernese — Joy  of  the  Romanists — End  of  the  War 
— Death  of  tEcolampadius — Conclusion. 


HISTORY  OF   THE  REFORMATIO!. 


BOOK    I 


STATE  OF  EUROPE  PRIOR  TO  THE  REFORMATION. 

Rise  of  the  Papacy — Early  Encroachments — Co-operation  of  the  Bishops^ — Unity  of  the  Church 
— Visible  Unity — Primacy  of  St.  Peter — Patriarchates — Policy  of  Rome — Charlemagne — Dis- 
orders of  Rome — Hildebrand — The  Crusades — Spiritual  Despotism — Salvation  by  Grace — Pela- 
gianism — The  Church — Penance — Indulgences — Purgatory — Tax  of  Indulgences — The  Papacy 
and  Christianity — Theology — Dialectics — Predestination — Penance — Religion — Relics — Morals 
— Corruption — Disorders  of  the  Priests — Bishops  and  Popes — Alexander  VI — Caesar  Borgia — 
General  Corruption — Ciceronians — Efforts  for  Reform — Prospects  of  Christianity — State  of  the 
Papacy — Internal  Divisions — Carnality  of  the  Church — Popular  Feeling — Doctrine — Develop- 
ment of  Mind — Revival  of  Letters — Philosophy — Principle  of  Reformation — Witnesses — Mystics 
— Wiclif — Huss — Witnesses — The  Empire — Peace — State  of  the  People — State  of  Germany — 
Switzerland — Italy — Spain — Portugal — France — Low  Countries — England — Bohemia  and  Hun- 
gary— Frederic  the  Wise — Men  of  Letters — Reuchlin — His  Labours — Reuchlin  hi  Italy — Con- 
test with  the  Dominicans — The  Hebrew  Writings — Erasmus — Erasmus  and  Luther — Hiitten 
— Literas  Obscurorum  Virorum — Hiitten  at'  Brussels — Sickingin — Cronberg — Hans  Sachs — 
General  Ferment. 


The  world  was  tottering  on  its  old 
foundations  when  Christianity  appeared. 
The  various  religions  which  had  suf- 
ficed for  an  earlier  age  no  longer  satis- 
fied the  nations.  The  mind  of  the  exis- 
ting generation  could  no  longer  taber- 
nacle in  the  ancient  forms.  The  gods 
of  the  nations  had  lost  their  oracles — as 
the  nations  had  lost  their  liberty  in 
Rome.  Brought  face  to  face  in  the 
Capitol  they  had  mutually  destroyed  the 
illusion  of  their  divinity.  A  vast  void 
had  ensued  in  the  religious  opinions  of 
mankind. 

A  kind  of  Deism,  destitute  of  spirit 
and  vitality,  hovered  for  a  time  over  the 
abyss  in  which  had  been  engulphed  the 
superstitions  of  heathenism. — But,  like 
all  negative  opinions,  it  had  no  power  to 
edify.  The  narrow  prepossessions  of 
the  several  nations  had  fallen  with  the 
fall  of  their  gods, — their  various  popula- 
tions melted,  the  one  into  the  other.  In 
Europe,  Asia,  Africa,  all  was  but  one 
vast  empire,  and  the  human  family  be- 
gan to  feel  its  comprehensiveness  and  its 
unity. 

Then  the  Word  was  made  flesh. 

God  appeared  amongst  men,  and  as 
Man,  to  save  that  which  was  lost.  In 
2 


Jesus  of  Nazareth  dwelt  all  the  fulness 
of  the  Godhead  bodily. 

This  is  the  greatest  event  in  the  an- 
nals of  all  time.  The  former  ages  had 
been  a  preparation  for  it ;  the  latter  un- 
roll from  it.  It  is  their  centre  and  con- 
necting link. 

From  this  period  the  popular  supersti- 
tions had  no  significancy,  and  such 
feeble  relics  of  them  as  outlived  the 
general  wreck  of  incredulity,  vanished 
before  the  majestic  orb  of  eternal  truth. 

The  Son  of  Man  lived  thirty-three 
years  on  this  earth.  He  suffered,  he 
died,  he  rose  again, — he  ascended  into 
heaven.  His  disciples,  beginning  at 
Jerusalem,  travelled  over  the  Roman 
Empire  and  the  world,  every  where  pro- 
claiming their  Master  the  author  of  ever- 
lasting salvation.  From  the  midst  of  a 
people  who  rejected  intercourse  with 
others — proceeded  a  Mercy  that  invited 
and  embraced  all.  A  great  number  of 
Asiatics,  of  Greeks,  of  Romans,  hitherto 
led  by  their  priests  to  the  feet  of  dumb 
idols,  believed  at  their  word.  "  The 
Gospel  suddenly  beamed  on  the  earth 
like  a  ray  of  the  sun,"  says  Eusebius. 
A  breath  of  life  moved  over  this  vast 
field  of  death.     A  new,  a  holy  people 


10 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


was  formed  upon  the  earth  ;  and  the  as- 
tonished world  beheld  in  the  disciples  of 
the  despised  Galilean  a  purity,  a  self- 
denial,  a  charity,  a  heroism,  of  which 
they  retained  no  idea. 

The  new  religion  had  two  features 
amongst  many  others  which  especially 
distinguished  it  from  all  the  human  sys- 
tems which  fell  before  it.  One  had  re- 
ference to  the  ministers  of  its  worship, — 
the  other  to  its  doctrines. 

The  ministers  of  paganism  were  al- 
most the  gods  of  those  human  inventions. 
The  priests  led  the  people,  so  long  at 
least  as  their  eyes  were  not  opened.  A 
vast  and  haughty  hierarchy  oppressed 
the  world.  Jesus  Christ  dethroned  these 
iiving  idols,  abolished  this  proud  hierar- 
chy,— took  from  man  what  man  had 
taken  from  God,  and  re-established  the 
soul  in  direct  communication  with  the 
divine  fountain  of  truth,  by  proclaiming 
himself  the  only  Master  and  the  only 
Mediator.  "  One  is  your  master,  even 
Christ  (said  he.)  and  all  ye  are  bre- 
thren." (Matt,  xxiii.) 

As  to  doctrine,  human  religions  had 
taught  that  salvation  was  of  man.  The 
religions  of  the  earth  had  invented  an 
earthly  salvation.  They  had  taught 
men  that  heaven  would  be  given  to  them 
as  a  reward ;  they  had  fixed  its  price, 
and  what  a  price !  The  religion  of 
God  taught  that  salvation  was  His  gift, 
and  emanated  from  an  amnesty  and 
sovereign  grace.  God  hath  given  to  us 
eternal  life.   (1  John  v.  11.) 

Undoubtedly  Christianity  cannot  be 
summed  up  in  these  two  points  :  but  they 
seem  to  govern  the  subject,  especially 
when  historically  viewed.  And  as  it  is 
impossible  to  trace  the  opposition  between 
truth  and  error  in  all  things,  we  have 
selected  its  most  prominent  features. 

Such  were  the  two  principles  that 
composed  the  religion  which  then  took 
possession  of  the  Empire  and  of  the 
whole  world.  The  standing  of  a  Chris- 
tian is  in  them, — and  apart  from  them, 
Christianity  itself  disappears.  On  their 
preservation  or  their  loss  depended  its 
decline  or  its  growth.  One  of  these 
principles  was  to  govern  the  history  of 
tiie  religion,  the  other  its  doctrine.  They 
Loth  presided  in  the  beginning.  Let  us 
see  how  they  were  lost ;  and  let  us  first 
trace  the  fate  of  the  former. 


The  Church  was  in  the  beginning  a 
community  of  brethren.  All  its  mem- 
bers Avere  taught  of  God ;  and  each  pos- 
sessed the  liberty  of  drawing  for  himself 
from  the  divine  fountain  of  life.  (John 
vi.  45.)  The  epistles,  which  then  settled 
the  great  questions  of  doctrine,  did  not 
bear  the  pompous  title  of  any  single 
man,  or  ruler.  We  find  from  the  holy 
Scriptures  that  they  began  simply  with 
these  words :  "  The  apostles,  elders  and 
brethren  to  our  brethren."  (Acts  xv.  23.) 

But  the  writings  of  these  very  apostles 
forewarn, us  that  from  the  midst  of  these 
brethren,  there  shall  arise  a  power  which 
shall  overthrow  this  simple  and  primitive 
order.  (2  Thess.  ii.) 

Let  us  contemplate  the  formation  and 
trace  the  development  of  this  power  alien 
to  the  Church. 

Paul  of  Tarsus,  one  of  the  chiefest 
apostles  of  the  new  religion,  had  arrived 
at  Rome,  the  capital  of  the  Empire  and 
of  the  world,  preaching  the  salvation  that 
£ometh  from  God  only.  A  Church  was 
formed  beside  the  throne  of  the  Caesars. 
Founded  by  this  same  apostle,  it  was  at 
first  composed  of  converted  Jews,  Greeks, 
and  some  inhabitants  of  Rome.  For  a 
while  it  shone  brightly  as  a  light  set 
upon  a  hill,  and  its  faith  was  every 
where  spoken  of.  But  ere  long  it  de- 
clined from  its  first  simplicity.  The  spiri- 
tual dominion  of  Rome  arose  as  its  poli- 
tical and  military  power  had  done  be- 
fore, and  was  slowly  and  gradually  ex- 
tended. 

The  first  pastors  or  bishops  of  Rome 
employed  themselves  in  the  beginning 
in  converting  to  the  faith  of  Christ  the 
towns  and  villages  that  surrounded  the 
city.  The  necessity  which  the  bishops 
and  pastors  felt  of  referring  in  cases  of 
difficulty  to  an  enlightened  guide,  and 
the  gratitude  which  they  owed  to  the  me- 
tropolitan church,  led  them  to  maintain 
an  intimate  union  with  her.  As  is  ge- 
nerally the  consequence  in  such  circum- 
stances, this  reasonable  union  soon  de- 
generated into  dependence.  The  bish- 
ops of  Rome  regarded  as  a  right  the 
superiority  which  the  neighbouring 
churches  had  voluntarily  yielded.  The 
encroachments  of  power  form  a  large  por- 
tion of  all  history:  the  resistance  of  those 
whose  rights  are  invaded  forms  the  other 
part :  and  the  ecclesiastical  power  could 


STATE  OF  EUROPE  PRIOR  TO  THE  REFORMATION. 


1! 


not  escape  that  intoxication  which  leads 
those  who  are  lifted  up  to  seek  to  raise 
themselves  still  higher.  It  felt  all  the 
influence  of  this  general  weakness  of 
human  nature.' 

Nevertheless  the  supremacy  of  the 
Roman  bishop  was  at  first  limited*  to 
the  overlooking  of  the  churches,  in  the 
territory  lawfully  subject  to  the  prefect 
of  Rome.  But  the  rank  which  this  im- 
perial city  held  in  the  world  offered  to 
the  ambition  of  its  first  pastors  a  prospect 
of  wider  sway.  The  consideration  which 
the  different  Christian  bishops  enjoyed 
in  the  second  century  was  in  proportion 
to  the  rank  of  the  city  over  which  they 
presided.  Rome  was  the  greatest,  the 
richest,  and  the  most  powerful  city  in 
the  world.  It  was  the  seat  of  empire, 
the  mother  of  nations.  "  All  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  earth  are  hers,"f  said  Julian, 
and  Claudian  declares  her  to  be  "  the 
fountain  of  laws."! 

*  If  Rome  be  the  Queen  of  cities,  why 
should  not  her  pastor  be  the  King  of 
Bishops?  Why  should  not  the  Roman 
church  be  the  mother  of  Christendom  1 
Why  should  not  all  nations  be  her  chil- 
dren, and  her  authority  be  the  universal 
law  ?  It  was  natural  to  the  heart  of  man 
to  reason  thus.     Ambitious  Rome  did  so. 

Hence  it  was  that  when  heathen 
Rome  fell,  she  bequeathed  to  the  hum- 
ble minister  of  the  God  of  peace,  seated 
in  the  midst  of  her  own  ruins,  the  proud 
titles  which  her  invincible  sword  had 
won  from  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

The  bishops  of  the  other  parts  of  the 
Empire,  yielding  to  the  charm  that 
Rome  had  exercised  for  ages  over  all  na- 
tions, followed  the  example  of  the  Cam- 
pagna,  and  aided  the  work  of  usurpation. 
They  willingly  rendered  to  the  Bishop 
of  Rome  something  of  that  honour  which 
was  due  to  this  Queen  of  cities :  nor  was 
there  at  first  anything  of  dependence  in 
the  honour  thus  yielded.  They  acted 
toward  the  Roman  pastor  as  equals  to- 
ward  an-  equal  ;§    but   usurped   power 

*  Suburbicaria  loca.  See  the  sixth  canon  of 
the  Council  of  Nice,  cited  by  Rufinus  as  follows : 
— Et  ut  apud  Alexandriam  et  in  urbe  Roma  ve- 
tusta  consuetudo  servetur  ut  vel  ille  iEgypti  vel 
hie  suburbicariarum  ecclesiarum  sollicitudinem 
gerat,  &c.     Hist.  Eccles.  t  Julian  Orat.  I. 

t  Claud,  in  Paneg.  Stilic.  til.  3. 

§  Euseb.  Hist.  Eccles.  1.  5.  c.  24.  Socrat.  Hist. 
Eccles.  c.  21.  Cyprian  ep.  59,  72,  75. 


swells  like  the  avalanche.  Exhorta- 
tions, at  first  simply  fraternal,  soon  be- 
came commands  in  the  mouth  of  the  Ro- 
man Pontiff.  A  chief  place  amongst 
equals  appeared  to  him  a  throne. 

The  Bishops  of  the  West  favoured 
this  encroachment  of  the  Roman  pastors, 
either  from  jealousy  of  the  Eastern 
bishops,  or  because  they  preferred  subjec- 
tion to  a  pope  to  the  dominion  of  a  tem- 
poral power. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  theological 
sects  which  distracted  the  East  strove, 
each  for  itself,  to  gain  an  interest  at 
Rome,  hoping  to  triumph  over  its  oppo- 
nents by  the  support  of  the  principal  of 
the  Western  churches. 

Rome  carefully  recorded  these  re- 
quests and  intercessions,  and  smiled  to 
see  the  nations  throw  themselves  into  her 
arms.  She  neglected  no  opportunity  of 
increasing  and  extending  her  power. 
The  praises,  the  flattery,  and  exagger- 
ated compliments  paid  to  her,  and  her 
being  consulted  by  other  churches,  be- 
came in  her  hands  as  titles  and  docu- 
ments of  her  authority.  Such  is  the 
heart  of  man  exalted  to  a  throne ;  flat- 
tery intoxicates  him,  and  his  head  grows 
dizzy.  What  he  possesses  impels  him 
to  aspire  after  more. 

The  doctrine  of  "  the  Church,"  and  of 
the  "necessity for  its  visible  unity,"  which 
had  gained  footing  as  early  as  the  third 
century,  favoured  the  pretensions  of 
Rome.  The  great  bond,  which  origin- 
ally bound  together  the  members  of  the 
church,  was  a  living  faith  in  the  heart, 
by  which  all  were  joined  to  Christ  as 
their  one  Head.  But  various  causes  ere 
long  conspired  to  originate  and  develope 
the  idea  of  a  necessity  for  some  exterior 
fellowship.  Men,  accustomed  to  the  as- 
sociations and  political  forms  of  an  earth- 
ly country,  carried  their  views  and 
habits  of  mind  into  the  spiritual  and 
everlasting  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Persecution — powerless  to  destroy,  or 
even  to  shake  the  new  community,  com- 
pressed it  into  the  form  of  a  more  com- 
pacted body. — To  the  errors  that  arose  in 
the  schools  of  deism,  or  in  the  various 
sects,  was  opposed  the  truth  "one  and 
universal"  received  from  the  Apostles 
and  preserved  in  the  church.  All  this 
was  well,  so  long  as  the  invisible  and 
spiritual  church  was  identical  with  the 


12 


HISTORY   OF   THE   REFORMATION. 


visible  and  outward  community.  But 
soon  a  great  distinction  appeared: — the 
form  and  the  vital  principle  parted  asun- 
der. The  semblance  of  identical  and 
external  organization  Avas  gradually  sub- 
stituted in  place  of  the  internal  and  spiri- 
tual unity  which  is  the  very  essence  of 
a  religion  proceeding  from  God.  Men 
suffered  the  precious  perfume  of  faith  to 
escape  while  they  bowed  themselves  be- 
fore the  empty  vase  that  had  held  it. 
Faith  in  the  heart  no  longer  knit  to- 
gether in  one  the  members  of  the  church. 
Then  it  was  that  other  ties  were  sought ; 
and  Christians  wrere  united  by  means  of 
bishops,  archbishops,  popes,  mitres,  cere- 
monies, and  canons.  The  Living 
Church  retiring  by  degrees  to  the  lonely 
sanctuary  of  a  few  solitary  souls, — an  ex- 
terior church  Avas  substituted  in  place  of 
it,  and  installed  in  all  its  forms  as  of 
divine  institution.  Salvation  no  longer 
floAving  forth  from  that  Avord  which  was 
iioav  hidden — it  began  to  be  affirmed 
that  it  Avas  conveyed  by  means  of  certain 
invented  forms,  and  that  none  could  ob- 
tain it  Avithout  resorting  to  such  means ! 
No  one,  it  was  said,  can  by  his  faith  at- 
tain to  everlasting  life. — Christ  commu- 
nicated to  the  Apostles,  and  the  Apostles 
to  the  Bishops,  the  unction  of  the  Holy 
Spirit;  and  this  spirit  is  found  only  in 
this  order  of  communication.  In  the  be- 
ginning of  the  Gospel,  whosoever  had 
received  the  spirit  of  Jesus  Christ  was  es- 
teemed a  member  of  the  church : — noAv 
the  order  Avas  inverted  ;  and  no  one  un- 
less a  member  of  the  church,  Avas 
counted  to  have  received  the  spirit  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

As  soon  as  the  notion  of  a  supposed 
necessity  for  a  visible  unity*  of  the 
church  had  taken  root,  another  error  be- 
gan to  spread: — namely,  that  it  Avas 
needful  that  there  should  be  some  out- 
Avard  representative  of  that  unity. 
Though  no  trace  of  any  primacy  of  St. 
Peter  above  the  rest  of  the  Apostles 
appears  in  the  Gospels:  although  the 
idea  of  a  primacy  is  at  variance  with  the 
mutual  relations  of  the  disciples  as 
"brethren," — and  even  with  the  spirit 
of  the  dispensation  which  requires  all  the 
children  of  the  Father  to  minister  one  to 
another,*  (1  Pet.  iv.  10.)  acknowledging 

*  From  the  previous  reflections  it  is  clear  that 
the  author  does  not  disparage  that  Unity  which 


but  one  Master  and  Head ;  and  though 
the  Lord  Jesus  had  rebuked  his  disciples 
whenever  their  carnal  hearts  conceived 
desires  of  pre-eminence  ; — a  Primacy  of 
St.  Peter  Avas  invented,  and  supported  by 
misinterpreted  texts,  and  men  proceeded 
to  acknoAvledge  in  that  Apostle,  and  in 
his  pretended  successor,  the  visible  re- 
presentative of  visible  unity — and  head 
of  the  whole  Church  ! 

The  constitution  of  the  patriarchate 
contributed  further  to  the  exaltation  of 
the  Roman  Papacy.  As  early  as  the 
first  three  centuries,  the  churches  of  the 
metropolitan  cities  had  been  held  in  pe- 
culiar honour.  The  Council  of  Nice,  in 
its  sixth  canon,  named  especially  three 
cities,  Avhose  churches,  according  to  it 
held  an  anciently  established  authority 
over  those  of  the  surrounding  provinces. 
These  were  Alexandria,  Rome,  and  An- 
tioch.  The  political  origin  of  this  dis- 
tinction may  be  discerned  in  the  name 
which  was  at  first  given  to  the  bishops 
of  these  cities ;  they  were  called  Exarchs, 
like  the  political  governors.*  In  latter 
times  they  bore  the  more  ecclesiastical 
name  of  Patriarch.  It  is  in  the  Council 
of  Constantinople  that  Ave  find  this  title 
first  used.  This  same  Council  created  a 
new  Patriarchate,  that  of  Constantinople 
itself,  the  new  Rome,  the  second  capital 
of  the  Empire.  Rome  at  this  period 
shared  the  rank  of  Patriarchate  with 
these  three  churches.  But  Avhen  the  in- 
vasion of  Mahomet  had  swept  away  the 
bishoprics  of  Alexandria  and  Antioch. 
when  the  see  of  Constantinople  fell 
aAvay,  and  in  latter  times  even  separated 
itself  from  the  West,  Rome  alone  re- 
mained, and  the  circumstances  of  the 
times  causing  everything  to  rally  around 

is  the  manifested  result  of  the  partaking  of  the 
life  of  the  Head  by  the  members ;  but  only  that 
lifeless  form  of  unity  which  man  has  devised  in 
place  of  it.  We  learn  from  John  xvii.  21 — 23, 
that  the  true  and  real  One-ness  of  Believers 
was  to  be  manifested, — so  that  the  world  might 
believe  that  the  Father  had  sent  Jesus. — Hence 
we  may  conclude  that  the  things  which  divide, 
instead  of  gathering,  the  "  little  flock"  are  con- 
trary to  his  mind :  and  among  such  things  must 
be  classed  not  alone  the  carnality  of  names,  (1 
Cor.  iii.  4.) — but  every  commandment  or  require- 
ment of  men  that  excludes  the  very  weakest 
whom  God  has  received.  (Rom.  xiv.  1 — 3  ;  Acts 
xi.  17,  compare  Acts  ii.  44,  &c.) — Translator. 

*  See  the  Council  of  Chalcedon,  canons  8  and 
18,  o  i^apyoi  rijs  SioiKfiaco};. 


STATE  OF  EUROPE  PRIOR  TO  THE  REFORMATION. 


13 


her,  she  remained  from  that  time  with- 
out a  rival. 

New  and  more  powerful  partisans 
than  all  the  rest  soon  came  to  her  assis- 
tance. Ignorance  and  superstition  took 
possession  of  the  Church,  and  delivered  it 
up  to  Rome,  blindfold  and  manacled. 

Yet  this  bringing  into  captivity  was 
not  effected  without  a  struggle.  The 
voices  of  particular  churches  frequently- 
asserted  their  independence.  This 
courageous  remonstrance  was  especially- 
heard  in  proconsular  Africa  and  in  the 
East.* 

To  silence  the  cries  of  the  churches, 
Rome  found  new  allies.  Princes,  who 
in  those  troublesome  times  often  saw 
their  thrones  tottering,  offered  their  ad- 
herence to  the  Church,  in  exchange  for 
her  support.  They  yielded  to  her  spirit- 
ual authority,  on  condition  of  her  paying 
them  with  secular  dominion.  They  left 
her  to  deal  at  will  with  the  souls  of  men, 
provided  only  she  would  deliver  them 
from  their  enemies.  The  power  of  the 
hierarchy  in  the  ascending  scale,  and  of 
the  imperial  power  which  was  declining, 
leaned  thus  one  toward  the  other — and 
so  accelerated  their  two-fold  destiny. 

Rome  could  not  lose  by  this.  An 
edict  of  Theodosius  II.  and  of  Valenti- 
nian  III.  proclaimed  the  bishop  of  Rome 
"  ruler  of  the  whole  church."  Justinian 
issued  a  similar  decree.  These  decrees 
did  not  contain  all  that  the  Popes  pre- 
tended to  see  in  them.  But  in  those 
times  of  ignorance  it  was  easy  for  them 
to  gain  reception  for  that  interpretation 
which  was  most  favorable  to  themselves. 
The  dominion  of  the  Emperors  in  Italy 

*  Cyprian,  bishop  of  Carthage,  speaking  of 
Stephen,  bishop  of  Rome,  has  these  words :  "  Ma- 
gis  ac  magis  ejus  errorem  denotabis  qui  haeretico- 
rum  causam  contra  Christianos  et  contra  Eccle- 

siam  Dei  asserere  conatur qui  unitatem 

et  vcritatem  de  divina  lege  venientem  non  tenens 

Consuetudo  sine  veritate  vestustas  erroris 

est."  (Ep.  74.)  Firmilian,  bishop  of  Cesarea,  in 
Cappadocia,  writing  in  the  latter  part  of  the  third 
century,  observes,  "  Eos  autem  qui  Romte  sunt 
non  ea  in  omnibus  observare  quae  sunt  ab  origine 
tradita  et  frustra  auctoritatem  apostolorum  pree- 

tendere Caeterum  nos  (the  bishops  of 

the  churches  of  Asia,  more  ancient  than  the 
Roman  church)  veritati  et  consuetudinem  jun- 
gimus,  et  consuetudini  Romanorum  consuetudi- 
nem sed  veritatis  opponimus  ;  ab  initio  hoc  ten- 
entes  quod  a  Christo  et  ab  apostolo  traditum  est." 
(Cypr.  Ep.  75).  These  testimonies  are  of  high 
importance. 


becoming  every  day  more  precarious, 
the  Bishops  of  Rome  took  advantage  of 
it  to  withdraw  themselves  from  their  de- 
pendence. 

But  already  the  forests  of  the  North 
had  poured  forth  the  most  effectual  pro- 
moters of  papal  power.  The  barbarians 
who  had  invaded  the  West  and  settled 
themselves  therein, — but  recently  con- 
verted to  Christianity, — ignorant  of  the 
spiritual  character  of  the  Church,  and 
feeling  the  want  of  an  external  pomp  of 
religion,  prostrated  themselves  in  a  half 
savage  and  half  heathen  state  of  mind  at 
the  feet  of  the  Chief  Priest  of  Rome.  At 
the  same  time  the  people  of  the  West 
also  submitted  to  him.  First  the  Van- 
dals, then  the  Ostrogoths,  a  short  time 
after  the  Burgundians  and  the  Alains. 
then  the  Visigoths,  and  at  last  the  Lom- 
bards and  the  Anglo-Saxons  came  bow- 
ing the  knee  to  the  Roman  Pontiff  It 
was  the  sturdy  shoulders  of  the  idolatrous 
children  of  the  North  which  elevated  to 
the  supreme  throne  of  Christendom,  a  pas- 
tor of  the  banks  of  the  Tiber. 

These  events  occurred  in  the  West  at 
the  beginning  of  the  seventh  century,  at 
the  precise  period  that  the  Mahometan 
power  arose  in  the  East,  and  prepared  to 
overrun  another  division  of  the  earth. 

From  that  time  the  evil  continued  in- 
creasing. In  the  eighth  century  we  see 
the  Bishops  of  Rome  on  the  one  hand 
resisting  the  Greek  Emperors,  their  law- 
ful sovereigns,  and  endeavoring  to  expel 
them  from  Italy;  whilst  on  the  other 
they  court  the  French  Mayors  of  the  Pa- 
lace, and  demand  from  this  new  power 
now  arising  in  the  West,  a  share  in  the 
wreck  of  the  empire.  We  see  Rome 
establish  her  usurped  authority  between 
the  East,  which  she  repelled,  and  the 
West  which  she  courted ;  thus  erecting 
her  throne  upon  two  revolutions. 

Alarmed  by  the  progress  of  the  Arabs. 
who  had  made  themselves  masters  of 
Spain,  and  boasted  that  they  would  spee- 
dily traverse  the  Pyrenees  and  the  Alps, 
and  proclaim  the  name  of  Mahomet  on 
the  seven  hills : — terrified  at  the  daring 
of  Aistolpho,  who,  at  the  head  of  his 
Lombards,  threatened  to  put  every  Roman 
to  death,*  and  brandished  his  sword  be- 

*  Fremens  ut  leo  .  .  .  asserens  omnes  uno 
gladio  jugulari.  (Anastasius,  Bibl.  Vit.  Pontif. 
p.  83.) 


14 


HISTORY   OF   THE    REFORMATION. 


fore  the  city  gates — Rome,  in  the  pros- 
pect of  ruin,  turned  on  all  sides  for  pro- 
tection, and  threw  herself  into  the  arms 
of  the  Franks.  The  usurper  Pepin  de- 
manded the  confirmation  of  his  claim  to 
the  throne  : — the  Pope  granted  it ;  and, 
in  return,  obtained  his  declaration  in  de- 
fence of  the  "  Republic  of  God."  Pepin 
recovered  from  the  Lombards  their  con- 
quests from  the  Emperor ;  but  instead  of 
restoring  them  to  that  Prince,  he  depo- 
sited the  keys  of  the  conquered  cities  on 
the  altar  of  St.  Peter's ;  and,  with  up- 
lifted hand,  swore  that  it  was  not  in  the 
cause  of  man  that  he  had  taken  arms, — 
but  to  obtain  from  God  the  remission  of 
his  sins,  and  to  do  homage  for  his  con- 
quests to  St.  Peter!  Thus  did  France 
establish  the  temporal  power  of  the 
Popes. 

Charlemagne  appeared. — At  one  time 
we  see  him  climbing  the  stairs  of  St. 
Peter's,  devoutly  kissing  the  steps: — 
again  he  presents  himself, — but  it  is  as 
master  of  all  the  nations  composing  the 
Western  Empire,  and  of  Rome  itself. 
Leo  Iir.  decided  to  confer  the  rank  on 
one  who  already  possessed  the  power ; 
and  in  the  year  800,  on  Christmas  day, 
he  placed  the  crown  of  the  Roman  Em- 
perors on  the  brow  of  the  son  of  Pepin.* 
From  this  period  the  Pope  belonged  to 
the  empire  of  the  Franks,  and  his  con- 
nexion with  the  East  was  at  an  end : 
thus  loosing  his  hold  on  a  decayed  tree, 
nodding  to  its  fall,  in  order  to  graft  him- 
self upon  a  wild  but  vigorous  sapling. 
Little  could  he  then  have  dared  to  hope 
for  the  elevation  that  awaited  his  succes- 
sors among  the  German  nations  to  which 
he  thus  joined  himself 

Charlemagne  bequeathed  to  his  feeble 
successors  only  the  wreck  of  his  own 
power.  In  the  ninth  century  disunion 
every  where  weakened  the  civil  autho- 
rity. Rome  perceived  that  this  was  the 
moment  to  exalt  herself.  What  better 
opportunity  could  offer  for  achieving  the 
Church's  independence  of  the  state  than 
when  the  crown  of  Charles  was  broken, 
and  its  fragments  scattered  over  his  for- 
mer empire. 

*  Visum  est  et  ipai  Apostolico  Leoni  .  .  .  ut  ip- 
sum  Carolum  imperatorem  nominare  debuisset, 
qui  ipsam  Roniam  tenebat  ubi  semper  Ca?sares 
sedere  soliti  erant  et  reliquas  sedes  ....  (Anna- 
lista  Lambecianus  ad  an.  801.) 


It  was  then  that  the  pretended  decre- 
tals of  Isidorus  appeared.  In  this  collec- 
tion of  alleged  decrees  of  the  Popes,  the 
most  ancient  bishops,  contemporaries  of 
Tacitus  and  Quintilian,  were  made  to 
speak  the  barbarous  Latin  of  the  ninth 
century.  The  customs  and  constitutions 
of  the  Franks  were  gravely  attributed  to 
the  Romans  in  the  time  of  the  Emper- 
ors. Popes  quoted  the  Bible  in  the  Latin 
translation  of  St.  Jerome,  who  lived  one, 
two,  or  three  centuries  after  them.  And 
Victor,  bishop  of  Rome  in  the  year  192, 
wrote  to  Theophilus,  who  was  archbishop 
of  Alexandria  in  385.  The  impostor 
who  had  fabricated  this  collection,  en- 
deavoured to  prove  that  all  bishops  de- 
rived their  authority  from  the  bishop  of 
Rome,  who  held  his  own  immediately 
from  Christ.  He  not  only  recorded  all 
the  successive  acquisitions  of  the  Pontiffs, 
but  carried  them  "back  to  the  earliest 
times.  The  Popes  did  not  blush  to  avail 
themselves  of  this  contemptible  impos- 
ture. As  early  as  865,  Nicholas  I.  se- 
lected weapons  from  this  repository  to 
attack  princes  and  bishops.*  This  bare- 
faced fabrication  was  for  ages  the  arsenal 
of  Rome. 

Nevertheless  the  vices  and  atrocities 
of  the  Pontiffs  were  such  as  suspended 
for  a  time  the  object  of  the  decretals. 
The  Papacy  signalised  its  sitting  down 
at  the  table  of  Kings  by  shameful  liba- 
tions ;  and  intoxication  and  madness 
reigned  in  its  orgies.  About  this  time 
tradition  places  upon  the  Papal  throne  a 
girl  named  Joan,  who  had  taken  refuge 
at  Rome  with  her  lover,  and  whose  sex 
was  betrayed  by  the  pains  of  child-birth 
coming  upon  her  in  the  midst  of  a  solemn 
procession.  But  let  us  not  needlessly 
exaggerate  the  shame  of  the  Roman 
Pontiffs.  Women  of  abandoned  charac- 
ter reigned  at  this  period  in  Rome.  The 
throne  which  affected  to  exalt  itself  above 
the  majesty  of  kings,  was  sunk  in  the 
filth  of  vice.  Theodora  and  Marozia  in- 
stalled and  deposed  at  their  pleasure  the 
pretended  teachers  of  the  Church  of 
Christ,  and  placed  on  the  throne  of  St. 
Peter  their  lovers,  their  sons,  and  their 
grandsons.  These  too  well  authenti- 
cated charges  may  have  given  rise  to 
the  tradition  of  the  female  Pope  Joan. 

*  See  Ep.  ad.  Univ.  Epi.  s«.  Gall.  (Mansi  XV.) 


STATE  OF  EUROPE  PRIOR  TO  THE  REFORMATION. 


15 


Rome  was  one  vast  scene  of  debauch- 
ery, wherein  the  most  powerful  families 
in  Italy  contended  for  pre-eminence. 
The  counts  of  Tuscany  were  generally 
victorious  in  these  contests.  In  1033, 
this  family  dared  to  place  upon  the  pon- 
tifical throne,  under  the  name  of  Bene- 
dict IXth,  a  young  boy  brought  up  in 
debauchery.  This  child  of  twelve  years 
of  age,  continued  when  Pope  in  the  prac- 
tice of  the  same  scandalous  vices.*  An- 
other party  elected  in  his  stead  Sylvester 
111.,  and  Benedict,  with  a  conscience 
loaded  with  adulteries  and  hands  stained 
with  homicide,  at  last  sold  the  Papacy 
to  a  Roman  ecclesiastic! 

The  Emperors  of  Germany,  roused  to 
indignation  by  these  enormities,  purged 
Rome  with  the  sword.  In  1047,  a  Ger- 
man bishop,  Leo  IX.  possessed  himself 
of  the  pontifical  throne. 

The  Empire,  using  its  right  as  suzer- 
ain, raised  up  the  triple  crown  from  the 
mire,  and  preserved  the  degraded  Papa- 
cy by  giving  to  it  suitable  chiefs.  In 
1046,  Henry  III.  deposed  the  three  rival 
popes,  and  pointing  with  his  finger,  on 
which  glittered  the  ring  of  the  Roman 
patricians,  designated  the  bishop  to  whom 
St.  Peter's  keys  should  be  confided. 
Four  Popes,  all  Germans,  and  chosen 
by  the  Emperor,  succeeded.  Whenever 
the  Pontiff  of  Rome  died,  a  deputation 
from  its  church  repaired  to  the  Imperial 
court,  just  as  the  envoys  of  other  dioceses, 
to  solicit  the  nomination  of  a  bishop  to 
succeed  him.  The  Emperors  were  not 
sorry  to  see  the  Popes  reforming  abu- 
ses— strengthening  the  influence  of  the 
church — holding  councils — choosing  and 
deposing  prelates  in  spite  of  foreign 
I  princes :  for  in  all  this  the  Papacy,  by 
its  pretensions,  did  but  exalt  the  power 
of  the  reigning  Emperor,  its  suzerain 
Lord.  But  such  excesses  were  full  of 
peril  to  his  authority.  The  power  thus 
gradually  acquired  might  at  any  moment 
be  directed  against  the  Emperor  himself, 
and  the  reptile  having  gained  strength 

*  "  Cuius  quidem  post  adeptum  sacerdoiium 
vita  quam  turpis,  quam  foeda,  quamque  execranda 
exstiterit,  horresco  referre."  (Desiderius  abbot 
of  Cassino,  afterwards  Pope  Victor  III.  de  nii- 
raculis  S.  Benedicto,  etc.  lib.  3,  init.) 

t  Theophylactus  .  .  .  cum  post  multa  adulteria 
et  homicidia  manibus  suis  perpetrata,  etc.  (Bo- 
nizo  bishop  of  Sutri,  afterwards  of  Plaisance, 
liber  ad  amicum.) 


might  turn  against  the  bosom  that  had 
warmed  it, — and  this  result  followed. 
The  Papacy  arose  from  its  humiliation 
and  soon  trampled  under  foot  the  princes 
of  the  earth.  To  exalt  the  Papacy  was 
to  exalt  the  Church,  to  aggrandize  reli- 
gion, to  ensure  to  the  spirit  the  victory 
over  the  flesh,  and  to  God  the  conquest 
of  the  world.  Such  were  its  maxims ; 
in  these,  ambition  found  its  advantagf , 
and  fanaticism  its  excuse. 

The  whole  of  this  new  policy  is  per- 
sonified in  one  man,  Hildebrand. 

Hildebrand,  who  has  been  by  turns 
indiscreetly  exalted  or  unjustly  traduced, 
is  the  personification  of  the  Roman  pon- 
tificate in  its  strength  and  glory.  He  is 
one  of  these  characters  in  history,  which 
include  in  themselves  a  new  order  of 
things,  resembling  in  this  respect  Char- 
lemagne, Luther,  and  Napoleon,  in  dif- 
ferent spheres  of  action. 

Leo  IX.  took  notice  of  this  monk  as  he 
was  going  to  Cluny,  and  carried  him 
with  him  to  Rome.  From  that  time 
Hildebrand  was  the  soul  of  the  Papacy, 
till  he  himself  became  Pope.  He  had 
governed  the  Church  under  different 
Pontiffs,  before  he  himself  reigned  un- 
der the  name  of  Grogory  VII.  One 
grand  idea  occupied  his  comprehensive 
mind.  He  desir&l  to  establish  a  visible 
theocracy,  of  which  the  Pope,  as  the 
vicar  of  Christ,  should  be  the  head. 
The  recollection  of  the  ancient  universal 
dominion  of  heathen  Rome,  haunted  his 
imagination  and  animated  his  zeal.  He 
wished  to  restore  to  Papal  Rome  what 
Rome  had  lost  under  the  emperors.  "  What 
Marius  and  Caesar,"  said  his  flatterers, 
"  could  not  effect  by  torrents  of  blood, 
you  have  accomplished  by  a  word." 

Gregory  VII.  was  not  actuated  by  the. 
spirit  of  Christ.  That  spirit  of  truth, 
humility,  and  gentleness  was  to  him  un- 
known. He  could  sacrifice  what  he 
knew  to  be  the  truth  whenever  he 
judged  it  necessaiy  to  his  policy.  We 
may  instance  the  case  of  Berengarius. 
But  without  doubt  he  was  actuated  by  a 
spirit  far  above  that  of  the  generality  of 
Pontiffs,  and  by  a  deep  conviction  of  the 
justice  of  his  cause.  Enterprising,  am- 
bitious, persevering  in  his  designs,  he 
was  at  the  same  time  skilful  and  politic 
in  the  use  of  the  means  of  success. 

His  first  task  was  to  remodel  the  mili- 


16 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


tia  of  the  Church.  It  was  needful  to 
gain  strength  before  attacking  the  Impe- 
rial authority.  A  council  held  at  Rome 
removed  the  pastors  from  their  families, 
and  obliged  them  to  devote  themselves 
undividedly  to  the  hierarchy.  The  law 
of  celibacy,  devised  and  carried  into  ope- 
ration by  the  Popes,  (who  were  them- 
selves monks,)  changed  the  clergy  into 
a  monastic  order.  Gregory  VII.  claimed 
to  exercise  over  the  whole  body  of  bi- 
shops and  priests  of  Christendom  a  power 
equal  to  that  possessed  by  an  abbot  of 
Cluny  over  the  order  subjected  to  his 
rule.  The  legates  of  Hildebrand  passed 
through  the  provinces,  depriving  the  pas- 
tors of  their  lawful  partners,  and  the 
Pope  himself,  if  necessary,  excited  the 
populace  against  the  married  clergy* 

But  Gregory's  great  aim  was  to  eman- 
cipate Rome  from  subjection  to  the  Em- 
peror. Never  would  he  have  dared  to 
conceive  so  ambitious  a  design,  if  the 
discord  which  disturbed  the  minority  of 
Henry  IV.  and  the  revolt  of  the  German 
princes  from  that  young  Emperor  had 
not  favoured  his  project.  The  Pope  was 
at  this  time  one  of  the  magnates  of  the 
empire.  Making  common  cause  with 
some  of  the  greatest  of  its  vassals,  he 
strengthened  himself  in  the  aristocratic 
interest,  and  then  proceeded  to  prohibit 
all  ecclesiastics  from  receiving  investiture 
from  the  Emperor,  under  pain  of  excom- 
munication. 

He  thus  snapt  asunder  the  ancient  ties 
which  connected  the  several  pastors  and 
their  churches  with  the  royal  authority — 
but  it  was  that  he  might  bind  them  to 
the  pontifical  throne.  He  undertook  to 
restrain  by  a  powerful  hand,  priests, 
princes,  and  people — and  to  make  the 
Pope  a  universal  monarch.  It  was 
Rome  alone  that  every  priest  was  to 
fear — and  in  her  only  he  was  to  hope. 
The  kingdoms  and  principalities  of  the 
earth  were  to  be  her  domain ;  and  kings 
were  to  tremble  before  the  thunders  of 
the  Jupiter  of  New  Rome.  Woe  to 
those  who  should  resist  her.  Their  sub- 
jects were  released  from  their  oaths  of 
allegiance — their  whole  country  placed 

*  Hi  quocumque  prodeunt,  clamores  insultan- 
tiiim,  digitos  ostendentium,  colaphos  pulsantium, 
perferunt.  Alii  membris  mutilati ;  alii  per  longos 
cruoiatus  superbe  necati,  &c. — Martene  et  Du- 
rand.    Thes.  Nov.  Anecd.  1.  231. 


under  interdict — public  worship  was  to 
cease — the  churches  to  be  closed — the 
bells  mute — the  sacrament  no  longer  ad- 
ministered— and  the  malediction  ex- 
tended even  to  the  dead,  to  whom,  at  the 
command  of  the  proud  Pontiff,  the  earth 
refused  the  peace  and  shelter  of  the 
tomb. 

The  Pope,  whose  power  had  been 
from  the  very  beginning  subordinate, 
first  to  the  Roman  Emperors ;  then  to 
the  Frankish  princes ;  and  lastly  to  the 
Emperors  of  Germany ;  at  once  freed 
himself,  and  assumed  the  place  of  an 
equal,  if  not  of  a  master.  Yet  Gregory 
the  Vllth  was  in  his  turn  humbled ; 
Rome  was  taken,  and  Hildebrand  ob- 
liged to  flee.  He  died  at  Salerno ;  his 
last  words  were,  Dilixi  justitiam  et  odivi 
iniquitatem ;  propterea  morior  in  ezilio* 
And  who  will  dare  to  charge  with  hy- 
pocrisy words  uttered  at  the  very  gates 
of  the  tomb. 

The  successors  of  Gregory  acted  like 
soldiers  arriving  after  a  great  victory. 
They  threw  themselves  as  conquerors  on 
the  unresisting  Churches.  Spain,  deli- 
vered from  the  presence  of  Islamism,  and 
Prussia,  reclaimed  from  idolatry,  fell  into 
the  embrace  of  the  crowned  priest.  The 
crusades,  undertaken  at  his  instance, 
spread  far  and  wide,  and  everywhere 
confirmed  his  authority : — the  pious  pil- 
grims, who  in  imagination  had  seen 
saints  and  angels  conducting  their  armed 
hosts,  and  who  entering  humbly  and 
barefooted  within  the  walls  of  Jerusalem, 
had  burned  alive  the  Jews  in  their  syna- 
gogue, and  shed  the  blood  of  tens  of 
thousands  of  Saracens  on  the  spots  where 
they  came  to  trace  the  footsteps  of  the 
Prince  of  Peace,  bore  with  them  to  the 
East  the  name  of  the  Pope,  whose  exis- 
tence had  been  scarcely  known  there, 
since  the  period  when  he  exchanged  the 
supremacy  of  the  Greeks  for  that  of  the 
Franks. 

Meanwhile  that  which  the  arms  of  the 
republic  and  of  the  empire  had  failed  to 
effect,  was  achieved  by  the  power  of  the 
Church.  The  Germans  brought  to  the 
feet  of  a  bishop  the  tribute  their  ancestors 
had  refused  to  the  mightiest  generals; 
and  their  princes  thought  they  received 
from  the  Popes  their  crown,  while  in 

*  I  have  loved  righteousness  and  hated  iniquity 
— therefore  I  die  an  exile. 


STATE   OF  EUROPE   PRIOR  TO  THE  REFORMATION. 


17 


reality  the  Popes  imposed  upon  them  a 
yoke.  The  kingdoms  of  Christendom, 
already  subject  to  the  spiritual  empire  of 
Rome,  became  her  serfs  and  tributaries. 

Thus  every  thing  was  changed  in  the 
Church. 

At  the  beginning  it  was  a  society  of 
brethren,  and  now  an  absolute  monarchy 
is  reared  in  the  midst  of  them.  All 
Christians  were  priests  of  the  living  God 
(1  Pet.  ii.  9.),  with  humble  pastors  for 
their  guidance.  But  a  lofty  head  is  up- 
lifted from-  the  midst  of  these  pastors  ;  a 
mysterious  voice  utters  words  full  of 
pride ;  an  iron  hand  compels  all  men, 
small  and  great,  rich  and  poor,  freemen 
and  slaves,  to  take  the  mark  of  its  power. 
The  holy  and  primitive  equality  of  souls 
before  God  is  lost  sight  of.  Christians 
are  divided  into  two  strangely  unequal 
camps.  On  the  one  side  a  separate  class 
of  priests  daring  to  usurp  the  name  of  the 
Church,  and  claiming  to  be  possessed  of 
peculiar  privileges  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord.  On  the  other,  timid  flocks  re- 
duced to  a  blind  and  passive  submission  ; 
a  people  gagged  and  silenced  and  deliv- 
ered over  to  a  proud  caste.  Every  tribe, 
language,  and  nation  of  Christendom  sub- 
mitted to  the  dominion  of  this  spiritual 
king  who  had  received  power  to  overcome. 

But  side  by  side  with  that  principle 
that  should  have  pervaded  the  history  of 
Christianity  was  a  principle  that  was 
given  to  preside  over  its  doctrine.  This 
was  the  great  principle  of  Christianity ; 
its  leading  idea — that  of  grace,  of  pardon, 
and  amnesty,  and  of  the  gift  of  eternal 
life.  This  idea  supposed  an  alienation 
from  God,  and  an  inability  in  man  to  en- 
ter, by  any  power  of  his  own,  into  com- 
munion with  an  infinitely  holy  Being. 
The  opposition  of  true  and  false  doctrine 
cannot  assuredly  be  entirely  summed  up 
in  the  question  of  salvation  by  faith  or 
by  works.  Nevertheless,  it  is  the  most 
striking  feature  in  the  contrast.  We 
may  go  farther :  Salvation  considered  as 
derived  from  any  power  in  man  is  the 
germinating  principle  of  all  errors  and 
perversions.  The  scandals  produced  by 
this  fundamental  error  brought  on  the 
Reformation  ; — and  the  profession  of  the 
contrary  principle  was  the  means  by 
which  it  was  achieved.  It  is  therefore 
indispensable  that  this  truth  should  be 
3 


prominent  in  an  introduction  to  the  his- 
tory of  that  Reformation. 

Salvation  by  Grace.  Such,  then,  was 
the  second  peculiarity  which  was  de- 
signed especially  to  distinguish  the  reli- 
gion that  came  from  God  from  all  human 
systems.  And  what  had  become  of  this 
great  and  primordial  thought?  Had  the 
Church  preserved  it  as  a  precious  deposit  ? 
Let  us  follow  its  history. 

The  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  of  Asia, 
of  Greece,  and  of  Rome,  in  the  time  of 
the  Roman  Emperors,  had  heard  this 
gospel.       Ye   are   saved   by    grace — 

THROUGH   FAITH IT  IS  THE   GIFT  OF  GOD  J 

(Eph.  ii.  8.)  and  at  this  voice  of  peace, 
at  the  sound  of  these  good  tidings,  at  this 
word  of  power,  multitudes  of  sinners  be- 
lieved, and  were  attracted  to  Him  who 
alone  can  give  peace  to  the  conscience  \ 
and  numerous  societies  of  believers  were 
formed  in  the  midst  of  the  degenerate 
communities  of  that  age. 

But  ere  long  an  important  error  began 
to  prevail,  as  to  the  nature  of  Saving 
Faith. — Faith  (according  to  St.  Paul)  is 
the  way  through  which  the  whole  being 
of  the  believer, — his  understanding,  his 
heart  and  his  will,  enters  upon  present  pos- 
session of  the  salvation  purchased  by  the 
incarnation  and  death  of  the  Son  of  God. 
Jesus  Christ  is  apprehended  by  Faith, 
and  from  that  hour  becomes  all  things 
to, — and  all  things  in,  the  believer.  He 
communicates  to  the  human  nature  a  di- 
vine life  ;  and  the  believer,  renewed  and 
set  free  from  the  power  of  self  and  of  sin, 
feels  new  affections,  and  bears  new  fruits. 
Faith,  says  the  theologian,  labouring  to 
express  these  thoughts,  is  the  subjective 
appropriation  of  the  objective  Work  of 
Christ.  If  faith  is  not  the  appropriation 
of  Salvation  it  is  nothing — the  whole 
economy  of  Christian  doctrine  is  out  of 
place  ;  the  fountains  of  the  new  life  are 
sealed,  and  Christianity  is  overturned 
from  its  foundation. 

And  this  consequence  did  in  fact  en- 
sue. By  degrees  this  practical  view  of 
Faith  was  forgotten,  and  ere  long  it  was 
regarded,  as  it  still  is  by  many,  as  a  bare 
act  of  the  understanding,  a  mere  submis- 
sion to  a  commanding  evidence. 

From  this  primary  error  a  second  ne- 
cessarily resulted.  When  Faith  was 
robbed  of  its  practical  character,  it  could 
no    longer   be    maintained   that   Faith 


18 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


alone  saved.  Works  no  longer  follow- 
ing in  their  places  as  its  fruits — it  seemed 
necessary  to  range  them  on  one  line  with 
it;  and  the  Church  was  taught  to  be- 
lieve that  the  sinner  is  justified  by  Faith 
ami  by  Works.  In  place  of  that  Chris- 
tian unity  in  doctrine,  which  comprises 
in  a  single  principle  Justification  and 
i  Works — Grace  and  a  rule  of  life — be- 
lief and  responsibility,  succeeded  that 
melancholy  quality  which  regards  reli- 
gion and  moral  duty  as  things  altogether 
unconnected;  a  fatal  delusion  which 
brings  in  death,  by  separating  the  body 
from  the  spirit,  whose  continued  union  is 
the  necessary  condition  of  life  itself. 
The  word  of  the  Apostle  heard  across  the 
interval  of  ages  is,  "  Having  begun  in 
the  spirit,  are  ye  now  made  perfect  by 
the  flesh?" 

Another  error  contributed  to  unsettle 
the  doctrine  of  Grace.  This  was  Pela- 
gianism.  Pelagius  asserted  that  man's 
nature  was  not  fallen, — that  there  ft  no 
such  thing  as  hereditary  evil,  and  that 
man  having  received  power  to  do  good, 
has  only  to  will  in  order  to  perform  it.* 
If  the  doing  "  good  things"  consists  in 
certain  external  acts,  Pelagius  judged 
truly.  But  if  regard  is  had  to  the  mo- 
tives whence  these  external  acts  proceed, 
— or  to  the  entire  inward  life  of  man, 
(See  Matt.  xii.  34.)  then  we  discern  in 
all  his  works  selfishness — forgetfulness 
of  God,  pollution  and  weakness.  This 
was  the  doctrine  of  St.  Augustine.  He 
proved  that  to  entitle  any  action  to  ap- 
proval, it  was  needful  not  merely  that  it 
should  seem  right  when  looked  at  by  it- 
self and  from  the  outside,  but  above  all 
that  its  real  spring  in  the  soul  should  be 
holy.  The  Pelagian  doctrine,  rejected 
by  St.  Augustine  from  the  church  when 
it  presented  itself  broadly  for  investiga- 
tion, re-appeared  ere  long  with  a  side  as- 
pect as  semi-Pelagian,  and  under  forms 
of  expression  borrowed  from  St.  Augus- 
tine's own  writings.  It  was  in  vain  that 
eminent  Father  opposed  its  progress.  He 
died  soon  after.  The  error  spread  with 
amazing  rapidity  through  Christendom 
— passing  from  the  West  to  the  East, 
and  even  at  this  day  it  continues  to  dis- 
turb and  harass  the  Church.     The  dan- 

*  Velle  ct  esse  ad  hominem  referenda  sunt, 
quia  de  arbitrii  fonte  descendunt.  (Pela<r.  in 
Aug.  de  Gratia  Dei,  cap.  iv.j 


ger  of  the  doctrine  appeared  in  this :  that 
by  placing  goodness  to  the  external  act 
rather  than  in  the  inward  affections,  it 
led  men  to  put  a  high  value  upon  out- 
ward action,  legal  observances  and 
works  of  penance.  The  more  of  such 
works  the  greater  the  reputed  sanctity 
— heaven  was  to  be  obtained  by  means 
of  them — and  (extravagant  as  such  a 
thought  must  appear  to  us)  it  was  not 
long  before  certain  persons  were  believed 
to  have  made  attainments  in  holiness  be- 
yond that  which  was  required  of  them. 

Thus  did  the  proud  heart  of  man  re- 
fuse to  give  the  glory  to  that  God  to 
whom  all  glory  belongs.  Thus  did  man 
claim  to  deserve,  what  God  had  decreed 
to  give  freely !  He  essayed  to  find  in 
himself  the  salvation  which  the  Gospel 
brought  to  him  ready  wrought  out  from 
heaven.  He  spread  a  veil  over  the  saving 
truths  of  salvation  which  cometh  from  God, 
and  not  from  man — a  salvation  which 
God  gives — but  barters  not ;  and  from 
that  day  all  the  other  truths  of  religion 
were  overclouded :  darkness  spread  over 
the  church,  and  from  its  deep  and  deplora- 
ble gloom  were  seen  to  arise  innumerable 
errors. 

And  in  the  first  place  we  may  observe 
that  both  great  divisions  of  error  con- 
verged to  one  effect.  Pelagianism, 
while  it  corrupted  the  church's  teaching, 
strengthened  the  hierarchy :  by  the 
same  influence  by  which  it  hid  the  doc- 
trine of  grace,  it  exalted  the  authority 
of  the  Church — for  grace  was  God's  part 
in  the  work  as  the  Church  was  man's ! 

As  soon  as  salvation  was  taken  out  of 
the  hands  of  God,  it  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  Priests.  The  latter  put  themselves 
in  the  place  of  the  Lord ;  and  the  souls 
of  men,  thirsting  for  pardon,  were  no 
longer  taught  to  look  to  heaven,  but  to 
the  Church,  and  especially  to  its  pre- 
tended Head.  The  Roman  Pontiff  was 
in  the  place  of  God  to  the  blinded  minds 
of  men.  Hence  all  the  grandeur  and 
authority  of  the  Popes,  and  hence  also 
unutterable  abuses. 

Doubtless  the  doctrine  of  salvation  by 
Faith  was  not  entirely  lost  to  the  Church. 
We  meet  with  it  in  some  of  the  most 
celebrated  Fathers,  after  the  time  of  Con- 
stantine  ;  and  in  the  middle  ages.  The 
doctrine  was  not  formally  denied.  Coun- 
cils and  Popes  did  not  hurl  their  bulls 


STATE   OF  EUROPE   PRIOR  TO   THE   REFORMATION. 


19 


and  decrees  against  it ;  but  they  set  up 
beside  it  a  something  which  nullified  it. 
Salvation  by  Faith  was  received  by 
many  learned  men,  by  many  a  humble 
and  simple  mind, — but  the  multitude  had 
something  very  different.  Men  had  in- 
vented a  complete  system  of  forgiveness. 
The  multitude  flocked  to  it  and  joined 
with  it,  rather  than  with  the  Grace  of 
Christ ;  and  thus  the  system  of  man's  de- 
vising prevailed  over  that  of  God.  Let 
us  examine  some  of  the  phases  of  this  de- 
plorable change. 

In  the  time  of  Vespasian  and  his  sons, 
he  who  had  been  the  most  intimate  com- 
panion of  the  despised  Galilean,  one  of 
the  sons  of  Zebedee,  had  said :  "  If  we 
confess  our  sins,  God  is  faithful  and  just 
to  forgive  our  sins." 

About  120  years  later,  under  Commo- 
dus,  and  Septimius  Severus,  Tertullian, 
an  illustrious  pastor  of  Carthage,  speak- 
ing of  pardon,  already  held  a  very  dif- 
ferent language.  "  It  is  necessary  (said 
he)  to  change  our  dress  and  food,  we 
must  put  on  sackcloth  and  ashes,  we 
must  renounce  all  comfort  and  adorning 
of  the  body,  and  falling  down  before  the 
Priest,  implore  the  intercession  of  the 
brethren."*  Behold  man  turned  aside 
from  God,  and  turned  back  upon  himself. 

Works  of  penance,  thus  substituted  for 
the  salvation  of  God,  multiplied  in  the 
Church  from  the  time  of  Tertullian  to 
the  I3th  Century.  Men  were  enjoined  to 
fast,  to  go  bare-headed,  to  wear  no  linen, 
&c.  or  required  to  leave  home  and  coun- 
try for  distant  lands,  or  else  to  renounce 
the  world  and  embrace  a  monastic  life. 

In  the  1  lth  century  were  added  volun- 
tary flagellations  ;  a  little  after  they  be- 
came an  absolute  mania  in  Italy,  which 
was  then  in  a  very  disturbed  state. 
Nobles  and  peasants,  old  and  young, 
even  children  of  five  years  old,  went  in 
pairs,  through  the  villages,  the  towns, 
and  the  cities,  by  hundreds,  thousands, 
and  tens  of  thousands,  without  any  other 
covering  than  a  cloth  tied  round  the 
middle,  and  visiting  the  churches  in  pro- 
cession in  the  very  depth  of  winter. 
Armed  with  scourges,  they  lashed  them- 
selves without  pity,  and  the  streets  re- 
sounded with  cries  and  groans,  which 
drew  forth  tears  of  compassion  from  all 
who  heard  them. 

*  TertulL  de  Poenit 


And  yet  long  before  the  evil  had  ar- 
rived at  this  height,  men  sighed  for  deli- 
verance from  the  tyranny  of  the  priests. 
The  priests  themselves  were  sensible 
that  if  they  did  not  devise  some  remedy, 
their  usurped  power  would  be  at  an  end. 
Then  it  was  that  they  invented  the  sys- 
tem of  barter  known  by  the  name  of  in- 
dulgences. It  is  under  John,  surnamed 
the  Faster,  archbishop  of  Constantinople 
that  we  see  its  first  commencement. 
The  priests  said,  "  O  penitents,  you  are 
unable  to  perform  the  penances  we  have 
imposed  upon  you.  Well  then,  we,  the 
priests  of  God,  and  your  pastors,  will 
take  upon  ourselves  this  heavy  burden. 
Who  can  better  fast  than  we  1  Who 
better  kneel  and  recite  psalms  than  our- 
selves V  But  the  labourer  is  worthy  of 
his  hire.  "  For  a  seven  weeks  fast, 
(said  Regino,  abbot  of  Prum,)  such  as 
are  rich  shall  pay  twenty  pence,  those 
who  are  less  wealthy  ten  pence,  and  the 
poor  three  pence,  and  in  the  same  pro- 
portion for  other  things."*  Some  coura- 
geous voices  were  raised  against  this 
traffic,  but  in  vain.  / 

The  Pope  soon  discovered  what  advan- 
tages he  might  derive  from  these  indul- 
gences. His  want  of  money  continued 
to  increase.  Here  was  an  easy  resource, 
which,  under  the  appearance  of  a  volun- 
tary contribution,  would  replenish  his 
coffers.  It  seemed  desirable  to  establish 
so  lucrative  a  discovery  on  a  solid  footing. 
The  chief  men  of  Rome  exerted  them- 
selves for  this  purpose.  The  irrefragable 
doctor,  Alexander  de  Hales,  invented,  in 
the  13th  century,  a  doctrine  well  suited 
to  secure  this  mighty  resource  to  the 
Papacy.  A  bull  of  Clement  VII.  de- 
clared the  new  doctrine  an  article  of  the 
faith.  The  most  sacred  truths  were 
made  to  subserve  this  persevering  policy 
of  Rome.  Christ,  it  was  affirmed,  has 
done  much  more  than  was  required  for 
reconciling  God  and  man.  One  single 
drop  of  his  blood  would  have  sufficed  for 
that ;  but  he  shed  his  blood  abundantly, 
that  he  might  form  for  his  church  a 
treasury  that  eternity  itself  should  never  . 
exhaust.  The  supererogatory  merits  of 
the  saints,  the  reward  of  the  works  they 
have  done,  beyond  and  additional  to  the 
obligations  of  duty,  have  still  further  en- 
riched this  treasury.  Its  guardianship 
*  Libri  duo  de  ecclesiasticis  disciplinis. 


20 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


and  distribution  are  confided  to  the  Vicar 
of  Christ  upon  earth.  He  applies  to 
every  sinner,  for  sins  committed  after 
baptisms,  these  merits  of  Christ  and  of 
his  saints,  in  the  measure  and  decree 
that  his  sins  have  made  necessary.  Who 
would  dare  to  attack  a  custom  of  so  high 
and  holy  an  origin. 

Rapidly  was  this  almost  inconceivable 
invention  reduced  to  a  system.  The 
scale  imposed  ten,  twenty  years  of  pen- 
ance, for  such  and  such  kinds  of  sin.  "  It 
is  not  merely  for  each  kind  of  sin,  but 
for  each  sinful  action,  that  this  penance 
of*so  many  years  is  demanded,"  exclaim- 
ed the  mercenary  priests.  Behold  man- 
kind, bowed  down  under  the  weight  of 
a  penance  that  seemed  almost  eternal. 

"  But  for  what  purpose  this  long  pen- 
ance, when  life  is  so  short — when  can  it 
take  effect?  How  can  man  secure  the 
time  requisite  for  its  performance  %  You 
are  imposing  on  him  centuries  of  severe 
discipline.  When  death  comes  he  will 
but  laugh  at  yon — for  death  will  dis- 
charge him  from  his  burthen.  Ah,  wel- 
come death!"  But  this  objection  was 
provided  against.  The  philosophers  of 
Alexandria  had  spoken  of  a  fare  in  which 
men  were  to  be  purified.  Some  ancient 
doctors  in  the  church  had  received  the 
notion.  Rome  declared  this  philosophic 
tenet  the  doctrine  of  the  church  ;  and  the 
Pope,  by  a  bull,  added  purgatory  to  his 
domain.  He  declared  that  man  would 
have  to  expiate  in  purgatory  all  he  could 
not  expiate  on  earth  ;  but  that  indulgen- 
ces would  deliver  men's  souls  from  that 
intermediate  state  in  which  their  sins 
would  otherwise  hold  them.  Thomas 
Aquinas  set  forth  this  new  doctrine  in 
his  celebrated  Summa.  Nothing  was 
left  undone  to  fill  the  mind  with  terror. 
Man  is  by  nature  inclined  to  fear  an  un- 
known futurity  and  the  dark  abodes  be- 
yond the  grave ;  but  that  fear  was  art- 
fully excited  and  increased  by  horrible 
descriptions  of  the  torments  of  this  puri- 
fying fire.  We  see  at  this  day  in  many 
Catholic  countries  paintings  exposed  in 
the  temples,  or  in  the  crossways,  wherein 
poor  souls  engulphed  in  flames  invoke 
alleviation  for  their  miseries.  Who  could 
refuse  the  money  that,  dropt  into  the  trea- 
sury of  Rome,  redeemed  the  soul  from 
such  horrible  torments? 

But  a  further  means  of  increasing  this 


traffic  was  now  discovered.  Hitherto  it 
had  been  the  sins  of  the  living  that  had 
been  turned  to  profit ;  they  now  began 
to  avail  themselves  of  the  sins  of  the 
dead.  In  the  13th  century  it  was  de- 
clared that  the  living  might,  by  making 
certain  sacrifices,  shorten  or  even  termi- 
nate the  torments  their  ancestors  and 
friends  were  enduring  in  purgatory. 
Instantly  the  compassionate  hearts  of 
the  faithful  offered  new  treasures  for  the 
priests. 

To  regulate  this  traffic,  they  invented 
shortly  after,  probably  in  the  Pontificate 
of  John  XXII.  the  celebrated  and  scan- 
dalous tax  of  indulgences,  of  which  more 
than  forty  editions  are  extant :  a  mind  of 
the  least  delicacy  would  be  shocked  at 
the  repetition  of  the  horrors  therein  con- 
tained. Incest  was  to  cost,  if  not  detect- 
ed, five  groschen,  if  known,  or  flagrant, 
six  A  certain  price  was  affixed  to  the 
crime  of  murder,  another  to  infanticide, 
adultery,  perjury,  burglary,  &c.  Oh, 
shame  to  Rome !  exclaims  Claudius  of 
Esparsa,  a  Roman  divine  ;  and  we  may 
add,  Oh,  shame  to  human  nature  !  For 
no  reproach  can  attach  to  Rome  which 
does  not  recoil  with  equal  force  on  man- 
kind in  general.  Rome  is  human  na- 
ture exalted,  and  displaying  some  of  its 
worst  propensities.  We  say  this  in  truth 
as  well  as  in  justice. 

Boniface  VIII.,  the  boldest  and  most 
ambitious  of  the  Popes,  after  Gregory 
VII,  effected  still  more  than  his  prede- 
cessors had  done. 

He  published  a  bull  in  1300,  by  which 
he  declared  to  the  church  that  all  who 
should  at  that  time  or  thenceforth  make 
the  pilgrimage  to  Rome,  which  should 
take  place  eveiy  hundred  years,  should 
there  receive  a  plenary  indulgence. 
Upon  this  multitudes  flocked  from  Italy, 
Sicily,  Sardinia,  Corsica,  France,  Spain, 
Germany,  Hungary,  and.  other  quarters. 
Old  men,  of  sixty  and  seventy,  set  out  on 
the  pilgrimage ;  and  it  was  computed 
that  200,000  visited  Rome  in  one  month. 
All  these  foreigners  brought  with  them 
rich  offerings,  and  the  Pope  and  the  Ro- 
mans saw  their  coffers  replenished. 

The  avarice  of  the  Pontiffs  soon  fixed 
this  jubilee  at  intervals  of  fifty  years,  af- 
terwards at  thirty-three  years,  and  at  last 
at  twenty-five.  Then,  for  the  greater 
convenience  of  the  purchasers,  and  to 


STATE   OF   EUROPE   PRIOR  TO  THE   REFORMATION. 


21 


increase  the  profits  of  the  venders,  they 
transferred  both  the  jubilee  and  its  indul- 
gences from  Rome  to  the  market-places 
of  all  the  nations  of  Christendom.  It 
was  no  longer  necessary  to  abandon 
one's  home :  what  others  had  been  ob- 
liged to  seek  beyond  the  Alps,  each 
might  now  obtain  at  his  own  door. 

The  evil  was  at  its  height, — and  then 
the  Reformer  arose. 

We  have  seen  what  had  become  of 
the  principle  which  was  designed  to 
govern  the  history  of  Christianity;  we 
have  also  seen  what  became  of  that 
which  should  have  pervaded  its  doctrine. 
Both  were  now  lost. 

To  set  up  a  single  caste  as  mediators 
between  God  and  man,  and  to  barter  in 
exchange  for  works,  and  penances,  and 
gold,  the  salvation  freely  given  by  God  j 
— such  was  Popery. 

To  open  wide  to  all,  through  Jesus 
Christ,  and  without  any  earthly  media- 
tor, and  without  that  power  that  called 
itself  the  Church,  free  access  to  the  gift 
of  God,  eternal  life  ; — such  was  Christi- 
anity, and  such  was  the  Reformation. 

Popery  may  be  compared  to  a  high 
wall  erected  by  the  labour  of  ages,  be- 
tween man  and  God.  Whoever  will 
scale  it  must  pay  or  suffer  in  the  at- 
tempt ;  and  even  then  he  will  fail  to 
overleap  it. 

The  Reformation  is  the  power  which 
has  thrown  down  this  wall,  has  restored 
Christ  to  man,  and  has  thus  made  plain 
the  way  of  access  to  the  Creator. 

Popery  interposes  the  Church  between 
God  and  man. 

Christianity  and  the  Reformation  bring 
God  and  man  face  to  face. 

Popery  separates  man  from  God: — 
the  Gospel  re-unites  them. 

After  having  thus  traced  the  history 
of  the  decline  and  loss  of  the  two  grand 
principles  which  were  to  distinguish  the 
religion  of  God  from  systems  of  man's 
devising,  let  us  see  what  were  the  conse- 
quences of  this  immense  change. 

But  first  let  us  do  honour  to  the  church 
of  that  middle  period,  which  intervened 
between  the  age  of  the  Apostles  and  the 
Reformers.  The  church  was  still  the 
church,  although  fallen  and  more  and 
more  enslaved.     In  a  word,  she  was  at 


all  times  the  most  powerful  friend  of 
man.  Her  hands,  though  manacled, 
still  dispensed  blessings.  Many  eminent 
servants  of  Christ  diffused  during  these 
ages  a  beneficent  light ;  and  in  the  hum- 
ble convent — the  sequestered  parish — 
there  were  found  poor  monks  and  poor 
priests  to  alleviate  bitter  sufferings.  The 
church  Catholic  was  not  the  Papacy. 
This  filled  the  place  of  the  oppressor ; 
that  of  the  oppressed.  The  Reforma- 
tion, which  declared  war  against  the 
one,  came  to  liberate  the  other.  And  it 
must  be  acknowledged,  that  the  Papacy 
itself  was  at  times,  in  the  hands  of  Him 
who  brings  good  out  of  evil,  a  necessary 
counterpoise  to  the  ambition  and  tyranny 
of  princes. 

Let  us  now  contemplate  the  condition 
of  Christianity  at  that  time. 

Theology  and  religion  were  then 
widely  different.  The  doctrine  of  the 
learned,  and  the  practice  of  priests,  . 
monks,  and  people,  presented  two  very 
different  aspects.  They  had,  however, 
great  influence  upon  each  other,  and  the 
Reformation  had  to  deal  with  both.  Let 
us  examine  them,  and  take  a  survey  first 
of  the  Schools,  or  Theology. 

Theology  was  still  under  the  influence 
of  the  middle  ages.  The  middle  ages 
had  awoke  from  their  long  trance,  and 
had  produced  many  learned  men.  But 
their  learning  had  been  directed  neither 
to  the  interpretation  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, nor  to  the  examination  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  Church.  Scriptural  exposi- 
tion, and  the  study  of  history,  the  two 
great  sources  of  theological  knowledge, 
still  slumbered. 

A  new  science  had  usurped  their 
place.  It  was  the  science  of  Dialectics. 
The  art  of  reasoning  became  the  fruitful 
mine  of  a  new  theology.  The  middle 
ages  had  discovered  the  long  lost  writings 
of  Aristotle.  Their  knowledge  of  him 
was  derived  either  from  old  Latin  versions, 
or  from  translations  from  the  Arabic.  The 
resuscitated  Aristotle  appeared  in  the 
West  as  a  giant,  subjecting  the  minds,  and 
even  the  consciences  of  men.  His  philo- 
sophic method  added  strength  to  the  dispo- 
sition for  dialectics  which  marked  the  age. 
It  was  a  method  well  suited  to  subtle  re- 
searches and  trivial  distinctions.  The  very 
obscurity  of  the  translations  of  the  Greek 
philosopher  favoured  the  dialectic  subtlety 


22 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


which  had  captivated  the  West.  The 
Church,  alarmed  at  its  progress,  for  a  while 
opposed  this  new  tendency.  She  feared 
that  this  taste  for  discussion  might  en- 
gender heresies.  But  the  dialectic  phi- 
losophy proved  to  be  easily  compounded 
with ;  monks  employed  it  against  here- 
tics, and  thenceforward  its  victory  was 
secure. 

It  was  the  characteristic  of  this  method 
of  teaching,  to  suggest  numerous  ques- 
tions on  every  branch  of  theology,  and 
then  to  decide  them  by  a  solution.  Of- 
ten these,  enquiries  turned  upon  the  most 
useless  matters.  It  was  asked  whether 
all  animals  had  been  enclosed  in  Noah's 
ark ;  and  whether  a  dead  man  could  say 
mass,*  &c.  But  Ave  should  be  wrong 
to  form  our  judgment  of  the  scholastic 
divines  from  such  examples  only.  On 
the  contrary,  we  must  often  acknowledge 
the  depth  and  extent  of  their  inquiries. 

Some  among  them  made  a  distinction 
between  theological  and  philosophical 
truth,  affirming  that  a  proposition  might 
be  theologically  true,  and  philosophically 
false.  In  this  way  it  was  hoped  to  re- 
concile incredulity  with  a  cold  and  dead 
adherence  to  the  forms  of  the  Church. 
But  there  were  others,  and  Thomas 
Aquinas  at  their  head,  who  maintained 
that  the  doctrine  of  revelation  was  in  no 
respect  at  variance  with  an  enlightened 
reason ;  and  that  even  as  Christian  cha- 
rity does  not  annihilate  the  natural  affec- 
tions, but  chastens,  sanctifies,  ennobles, 
and  governs  them,  so  Faith  does  not 
destroy  Philosophy,  but  may  make  use 
of  it  by  sanctifying  and  illuminating  it 
with  its  own  light. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  opened  a 
wide  field  for  the  dialectic  method  of  the 
theologians.  By  dint  of  distinctions  and 
disputes,  they  fell  into  contrary  errors. 
Some  distinguished  the  three  Persons  so 
as  to  make  of  them  three  Gods.  This 
was  the  error  of  Rocelin  of  Compeigne 
and  his  followers.  Others  confounded 
the  Persons  so  as  to  leave  only  an  ideal 
distinction.  This  was  the  case  with  Gil- 
bert of  Poictiers  and  his  adherents.  But 
the  orthodox  doctrine  was  ably  main- 
tained by  others; 

The  dialectic  subtlety  of  the  times  was 
not  less  directed  to  the  article  of  the  Di- 
vine Will.  How  are  we  to  reconcile 
*  Hottinger  Hist.  Eccles.  V. 


the  will  of  God  with  his  almighty  power 
and  holiness?  The  scholastic  divines 
found  in  this  question  numerous  difficul- 
ties, and  laboured  to  remove  them  by 
dialectic  distinctions.  "  We  cannot  say 
that  God  wills  the  existence  of  evil"  said 
Peter  the  Lombard,  "  but  neither  can 
we  say  that  He  wills  that  evil  should 
not  exist." 

The  majority  of  these  theologians 
sought  to  weaken  by  their  dialectic  la- 
bours the  doctrine  of  Predestination 
which  they  found  in  the  church.  Alex- 
ander de  Hales  availed  himself  for  this 
purpose  of  the  following  distinction  of 
Aristotle  ;  that  every  action  supposes  two 
parties,  namely,  an  agent,  and  the  thing 
subjected  to  the  action.  Divine  Predes- 
tination, said  he,  acts  doubtless  for  man's 
salvation ;  but  it  is  requisite  that  it  find 
in  the  soul  of  men  a  capacity  for  the  re- 
ception of  this  grace.  Without  this  se- 
cond party  the  first  cannot  effect  any 
thing ;  and  Predestination  consists  in 
this,  that  God  knowing  by  his  prescience 
those  in  Avhom  this  second  requisite  will 
be  found,  has  appointed  to  give  them  his 
grace. 

As  to  the  original  condition  of  man, 
these  theologians  distinguished  natural 
gifts  and  free  gifts.  The  first  they  held 
to  consist  in  the  primitive  purity  and 
strength  of  the  human  soul.  The  second 
were  the  gifts  of  God's  grace  that  the 
soul  might  accomplish  good  works.  But 
here  again  the  learned  were  divided ; 
some  contended  that  man  had  originally 
possessed  only  natural  gifts,  and  had  by 
his  use  of  them  to  merit  those  of  grace. 
But  Thomas  Aquinas,  who  was  gener- 
ally on  the  side  of  sound  doctrine,  af- 
firmed that  the  gifts  of  grace  had  from 
the  beginning  been  closely  united  with 
the  gifts  of  nature,  because  the  first  man 
was  perfect  in  his  moral  health.  The 
Fall,  said  the  former,  who  leaned  towards 
Free-will,  has  deprived  man  of  the  gifts 
of  grace,  but  it  has  not  entirely  stripped 
him  of  the  primitive  strength  of  his  na- 
ture ;  for  the  least  sanctification  would 
have  been  impossible  if  there  had  been 
no  longer  with  him  any  moral  strength. 
Whilst,  on  the  other  side,  the  stricter 
theologians  thought  that  the  Fall  had 
not  only  deprived  man  of  grace,  but  cor- 
rupted his  nature. 

All  acknowledged  the  work  of  Recon- 


STATE   OF    EUROPE   PRIOR   TO   THE   REFORMATfoN. 


23 


ciliation  wrought  out  by  Christ's  suffer- 
ings arid  death.  But  some  maintained 
that  redemption  could  have  been  effected 
in  no  other  way  than  by  the  expiatory 
satisfaction  of  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ, 
whilst  others  laboured  to  prove  that  God 
had  simply  attached  redemption  and 
grace  to  this  price.  Others  again,  and 
among  these  last  we  may  particularize 
Abelard,  made  the  saving  efficacy  of  re- 
demption to  consist  merely  in  its  fitness 
to  awaken  in  man's  heart  a  confidence 
and  love  toward  God. 

The  doctrines  of  Sanctification  or  of 
Grace  discovers  to  us  in  fresh  abundance 
the  dialectic  subtlety  of  these  divines. 
All  of  them,  accepting  the  distinction  of 
Aristotle  already  mentioned,  laid  down 
the  necessity  of  the  existence  in  man  of 
a  materia  disposita,  a  something  disposed 
to  the  reception  of  grace.  But  Thomas 
Aquinas  ascribes  this  disposition  to  grace 
itself.  Grace,  said  they,  was  formative 
for  man  before  the  Fall ;  now  that  there 
is  in  him  something  to  extirpate,  it  is 
grace  reformative.  And  a  farther  distinc- 
tion was  laid  down  between  grace  given 
gratuitously,  gratia  gratis  data,  and 
grace  that  makes  acceptable,  gratia  gra- 
tum  faciens ;  with  many  other  similar 
distinctions. 

The  doctrines  of  penance  and  indul- 
gence, which  we  have  already  exhibited, 
crowned  the  whole  of  this  system,  and 
ruined  whatever  good  it  might  contain. 
Peter  the  Lombard  had  been  the  first  to 
distinguish  three  sorts  of  penitence  ;  that 
of  the  heart  or  compunction  ;  that  of  the 
lips,  or  confession ;  that  of  works,  or  sa- 
tisfaction by  outward  action.  He  distin- 
guished, indeed,  absolution  in  the  sight 
of  God  from  absolution  before  the  church. 
He  even  affirmed  that  inward  repentance 
sufficed  to  obtain  the  pardon  of  sins. 
But  he  found  a  way  back  into  the  error 
of  the  church  through  another  channel. 
He  allowed  that  for  sins  committed  after 
baptism,  it  was  necessary  either  to  en- 
dure the  fires  of  purgatory,  or  to  submit 
to  the  ecclesiastic  penance ;  excepting 
only  the  sinner  whose  inward  repent- 
ance and  remorse  should  be  so  great  as 
to  obviate  the  necessity  of  further  suffer- 
ings. He  proceeds  to  propose  questions 
which,  with  all  his  skill  in  dialectics,  he 
is  embarrassed  to  resolve.  If  two  men, 
equal   in   their   spiritual  condition,  but 


one  poor  and  the  other  rich,  die  the  same 
day,  the  one  having  no  other  succours 
than  the  ordinary  prajrers  of  the  church, 
while  for  the  other  many  masses  can  be 
said,  and  many  works  of  charity  can  be 
done,  what  will  be  the  event?  The 
scholastic  divine  turns  on  all  sides  for  an 
answer,  and  concludes  by  saying,  that 
they  will  have  the  like  fate,  but  not  by 
the  like  causes.  The  rich  man's  deliver- 
ance from  purgatory  will  not  be  more 
perfect,  but  it  will  be  earlier. 

We  have  given  a  few  sketches  of  the 
sort  of  Theology  which  reig-ned  in  the 
schools  at  the  period  of  the  Reformation. 
Distinctions,  ideas,  sometimes  just,  some- 
times false,  but  still  mere  notions.  The 
Christian  doctrine  had  lost  that  odour  of 
heaven,  that  force  and  practical  vitality 
which  came  from  God,  and  which  had 
characterized  it  as  it  existed  in  the  apos- 
tolic age  :  and  these  were  destined  again 
to  come  to  it  from  above. 

Meanwhile  the  learning  of  the  schools 
was  pure  when  compared  with  the  ac- 
tual condition  of  the  church.  The  theol- 
ogy of  the  learned  might  be  said  to  J 
flourish,  if  contrasted  with  the  religion, 
the  morals,  the  instructions  of  the  priests, 
monks,  and  people.  If  Science  stood  in 
need  of  a  revival,  the  Church  was  in  still 
greater  need  of  a  Reformation. 

The  people  of  Christendom,  and  un- 
der that  designation  almost  all  the  na- 
tions of  Europe  might  be  comprised,  no 
longer  looked  to  a  living  and  holy  God 
for  the  free  gift  of  eternal  life.  They 
therefore  naturally  had  recourse  to  all 
the  devices  of  a  superstitious,  fearful,  and 
alarmed  imagination.  Heaven  was  peo- 
pled with  saints  and  mediators,  whose 
office  it  was  to  solicit  God's  mercy.  All 
lands  were  filled  with  the  works  of  piety, 
of  mortification,  of  penance  and  obser- 
vances, by  which  it  was  to  be  procured. 
Take  the  description  of  the  state  of  reli- 
gion at  this  period  given  by  one  who 
was  for  a  long  while  a  monk,  and  in 
after  life  a  fellow-labourer  with  Luther, 
— Myconius. 

"  The  sufferings  and  merits  of  Christ 
were  looked  upon  (says  he,)  as  an  empty 
tale,  or  as  the  fictions  of  Homer.  There 
was  no  longer  any  thought  of  that  faith 
by  which  we  are  made  partakers  of  the 
Saviour's  righteousness,  and  the  inherit- 


24 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


ance  of  eternal  life.  Christ  was  regarded 
as  a  stern  judge,  prepared  to  condemn 
all  who  should  not  have  recourse  to  the 
intercession  of  saints  or  to  the  Pope's  in- 
dulgences. Other  intercessors  were  sub- 
stituted in  his  stead ;  first,  the  Virgin 
Mary,  like  the  heathen  Diana ;  and  then 
the  saints,  whose  numbers  were  continu- 
ally augmented  by  the  Popes.  These 
intercessors  refused  their  mediation  un- 
less the  party  was  in  good  repute  with 
the  monastic  orders  which  they  had 
founded.  To  be  so,  it  was  necessary 
not  only  to  do  what  God  had  command- 
ed in  his  word,  but  also  to  perform  a 
number  of  works  invented  by  the  monks 
and  the  priests,  and  which  brought  them 
in  large  sums  of  money.  Such  were 
Ave  Marias,  the  prayers  of  St.  Ursula, 
and  of  St.  Bridget.  It  was  necessary  to 
chaunt  and  cry  day  and  night.  There 
were  as  many  different  pilgrimages  as 
there  were  mountains,  forests,  and  val- 
leys. But  with  money  these  penances 
might  be  compounded  for.  The  people 
therefore  brought  to  the  convents  and  to 
the  priests  money,  and  every  thing  they 
possessed  that  was  of  any  value,  fowls, 
ducks,  eggs,  wax,  straw,  butter,  and 
cheese.  Then  the  chauntings  resound- 
ed, the  bells  rang,  the  odour  of  incense 
filled  the  sanctuary,  the  sacrifices  were 
offered  up,  the  tables  groaned,  the  glasses 
circulated,  and  these  pious  orgies  were 
terminated  by  masses.  The  bishops  no 
longer  appeared  in  the  pulpits,  but  they 
consecrated  priests,  monks,  churches, 
chapels,  images,  books,  and  burial 
places,  and  all  these  brought  a  large 
revenue.  Bones,  arms,  feet,  were  pre- 
served in  boxes  of  silver  or  gold ;  they 
gave  them  to  the  faithful  to  kiss  during 
mass,  and  this  increased  their  gains. 

"  All  maintained  that  the  Pope  being 
in  the  place  of  God  (2  Thessal.  ii.  4.) 
could  not  err ;  and  there  were  none  to 
contradict  them."* 

At  the  church  of  All  Saint's,  at  Wit- 
temberg,  was  shewn  a  fragment  of 
Noah's  ark  ;  some  soot  from  the  furnace 
of  the  three  children ;  a  piece  of  wood 
from  the  crib  of  the  infant  Jesus ;  some 
hair  of  the  beard  of  the  great  St.  Chris- 
topher ;  and  nineteen  thousand  other  re- 
lics, more  or  less  precious.     At  Schaff- 

*  Myconiua'  History  of  the  Reformation  ;  and 
Seckendorf 's  Hist,  of  Lutheranism. 


hausen  was  shewn  the  breath  of  St 
Joseph,  that  Nicodemus  received  on  his 
glove.  In  Wurtemburg  might  be  seen 
a  seller  of  indulgences  disposing  of  his 
merchandise  with  his  head  adorned  with 
a  feather  plucked  from  the  wing  of  the 
Archangel  Michael*  But  there  was 
no  need  to  seek  so  far  for  these  precious 
treasures.  Those  who  farmed  the  relics 
overran  the  country.  They  bore  them 
about  in  the  rural  districts,  (as  has  since 
been  done  with  the  Holy  Scriptures ;) 
and  carried  them  into  the  houses  of  the 
faithful,  to  spare  them  the  cost  and  trou- 
ble of  the  pilgrimage.  They  were  ex- 
hibited with  pomp  in  the  churches. 
These  wandering  hawkers  paid  a  cer- 
tain sum  to  the  proprietors  of  the  relics, 
with  a  per  centage  on  their  profits.  The 
kingdom  of  heaven  had  disappeared ; 
and  men  had  opened  in  its  place  on 
earth,  a  market  of  abominations. 

At  the  same  time,  a  profane  spirit  had 
invaded  religion,  and  the  most  solemn 
recollections  of  the  church  ;  the  seasons 
Avhich  seemed  most  to  summon  the  faith- 
ful to  devout  reflection  and  love,  were 
dishonoured  by  buffoonery  and  profana- 
tions altogether  heathenish.  The  Hu- 
mours of  Easter  held  a  large  place  in 
the  annals  of  the  Church.  The  festival 
of  the  Resurrection  claiming  to  be  joy- 
fully commemorated,  preachers  went  out 
of  their  way  to  put  into  their  sermons 
whatever  might  excite  the  laughter  of 
the  people.  One  preacher  imitated  the 
cuckoo ;  another  hissed  like  a  goose ; 
one  dragged  to  the  altar  a  layman 
dressed  in  a  monk's  cowl ;  a  second  re- 
lated the  grossest  indecencies ;  a  third 
recounted  the  tricks  of  the  Apostle  St. 
Peter, — among  others,  how,  at  an  inn, 
he  cheated  the  host,  by  not  paying  his 
reckoning,  f  The  lower  orders  of  the 
clergy  followed  the  example,  and  turned 
their  superiors  into  ridicule.  The  very 
temples  were  converted  into  a  stage,  and 
the  priests  into  mountebanks. 

If  this  was  the  state  of  religion,  what 
must  have  been  the  morals  of  the  age  1 

Doubtless  the  corruption  was  not  uni- 
versal.— Justice  requires  that  this  should 
not  be  forgotten.  The  Reformation  eli- 
cited many  shining  instances  of  piety, 
righteousness,    and    strength    of    mind 

*  Miiller  Reliquien,  vol.  iii.  p.  22. 
t  (Ecolamp.  de  risu  paschal! 


STATE   OF   EUROPE   PRIOR  TO   THE   REFORMATION. 


25 


The  spontaneous  power  of  God  was  the 
cause ;  but  how  can  we  doubt  that'  by 
the  same  power  the  germs  of  this  new 
life  had  been  deposited  long  before  in 
the  bosom  of  the  church.  If,  in  these 
our  days,  any  one  were  to  collect  the 
immoralities  and  degrading  vices  that 
are  committed  in  any  single  country, 
such  a  mass  of  corruption  would  doubt- 
less be  enough  to  shock  every  mind. 
Bat  the  evil,  at  the  period  we  speak  of, 
bore  a  character  and  universality  that  it 
has  not  borne  at  any  subsequent  date ; 
and  above  all,  the  abomination  stood  in 
the  holy  places,  which  it  has  not  been 
permitted  to  do  since  the  Reformation. 

Moral  conduct  had  declined  with  the 
life  of  faith.  The  tidings  of  the  gift  of 
eternal  life  is  the  power  of  God  to  rege- 
nerate men.  Once  take  away  the  salva- 
tion which  is  God's  gift,  and  you  take 
away  sanctification  and  good  works, — 
and  this  was  the  result. 

The  proclamation  and  sale  of  indul- 
gences powerfully  stimulated  an  igno- 
rant people  to  immorality.  It  is  true 
that,  according  to  the  Church,  they 
could  benefit  those  only  who  made  and 
kept  a  promise  of  amendment.  But 
what  could  be  expected  from  a  doctrine 
invented  with  a  view  to  the  profit  to  be 
gained  from  it  1  The  venders  of  indul- 
gences were  naturally  tempted  to  further 
the  sale  of  their  merchandise  by  present- 
ing them  to  the  people  under  the  most 
attractive  and  seducing  aspect ;  even  the 
better  instructed  did  not  fully  compre- 
hend the  doctrine  in  respect  to  them. 
All  that  the  multitude  saw  in  them  was 
a  permission  to  sin ;  and  the  sellers  were 
in  no  haste  to  remove  an  impression  so 
favourable  to  the  sale. 

What  disorders,  what  crimes,  in  these 
ages  of  darkness,  in  which  impunity  was 
acquired  by  money !  What  might  not 
be  feared  when  a  small  contribution  to 
the  building  of  a  church  was  supposed 
to  deliver  from  the  punishments  of  a  fu- 
ture world !  What  hope  of  revival  when 
the  communication  between  God  and 
man  was  at  an  end ;  and  man,  afar  off 
from  God,  who  is  spirit  and  life, — moved 
only  in  a  circle  of  pitiful  ceremonies  and 
gross  practices, — in  an  atmosphere  of 
death. 

The  priests  were  the  first  who  felt  the 
effects  of  this  corrupting  influence.     De- 


siring to  exalt  themselves,  they  had  sunk 
themselves  lower.  Infatuated  men! 
They  aimed  to  rob  God  of  a  ray  of  his 
glory,  and  to  place  it  on  their  own  brows ; 
but  their  attempt  had  failed,  and  they 
had  received  only  a  leaven  of  corruption 
from  the  power  of  evil.  The  annals  of 
the  age  swarm  with  scandals.  In  many 
places  the  people  were  well  pleased  that 
the  priest  should  have  a  woman  in  keep- 
ing, that  their  wives  might  be  safe  from 
his  seductions.*  What  scenes  of  humili- 
ation were  witnessed  in  the  house  of  the 
pastor.  The  wretched  man  supported 
the  mother  and  her  children,  with  the 
tithe  and  the  offering  ;f  his  conscience 
was  troubled ;  he  blushed  in  presence 
of  his  people,  of  his  servants,  and  before 
God.  The  mother,  fearing  to  come  to 
want  when  the  priest  should  die,  pro- 
vided against  it  beforehand,  and  robbed 
the  house.  Her  character  was  gone  : 
her  children  were  a  living  accusation  of 
her.  Treated  on  all  sides  with  contempt, 
they  plunged  into  brawls  and  debauch- 
eries. Such  was  the  family  of  the  priest. 
These  horrid  scenes  were  a  kind  of  in- 
struction that  the  people  were  ready 
enough  to  folio w.| 

The  rural  districts  were  the  scene  of 
numerous  excesses.  The  abodes  of  the 
clergy  were  frequently  the  resorts  of  the 
dissolute.  Cornelius  Adrian,  at  Bruges,^ 
the  Abbot  Trinkler,  at  Cappel,||  imitated 
the  customs  of  the  East,  and  had  their 
harems.  Priests,  consorted  with  aban- 
doned characters,  frequented  the  taverns, 
played  dice,  and  finished  their  orgies  by 
quarrels  and  blasphemy. ^f 

The  council  of  Schaffhausen  prohi- 
bited the  clergy  from  dancing  in  public 
except  at  weddings ;  from  carrying  two 
kinds  of  weapons :  and  decreed  that  a 
priest  who  should  be  found  in  a  house 
of  ill-fame  should  be  stripped  of  his  eccle- 
siastical habit.**  In  the  archbishopric  of 
Mentz  they  scaled  the  walls  in  the  night, 
committed  disturbances  and  disorders  of 
all  kinds  in  the  inns  and  taverns,  and  broke 

*  Nicol.  De  Clemangis  de  prsesulib.  simoniacis. 

t  The  words  of  Seb.  Stor,  pastor  of  Lichstall 
in  1524. 

t  Fiisslin  Beytriige,  ii.  224. 

§  Metern.  Nederl.  hist.  viii. 

||  Hottinger,  Hist.  Eccles.  ix.  305. 

IT  Mandement  de  Hugo  eveque  de  Constance, 
Mar.  3,  1517. 

**  Muller's  Reliq.  iii.  251. 


26 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


open  doors  and  locks.*  In  several  places 
the  priest  paid  to  the  hishop  a  regular  tax 
for  the  woman  with  whom  he  lived,  and 
for  every  child  he  had  by  her.  A  Ger- 
man bishop,  who  Avas  present  at  a  grand 
entertainment,  publicly  declared,  that  in 
one  year  eleven  thousand  priests  had 
presented  themselves  to  him  for  that  pur- 
pose.    It  is  Erasmus  who  records  this.f 

The  higher  orders  of  the  hierarchy 
were  equally  corrupt.  Dignitaries  of  the 
Church  preferred  the  tumult  of  camps  to 
the  service  of  the  altar.  To  be  able, 
lance  in  hand,  to  compel  his  neighbours 
to  do  him  homage,  was  one  of  the  most 
conspicuous  qualifications  of  a  bishop. 
Baldwin,  archbishop  of  Treves,  was  con- 
stantly at  war  with  his  neighbours  and 
vassals ;  razing  their  castles,  building 
fortresses  of  his  own,  and  thinking  only 
how  to  enlarge  his  territory.  A  certain 
bishop  of  Eichstadt,  when  dispensing 
justice,  wore  under  his  habit  a  coat  of 
mail,  and  held  in  his  hand  a  long  sword. 
He  used  to  say  he  did  not  fear  five  Ba- 
varians, provided  they  would  but  attack 
him  in  the  open  field. J  Every  where 
the  bishops  were  engaged  in  constant 
war  with  the  towns ;  the  citizens  demand- 
ing freedom,  and  the  bishops  requiring 
implicit  obedience.  If  the  latter  trium- 
phed, they  punished  the  revolters  by 
sacrificing  numerous  victims  to  their 
vengeance  ;  but  the  flame  of  insurrection 
broke  out  again  at  the  very  moment 
when  in  was  thought  to  be  extin- 
guished. 

And  what  a  spectacle  was  presented 
by  the  Pontifical  Throne  in  the  genera- 
tion immediately  preceding  the  Refor- 
mation !  Rome,  it  must  be  acknow- 
ledged, has  seldom  been  witness  to  so 
much  infamy. 

Rodri"-o  Borg-ia,  after  living:  in  illicit 
intercourse  with  a  Roman  lady,  had  con- 
tinued a  similar  connection  with  one  of 
her  daughters,  by  name  Rosa  Vanozza, 
by  whom  he  had  had  five  children.  He 
was  living  at  Rome  with  Vanozza  and 
other  abandoned  women, — as  cardinal, 
and   archbishop,   visiting   the    churches 

*  Steubing  Gesch.  der  Nass.  Oran.  Lande. 

t  Uno  anno  ad  sedelata  undecim  millia  sacer- 
dotum  palam  concubinariorum. — Erasmi  Op. 
torn.  ix.  p.  401.  (This  citation  has  been  verified 
— yet  there  seems  to  be  some  mistake  in  these 
figures.     TV.) 

t  Schmidt  Gesch.  der  Deutschen.  torn.  iv. 


and  hospitals, — when  the  death  of  Inno- 
cent VIII.  created  a  vacancy  in  the  Pon- 
tifical chair.  He  succeeded  in  obtaining 
it  by  bribing  each  of  the  cardinals  at  a 
stipulated  price.  Four  mules,  laden 
with  silver,  were  publicly  driven  into  the 
palace  of  Sforza,  the  most  influential  of 
the  cardinals.  Borgia  became  Pope 
under  the  name  of  Alexander  VI.  and 
rejoiced  in  the  attainment  of  the  pinnacle 
of  pleasures. 

The  very  day  of  his  coronation  he 
created  his  son  Caesar,  a  ferocious  and  dis- 
solute youth,  archbishop  of  Valencia  and 
bishop  of  Pampeluna.  He  next  pro- 
ceeded to  celebrate  in  the  Vatican  the 
nuptials  of  his  daughter  Lucrezia  by  fes- 
tivities, at  which  his  mistress  Julia  Bella 
was  present,  and  which  were  enlivened 
by  farces  and  indecent  songs.  "  Most  of 
the  ecclesiastics,"  says  an  historian,* 
"had  their  mistresses,  and  all  the  con- 
vents of  the  capital  were  houses  of  ill 
fame."  Caesar  Borgia  espoused  the  cause 
of  the  Guelphs,  and  when  by  their  assis- 
tance he  had  annihilated  the  power  of 
the  Ghibelines,  he  turned  upon  the 
Guelphs,  and  crushed  them  in  their  turn. 
But  he  would  allow  none  to  share  in  the 
spoils  of  his  atrocities.  In  the  year  1 497, 
Alexander  conferred  upon  his  eldest  son 
the  duchy  of  Benevento.  The  Duke 
suddenly  disappeared.  That  night  a 
faggot-dealer  on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber 
saw  some  persons  throw  a  corpse  into  the 
river  ;  but  he  said  nothing  of  it,  for  such 
things  were  common.  The  Duke's  body 
was  found.  His  brother  Caesar  had  been 
the  instigator  of  the  murder. f  He  did 
not  stop  there.  His  brother-in-law  stood 
in  the  way  of  his  ambition.  One  day 
Caesar  caused  him  to  be  stabbed  on  the 
staircase  of  the  Pope's  palace,  and  he 
was  carried  covered  with  blood  to  his 
own  apartments.  His  wife  and  sister 
never  left  him.  Dreading  lest  Caesar 
should  employ  poison,  they  were  accus- 
tomed to  prepare  his  meals  with  their 
own  hands.  Alexander  placed  guards 
before  his  door, — but  Cassar  ridiculed 
these  precautions,  and  on  one  occasion 
when  the  Pope  visited  him  dropped  the 
remark,  "  What  cannot  be  done  at  din- 

*  Infessura. 

t  Amazzo  il  fratello  ducha  di  Gandia  e  lo  fa 
butar  nel  Tevere.  (M.  S.  C.  of  Capcllo,  ambas- 
sador at  Rome  in  1500 — extracted  by  Rancke.) 


STATE  OF  EUROPE  PRIOR  TO  THE  REFORMATION 


27 


Tier  may  be  at  supper."  Accordingly, 
he  one  day  gained  admittance  to  the 
chamber  of  the  wounded  man,  turned 
out  his  wife  and  sister,  and  calling  Mi- 
chilotto,  the  executioner  of  his  horrors, 
and  the  only  man  in  whom  he  placed 
any  confidence,  commanded  him  to 
strangle  his  victim  before  his  eyes.  Alex- 
ander had  a  favourite  named  Peroto, 
whose  preferment  offended  the  young 
Duke.  Caesar  rushed  upon  him,  Peroto 
sought  refuge  under  the  Papal  mantle, 
clasping  the  Pontiff  in  his  arms  ; — Caesar 
stabbed  him,  and  the  blood  of  the  victim 
spirted  in  the  Pontiff's  face.  "  The 
Pope,"  adds  a  contemporary  and  witness 
of  these  atrocities, — "  loves  the  Duke  his 
son,  and  lives  in  great  fear  of  him." 
Csesar  was  one  of  the  handsomest  and 
most  powerful  men  of  his  age.  Six 
wild  bulls  fell  beneath  his  hand  in  sin- 
gle combat.  Nightly  assassinations  took 
place  in  the  streets  of  Rome.  Poison 
often  destroyed  those  whom  the  dagger 
could  not  reach.  Every  one  feared  to 
move  or  breathe  lest  he  should  be  the 
next  victim.  Csesar  Borgia  was  the  hero 
of  crime.  The  spot  on  earth  where  all 
iniquity  met  and  overflowed  was  the 
Pontiff's  seat.  When  man  has  given 
himself  over  to  the  power  of  evil, — the 
higher  his  pretensions  before  God,  the 
lower  he  is  seen  to  sink  in  the  depths  of 
hell.  The  dissolute  entertainments  given 
by  the  Pope  and  his  son  Caesar,  and  his 
daughter  Lucrezia,  are  such  as  can  nei- 
ther be  described  nor  thought  of.  The 
most  impure  groves  of  ancient  worship 
saw  not  the  like.  Historians  have  ac- 
cused Alexander  and  Lucrezia  of  incest, 
but  the  charge  is  not  sufficiently  estab- 
lished. The  Pope,  in  order  to  rid  him- 
self of  a  wealthy  Cardinal,  had  prepared 
poison  in  a  small  box  of  sweetmeats, 
which  was  to  be  placed  on  the  table 
after  a  sumptuous  feast:  the  Cardinal, 
receiving  a  hint  of  the  design,  gained 
over  the  attendant,  and  the  poisoned  box 
was  placed  before  Alexander.  He  ate 
of  it  and  perished.  The  whole  city  came 
together,  and  could  hardly  satiate  them- 
selves with  the  sight  of  this  dead  viper. 

Such  was  the  man  who  filled  the  pon- 
tifical throne  at  the  commencement  of 
the  age  of  the  Reformation. 

*  Gordon,  Tommasi,  Infessura,  Guicciardini, 
Eccard,  &c. 


Thus  the  clergy  had  disgraced  reli- 
gion and  themselves.  Well  might  a 
powerful  voice  exclaim,  "  The  ecclesias- 
tic order  is  opposed  to  God  and  to  his 
glory.  The  people  well  know  it,  and  it 
is  but  too  evident,  from  the  many  songs, 
proverbs,  and  jests  on  the  priests,  current 
amongst  the  common  people,  as  also 
from  the  figures  of  monks  and  priests 
scrawled  on  the  walls,  and  even  on  the 
playing  cards,  that  every  one  has  a  feel- 
ing of  disgust  at  the  sight  or  name  of  a 
priest."     It  is  Luther  who  thus  speaks.* 

The  evil  had  spread  through  all 
ranks  ;  a  spirit  of  delusion  had  been  sent 
among  men ;  the  corruption  of  morals 
corresponded  to  the  corruption  of  the 
faith ;  the  mystery  of  iniquity  weighed 
down  the  enslaved  Church  of  Christ. 

Another  consequence  necessarily  en- 
sued from  the  neglect  into  which  the 
fundamental  doctrine  of  the  Gospel  had 
fallen.  From  the  darkness  of  the  under- 
standing resulted  the  corruption  of  the 
heart.  The  priests  having  taken  into 
their  own  hands  the  dispensing  a  salva- 
tion which  belonged  only  to  God,  had 
thereby  secured  a  sufficient  hold  on  the 
respect  of  the  people.  What  need  had 
they  to  study  sacred  learning  1  It  was 
no  longer  their  office  to  explain  the 
Scriptures,  but  to  grant  letters  of  indul- 
gence ;  and  for  the  fulfilling  of  that 
ministry,  it  was  unnecessary  to  have  ac- 
quired any  great  learning. 

In  country  parts,  says  Wimpheling, 
they  appointed  as  preachers  poor 
wretches  whom  they  had  taken  from 
beggary,  and  who  had  been  cooks,  musi- 
cians, huntsmen,  stable  boys,  and  even 
worse,  f 

The  superior  clergy  themselves  were 
sunk  in  great  ignorance.  A  bishop  of 
Dunfeldt  congratulated  himself  on  never 
having  learned  Greek  or  Hebrew.  The 
monks  asserted  that  all  heresies  arose 
from  these  languages,  but  especially 
from  the  Greek.  "  The  New  Testa- 
ment," said  one  of  them,  "is  a  book  full 
of  serpents  and  thorns.  Greek,"  con- 
tinued he,  "  is  a  modern  language,  but 
recently  invented,  and  against  which  we 
must  be  upon  our  guard.  As  to  Hebrew, 
my  dear  brethren,  it  is  certain  that  who- 

*  Letter  to  the  Cardinal-Elector  of  Mentz, 
1525. 

t  Apologia  pro  Rep.  Christ. 


28 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


soever  studies  that  immediately  becomes 
a  Jew."  Heresbach,  a  friend  of  Eras- 
mus, and  a  respectable  writer,  reports 
these  very  words.  Thomas  Linacer,  a 
learned  and  celebrated  divine,  had 
never  read  the  New  Testament.  Draw- 
ing near  his  end  (in  1524)  he  called  for 
it,  but  quickly  threw  it  from  him  with 
an  oath,  because  his  eye  had  caught  the 
words,  "  But  I  say  unto  you,  Swear  not 
at  all."  "  Either  this  is  not  the  Gospel," 
said  he,  "  or  we  are  not  Christians." 
Even  the  school  of  theology  in  Paris  did 
not  scruple  to  declare  before  the  Parlia- 
ment, "  There  is  an  end  of  religion  if 
the  study  of  Hebrew  and  Greek  is  per- 
mitted."* • 

If  here  and  there  among  the  clergy 
some  learning  existed,  it  was  not  in 
sacred  literature.  The  Ciceronians  of 
Italy  affected  a  great  contempt  for  the 
Bible  on  account  of  its  style :  men  who 
arrogated  to  themselves  the  title  of 
Priests  of  Christ's  Church  translated  the 
words  of  the  Holy  Ghost  into  the  style 
of  Virgil  and  of  Horace,  to  accommodate 
them  to  the  ears  of  men  of  taste.  The 
Cardinal  Bembo  wrote  always,  instead 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  "  the  breath  of  the 
celestial  zephyr ;"  for  remission  of  sins 
he  substituted  the  "pity  of  the  Manes 
and  of  the  Gods ;"  and  instead  of  Christ 
the  Son  of  God,  "  Minerva  sprung  from 
the  brows  of  Jupiter."  Finding  one  day 
the  respectable  Sadoletus  employed  on  a 
translation  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans, 
"  Leave  these  childish  productions,"  said 
he,  "  such  puerilities  do  not  become  a 
sensible  man."* 

Behold  some  of  the  consequences  of 
the  system  that  then  weighed  down 
Christendom.  This  picture  no  doubt 
exhibits  in  strong  colours  both  the  cor- 
ruption of  the  Church  and  the  need  of 
reformation.  It  is  for  that  reason  we 
have  sketched  it.  The  vital  doctrines 
of  Christianity  had  almost  disappeared, 
and  with  them  the  life  and  light  which 
constitute  the  essence  of  true  religion. 
The  internal  strength  of  the  Church  was 
gone,  and  its  lifeless  and  exhausted  frame 
lay  stretched  over  the  Roman  world. 

Who  shall  give  it  new  life  1  Whence 
shall  we  look  for  a  remedy  for  so  many 
evils  ? 

*  Muller's  Reliq.  torn.  3.  p.  253. 
f  Fallen'  Monum.  ined.  p.  400. 


For  ages  a  reformation  in  the  church 
had  been  loudly  called  for,  and  all  the 
powers  of  this  world  had  attempted  it. 
But  God  alone  could  bring  it  to  pass. 
And  he  began  by  humbling  the  power 
of  man  that  he  might  exhibit  man's  help- 
lessness. We  see  human  assailants,  one 
after  another,  fail  and  break  to  pieces  at 
the  feet  of  the  Colossus  they  undertook 
to  cast  down. 

First  temporal  princes  resisted  Rome. 
The  whole  power  of  the  Hohenstaufens, 
heroes  who  wore  the  Imperial  crown, 
seemed  directed  to  humble  and  reform 
Rome,  and  deliver  the  nations,  and  espe- 
cially Germany,  from  her  tyranny. 
But  the  Castle  of  Canossa  gave  proof  of 
the  weakness  of  the  Imperial  power 
against  the  usurped  dominion  of  the 
Church.  A  warlike  prince,  the  Em- 
peror Henry  IV.,  after  a  long  and  fruit- 
less struggle  against  Rome,  was  reduced 
to  pass  three  days  and  nights  in  the 
trenches  of  that  Italian  fortress,  exposed 
to  the  winter's  cold,  stripped  of  his  im- 
perial robes,  barefoot,  in  a  scanty  woollen 
garment,  imploring  with  tears  and  cries 
the  pity  of  Hildebrand,  before  whom  he 
kneeled,  and  who,  after  three  nights  of 
lamentation,  relaxed  his  papal  inflexi- 
bility, and  pardoned  the  suppliant.*  Be- 
hold the  power  of  the  high  and  mighty 
of  the  earth,  of  kings  and  emperors 
against  Rome  ! 

To  them  succeeded  adversaries  per- 
haps more  formidable, — men  of  genius 
and  learning.  Learning  awoke  in  Italy, 
and  its  awakening  was  with  an  energetic 
protest  against  the  Papacy.  Dante,  the 
father  of  Italian  poetry,  boldly  placed  in 
his  Hell  the  most  powerful  of  the  Popes  ; 
he  introduced  St.  Peter  in  heaven  pro- 
nouncing stern  and  crushing  censures  on 
his  unworthy  successors,  and  drew  hor- 

*  Pope  Hildebrand  himself  relates  the  event 
in  these  words :  "  Tandem  rex  ad  oppidum  Ca- 
nnsii,  in  quo  morati  sumus,  cum  paucis  advenit, 
ibique  per  tridunm  ante  portam,  deposito  oirmi 
regio  cultu  miserabiliter  utpote  discalceatus  et 
laniis  inductus,  persistens,  non  prius  cum  multo 
rletu  apostolicae  miserationis  auxilium  et  consola- 
tionem  implorare  destitit  quam  omnes  qui  ibi 
aderant  ad  tantam  pietatem  et  compassionis 
misericordiam  movit  ut,  pro  eo  multis  precibus 
et  lacrymis  intercedentes,  omnes  quidem  insoli- 
tam  nostras  mentis  duritiam  mirarentur,  nommlli 
vero  non  apostolicae  severitatis  gravitatem  sed 
quasi  tyrannicae  feritatis  crudelitatem  esse  cla- 
marent."     (Lib.  iv.  ep.  12.  ad  Germanos.) 


STATE  OF  EUROPE  PRIOR  TO  THE  REFORMATION. 


29 


rible  descriptions  of  the  monks  and  clergy. 
Petrarch,  that  eminent  genuis,  of  a  mind 
so  superior  to  all  the  emperors  and  popes 
of  his  time,  boldly  called  for  the  re-estab- 
lishment of  the  primitive  order  of  the 
Church.  For  this  purpose  he  invoked 
the  efforts  of  the  age  and  the  power  of 
the  emperor  Charles  IV.  Laurentius 
Valla,  one  of  the  most  learned  men  of 
Italy,  attacked  with  spirit  the  pretensions 
of  the  Popes,  and  their  asserted  inheri- 
tance from  Constantine.  A  legion  of 
poets,  learned  men,  and  philosophers, 
followed  in  their  track ;  the  torch  of 
learning  was  every  where  kindled,  and 
threatened  to  reduce  to  ashes  the  Romish 
scaffolding  that  intercepted  its  beams. 
But  every  effort  failed ;  Pope  Leo  X.  en- 
listed among  the  supporters  and  satellites 
of  his  court, — literature,  poetry,  sciences 
and  arts ;  and  these  came  humbly  kiss- 
ing the  feet  of  a  power  that  in  their 
boasted  infancy  they  had  attempted  to 
dethrone.  Behold  the  power  of  letters 
and  philosophy  against  Rome  ! 

At  last  an  agency  which  promised 
more  ability  to  reform  the  church  came 
forward.  This  was  the  Church  itself. 
At  the  call  for  Reformation,  reiterated  on 
all  sides,  and  which  had  been  heard  for 
ages  past,  that  most  imposing  of  eccle- 
siastical conclaves,  the  Council  of  Con- 
stance, assembled.  An  immense  num- 
ber of  cardinals,  archbishops,  bishops, 
eighteen  hundred  doctors  of  divinity  and 
priests :  the  Emperor  himself,  with  a  re- 
tinue of  a  thousand  persons  ;  the  Elector 
of  Saxony,  the  Elector  Palatine,  the 
Duke  of  Bavaria  and  Austria,  and  am- 
bassadors from  all  nations,  gave  to  this 
assembly  an  air  of  authority,  unprece- 
dented in  the  history  of  Christianity. 
Above  the  rest,  we  must  mention  the 
illustrious  and  immortal  doctors  of  the 
University  of  Paris,  the  Aillys,  the  Ger- 
sons,  the  Clemangnis, — those  men  of 
piety,  learning  and  courage,  who  by  their 
writings  and  eloquence  communicated  to 
the  Council  an  energetic  and  salutary 
direction.  Every  thing  bowed  before 
this  assembly  ;  with  one  hand  it  deposed 
three  Popes  at  once,  while  with  the  other 
it  delivered  John  Huss  to  the  flames.  A 
commission  was  named,  composed  of  de- 
puties from  different  nations,  to  propose 
a  fundamental  reform.  The  Emperor 
Sigismund  supported  the  proposition  with 


the  whole  weight  of  his  power.  The 
Council  were  unanimous.  The  cardi- 
nals all  took  an  oath  that  he  among 
them  who  should  be  elected  Pope  would 
not  dissolve  the  assembly,  nor  leave  Con- 
stance before  the  desired  reformation 
should  be  accomplished.  Colonna  was 
chosen  under  the  name  of  Martin  V. 
The  moment  was  come  which  was  to 
decide  the  Reform  of  the  Church;  all 
the  prelates,  the  Emperor,  the  princes, 
and  the  representatives  of  different  na- 
tions, awaited  the  result  with  intense  de- 
sire. "  The  Council  is  at  an  end"  ex- 
claimed Martin  V.  as  soon  as  he  had 
placed  the  tiara  on  his  brow.  Sigismund 
and  the  clergy  uttered  a  cry  of  surprise, 
indignation,  and  grief;  but  that  cry  was 
lost  upon  the  winds.  On  the  16th  of 
May,  1418,  the  Pope,  arrayed  in  the  pon- 
tifical garments,  mounted  a  mule  richly 
caparisoned;  the  Emperor  was  on  his 
right  hand,  the  Elector  of  Brandenburgh 
on  his  left,  each  holding  the  reins  of  his 
palfrey ;  four  counts  supported  over  the 
Pope's  head  a  magnificent  canopy; 
several  princes  surrounded  him  bearing 
the  trappings ;  and  a  mounted  train 
of  forty  thousand  persons,  says  an  his- 
torian, composed  of  nobles,  knights,  and 
clergy  of  all  ranks,  joined  in  the  solemn 
procession  outside  the  walls  of  Constance. 
Then  indeed  did  Rome,  in  the  person  of 
her  pontiff  sitting  on  a  mule,  inwardly 
deride  the  superstition  that  surrounded 
her;  then  did  she  give  proof  that  to 
humble  her  a  power  must  be  exerted 
far  different  from  any  thing  that  could  be 
put  in  motion  by  emperors,  or  kings,  or 
bishops,  or  doctors  of  divinity,  or  all  the 
learning  of  the  age  and  of  the  church. 

How  could  the  Reformation  proceed 
from  the  very  thing  to  be  reformed? 
How  could  the  wound  find  in  itself  the 
element  of  its  cure  ? 

Nevertheless  the  means  employed  to 
reform  the  Church,  and  which  the  result 
showed  to  be  inefficacious,  contributed  to 
weaken  the  obstacles,  and  prepared  the 
ground  for  the  Reformers. 

The  evils  which  then  afflicted  Christ- 
endom, namely,  superstition,  incredulity, 
ignorance,  unprofitable  speculation,  and 
corruption  of  morals, — evils  naturally 
engendered  in  the  hearts  of  men, — were 
not  new  on  the  earth.  They  had  made 
a  great  figure  in  the  history  of  nations. 


30 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


They  had  invaded,  especially  in  the 
East,  different  religious  systems,  which 
had  seen  their  times  of  glory.  Those 
enervated  systems  had  sunk  under  these 
evils,  and  not  one  of  them  had  ever 
arisen  from  its  fall. 

And  was  Christianity  now  to  undergo 
the  same  destiny?  Was  it  to  be  lost 
like  those  old  religions  of  the  nations  ? 
Was  the  blow  that  had  doomed  them  to 
death  to  be  of  power  to  destroy  it?  Was 
there  nothing  to  secure  its  preservation  ! 
And  these  opposing  forces  which  over- 
flowed it,  and  which  had  already  de- 
throned so  many  various  systems  of  wor- 
ship, were  they  indeed  to  have  power  to 
seat  themselves  without  resistance  On  the 
ruins  of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  2 

No : — there  is  in  Christianity  that 
which  there  was  not  in  any  of  these  na- 
tional systems.  It  does  not,  like  them, 
offer  certain  general  ideas,  mixed  with 
tradition  and  fables,  destined,  sooner  or 
later,  to  fall  before  the  march  of  human 
reason ;  but  it  contains  within  it  pure 
Truth,  built  upon  facts  which  challenge 
the  scrutiny  of  any  upright  and  enlight- 
ened mind.  Christianity  has  for  its  ob- 
ject not  merely  to  excite  in  man  certain 
vague  religious  feelings,  of  which  the 
impression,  once  forgotten,  can  never  be 
revived;  its  object  is  to  satisfy,  and  it 
does  in  reality  satisfy,  all  the  religious 
wants  of  human  nature,  in  whatever  de- 
gree that  nature  may  be  developed.  It 
is  not  the  contrivance  of  man,  whose 
works  pass  away  and  are  forgotten,  but 
it  is  the  work  of  God,  who  upholds  what 
he  creates,  and  it  has  the  promises  of  its 
Divine  Author  for  the  pledge  of  its  du- 
ration. 

It  is  impossible  that  human  nature  can 
ever  be  above  the  need  of  Christianity. 
And  if  ever  man  has  for  a  time  fancied 
that  he  could  do  without  it,  it  has  soon 
appeared  to  him  clothed  in  fresh  youth 
and  vigour,  as  the  only  cure  for  the  hu- 
man soul ;  and  the  degenerate  nations 
have  returned  with  new  ardour  to  those 
ancient,  simple,  and  powerful  truths, 
which  in  the  hour  of  their  infatuation 
they  despised. 

In  fact,  Christianity  displayed,  in  the 
16th  century,  the  same  regenerative 
power  which  it  had  exercised  in  the  first. 
After  the  lapse  of  fifteen  hundred  years, 
the  same  truths  produced  the  same  ef- 


fects. In  the  days  of  the  Reformation, 
as  in  the  days  of  Peter  and  Paul, — the 
Gospel,  with  invincible  energy,  overcame 
mighty  obstacles.  The  efficacy  of  its 
sovereign  power  was  displayed  from 
north  to  south  ;  amidst  nations  differing 
most  widely  in  manners,  in  character,  and 
in  civilization.  Then,  as  in  the  times  of 
Stephen  and  of  James,  it  kindled  the  fire 
of  enthusiasm  and  devotion  in  the  midst 
of  the  general  deadness,  and  raised  on 
all  sides  the  spirit  of  martyrs. 

How  was  this  revival  in  the  Church 
and  in  the  world  brought  to  pass? 

An  observant  mind  might  then  have 
discerned  two  laws  by  which  God  gov- 
erns the  course  of  events. 

He  first  prepares  slowly  and  from  afar 
that  which  he  designs  to  accomplish. 
He  has  ages  in  which  to  work. 

Then,  when  his  time  is  come,  he  ef- 
fects the  greatest  results  by  the  smallest 
means.  He  acts  thus  in  nature  and  in 
providence.  For  the  production  of  a  gi- 
gantic tree,  He  deposits  in  the  earth  a 
tiny  seed ;  for  the  renovation  of  his 
church,  He  makes  use  of  the  meanest 
instrument  to  accomplish  what  emperors, 
learned  men,  and  even  the  heads  of  that 
church  have  failed  to  effect  ?  We  shall 
shortly  have  to  investigate  and  bring  to 
light  this  little  seed  that  a  divine  hand 
placed  in  the  earth  in  the  days  of  the 
Reformation.  We  must  now  distinguish 
and  recognize  the  different  methods  by 
which  God  prepared  the  way  for  the 
great  change. 

We  will  first  survey  the  condition  of 
the  Papacy ;  and  from  thence  we  will 
carry  our  view  over  the  different  influ- 
ences which  God  caused  to  concur  to 
the  accomplishment  of  his  purposes. 

At  the  period  when  the  Reformation 
was  on  the  point  of  breaking  forth, 
Rome  appeared  in  peace  and  safety. 
One  might  have  said  that  nothing  could 
for  the  future  disturb  her  triumph.  She  had 
gained  great  and  decisive  victories.  The 
general  councils,  those  upper  and  lower 
senates  of  Catholicism,  had  been  subdued. 
The  Vaudois  and  the  Hussites  had  been 
put  down.  No  university,  (except  per- 
haps that  of  Paris,  which  sometimes 
raised  its  voice  at  the  instance  of  its 
kings,)  doubted  of  the  infallibility  of  the 
oracles  of  Rome.  Every  one  seemed  to 
take  part  with  its  power.      The  superior 


STATE  OF  EUROPE  PRIOR  TO  THE  REFORMATION. 


31 


clergy  preferred  to  give  to  a  remote  head 
the  tenth  of  their  revenues,  and  quietly 
to  consume  the  remainder,  to  the  hazard- 
ing of  all  for  the  acquisition  of  an  inde- 
pendence which  would  cost  dear,  and 
bring  little  advantage.  The  humbler 
clergy,  before  whom  were  spread  the 
prospects  and  baits  of  higher  dignities, 
were  willing  to  purchase  these  cherished 
hopes  by  a  little  slavery.  Add  to  which, 
they  were  everywhere  so  overawed  by 
the  heads  of  the  hierarchy,  that  they 
could  scarcely  move  under  their  power- 
ful hands,  and  much  less  raise  themselves 
and  make  head  against  them.  The  peo- 
ple bowed  the  knee  before  the  Roman 
altar,  and  even  kings,  who  began  in 
secret  to  despise  the  bishop  of  Rome, 
could  not  have  dared  to  raise  the  hand 
against  it,  lest  they  should  be  reputed 
guilty  of  sacrilege. 

But  if  at  the  time  when  the  Reform- 
ation broke  out,  opposition  seemed  out- 
wardly to  have  subsided,  or  even  ceased 
altogether,  its  internal  strength  had  in- 
creased. If  we  take  a  nearer  view,  we 
discern  more  than  one  symptom  which 
presaged  the  decline  of  Rome.  The 
general  councils,  had,  in  their  fall,  dif- 
fused their  principles  through  the  Church, 
and  carried  disunion  into  the  camp  of 
those  who  impugned  them.  The  de- 
defenders  of  the  hierarchy  had  separated 
into  two  parties ;  those  who  maintained 
the  system  of  the  absolute  power  of  the 
Pope,  according  to  the  maxims  of  Hilde- 
brand ;  and  those  who  desired  a  consti- 
tutional Papacy,  offering  securities  and 
liberty  to  the  churches. 

To  this  we  may  add,  that  in  all  par- 
ties faith  in  the  infallibility  of  the  Ro- 
man bishop  had  been  rudely  shaken. 
If  no  voice  was  raised  to  attack  him,  it 
was  because  every  one  was  anxious  to 
retain  the  little  faith  he  still  possessed. 
The  slightest  shock  was  dreaded,  lest  it 
should  overturn  the  edifice.  The  Chris- 
tianity of  the  age  held  in  its  breath ;  but 
it  was  to  avoid  a  calamity  in  which 
it  feared  to  perish.  From  the  moment 
when  a  man  trembles  to  quit  a  once  vene- 
rated creed,  he  no  longer  holds  it,  and 
he  will  soon  abandon  its  very  semblance. 

Let  us  see  what  had  brought  about 
this  singular  posture  of  mind.  The 
Church  itself  was  the  primary  cause. 
The  errors  and  superstitions  she  had  in- 


troduced into  Christianity,  were  not,  pro- 
perly speaking,  what  had  so  fatally 
wounded  her.  This  might  indeed  be 
thought  if  the  nations  of  Christendom 
had  risen  above  the  Church  in  intellec- 
tual and  religious  development.  But 
there  was  an  aspect  of  the  question  level 
to  the  observation  of  the  laity,  and  it  was 
under  that  view  that  the  Church  was 
judged  : — it  was  become  altogether 
earthly.  That  priestly  sway  which  gov- 
erned the  world,  and  which  could  not 
subsist  but  by  the  power  of  illusion,  and 
of  that  halo  which  invested  it,  had  for- 
gotten its  true  nature,  and  left  Heaven 
and  its  sphere  of  light  and  glory,  to  im- 
merse itself  in  the  low  interests  of  citi- 
zens and  princes.  Born  to  the  represen- 
tation of  the  spirit,  the  priesthood  had 
forsaken  the  spirit — for  the  flesh.  They 
had  thrown  aside  the  treasures  of  learn- 
ing and  the  spiritual  power  of  the  word, 
and  taken  up  the  brute  force  and  false 
glory  of  the  age  :  and  this  had  naturally 
resulted.  It  was  truly  the  spiritual  order 
that  the  Church  had  at  first  attempted  to 
defend.  But  to  protect  it  against  the  re- 
sistance and  invasion  of  the  nations,  she 
had,  from  false  policy,  had  recourse  to 
earthly  instruments  and  vulgar  weapons. 
When  once  the  Church  had  begun  to 
handle  these  weapons,  her  spiritual  es- 
sence was  lost.  Her  arm  could  not  be- 
come carnal  without  her  heart  becoming 
the  same ;  and  the  world  soon  saw  her 
former  character  inverted.  She  had  at- 
tempted to  use  earth  iii  defence  of 
Heaven  :  she  now  employed  Heaven  it- 
self to  defend  earthly  possessions.  Theo- 
cratic forms  became,  in  her  hands,  only 
instruments  of  worldly  schemes.  The 
offerings  which  the  people  laid  at  the 
feet  of  the  sovereign  pontiff  of  Christen- 
dom, were  used  to  support  the  luxury  of 
his  court,  and  the  charge  of  his  armies. 
His  spiritual  power  supplied  the  steps  by 
which  he  placed  his  feet  above  the  kings 
and  nations  of  the  earth.  The  charm 
was  dispelled;  and  the  power  of  the 
Church  was  gone,  from  the  hour  that 
men  could  say,  "  she  is  become  as  one 
of  us." 

The  great  were  the  first  to  scrutinize 
the  title  to  this  supposed  power.*  The 
very  questioning  of  it  might  possibly  have 

*  Adrien  Baillet  Hist,  des  demeles  de  Boni- 
face VIII.  avec  Philippe  le  Bel.    Paris,  1708. 


32 


HISTORY   OF   THE   REFORMATION. 


sufficed  to  overturn  Rome.  But  it  was 
a  favourable  circumstance  on  her  side, 
that  the  education  of  the  princes  was 
every  Avhere  in  the  hands  of  her  adepts. 
These  persons  inculcated  in  their  noble 
pupils  a  veneration  for  the  Roman  pon- 
tifls.  The  chiefs  of  nations  grew  up  in 
the  sanctuary  of  the  Church.  Princes 
of  ordinary  minds  scarce  ever  got  beyond 
it.  Many  even  desired  nothing  better 
than  to  be  found  within  it  at-  the  close  of 
life.  They  chose  to  die  wearing  a  monk's 
cowl  rather  than  a  crown. 

Italy  was  mainly  instrumental  in  en- 
lightening the  sovereigns  of  Europe. 
They  had  to  contract  alliances  with  the 
Popes,  which  had  reference  to  the  tem- 
poral Prince  of  the  states  of  the  Church, — 
and  not  to  the  Bishop  of  bishops.  Kings 
were  much  astonished  to  find  the  Popes 
ready  to  sacrifice  some  of  the  asserted 
rights  of  the  Pontiff,  that  they  might  re- 
tain the  advantages  of  the  Prince.  They 
saw  these  self-styled  organs  of  truth  re- 
sort to  all  the  petty  artifices  of  policy, 
deceit,  dissimulation,  and  even  perjury.* 
Then  it  was  that  the  bandage  that  edu- 
cation had  drawn  over  the  eyes  of  secu- 
lar princes  fell  off  It  was  then  that  the 
artful  Ferdinand  of  Arragon  had  recourse 
to  stratagem  against  stratagem;  it  was 
then  that  the  impetuous  Louis  XII.  struck 
a  medal  with  this  legend,  Per  dam  Babylo- 
nis  nomen  ,-f  and  the  respectable  Maximi- 
lian of  Austria,  grieved  at  hearing  of  the 
treachery  of  Leo  X.  exclaimed,  "  This 
Pope,  like  the  rest,  is  in  my  judgment  a 
scoundrel.  Henceforth  I  can  say  that  in 
all  my  life  no  Pope  has  kept  his  faith  or 
word  with  me.  I  hope,  if  God  be  willing, 
that  this  one  will  be  the  last  of  them."| 

Discoveries  of  this  sort  made  by  kings 
gradually  took  effect  upon  the  people. 
Many  other  causes  had  unclosed  the 
long  sealed  eyes  of  Christian  nations. 
The  most  reflecting  began  to  accustom 
themselves  to  the  idea  that  the  Bishop 
of  Rome  was  a  man,  and  sometimes  even 
a  very  bad  man.  The  people  began  to 
suspect  that  he  was  not  much  holier  than 
their  own  bishops,  whose  characters  were 
veiy  doubtful.  But  the  Popes  them- 
selves contributed  more  than  any  single 
cause  to  their  own  dishonour.  Released 
from  constraint  after  the  Council  of  Basle, 

*  Guicciardini.  t  I  will  extirpate  the  name 
of  Babylon.  t  Scultet.  Annal.  ad  an.  1520. 


they  gave  themselves  up  to  the  bound- 
less licentiousness  of  victory.  Even  the 
dissolute  Romans  shuddered.  The  ru- 
mours of  these  disorders  spread  through 
other  countries.  The  people,  incapable 
of  arresting  the  torrent  that  swept  their 
treasure  into  this  gulf  of  profligacy, 
sought  amends  in  hatred.* 

Whilst  many  circumstances  contri- 
buted to  sap  what  then  existed,  there 
were  others  tending  to  the  production  of 
something  new. 

The  singular  system  of  theology  that 
had  established  itself  in  the  Church,  was 
fitted  powerfully  to  assist  in  opening  the 
eyes  of  the  rising  generation.  Formed 
for  a  dark  age,  as  if  the  darkness  were 
to  endure  for  ever,  this  system  was  des- 
tined to  be  superseded  and  scattered  to 
the  winds  as  soon  as  the  age  should  out- 
grow it.  And  this  took  place.  The 
Popes  had  added  now  this,  and  now  that 
article  to  the  Christian  doctrine.  They 
had  changed  or  removed  only  what 
could  not  be  made  to  square  with  their 
hierarchy ;  what  was  not  opposed  to  their 
policy  was  allowed  to  remain  during 
pleasure.  There  were  in  this  system 
true  doctrines,  such  as  redemption,  the 
power  of  the  Spirit  of  God,  &c,  which 
an  able  theologian,  if  one  had  been  found, 
could  have  used  to  combat  and  overturn 
the  rest.  The  pure  gold  mixed  with  the 
baser  metal  in  the  mint  of  the  Vatican, 
was  enough  to  reveal  the  fraud.  It  is 
true  that  if  any  courageous  opponent 
took  notice  of  it,  the  winnowing  fan  of 
Rome  was  immediately  set  to  work  to 
cast  the  pure  grain  forth.  But  these  re- 
jections and  condemnations  did  but  aug- 
ment the  confusion. 

That  confusion  was  without  bounds, 
and  the  asserted  unity  was  but  one  vast 
disorder.  At  Rome  there  were  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Court,  and  the  doctrines  of 
the  Church.  The  faith  of  the  metropo- 
lis differed  from  that  of  the  provinces. 
Even  in  the  provinces  there  was  an  in- 
finite diversity  of  opinion.  There  was 
the  creed  of  princes,  of  people  and,  above 
all,  of  the  religious  orders.  There  were 
the  opinions  of  this  convent,  of  that  dis- 
trict, of  this  doctor,  and  of  that  monk. 

*  Odium  Romani  nominis  penitus  inflxum  esse 
multarum  gentium  animis  opinor,  ob  ea  quae  vulgo 
de  moribus  ejus  uxbis  jactantur.  (Erasmi  Epist. 
lib.  xii.  p.  634.) 


STATE  OF  EUROPE  PRIOR  TO  THE  REFORMATION. 


33 


Truth,  that  it  might  pass  safe  through 
the  period  when  Rome  would  have 
crushed  it  with  her  iron  sceptre,  had 
acted  like  the  insect  that  weaves  with 
its  threads  the  chrysalis  in  which  it  en- 
velopes itself  during  the  winter.  And, 
strange  to  say,  the  means  that  had  served 
in  this  way  to  preserve  the  truth,  were 
the  scholastic  divines  so  much  decried. 
These  ingenious  artisans  of  thought  had 
strung  together  all  the  current  theologi- 
cal notions,  and  of  these  threads  they 
had  formed  a  net,  under  which  it  would 
have  been  difficult  for  more  skilful  per- 
sons than  their  contemporaries  to  recog- 
nise the  truth  in  its  first  purity.  We 
may  regret,  that  the  insect,  full  of  life, 
and  so  lately  shining  with  the  brightest 
colours,  should  wrap  itself  in  its  dark 
and  seemingly  inanimate  covering  ;  but 
that  covering  preserves  it.  It  was  thus 
with  the  truth.  If  the  interested  and 
suspicious  policy  of  Rome,  in  the  days 
of  her  power,  had  met  with  the  naked 
truth,  she  would  have  destroyed  it,  or,  at 
least,  endeavoured  to  do  so.  Disguised 
as  it  was  by  the  divines  of  that  period, 
under  endless  subtleties  and  distinctions, 
the  Popes  did  not  recognise  it,  or  else 
perceived  that  while  in  that  state  it  could 
not  trouble  them.  They  took  under 
their  protection  both  the  artisans  and 
their  handy-work.  But  the  spring  might 
come,  when  the  hidden  truth  might  lift 
its  head,  and  throw  off  all  the  threads 
which  covered  it.  Having  acquired 
fresh  vigour  in  its  seeming  tomb,  the 
world  might  behold  it  in  the  days  of 
its  resurrection,  obtain  the  victory  over 
Rome  and  all  her  errors.  This  spring 
arrived.  At  the  same  time  that  the 
absurd  coverings  of  the  scholastic  divines 
fell,  one  after  another,  beneath  the  skil- 
ful attacks  or  derisions  of  a  new  genera- 
tion, the  truth  escaped  from  its  conceal- 
ment in  full  youth  and  beauty. 

It  was  not  only  from  the  writings  of 
the  scholastic  divines  that  powerful  testi- 
mony was  rendered  to  the  truth.  Christi- 
anity had  every  where  mingled  some- 
thing of  its  own  life  with  the  life  of  the 
people.  The  Church  of  Christ  was  a 
dilapidated  building:  but  in  digging, 
there  were  in  some  parts  discovered  in 
its  foundations  the  living  rock  on  which 
it  had  been  first  built.  Some  institutions 
which  bore  date  from  the  best  ages  of 


the  Church  still  existed,  and  could  not 
fail  to  awaken,  in  many  minds  evangeli- 
cal sentiments  opposed  to  the  reigning 
superstition.  The  inspired  writers,  the 
earliest  teachers  of  the  Church,  whose 
writings  were  deposited  in  different  li- 
braries, uttered  here  and  there  a  solitary 
voice.  It  was  doubtless  heard  in  silence 
by  many  an  attentive  ear.  Let  us  not 
doubt  (and  it  is  a  consoling  thought) 
that  Christians  had  many  brethren  and 
sisters  in  those  very  monasteries  wherein 
we  are  too  apt  to  see  nothing  but  hypoc- 
risy and  dissoluteness. 

'  It  was  not  only  old  things  that  pre- 
pared the  revival  of  religion ;  there  was 
also  something  new  which  tended  pow- 
erfully to  favour  it.  The  human  mind 
was  advancing.  This  fact  alone  would 
have  brought  on  its  enfranchisement. 
The  shrub  as  it  increases  in  its  growth 
throws  down  the  walls  near  which  it 
was  planted,  and  substitutes  its  own 
shade  for  theirs.  The  high  priest  of 
Rome  had  made  himself  the  guardian 
of  the  nations.  His  superiority  of  un- 
derstanding had  rendered  this  office 
easy ;  and  for  a  long  time  he  kept  them 
in  a  state  of  tutelage  and  forced  subjec- 
tion. But  they  were  now  growing,  and 
breaking  bounds  on  all  sides.  This 
venerable  guardianship,  which  hail  its 
origin  in  the  principles  of  eternal  life 
and  of  civilization,  communicated  by 
Rome  to  the  barbarous  nations,  could  no 
longer  be  exercised  without  resistance. 
A  formidable  adversary  had  taken  up  a 
position  opposed  to  her,  and  sought  to 
control  her.  The  natural  disposition  of 
the  human  mind  to  develope  itself,  to 
examine  and  to  acquire  knowledge,  had 
given  birth  to  this  new  power.  Men's 
eyes  were  opening  ;  they  demanded  a 
reason  for  every  step  from  this  long  re- 
spected conductor,  under  whose  guidance 
they  had  marched  in  silence,  so  long  as 
their  eyes  were  closed.  The  infancy  of 
the  nations  of  Modern  Europe  was 
passed  ;  a  period  of  ripe  age  was  arrived. 
To  a  credulous  simplicity,  disposed  to 
believe  every  thing,  had  succeeded  a 
spirit  of  curiosity,  an  intelligence  impa- 
tient to  discover  the  foundations  of  things. 
They  asked  of  each  other  what  was  the 
design  of  God  in  speaking  to  the  world? 
and  whether  men  had  a  right  to  set 
themselves  up  as  mediators  between  God 


34 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


and  their  brethren  ?  One  thing  alone 
could  have  saved  the  Church ;  and  this 
was  to  rise  still  higher  than  the  laity. 
To  keep  on  a  level  with  them  was  not 
enough.  But  on  the  contrary  the  Church 
was  greatly  behind  them.  It  began  to 
decline  just  when  they  began  to  arise. 
While  the  laity  were  ascending  in  the 
scale  of  intelligence, — the  priesthood  was 
absorbed  in  earthly  pursuits  and  worldly 
interests.  A  like  phenomenon  has  been 
often  seen  in  history.  The  eaglet  had 
become  full  fledged,  and  there  was  none 
who  could  reach  it  or  prevent  its  taking 
flight. 

Whilst  in  Europe  the  light  was  thus 
issuing  from  the  prisons  in  which  it  had 
been  held  captive,  the  East  was  sending 
new  lights  to  the  West.  The  standard 
of  the  Osmanlis,  planted  in  1453  on  the 
walls  of  Constantinople,  had  driven 
thence  the  learned  of  that  city.  They 
had  carried  Grecian  literature  into  Italy. 
The  torch  of  antiquity  rekindled  the  in- 
tellectual flame  which  had  for  so  many 
ages  been  extinguished.  Printing,  then 
recently  discovered,  multiplied  the  ener- 
getic protests  against  the  corruption  of 
the  Church,  and  the  not  less  powerful 
calls  which  summoned  the  human  mind 
to  new  paths.  There  was  at  that  time, 
as  it  were,  a  burst  of  light.  Errors  and 
vain  ceremonies  were  exposed.  But  this 
light,  well  suited  to  destroy,  was  most 
unfit  to  build  up.  It  was  not  given  to 
Homer  or  Virgil  to  rescue  the  Church. 

The  revival  of  letters,  of  science,  and 
of  the  arts,  Avas  not  the  moving  principle 
ofihe  Reformation.  We  may  rather  say 
that  the  Paganism  of  the  poets,  when  it 
re-appeared  in  Italy,  brought  with  it  the 
Paganism  of  the  heart.  Vain  supersti- 
tions were  attacked  ; — but  it  was  incre- 
dulity that  established  itself  in  their  stead, 
with  a  smile  of  disdain  and  mockery. 
Ridicule  of  all  things,  even  the  most  sa- 
cred, was  the  fashion,  and  deemed  the 
mark  of  wit.  Religion  was  regarded 
only  as  an  instrument  of  government. 
''  I  have  one  fear,"  exclaimed  Erasmus 
in  1516,  "  it  is,  that  with  the  study  of  an- 
cient literature  the  ancient  Paganism 
should  re-appear." 

True,  the  world  saw  then,  as  after  the 
mockeries  of  the  Augustan  age,  and  as 
in  our  own  times  after  those  of  the  last 
century,   a  new   Platonic    Philosophy, 


which,  in  its  turn,  attacked  this  impudent 
incredulity ;  and  sought,  like  the  philo- 
sophy of  our  own  days,  to  inspire  respect 
for  Christianity,  and  re-animate  the  sen- 
timents of  religion.  At  Florence  the 
Medici  favoured  these  efforts  of  the  Pla- 
tonists.  But  never  can  philosophical  re- 
ligion regenerate  the  Church  or  the 
World.  Proud — despising  the  preach- 
ing of  the  cross — pretending  to  see  in 
the  Christian  dogmas  only  types  and 
symbols  unintelligible  to  the  majority 
of  minds — it  may  evaporate  in  mystical 
enthusiasm,  but  must  ever  be  powerless 
to  reform  or  to  save. 

What  then  would  have  ensued  if  true 
Christianity  had  not  re-appeared  in  the 
world — and  if  true  faith  had  not  replen- 
ished the  heart  with  its  strength  and 
holiness?  The  Reformation  saved  reli- 
gion, and  with  it  society.  If  the  Church 
of  Rome  had  had  at  heart  the  glory  of 
God,  and  the  happiness  of  nations,  she 
would  have  welcomed  the  Reformation 
with  joy.  But  what  were  these  to  a, 
Leo  X.  ? 

In  Germany,  the  study  of  ancient 
learning  had  effects  the  very  reverse  of 
those  which  attended  it  in  Italy  and 
France.  It  was  "mixed  with  faith." 
What  had,  in  the  latter,  produced  only 
a  certain  trivial  and  sterile  refinement 
of  taste,  penetrated  the  lives  and  habits 
of  the  Germans,  warmed  their  hearts, 
and  prepared  them  for  a  better  light. 
The  first  restorers  of  letters  in  Italy  and 
France  were  remarkable  for  their  levity  ; 
often  for  their  immorality.  The  German 
followers,  with  a  grave  spirit,  sought 
zealously  for  truth.  There  was  formed 
in  that  country  a  union  of  free,  learned, 
and  generous  individuals,  among  whom 
were  some  of  the  princes  of  the  land,  and 
who  laboured  to  render  science  useful  to 
religion.  Some  of  them  brought  to  their 
studies  the  humble  teachableness  of  chil- 
dren ;  others  an  enlightened  and  pene- 
trating judgment,  inclined  perhaps  to 
overstep  the  limits  of  sound  and  delibe- 
rate criticism ;  but  both  contributed  to 
clear  the  passages  of  the  temple,  hitherto 
obstructed  by  so  many  superstitions. 

The  monkish  theologians  perceived 
the  danger,  and  they  began  to  clamour 
against  the  very  same  studies  that  they 
had  tolerated  in  Italy  and  France,  be- 
cause they  were  there  mixed  with  levity 


STATE   OF   EUROPE   PRIOR  TO   THE   REFORMATION. 


35 


and  dissoluteness.  A  conspiracy  was 
entered  into  against  languages  and  sci- 
ences, for  in  their  rear  they  perceived 
the  true  faith.  One  day  a  monk,  cau- 
tioning some  one  against  the  heresies  of 
Erasmus,  was  asked  "  in  what  they  con- 
sisted ?"  He  confessed  he  had  not  read 
the  work  he  spoke  of,  and  could  but  al- 
lege "  that  it  was  written  in  too  good 
Latin." 

Still  all  these  exterior  causes  would 
have  been  insufficient  to  prepare  the  re- 
novation of  the  Church. 

Christianity  had  declined,  because  the 
two  guiding  truths  of  the  new  covenant 
had  been  lost.  The  first,  in  contra-dis- 
tinction  to  Church  assumption,  is  the 
immediate  relation  existing  between 
every  individual  soul  and  the  Fountain 
of  Truth — the  second,  (and  this  stood 
directly  opposed  to  the  idea  of  merit  in 
human  works,)  is  the  doctrine  of  salva- 
tion by  Grace.  Of  these  two  principles, 
immutable  and  immortal  in  themselves, 
— for  ever  true,  however  slighted  or  cor- 
rupted, which, — it  might  then  have  been 
asked, — was  to  be  first  set  in  motion,  and 
give  the  regenerative  impulse  to  the 
Church  ? — Was  it  to  be  the  former,  the 
principle  of  Church  authority  1  Or  was 
it  to  be  the  latter,  the  energy  of  the  Spi- 
rit ? — In  our  days  men  pretend  to  ope- 
rate through  the  social  condition  upon 
the  soul :  through  human  nature  in  ge- 
neral, upon  individual  character.  It  will 
be  concluded  that  the  principle  of  a 
Church  was  prominent  in  the  move- 
ment : — History  has  shown  the  very 
contrary : — it  has  proved  that  it  is  by 
individual  influence  that  an  impression 
is  produced  on  the  community,  and  that 
the  first  step  toward  restoring  the  social 
condition — is  to  regenerate  the  soul.  All 
the  efforts  for  amelioration  witnessed  in  i 
the  middle  ages  arose  out  of  religious  J 
feeling  ; — the  question  of  authority  was  ! 
never  mooted  till  men  were  compelled  j 
to  defend  against  the  hierarchy  the  newly 
discovered  truth. — It  was  the  same  in 
later  times,  in  Luther's  case. — When  the 
Truth  that  saves  appears  on  the  one  side, 
sustained  by  the  authority  of  God's  word, 
— and  on  the  other,  the  Error  that  de- 
stroys, backed  by  trie  power  of  the  Ro- 
man hierarchy,  Christians  cannot  long 
hesitate  ;  and  in  spite  of  the  most  spe- 
cious  sophisms  and  the  fairest  creden- 


tials, the  claim  to  authority  is  soon  dis- 
posed of. 

The  Church  had  fallen  because  the 
great  doctrine  of  Justification  through 
faith  in  Christ  had  been  lost.  It  was 
therefore  necessary  that  this  doctrine 
should  be  restored  to  her  before  she  could 
arise.  Whenever  this  fundamental  truth 
should  be  restored,  all  the  errors  and  de- 
vices which  had  usurped  its  place,  the 
train  of  saints,  works,  penances,  masses, 
and  indulgences,  would  vanish.  The 
moment  the  one  Mediator,  and  his  one 
sacrifice  were  acknowledged,  all  other 
mediators,  and  all  other  sacrifices,  would 
disappear.  "  This  article  of  justification," 
says  one*  whom  we  may  look  upon  as 
enlightened  on  the  subject,  "is  that 
which  forms  the  Church,  nourishes  it, 
builds  it  up,  preserves  and  defends  it. 
No  one  can  well  teach  in  the  Church, 
or  successfully  resist  its  adversary,  if  he 
continue  not  in  his  attachment  to  this 
grand  truth."  "It  is,"  adds  the  Re- 
former, referring  to  the  earliest  prophecy, 
"  the  heel  that  crushes  the  serpent's  head." 

God,  who  was  then  preparing  his  work, 
raised  up,  during  a  long  course  of  ages, 
a  succession  of  witnesses  to  this  truth. 
But  the  generous  men  who  bore  testi- 
mony to  this  truth,  did  not  clearly  com- 
prehend it,  or  at  least  did  not  know  how 
to  bring  it  distinctly  forward.  Incapable 
of  accomplishing  the  work,  they  were 
well  suited  to  prepare  it.  We  may  add 
also,  that  if  they  were  not  prepared  for 
this  work,  the  work  itself  was  not  ready 
for  them.  The  measure  was  not  yet  fulL 
— the  need  of  the  true  remedy  was  not  yet 
felt  so  extensively  as  was  necessary. 

Thus,  instead  of  felling  the  tree  at  the 
root  by  preaching  chiefly  and  earnestly 
the  doctrine  of  salvation  by  grace,  they 
confined  themselves  to  questions  of  cere- 
monies, to  the  government  of  the  Church, 
to  forms  of  worships,  to  the  adoration  of' 
saints  and  images,  or  to  the  transubstanti* 
ation,&c;  and  thus  limiting  their  efforts  to 
the  branches,  they  might  succeed  in  pru- 
ning  the  tree  here  and  there,  but  they  left 
it  still  standing.  In  order  to  a  salutary 
reformation  without,  there  must  be  a 
real  reformation  within.  And  faith  alone, 
can  effect  this. 

Scarcely  had   Rome    usurped  power 
before  a  vigorous  opposition  was  formed 
*  Luther  to  Brentius. 


36 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


against  her ;  and  this  endured  throughout 
the  middle  ages. 

Archbishop  Claudius,  of  Turin,  in  the 
ninth  century,  Peter  of  Bruys,  his  pupil 
Henry,  Arnold  of  Brescia,  in  the  twelth 
century,  in  France  and  Italy,  laboured 
to  restore  the  Avorship  of  God  in  spirit 
and  in  truth  ;  but  they  sought  that  wor- 
ship too  much  in  the  riddance  from 
images  and  outward  ceremony. 

The  Mystics,  who  have  existed  in  al- 
most every  age,  seeking  in  silence,  holi- 
ness, righteousness  of  life,  and  quiet  com- 
munion with  God,  beheld  with  alarm 
and  sorrow  the  wretched  condition  of  the 
Church.  They  carefully  abstained  from 
the  quarrels  of  the  schools,  and  all  the 
unprofitable  discussions  beneath  which 
true  piety  had  been  well  nigh  buried. 
They  laboured  to  turn  men  from  the 
empty  form  of  an  outward  worship,  from 
noise  and  pomp  of  ceremonies,  that  they 
might  lead  them  to  the  inward  peace  of 
the  soul  that  seeks  all  its  happiness  in 
God.  They  could  not  do  this  without 
coming  in  collision  with  all  the  received 
opinions,  and  exposing  the  wounds  of 
the  Church  ;  but  still  even  they  had  no 
clear  views  of  the  doctrine  of  justification 
by  faith. 

Far  superior  to  the  Mystics  in  purity  of 
doctrine,  the  Vaudois  formed  a  long  con- 
tinued chain  of  witnesses  for  the  truth. 
Men  more  free  than  the  rest  of  the 
Church  appear  from  early  times  to  have 
inhabited  the  summits  of  the  Piedmon- 
tese  Alps.  Their  numbers  had  increased, 
and  their  doctrine  had  been  purified  by 
the  disciples  of  Valdo.  From  the 
heights  of  their  mountains  the  Vaudois 
protested  for  ages  against  the  superstitions 
of  Rome.*  "  They  contended,"  said 
they,  "  for  their  lively  hope  in  God 
through  Christ ;  for  regeneration  and  in- 
ward  renewal  by  faith,  hope,  and  charity  ; 
for  the  merits  of  Christ,  and  the  all-suffi- 
ciency of  his  grace  and  righteousness."! 
And  yet  this  primary  truth  of  the 
Justification  of  the  sinner,  which  ought 
to  rise  pre-eminent  above  other  doc- 
trines, like  Mount  Blanc  above  the 
surrounding  Alps,  was  not  sufficiently 
prominent  in  their  system. 

Pierre  Vaud,  or  Valdo,  a  rich  mer- 

*  Nobla  Leycon. 

+  Treatise  on  Antichrist,  a  work  contemporary 
with  the  Nobla  Leycon. 


chant  of  Lyons  (a.  d.  1170,)  sold  all  his 
goods  and  gave  to  the  poor.  He  and  his 
friends  appear  to  have  had  for  their  ob- 
ject to  re-establish  in  the  intercourse  of 
life  the  perfection  of  primitive  Chris- 
tianity. He  began  then,  like  others,  at 
the  branches,  and  not  at  the  root. 
Nevertheless  his  preaching  was  power- 
ful ;  for  he  recalled  the  minds  of  his 
hearers  to  the  Scriptures  which  menaced 
the  Roman  hierarchy  in  its  foundation. 

In  1360  Wicklif  made  his  appearance 
in  England,  and  appealed  from  the  Pope 
to  the  Word  of  God  ;  but  the  real  inward 
wound  of  the  church  appeared  to  him  as 
only  one  of  many  symptoms  of  its  malady. 

John  Huss  preached  in  Bohemia  a 
century  before  Luther  appeared  in 
Saxony.  He  seemed  to  enter  more 
deeply  than  all  who  had  gone  before 
him  into  the  essence  of  Christian  truth. 
He  besought  Christ  to  grant  him  grace 
to  glory  only  in  his  cross,  and  in  the  in- 
estimable humiliation  of  his  sufferings. 
But  he  attacked  rather  the  lives  of  the 
clergy  than  the  errors  of  the  Church. 
And  yet  he  was,  if  we  may  be  allowed 
the  expression,  the  John  the  Baptist  of 
the  Reformation.  The  flames  of  his 
martyrdom  kindled  a  fire  which  shed  an 
extensive  light  in  the  midst  of  the  gen- 
eral gloom,  and  was  destined  not  to  be 
speedily  extinguished. 

John  Huss  did  more  :  prophetic  words 
resounded  from  the  depths  of  his  dun- 
geon. He  foresaw  that  a  real  reforma- 
tion of  the, Church  was  at  hand.  When 
driven  from  Prague,  and  compelled  to 
wander  in  the  fields  of  Bohemia,  where 
he  was  followed  by  an  immense  crowd 
eager  to  catch  his  words,  he  exclaimed : 
"  The  wicked  have  begun  by  laying 
treacherous  snares  for  the  goose*  But 
if  even  the  goose,  which  is  only  a  do- 
mestic fowl,  a  tame  creature,  and  unable 
to  rise  high  in  the  air,  has  yet  broken 
their  snares,  other  birds,  whose  flight 
carries  them  boldly  towards  heaven,  will 
break  them  with  much  more  power.  In- 
stead of  a  feeble  goose,  the  truth  will 
send  forth  eagles  and  sharp  keen-eyed 
falcons. "f  The  Reformers  fulfilled  this 
prediction. 

And  when  the  venerable  priest  was 

*  The  word  Huss  in  Bohemian  signifying 
goose. 

t  Epist.  J.  Hubs  tempore  anathematis  scripts. 


STATE  OF  EUROPE  PRIOR  TO  THE  REFORMATION. 


37, 


summoned,  by  order  of  Sigismund,  be- 
fore the  Council  of  Constance,  and  cast 
into  prison,  the  chapel  of  Bethlehem, 
where  he  had  proclaimed  the  Gospel  and 
the  future  triumphs  of  Christ,  employed 
his  thoughts  more  than  his  own  defence. 
One  night,  the  holy  martyr  thought  he 
saw  from  the  depths  of  his  dungeon  the 
pictures  of  Christ,  which  were  painted 
on  the  walls  of  his  oratory,  effaced  by 
the  Pope  and  his  bishops.  This  dream 
distressed  him.  Next  night  he  saw 
several  painters  engaged  in  restoring  the 
figures  in  greater  numbers  and  more 
vivid  colouring ;  and  this  work  per- 
formed, the  painters,  surrounded,  by  an 
immense  multitude,  exclaimed  :  "  Now 
let  the  popes  and  bishops  come  when 
they  will,  they  will  never  again  be  able 
to  efface  them." — "  And  many  persons 
thereupon  rejoiced  in  Bethlehem,  and  I 
amongst  them,"  adds  Huss.  "  Think 
of  your  defence,  rather  than  of  your 
dreams,"  said  his  faithful  friend,  the 
Chevalier  de  Chlum,  to  whom  he  had 
imparted  his  dream.  "  I  am  no  dreamer," 
replied  Huss  ;  "  but  I  hold  it  certain, 
that  the  image  of  Christ  will  never  be 
effaced.  They  desired  to  destroy  it,  but 
it  will  be  imprinted  anew  on  the  hearts 
of  men  by  much  better  preachers  than 
myself.  The  nation  that  loves  Christ 
will  rejoice  at  this.  And  I,  awaking 
from  the  dead,  and  rising  as  it  were 
from  the  grave,  shall  leap  for  joy."* 

A  century  elapsed ;  and  the  Gospel 
torch  rekindled  by  the  Reformers,  did  in 
truth  enlighten  many  nations,  who  re- 
joiced in  its  beams. 

But  it  Avas  not  only  amongst  those 
whom  Rome  regarded  as  her  adversaries, 
that  a  life-giving  word  was  heard  at  that 
period.  Catholicism  itself — and  we  may 
take  comfort  from  the  thought — reckons 
amongst  its  own  members  numerous 
witnesses  for  the  truth.  The  primitive 
edifice  had  been  consumed  ;  but  a  holy 
fire  smouldered  beneath  its  ashes,  and 
from  time  to  time  bright  sparks  were 
seen  to  escape. 

Anselm  of  Canterbury,  in  a  work  for 
the  use  of  the  dying,  exhorted  them  "  to 
look  solely  to  the  merits  of  Jesus  Christ." 

A  monk,  named  Arnoldi,  offered  up 
every  day  in  his  peaceful  cell  this  fervent 
prayer,  "  Oh,  Lord  Jesus  Christ !     I  be- 

*  Huss,  epp.  sub  tempus  concilii  script®. 


lieve  that  in  thee  alone  I  have  redemp- 
tion and  righteousness."* 

A  pious  bishop  of  Bale,  Christopher 
de  Utenheim,  had  his  name  written  upon 
a  picture  painted  on  glass,  which  is  still 
at  Bale,  and  round  it  this  motto,  which 
he  wished  to  have  always  before  him, — 
"  My  hope  is  in  the  cross  of  Christ ;  I 
seek  grace,  and  not  works."t 

A  poor  Carthusian,  brother  Martin, 
wrote  this  affecting  confession :  "  Oh, 
most  merciful  God  !  I  know  that  I  can 
only  be  saved,  and  satisfy  thy  righteous- 
ness, by  the  merit,  the  innocent  suffering, 
and  death  of  thy  well-beloved  son.  Holy 
Jesus!  my  salvation  is  in  thy  hands. 
Thou  canst  not  withdraw  the  hands  of 
thy  love  from  me  ;  for  they  have  created, 
and  formed,  and  redeemed  me.  Thou 
hast  inscribed  my  name  with  a  pen  of 
iron,  in  rich  mercy,  and  so  as  nothing 
can  efface  it,  on  thy  side,  thy  hands,  and 
thy  feet ;"  etc.  etc.  After  this  the  good 
Carthusian  placed  his  confession  in  a 
wooden  box,  and  enclosed  the  box  in  a 
hole  he  had  made  in  the  wall  of  his 
cell.t 

The  piety  of  brother  Martin  would 
never  have  been  known,  if  his  box  had 
not  been  found,  on  the  21st  of  December, 
1776,  in  taking  down  an  old  building 
which  had  been  part  of  the  Carthusian 
convent  at  Bale.  How  many  convents 
may  have  concealed  similar  treasures ! 

But  these  holy  men  only  held  this 
faith  themselves,  and  did  not  know  how 
to  communicate  it  to  others.  Living  in 
retirement,  they  might,  more  or  less 
adopt  the  words  of  good  brother  Martin, 
written  in  his  box :  "  Et  si  hctc  prcedicta 
co7ifiteri  non  possim  lingua,  confitcor  ta- 
men  corde  et  scripto. — If  I  cannot  confess 
these  things  with  my  tongue,  I  at  least 
confess  them  with  my  pen  and  with  my 
heart."  The  word  of  truth  was  laid  up 
in  the  sanctuary  of  many  a  pious  mind, 
but  to  use  an  expression  in  the  Gospel,  it 
had  not  free  course  in  the  world. 

*  Credo  quod  tu,  mi  Domine,  Jesn  Christe  solus 
es  mea  jnstitia  et  redemptio.  Leibnitz  script. 
Brunsw.  iii.  369. 

t  Spes  mea  crux  Christi ;  gradiam  non  opera 
qusro. 

t  Sciens  posse  me  aliter  non  salvari  et  tibi  sa- 
tisfacere  nisi  per  meritum,  etc.  See  for  the  cita- 
tions, and  many  others,  Flaccius  Catal.  Test 
Veritatis  ;  Wolfii  Lect.  Memorabiles  ;  Miiller's 
Reliquien,  etc.  etc. 


38 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


If  men  did  not  openly  confess  the  doc- 
trine of  salvation,  they  at  least  did  not 
fear,  even  within  the  pale  of  the  Romish 
Church,  boldly  to  protest  against  the 
abuses  which  disgraced  it.  Italy  itself 
had  at  that  time  her  witnesses  against 
the  priesthood.  The  Dominican,  Sava- 
ronola,  preached  at  Florence^  in  1498 
against  the  insupportable  vices  of  Rome  ; 
but  the  powers  that  then  were,  des- 
patched him  by  the  inquisition  and  the 
stake. 

Geiler  of  Kaisersberg  was  for  three 
and  thirty  years  the  great  preacher  of 
Germany.  He  attacked  the  clergy  with 
energy.  "  When  the  summer  leaves 
turn  yellow,"  said  he,  "  we  say  that  the 
root  is  diseased :  and  thus  it  is,  a  dissolute 
people  proclaim  a  corrupted  priesthood." 
If  no  wicked  man  ought  to  say  mass," 
said  he  to  his  bishop,  "  drive  out  all  the 
priests  from  your  diocese."  The  people, 
hearing  this  courageous  minister,  learned 
even  in  the  sanctuary  to  see  the  enormi- 
ties of  their  spritual  guides. 

This  state  of  things  in  the  Church  it- 
self deserves  our  notice.  When  the 
Wisdom  of  God  shall  again  utter  his 
teachings,  there  will  every  where  be  un- 
derstandings and  hearts  to  comprehend. 
When  the  sower  shall  again  come  forth 
to  sow,  he  will  find  ground  prepared  to 
receive  the  seed.  When  the  word  of 
truth  shall  resound,  it  will  find  echoes  to 
repeat  it.  When  the  trumpet  shall  utter 
a  war-note  in  the  Church  many  of  her 
children  will  prepare  themselves  to  the 
battle. 

We  are  arrived  near  the  scene  on 
which  Luther  appeared.  Before  we  be- 
gin the  history  of  that  great  commotion 
which  caused  to  shoot  up  in  all  its  bril- 
liancy, that  light  of  truth  which  had 
been  so  long  concealed,  and  which,  by 
renovating  the  Church,  renovated  so 
many  nations,  and  called  others  into  ex- 
istence, creating  a  new  Europe  and  a 
new  Christianity,  let  us  take  a  glance  at 
the  different  nations  in  the  midst  of 
whom  this  revolution  in  religion  took 
place. 

The  Empire  was  a  confederacy  of  dif- 
ferent states,  with  the  Emperor  at  their 
head.  Each  of  these  states  possessed 
sovereignty  over  its  own  territory.  The 
Imperial  Diet,  composed  of  all  the  princes, 
or  sovereign  states,  exercised  the  legisla- 


tive power  for  the  whole  of  the  Germanic 
body.  The  Emperor  ratified  the  laws, 
decrees,  or  resolutions,  of  this  assembly, 
and  it  was  his  office  to  publish  and  exe- 
cute them.  The  seven  more  powerful 
princes,  under  the  title  of  Electors,  had 
the  privilege  of  awarding  the  Imperial 
crown. 

The  princes  and  states  of  the  Germa- 
nic Confederacy  had  been  anciently  sub- 
jects of  the  Emperors,  and  held  their 
lands  of  them.  But  after  the  accession 
of  Rodolph  of  Hapsburg  (1273,)  a  series 
of  troubles  had  taken  place,  in  which 
princes,  free  cities,  and  bishops,  acquired 
a  considerable  degree  of  independence, 
at  the  expense  of  the  Imperial  sovereign. 

The  north  of  Germany,  inhabited 
chiefly  by  the  old  Saxon  race,  had  ac- 
quired most  liberty.  The  Emperor,  in- 
cessantly attacked  by  the  Turks  in  his 
hereditary  possessions,  was  disposed  to 
keep  on  good  terms  with  courageous 
chiefs  and  communities,  whose  alliance 
was  then  necessary  to  him.  Several  free 
cities  in  the  north-west  and  south  of  Eu- 
rope had,  by  commerce,  manufactures, 
and  industry,  attained  a  considerable  de- 
gree of  prosperity,  and  by  that  means, 
of  independence.  The  powerful  house 
of  Austria,  which  wore  the  crown  of  the 
Empire,  controlled  the  majority  of  the 
states  of  central  Germany,  overlooked 
their  movements,  and  was  preparing  to 
extend  its  dominion,  over  and  beyond 
the  whole  Empire,  when  the  Reforma- 
tion interposed  a  powerful  barrier  to  its 
encroachments,  and  saved  the  liberties 
of  Europe. 

If,  in  the  time  of  St.  Paul,  or  of  Am- 
brose, of  Austin,  of  Chrysostom,  or  even 
in  the  days  of  Anselm  and  Bernard,  the 
question  had  been  asked,  what  people  or 
nation  God  would  be  likely  to  use  to  re- 
form the  church, — the  thought  might 
have  turned  to  the  countries  honoured 
by  the  Apostles'  ministry, — to  Asia,  to 
Greece,  or  to  Rome,  perhaps  to  Britain 
or  to  France,  where  men  of  great  learn- 
ing had  preached  ;  but  none  would  have 
thought  of  the  barbarous  Germans.  All 
other  countries  of  Christendom  had,  in 
their  turn,  shone  in  the  history  of  the 
Church  ;  Germany  alone  had  continued 
dark.  Yet  it  was  Germany  that  was 
chosen. 
•    God,  who  prepared  during  four  thou- 


STATE  OF  EUROPE  PRIOR  TO  THE  REFORMATION. 


39 


sand  years  the  Advent  of  his  Messiah, 
and  led  through  different  dispensations, 
for  many  ages,  the  people  among  whom 
he  was  to  be  born,  also  prepared  Ger- 
many in  secret  and  unobserved,  un- 
known indeed  even  to  itself,  to  be  the 
cradle  of  a  Religious  Regeneration, 
which,  in  a  later  day,  should  awaken  the 
various  nations  of  Christendom. 

As  Judea,  the  birth-place  of  our  reli- 
gion, lay  in  the  centre  of  the  ancient 
world,  so  Germany  was  situate  in  the 
midst  of  Christian  nations.  She  looked 
upon  the  Netherlands,  England,  France, 
Switzerland,  Italy,  Hungary,  Bohemia, 
Poland,  Denmark,  and  the  whole  of  the 
north.  It  was  fit  that  the  principle  of 
life  should  develop  itself  in  the  heart  of 
Europe, — that  its  pulses  might  circulate 
through  all  the  arteries  of  the  body  the 
generous  blood  designed  to  vivify  its 
members. 

The  particular  form  of  constitution 
that  the  Empire  had  received,  by  the 
dispensations  of  Providence,  favoured 
the  propagation  of  new  ideas.  If  Ger- 
many had  been  a  monarchy,  strictly  so 
called,  like  France  or  England,  the  ar- 
bitrary will  of  the  sovereign  might  have 
sufficed  to  delay  for  a  long  time  the 
progress  of  the  Gospel.  But  it  was  a 
confederacy.  The  truth,  opposed  in  one 
state,  might  be  received  with  favour  by 
another.  Important  centres  of  light, 
which  might  gradually  penetrate  through 
the  darkness,  and  enlighten  the  sur- 
rounding population,  might  be  quickly 
formed  in  different  districts  of  the  Empire. 

The  internal  peace  which  Maximilian 
had  given  to  the  Empire  was  no  less  fa- 
vourable to  the  Reformation.  For  a 
long  while  the  numerous  members  of 
the  Germanic  body  had  laboured  to  dis- 
turb each  other.  Nothing  had  been  seen 
but  confusions,  quarrels,  wars  incessantly 
breaking  out  between  neighbours,  cities, 
and  chiefs.  Maximilian  had  laid  a  solid 
basis  of  public  order  by  instituting  the 
Imperial  chamber  appointed  to  settle  all 
differences  between  the  states. — The  Ger- 
mans, after  so  many  confusions  and  anxie- 
ties, saw  a  new  a?ra  of  safety  and  repose. 
This  condition  of  affairs  powerfully  con- 
tributed to  harmonize  the  general  mind. 
It  was  now  possible  in  the  cities  and 
peaceful  valleys  of  Germany  to  seek  and 
adopt  ameliorations,  which  discord  might 


have  banished.  We  may  add  that  it  is 
in  the  bosom  of  peace  that  the  Gospel 
loves  most  to  gain  its  blessed  victories. 
Thus  it  had  been  the  will  of  God.  fifteen 
centuries  before,  that  Augustus  should 
present  a  pacified  world  for  the  blessed 
triumphs  of  Christ's  religion.  Neverthe- 
less the  Reformation  performed  a  double 
part  in  the  peace  then  beginning  for  the 
Empire.  It  was  as  much  cause  as  effect. 
Germany,  when  Luther  appeared,  of- 
fered to  the  contemplation  of  an  observer 
the  sort  of  movement  which  agitates 
the  sea  after  a  continued  storm.  The 
calm  did  not  promise  to  be  lasting.  The 
first  breath  might  again  call  up  the  tem- 
pest. We  shall  see  more  than  one  ex- 
ample of  this.  The  Reformation,  by 
communicating  a  new  impulse  to  the  po- 
pulation, destroyed  for  ever  the  old  mo- 
tives of  agitation.  It  made  an  end  of 
the  system  of  barbarous  times,  and  gave 
to  Europe  one  entirely  new. 

Meanwhile  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ 
had  had  its  accustomed  influence  on  Ger- 
many. The  common  people  had  rapidly 
advanced ;  numerous  institutions  arose 
in  the  Empire,  and  particularly  in  the 
free  cities, — well  adapted  to  develope  the 
minds  of  the  mass  of  the  people.  The 
arts  flourished ;  the  burghers  followed 
in  security  their  peaceable  labours  and 
the  duties  of  social  life.  They  gradually 
opened  to  information,  and  thus  acquired 
respect  and  influence.  It  was  not  magis- 
trates bending  conscience  to  political  ex- 
pediency, or  nobles  emulous  of  military 
glory,  or  a  clergy  seeking  gain  or  power, 
and  regarding  religion  as  their  peculiar 
property,  who  were  to  be  the  founders 
of  the  Reformation  in  Germany.  It  was 
to  be  the  work  of  the  bourgeoisie— gof  the 
people — of  the  whole  nation. 

The  peculiar  character  of  the  Germans 
was  such  as  especially  to  favour  a  Refor- 
mation in  Religion.  A  false  civilization 
had  not  enfeebled  them.  The  precious 
seeds  that  a  fear  of  God  deposits  in  a 
nation  had  not  been  scattered  to  the 
winds.  Ancient  manners  still  subsisted. 
There  was  in  Germany  that  uprightness, 
fidelity,  love  and  toil,  and  perseverance, 
— that  religious  habit  of  mind — which 
we  still  find  there,  and  which  presages 
more  success  to  the  Gospel,  than  the 
scornful  or  brutal  levity  of  other  Euro- 
pean nations. 


40 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


Another  circumstance  may  have  con- 
tributed to  render  Germany  a  soil  more 
favourable  to  the  revival  of  Christianity 
than  many  other  countries.  God  had 
fenced  it  in  ;  he  had  preserved  its  strength 
for  the  day  of  its  giving  birth  to  his  pur- 
pose. It  had  not  fallen  from  the  faith 
after  a  period  of  spiritual  vigour,  as  had 
been  the  case  with  the  churches  of  Asia, 
of  Greece,  of  Italy,  of  France,  and  of  Bri- 
tain. The  Gospel  had  never  been  offered 
to  Germany  in  its  primitive  purity ;  the 
first  missionaries  who  visited  the  country- 
gave  to  it  a  religion  already  vitiated  in 
more  than  one  particular.  It  was  a  law 
of  the  Church,  a  spiritual  discipline,  that 
Boniface  and  his  successors  carried  to  the 
Frisons,  the  Saxons,  and  other  German 
nations.  Faith  in  the  "good  tidings," 
that  faith  which  rejoices  the  heart  and 
makes  it  free  indeed,  had  remained  un- 
known to  them.  Instead  of  being  slowly 
corrupted,  the  religion  of  the  Germans 
had  rather  been  purified.  Instead  of 
declining,  it  had  arisen.  It  was  indeed 
to  be  expected  that  more  life  and  spirit- 
ual strength  would  be  found  among  this 
people  than  among  those  enervated  na- 
tions of  Christendom  where  deep  dark- 
ness had  succeeded  to  the  light  of  truth, 
and  an  almost  universal  corruption  had 
taken  place  of  the  sanctity  of  the  earliest 
times. 

We  may  make  the  like  remark  on  the 
exterior  relation  between  the  Germanic 
body  and  the  Church.  The  Germans 
had  received  from  Rome  that  element 
of  modern  civilization,  the  faith.  In- 
struction, legislation,  all,  save  their  cou- 
rage and  their  weapons,  had  come  to 
them  from  the  Sacerdotal  city.  Strong 
ties  had  from  that  time  attached  Germany 
to  the  Papacy.  The  former  was  a  spi- 
ritual conquest  of  the  latter,  and  we  know 
to  what  use  Rome  has  ever  turned  her 
conquests.  Other  nations,  which  had 
held  the  faith  and  civilization  before  the 
Roman  Pontiff  existed,  had  continued  in 
more  independence  of  him.  But  this 
subjection  of  Germany  was  destined  only 
to  make  the  reaction  more  powerful  at 
the  moment  of  awakening.  When  Ger- 
many should  open  her  eyes,  she  would 
indignantly  tear  away  the  trammels  in 
which  she  had  been  so  long  kept  bound. 
The  very  measure  of  slavery  she  had 
had  to  endure,  would  make  her  deliver- 


ance and  liberty  more  indispensable  to 
her,  and  strong  champions  of  the  truth 
would  come  forth  from  the  enclosure  of 
control  and  restriction  in  which  her  po- 
pulation had  for  ages  been  shut  up. 

When  we  take  a  nearer  view  of  the 
times  of  the  Reformation,  we  see,  in  the 
government  of  Germany,  still  further 
reasons  to  admire  the  wisdom  of  Him, 
by  whom  kings  reign,  and  princes  exe- 
cute judgment.  There  was,  at  that  time, 
something  resembling  what  has  in  our 
own  days,  been  termed  a  system  of  see- 
saw. When  an  energetic  sovereign  pre- 
sided over  the  Empire,  the  imperial 
power  was  strengthened ;  on  the  othe]! 
hand,  when  he  was  of  feeble  character, 
the  authority  of  the  Electors  gained 
force. 

Under  Maximilian,  the  predecessor  of 
Charles  V.  this  alternate  rise  and  depres- 
sion of  the  various  states  was  especially 
remarkable.  At  that  time  the  balance 
was  altogether  against  the  Emperor. 
The  princes  had  repeatedly  formed  close 
alliances  with  one  another.  The  emperors 
themselves  had  urged  them  to  do  so,  in 
order  that  they  might  direct  them  at  one 
effort  against  some  common  enemy.  But 
the  strength  that  the  princes  acquired 
from  such  alliances  against  a  passing 
danger,  might,  at  an  after  period,  be 
turned  against  the  encroachments  or 
power  of  the  Emperor.  This  did  indeed 
ensue.  At  no  period  had  the  Electors 
felt  themselves  more  independent  of  their 
head,  than  at  the  period  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. And  their  head  having  taken  part 
against  it,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  this  state 
of  things  was  favourable  to  the  progaga- 
tion  of  the  Gospel. 

We  may  add,  that  Germany  was  weary 
of  what  the  Romans  contemptuously 
termed  "  the  patience  of  the  Germans." 
The  latter  had,  in  truth,  manifested  much 
patience  ever  since  the  time  of  Louis  of 
Bavaria.  From  that  period  the  emper- 
ors had  laid  down  their  arms,  and  the 
ascendancy  of  the  tiara  over  the  crown 
of  the  Caesars  was  acknowledged.  But 
the  battle  had  only  changed  its  field.  It 
was  to  be  fought  on  lower  ground.  The 
same  contests,  of  which  emperors  and 
popes  had  set  the  example,  were  quickly 
renewed  in  miniature,  in  all  the  towns 
of  Germany,  between  bishops  and  magis- 
trates.    The  commonalty  had  caught  up 


STATE  OF  EUROPE  PRIOR  TO  THE  REFORMATION, 


41 


the  sword  dropped  by  the  chiefs  of  the 
empire.  As  early  as  1329,  the  citizens 
of  Frankfort  on  the  Oder  had  resisted 
with  intrepidity  their  ecclesiastical  supe- 
riors. Excommunicated  for  their  fidelity 
to  the  Margrave  Louis,  they  had  remained 
twenty-eight  years  without  masses,  bap- 
tisms, marriage,  or  funeral  rites.  And 
afterwards,  when  the  monks  and  priests 
reappeared,  they  had  openly  ridiculed 
their  return  as  a  farce.  Deplorable  irre- 
verence, doubtless ;  but  of  which  the 
clergy  themselves  were  the  cause.  At 
the  epoch  of  the  Reformation,  the  animo- 
sity between  the  magistrates  and  the  ec- 
clesiastics had  increased.  Every  hour 
the  privileges  and  temporal  possessions 
of  the  clergy  gave  rise  to  collision.  If 
the  magistrates  refused  to  give  way,  the 
bishops  and  priests  imprudently  had  re- 
course to  the  extreme  means  at  their  dis- 
*  posal.  Sometimes  the  Pope  interfered ; 
and  it  was  to  give  an  example  of  the 
most  revolting  partiality,  or  to  endure 
the  humiliating  necessity  of  leaving  the 
triumph  in  the  hands  of  the  commons, 
obstinately  resolved  to  maintain  their 
right.  These  continual  conflicts  had 
filled  the  cities  with  hatred  and  contempt 
of  the  Pope,  and  the  bishops,  and  the 
priests. 

But  not  only  among  the  burgomasters, 
councillors,  and  town  clerks  did  Rome 
and  the  clergy  find  adversaries ;  they 
had  opponents  both  above  and  below  the 
middle  classes  of  society.  From  the 
commencement  of  the  16th  century,  the 
Imperial  Diet  displayed  an  inflexible 
firmness  against  the  papal  envoys.  In 
May,  1510,  the  States  assembled  at  Augs- 
burg handed  to  the  Emperor  a  statement 
of  ten  leading  grievances  against  the 
Pope  and  clergy  of  Rome.  About  the 
same  time,  there  was  a  violent  ferment 
among  the  populace.  It  broke  out  in 
1512  in  the  Rhenish  provinces;  where 
the  peasantry,  indignant  at  the  weight 
of  the  yoke  imposed  by  their  ecclesias- 
tical sovereigns,  formed  among  them- 
selves the  League  of  the  Shoes. 

Thus,  on  all  sides,  from  above  and 
from  beneath,  was  heard  a  low  murmur, 
the  forerunner  of  the  thunderbolt  that 
was  about  to  fall.  Germany  appeared 
ripe  for  the  work  appointed  for  the  16th 
century.  Providence,  in  its  slow  course, 
had  prepared  all  things ;  and  even  the 
6 


passions  which  God  condemns  were  to 
be  turned  by  His  power  to  the  fulfilment 
of  his  purposes. 

Let  us  take  a  view  of  other  nations. 

Thirteen  small  republics,  placed  with 
their  allies  in  the  centre  of  Europe, 
among  mountains  which  compose  as  it 
were  its  citadel,  formed  a  simple  and 
brave  population.  Who  would  have 
thought  of  looking  to  these  obscure  val- 
leys for  the  men  whom  God  would 
choose  to  be,  jointly  with  the  children 
of  the  Germans,  the  liberators  of  the 
Church?  Who  would  have  guessed 
that  poor  and  unknown  villages,  just 
raised  above  barbarism — hidden  among 
inaccessible  mountains,  in  the  extremity 
of  lakes  never  named  in  history, — would,, 
in  their  connection  with  Christianity, 
eclipse  Jerusalem,  Antioch,  Ephesus, 
Corinth,  and  Rome?  Yet  so  it  was. 
Such  was  the  will  of  Him  who  causeth 
it  to  rain  upon  one  city,  and  causeth 
it  not  to  rain  upon  another  city,  and 
maketh  his  showers  to  descend  on  one 
piece  of  land,  while  another  withereth 
under  drought.   (Amos  iv.  7.) 

Circumstances  of  another  kind  seemed 
to  surround  with  multiplied  rocks  the 
course  of  the  Reformation  in  the  bosom 
of  the  Swiss  population.  If,  in  a  monar- 
chy, it  had  to  fear  the  hindrances  of 
power ;  in  a  democracy  it  was  exposed 
to  the  hazards  of  the  precipitation  of  the 
people.  True,  this  Reformation,  which, 
in  the  states  of  the  Empire,  could  but 
advance  slowly  and  step  by  step,  might 
have  its  success  decided  in  one  day  in 
the  general  council  of  the  Swiss  republic. 
But  it  was  necessary  to  guard  against 
an  imprudent  haste,  which,  unwilling  to 
wait  a  favourable  moment,  should  ab- 
ruptly introduce  innovations,  otherwise 
most  useful,  and  so  compromise  the  pub- 
lic peace,  the  constitution  of  the  state, 
and  even  the  future  prospects  of  the  Re- 
formation itself. 

But  Switzerland  also  had  had  its  pre- 
parations. It  was  a  wild  tree,  but  one 
of  generous  nature,  which  had  been 
guarded  in  the  depth  of  the  valleys,  that 
it  might  one  day  be  grafted  with  a  fruit 
of  the  highest  value.  Providence  had 
diffused  among  this  recent  people,  prin- 
ciples of  courage,  independence,  and 
liberty,  destined  to  manifest  all  their 
strength  when  the  signal  of  conflict  with 


42 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


Rome  should  be  given.  The  Pope  had 
conferred  on  the  Swiss  the  title  of  pro- 
tectors of  the  liberties  of  the  Church  ; 
but  it  seems  they  had  understood  this 
honourable  name  in  a  totally  different 
sense  from  the  Pontiff  If  their  soldiers 
guarded  the  Pope  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  Capitol,  their  citizens,  in  the  bosom 
of  the  Alps,  carefully  guarded  their  own 
religious  liberties  against  the  invasion  of 
the  Pope  and  of  the  clergy.  Ecclesias- 
tics were  forbidden  to  have  recourse  to 
any  foreign  jurisdiction.  The  "  lettre  des 
pr  tres"  was  a  bold  protest  of  Swiss 
liberty  against  the  corruptions  and  power 
of  the  clergy.  Zurich  was  especially 
distinguished  by  its  courageous  opposi- 
tion to  the  claims  of  Rome.  Geneva,  at 
the  other  extremity  of  Switzerland,  strug- 
gled against  its  bishops.  Doubtless  the 
love  of  political  independence  may  have 
made  many  of  its  citizens  forget  the  true 
liberty ;  but  God  had  decreed  that  this 
love  of  independence  should  lead  others 
to  the  reception  of  a  doctrine  which  should 
truly  enfranchise  the  nation.  These  two 
leading  cities  distinguished  themselves 
among  all  the  rest  in  the  great  struggle 
we  have  undertaken  to  describe. 

But  if  the  Helvetic  towns,  open  and 
accessible  to  ameliorations,  were  likely 
to  be  drawn  early  within  the  current  of 
the  Reformation,  the  case  was  very  dif- 
ferent with  the  mountain  districts.  It 
might  have  been  thought  that  these  com- 
munities, more  simple  and  energetic  than 
their  confederates  in  the  towns,  would 
have  embraced  with  ardour  a  doctrine 
of  which  the  characteristics  were  simpli- 
city and  force  :  but  He  who  said — "  At 
that  time  two  men  shall  be  in  the  field, 
the  one  shall  be  taken  and  the  other 
left,"  saw  fit  to  leave  these  mountaineers, 
while  He  took  the  men  of  the  plain. 
Perhaps  an  attentive  observer  might 
have  discerned  some  symptoms  of  the 
difference  which  was  about  to  manifest 
itself  between  the  people  of  the  town  and 
of  the  hills.  Intelligence  had  not  pene- 
trated to  those  heights.  Those  Cantons, 
which  had  founded  Saviss  liberty,  proud 
of  the  part  they  had  played  in  the  grand 
struggle  for  independence,  were  not  dis- 
posed to  be  tamely  instructed  by  their 
younger  brethren  of  the  plain.  Why, 
they  might  ask,  should  they  change  the 
faith  in  which   they  had  expelled  the 


Austrians,  and  which  had  consecrated  by 
altars  all  the  scenes  of  their  triumphs? 
Their  priests  were  the  only  enlightened 
guides  to  whom  they  could  apply ;  their 
worship  and  their  festivals  were  occupa- 
tion and  diversion  for  their  tranquil  lives, 
and  enlivened  the  silence  of  their  peace- 
ful retreats.  They  continued  closed 
against  religious  innovations. 

Passing  the  Alps,  we  find  ourselves 
in  that  Italy,  which,  in  the  eyes  of  many 
was  the  Holy  Land  of  Christianity. 
Whence  would  Europe  look  for  good  to 
the  Church  but  from  Italy,  and  from 
Rome  itself?  The  power  which  had 
placed  successively  upon  the  pontifical 
chair  so  many  different  characters,  might 
it  not  one  day  place  thereon  a  pontiff 
who  should  become  an  instrument  of  bles- 
sing to  the  Lord's  heritage  ?  Even  if 
no  hope  was  to  be  placed  on  the  Popes, 
were  there  not  there  bishops  and  coun-  - 
cils  which  would  reform  the  Church? 
Nothing  good  can  come  out  of  Nazareth ; 
it  must  proceed  from  Jerusalem, — from 
Rome.  Such  might  have  been  the 
thoughts  of  men,  but  God's  thoughts 
were  not  as  theirs.  He  says,  "  Let  him 
that  is  filthy  be  filthy  still ;"  Rev.  xxii. 
11,  and  He  left  Italy  to  its  unrighteous- 
ness. Many  causes  conspired  to  deprive 
this  unhappy  country  of  Gospel  light. 
Its  different  states,  sometimes  rivals, 
sometimes  enemies,  came  into  violent 
collision  as  often  as  they  were  shaken 
by  any  commotion.  This  land  of  an- 
cient glory  was  by  turns  the  prey  of  in- 
testine wars  and  foreign  invasions ;  the 
stratagems  of  policy,  the  violence  of  fac- 
tions, the  agitation  of  battles,  seemed  to 
be  its  sole  occupation,  and  to  banish  for  a 
long  time  the  Gospel  of  peace. 

Italy,  broken  to  pieces,  and  without 
unity,  appeared  but  little  suited  to  receive 
one  general  impulse.  Every  frontier 
line  was  a  new  barrier,  where  truth 
would  be  stopped  and  challenged,  if  it 
sought  to  cross  the  Alps,  or  to  land  on 
those  smiling  shores.  It  was  true  the 
Papacy  was  then  planning  an  union  of 
all  Italy,  desiring,  as  Pope  Julius  ex- 
pressed it,  to  expel  the  barbarians, — that 
is,  the  foreign  princes  ;  and  she  hovered 
like  a  bird  of  prey  over  the  mutilated 
and  palpitating  members  of  ancient  Italy. 
But  if  she  had  gained  her  ends,  we  may 
easily    believe    that    the     Reformation 


STATE   OF  EUROPE   PRIOR   TO   THE   REFORMATION. 


43 


would  not  have  been  thereby  advan- 
ced. 

And  if  the  truth  was  destined  to  come 
to  them  from  the  north,  how  could  the 
Italians  so  enlightened,  of  so  refined  a 
taste  and  social  habits,  so  delicate  in  their 
own  eyeSj  condescend  to  receive  any 
thing  at  the  hands  of  the  barbarous  Ger- 
mans. Their  pride,  in  fact,  raised  be- 
tween the  Reformation  and  themselves 
a  barrier  higher  than  the  Alps.  But 
the  very  nature  of  their  mental  culture 
was  a  still  greater  obstacle  than  the  pre- 
sumption of  their  hearts.  Could  men, 
who  admired  the  elegance  of  a  well  ca- 
denced  sonnet  more  than  the  majestic 
simplicity  of  the  Scriptures,  be  a  propi- 
tious soil  for  the  seed  of  God's  word1? 
A  false  civilization  is,  of  all  conditions 
of  a  nation,  that  which  is  most  repug- 
nant to  the  Gospel. 

Finally,  whatever  might  be  the  state 
of  things  to  Italy — Rome  was  always 
Rome.  Not  only  did  the  temporal  power 
of  the  Popes  incline  the  several  parties 
in  Italy  to  court  at  any  cost  their  alli- 
ance and  favour,  but  in  addition  to  this, 
the  universal  sway  of  Rome  offered  more 
than  one  inducement  to  the  avarice  and 
vanity  of  the  Italian  states.  Whenever 
it  should  become  a  question  of  emanci- 
pation of  the  rest  of  the  world  from  the 
yoke  of  Rome,  Italy  would  again  be- 
come Italy !  domestic  quarrels  would 
not  be  suffered  to  prevail  to  the  advan- 
tage of  a  foreign  system ;  and  attacks 
directed  against  the  head  of  the  penin- 
sula would  immediately  call  up  the  af- 
fections and  common  interests  from  their 
long  sleep. 

The  Reformation,  then,  had  little  pros- 
pect of  success  in  that  country.  Never- 
theless, there  were  found  within  its  con- 
fines souls  prepared  to  receive  the  Gospel 
light,  and  Italy  was  not  then  entirely 
disinherited. 

Spain  possessed  what  Italy  did  not, — 
a  serious  and  noble  people,  whose  reli- 
gious mind  had  resisted  even  the  stern 
trial  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  of 
the  Revolution,  and  maintained  itself  to 
our  own  days.  In  every  age  this  people 
has  had  among  its  clergy  men  of  piety 
and  learning/ and  it  was  sufficiently  re- 
mote from  Rome  to  throw  off  without 
difficulty  her  yoke.  There  are  few  na- 
tions wherein  one  might  more  reasonably 


have  hoped  for  a  revival  of  that  primi-1 
tive  Christianity,  which  Spain  had  pro- 
bably received  from  St.  Paul  himself. 
And  yet  Spain  did  not  then  stand  up 
among  the  nations.  She  was  destined 
to  be  an  example  of  that  word  of  the 
Divine  Wisdom,  "  The  first  shall  be 
last."  Various  circumstances  conduced 
to  this  deplorable  result. 

Spain,  considering  its  isolated  position, 
and  -remoteness  from  Germany,  would 
feel  but  slightly  the  shocks  of  the  great 
earthquake  which  shook  the  Empire. 
But  more  than  this,  she  was  busily  occu- 
pied in  seeking  treasure  very  different 
from  that  which  the  Word  of  God  was 
then  offering  to  the  nations.  In  her  eyes 
the  new  world  outshone  the  eternal  world. 
A  virgin  soil,  which  seemed  to  be  com- 
posed of  gold  and  silver,  inflamed  the 
imagination  of  her  people.  An  eager 
desire  after  riches  left  no  room  in  the 
heart  of  the  Spaniard  for  nobler  thoughts. 
A  powerful  clergy,  having  the  scaffolds 
and  the  treasures  of  the  land  at  their  dis- 
posal, ruled  the  Peninsula.  Spain  wil- 
lingly rendered  to  its  priests  a  servile 
obedience,  which,  releasing  it  from  spi- 
ritual pre-occupations,  left  it  to  follow  its 
passions,  and  go  forward  in  quest  of 
riches,  and  discoveries  of  new  continents. 
Victorious  over  the  Moors,  she  had,  at 
the  expense  of  her  noblest  blood,  thrown 
down  the  crescent  from  the  towers  of 
Granada,  and  many  other  cities,  and 
planted  in  its  place  the  cross  of  Jesus 
Christ.  This  great  zeal  for  Christianity, 
which  promised  so  much, — turned  against 
the  truth, — for  could  Catholic  Spain,  that 
had  triumphed  over  infidels,  refuse  to 
oppose  heretics'?  How  could  a  people 
who  had  expelled  Mahomet  from  their 
noble  country,  allow  Luther  to  make 
way  in  it?  Their  kings  went  further. 
They  fitted  out  their  fleets  against  the 
Reformation.  They  went  forth  to  meet 
and  conquer  it  in  England  and  in  Hol- 
land. But  these  attacks  had  the  effect 
of  elevating  the  nations  assailed ;  and, 
ere  long,  their  power  crushed  the  power 
of  Spain.  Thus  those  Catholic  countries 
lost,  owing  to  the  Reformation,  that  very 
temporal  wealth  which  had  led  them,  at 
the  first,  to  reject  the  spiritual  liberty  of 
the  Gospel.  Yet  the  Spanish  nation 
was  generous  and  brave ;  and  many  of 
its  noble  people,  with  equal  ardour,  and 


44 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


better  knowledge,  than  those  who  had 
rushed  upon  the  swords  of  the  Arabs, — 
gave  up  their  lives  at  the  stake  to  the 
Inquisition. 

Portugal  was  nearly  in  the  same  con- 
dition as  Spain.  Emanuel  the  Fortu- 
nate gave  to  it  an  "  age  of  gold,"  which 
tended  to  unfit  it  for  that  self-denial  which 
Christianity  requires.  The  nation  pre- 
cipitating itself  on  the  newly  discovered 
routes  to  India  and  the  Brazils,  turned 
its  back  upon  Europe  and  the  Reforma- 
tion. 

Few  countries  seemed  likely  to  be 
better  disposed  than  France  for  the  re- 
ception of  the  evangelical  doctrines.  Al- 
most all  the  intellectual  and  spiritual  life 
of  the  middle  ages  was  concentrated  in 
her.  It  might  have  been  said  that  the 
paths  were  every  where  trodden  for  a 
grand  manifestation  of  the  truth.  Men 
of  the  most  opposite  characters,  and 
whose  influence  over  the  people  had 
been  most  powerful,  had  in  some  degree 
countenanced  the  Reformation.  Saint 
Bernard  had  set  the  example  of  that 
heart-felt  faith,  that  inward  piety,  which 
is  the  most  beautiful  feature  of  its  char- 
acter. Abelard  had  introduced  into  the 
study  of  theology  the  rational  principle 
which,  though  incapable  of  developing 
the  truth,  is  yet  powerful  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  error.  Many  heretics,  so  called, 
had  revived  the  light  of  God's  word  in 
the  provinces.  The  University  of  Paris 
had  placed  itself  in  opposition  to  the 
Church,  and  had  not  feared  to  combat 
it.  In  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  the  Clemangis  and  the  Gersons 
had  spoken  out  with  undaunted  courage. 
The  Pragmatic  Sanction  had  been  a 
grand  Act  of  Independence,  and  pro- 
mised to  be  the  palladium  of  Gallic 
liberty.  The  French  nobility,  numer- 
ous, jealous  of  their  pre-eminence,  and 
having  at  this  period  been  gradually 
deprived  of  their  privileges  by  the  grow- 
ing power  of  their  kings,  must  have  been 
favourably  disposed  towards  a  religious 
change  which  might  restore  to  them 
some  portion  of  the  independence  they 
had  lost.  The  people,  of  quick  feelings, 
intelligent,  and  susceptible  of  generous 
emotions,  were  as  open,  or  even  more  so, 
than  most  other  nations,  to  the  truth.  It 
seemed  as  if  the  Reformation  must  be, 
among  theim  the   birth  which   should 


crown  the  travail  of  several  centuries. 
But  the  chariot  of  France,  which  for  so 
many  generations  seemed  to  be  advanc- 
ing to  the  same  goal,  suddenly  turned 
at  the  moment  of  the  Reformation,  and 
took  a  contrary  direction.  Such  was  the 
will  of  Him  who  rules  nations  and  their 
kings.  The  prince,  then  seated  in  the 
chariot,  and  holding  the  reins,  and  who, 
as  a  patron  of  learning,  seemed  likely  to 
be  foremost  in  promoting  the  Reforma- 
tion, turned  his  people  in  another  direc- 
tion. The  augury  of  ages  was  deceived, 
and  the  impulse  given  to  France  was 
spent  and  lost  in  struggles  against  the 
ambition  and  fanaticism  of  her  kings. 
The  race  of  Valois  deprived  her  of  her 
rights.  Perhaps  if  she  had  received  the 
Gospel,  she  might  have  become  too  pow- 
erful. God  had  chosen  a  weaker  people, 
a  people  that  as  yet  was  not, — to  be  the 
depository  of  his  truth.  France,  after 
having  been  almost  reformed,  found  her- 
self, in  the  result,  Roman  Catholic.  The 
sword  of  her  princes,  cast  into  the  scale, 
caused  it  to  incline  in  favour  of  Rome. 
Alas !  another  sword,  that  of  the  Reform- 
ers themselves,  insured  the  failure  of  the 
effort  for  Reformation.  The  hands  that 
had  become  accustomed  to  warlike  wea- 
pons, ceased  to  be  lifted  up  in  prayer. 
It  is  by  the  blood  of  its  confessors,  not 
by  that  of  its  adversaries,  that  the  Gospel 
triumphs.  Blood  shed  by  its  defenders, 
extinguishes  and  smothers  it.  Francis 
I.  in  the  very  beginning  of  his  reign, 
eagerly  sacrificed  the  Pragmatical  Sanc- 
tion to  the  Papacy,  substituting  a  concor- 
dat detrimental  to  France,  and  advan- 
tageous to  the  crown  and  to  the  Pope. 
Maintaining  by  his  sword  the  rights  of 
the  German  Protestants  at  war  with  his 
rival,  this  "  father  of  the  sciences"  plunged 
it  up  to  the  hilt  in  the  hearts  of  his  own 
reformed  subjects.  His  successors  did, 
from  motives  of  fanaticism,  or  weakness, 
or  to  silence  the  clamours  of  a  guilty 
conscience,  what  he  had  done  for  ambi- 
tion. They  met  indeed  with  a  powerful 
resistance,  but  it  was  not  always  such  as 
the  martyrs  of  the  first  ages  had  opposed 
to  their  Pagan  persecutors.  The  strength 
of  the  Protestants  was  the  source  of  their 
weakness ;  their  success  drew  after  it 
their  ruin. 

The  Low  Countries  formed,  at  that 
period,  one  of  the  most  flourishing  por- 


STATE  OF  EUROPE  PRIOR  TO  THE  REFORMATION. 


45 


tions  of  Europe.  Its  population  was  in- 
dustrious, better  informed,  owing  to  its 
numerous  connections  with  different  re- 
gions of  the  earth,  full  of  courage,  and 
passionately  attached  to  its  independence, 
its  privileges,  and  its  liberty.  On  the 
very  borders  of  Germany,  it  would  be 
the  first  to  hear  the  report  of  the  Refor- 
mation ;  it  was  capable  of  receiving  it. 
But  all  did  not  receive  it.  To  the  poor 
it  was  given  to  receive  the  truth.  The 
hungry  were  filled  with  good  things,  and 
the  rich  sent  empty  away.  The  Nether- 
lands, which  had  always  been  more  or 
less  connected  with  the  Empire,  had 
forty  years  before  fallen  to  the  possession 
of  Austria,  and  after  Charles  V.,  they 
devolved  to  the  Spanish  branch,  and  so 
to  the  ferocious  Philip.  The  princes 
and  governors  of  this  ill-fated  country 
trampled  the  Gospel  under  foot,  and 
waded  through  the  blood  of  its  martyrs. 
The  country  was  composed  of  two  divi- 
sions, widely  dissimilar  the  one  from  the 
other.  The  south,  rich  and  increased  in 
goods,  succumbed.  How  could  its  exten- 
sive manufactures,  carried  to  such  perfec- 
tion,— how  could  Bruges,  the  great  mart 
of  northern  merchandize,  or  Antwerp, 
the  queen  of  commercial  cities,  make 
their  interests  consist  with  a  long  and 
bloody  struggle  for  the  things  of  faith  ? 
But  the  northern  provinces,  defended  by 
their  dykes,  the  sea,  their  marshes,  and, 
still  more,  by  the  simple  manners  of  the 
population,  and  their  determination  to 
suffer  the  loss  of  all,  rather  than  of  the 
Gospel, — not  only  preserved  their  fran- 
chises, their  privileges  and  their  faith, 
but  achieved  independence  and  a  glo- 
rious existence  as  a  nation. 

England  then  gave  little  promise  of  all 
she  has  subsequently  acquired.  Driven 
from  the  Continent  where  she  had  long 
obstinately  contended  for  the  conquest  of 
France,  she  began  to  turn  her  eyes  to- 
wards the  ocean  as  to  the  empire  which 
was  designed  to  be  the  true  end  of  her 
victories,  and  of  which  the  inheritance 
was  reserved  for  her.  Twice  converted 
to  Christianity,  first  under  the  Britons, 
then  under  the  Anglo-Saxons,  she  paid 
devoutly  the  annual  tribute  of  St.  Peter's 
pence.  Yet  was  she  reserved  for  a  lofty 
destiny.  Mistress  of  the  ocean,  every 
where  present  .through  all  parts  of  the 
earth,  she  was  ordained  to  be  one  day, 


with  the  people  to  whom  she  should  give 
birth,  as  the  hand  of  God  to  scatter  the 
seed  of  life  in  remotest  islands  and  on 
boundless  continents.  Already  some  cir- 
cumstances gave  presage  of  her  destinies. 
Great  intellectual  light  had  shone  in  the 
British  Isles,  and  some  glimmerings  of 
it  still  remained.  A  crowd  of  foreigners, 
artists,  merchants,  workmen,  from  the 
Low  Countries,  Germany,  and  other 
regions,  thronged  her  harbours  and  cities. 
The  new  religious  opinions  would  there- 
fore be  easily  and  quickly  introduced. 
Finally,  England  had  then  an  eccentric 
king,  who,  endowed  with  some  learning 
and  considerable  courage,  was  continu- 
ally changing  his  purposes  and  notions, 
and  turning  from  one  side  to  another, 
according  to  the  direction  in  which  his 
violent  passions  impelled  him.  It  was 
possible  that  one  of  the  inconsistencies  of 
Henry  VIII.  might  prove  favourable  to 
the  Reformation. 

Scotland  was  then  torn  by  factions.  A 
king  five  years  old,  a  queen  regent,  am- 
bitious nobles,  an  influential  clergy,  har- 
assed this  courageous  nation  on  all  sides. 
It  was  however  destined  to  hold  a  dis- 
tinguished place  amongst  the  nations 
which  should  receive  the  Reformation. 

The  three  northern  kingdoms,  Den- 
mark, Sweden,  and  Norway,  were  united 
under  one  government.-  These  rude  and 
warlike  people  seemed  likely  to  have 
little  sympathy  with  the  doctrine  of  love 
and  peace.  Yet  from  the  very  energy 
of  their  character,  they  were  perhaps  bet- 
ter disposed  to  receive  the  spirit  of  the 
evangelical  doctrine  than  the  southern 
nations.  But  these  descendants  of  war- 
riors and  pirates,  brought  perhaps  too 
warlike  a  spirit  to  the  support  of  the  Pro- 
testant cause ;  in  subsequent  times  they 
defended  it  heroically  by  the  sword. 

Russia,  situate  at  the  extremity  of  Eu- 
rope, had  but  little  connection  with  other 
states,  we  may  add,  that  she  belonged  to 
the  Greek  Church.  The  Reformation 
effected  in  the  West  had  little  or  no  in- 
fluence upon  the  East. 

Poland  seemed  well  prepared  for  a 
reformation.  The  vicinity  of  the  Bohe- 
mian and  Moravian  Christians  had  dis- 
posed it  to  receive  that  religious  impulse 
which  the  neighbouring  states  of  Ger- 
many were  destined  speedily  to  impart 
to  it.     As  early  as  the  year  1500,  the 


46 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


nobility  of  Poland  had  demanded  that 
the  cup  should  be  given  to  the  laity,  ap- 
pealing to  the  custom  of  the  primitive 
Church.  The  liberty  which  was  enjoy- 
ed in  the  cities,  and  the  independence  of 
its  nobles,  made  this  country  a  safe  asylum 
for  Christians  who  Avere  persecuted  in 
their  own.  The  truth  they  brought  with 
them  was  joyfully  welcomed  by  num- 
bers.— It  is  the  country  which  in  our 
times  has  the  fewest  confessors  of  the 
Gospel. 

The  flame  of  Reformation,  which  had 
long  flickered  in  Bohemia,  had  almost 
been  extinguished  in  blood.  Neverthe- 
less some  poor  survivors,  escaped  from 
the  carnage,  were  still  living  to  see  the 
day  that  Huss  had  predicted. 

Hungary  had  been  distracted  by  intes- 
tine wars,  under  the  rule  of  princes  with- 
out ability  or  experience,  who,  in  the 
result,  made  the  country  a  dependency 
of  Austria,  by  enrolling  that  powerful 
house  among  the  heirs  of  the  crown. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  Europe  at 
the  beginning  of  that  sixteenth  century, 
which  was  destined  to  produce  so  mighty 
a  change  in  the  great  Christian  famify. 

But  we  have  already  observed,  it  was 
on  the  vast  platform  of  Germany,  and 
more  particularly  in  Wittemberg,'in  the 
heart  of  the  Empire,  that  the  grand 
drama  of  the  Reformation  was  to  com- 
mence. 

Let  us  contemplate  the  actors  in  the 
prologue  which  ushered  in,  or  contribu- 
ted to,  the  work  of  which  Luther  was 
appointed  to  be  in  God's  hands  the  hero. 

Of  all  the  electors  of  the  Empire  the 
most  powerful  at  that  time  was  Frederic 
of  Saxony,  surnamed  the  Wise.  The  in- 
fluence he  exercised,  joined  to  his  wealth 
and  generosity,  raised  him  above  his 
equals.*  God  selected  him  to  serve  as  a 
tree,  under  shadow  of  which  the  seed  of 
truth  might  put  forth  its  first  shoot  without 
being  rooted  up  by  the  tempests  around  it. 

Born  at  Torgan  in  1463,  he  manifest- 
ed from  his  early  youth  much  love  for 
science,  philosophy,  and  piety.  Succeed- 
ing in  1487,  in  conjunction  with  his  bro- 
ther John,  to  the  government  of  the 
hereditary  states  of  his  family,  he  receiv- 
ed the  dignity  of  Elector  from  the  Em- 

*  Qui  prse  multis  pollebat  principibus  aliis, 
auctoritate,  opibus,  potentia,  liberalitate  et  mag- 
nificentia.     (Cochlreus,  Acta  Lutheri,  p.  3.) 


peror  Frederic  III.  In  1493  the  pious 
prince  undertook  a  pilgrimage  to  the. 
Holy  Sepulchre.  Henry  of  Schaumburg 
on  that  sacred  spot  conferred  upon  him 
the  order  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre.  He 
returned  to  Saxony  in  the  following  sum- 
mer. In  1502  he  founded  the  university 
of  Wittemberg,  which  was  destined  to  be 
the  nursery  of  the  Reformation. 

When  the  light  dawned,  he  did  not 
commit  himself  on  either  side,  but  stood 
by  to  secure  it.  No  man  was  fitter  for 
this  office ;  he  possessed  the  general 
esteem,  and  was  in  the  intimate  confi- 
dence of  the  Emperor.  He  even  acted 
for  him  in  his  absence.  His  Avisdom 
consisted  not  in  the  skilful  working  of 
deep  laid  policy,  but  in  an  enlightened 
and  prescient  prudence,  of  which  the  first 
law  was  never  for  the  sake  of  any  self- 
interest  to  infringe  the  rules  of  honour 
and  religion. 

At  the  same  time  he  felt  in  his  heart 
the  power  of  the  word  of  God.  One  day, 
when  the  Vicar-General,  Staupitz,  was  in 
his  company,  the  conversation  turned  on 
public  declaimers:  "All  sermons,"  said 
the  Elector,  "  made  up  of  mere  subtleties 
and  human  traditions,  are  marvellously 
cold,  without  nerve  or  power,  since  there 
is  no  subtlety  we  can  advance  that  may 
not  by  another  subtlety  be  overturned. 
Holy  Scripture  alone  is  clothed  with  such 
power  and  majesty  that  shaming  us  out 
of  our  rules  of  reasoning,  it  compels  us 
to  cry  out  'Never  man  spake  as  this.'" 
Staupitz  assenting  entirely  to  his  opinion, 
the  Elector  cordially  extended  his  hand 
to  him,  and  said,  "  Promise  me  that  you 
will  always  think  thus."* 

Frederic  was  precisely  the  prince  that 
was  needed  for  the  cradle  of  the  Refor- 
mation. Too  much  weakness  on  the 
part  of  those  friendly  to  the  work  might 
have  allowed  it  to  be  crushed.  Too 
much  haste  would  have  caused  too  early 
an  explosion  of  the  storm  that  from  its 
origin  gathered  against  it.  Frederic  was 
moderate,  but  firm  ;  he  possessed  that 
christian  grace  which  God  has  in  all 
times  required  from  his  worshippers  ;  he 
waited  for  God.  He  put  in  practice  the 
wise  counsel  of  Gamaliel — "  If  this  work 
be  of  man  it  will  come  to  nought ; — if 
it  be  of  God  we  cannot  overthrow  it." 
"  Things  are  come  to  such  a  pass,"  said 
*  Luther,  epp. 


STATE  OF  EUROPE   PRIOR  TO  THE  REFORMATION. 


47 


the  prince  to  one  of  the  most  enlightened 
men  of  his  time,  Spengler  of  Nuremberg, 
'  that  men  can  do  no  more  : — God  alone 
can  effect  any  thing  ;  therefore  we  must 
leave  to  his  power  those  great  events 
which  are  too  hard  for  us."  We  may 
Ave  11  admire  the  wisdom  of  Providence 
in  the  choice  of  such  a  prince  to  guard 
the  small  beginnings  of  its  work. 

Maximilian  I.,  who  wore  the  Imperial 
crown  from  1493  to  1519,  may  be  reck- 
oned among  those  who  contributed  to 
prepare  the  way  of  the  Reformation. 
He  afforded  to  the  other  princes  the  ex- 
ample of  enthusiasm  for  literature  and 
science.  He  was  less  attached  than  any 
other  to  the  Popes,  and  had  even  thoughts 
of  seizing  on  the  Papacy.  No  one  can 
say  what  it  might  have  become  in  his 
hands ;  but  we  may  be  allowed  to  ima- 
gine from  this  circumstance,  that  a  rival 
power  to  the  Pope,  such  as  the  Reforma- 
tion, would  not  have  reckoned  the  Em- 
peror of  Germany  among  its  fiercest 
opponents. 

Among  even  the  princes  of  the  Romish 
Church  were  found  venerable  men,  whom 
sacred  study  and  a  sincere  piety  had  pre- 
pared for  the  divine  work  about  to  be 
wrought  in  the  world.  Christopher  of 
Stadion,  bishop  of  Augsburg,  knew  and 
loved  the  truth  ;  but  he  would  have  had 
to  sacrifice  all  by  a  courageous  confession 
of  it.  Laurentius  de  Riba,  bishop  x>f 
Wurtzburg,  a  kind,  pious,  and  wise  man, 
and  esteemed  by  the  Emperor  and  princes, 
Avas  accustomed  to  speak  openly  against 
the  corruption  of  the  Church.  But  he 
died  in  1519,  too  early  to  take  part  in 
the  Reformation.  John  VI.,  bishop  of 
Meissen,  Avas  used  to  say,  "  As  often  as 
I  read  the  Bible,  I  find  there  a  different 
religion  from  that  Avhich  is  taught  to  us." 
John  Thurzo,  bishop  of  Breslau,  Avas 
called  by  Luther  the  best  bishop  of  the 
age.*  But  he,  too,  died  in  1520.  Wil- 
liam Bric/onnet,  bishop  of  Meaux,  contri- 
buted largely  to  introduce  the  Reforma- 
tion in  France.  Who  indeed  can  say 
to  what  extent  the  enlightened  piety  of 
these  bishops  and  of  many  others,  was 
of  use  in  preparing,  each  in  his  diocese, 
and  beyond  it,  the  great  Avork  of  the  Re- 
formation 1 

But  it  was  reserved  to  men  of  lower 
station  than  these  princes  or  bishops  to 
*  Lutheri,  epp.  i.  p.  524. 


become  the  chief  instruments  of  God's 
providence  in  the  Avork  of  preparation. 
It  Avas  the  scholars  and  the  learned,  then 
termed  humanists,  Avho  exercised  the 
greatest  influence  on  their  age. 

There  existed  at  that  time  open  war 
betAveen  these  disciples  of  letters  and  the 
scholastic  divines.  The  latter;  beheld 
with  alarm  the  great  movements  going 
on  in  the  field  of  intelligence,  and  took 
up  Avith  the  notion  that  immobility  and 
ignorance  Avould  be  the  best  safeguards 
of  the  Church.  It  was  to  save  Rome 
that  divines  opposed  the  revival  of  letters ; 
but  by  so  doing  they  in  reality  contri- 
buted to  her  ruin,  and  Rome  herself  un- 
consciously co-operated  in  it.  In  an  un- 
guarded moment,  under  the  pontificate 
of  Leo  X.  she  forsook  her  old  friends 
and  embraced  her  youthful  adversaries. 
The  Papacy  formed  Avith  literature  a 
union  which  seemed  likely  to  break  the 
old  alliance  Avith  the  monastic  orders 
The  Popes  did  not  at  first  perceive  that 
what  they  had  taken  up  as  a  toy  was  in 
reality  a  sword  that  might  destroy  them. 
Thus  in  the  last  century  Ave  beheld 
princes  Avho  received  at  their  courts  a 
tone  of  politics  and  a  philosophy  Avhich, 
if  they  had  experienced  their  full  effect, 
Avould  have  overturned  their  thrones. 
The  alliance  of  which  Ave  have  spoken 
did  not  last  long.  Literature  advanced, 
entirely  regardless  of  that  Avhich  might 
endanger  the  poAver  of  its  patrons.  The 
monks  and  the  scholastic  diA'ines  per- 
ceiAred  that  to  forsake  the  Pope  Avould  be 
to  abandon  their  oavii  interests.  And 
the  Pope,  notAvithstanding  the  transient 
patronage  Avhich  he  bestoAved  upon  the 
fine  arts,  adopted,  when  it  suited  his  in- 
terest, measures  most  opposed  to  the  spirit 
of  the  time. 

The  revival  of  letters  presented  at  that 
time  an  animating  spectacle.  Let  us 
sketch  some  lines  of  this  picture,  select- 
ing such  as  have  the  closest  connexion 
Avith  the  revival  of  the  true  faith. 

In  order  that  the  truth  might  triumph, 
it  Avas  necessary  that  the  arms  that  were 
to  achieA'e  the  victory  should  be  taken 
from  the  arsenal  in  which  for  ages  they 
had  lain  hidden.  These  weapons  were 
the  Holy  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  NeAv 
Testament.  It  was  necessary  to  revive 
in  Christendom  the  love  and  study  of 
the   sacred   Greek  and    HebreAv  texts. 


43 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


The  man  chosen  by  God  for  this  work 
was  John  Reuchlin. 

A  very  sweet  toned  child's  voice  had 
been  noticed  in  the  choir  of  the  church 
of  Pforzheim.  It  attracted  the  attention 
of  the  Margrave  of  Baden.  It  proved  to 
be  that  of  John  Reuchlin,  a  young  boy, 
of  pleasing  manners  and  of  a  sprightly 
disposition,  the  son  of  an  honest  citizen 
■of  the  place.  The  Margrave  treated 
him  with  great  favour,  and  made  choice 
of  him  in  1473  to  accompany  his  son 
Frederic  to  the  University  of  Paris. 

The  son  of  the  bailiff  of  Pforzheim  in 
transports  of  joy  arrived  in  company 
with  the  prince  at  this  most  celebrated 
school  of  the  West.  He  there  found  the 
Spartan  Hermonymos,  and  John  Weis- 
sel,  surnamed  the  Light  of  the  World, 
and  he  had  now  an  opportunity  of  study- 
ing, under  the  most  able  masters,  the 
Greek  and  Hebrew,  of  which  there  was 
at  that  time  no  professor  in  Germany, 
and  which  he  himself  was  destined  one 
day  to  restore  in  the  land  of  the  Refor- 
mation. The  young  and  indigent  Ger- 
man transcribed  for  rich  students  the 
verses  of  Homer,  and  the  orations  of  Iso- 
crates,  and  thus  earned  the  means  of 
prosecuting  his  studies,  and  purchasing 
books. 

But  he  heard  other  things  from  Weis- 
sel  which  made  a  powerful  impression 
on  his  mind.  "  The  Popes  may  be  de- 
ceived,1' said  Weissel.  "  All  satisfaction 
made  by  men  is  blasphemy  against 
Christ,  who  has  completely  reconciled 
and  justified  mankind.  To  God  alone 
belongs  the  power  of  giving  complete 
absolution.  It  is  not  necessary  to  confess 
our  sins  to  the  priests.  There  is  no  pur- 
gatory, unless  it  be  God  himself,  who  is 
a  consuming  fire,  and  purifies  from  all 
pollution." 

When  Reuchlin  was  hardly  twenty, 
he  taught  philosophy,  and  Greek  and 
Latin  at  Bale,  and  it  was  then  accounted 
almost  a  miracle  that  a  German  should 
speak  Greek. 

The  partisans  of  Rome  began  to  be 
uneasy  when  they  saw  men  of  indepen- 
dent character  searching  into  these  an- 
cient treasures.  "  The  Romans  make  a 
wry  face,"  said  Reuchlin,  "  and  clamor- 
ously assert  that  all  such  literary  labours 
are  contrary  to  Roman  piety,  since  the 
Greeks  are  schismatics.    Oh !  what  pains 


and  patience  are  needed  to  restore  wis- 
dom and  learning  to  Germany  !" 

Soon  after,  Eberhard  of  Wiirtemberg, 
invited  Reuchlin  to  Tubingen,  to  adorn 
that  rising  university;  and  in  1487  he 
took  him  into  Italy.  Chalcondylas, 
Aurispa,  John  Picus  of  Mirandola,  were 
his  friends  and  companions  at  Florence. 
And  at  Rome,  when  Eberhard  had  a 
solemn  audience  of  the  Pope,  surrounded 
by  his  cardinals,  Reuchlin  pronounced 
an  address  in  such  pure  and  elegant  La- 
tin, that  the  assembly,  who  expected  no- 
thing of  that  kind  from  a  barbarous  Ger- 
man, were  in  the  utmost  astonishment, 
and  the  Pope  exclaimed,  "  Certainly  this 
man  deserves  to  be  ranked  with  the  best 
orators  of  France  and  Italy." 

Ten  years  after,  Reuchlin  was  obliged 
to  take  refuge  at  Heidelberg,  at  the  court 
of  the  Elector  Philip,  to  escape  the 
vengeance  of  the  successor  of  Eberhard. 
Philip,  in  conjunction  with  John  of  Dal- 
berg  bishop  of  Worms,  his  friend  and  chan- 
cellor, endeavoured  to  diffuse  the  light 
that  was  beginning  to  dawn  in  all  parts 
of  Germany.  Dalberg  had  formed  a  li- 
brary, which  was  open  to  all  the  studious. 
Reuchlin  made,  in  this  new  field,  great 
efforts  to  enlighten  and  civilize  the  peo- 
ple. 

Being  sent  to  Rome  by  the  Elector  in 
1498,  on  an  important  mission,  he  em- 
ployed the  time  and  money  he  could 
command,  either  in  improving  himself 
in  the  Hebrew,  under  the  instruction  of 
the  learned  Jew,  Abdias  Sphorna,  or  in 
purchasing  whatever  Hebrew  and  Greek 
manuscripts  he  could  meet  with,  intend- 
ing to  use  them  as  torches,  to  diffuse  in 
his  own  country  the  light  which  was  be- 
ginning to  appear. 

An  illustrious  Greek,  Argyropylos, 
was  explaining  in  that  metropolis,  to  a 
numerous  auditory,  the  wonderful  pro- 
gress his  nation  had  formerly  made  in 
literature.  The  learned  ambassador  went 
with  his  suite  to  the  room  where  the 
master  was  teaching,  and  on  his  entrance 
saluted  him,  and  lamented  the  misery  of 
Greece,  then  languishing  under  Turkish 
despotism.  The  astonished  Greek  asked 
the  German :  "  Whence  come  you,  and 
do .  you  understand  Greek  ?"  Reuchlin 
replied :  "  I  am  a  German,  and  am  not 
quite  ignorant  of  your  language."  At 
the  request  of  Argyropylos,  he  read  and 


STATE   OF  EUROPE   PRIOR    TO   THE   REFORMATION. 


49 


explained  a  passage  of  Thucydides, 
which  the  professor  happened  to  have 
before  him;  upon  which  Argyropylos 
cried  out  in  grief  and  astonishment, 
"  Alas  !  alas !  Greece,  cast  out  and  fugi- 
tive, is  gone  to  hide  herself  beyond  the 
Alps." 

It  was  thus  that  the  sons  of  barbarous 
Germany  and  those  of  ancient  Greece 
met  together  in  the  palaces  of  Rome ; 
thus  it  was  that  the  East  and  the  West 
gave  each  other  the  right  hand  of  fel- 
lowship in  this  rendezvous  of  the  world, 
and  that  the  former  poured  into  the 
hands  of  the  latter  those  intellectual 
treasures  which  it  had  carried  off  in  its 
escape  from  the  barbarism  of  the  Turks. 
God,  when  his  plans  require  it,  brings 
together  in  an  instant,  by  some  unlooked- 
for  catastrophe,  those  who  seemed  for 
ever  removed  from  each  other. 

On  his  return  to  Germany,  Reuchlin 
was  again  permitted  to  take  up  his  abode 
at  Wurtemberg.  It  was  at  this  time 
that  he  entered  upon  the  labours  that 
were  most  useful  to  Luther  and  to  the 
Reformation.  He  translated  and  ex- 
pounded the  Penitential  Psalms,  revised 
the  Vulgate,  and  especially  distinguished 
himself,  by  the  publication  of  the  first 
Hebrew  and  German  Grammar  and 
Dictionary.  Reuchlin,  by  this  labour, 
took  off  the  seals  from  the  ancient  Scrip- 
tures, and  made  himself  a  name  more 
enduring  than  brass. 

But  it  was  not  alone  by  his  writings, 
but  also  by  his  life,  that  Reuchlin  sought 
to  promote  the  cause  of  truth.  He  had 
great  influence  over  the  minds  of  youth, 
and  who  can  estimate  how  much  the  re- 
formation owes  to  him  on  that  account  1 
We  will  mention  but  one  example.  A 
young  man,  a  cousin  of  his,  the  son  of 
an  artizan,  famous  as  a  manufacturer  of 
.  arms,  whose  name  was  Schwarzerd, 
came  to  lodge  with  his  sister  Elizabeth, 
for  the  purpose  of  studying  under  his 
direction.  Reuchlin,  delighted  with  the 
talents  -and  diligence  of  his  young  pupil, 
adopted  him,  and  spared  neither  advice, 
presents  of  books,  example,  nor  any  thing 
else  that  was  likely  to  make  his  relation 
useful  to  the  Church  and  to  his  country. 
He  rejoiced  in  seeing  his  work  prosper 
in  his  hands ;  and  thinking  his  German 
name  Schwarzerd  too  harsh,  he  translated 
it  into  Greek,  according  to  the  custom 
7 


of  the  time,  and  called  the  young  student 
Melancthon.  This  was  the  illustrious 
friend  of  Luther. 

Soon  after,  the  amiable  Reuchlin  was 
involved,  much  against  his  inclination, 
in  a  violent  contest,  which  was  one  of 
the  preludes  of  the  Reformation. 

There  was  at  Cologne  a  baptised 
Jew,  named  Pfeflerkorn,  intimately  con- 
nected with  the  inquisitor  Hochstraten. 
This  man  and  the  Dominicans  solicited 
and  obtained  from  the  Emperor  Maxi- 
milian, probably  with  no  bad  motives, 
an  order,  requiring  the  Jews  to  bring  all 
their  Hebrew  books  (the  Bible  excepted) 
to  the  town-hall  of  the  city  in  which 
they  resided,  there  to  be  publicly  burnt. 
The  reason  alleged  was,  that  they 
were  full  of  blasphemies  against  Jesus. 
It  must  be  confessed,  that  they  were  at 
least  full  of  absurdities,  and  that  the 
Jews  themselves  would  not  have  lost 
much  by  the  proposed  measure.  How- 
ever, they  did  not  think  so ;  and  no 
power  could  rightly  deprive  them  of 
works  which  were  in  their  estimation,  of 
great  value.  Add  to  which,  the  Domi- 
nicans might  be  influenced  by  other  mo- 
tives than  zeal  for  the  Gospel.  It  is  pro- 
bable that  they  expected,  by  this  means, 
to  extort  considerable  ransoms  from  the 
Jews. 

The  Emperor  asked  Reuchlin  to  give 
his  opinion  of  these  works.  The  learned 
doctor  pointed  out  the  books  that  were 
written  against  Christianity,  leaving 
them  to  the  fate  they  deserved ;  but  he 
tried  to  save  the  re§t :  "  The  best  way  to 
convert  the  Jews,"  he  added,  "  would  be 
to  establish  in  each  university  two  mas- 
ters of  the  Hebrew  language,  who  should 
teach  divines  to  read  the  Bible  in  He- 
brew, and  thus  refute  the  Jewish  doc- 
tors." The  Jews,  in  consequence  of  this 
advice,  had  their  writings  restored  to 
them. 

The  proselyte  and  the  inquisitor,  like 
ravens  who  see  their  prey  escaping,  ut- 
tered cries  of  rage  and  fury.  They 
picked  out  different  passages  from  the 
writings  of  Reuchlin,  perverted  the  sense, 
declared  the  author  an  heretic,  accused 
him  of  being  secretly  inclined  to  Juda- 
ism, and  threatened  him  with  the  inquisi- 
tion. Reuchlin  was  at  first  alarmed,  but 
these  men  becoming  more  insolent,  and 
prescribing  to  him  disgraceful  conditions 


50 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


of  peace,  he  published,  in  1513,  a  "  De- 
fence against  his  Slanderers  at  Cologne  ;" 
in  which  he  described  the  whole  party 
in  the  liveliest  colours. 

The  Dominicans  vowed  vengeance. 
Hochstraten  erected  at  Mayence,  a  tribu- 
nal against  Reuchlin.  The  writings  of 
this  learned  man  were  condemned  to  the 
flames.  Reuchlin  appealed  to  Pope 
Leo  X.  This  Pope,  who  did  not  much 
like  those  narrow-minded  and  fanatical 
monks,  referred  the  whole  affair  to  the 
Bishop  of  Spires;  the  latter  declared 
Reuchlin  innocent,  and  condemned  the 
monks  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  inves- 
tigation. 

This  affair  was  of  great  importance 
and  made  much  noise  in  Germany.  It 
exhibited  in  the  most  revolting  publicity, 
the  very  large  class  of  monkish  theolo- 
gians ;  it  drew  together  in  closer  alliance 
all  the  friends  of  learning — then  called 
Reuchlinists,  from  the  name  of  their  dis- 
tinguished head.  This  struggle  was 
like  an  affair  of  advanced  posts,  which 
influenced  in  a  considerable  degree 
the  great  contest  which  the  heroic  cour- 
age of  Luther  afterwards  waged  with 
error. 

This  union  of  letters  with  the  faith  is 
an  important  feature  of  the  Reformation, 
and  serves  to  distinguish  it  both  from 
the  establishment  of  Christianity,  and 
from  the  revival  in  religion  taking  place 
in  our  own  days.  The  Christians,  in  the 
Apostles'  time,  had  against  them  the  in- 
tellectual cultivation  of  the  age  ;  and, 
with  some  exceptions,  it  is  the  same  at 
this  day.  But  the  majority  of  men  of 
letters  were  ranged  on  the  side  of  the 
Reformers.  Even  general  opinion  was 
favourable  to  them.  The  work  gained 
in  extension  :  perhaps  it  lost  in  depth  ! 

Luther,  acknowledging  all  that  Reuch- 
lin had  done,' wrote  to  him  shortly  af- 
ter his  victory  over  the  Dominicans. 
''•  The  Lord  has  wrought  in  you,  that 
the  light  of  his  holy  word  may  again 
shine  forth  in  Germany,  where,  for  so 
many  ages,  it  has  been,  alas !  not  only 
stifled,  but  extinct."* 

Reuchlin  was  about  twelve  years  old 
when  one  of  the  greatest  geniuses  of  the 
age  was  born.     A.  man,  full  of  vivacity 

■*  Mai  Vita  J.  Reuchlin  (Francof.  1687.)— 
Mayerhoff  J.  Reuchlin  und  some  Zeit.  (Berlin, 
1830.) 


and  wit,  named  Gerard,  a  native  of 
Gouda,  in  the  Low  .Countries,  had 
formed  an  attachment  to  the  daughter  of 
a  physician,  named  Margaret.  The 
principles  of  the  Gospel  did  not  govern 
his  life  ;  or,  to  say  the  least,  his  passion 
silenced  them.  His  parents,  and  nine 
brothers,  urged  him  to  enter  into  the 
Church.  He  fled,  leaving  Margaret  on 
the  point  of  becoming  a  mother,  and  re- 
paired to  Rome.  The  shame-struck 
Margaret  grave  birth  to  a  son.  Gerard 
heard  nothing  of  it ;  and,  some  time 
afterwards,  he  received  from  his  parents 
intelligence,  that  she  he  loved  was  no 
more.  Overwhelmed  with  grief,  he  took 
priest's  orders,  and  devoted  himself  to  the 
service  of  God.  He  returned  to  Hol- 
land ;  and,  lo  !  Margaret  was  still  living, 
she  would  never  marry  another ;  and 
Gerard  remained  faithful  to  his  priest's 
vows.  Their  affection  was  concentrated 
on  their  infant  son.  His  mother  had 
taken  the  tenderest  care  of  him.  The 
father  after  his  return,  sent  him  to  school 
when  he  was  only  four  years  old.  He 
was  not  yet  thirteen,  when  his  master, 
Sinthemius  of  Deventer,  embracing 
him  one  day  with  great  joy,  exclaimed : 
"  That  child  will  attain  the  highest  sum- 
mits of  learning."  This  was  Erasmus 
of  Rotterdam. 

About  this  time  his  mother  died  ;  and 
shortly  after  his  father,  from  grief,  fol- 
lowed her. 

The  young  Erasmus,*  alone  in  the 
world,  felt  the  strongest  aversion  to  the 
monastic  life,  which  his  tutors  would 
have  constrained  him  to  embrace.  At 
last,  a  friend  persuaded  him  to  enter 
himself  in  a  convent  of  regular  canons  ; 
which  might  be  done  without  taking 
orders.  Soon  after,  we  find  him  at  the 
court  of  the  Archbishop  of  Cambray ; 
and,  a  little  later,  at  the  university  of 
Paris.  There  he  pursued  his  studies  in 
the  greatest  poverty,  but  with  the  most 
indefatigable  perseverance.  Whenever 
he  could  obtain  any  money,  he  employed 
it  in  the  purchase  of  Greek  authors, — 
and  then,  of  clothes.  Often  the  poor 
Hollander  solicited  in  vain  the  gener- 
osity of  his  protectors:  hence,  in  after 
life,  it  was  his  greatest  satisfaction  to  con- 

*  He  was  named  Gerhard  after  liis  father. 
He  translated  this  Dutch  name  into  Latin  (De- 
siderius,)  and  into  Greek  (Erasmus.) 


STATE  OF  EUROPE  PRIOR  TO  THE  REFORMATION. 


51 


tribute  to  the  support  of  young  and  poor 
students.  Devoted  incessantly  to  the  in- 
vestigation of  truth  and  learning,  he  yet 
shrunk  from  the  study  of  theology,  from 
a  fear  lest  he  should  discover  therein  any 
error,  and  so  be  denounced  as  an  heretic. 

The  habits  of  application  which  he 
formed,  at  this  period,  continued  to  dis- 
tinguish him  through  life.  Even  in  his 
journeys,  which  were  generally  on 
horseback,  he  was  not  idle.  He  was  ac- 
customed to  compose  on  the  high  road, 
or  travelling  across  the  country,  and, 
on  arriving  at  an  inn,  to  note  down 
his  thoughts.  It  is  in  this  way  that  he 
composed  his  celebrated  "  Praise  of 
Foil?/"  during  a  journey  from  Italy  to 
England. 

Erasmus  very  early  acquired  a  high 
reputation  among  scholars. 

But  the  monks,  irritated  by  his  "  Praise 
of  Folly,"*  in  which  he  had  turned  them 
to  ridicule,  vowed  vengeance  against 
him.  Courted  by  princes,  he  constantly 
excused  himself  from  their  invitations ; 
preferring  to  gain  his  livelihood  with 
Frobenius  the  printer,  by  correcting  his 
proofs,  to  a  life  of  luxury  and  favour  in 
the  splendid  courts  of  Charles  V.,  of 
Henry  VIII.,  and  Francis  I.  ;  or  even  to 
encircling  his  head  with  the  cardinal's 
hat,  which  was  offered  to  him.f 

From  1509  he  taught  at  Oxford.  In 
1516  he  came  to  Bale,  and  in  1521  fixed 
his  abode  there. 

What  was  his  influence  on  the  Re- 
formation ? 

It  has  been  too  much  exalted  by  some, 
and  too  much  depreciated  by  others.  Eras- 
mus never  was,  and  never  could  have 
become,  a  Reformer ;  but  he  prepared 
the  way  for  others.  Not  only  did  he  in 
his  time  diffuse  a  love  of  learning  and  a 
spirit  of  inquiry  and  discussion  which 
led  much  farther  than  he  himself  would 
follow,  but,  in  addition  to  this,  he  was 
able,  sheltered  by  the  protection  of  great 
prelates  and  powerful  princes,  to  unveil 
and  combat  the  vices  of  the  church  by 
the  most  pungent  satires. 

He  did  more  ;  not  satisfied  with  at- 
tacking abuses,  Erasmus  laboured  to  re- 

*  Ryx'.'iuoi'  fitapia;.  Seven  editions  of  this  book 
were  sold  in  a  few  months. 

t  A  principibus  facile  mini  contingeret  fortuna, 
nisi  mihi  niniium  dulcis  esset  libertas.  (Epist. 
ad  Pirck.) 


cal  divines  from  the  scholastic  theology 
to  the  study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 
"  The  highest  use  of  the  revival  of  phi- 
losophy," said  he,  "  will  be  to  discover 
in  the  Bible  the  simple  and  pure  Chris- 
tianity." A  noble  saying!  and  would 
to  God  that  the  organs  of  the  philosophy 
of  our  days  understood  as  well  their  pro- 
per duty.  "  I  am  firmly  resolved,"  said 
he  again,  "  to  die  in  the  study  of  the 
Scripture.  In  that  is  my  joy  and  my 
peace."*  "  The  sum  of  all  Christian 
philosophy,"  says  he  in  another  place, 
"is  reduced  to  this  : — to  place  all  our  hope 
in  God,  who,  without  our  deserts,  by 
grace,  gives  us  all  things  by  Jesus  Christ ; 
to  know  that  we  are  redeemed  by  the 
death  of  his  Son  ;  to  die  to  the  lusts  of 
the  world  ;  and  to  walk  conformably  to 
his  doctrine  and  example  ;  not  merely 
without  doing  wrong  to  any,  but  doing 
good  to  all ;  to  bear  with  patience  our 
trial  in  the  hope  of  a  future  recompense  ;. 
and  finally  to  ascribe  no  honour  to  our- 
selves on  the  score  of  our  virtues,  but  to 
render  praise  to  God  for  all  our  strength 
and  works.  And  it  is  with  this  that  man 
must  be  imbued  until  it  becomes  to  him 
a  second  nature."! 

But  Erasmus  was  not  content  with 
making  so  open  a  confession  of  the  evan- 
gelic doctrine ;  his  labours  did  more 
than  his  words.  Above  all  he  rendered 
a  most  important  service  to  the  truth  by 
publishing  his  New  Testament ;  the  first, 
and  for  a  long  time,  the  only  critical  edi- 
tion. It  appeared  at  Bale  in  1516,  the 
year  previous  to  the  usual  date  of  tho 
Reformation.  He  accompanied  it  with 
a  Latin  translation,  wherein  he  boldly 
corrected  the  Vulgate,  and  with  notes 
defending  his  corrections.  Thus  Eras- 
mus did  that  for  the  New  Testament 
which  Reuchlin  had  done  for  the  Old. 

Divines  and  learned  men  might  thur 
read  the  word  of  God  in  the  original, 
language  ;  and  at  a  later  period  they 
were  enabled  to  recognise  the  purity  of 
the  doctrine  of  the  Reformers.  "  Woulo 
to  God,"  said  Erasmus,  in  sending  forth 
this  work,  "  would  to  God  it  might  bea; 
as  much  fruit  for  Christianity  as  it  hai 
cost  me   labour  and  application."     Hil 

*  Ad  Servatium. 

t  Ad  Job.  Slechtam,  1519.  Hasc  suntanimii 
hominum  inculcanda,  sic,  nt  velut  in  naturam 
transeant.     (Er.  Epp.  i.  p.  680.) 


52 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


wish  was  realized.  In  vain  did  the 
monks  clamour  against  it.  "  He  pre- 
tends to  correct  the  Holy  Ghost !"  said 
they.  The  New  Testament  of  Erasmus 
shed  a  brilliant  light.  This  great  man 
also  diffused  a  taste  for  the  word  of  God 
by  his  paraphrases  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Romans.  The  effect  of  his  studies  went 
beyond  his  own  intentions :  Reuchlin 
and  Erasmus  gave  the  Scriptures  to  the 
learned  ; — Luther,  to  the  people. 

Erasmus  served  as  a  stepping-stone  to 
several  others.  Many  who  would  have 
taken  alarm  at  evangelical  truths  brought 
forward  in  all  their  energy  and  purity, 
suffered  themselves  to  be  drawn  on  by 
him,  and  became  afterwards  the  most 
zealous  actors  in  the  Reformation. 

But  the  very  causes  that  made  him  a 
lit  instrument  to  prepare  this  great  work, 
disqualified   him    for   accomplishing   it. 
"  Erasmus  knows  very  well  how  to  ex- 
pose error,"  said  Luther,  "  but  he  does 
not  know  how  to  teach  the  truth."     The 
Gospel  of  Christ  was  not  the  fire  that  kin- 
dled and  sustained  his  life,  the  centre 
around  which  his  activity  revolved.     In 
him  Christianity  was  second  to  learning. 
He  was  too  much  influenced  by  vanity 
to  acquire  a  decided  influence  over  his 
contemporaries.     He  carefully  Aveighed 
the  effect  that  each  step  might  have  upon 
his  own  reputation.     There  was  nothing 
that  he  liked  better  to  talk  about  than 
himself  and  his  own  glory.  "  The  Pope," 
he  wrote  to  an  intimate  friend,  with  a 
childish  vanity,  at  the  period  when  he 
declared  himself  the    adversary   of  Lu- 
ther, "  the  Pope  has  sent  me  a  diploma 
full  of  good  will  and  honourable   testi- 
monials.    His  secretary  declares  that  it 
is  an  unprecedented  honour,  and  that  the 
Pope  himself  dictated  it  word  for  word." 
Erasmus  and  Luther  are  the  repre- 
sentatives of  two  great  ideas  relative  to  a 
Reformation, — of  two   great   parties   in 
their  age,  and   in  all  ages.     The  one 
class  are  men  of  a  timid  prudence  ;  the 
other  those  of  active  courage  and  resolu- 
tion.    These  two  great  bodies  of  men 
existed  at  this  period,  and   they   were 
personified  in  these  two  illustrious  heads. 
The  former  thought  that  the  cultivation 
of,  theological  science  would  lead  gradu- 
ally and  without  violence  to  the  Refor- 
mation of  the  Church.     The  more  ener- 
getic class  thought  that  the  spread  of 


more  correct  ideas  amongst  the  learned 
would  not  put  an  end  to  the  gross  super- 
stitions of  the  people,  and  that  to  reform 
such  or  such  an  abuse  was  of  little  im- 
portance, so  long  as  the  life  of  the  church 
was  not  thoroughly  renovated. 

"  A  disadvantageous  peace,"  said  Eras- 
mus, "is  better  than  the  most  just 
war."*  He  thought, — (and  how  many 
Erasmuses  have  lived  since  that  time,  and 
are  still  living)  he  thought  that  a  Re- 
formation which  should  shake  the  Church 
would  risk  the  overturning  it ;  he  fore- 
saw with  terror  passions  excited,  evil 
mingling  every  where  with  the  little 
good  that  might  be  done  ;  existing  insti- 
tutions destroyed  without  others  being 
substituted  in  their  stead,  and  the  vessel 
of  the  Church  letting  in  water  on  every 
side,  engulphed  at  last  in  the  raging  bil- 
lows. "  They  who  let  in  the  ocean  to 
new  beds,"  said  he,  "  are  often  deceived 
in  the  result  of  their  toil :  for  the  mighty 
element  once  admitted,  stops  not  where 
they  would  have  it  stayed,  but  overflows 
where  it  will,  spreading  devastation 
around."! 

(  But  the  more  courageous  party  was  not 
at  a  loss  for  an  answer.  History  had  suf- 
ficiently proved  that  a  candid  exhibition 
of  the  truth,  and  a  decided,  war  against 
imposture,  could  alone  ensure  the  victory. 
If  they  had  used  caution  and  political  ar- 
tifice, the  Papal  court  would  have  extin- 
guished the  light  in  its  first  glimmerings. 
Had  not  gentler  means  been  tried  for 
ages?  Had  they  not  seen  Council  after 
Council  convoked  with  the  intention  of 
reforming  the  Church1?  All  had  been 
in  vain.  Why  again  try  an  experiment 
that  had  so  often  failed  ? 

Undoubtedly  a  thorough  Reformation 
was  not  to  be  effected  without  violence. 
But  when  has  anything  great  or  good 
appeared  amongst  men  without  causing 
some  disturbance  ?  Would  not  the  fear 
of  seeing  evil  mingling  with  good,  if  it 
were  allowed,  put  a  stop  to  the  very  no- 
blest and  holiest  undertakings?  We 
must  not  fear  the  evil  that  may  arise  from 
general  disturbance,  but  we  must  strength- 
en ourselves  to  resist  and  overcome  it. 

*  "  Malo  hunc,  qualis  qualis  est,  rerum  huma- 
narum  statum  quam  novos  excitari  tumultus," 
said  Erasmus. 

t  Semel  admissum  non  ea  fertur,  qua  destina- 
rat  admissor.     (Erasm.  Epp.  i.  p.  953.) 


STATE   OF  EUROPE   PRIOR  TO  THE   REFORMATION. 


53 


Is  there  not,  moreover,  a  marked  dif- 
ference between  the  agitation  which 
arises  from  human  passions,  and  that 
which  is  wrought  by  the  Spirit  of  God  ? 
The  former  loosens  the  bonds  of  society, 
but  the  latter  strengthens  them.  How 
erroneous  was  it  to  suppose,  with  Eras- 
mus, that  in  the  state  in  which  Chris- 
tianity then  was,  with  that  mixture  of  op- 
posing elements,  of  truth  and  error,  of 
life  and  death,  a  violent  convulsion  could 
possibly  be  avoided.  Close  if  you  can, 
the  crater  of  Vesuvius  when  the  con- 
tending elements  are  already  agitating 
its  bosom !  The  middle  ages  had  wit- 
nessed more  than  one  violent  commotion, 
with  an  atmosphere  less  stormy  than  that 
existing  at  the  time  of  the  Reformation. 
We  must  not  at  such  a  moment  think  of 
arresting  and  repressing,  but  rather  of 
directing  and  guiding. 

If  the  Reformation  had  not  broke  forth, 
who  can  estimate  the  ruin  that  would 
have  ensued  ?  Society  a  prey  to  a  thou- 
sand destructive  elements,  without  any 
regenerating  or  preserving  principles, 
would  have  been  frightfully  subverted. 
Certainly,  a  Reformation  such  as  Eras- 
mus contemplated,  and  such  as  many 
moderate  but  timid  men  of  our  times  still 
dream  of,  would  have  overturned  Chris- 
tian society.  The  people,  deprived  of 
the  light  and  piety  which  a  true  Refor- 
mation brought  down  even  to  the  lowest 
ranks,  abandoned  to  violent  passion  and 
a  restless  spirit  of  revolt,  would  have 
burst  the  chain  like  an  enraged  animal 
roused  by  provocation  to  uncontrollable 
fury. 

The  Reformation  was  nothing  less  than 
the  coming  in  of  the  Spirit  of  God  among 
men,  a  regulating  principle,  placed  by 
God  upon  the  earth.  It  might,  it  is  true, 
move  the  elements  of  ferment  which  are 
hidden  in  the  human  heart,  but  God 
triumphed  over  all.  The  evangelical 
doctrine,  the  truth  of  God,  penetrating 
among  the  mass  of  the  people,  destroyed 
what  was  destined  to  be  destroyed, — but 
every  where  strengthened  what  was  to 
be  maintained.  The  effect  of  the  Re- 
formation was  to  build  up.  Only  preju- 
dice could  say  that  it  lowered.  And  it 
has  been  justly  observed  that  the  plough- 
share might  as  well  be  accused  of  injur- 
ing the  earth  it  breaks  up  only  to  prepare 
it  for  fruitfulness. 


The  great  maxim  of  Erasmus  was, 
"  Give  light,  and  the  darkness  will  dis- 
perse of  itself."  The  principle  is  good ; 
Luther  acted  upon  it.  But  when  the 
enemies  of  the  light  attempted  to  extin- 
guish it,  or  to  snatch  the  torch  from  him 
who  bore  it,  was  it  fit  that,  from  a  love 
of  peace,  they  should  be  suffered  to  do 
so?  Was  it  not  a  duty  to  resist  the 
wicked  ? 

Erasmus  was  deficient  in  courage. 
But  courage  is  as  necessary  to  effect  a 
reformation  as  to  capture  a  city.  There 
was  much  timidity  in  his  character. 
From  his  youth  he  trembled  at  the  men- 
tion of  death.  He  took  the  most  extra- 
ordinary care  of  his  health.  He  would 
avoid,  at  any  sacrifice,  a  place  where 
contagion  prevailed.  His  relish  for  the 
comforts  of  life  surpassed  even  his  vanity, 
and  this  was  his  reason  for  declining 
more  than  one  brilliant  offer. 

Thus  it  was  that  .he  did  not  pretend 
to  the  part  of  a  Reformer.  "  If  the  cor- 
rupted morals  of  the  court  of  Rome  re- 
quire a  great  and  speedy  remedy,"  said 
he,  "  it  is  not  for  me,  or  such  as  me,  to 
effect  it."*  He  had  none  of  that  strength 
of  faith  which  animated  Luther.  Whilst 
the  latter  was  ever  ready  to  lay  down 
his  life  for  the  truth,  Erasmus,  with  per- 
fect ingenuousness,  could  say,  "  Let  others 
affect  martyrdom :  for  my  part,  I  think 
myself  unworthy  of  that  honour. f  I  fear, 
if  a  tumult  arose,  I  should  be  like  Peter 
in  his  fall." 

Erasmus,  by  his  writings  and  dis- 
courses, had,  more  than  any  other  per- 
son, hastened  the  Reformation  ;  and  yet 
he  trembled  when  he  saw  the  tempests 
he  had  raised  approaching.  He  would 
have  given  every  thing  to  restore  the 
former  calm,  even  with  its  heavy  vapours. 
But  it  was  too  late, — the  dam  was  broken 
down.  It  was  no  longer  possible  to  stay 
the  violence  of  the  torrent  that  was  at 
once  to  cleanse,  and  fertilise  the  world. 
Erasmus  was  powerful,  so  long  as  he 
was  an  instrument  in  God's  hands.  When 
he  ceased  to  be  that— he  was  nothing. 

In  the  result  Erasmus  knew  not  on 
which  side  to  range  himself.  None 
pleased  him,  and  he  dreaded  all.     "  It  is 

*  Infjens  aliquod  et  prsesens  remedium,  certe 
meum  non  est.     (Er.  Epp.  i.  p.  653.) 

t  Ego  me  non  arbitror  hoc  honore  dignum 
(Ibid.) 


54 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


dangerous  to  speak,"  said  he,  "  and  dan- 
gerous to  be  silent."  In  all  great  reli- 
gious movements,  there  are  such  unde- 
cided characters, — respectable  in  some 
things,  but  hindering  the  truth,  and  who, 
from  a  desire  to  displease  no  one,  dis- 
please all. 

What,  we  may  ask,  would  become  of 
truth,  if  God  were  not  to  raise  up  in  its 
defence  more  courageous  champions?.  • 

Listen  to  the  advice  given  by  Eras- 
mus to  Vigilius  Zuichem,  afterwards 
president  of  the  superior  court  of  Brus- 
sels, as  to  his  deportment  towards  the 
sectaries,  (for  that  was  the  name  he 
gave  to  the  reformers).  "  My  friendship 
for  you  makes  me  to  desire  that  you 
should  keep  yourself  quite  clear  of  con- 
tagion of  sects,  and  that  you  give  them 
no  ground  to  claim  Zuichem  as  their 
own.  If  you  approve  their  teaching,  at 
least,  dissemble  your  approval ;  and,  above 
all,  never  dispute  with  them.  A  juris- 
consult must  be  on  his  guard  with  these 
people,  as  a  certain  dying  man  eluded 
the  devil.  The  devil  asked  him  what 
he  believed.  The  dying  man,  fearing 
that,  if  he  confessed,  he  should  be  sur- 
prised in  some  heresy,  answered,  '  What 
the  Church  believes.'  His  interrogator 
pressed  him  with  the  question,  '  What 
does  the  Church  believe  V  The  other 
replied,  '  What  I  believe  V  Again,  the 
devil, — '  And  what  do  you  believe  V  and 
the  dying  man  rejoined,  '  What  the 
Church  believes.'  "* 

So,  the  Duke  George  of  Saxony,  the 
mortal  enemy  of  Luther,  having  received 
an  equivocal  answer  to  a  question  he 
had  addressed  to  Erasmus,  exclaimed 
aloud,  "  My  dear  Erasmus,  wash  me  the 
robe,  if  you  can,  without  wetting  it." 
Secundus  Curio,  in  one  of  his  works, 
depicts  two  heavens,  the  Papal  and  the 
Christian.  He  found  Erasmus  in  neither ; 
but  perceived  him  incessantly  wheeling 
in  never  ending  eddies  between  both. 

Such  was  Erasmus.  He  wanted  that 
"liberty  of  heart"  which  makes  truly  free. 
How  different  would  he  have  been,  if  he 
had  given  up  himself  to  devote  his  soul 
to  truth.  But  after  trying  to  work  some 
reforms,  with  the  approbation  of  the  heads 
of  the  Church, — after  having,  for  the  sake 
of  Rome,  abandoned  the   Reformation, 

*  Erasmi  Epist.  374. 


when  he  saw  that  the  two  could  not 
walk  together, — he  lost  all  his  influence 
with  either.  On  the  one  side,  his  recan- 
tations could  not  repress  the  indignation 
of  the  fanatic  partizans  of  Popery.  They 
felt  the  injury  he  had  done  them,  and 
never  forgave  it.  The  monks  poured 
forth  abuse  on  him  from  their  pulpits. 
They  called  him  a  second  Lucian, — a 
fox  that  had  laid  waste  the  vineyard  of 
the  Lord.  A  doctor  of  Constance  had 
the  portrait  of  Erasmus  hung  up  in  his 
study,  that  he  might  spit  in  his  face  as 
often  as  he  pleased. 

And,  on  the  other  hand,  Erasmus,  for- 
saking the  standard  of  the  Gospel,  found 
himself  deprived  of  the  affection  and 
esteem  of  the  noblest  men  of  his  age, 
and  had  doubtless  to  suffer  the  loss  of 
those  heavenly  consolations  which  God 
sheds  into  the  hearts  of  those  who  act  as 
good  soldiers  of  Christ.  So  at  least  it 
would  seem  from  the  bitter  tears,  painful 
vigils,  disturbed  rest,  failure  of  appetite 
and  loss  of  relish  for  literary  pursuits, 
once  his  only  enjoyments,  wrinkled  fore- 
head, sallow  complexion,  and  dejected 
and  sorrowful  expression,  that  hatred  of 
what  he  calls  a  cruel  life,  and  desire  of 
death  which  he  described  to  his  friends.* 
Poor  Erasmus ! 

The  enemies  of  Erasmus  went  a  little 
beyond  the  truth,  when  they  said,  on  the 
appearance  of  Luther,  "  Erasmus  laid  the 
egg,  and  Luther  has  hatched  it."f 

The  same  signs  of  new  life  that  were 
seen  among  the  princes,  the  bishops,  and 
the  learned,  were  visible  among  men  of 
the  world,  nobles,  knights  and  warriors. 
The  nobles  of  Germany  played  an  im- 
portant part  in  the  Reformation.  Many 
of  the  most  illustrious  sons  of  Germany 
formed  a  close  alliance  with  literary  men, 
and,  inflamed  with  a  zeal  sometimes  in- 

*  Vigilise  molestse,  somnus  irrequietus,  cibus 
insipidus  omnis,  ipsum  quoque  musarum  studium 

ipsa  frontis  meae  mcestitia,  vultus  palor, 

oculorum  subtristis  dejectio  ....  (Erasm.  Epp.  1. 
p.  1380.) 

t  The  works  of  Erasmus  were,  edited  by  John 
Leclerc,  at  Liege,  in  1703,  in  10  vols,  folio.  For 
his  life,  consult  Burigny  Vie  d'Erasme,  Paris, 
1757.  A  Miiller  Leben  des  Erasmus — Hamb. 
1828  ;  and  the  life  inserted  by  Leclerc  in  his 
"  Bibliothequc  Choisie."  See  also  the  able  and 
impartial  performance  of  M.  Nisard  (Revue  des 
deux  mondes) — yet  M.  Nisard  seems  to  me  to 
be  mistaken  in  his  estimate  of  Luther  and 
Erasmus. 


STATE  OF  EUROPE  PRIOR  TO  THE  REFORMATION. 


55 


discreet,  made  efforts  to  deliver  their  de- 
pendants from  the  yoke  of  Rome 
|  Various  causes  would  contribute  to 
make  friends  to  the  Reformation  among 
the  nobles.  Some,  having  frequented 
the  Universities,  had  there  received  into 
their  bosoms  that  fire  with  which  the 
learned  were  animated.  Others,  educat- 
ed in  noble  sentiments,  had  hearts  open 
to  the  elevating  doctrines  of  the  Gospel. 
Many  found  in  the  Reformation  a  vague 
and  chivalrous  something  to  charm  and 
captivate  them.  Others,  it  must  be  own- 
ed, were  influenced  by  ill  will  to  the 
clergy,  who  had  helped,  under  the  rule 
of  Maximilian,  to  deprive  them  of  their 
ancient  independence,  and  reduce  them 
to  submission  to  their  princes.  Full  of 
enthusiasm,  they  deemed  the  Reforma- 
tion the  prelude  of  a  great  political  reno- 
vation ;  they  hoped  to  behold  the  Empire 
emerge  from  the  crisis  with  a  splendour 
altogether  unprecedented,  and  a  better 
and  more  glorious  state  of  things  estab- 
lished in  the  world  as  much  by  the  sword 
of  chivalry  as  by  the  word  of  God.* 

Ulric  de  Hutten,  surnamed  the  De- 
mosthenes of  Germany,  from  his  philip- 
pics against  the  Papacy,  forms,  as  it 
were,  the  link  which  then  held  united 
the  knights  and  the  men  of  letters.  He 
was  no  less  distinguished  by  his  writings 
than  by  his  military  exploits.  Descended 
from  an  ancient  family  of  Franconia,  he 
was  sent,  when  eleven  years  old,  to  the 
convent  of  Fulda,  to  become  in  due  time 
a  monk.  But  Ulric,  who  felt  no  incli- 
nation for  that  vocation,  fled  from  the 
convent  in  his  sixteenth  year,  and  re- 
paired to  the  University  of  Cologne, 
where  he  devoted  himself  to  the  study 
of  languages  and  poetry.  At  a  later 
period  he  led  a  wandering  life,  was  pre- 
sent in  1513  at  the  siege  of  Padua,  in 
the  capacity  of  a  common  soldier,  saw 
Rome  and  all  her  abominations,  and 
there  sharpened  the  darts  which  he  af- 
terwards hurled  against  her. 

On  his  return  *to  Germany,  Hutten 
composed  against  Rome  a  writing  enti- 
tled, The  Roman  Trinity.  He  there 
strips  bare  the  disorders  of  that  court, 

*  Animus  ingens  et  ferox,  viribus  pollens. 
Nam  si  consilia  et  conatus  Hutteni  non.  defecis- 
sent,  quasi  nervi  copiurum,  atque  potential,  jam 
mutatio  omnium  rerum  extitisset,  et  quasi  orbis 
status  publici  fuisset  conversus. — Camer.  Vita 
Melancthonis. 


and  shows  the  necessity  of  putting  a  for- 
cible stop  to  its  oppressions.  "  There 
are  three  things,"  says  a  traveller  named 
Vadiscus,  introduced  in  this  tract,  "which 
we  commonly  bring  away  with  us  from 
Rome, — a  bad  conscience,  a  vitiated  sto- 
mach, and  an  empty  purse.  There  are 
three  things  which  Rome  does  not  be- 
lieve in  :  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  the 
resurrection  of  the  dead,  and  hull.  There 
are  three  things  which  Rome  trades  in : 
the  grace  of  Christ,  the  dignities  of  the 
church,  and  women." — The  last  writing 
obliged  Hutten  to  quit  the  court  of  the 
Archbishop  of  Mentz,  where  he  was  re- 
siding when  he  composed  it. 

When  Reuchlin's  affair  with  the  Do- 
minicans made  a  noise,  Hutten  took  the 
part  of  the  learned  doctor.  One  of  his 
university  acquaintances,  Crotus  Robia- 
nus  and  others,  composed  at  that  time 
the  famous  satire  known  by  the  name 
of  "  Letters  of  Obscure  Men,"  which  first 
appeared  in  1516,  one  year  before  the 
theses  of  Luther.  This  writing  was  at- 
tributed especially  to  Hutten,  and  it  is 
very  probable  that  he  had  a  large  share 
in  its  composition.  In  it  the  monks,  who 
were  the  enemies  of  Reuchlin,  and  are 
exhibited  as  the  authors  of  these  letters, 
discourse  of  the  affairs  of  the  time,  and 
of  theological  subjects,  in  their  manner, 
and  in  barbarous  Latin.  They  address 
to  their  correspondent  Eratius,  professor 
at  Cologne,  the  most  idiotic  and  useless 
questions  ;  they  discover  with  the  utmost 
simplicity  their  gross  ignorance,  incredu- 
lity, superstition,  and  low  and  vulgar 
spirit,  and  at  the  same  time  their  pride, 
and  fanatical  and  persecuting  zeal.  They 
relate  to  him  many  of  their  low  adven- 
tures and  debaucheries,  and  many  scan- 
dalous particulars  of  the  conduct  of  Hoch- 
straten,  Pfefferkorn,  and  other  heads  of 
their  party.  These  letters  are  very 
amusing,  from  their  mixture  of  hypocrisy 
and  stupidity:  and  the  whole  was  so 
much  to  the  life,  that  the  Dominicans 
and  Franciscans  of  England  received 
the  writing  with  great  approbation,  and 
thought  it  to  be  really  composed  in  the 
principles  and  for  the  defence  of  their 
order.  A  prior  of  Brabant,  in  his  credu- 
lous simplicity,  bought  a  large  number 
of  copies,  and  sent  them  as  presents  to 
the  most  distinguished  of  the  Domini- 
cans.    The  monks,  more' and  more  irri- 


56 


HISTORY  OF  THE    REFORMATION. 


tated,  importuned  Leo  X.  for  a  severe 
bull  against  all  who  should  dare  to  read 
these  letters;  but  that  pontiff  refused 
them.  They  were  compelled  to  endure 
the  general  .ridicule,  and  "to  suppress 
their  anger.  No  work  ever  struck  a 
more  terrible  blow  at  the  pillars  of  Po- 
pery. But  it  was  not  by  ridicule  and 
satire  that  the  Gospel  was  ordained  to 
triumph.  If  its  friends  had  continued 
their  progress  in  these  ways ; — if  the 
Reformation,  instead  of  attacking  error 
with  the  weapons  of  God,  had  had  re- 
course to  the  spirit  of  mockery, — its 
cause  had  been  lost.  Luther  loudly 
condemned  these  satires.  One  of  his 
acquaintances  having  sent  him  one,  en- 
titled "  The  Burthen  of  the  Petition  of 
Pasquin."  "  The  absurdities  you  have 
sent  me,"  said  he,  "  appear  to  be  the  pro- 
duction of  an  ill-regulated  mind.  I  have 
shown  them  to  some  friends,  and  they 
all  formed  the  same  opinion  of  them." 
And  in  reference  to  the  same  work,  he 
wrote  to  another  of  his  correspondents. 
"  This  petition  seems  to  me  a  freak  of 
the  same  buffoon  who  wrote  the  Letters 
of  Obscure  Men.  I  approve  his  design, 
but  not  his  performance ;  for  he  deals 
only  in  reproachful  and  insulting  lan- 
guage."* This  judgment  may  be  thought 
severe,  but  it  shows  the  spirit  of  Luther, 
and  how  he  arose  above  his  contempora- 
ries.— Yet  it  must  be  added  that  he  did 
not  always  follow  these  wise  maxims. 

Ulric,  being  obliged  to  renounce  the 
protection  of  the  Archbishop  of  Mentz, 
courted  the  favour  of  Charles  V.  who 
was  then  at  variance  with  the  Pope. 

He  repaired  to  Brussels,  where  Charles 
held  his  court.  But.  far  from  gaining 
any  advantage,  he  learned  that  the  Pope 
had  required  the  Emperor  to  send  him 
bound  hand  and  foot  to  Rome.  The  in- 
quisitor Hochstraten,  the  persecutor  of 
Reuchlin,  was  one  of  those  charged  with 
the  office  of  brinjrina:  him  to  trial.  In- 
dignant  that  his  enemies  should  have 
dared  to  make  such  a  demand  of  the 
Emperor,  Ulric  quitted  Brabant.  Just 
outside  Brussels  he  met  Hochstraten  on 
the  road.  The  terrified  inquisitor  fell 
upon  his  knees  and  commended  his  soul 
to  God  and  the  saints.  "  No,"  said  the 
knight :  "  I  will  not  soil  my  weapon 
with  thy  blood  I"  He  gave  him  some 
*  Lutheri  Epp.  i.  p.  37,  38. 


strokes  with  the  flat  of  his  sword,  and 
allowed  him  to  pass  unhurt. 

Hutten  sought  refuge  in  the  Castle  of 
Ebernburg,  where  Francis  of  Sickingen 
offered  an  asylum  to  all  who  were  per- 
secuted by  the  Ultramontanes.  It  was 
there  that  his  zeal,  panting  for  the  en- 
franchisement of  his  nation,  dictated 
those  remarkable  letters  addressed  to 
Charles  V.,  Frederic  the  Elector  of  Sax- 
ony, Albert  archbishop  of  Mentz,  and 
the  princes  and  nobility,  which  place 
him  in  the  first  rank  of  orators.  There 
he  composed  all  those  writings,  destined 
to  be  read  and  comprehended  by  the 
common  people,  which  spread  through- 
out the  German  population  a  horror  of 
Rome  and  a  love  of  liberty.  Devoted 
to  the  cause  of  the  Reformer,  his  design 
was  to  lead  the  nobles  to  take  up  arms 
in  favour  of  the  Gospel,  and  to  rush 
sword  in  hand  on  that  Rome  which 
Luther  aimed  to  destroy  only  by  the 
word  and  invincible  power  of  the  truth. 

And  yet,  in  the  midst  of  all  this  war- 
like exultation,  it  is  delightful  to  find  in 
Hutten  kind  and  considerate  feelings. 
At  the  death  of  his  parents,  he  gave 
up  to  his  brothers  all  the  property  of 
the  family,  though  he  was  the  eldest 
son,  and  even  begged  them  not  to 
write  to  him  nor  send  him  any  money, 
lest,  notwithstanding  their  innocence, 
they  should  be  exposed  to  the  malice  of 
his  enemies,  and  fall  with  him  into  the 
pit. 

If  truth  cannot  acknowledge  him  as 
one  of  her  children,  for  she  ever  walks 
in  company  with  holiness  of  life  and 
charity  of  heart,  she  will  at  least  accord 
to  him  an  honourable  mention'  as  one 
of  the  most  formidable  enemies  of  error.* 

The  same  may  be  said  of  Francis  of 
Sickingen,  his  illustrious  friend  and  pro- 
tector. This  noble  knight,  whom  many 
of  his  contemporaries  judged  worthy  of 
the  Imperial  crown,  shines  in  the  fore- 
most rank  of  the  Avarlike  antagonists  of 
Rome.  Though  delighting  in  the  noise 
of  battles,  he  was  full  of  ardour  for  learn- 
ing, and  veneration  for  its  professors.  At 
the  head  of  an  army  which  threatened 
Wurtemberg,  he  commanded  that  in 
case  Stutgard  should  be  taken  by  as- 
sault, the  house  and  property  of  the  dis- 

*  Hiitten's  works  have  been  published  at  Ber- 
lin by  Munchen,  1822  to  1825,  in  5  vols.  8vo. 


STATE   OF  EUROPE  PRIOR  TO  THE   REFORMATION. 


57 


tinguished  scholar,  John  Reuchlin, 
should  be  respected.  He  afterwards  in- 
vited him  to  his  camp,  embraced  him, 
and  tendered  him  his  assistance  in  the 
contest  between  him  and  the  monks  of 
Cologne.  Chivalry  had  for  a  long  time 
prided  itself  in  despising  learning.  The 
period  we  are  retracing  presents  a  new 
spectacle.  Under  the  ponderous  cuirasses 
of  Sickingen  and  Hiitten,  we  perceive 
that  new  movement  of  the  general  intel- 
ligence then  every  where  beginning  to 
make  itself  felt.  The  Reformation  gave 
to  the  world  as  its  first  fruits,  warriors 
who  were  friends  of  the  arts  and  of 
peace. 

Hiitten,  during  his  residence  at  the 
castle  of  Sickingen,  after  his  return  from 
Brussels,  encouraged  the  brave  knight  to 
study  the  evangelic  doctrine,  and  ex- 
plained to  him  the  main  truths  on  which 
it  is  based.  "  And  is  there  any  man," 
exclaimed  Sickingen  in  astonishment, 
"  that  dares  seek  to  overturn  such  a  doc- 
trine !     Who  dares  to  attempt  it?" 

Several  who  were  at  a  later  period 
distinguished  as  Reformers  found  a  re- 
fuge in  his  castle.  Among  others  Mar- 
tin Bucer,  Aquila,  Schwebel,  (Ecolam- 
padius ;  so  that  Hiitten,  with  some  rea- 
son, designated  Ebenburg  the  "house 
of  the  just."  (Ecolampadius  preached, 
according  to  his  custom,  every  day  at  the 
castle.  Nevertheless  the  warriors  there 
collected  were  ere  long  weary  of  hearing 
so  much  of  the  mild  virtues  of  Chris- 
tianity :  the  sermons  were  too  long  for 
them,' though  (Ecolampadius  did  his  best 
to  be  brief.  They,  however,  came  every 
day  to  church,  but  it  was  merely  to  hear 
the  benediction,  or  to  make  a  short 
prayer,  so  that  (Ecolampadius  was  used 
to  exclaim,  "  Alas !  the  word  is  here 
sown  upon  rocks." 

Soon  after,  Sickingen,  wishing  to  help 
the  cause  of  truth  in  his  own  fashion,  de- 
clared war  against  the  Archbishop  of 
Treves,  "to  open  a  door,"  as  he  said, 
"  for  the  Gospel."  It  was  in  vain  that 
Luther,  who  had  then  appeared,  dis- 
suaded him  from  it ;  he  attacked  Treves 
with  five  thousand  horse  and  a  thousand 
foot.  The  courageous  Archbishop  as- 
sisted by  the  Palatine  and  the  Land- 
grave of  Hesse,  compelled  him  to  retreat. 
In  the  spring  following,  the  allies  be- 
sieged him  in  his  castle  of  Landstein. 


After  a  bloody  assault,  Sickingen  Was 
obliged  to  retire  :  he  was  mortally 
wounded.  The  three  princes  penetrati  '1 
into  the  fortress,  and  passing  through  its 
apartments,  found  the  lion-hearted  knight 
in  a  vault,  stretched  on  his  death  bed.  He 
put  forth  his  hand  to  the  Palatine,  with- 
out seeming  to  notice  the  princes  who 
accompanied  him.  But  they  overwhelmed 
him  with  questions  and  reproachea 
"  Leave  me  in  quiet,"  said  he,  "  for  I 
must  now  prepare  to  answer  to  a  greater 
Lord  than  ye."  When  Luther  heard  of 
his  death,  he  exclaimed,  "The  Lord  is 
just,  but  wonderful !  It  is  not  by  the 
sword  that  he  will  have  his  gospel  pro- 
pagated." 

Such  was  the  melancholy  end  of  a 
warrior  who,  as  Emperor,  or  as  an  Elector, 
might  perhaps  have  raised  Germany  to 
a  high  degree  of  glory,  but  who,  con- 
fined within  a  narrow  circle,  expended 
uselessly  the  great  powers  with  which 
he  was  gifted.  It  was  not  in  the  tumul- 
tuous minds  of  these  warriors  that  divine 
truth  came  to  fix  her  abode.  It  was  not 
by  their  arms  that  the  truth  was  to  pre- 
vail ;  and  God  by  bringing  to  nought 
the  mad  projects  of  Sickingen,  confirmed 
anew  the  testimony  of  St.  Paul,  "  The 
weapons  of  our  warfare  are  not  carnal, 
but  mighty  through  God." 

Another  knight,  Harmut  of  Cronberg, 
the  friend  of  Hiitten  and  Sickingen,  ap- 
pears, however,  to  have  had  more  wis- 
dom and  knowledge  of  the  truth.  He 
wrote  with  much  modesty  to  Leo  X. 
urging  him  to  restore  his  temporal  power 
to  him  to  whom  it  belonged,  namely,  to 
the  Emperor.  Addressing  his  subjects 
as  a  father,  he  endeavoured  to  explain  to 
them  the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  and 
exhorted  them  to  faith,  obedience  and 
trust  in  Jesus  Christ,  "  who,"  added  he, 
"  is  the  sovereign  Lord  of  all."  He  re- 
signed to  the  Emperor  a  pension  of  two 
hundred  ducats,  "  because  he  would  no 
longer  serve  one  who  gave  ear  to  the 
enemies  of  the  truth."  And  we  find  a 
saying  of  his  recorded  which  places  him 
in  our  judgment,  above  Hiitten  and 
Sickingen  :  "  Our  heavenly  teacher,  the 
Holy  Ghost,  can,  when  he  pleases,  teach 
us  in  one  hour  much  more  of  the  faith 
of  Christ,  than  could  be  'learned  in  ten 
years  at  the  University  of  Paris." 

However,  those  who  only  look  for  the 


58 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


friends  of  the  Reformation  on  the  steps 
of  thrones,*  or  in  cathedrals  and  acade- 
mies, and  who  suppose  it  had  no  friends 
amongst  the  people,  are  greatly  mista- 
ken. God,  who  was  preparing  the 
hearts  of  the  wise  and  powerful,  was  also 
preparing  amongst  the  lowest  of  the  peo- 
ple many  simple  and  humble  men,  who 
were  one  day  to  become  the  promoters 
of  his  truth.  The  history  of  those  times 
shows  the  excitement  that  prevailed 
among  the  lower  classes.  There  were 
not  only  many  young  men  who  rose  to 
fill  the  highest  offices  in  the  Church,  but 
there  were  men  who  continued  all  their 
lives  employed  in  the  humblest  occupa- 
tions, who  powerfully  contributed  to  the 
revival  of  Christianity.  We  relate  some 
circumstances  in  the  life  of  one  of  them. 
He  was  the  son  of  a  tailor  named 
Hans  Sachs,  and  was  born  at  Nurem- 
berg, the  5th  November,  .1494.  He 
was  named  Hans  (John)  after  his  father, 
and  had  made  some  progress  in  his 
studies,  when  a  severe  illness  obliging 
him  to  abandon  them,  he  applied  him- 
self to  the  trade  of  a  shoemaker.  Young 
Hans  took  advantage  of  the  liberty  this 
humble  profession  afforded  to  his  mind 
to  search  into  higher  subjects  better 
suited  to  his  inclination.  Since  music 
had  been  banished  from  the  castles  of 
the  nobles,  it  seemed  to  have  sought  and 
found  an  asylum  amongst  the  lower  or- 
ders of  the  merry  cities  of  Germany.  A 
school  for  singing  was  held  in  the 
church  of  Nuremberg.  The  exercises 
in  which  young  Hans  joined  opened  his 
heart  to  religious  impressions,  and  helped 
to  excite  in  him  a  taste  for  poetry  and 
music.  However,  the  young  man's  ge- 
nius could  not  long  be  confined  within 
the  walls  of  a  workshop.  He  wished  to 
see  that  world  of  which  he  had  read  so 
much  in  books,  of  which  his  companions 
had  told  him  so  much,  and  which  his 
youthful  imagination  peopled  with  won- 
ders. In  1511,  he  took  his  bundle  on 
his  shoulders,  and  set  out,  directing  his 
course  towards  the  south.  The  young 
traveller,  who  met  with  merry  compan- 
ions on  his  road,  students  who  were 
passing  through  the  country,  and  many 
dangerous  attractions,  soon  felt  within 
himself  a  fearfill  struggle.  The  lusts  of 
life  and  his  holy  resolutions  contended 
*  See  Chateaubriand  Etudes  Historiques. 


for  the  mastery.  Trembling  for  tho 
issue,  he  fled  and  sought  refuge  in  the 
little  town  of  Wels,  in  Austria,  (1513,) 
where  he  lived  in  retirement,  and  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  fine  arts.  The  Em- 
peror Maximilian  happened  to  pass 
through  the  town  with  a  brilliant  reti- 
nue. The  young  poet  was  carried  away 
by  the  splendour  of  this  court.  The 
prince  received  him  into  his  hunting  es- 
tablishment, and  Hans  again  forgot  his 
better  resolutions  in  the  joyous  chambers 
of  the  palace  of  Inspruck.  But  again 
his  conscience  loudly  reproached  him. 
The  young  huntsman  laid  aside  his 
glittering  uniform,  set  out,  repaired  to 
Schwartz,  and  afterwards  to  Munich. 
It  was  there,  in  1514,  at  the  age  of 
twenty,  he  sang  his  first  hymn,  "  to  the 
honour  of  God,"  to  a  well  known 
chaunt.  He  was  loaded  with  applause. 
Every  where  in  his  travels  he  had  occa- 
sion to  notice  numerous  and  melancholy 
proofs  of  the  abuses  under  which  religion 
was  labouring. 

On  his  return  to  Nuremberg,  Hang 
settled  in  life,  married,  and  became  the 
father  of  a  family.  When  the  Reforma- 
tion burst  forth,  he  lent  an  attentive  ear. 
He  clung  to  that  holy  book  which  had 
already  become  dear  to  him  as  a  poet, 
and  which  he  now  no  longer  searched 
for  pictures  and  music,  but  for  the  light 
of  truth.  To  this  sacred  truth  he  soon 
dedicated  his  lyre.  From  a  humble 
workshop,  situated  at  one  of  the  gates  of 
the  imperial  city  of  Nuremberg,  pro- 
ceeded sounds  that  resounded  through 
all  Germany,  preparing  the  minds  of 
men  for  a  new  era,  and  every  where  en- 
dearing to  the  people  the  great  revo- 
lution which  was  then  in  progress. 
The  spiritual  songs  of  Hans  Sachs,  his 
Bible  in  verse,  powerfully  assisted  this 
work.  It  would  perhaps  be  difficult  to 
say  to  which  it  was  most  indebted,  the 
Prince  Elector  of  Saxony,  Administrator 
of  the  Empire,  or  the  shoemaker  of  Nu- 
remberg ! 

There  was  at  this  time  something  in 
every  class  of  society  that  presaged  a  Re- 
formation. In  every  quarter  signs  were 
manifest,  and  events  were  pressing  for- 
ward that  threatened  to  overturn  the 
work  of  ages  of  darkness,  and  to  bring 
about  "  a  new  order  of  things."  The 
light  discovered  in  that  age  had  commu- 


YOUTH,  CONVERSION,   AND   EARLY   LABOURS  OF  LUTHER. 


59 


nicated  to  all  countries,  with  inconceiva- 
ble rapidity,  a  multitude  of  new  ideas. 
The  minds  of  men,  which  had  slept  for 
so  many  ages,  seemed  resolved  to  redeem 
by  their  activity  the  time  they  had  lost. 
To  have  left  them  idle  and  without 
nourishment,  or  to  have  offered  them  no 
other  food  than  that  which  had  long  sus- 
tained their  languishing  existence,  would 
have  shown  great  ignorance  of  human  na- 
ture. The  mind  of  man  saw  clearly  what 
was,  and  what  was  coming,  and  surveyed 
with  daring  eye  the  immense  gulph  that 
separated  these  two  worlds.  Great  prin- 
ces were  seated  upon  the  throne,  the 
ancient  colossus  of  Rome  was  tottering 
under  its  own  weight ;  the  by-gone  spirit 
of  chivalry  was  leaving  the  world,  and 
giving  place  to  a  new  spirit  which 
breathed  at  the  same  time  from  the  sanc- 
tuaries of  learning  and  from  the  dwell- 
ings of  the  common  people.  The  art  of 
printing  had  given  wings  to  the  written 
word,  which  carried  it,  like  certain 
seeds,  to  the  most  distant  regions.  The 
discovery  of  the  Indies  enlarged  the 
boundaries  of  the  world.  Every  thing 
proclaimed  a  mighty  revolution  at  hand. 


But  whence  was  the  stroke  to  come 
that  should  throw  down  the  ancienl  edi- 
fice, and  call  up  a  new  structure  from 
the  ruins?  No  one  could  answer  this 
question.  Who  had  more  wisdom  than 
Frederic?  Who  had  more  learning  than 
Reuchlin?  Who  had  more  talent  than 
Erasmus?  Who  had  more  wit  and 
energy  than  Hutten  ?  Who  had  more 
courage  than  Sickingen?  Who  had 
more  virtue  than  Croubcrg  ?  And  yet 
it  was  neither  Frederic,  nor  Reuchlin 
nor  Erasmus,  nor  Hutten,  nor  Sickingen 
nor  Cronberg.  Learned  men,  princes 
warriors,  the  Church  itself,  all  had  un 
dermined  some  of  the  old  foundations 
but  there  they  had  stopped:  and  no- 
Avhere  was  seen  the  hand  of  power  that 
was  to  be  God's  instrument. 

However,  all  felt  that  it  would  soon 
be  seen.  Some  pretended  to  have  dis- 
covered in  the  stars  sure  indications  of 
its  appearing.  Some,  seeing  the  misera- 
ble state  of  religion,  foretold  the  near  ap- 
proach of  Antichrist.  Others,  on  the 
contrary,  presaged  some  reformation  at 
hand.  The  world  was  in  expectation. 
Luther  appeared. 


BOOK   II. 


THE  YOUTH,  CONVERSION,  AND  EARLY  LABOURS  OF  LUTHER. 

1483—1517. 

Luther's  Parents-Birth  of  Luther— Luther's  Early  Life— Magdeburg— His  Hardships-The 
« Shunamite"-Recollections-The  University-Discovery-The  Bible-Mental  Agitation- 
Visit  to  Mansfeldt— Luther's  Resolution— The  Farewell— The  Convent— Humihatioiw-Liidu- 
rance— His  Studies— Ascetic  Life— Mental  Struggle— Monastic  Tendencies—  htaupitz-htau- 
pitz  and  Luther-Present  of  a  Bible-The  Aged  Monk-TheChange-Consecra^on  Luther 
at  Eisleben-Invitation  to  Wittemberg-First  Instructions— Lectures-^The  Old  Chapel-ri.s 
Preaching-Journey  to  Rome-Sickness  at  Bologna-Luther  in  Rome-Effects  of  h,f  Journey 
-Plates^  Staircase-Confession  of  Faith-Luther  leaves  Home-Carlstadt-Luther  s  Oath- 
Luthe's  Courage-Attacks  the  Schoolmen-Spalatin-Luther's  Faith-Hs  Pre.chmg-Luther 
oi ridolatry-On  Superstitions-His  Conduct-George  Spenlem-The  True  R.ghteousness- 
Luther  and  Erasmus-Christian  Charity-George  Leiffei-Luther's  Theses-H.s  \  .s.tat.on- 
Paaue  at  Wi  t nnbero-The  Elector  and  the  Relics-Spalatin-Duke  George-Li.  her s  Ser- 
S-Enler-S  Supper-Free  Will-Theses-Nature  of  Man-Doctor  Eck-Urban  Regms 
—The  Theses  sent  to  Eck— Effect  of  the  Theses. 


All  things  were  ready.  God,  who 
prepares  his  work  for  ages,  accomplishes 
it,  when  his  time  is  come,  by  the  feeblest 
instruments.  It  is  the  m-.thod  of  God's 
providence  to  effect  great  results  by  in- 


considerable means.  This  law,  which 
pervades  the  kingdom  of  nature,  is  dis- 
cerned also  in  the  history  of  mankind. 
God  chose  the  Reformers  of  the  Church 
from  the  same  condition,  and  worldly 


60 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


circumstances,  from  whence  he  had  be- 
fore taken  the  Apostles.  He  chose  them 
from  that  humble  class  which,  though 
not  the  lowest,  can  hardly  be  said  to  be- 
long to  the  middle  ranks.  Every  thing 
was  thus  to  make  manifest  to  the  world 
that  the  work  was  not  of  man,  but  of 
God.  The  reformer,  Zwingle,  emerged 
from  a  shepherd's  hut  among  the  Alps  : 
Melancthon,  the  great  theologian  of  the 
Reformation,  from  an  armourer's  work- 
shop ;  and  Luther  from  the  cottage  of  a 
poor  miner. 

The  opening  period  of  a  man's  life,— 
that  in  which  his  natural  character  is 
formed  and  developed  under  the  hand  of 
God, — is  always  important.  It  is  espe- 
cially so  in  Luther's  career.  The  whole 
Reformation  was  there. 

The  different  phases  of  this  work  suc- 
ceeded each  other  in  the  mind  of  him 
who  was  to  be  the  instrument  for  it,  be- 
fore it  was  publicly  accomplished  in  the 
world.  The  knowledge  of  the  Refor- 
mation effected  in  the  heart  of  Luther 
himself  is,  in  truth,  the  key  to  the  Refor- 
mation of  the  Church.  It  is  only  by 
studying  the  work  in  the  individual,  that 
we  can  comprehend  the  general  work. 
They  who  neglect  the  former,  will  know 
but  the  form  and  exterior  signs  of  the 
latter.  They  may  gain  knowledge  of 
certain  events  and  results,  but  they  will 
never  comprehend  the  intrinsic,  nature 
of  that  renovation ;  for  the  principle  of 
life  that  was  the  soul  of  it  will  remain 
unknown  to  them.  Let  us  then  study 
the  Reformation  of  Luther  himself,  be- 
fore we  contemplate  the  facts  that  changed 
the  state  of  Christendom. 

John  Luther,  the  son  of  a  peasant  of 
the  village  of  Mora,  near  Eisenach,  in 
the  county  of  Mansfield,  in  Thuringia, 
descended  from  an  ancient  and  widely- 
spread  family  of  humble  peasantry,* 
married  the  daughter  of  an  inhabitant  of 
Neustadt,  in  the  bishopric  of  Wurzburg, 
named  Margaret  Lindemann.  The  new 
married  couple  left  Eisenach,  and  went 
to  settle  in  the  little  town  of  Eisleben,  in 
Saxony. 

Seckendorff  relates,  on  the  testimony 
of  Relhan,  the  superintendant  of  Eisen- 
ach in  1601,  that  the  mother  of  Luther, 
thinking  her  time  was  not   near,   had 

*  Vestus  familia  est  et  late  propagata  medio- 
crium  hominum.     (Melanc.  Vit.  Luth.) 


gone  to  the  fair  of  Eisleben,  and  that 
there  she  was  brought  to  bed  of  her  son. 
Notwithstanding  the  credit  that  is  due  to 
Seckendorff,  this  fact  does  not  seem  well 
authenticated  ;  indeed  it  is  not  alluded  to 
by  any  of  the  oldest  historians  of  Luther ; 
moreover,  the  distance  from  Mora  to 
Eisleben  must  be  about  twenty-four 
leagues, — a  journey  not  likely  to  have 
been  undertaken  in  the  state  in  which 
Luther's  mother  then  was,  for  the  sake 
of  going  to  a  fair ;  and  lastly,  the  testi- 
mony of  Luther  himself  appears  to  con- 
tradict this  assertion.* 

John  Luther  was  a  man  of  upright 
character,  diligent  in  his  business,  open- 
hearted,  and  possessing  a  strength  of 
purpose  bordering  upon  obstinacy.  Of 
more  cultivated  mind  than  the  generality 
of  his  class,  he  read  much.  Books  were 
then  rare  ;  but  John  did  not  neglect  any 
opportunity  of  procuring  them.  They 
were  his  recreation  in  the  intervals  of 
rest  that  his  severe  and  assiduous  labours 
allowed  him.  Margaret  possessed  those 
virtues  which  adorn  good  and  pious 
women.  Modesty,  the  fear  of  God,  and 
devotion,  especially  marked  her  charac- 
ter. She  was  considered  by  the  mothers 
of  families  in  the  place  where  she  resided, 
as  a  model  worthy  of  their  imitation. f 

It  is  not  precisely  known  how  long 
the  new-married  couple  had  been  settled 
at  Eisleben,  when,  on  the  10th  of  No- 
vember, at  11  o'clock  in  the  evening, 
Mamaret  afave  birth  to  a  son.  Melanc- 
thon  often  questioned  the  mother  of  his 
friend  as  to  the  time  of  her  son's  birth. 
"  I  well  remember  the  day  and  the  hour," 
replied  she  ;  "  but  I  am  not  certain  about 
the  year."  But  James,  the  brother  of 
Luther,  an  honest  and  upright  man,  said 
that,  according  to  the  opinion  of  all  the 
family,  Martin  was  born  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  1483,  on  the  10th  of  November. 
It  was  the  eve  of  St.  Martin.;);  The 
first  thought  of  his  pious  parents  was 
to  devote  to  God,  by  the  rite  of  baptism, 
the  child  that  had  been  sent  them.  The 
next  day,  which  was  Tuesday,  the  father, 

*  Ego  natus  sum  in  Eisleben  baptizatusque 
apud  Sanctum  Petrum  ibidem. — Parcntes  mei 
de  prope  Isenaco  illuc  migrarunt.  (L.  Epp.  i. 
p.  390.) 

t  Intuebanturque  in  earn  CBeterae  honestae  mu- 
lieres,  ut  in  exemplar  virtutum. — (Melancthon 
Vita  Lutheri.) 

\  Melancth.  Vita  Lutheri. 


YOUTH,   CONVERSION,   AND   EARLY   LABOURS   OF  LUTHER 


61 


with,  joy  and  gratitude,  carried  his  son  to 
St.  Peter's  church.  It  was  there  he  re- 
ceived the  seal  of  his  dedication  to  the 
Lord.  They  named  him  Martin,  in  me- 
mory of  the  day. 

Little  Martin  was  not  six  months  old, 
when  his  parents  left  Eisleben,  to  go  to 
Mansfeld,  which  is  only  five  leagues  dis- 
tant. The  mines  of  Mansfeld  were  then 
much  celebrated.  John  Luther,  an  indus- 
trious man,  feeling  that  he  should  per- 
haps be  called  upon  to  bring  up  a  nume- 
rous family,  hoped  to  get  a  better  liveli- 
hood there  for  himself  and  his  children. 
It  was  in  this  town  that  the  understand- 
ing and  physical  powers  of  young  Lu- 
ther were  first  developed ;  it  was  there 
that  his  activity  began  to  display  itself; — 
there  he  began  to  speak  and  act.  The 
plains  of  Mansfeld,  the  banks  of  the 
Vipper,  were  the  theatre  of  his  first  sports 
with  the  children  of  the  neighbourhood. 
The  early  years  of  their  abode  at 
Mansfeld  were  full  of  difficulty  for  the 
worthy  John  and  his  wife.  They  lived 
at  first  in  extreme  poverty.  "My  pa- 
rents," said  the  Reformer,  "were  very 
poor.  My  father  was  a  woodcutter,  and 
my  mother  has  often  carried  the  wood 
on  her  back,  that  she  might  earn  where- 
with to  bring  us  children  up.  They 
endured  the  hardest  labour  for  our  sakes." 
The  example  of  parents  whom  he  rever- 
enced, and  the  habits  they  trained  him 
to,  very  early  accustomed  Luther  to  toil 
and  frugal  fare.  How  often  may  Martin, 
when  a  child,  have  accompanied  his 
mother  to  the  wood,  and  made  up  and 
brought  to  her  his-  little  faggot. 

There  are  blessings  promised  to  the 
labour  of  the  righteous ;  and  John  Luther 
experienced  their  reality.  He  gradually 
made  his  way,  and  established  at  Mans- 
feld two  small  furnaces  for  iron.  By 
the  side  of  these  forges  little  Martin  grew 
Up5 — and  it  was  with  the  earnings  of  this 
industry  that  his  father  was  afterwards 
able  to  place  him  at  school.  "  It  was 
from  a  miner's  fireside,"  says  the  worthy 
Mathesius,  "that  one  who  was -destined  to 
recast  vital  Christianity  was  to  go  forth  — 
an  expression  of  God's  purpose,  by  his 
means,  to  cleanse  the  sons  of  Levi,  and 
refine  them  as  gold  in  His  furnace."* 
Respected  by  all  for  his  uprightness,  irre- 

*  Drumb  musste  dieser  geistliche  Schmelzer 
(Mathesius,  1565,  p.  3.) 


proachable  conduct,  and  good  sense,  he 
was  made  one  of  the  council  of  Mansfeld, 
the  chief  town  of  the  district  so  called. 
Circumstances  of  too  pinching  want 
might  have  weighed  down  their  ehild's 
spirit ;  while  comparatively  easy  circum- 
stances would  dilate  his  heart  and  raise 
his  character. 

John  took  advantage  of  his  new  ap- 
pointment, to  court  the  society  he  pre- 
ferred. He  paid  great  attention  to  the 
learned,  and  often  invited  to  his  table 
the  ecclesiastics  and  schoolmasters  <»t  the 
place.  His  house  afforded  a  sample  of 
those  social  meetings  of  citizens  that  did 
honour  to  Germany  in  the  beginning  of 
the  16th  century.  It  was  a  kind  of 
mirror,  to  which  came,  and  wherein  , 
were  reflected,  the  numerous  subjects 
which  successively  took  possession  of  the 
agitated  stage  of  the  times.  The  child 
derived  advantage  from  this.  Doubtless 
the  sight  of  these  men,  to  whom  so  much 
respect  was  shown  in  his  father's  house, 
excited  in  the  heart  of  young  Martin  the 
ambitious  desire  that  he  himself  might 
one  day  be  a  schoolmaster  or  man  of 
learning. 

As  soon  as  he  was  old  enough  to  re- 
ceive instruction,  his  parents  endeavoured 
to  communicate  to  him  the  knowledge 
of  God,  to  train  him  in  His  fear,  and 
form  him  to  the  practice  of  the  Christian 
virtues.  They  applied  the  utmost  care 
to  this  earliest  domestic  education.*  But 
their  solicitude  was  not  confined  to  jhis 
instruction. 

His  father,  desiring  to  see  him  acquire 
the  elements  of  that  learning  for  which 
he  had  so  much  esteem,  invoked  upon 
him  the  blessing  of  God,  and  sent  him 
to  school.  .Martin  was  then  a  little 
child.  His  father  and  Nicholas  Em- 
ler,  a  young  man  of  Mansfeld,  often  car- 
ried him  in  their  arms  to  the  house  of 
George  Emilius,  and  came  again  to  fetch 
him.  Years  afterwards  Emler  married 
Luther's  sister.  Fifty  years  later,  the 
Reformer  reminded  the  aged  Nicolas  of 
this  touching  mark  of  affection  received 
in  his  childhood,  and  commemorated  it 
on  the  blank  leaves  of  a  book  presented 
to  this  old  friend,  f 

*  Ad  agnitionem  ct  timorem  Dei do- 

mestica  institutione  diligenter  adsuefecerunt— 
(Melancth.  Vita  Luth.; 

t  Walthers  Nachrichten. 


62 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


The  piety  of  his  parents,  their  active 
turn  of  mind  and  strict  virtue,  gave  to 
the  boy  a  happy  impulse,  and  helped  to 
form  in  him  a  habit  of  seriousness  and 
application.  In  those  days  it  was  the 
practice  to  use  chastisements  and  fear  as 
the  main  impulses  in  education.  Mar- 
garet, although  she  sometimes  approved 
the  too  great  severity  of  her  husband, 
often  opened  her  maternal  arms  to  Mar- 
tin, and  comforted  him  in  his  tears.  Yet 
she  herself  overstepped  the  precept  of 
that  wisdom  which  tells  us  that  he  who 
loves  his  child  will  chastise  him  early. 
The  resolute  character  of  the  child  gave 
frequent  occasion  for  correction  and  re- 
primand. "  My  parents,"  said  Luther 
in  after  life,  "  treated  me  cruelly,  so  that  I 
became  very  timid  ;  one  day  for  a  mere 
trifle  my  mother  whipped  me  till  the 
blood  came.  They  truly  thought  they 
were  doing  right ;  but  they  had  no  dis- 
cernment of  character,  which  is  yet  ab- 
solutely necessary,  that  we  may  know 
when,  on  whom,  and  how,  punishment 
should  be  inflicted."* 

At  school  the  poor  child  was  treated 
with  equal  severity.    His  master  flogged 
him  fifteen  times  in   one  day.     "  It  is 
right,"  said  Luther,  relating  this  fact,  "  it 
is  right  to  punish  children,  but  at  the 
same  time  we  must  love  them."     With 
such  an  education  Luther  early  learned 
to  despise  the  attractions  of  a  self-indul-  i 
gent  life.    It  is  a  just  remark  of  one  of  his 
earliest  biographers,  that  that  which  is  to 
become  great  must  begin  in  small  things ;  j 
and   if  children  are   from   their   youth 
brought  tip  with  too  much  daintiness  and 
care,  they  are  injured  for  the  rest  of  their  j 
lives." 

Martin  learned  something  at  school. 
He  was  taught  the  heads  of  the  Cate- 
chism, the  Ten  Commandments,  the  j 
Apostles'  Creed,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  some 
hymns,  some  forms  of  prayer,  a  Latin 
Grammar  composed  in  the  fourth  cen- 
tury by  Donatus,  master  of  St.  Jerome, 
and  which,  improved  by  Remigius,  a 
French  monk,  in  the  eleventh  century, 
was  for  a  long  while  in  great  repute  in 
the  schools  ;  he  also  read  the  Cisio  Janus, 
a  singular  calendar,  composed  in  the 
tenth  or  eleventh  century  ; — in  a  word, 

*  Sed  non  poterant  discernere  ingenia  secun- 
dum qua?  essent  temperanda?  correctiones. — (L. 
Opp.  W.  xxii.  p.  1785.; 


all  that  was  studied  in  the  Latin  school 
of  Mansfeld. 

But  it  appears  that  the  child  was  not 
yet  led  to  God.  The  only  religious  feel- 
ing that  he  then  manifested  was  that  of 
fear.  Every  time  that  he  heard  Christ 
spoken  of  he  turned  pale  with  terror ; 
for  he  had  been  represented  to  him  only 
as  an  angry  judge.*  This  servile  fear, 
which  is  so  far  removed  from  true  reli- 
gion, perhaps  prepared  his  mind  for  the 
good  tidings  of  the  gospel,  and  for  that 
joy  which  he  afterwards  felt  when  he 
learned  to  know  Christ  as  meek  and 
lowly  of  heart. 

John  Luther,  in  conformity  with  his 
predilections,  resolved  to  make  his  son  a 
scholar.  That  new  world  of  light  and 
science  which  was  every  where  produc- 
ing vague  excitement,  reached  even  to 
the  cottage  of  the  miner  of  Mansfeld,  and 
excited  the  ambition  of  Martin's  father. 
The  remarkable  character,  and  persever- 
ing application  of  his  son,  made  John 
conceive  the  highest  hopes  of  his  success. 
Therefore,  when  Martin  was  fourteen 
years  of  age,  in  1497,  his  father  came  to 
the  resolution  of  parting  from  him,  and 
sending  him  to  the  school  of  the  Fran- 
ciscans at  Magdeburg.  Margaret  was 
obliged  to  yield  to  this  decision,  and 
Martin  made  preparations  for  leaving 
his  paternal  roof. 

Amongst  the  young  people  of  Mans- 
feld, there  was  one  named  John  Reinecke, 
the  son  of  a  respectable  burgher.  Mar- 
tin and  John,  who  had  been  schoolfel- 
lows, in  early  childhood,  had  contracted 
a  friendship  which  lasted  to  the  end  of 
their  lives.  The  two  boys  set  out  to- 
gether for  Magdeburg.  It  was  at  that 
place,  when  separated  from  their  families, 
that  they  drew  closer  the  bonds  of  their 
friendship. 

Magdeburg  was  like  a  new  world  to 
Martin.  In  the  midst  of  numerous  pri- 
vations, (for  he  had  hardly  enough  to 
subsist  on,)  he  observed  and  listened. 
Andreas  Proles,  a  provincial  of  the  Au- 
gustine order,  was  then  preaching  with 
great  zeal  the  necessity  of  reforming  Re- 
ligion and  the  Church.  Perhaps  these 
discourses  deposited  in  the  soul  of  the 
youth  the  earliest  germ  of  the  thoughts 
which  a  later  period  unfolded. 

This  was  a  severe  apprenticeship  for 
*  Mathesius. 


YOUTH,  CONVERSION,   AND   EARLY   LABOURS   OF   LUTHER. 


G3 


Luther.     Cast  upon  the  world  at  four- 
teen, without   friends  or  protectors,   he 
trembled  in  the  presence  of  his  masters, 
and  in  his  play  hours  he  and  some  chil- 
dren, as  poor  as  himself,  with  difficulty 
begged  their  bread.    "  I  was  accustomed," 
says  he,  "  with  my  companions  to  beg  a 
little  food  to  supply  our  wants.     One  day 
about  Christmas  time,  we  were   going 
all  together  through  the   neighbouring 
villages,  from  house  to  house,  singing  in 
concert  the  usual  carols  on   the  infant 
Jesus  born  at  Bethlehem.     We  stopped 
in  front  of  a  peasant's  house  which  stood 
detached  from  the  rest,  at  the  extremity 
of  the  village.     The  peasant  hearing  us 
sing  our  Christmas  carols,  came  out  with 
some  food  which  he  meant  to  give  us, 
and  asked  in  a  rough  loud  voice,  'Where 
are  you,  boys?'    Terrified  at  these  words, 
we  ran  away  as  fast  as  we  could.     We 
had  no  reason   to  fear,  for  the  peasant 
offered  us  this  assistance   in  kindness  ; 
but  our  hearts  were  no  doubt  become 
fearful   from   the    threats    and   tyranny 
which  the    masters   then  used   towards 
their  scholars,  so  that  we  were  seized 
with   sudden  fright.     At  last,  however, 
as  the  peasant  still  continued  to  call  after 
us,  we  stopped,  forgot  our  fears,  ran  to 
him,  and  received  the  food  that  he  offered 
us.     It  is  thus,"  adds  Luther,  "  that  we 
tremble  and  flee  when  our  conscience  is 
guilty  and  alarmed.     Then  we  are  afraid 
even  of  the  help  that  is  offered  us,  and 
of  those  who  are  our  friends,  and  wish 
to  do  us  good."* 

A  year  had  scarcely  elapsed,  when 
John  and  Margaret,  hearing  what  diffi- 
culty their  son  found  in  supporting  him- 
self at  Magdeburg,  sent  him  to  Eisenach, 
where  there  was  a  celebrated  school,  and 
at  which  place  they  had  relations,  f  They 
had  other  children,  and  though  their  cir- 
cumstances were  much  improved,  they 
could  not  maintain  their  son  in  a  city 
where  he  was  a  stranger.  TrriFunre- 
mitting  labours  of  John  Luther  could  do 
no  more  than  support  the  family  at  Mans- 
feld.  He  hoped  that  when  Martin  got 
to  Eisenach,  he  would  find  it  easier  to 
earn  his  living.  But  he  was  not  more 
fortunate  there  than  he  had  been  at 
Magdeburg.     His   relations   who   lived 

*  Lutheri  Opera  (Walch.)  ii.  2347. 
t  Isenacum    enim    pene    totam    parentelam 
meam  habet.     (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  390.) 


in  the  town  did  not  trouble  themselves 
about  him,  or  perhaps  they  Were  very 
poor,  and  could  not  give  him  any  assist- 
ance. 

When  the  young  scholar  was  pressed 
with  hunger, he  was  obliged,  as  at  Magde- 
burg, to  go  with  his  school-fellows  and 
sing  in  the  streets  to  earn  a  morsel  of 
bread.  This  custom  of  Luther's  time  is 
still  preserved  in  many  towns  in  Ger- 
many. These  young  people's  voices 
sometimes  form  a  most  harmonious  con- 
cert. Often  the  poor  modest  boy,  instead 
of  bread,  received  nothing  but  harsh 
words.  More  than  once,  overwhelmed 
with  sorrow,  he  shed  many  tears  in  se- 
cret ;  he  could  not  look  to  the  future 
without  trembling. 

One  day,  in  particular,  after  having 
been  repulsed  from  three  houses,  he  was 
about  to  return  fasting  to  his  lodging, 
when  having  reached  the  Place  St. 
George,  he  stood  before  the  house  of  an 
honest  burgher,  motionless,  and  lost  in 
painful  reflections.  Must  he,  for  want 
of  bread,  give  up  his  studies,  and  go  to 
work  with  his  father  in  the  mines  of 
Mansfeld?  Suddenly  a  door  opens,  a 
woman  appears  on  the  threshold : — it  is 
the  wife  of  Conrad  Cotta,  a  daughter  of 
the  burgomaster  of  Eilfeld.*  Her  name 
was  Ursula.  The  chronicles  of  Eise- 
nach call  her  "  the  pious  Shunamite,"  in 
remembrance  of  her  who  so  earnestly 
entreated  the  prophet  Elijah  to  eat  bread 
with  her.  This  Christian  Shunamite  had 
more  than  once  remarked  young  Martin 
in  the  assemblies  of  the  faithful ;  she  had 
been  affected  by  the  sweetness  of  his 
voice  and  his  apparent  devotion. f  She 
had  heard  the  harsh  words  with  winch 
the  poor  scholar  had  been  repulsed.  She 
saw  him  overwhelmed  with  sorrow  be- 
fore her  door  ;  she  came  to  his  assistance, 
beckoned  him  to  enter,  and  supplied  his 
urgent  wants. 

Conrad  approved  his  wife's  benevo- 
lence ;  he  even  found  so  much  pleasure 
in  the  society  of  young  Luther,  that,  a 
few  days  afterwards,  he  took  him  to  live 
in  his  house.  From  that  moment  he  no 
longer  feared  to  be  obliged  to  relinquish 
his  studies.  He  was  not  to  return  to 
Mansfeld,  and  bury  the  talent  that  God 

*  Lingk's  Reisegesch.  Luth. 
t  Dieweil,  sie  umb  seines  Singen  und  herzlichen 
Gebets  willen.     (Mathesius,  p.  3.) 
7 


64 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


had  committed  to  his  trust!  God  had 
opened  the  heart  and  the  doors  of  a  Chris- 
tian family  at  the  very  moment  when  he 
did  not  know  what  would  become  of  him. 
This  event  disposed  his  soul  to  that  con- 
f.dence  in  God,  which  at  a  later  period 
the  severest  trials  could  not  shake. 

In  the  house  of  Cotta,  Luther  lived  a 
very  different  life  from  that  which  he 
had  hitherto  done.  He  enjoyed  a  tran- 
quil existence,  exempt  from  care  and 
want ;  his  mind  became  more  calm,  his 
disposition  more  cheerful,  his  heart  more 
enlarged.  His  whole  nature  was  awak- 
ened by  the  sweet  beams  of  charity,  and 
began  to  expand  into  life,  joy,  and  hap- 
piness. His  prayers  were  more  fervent ; 
his  thirst  for  learning  became  more  ar- 
dent ;  and  he  made  rapid  progress  in  his 
studies. 

To  literature  and  science  he  united 
the  study  of  the  arts ;  for  the  arts  also 
were  then  advancing  in  Germany.  The 
men  whom  God  designs  shall  influence 
their  contemporaries,  are  themselves  at 
first  influenced  and  led  by  the  tenden- 
cies of  the  age  in  which  they  live.  Lu- 
ther learned  to  play  on  the  flute  and  on 
the  lute.  He  often  accompanied  his  fine 
alto  voice  with  the  latter  instrument,  and 
thus  cheered  his  heart  in  his  hours  of 
sadness.     He  also  took  pleasure  in  ex- 

Eressing  by  his  melody  his  gratitude  to 
is  adoptive  mother,  who  was  very  fond 
of  music.  He  himself  loved  this  art  even 
to  his  old  age,  and  composed  the  words 
and  music  of  some  of  the  most  beautiful 
German  hymns. 

Happy  times  for  the  young,  man !  Lu- 
ther always  looked  back  to  them  with 
emotion !  and  a  son  of  Conrad  having 
gone  many  years  after  to  study  at  Wit- 
temberg,  when  the  poor  scholar  of  Eise- 
nach had  become  the  learned  teacher  of 
his  age,  he  joyfully  received  him  at  his 
table  and  under  his  roof.  He  wished  to 
repay  in  part  to  the  son  what  he  had  re- 
ceived from  the  father  and  mother. 

It  was  when  memory  reverted  to  the 
Christian  woman  who  had  supplied  him 
with  bread  when  every  one  else  repulsed 
him,  that  he  uttered  this  memorable  say- 
ing :  "  There  is  nothing  sweeter  than  the 
heart  of  a  pious  woman." 

But  never  did  Luther  feel  ashamed  of 
the  time,  when,  pressed  by  hunger,  he 
sorrowfully  begged  the  bread  necessary 


for  the  support  of  life  and  the  continu- 
ance of  his  studies.  So  far  from  this,  he 
thought  with  gratitude  on  the  extreme 
poverty  of  his  youth.  He  considered  it 
as  one  of  the  means  that  God  had  made 
use  of  to  make  him  what  he  afterwards 
became,  and  he  thanked  him  for  it.  The 
condition  of  poor  children  who  were  ob- 
liged to  lead  the  same  kind  of  life,  touched 
him  to  the  heart.  "  Do  not  despise,"  said 
he,  "  the  boys  who  try  to  earn  their  bread 
by  chaunting  before  your  door, '  bread  for 
the  love  of  God,1  Papen  propter  Deum. 
I  have  done  the  same.  It  is  true  that  in 
later  years  my  father  maintained  me  at 
the  University  of  Erfurth,  with  much 
love  and  kindness,  supporting  me  by  the 
sweat  of  his  brow  ;  but  at  one  time  I  was 
only  a  poor  mendicant.  And  now  by 
means  of  my  pen,  I  have  succeeded  so 
well,  that  I  would  not  change  fortunes 
with  the  Grand  Seignor  himself.  I  may 
say  more ;  if  I  were  to  be  offered  all  the 
possessions  of  the  earth  heaped  one  upon 
another,  I  would  not  take  them  in  ex- 
change for  what  I  possess.  And  yet  I 
should  never  have  known  what  I  do,  if 
I  had  not  been  to  school,  and  been  taught 
to  write."  Thus  did  this  great  man  ac- 
knowledge that  these  humble  beginnings 
were  the  origin  of  his  glory.  He  was 
not  afraid  of  reminding  his  readers  that 
that  voice  whose  accents  electrified  the 
Empire  and  the  world,  had  not  very  long 
before  begged  a  morsel  of  bread  in  the 
streets  of  a  petty  town.  The  Christian 
takes  pleasure  in  such  recollections,  be- 
cause they  remind  him  that  it  is  in  God 
alone  that  he  is  permitted  to  glory. 

The  strength  of  his  understanding,  the 
liveliness  of  his  imagination,  and  his  ex- 
cellent memory,  enabled  him  in  a  short 
time  to  get  the  start  of  all  his  fellow  stu- 
dents.* He  made  especially  rapid  pror 
gress  in  the  dead  languages,  in  rhetoric, 
and  in  poetry.  He  wrote  sermons,  and 
made  verses.  Cheerful,  obliging,  and 
what  is  called  good-hearted,  he  was  be- 
loved by  his  masters  and  his  compa- 
nions. 

Amongst  the  professors,  he  was  parti- 
cularly attached  to  John  Trebonius,  a 
learned  man,  of  an  agreeable  address, 
and  who  had  that  regard  for  the  young 

*  Cumque  et  vis  ingenii  acerrima  esset,  et  im- 
primis ad  eloquentiam  idonea,  celeriter  sequalibiw 
suis  prsecurrit.— (Melancth.  Vita  Luth.) 


YOUTH,  CONVERSION,   AND   EARLY   LABOURS   OF   LUTHER.  65 


which  is  so  encouraging-  to  them.  Mar- 
tin had  observed  that  when  Trebonius 
came  into  the  school-room  he  took  off 
his  hat  and  bowed  to  the  scholars ;  a 
great  condescension  in  those  pedantic 
times.  This  had  pleased  the  young 
man.  He  began  to  perceive  that  he 
himself  was  something.  The  respect 
paid  him  by  his  master  had  raised  the 
scholar  in  his  own  estimation.  The  col- 
leagues of  Trebonius,  whose  custom  was 
different,  having  one  day  expressed  their 
astonishment  at  this  extreme  condescen- 
sion, he  answered  them ; — and  his  an- 
swer made  an  impression  on  young  Lu- 
ther. "  There  are,"  said  he,  "  amongst 
these  youths,  some  whom  God  will  one 
day  raise  to  the  ranks  of  burgomasters, 
chancellors,  doctors,  and  magistrates. 
Though  you  do  not  now  see  the  out- 
ward signs  of  their  respective  dignities, 
it  is  yet  proper  to  treat  them  with  re- 
spect." Doubtless  the  young  scholar 
heard  these  words  with  pleasure,  and 
perhaps  he  then  saw  himself  in  prospect 
adorned  with  a  doctor's  cap. 

Luther  had  attained  his  eighteenth 
year.  He  had  tasted  the  sweets  of  learn- 
ing. He  thirsted  after  knowledge.  He 
sighed  for  a  university  education.  He 
longed  to  go  to  one  of  those  fountains  of 
all  knowledge,  where  his  thirst  for  it 
might  be  satisfied.*  His  father  required 
him  to  study  the  law.  Full  of  confid- 
ence in  his  son's  talents,  he  desired  to 
see  him  cultivate  them  and  make  them 
known  in  the  world.  Already,  in  antic- 
ipation, he  beheld  him  filling  honoura- 
ble offices  amongst  his  fellow-citizens, 
gaining  the  favor  of  princes,  and  shining 
on  the  great  stage  of  the  world.  It  was 
determined  that  the  young  man  should 
be  sent  to  Erfurth. 

Luther  arrived  at  that  university  in 
the  year  1501  ;  Jodocus,  surnamed  the 
Doctor  of  Eisenach,  was  then  teaching 
scholastic  philosophy  in  that  plaokJKtn 
great  success.  Melancthon  regrets  that 
there  was  at  that  time  nothing  taught  at 
Erfurth  but  a  logic  beset  with  difficulties. 
He  expresses  the  opinion  that  if  Luther 
had  met  with  professors  of  a  different 
character,  if  he  had  been  taught  the 
milder  and  more  tranquillizing  doctrines 

*  Degustata  igitur  litterarum  dulcedine,  na- 
tura  flagrans  cupiditate  discendi  appetit  acade- 
miam. — (Mel.  Vit.  Luth.) 
9 


of  true  philosophy,  it  might  have  moder- 
ated and  softened  the  natural  vehemence 
of  his  character.*  The  new  pupil,  how- 
ever, began  to  study  the  philosophy  of 
the  times  in  the  writings  of  Occam,  Sco- 
tus,  Bonaventura,  and  Thotnas  Aquinas. 
In  later  years  he  looked  upon  this  class 
of  writers  with  abhorrence; — he  trembled 
with  rage  when  even  the  name  of  Aris- 
totle was  pronounced  in  his  presence; 
and  he  went  so  far  as  to  say  that  if  Aris- 
totle had  not  been  a  man,  he  should  be 
tempted  to  take  him  for  the  devil.  But 
his  mind,  eager  for  instruction,  required 
better  food ;  and  he  applied  himself  to 
the  study  of  the  best  ancient  authors,  Ci- 
cero, Virgil,  and  others.  He  did  not  sa- 
tisfy himself,  like  the  generality  of  stu- 
dents, with  learning  by  heart  the  works 
of  these  writers ;  but  he  endeavored  espe- 
cially to  fathom  their  thoughts,  to  imbibe 
the  spirit  by  which  they  were  animated, 
to  make  their  wisdom  his  own,  to  com- 
prehend the  object  they  aimed  at  in  their 
writings,  and  to  enrich  his  understanding 
with  their  weighty  sentences  and  bril- 
liant descriptions.  He  often  pressed  his 
tutors  with  inquiries,  and  soon  outstript 
his  school-fellows. f  Gifted  with  a  reten- 
tive memory  and  a  vivid  imagination, 
all  that  he  had  read  or  heard  remained 
fixed  on  his  memory ;  it  was  as  if  he 
had  seen  it  himself.  Thus  did  Luther 
distinguish  himself  in  his  early  youth. 
"  The  whole  University,"  says  Melanc- 
thon, "  admired  his  genius. "| 

But  even  at  this  early  period  the 
young  man  of  eighteen  did  not  study 
merely  with  a  vew  of  cultivating  his  un- 
derstanding ;  there  was  within  him  a 
serious  thoughtfulness,  a  heart  looking 
upwards,  which  God  gives  to  those 
whom  he  designs  to  make  his  most  zeal- 
ous servants.  Luther  felt  that  he  de- 
pended entirely  upon  God, — a  simple 
and  powerful  conviction,  which  is  at  once 
a  principle  of  deep  humility  and  an  in- 
centive to  great  undertakings.  He  fer- 
vently invoked  the  divine  blessing  upon 
his  labours.     Every  morning  he  began 

*  Et  fortassis  ad  leniendam  vehementiam  na- 
ture mitiora  studiavera  philosophic. — (Ibid.) 

t  Et  quidem  inter  primos,  ut  ingenio  studioquc 
multos  coasqualium  antecellebat. — (Cochlaeus, 
Acta  Lutheri,  p.  1.) 

X  Sic  igitur  in  juventute  eminebat  ut  toti  aca- 
demiae  Lutheri  ingenium  admirationi  esset. — 
(Vita  Luth.) 


66 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


the  day  with  prayer  ;  then  he  went  to 
church;  afterwards  he  commenced  his 
studies,  and  he  never  lost  a  moment  in 
the  course  of  the  day.  "  To  pray  well," 
he  was  wont  to  say,  "  was  the  better  half 
of  study."* 

The  young  student  spent  in  the  library 
of  the  university  the  moments  he  could 
snatch    from    his    academical    labours. 
Books  being  then  scarce,  it  was  in  his 
eyes  a  great  privilege  to  be  able  to  profit 
by  the  treasures  of  this  vast  collection. 
One  day,  (he  had  been  then  two  years  at 
Erfurth,  and  was  twenty  years  of  age,) 
he  was  opening  the  books  in  the  library 
one  after  another  in  order  to  read  the 
names  of  the  authors.     One  which  he 
opened  in   its  turn  drew  his  attention. 
He  had  not  seen  anything  like  it  till 
that  hour.     He  reads  the  title : — it  is  a 
Bible !    a  rare  book,  unknown  at  that 
time.f     His  interest  is  strongly  excited  ; 
he  is  filled  with  astonishment  at  finding 
more   in   this   volume,  than  those  frag- 
ments of  the  gospels  and  epistles  which 
the  Church  has  selected  to  be  read  to 
the   people   in  their  places  of  worship 
every   Sunday  in  the  year.     Till  then 
he  had  thought  that  they  were  the  whole 
word  of  God.     And  here  are  so  many 
pages,  so  many  chapters,  so  many  books, 
of  which  he  had  no  idea!     His  heart 
beats  as  he  holds  in  his  hand  all  the 
Scripture  divinely  inspired.    With  eager- 
ness and  indescribable  feelings  he  turns 
over  these  leaves  of  God's  word.     The 
first  page  that  arrests  his  attention,  re- 
lates  the   history   of  Hannah  and   the 
young    Samuel.      He   reads,   and    can 
scarcely    restrain    his    joyful    emotion. 
This  child  whom  his  parents  lend  to  the 
Lord  as  long  as  he   liveth ;    Hannah's 
song   in  which    she   declares   that   the 
Lord  raiseth  up  the  poor  out  of  the  dust 
and  lifteth  up  the  beggar  from  the  dung- 
hill, to  set  him  among  princes;  the  young 
Samuel  who  grows  up  in  the  temple  be- 
fore the  Lord;  all  this  history,  all  this 
revelation  which  he  has  discovered,  ex- 
cites feelings  till  then  unknown.     He  re- 
turns home  with  a  full  heart.     "  Oh  !" 
thought  he,  "  if  God  would  but  give  me 

*  Fleiseig  gebet,  ist  uber  die  Helfft  studert.— 
(Mathes.  3.) 

t  Auff  ein  Zeyt,  wie  er  die  Biicher  fein  na- 
cheinander  besieht  .  . .  kombt  et  viber  die  latein- 
ische  Biblia  . .  .  (Mathes.  3.) 


such  a  book  for  my  own  !"*  Luther  did 
not  yet  understand  either  Greek  or  He- 
brew. It  is  not  probable  that  he  should 
have  studied  those  languages  during  the 
first  two  or  three  years  of  his  residence 
in  the  university.  The  Bible  that  had 
filled  him  with  such  transport  was  in  La- 
tin. He  soon  returned  to  the  library  to 
find  his  treasure  again.  He  read  and  re- 
read, and  then  in  his  surprise  and  joy, 
he  went  back  to  read  again.  The  first 
gleams  of  a  new  truth  then  arose  in  his 
mind. 

Thus  has  God  caused  him  to  find  His 
word !  He  has  noAV  discovered  that 
book  of  which  he  is  one  day  to  give  to 
his  countrymen  that  admirable  transla- 
tion in  which  the  Germans  for  three  cen- 
turies have  read  the  oracles  of  God. 
For  the  first  time,  perhaps,  this  precious 
volume  has  been  removed  from  the  place 
that  it  occupied  in  the  library  of  Erfurth. 
This  book,  deposited  upon  the  unknown 
shelves  of  a  dark  room,  is  soon  to  be- 
come the  book  of  life  to  a  whole  nation. 
The  Reformation  lay  hid  in  that  Bible. 
It  was  in  this  same  year  that  Luther 
took  his  first  academical  degree,  that  of 
a  bachelor. 

The  excessive  labour  he  had  under- 
gone in  preparing  for  his  examination, 
occasioned  a  dangerous  illness.  Death 
seemed  at  hand.  Serious  reflections  filled 
his  mind.  He  thought  his  earthly  ca- 
reer was  at  an  end.  All  were  interested 
about  the  young  man.  "  It  was  a  pity," 
thought  they,  "  to  see  so  many  hopes  so 
early  extinguished."  Several  friends 
came  to  visit  him  on  his  sick  bed. 
Amongst  them  was  an  old  man,  a  ve- 
nerable priest,  who  had  observed  with 
interest  the  labours  and  academical  life 
of  the  student  of  Mansfeld.  Luther 
could  not  conceal  the  thoughts  that  filled 
big  mind.  "  Soon,"  said  he,  "  I  shall  be 
summoned  hence."  But  the  prophetic 
old  man  kindly  answered.  "  My  dear 
bachelor,  take  courage !  you  will  not  die 
this  time.  Our  God  will  yet  make  you 
his  instrument  in  comforting  many 
others,  f  For  God  lays  his  cross  upon 
those  whom  he  loves,  and  those  who 

*  Avide  percurrit,  ccepitque  optare  ut  olim  ta- 
lem  librum  et  ipse  nancisci  posset. — (M.  Adami. 
Vit.  Luth.  p.  103.) 

t  Deus  te  virum  faciet  qui  alios  jjiultos  itemm 
consolabitur. — (M.  Adami  Vit.  Luth.  p.  103.) 


YOUTH,  CONVERSION,   AND   EARLY  LABOURS  OF  LUTHER. 


67 


bear  it  patiently  gain  much  wisdom." 
The  words  impressed  the  sick  youth. 
It  was  as  he  lay  in  the  dust  of  death 
that  he  heard  the  voice  of  a  priest  remind 
him  that  God,  as  Samuel's  mother  had 
said,  raiseth  up  the  poor.  The  old  man 
has  poured  sweet  consolation  into  his 
heart,  and  revived  his  spirits ;  he  will 
never  forget  it.  "  This  was  the  first 
prophecy  the  doctor  ever  heard,"  says 
Mathesius,  the  friend  of  Luther,  who  re- 
lates this  circumstance,  "  and  he  often 
recollected  it."  We  may  easily  compre- 
hend in  what  sense  Mathesius  calls  this 
speech  a  prophecy. 

When  Luther  was  restored  to  health 
there  was  in  him  a  something  new. 
The  Bible,  his  sickness,  the  words  of  the 
old  priest,  seemed  to  have  called  him  to 
a  new  vocation.  There  was,  however, 
as  yet,  no  settled  purpose  in  his  mind. 
He  resumed  his  studies.  In  1505  he 
was  made  master  of  arts,  or  doctor  in 
philosophy.  The  university  of  Urfurth 
was  then  the  most  celebrated  in  all  Ger- 
many. The  others  were  in  comparison 
but  inferior  schools.  The  ceremony  was 
performed  according  to  custom,  with  much 
pomp.  A  procession  with  torches  came  to 
do  honour  to  Luther.*  The  festival  was 
magnificent.  There  was  general  rejoic- 
ing. Luther,  perhaps,  encouraged  by 
these  honours,  prepared  to  apply  himself 
entirely  to  the  study  of  the  law,  agreea- 
bly to  the  wishes  of  his  father. 

But  God  willed  otherwise.  Whilst 
Luther  was  engaged  in  various  studies, 
and  beginning  to  teach  natural  philoso- 
phy and  the  ethics  of  Aristotle,  with 
other  branches  of  philosophy,  his  con- 
science incessantly  reminded  him  that 
religion  was  the  one  thing  needful,  and 
that  his  first  care  should  be  the  salvation 
of  his  soul.  He  had  learned  God's  ha- 
tred of  sin ;  he  remembered  the  penal- 
ties that  his  word  denounces  against  th< 
sinner ;  and  he  asked  himselfB  tu- 
lingly,  if  he  was  sure  that  he  possessed 
the  favour  of  God.  His  conscience  an- 
swered :  No  !  His  character  was  prompt 
and  decided ;  he  resolved  to  do  all  that 
depended  upon  himself,  to  ensure  a 
well-grounded  hope  of  immortality. 
Two  events  occurred,  one  after  the  other, 
to  rouse  his  soul  and  confirm  his  resolu- 
tion. 

*  L.  Opp.  W.  xxii.  p.  2229. 


Amongst  his  college  friends  there 
was  one,  named  Alexis,  with  whom  ho 
was  very  intimate.  One  morning  a  re- 
port was  spread  in  Erfurth  that  Alexis 
had  been  assassinated.  Luther  hurried 
to  the  spot  and  ascertained  the  truth  of 
the  report.  This  sudden  loss  of  his 
friend  affected  him,  and  the  question 
which  he  asked  himself:  "  What  would 
become  of  me,  if  I  were  thus  suddenly 
called  away?"  filled  his  mind  with  the 
liveliest  apprehension.* 

It  was  then  the  summer  of  1505. 
Luther  availed  himself  of  the  leisure 
afforded  him  by  the  university  vacation, 
to  take  a  journey  to  Mansfeld,  to  revisit, 
the  beloved  abode  of  his  infancy,  and  to 
see  his  affectionate  parents.  Perhaps, 
also,  he  intended  to  open  his  heart  to  his 
father,  to  sound  him  upon  the  plan  that 
was  forming  in  his  mind,  and  obtain  his 
permission  to  engage  in  a  different  voca- 
tion. He  foresaw  all  the  difficulties 
that  awaited  him.  The  idle  life  of  the 
greater  part  of  the  priests  was  particu- 
larly offensive  to  the  active  miner  of 
Mansfield.  The  ecclesiastics  were  more- 
over little  esteemed  in  society :  most  of 
them  possessed  but  a  scanty  revenue, 
and  the  father,  who  had  made  many 
sacrifices  to  keep  his  son  at  the  univer- 
sity, and  saw  him  lecturing  publicly  in 
his  twentieth  year,  in  a  celebrated  school, 
was  not  likely  readily  to  renounce  his 
proud  hopes. 

We  are  not  informed  of  what  passed 
during  Luther's  abode  at  Mansfeld. 
Perhaps  the  decided  wish  of  his  father 
made  him  fear  to  open  his  mind  to  him. 
He  again  left  his  father's  house  for  the 
halls  of  the  academy.  He  was  within 
a  short  distance  of  Erfurth  when  he 
was  overtaken  by  a  violent  storm.  The 
thunder  roared  ;  a  thunderbolt  sunk  into 
the  ground  by  his  side.  Luther  threw 
himself  on  his  knees.  His  hour  is  per- 
haps come.  Death,  judgment,  eternity, 
are  before  him  in  all  their  terrors,  and 
speak  with  a  voice  which  he  can  no 
longer  resist.  "  Encompassed  with  th«i 
anguish  and  terror  of  death,"  as  he 
himself  says,f  he  makes  a  vow,  if  God 
will  deliver  him  from  this  danger,  to 

*  Interitu  sodalis  sui  conBtritatus.-~(C©ehlffius, 
p.  1.) 

t  Mit  Erschrecken  und  Angst  das  Todes  urn-, 
geben. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  101.) 


G8 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


forsake  the  world,  and  devote  himself 
to  His  service.  Risen  from  the  earth, 
having  still  before  his  eyes  that  death 
must  one  day  overtake  him,  he  examines 
himself  seriously,  and  enquires  what  he 
must  do.*  The  thoughts  that  formerly 
troubled  him  return  with  redoubled 
power.  He  has  endeavoured,  it  is  true, 
to  fulfil  all  his  duties.  But  what  is  the 
state  of  his  soul?  Can  he,  with  a 
polluted  soul,  appear  before  the  tribu- 
nal of  so  terrible  a  God?  He  must 
become  holy.  He  now  thirsts  after 
holiness  as  he  had  thirsted  after  know- 
ledge. But  where  shall  he  find  it? 
How  is  it  to  be  attained?  The  uni- 
versity has  furnished  him  with  the 
means  of  satisfying  his  first  wish.  Who 
will  assuage  this  anguish,  this  vehement 
desire  that  consumes  him  now  ?  To 
what  school  of  holiness  can  he  direct  his 
steps  ?  He  will  go  into  a  cloister  ;  the 
monastic  life  will  ensure  his  salvation. 
How  often  has  he  been  told  of  its  power 
to  change  the  heart,  to  cleanse  the  sinner, 
to  make  man  perfect !  He  will  enter 
into  a  monastic  order.  He  will  there 
become  holy.  He  will  thus  ensure  his 
eternal  salvation,  f 

Such  was  the  event  that  changed  the 
vocation  and  the  whole  destiny  of  Lu- 
ther. The  hand  of  God  was  in  it.  It 
was  that  powerful  hand  that  cast  to  the 
ground  the  young  master  of  arts,  the  as- 
pirant to  the  bar,  the  intended  juriscon- 
sult, to  give  an  entirely  new  direction  to 
his  after  life.  Rubianus,  one  of  Luther's 
friends  at  the  university  of  Erfurth, 
wrote  to  him  m  later  times :  "  Divine 
Providence  foresaw  what  you  would  one 
day  become,  when,  on  your  return  from 
your  parents,  the  fire  of  heaven  struck 
you  to  the  ground,  like  another  Paul, 
near  the  city  of  Erfurth,  and  separating 
you  from  us,  led  you  to  enter  the  Au- 
gustine order."  Thus,  similar  circum- 
stances marked  the  conversion  of  two  of 
the  greatest  instruments  chosen  by  Di- 
vine Providence,  to  effect  the  two  great- 
est revolutions  that  have  ever  taken 
place  upon  the  earth :  Saint  Paul  and 
Luther.  I 

*  Cum  esset  in  campo,  fulmiais  ictu  territus. 
— (Cochlffiiis,  1.) 

t  Occasio  autem  fuit  ingrediendi  illud  vitae  ge- 
nus quod  pietati  et  studiis  doctrinae  de  Deo  ex- 
istimavit  esse  convenentius. — (Mel.  Vit.  Luth.) 

\  Some  historians  relate  that  Alexis  was  killed 


Luther  re-enters  Erfurth.  His  resolu- 
tion is  unalterable.  Still  it  is  with  re- 
luctance that  he  prepares  to  break  ties 
that  are  so  dear  to  him.  He  does  not 
communicate  his  design  to  any  of  his 
companions.  But  one  evening  he  in- 
vites his  college  friends  to  a  cheerful 
and  simple  repast.  Music  once  more 
enlivens  their  social  meeting.  It  is  Lu- 
ther's farewell  to  the  world.  Hence- 
forth the  companions  of  his  pleasures 
and  studies  are  to  be  exchanged  for  the 
society  of  monks ;  cheerful  and  witty 
discourse  for  the  silence  of  the  cloister ; 
merry  voices,  for  the  solemn  harmony  of 
the  quiet  chapel.  God  calls  him ;  he 
must  sacrifice  all  things.  Now,  how- 
ever, for  the  last  time,  let  him  give  way 
to  the  joys  of  his  youth !  The  repast 
excites  his  friends.  Luther  himself  en- 
courages their  joy.  But  at  the  moment 
when  their  gaiety  is  at  its  height,  the 
young  man  can  no  longer  repress  the 
serious  thoughts  that  occupy  his  mind. 
He  speaks.  He  declares  his  intention 
to  his  astonished  friends ;  they  endeav- 
our to  oppose  it ;  but  in  vain.  And  that 
very  night  Luther,  perhaps  dreading 
their  importunity,  quits  his  lodgings. 
He  leaves  behind  his  books  and  furni- 
ture, taking  with  him  only  Virgil  and 
Plautus.  (He  had  not  yet  a  Bible.) 
Virgil  and  Plautus !  an  epic  poem  and 
comedies  !  Singular  picture  of  Luther's 
mind  !  There  was,  in  fact  in  his  char- 
acter the  materials  of  a  complete  epic 
poem  ;  beauty,  grandeur,  and  sublimity  ; 
but  his  disposition  inclined  to  gaiety, 
wit,  and  mirth  ;  and  more  than  one  Ija- 
dicrous  trait  broke  forth  from  the  serious 
and  noble  ground-work  of  his  life. 

Furnished  with  these  two  books,  he 
goes  alone  in  the  darkness  of  the  night 
to  the  convent  of  the  hermits  of  St.  Au- 
gustine. He  asks  admittance.  The 
ens  and  closes  again.  Behold 
ever  separated  from  his  parents, 
fromTiis  companions  in  study,  and  from 
the  world.  It  was  the  17th  of  August 
1505.  Luther  was  then  twenty-one 
years  and  nine  months  old. 

At  length  he  is  with  God.     His  soul 

by  the  thunder-bolt  that  alarmed  Luther ;  but 
two  contemporaries,  Matheeius  and  Selneccer 
(in  Orat.  de  Luth.)  distinguish  between  these 
two  events ;  we  may  even  add  to  their  testi- 
mony that  of  Melancthon,  who  says,  "  Sodalem 
nescio  quo  casu  interfectum." — (Vita  Luth ) 


YOUTH,   CONVERSION,   AND   EARLY   LABOURS   OF   LUTHER. 


ea 


is  safe.  He  is  now  to  obtain  that  holi- 
ness he  so  ardently  desired.  The  monks 
who  gathered  round  the  young  doctor 
were  full  of  admiration,  commending 
his  descision  and  renunciation  of  the 
world.*  But  Luther  did  not  forget  his 
friends.  He  wrote  to  them,  bidding 
adieu  to  them  and  to  the  world,  and  the 
next  day  he  sent  them  these  letters,  to- 
gether with  the  clothes  he  had  till  then 
worn,  and  the  ring  he  received,  when 
made  Master  of  Arts,  which  he  returned 
to  the  university,  that  nothing  might 
remind  him  of  the  world  he  had  re- 
nounced. 

His  friends  at  Erfurth  were  struck 
with  astonishment.  Must  it  be,  thought 
they,  that  such  eminent  talents  should 
be  lost  in  that  monastic  life,  which  is  but 
a  kind  of  burial  alive.f  Full  of  grief, 
they  immediately  repaired  to  the  con- 
vent, in  hopes  of  inducing  Luther  to  re- 
tract so  fatal  a  resolution  ;  but  in  vain. 
The  doors  were  closed  against  them.  A 
whole  month  was  to  elapse  before  any 
one  could  be  permitted  to  see  the  new 
monk,  or  to  speak  to  him. 

Luther  had  almost  immediately  com- 
municated to  his  parents  the  great  change 
that  had  now  taken  place.  His  father 
was  thunderstruck.  He  trembled  for  his 
son,  as  Luther  himself  tells  in  the  dedi- 
cation of  his  book  on  monastic  vows, 
addressed  to  his  father.  His  weakness, 
his  youth,  the  strength  of  his  passions, 
made  his  father  fear  that,  after  the  first 
moments  of  enthusiasm  should  have 
passed,  the  indolent  life  of  a  monk  might 
either  tempt  the  young  man  to  despair, 
or  occasion  him  to  fall  into  some  grievous 
sin.  He  knew  that  a  monastic  life  had 
already  ruined  many.  Besides,  the  miner 
of  Mansfeld  had  formed  other  plans  for 
his  son.  He  had  hoped  that  he  would 
contract  a  rich  and  honourable  marriage. 
And  now  all  his  ambitious  projects 
overthrown  in  one  night  by  this  i: 
dent  step. 

John  wrote  an  angry  letter  to  his  son, 
in  which  he  used  a  tone  of  authority  that 
he  had  laid  aside  from  the  period  when 
his  son  had  been  made  Master  of  Arts. 
He  withdrew  all  his  favour,  and  declared 

*  Hujus  mundi  contempt*!,  ingressus  est  re- 
pente,  multis  admirantibus,  monasterium  ..  .  . 
— (Cochlseus,  1.) 

t  In  vita  semimortua.— (Melch.  Adami  V.  L. 
p.  102.) 


him  disinherited  from  a  father's  love. 
In  vain  did  John  Luther's  friends,  and 
doubtless  his  wife,  endeavour  to  soften 
his  displeasure,  by  saying:  "If  you  would 
make  a  sacrifice  to  God,  let  it  be  the  best 
and  dearest  of  your  possessions,  your  son, 
your  Isaac."  The  inexorable  town-coun- 
cillor of  Mansfeld  would  listen  to  no- 
thing. 

After  some  time,  however,  (Luther  tells 
us  this  in  a  sermon  preached  at  Wittem- 
berg,  the  20th  of  Janury,  1544,)  the 
plague  visited  the  neighbourhood,  and 
deprived  John  Luther  of  two  of  his  sons. 
Just  then  there  came  one  who  told  the 
father,  who  was1  in  deep  affliction  :  "  The 
monk  of  Erfurth  is  also  dead."  His 
friends  took  that  opportunity  of  reconcil- 
ing the  father  to  the  young  novice.  "  If 
it  should  be  a  false  report,"  said  they, 
"  at  least  sanctify  your  present  affliction 
by  consenting  that  your  son  should  be  a 
monk."  Well, be  it  so,"  said  John  Luther, 
with  a  heart  broken  and  yet  struggling, 
"  and  God  grant  he  may  prosper !" 
When  Luther,  at  a  later  period,  recon- 
ciled to  his  father,  related  the  event  that 
induced  him  to  embrace  a  monastic  life  : 
"  God  grant,"  replied  the  worthy  miner, 
"  that  you  may  not  have  mistaken  a 
delusion  of  the  devil  for  a  sign  from 
heaven."* 

There  was  then  in  Luther  little  of  that 
which  made  him  in  after  life  the  Re- 
former of  the  Church.  His  entering 
into  a  convent  is  a  proof  of  this.  It  was 
an  act  in  that  spirit  of  a  past  age  from 
which  he  was  to  contribute  to  deliver 
the  Church.  He  who  was  about  to  be- 
come the  teacher  of  the  world,  was  as 
yet  only  its  servile  imitator.  A  new 
stone  was  added  to  the  edifice  of  super- 
stition, by  the  very  person  who  was 
shortly  to  overturn  it.  Luther  was  then 
looking  for  salvation  in  himself,  in  works 
and  observances  ;  he  knew  not  that  sal- 
vation cometh  of  God  only.  He  sought 
to  establish  his  own  righteousness  and 
his  own  glory, — being  ignorant  of  the 
righteousness  and  glory  of  God.  But 
what  he  was  then  ignorant  of  he  soon 
learned.  It  was  in  the  cloister  of  Er- 
furth that  the  great  change  was  effected 
which  substituted  in  his  heart  God  and 
His  wisdom  for  the  world  and  its  tradi- 

*  Gott  geb  dass  es  nicht  ein  Betrug  und  teu- 
flisch  Gespenst  sey.— (L.  Epp.  ii.  p-  101.) 


70 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


tions,  and  prepared  the  mighty  revolu- 
tion of  which  he  was  the  most  illustrious 
instrument. 

Martin  Luther,  on  entering  the  con- 
vent, changed  his  name,  and  took  that 
of  Augustine.  "What  can  be  more  mad 
and  impious,"  said  he,  in  relating  this 
circumstance,  "  than  to  renounce  one's 
Christian  name  for  the  sake  of  a  cowl ! 
It  is  thus  the  popes  are  ashamed  of  their 
Christian  names,  and  show  thereby  that 
they  are  deserters  from  Jesus  Christ."* 

The  monks  had  received  him  joyfully. 
It  was  no  small  gratification  to  their  self- 
love  to  see  the  university  forsaken,  by 
one  of  its  most  eminent  scholars,  for  a 
house  of  their  order.  Nevertheless,  they 
treated  him  harshly,  and  imposed  upon 
him  the  meanest  offices.  They  perhaps 
wished  to  humble  the  doctor  of  philo- 
sophy, and  to  teach  him  that  his  learn- 
ing did  not  raise  him  above  his  brethren; 
and  thought,  moreover,  by  this  method, 
to  prevent  his  devoting  himself  to  his 
studies,  from  which  the  convent  would 
derive  no  advantage.  The  former  mas- 
ter of  arts  was  obliged  to  perform  the 
functions  of  door-keeper,  to  open  and  shut 
the  gates,  to  wind  up  the  clock,  to  sweep 
the  church,  to  clean  the  rooms,  f  Then, 
when  the  poor  monk,  who  was  at  once 
porter,  sexton,  and  servant  of  the  cloister, 
had  finished  his  work :  "  Cutn  sacco  per 
civitatem — With  your  bag  through  the 
town !"  cried  the  brothers ;  and,  loaded 
with  his  bread-bag,  he  was  obliged  to  go 
through  the  streets  of  Erfurth,  begging 
from  house  to  house,  and  perhaps  at  the 
doors  of  those  very  persons  who  had  been 
either  his  friends  or  his  inferiors.  But 
he  bore  it  all.  Inclined,  from  his  natural 
disposition,  to  devote  himself  heartily  to 
whatever  he  undertook,  it  was  with  his 
whole  soul  that  he  had  become  a  monk. 
Besides,  could  he  wish  to  spare  the  body? 
to  regard  the  satisfying  of  the  flesh  1  Not 
thus  could  he  acquire  the  humility,  the 
holiness,  that  he  had  come  to  seek  within 
the  Avails  of  a  cloister  1 

The  poor  monk,  overwhelmed  with 
toil,  eagerly  availed  himself  of  every 
moment  he  could  snatch  from  his  de- 
grading occupations.  He  sought  to  re- 
tire apart  from  his  companions,  and  give 

*  On  Genesis,  xxxiv.  3. 

t  Loca  immunda  purgare  coactus  fuit. — (M. 
Adami  Vit.  Luth.  p.  103.) 


himself  up  to  his  beloved  studies.  But 
the  brethren  soon  perceived  this,  came 
about  him  with  murmurs,  and  forced 
him  to  leave  his  books  :  "  Come,  come  ! 
it  is  not  by  study,  but  by  begging  bread, 
corn,  eggs,  fish,  meat  and  money,  that 
you  can  benefit  the  cloister."*  And 
Luther  submitted,  put  away  his  books, 
and  resumed  his  bag.  Far  from  repent- 
ing of  the  yoke  he  had  taken  upon  him- 
self, he  resolved  to  go  through  with  it. 
Then  it  was  that  the  inflexible  perse- 
verance with  which  he  ever  prosecuted 
the  resolutions  he  had  once  formed  be- 
gan to  develop  itself.  His  patient  endur- 
ance of  this  rough  usage  gave  a  powerful 
energy  to  his  will.  God  was  exercising 
him  first  with  small  trials,  that  he  might 
learn  to  stand  firm  in  great  ones.  Be- 
sides, to  be  able  to  deliver  the  age  in 
which  he  lived  from  the  miserable  super- 
stitions under  which  it  groaned,  it  was 
necessary  that  he  should  feel  the  weight 
of  them.  To  empty  the  cup,  he  must 
drink  it  to  the  very  dregs. 

This  severe  apprenticeship  did  not, 
however,  last  so  long  as  Luther  might 
have  feared.  The  prior  of  the  convent, 
upon  the  intercession  of  the  university 
of  which  Luther  was  a  member,  freed 
him  from  the  mean  offices  the  monks 
had  imposed  upon  him.  The  young 
monk  then  resumed  his  studies  with 
fresh  zeal.  The  works  of  the  Fathers 
of  the  Church,  especially  those  of  St. 
Augustine,  attracted  his  attention.  The 
exposition  which  this  celebrated  doctor 
has  written  upon  the  Psalms,  and  his 
book  concerning  the  Letter  and  the  Spi- 
rit, were  his  favourite  reading.  Nothing 
struck  him  so  much  as  the  opinions  of 
this  Father  upon  the  corruption  of  man's 
will,  and  upon  the  grace  of  God.  He 
felt,  in  his  own  experience,  the  reality  of 
that  corruption,  and  the  necessity  for  that 
grace.  The  words  of  St.  Augustine  found 
an  echo  in  his  heart :  if  he  could  have 
belonged  to  any  other  school  than  that 
of  Christ,  it  would  have  undoubtedly 
been  that  of  the  doctor  of  Hippo.  He 
almost  knew  by  heart  the  works  of  Peter 
d'Ailly  and  of  Gabriel  Biel.  He  was 
struck  with  an  observation  of  the  former, 
that  if  the  Church  had  not  decided  other- 
Avise,  it  would  have  been  preferable  to 
allow  that  Ave  really  receive  the  bread 
*  Selnecceri  Orat.  de  Luth. 


YOUTH,  CONVERSION,  AND  EARLY  LABOURS  OF  LUTHER 


71 


and  wine  in  the  Holy  Sacrament,  and 
not  mere  accidents. 

He  also  studied  with  attention  Occam 
and  Gerson,  who  have  so  freely  expressed 
themselves  concerning  the  authority  of 
the  Popes.  To  this  course  of  reading 
he  united  other  exercises.  He  was  heard 
publicly  to  unravel  the  most  complicated 
arguments,  and  extricate  himself  from 
labyrinths  whence  others  could  find  no 
outlet.     His  hearers  were  astonished.* 

But  it  was  not  to  gain  the  credit  of 
being  a  great  genius  that  he  entered  a 
cloister  j»  it  was  to  find  the  aliments  of 
piety  to  God.f  He  regarded  these  pur- 
suits only  as  recreations. 

He  loved,  above  all,  to  draw  wisdom 
from  the  pure  spring  of  the  Word  of 
God.  He  found  in  the  convent  a  Bible, 
fastened  by  a  chain.  He  had  constant 
recourse  to  this  chained  Bible.  He  un- 
derstood but  little  of  the  Word  ;  but  still 
it  was  his  most  absorbing  study.  Some- 
times he  would  meditate  on  a  single  pas- 
sage for  a  whole  day ;  another  time  he 
learned  by  heart  some  parts  of  the  Pro- 
phets, but  above  all,  he  wished  to  acquire, 
from  the  writings  of  the  Apostles  and 
Prophets,  the  knowledge  of  God's  will, 
— to  increase  in  reverence  for  His  name, 
— and  to  nourish  his  faith  by  the  sure 
testimony  of  the  word.J 

It  was  apparently  at  this  period,  that 
he  began  to  study  the  Scriptures  in  the 
originals,  and,  by  this  means,  to  lay  the 
foundation  of  the  most  perfect  and  useful 
of  his  printed  works, — the  translation  of 
the  Bible.  He  made  use  of  the  Hebrew 
Lexicon,  by  Reuchlin,  which  had  just 
appeared.  John  Lange,  a  brother  in  the 
convent,  who  was  skilled  in  the  Greek 
and  Hebrew,  and  with  whom  he  always 
maintained  an  intimate  acquaintance, 
probably  assisted  him  at  the  outset.  He 
also  made  much  use  of  the  learned  com- 
ments of  Nicholas  Lyra,  who  diedjn 
1340.  It  was  this  circumstance  that 
made  Pfiug  (afterwards  Bishop  of  Naum- 
burg)  remark :  "  Si  Lyra  non  lyrasset, 
Lutherus  non  saltasset. — If  Lyra  had  not 

*  In  disputationibus  publicis  labyrinthos  aliis 
inextricablies,  diserte  multis  admirantibus  expli- 
cabat. — (Melancth.  Vit.  Luth.) 

t  In  eo  vitse  genere  non  famam  ingenii,  sed 
alimenta  pietatis  quaerebat.— (Melancth.  Vit. 
Luth.) 

t  Ut  firmis  testimoniis  aleret  timorem  et  fidem. 
—(Ibid.) 


played  his  lyre,  Luther  had  never 
danced."* 

The  young  monk  applied  himself  to 
his  studies  with  so  much  zeal,  that  often, 
for  two  or  three  weeks  together,  he  would 
omit  the  prescribed  prayers.  But  he  was 
soon  alarmed  by  the  thought  that  he  had 
transgressed  the  rules  of  his  order.  Then 
he  shut  himself  up  to  redeem  his  negli- 
gence ;  he  set  himself  to  repeat  consci- 
entiously all  his  omitted  prayers  without 
thinking  of  his  necessary  food.  On  one 
occasion  he  passed  seven  weeks  almost 
without  sleep. 

Burning  with  the  desire  after  that  ho- 
liness which  he  had  sought  in  the  clois- 
ter, Luther  gave  himself  up  to  all  the 
rigour  of  an  ascetic  life.  He  endea- 
voured to  crucify  the  flesh  by  fastings, 
macerations,  and  watchings.f  Shut  up 
in  his  cell,  as  in  a  prison,  he  was  con- 
tinually struggling  against  the  evil 
thoughts  and  inclinations  of  his  heart. 
A  little  bread,  a  single  herring,  were 
often  his  only  food.  Indeed  he  was  con- 
stitutionally abstemious.  So  it  was  that 
his  friends  have  often  seen  him, — even 
after  he  had  learned  that  heaven  was  not 
to  be  purchased  by  abstinence, — content 
himself  with  the  poorest  food,  and  go 
four  days  together  without  eating  or 
drinking.];  This  is  stated  on  the  author- 
ity of  a  credible  witness, — Melancthon  ; 
and  we  see  from  this  how  little  attention 
is  due  to  the  fables  which  ignorance  and 
prejudice  have  circulated  as  to  intemper- 
ance in  Luther.  Nothing  was  too  great 
a  sacrifice,  at  the  period  we  speak  of,  for 
the  sake  of  becoming  holy  to  gain  hea- 
ven. Never  did  the  Romish  Church 
contain  a  monk  of  more  piety;  never 
did  a  cloister  witness  efforts  more  sincere 
and  unwearied  to  purchase  eternal  hap- 
piness. $  When  Luther,  become  a  Re- 
former, declared  that  heaven  could  not 
be  thus  purchased,  he  knew  well  what 
he  said:    "Verily,"  wrote  he  to  Duke 

*  Gesch.  d.  deutseh.     Bibeliibersetzung. 

t  Summa  disciplinse  severitate  se  ipse  regit,  et 
omnibus  exercitiis  lectiouum,  disputationum,  je- 
juniorum,  precum,  omnes  longe  superat. — (Me- 
lancth. Vita  Luth.) 

t  Erat  enim  natura  valde  modici  cibi  et  potus  ; 
vidi  continuis  quatuor  diebus,  cum  quidem  recte 
valeret,  prorsus  nihil  edentem  aut  bibentem. — 
(Melancth.  Vita  Luth.) 

§  Strenue  in  studiis  et  exercitiis  spmtualibus 
militavit  ibi  Deo  annis  quatuor.— (Coclilaeus,  1.) 


72 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


George  of  Saxony,  "I  was  a  devout 
monk,  and  followed  the  rules  of  my 
order  so  strictly,  that  I  cannot  tell  you  all. 
If  ever  a  monk  entered  into  heaven  by 
his  monkish  merits,  certainly  I  should 
have  obtained  an  entrance  there.  All 
the  monks  who  knew  me  will  confirm 
this ;  and  if  it  had  lasted  much  longer, 
I  should  have  become  literally  a  martyr, 
through  watchings,  prayer,  reading,  and 
other  labours."* 

We  approach  the  period  which  made 
Luther  a  new  man  ;  and,  by  discovering 
to  him  the  unfathomable  love  of  God, 
created  in  him  the  power  to  declare  it  to 
the  world. 

Luther  did  not  find,  in  the  tranquil- 
lity of  the  cloister  and  monkish  perfec- 
tion, the  peace  he  was  in  quest  of.  He 
wanted  an  assurance  that  he  was  saved. 
This  was  the  great  want  of  his  soul ; 
without  it  he  could  not  rest.  But  the 
fears  which  had  shaken  him  in  the 
world,  pursued  him  to  his  cell.  Nay 
more,  they  increased  there,  and  the  least 
cry  of  his  conscience  seemed  to  resound 
beneath  the  vaulted  roofs  of  the  cloister. 
God  had  led  him  thither,  that  he  might 
learn  to  know  himself,  and  to  despair  of 
his  own  strength  or  virtues.  His  con- 
science, enlightened  by  the  Divine 
Word,  taught  him  what  it  was  to  be 
holy ;  but  he  was  filled  with  terror  at 
finding,  neither  in  his  heart  nor  in  his 
life,  the  transcript  of  that  holiness  which 
he  contemplated  with  wonder  in  the 
Word  of  God.  Melancholy  discovery! 
and  one  that  is  made  by  every  sincere 
man.  No  righteousness  within  ;  no  right- 
eousness in  outward  action :  every  where 
omission  of  duty, — sin,  pollution. — The 
more  ardent  Luther's  natural  character, 
the  more  powerful  was  this  secret  and 
constant  resistance  of  his  nature  to  that 
which  is  good,  and  the  deeper  did  it 
plunge  him  into  despair. 

The  monks  and  theologians  encour- 
aged him  to  do  good  works,  and  in  that 
way  satisfy  the  divine  justice.  "But 
what  works,"  thought  he,  "  can  proceed 
out  of  a  heart  like  mine  1  How  can  I, 
with  works  polluted  even  in  their  source 
and  motive,  stand  before  a  Holy  Judge  ?" 
— "  I  was,  in  the  sight  of  God,  a  great 
sinner,"  says  he  ;  "  and  I  could  not  think 

*  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xix.  2299. 


it  possible  for  me  to  appease  him  with 
my  merits." 

He  was  agitated  and  dejected ;  shun- 
ning the  trivial  and  dull  discourse  of  the 
monks.  The  latter,  unable  to  compre- 
hend the  tempestuous  heavings  of  his 
soul,  watched  him  with  astonishment,* 
while  they  complained  of  his  silent  and 
unsocial  manners.  One  day,  Cochlaeus 
tells  us,  whilst  mass  was  performing  in 
the  chapel,  Luther's  abstraction  led  him 
thither,  and  he  found  himself  in  the  choir 
in  the  midst  of  the  monks,  dejected  and 
in  anguish  of  mind.  The  prjest  had 
bowed  before  the  altar — the  incense  was 
offered,  the  Gloria  chaunted,  and  the 
gospel  was  being  read,  when  the  unhap- 
py monk,  unable  to  suppress  his  mental 
torment,  exclaimed,  falling  upon  his 
knees,  "  It  is  not  I — it  is  not  I."f  The 
monks  were  all  amazement,  and  the  so- 
lemnity was  for  an  instant  interrupted. 
Luther  may  perhaps  have  thought  he 
heard  some  reproach  of  which  he  knew 
himself  guiltless ;  or  he  may  have  meant, 
at  the  moment,  to  declare  himself  unde- 
serving of  being  of  the  number  of  those 
to  whom  Christ's  death  had  brought  eter- 
nal life.  According  to  Cochlseus,  the 
gospel  of  the  day  was  the  account  of  the 
dumb  man  out  of  whom  Jesus  cast  a 
devil.  Possibly  Luther's  exclamation 
(if  the  story  be  true,)  had  reference  to 
this  fact,  and  that  resembling  the  dsemo- 
niac  in  being  like  him  speechless,  he  by 
his  cry  protested  that  his  silence  was 
owing  to  a  different  cause  from  dsemo- 
niacal  possession.  Indeed,  Cochlaeus  tells 
us  that  the  monks  did  sometimes  ascribe 
the  mental  distresses  of  their  brother  to 
a  secret  intercourse  with  the  devil,  and 
that  writer  appears  himself  to  have 
shared  in  the  opinion.  | 

A  tender  conscience  led  him  to  regard 
the  least  sin  as  a  great  crime.  No  soon- 
er had  he  detected  it,  than  he  laboured 
to  expiate  it  by  the  strictest  self-denial ; 
and  that  served  only  to  make  him  feel 
the  inutility  of  all  human  remedies.  "  I 
tormented  myself  to  death,"  says  he,  "  to 
procure  for  my  troubled  heart  and  agi- 
tated conscience  peace  in  the  presence  of 

*  Visas  est  fratribus  non  nihil  singularitatis 
habere. — (Cochteus,  1.) 

t  Cum  ....  repente  ceciderit  vociferans :  Non 
sum  !  non  sum  ! — (Cochlseus,  1.) 

t  Ex  occulto  aliquo  cum  sermone  cominario 
-(lb.) 


YOUTH,  CONVERSION,  AND  EARLY  LABOURS  OF  LUTHER. 


73 


God ;  but  encompassed  with  thick  dark- 
ness, I  nowhere  found  peace." 

All  the  practices  of  monkish  holiness 
which  quieted  so  many  drowsy  con- 
sciences around  him,  and  to  which  in  his 
agony  of  mind  he  had  recourse,  soon 
evinced  themselves  to  be  useless  prescrip- 
tions of  an  empirical  quackery  in  reli- 
gion. "  When  during  the  time  I  was  a 
monk,  I  felt  temptations  assail  me,  I  am 
a  lost  man,  thought  I.  Immediately  I 
resorted  to  a  thousand  methods  to  ap- 
pease the  reproaches  of  my  heart.  I  con- 
fessed every  day.  But  all  that  was  of 
no  use.  Then,  overwhelmed  with  de- 
jection, I  distressed  myself  by  the  multi- 
tude of  my  thoughts.  See,  said  I  to  my- 
self, thou  art  envious,  impatient,  passion- 
ate ;  therefore,  wretch  that  thou  art !  it  is 
of  no  use  to  thee  to  have  entered  into 
this  holy  order." 

And  yet  Luther,  imbued  with  the  pre- 
judices of  the  age,  had  from  his  youth 
deemed  the  remedies  of  which  he  now 
experienced  the  inefhcacy,  the  certain 
cure  of  a  sick  ■  soul.  What  was  to  be 
thought  of  this  strange  discovery  which 
he  had  just  made  in  the  solitude  of  his 
cloister  ?  One  may  then  live  in  the  sanc- 
tuary, and  yet  carry  within  a  man  of  sin. 
He  has  obtained  another  garment,  but 
not  another  heart ;  his  hopes  are  disap- 
pointed ;  where  shall  he  turn  ?  All  these 
rules  and  observances,  can  they  be  mere 
inventions  1  Such  a  supposition  appeared 
to  him  one  moment  as  a  temptation  of 
the  devil, — and  the  next,  an  irresistible 
truth.  Struggling  either  against  the 
holy  voice  which  spoke  in  his  heart,  or 
against  the  venerable  institutions  which 
had  the  sanction  of  ages,  Luther's  exis- 
tence was  a  continued  conflict.  The 
young  monk  moved,  like  a  spectre, 
through  the  long  corridors  of  the  clois- 
ters with  sighs  and  groans.  His  bodily 
powers  failed,  his  strength  forsook  him  ; 
sometimes  he  was  motionless  as  if  dead.* 

One  day,  overcome  with  sadness,  he 
shut  himself  in  his  cell,  and  for  several 
days  and  nights  suffered  no  one  to  ap- 
proach him.  One  of  his  friends,  Lucas 
Edemberger,  uneasy  about  the  unhappy 
monk,  and  having  some  presentiment  of 

*  Saepe  eum  cogitantem  attentius  de  ira  Dei, 
aut.  de  mirandis  pcenarum  exemplis,  subito  tanti 
terrores  concutiebant,  ut  pene  exanimaretur. — 
(Melantch.  Vita  Luth.) 

10 


his  state,  took  with  him  some  young 
boys,  choral  singers,  and  went  and 
knocked  at  the  door  of  his  cell.  No  one 
opened  or  answered.  The  good  Edem- 
berger, still  more  alarmed,  broke  open 
the  door,  and  discovered  Luther  stretched 
on  the  floor  in  unconsciousness,  and 
without  any  sign  of  life.  His  friend 
tried  in  vain  to  recall  his  senses,  but  he 
continued  motionless.  Then  the  young 
choristers  began  to  sing  a  sweet  hymn. 
Their  clear  voices  acted  like  a  charm  on 
the  poor  monk,  to  whom  music  had  al- 
ways been  a  source  of  delight,  and  by 
slow  degrees  his  strength  and  conscious- 
ness returned.*  But  if  for  a  few  instants 
music  could  restore  to  him  a  degree  of 
serenity,  another  and  more  powerful 
remedy  was  heeded  for  the  cure  of  his 
malady ;  there  was  needed  that  sweet 
and  penetrating  sound  of  the  Gospel, 
which  is  the  voice  of  God.  He  felt  this 
to  be  his  want.  Accordingly  his  suffer- 
ings and  fears  impelled  him  to  study 
with  unwearied  zeal  the  writings  of  the 
Apostles  and  Prophets,  f 

Luther  was  not  the  first  monk  who 
had  passed  through  these  conflicts.  The 
cloisters  often  enveloped  in  their  dark 
walls  abominable  vices,  which,  if  they 
had  been  revealed,  would  have  made  an 
upright  mind  shudder;  but  often  also 
they  concealed  Christian  virtues,  which 
grew  up  beneath  the  shelter  of  a  salutary 
retirement ;  and  which,  if  they  had  been 
brought  forth  to  view,  would  have  been 
the  admiration  of  the  world.  They  who 
possessed  these  virtues,  living  only  with 
each  other  and  with  God,  drew  no  atten- 
tion from  without,  and  were  often  un- 
known even  to  the  small  convent  in 
which  they  were  inclosed; — their  life 
was  known  only  to  God.  At  times  these 
humble  reeluses  fell  into  that  mystic 
theology,  the  melancholy  failing  of  the 
noblest  mmds,  which  in  an  earlier  age 
had  been  the  delight  of  the  first  monks 
on  the  banks  of  the  Nile,  and  which 
wears  out  unprofitably  the  souls  in 
which  it  reigns. 

But  whenever  one  of  these  men  was 
called  to  fill  a  distinguished  post,  he 
manifested  virtues  of  which  the  salutary 

*  Seckend,  p.  53. 

t  Hoc  studium  ut  magis  expeteret,  lllis  6Uis 
doloribus  et  pavoribus  inovebatur.— (Melantch. 
Vita  Luth.) 


74 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


effects  were  long  and  widely  felt.  The 
candle  being  placed  on  the  candlestick, 
gave  light  to  all  the  house  ;  many  were 
awakened  by  this  light.  Thus  it  was 
that  these  pious  souls  were  propagated 
from  generation  to  generation :  and  they 
were  shining  like  distant  torches  in  the 
very  periods  when  the  cloisters  were 
often  only  the  impure  receptacles  of 
darkness. 

There  was  a  young  man  who  had 
thus  distinguished  himself  in  one  of  the 
convents  in  Germany.  His  name  was 
John  Staupitz  ;  he  was  descended  from  a 
noble  family  in  Misnia.  From  early 
youth  he  had  been  marked  by  a  taste  for 
letters  and  a  love  of  virtue.*  He  felt 
the  necessity  of  retirement  that  he  might 
devote  himself  to  learning.  But  he  soon 
found  that  philosophy,  and  the  study  of 
nature,  could  do  nothing  for  our  eternal 
salvation. 

He  therefore  began  to  study  divinity. 
But  he  especially  endeavoured  to  join 
obedience  with  knowledge.  "  For,"  says 
one  of  his  biographers,  "  it  is  in  vain  to 
call  ourselves  divines,  if  we  do  not  con- 
firm that  noble  title  by  our  lives."  The 
study  of  the  Bible  and  of  St.  Augustine, 
the  knowledge  of  himself,  the  war  he, 
like  Luther,  had  to  wage  with  the  deceit- 
fulness  and  lusts  of  his  own  heart, — led 
him  to  the  Saviour.  He  found  in  faith 
in  Christ,  Peace  to  his  soul.  The  doc- 
trine of  the  Election  by  Grace  especially 
engaged  his  thoughts.  The  uprightness 
of  his  life,  the  depth  of  his  learning,  the 
eloquence  of  his  speech,  no  less  than  a 
striking  exterior  and  dignified  manners,! 
recommended  him  to  his  contemporaries. 
The  Elector  of  Saxony,  Frederic  the 
Wise,  honoured  him  with  his  friendship, 
employed  him  in  several  embassies,  and 
founded  under  his  direction  the  Univer- 
sity of  Wittemberg.  Staupitz  was  the 
first  professor  of  divinity  in  that  school, 
from  whence  the  light  Avas  one  day  to 
issue  to  enlighten  the  schools  and 
churches  of  so  many  nations.  He  was 
present^ at  the  Council  of  Lateran,  in 
place  of  the  archbishop  of  Salzburg,  be- 
came provincial  of  his  order  in  Thurin- 

*  A  teneris  unguiculis  generoso  animi  impetu 

ad  virtutem  et  eruditam  doctrinam  contendit. 

(Melch.  Adam.  Vita  Staupizii ) 

t  Corporis  forma  atque  statura  conspicuus. 

(Cochl.  3.) 


gia  and  Saxony,  and  afterwards  Vicar- 
general  of  the  Augustines  for  all  Ger- 
many. 

Staupitz  deeply  lamented  the  corrup- 
tion of  morals  and  the  errors  of  doctrine 
which  then  devastated  the  Church.  His 
writings  on  "the  love  of  God,"  "on  Chris- 
tian faith,"  and  "conformity  with  the 
death  of  Christ,"  as  well  as  the  testimony 
of  Luther,  give  proof  of  this.  But  he 
considered  the  first  of  these  two  evils  as 
much  greater  than  the  latter.  Besides, 
the  gentleness  and  indecision  of  his 
character,  his  desire  not  to  go  beyond 
the  sphere  of  action  which  he  thought 
assigned  to  him,  made  him  more  fit  to 
be  the  restorer  of  a  convent  that  the  Re- 
former of  the  church.  He  would  have 
wished  to  raise  none  but  men  of  distin- 
guished characters  to  offices  of  import- 
ance, but  not  finding  them,  he  submitted 
to  the  necessity  of  employing  others. 
"  We  must,"  said  he,  "  plough  with  such 
horses  as  we  can  find ;  and  if  we  can- 
not find  horses,  we  must  plough  with 
oxen."* 

We  have  seen  the  anguish  and  internal 
struggles  which  Luther  underwent  in  the 
convent  of  Erfurth.  At  this  period  the 
visit  of  the  Vicar-general  was  announced. 
Staupitz,  in  fact,  arrived  in  his  usual  visi- 
tation of  inspection.  The  friend  of  Fre- 
deric, the  founder  of  the  University  of 
Wittemberg,  the  chief  of  the  Augustines, 
cast  a  benevolent  look  upon  those  monks 
who  were  subject  to  his  authority.  Soon 
one  of  the  brothers  attracted  his  notice. 
He  was  a  young  man  of  middle  stature, 
reduced  by  study,  fasting,  and  watching, 
so  that  you  might  count  his  bones. t 
His  eyes,  which  were  afterwards  com- 
pared to  a  falcon's,  were  sunk ;  his  de- 
meanour was  dejected;  his  countenance 
expressed  a  soul  agitated  with  severe  con- 
flicts, but  yet  strong  and  capable  of  en- 
durance. There  was  in  his  whole  ap- 
pearance something  grave,  melancholy, 
and  solemn.  Staupitz,  who  had  acquired 
discernment  by  long  experience,  easily 
discerned  what  was  passing  in  that  mind, 
and  at  once  distinguished  the  young  monk 
from  all  his  companions.  He  felt  drawn 
towards  him,  had  a  kind  of  presentiment 
of  his  singular  destiny,  and  soon  experi- 
enced for  his  inferior  a  paternal  interest. 

*  L.  Opp.  (W.)  v.  2189. 
t  P.  Mossellaui  Epist. 


YOUTH,  CONVERSION,  AND  EARLY  LABOURS  OF  LUTHER. 


75 


He,  like  Luther,   had   been   called   to 

struggle ;  he  could  therefore  understand 
his  feelings.  He  could,  above  all  shew 
him  the  path  to  that  -peace  which  he  had 
himself  found.  What  he  was  told  of 
the  circumstances  that  had  induced  the 
young  Augustine  to  enter  the  convent, 
increased  his  sympathy.  He  enjoined 
the  prior  to  treat  him  with  more  mild- 
ness. He  availed  himself  of  the  oppor- 
tunities .his  office  afforded  for  gaining 
the  confidence  of  the  young  monk.  He 
approached  him  affectionately,  and  en- 
deavoured in  every  way  to  overcome  the 
timidity  of  the  novice — a  timidity  in- 
creased by  the  respect  and  fear  that  he 
felt  for  a  person  of  rank  so  exalted  as 
that  of  Staupitz. 

The  heart  of  Luther,  which  had  re- 
mained closed  under  harsh  treatment,  at 
last  opened  and  expanded  to  the  sweet 
beams  of  love.  "  As  in  water  face  an- 
swereth  to  face,  so  the  heart  of  man  to 
man."  (Pro v.  xxvii.  9.)  Staupitz's  heart 
responded  to  that  of  Luther.  The  Vicar- 
general  understood  him.  The  monk  felt 
towards  him  a  confidence  till  then  un- 
known. He  opened  to  him  the  cause 
of  his  sadness,  he  described  the  horrid 
thoughts  that  distressed  him,  and  hence 
ensued,  in  the  cloister  of  Erfurth,  conver- 
sations full  of  wisdom  and"  instruction. 

"  It  is  in  vain,"  said  the  dejected  Lu- 
ther to  Staupitz,  "  that  I  make  promises 
to  God ;  sin  is  always  too  strong  for 
me." 

"  Oh,  my  friend,"  answered  the  Vicar- 
general,  looking  back  on  his  own  expe- 
rience, "  I  have  vowed  to  the  holy  God 
more  than  a  thousand  times  that  I  would 
live  a  holy  life,  and  never  have  I  kept 
my  vow !  I  now  make  no  more  vows, 
for  I  know  well  I  shall  not  keep  them. 
If  God  will  not  be  merciful  to  me  for 
Christ's  sake,  and  grant  me  a  happy 
death  when  I  leave  this  world,  I  cannot, 
with  all  my  vows  and  good  works,  stand 
before  him.     I  must  perish."* 

The  young  monk  is  terrified  at  the 
thought  of  divine  justice.  He  confesses 
all  his  fears.  The  unspeakable  holiness 
of  God — his  sovereign  majesty  fill  him 
with  awe.  Who  can  endure  the  day  of 
his  coming  ?  Who  can  stand  when  He 
appeareth  % 

Staupitz  resumed.  He  knew  where 
*  L.  Opp.  (W.)  viiL  2725. 


he  had  found  peace,  and  it  was  in  his 
heart  to  tell  the  young  man.  "  Why," 
said  he,  "do  you  distress  yourself  with 
these  speculations  and  high  thoughts? 
Look  to  the  wounds  of  Jesus  Christ,  to 
the  blood  which  he  has  shed  for  you  ;  it 
is  there  you  will  see  the  mercy  of  God. 
Instead  of  torturing  yourself  for  your 
faults,  cast  yourself  into  the  arms  of  the 
Redeemer.  Trust  in  him, — in  the  right- 
eousness of  his  life,  in  the  expiatory  sacri- 
fice of  his  death.  Do  not  shrink  from 
him  ;  God  is  not  against  you  ;  it  is  you 
who  are  estranged  and  averse  from  God. 
Listen  to  the  Son  of  God.  He  became 
man  to  assure  you  of  the  divine  favour. 
He  says  to  you,  '  You  are  my  sheep ; 
you  hear  my  voice  ;  none  shall  pluck 
you  out  of  my  hand.'  "* 

But  Luther  could  not  find  in  himself 
the  repentance  he  thought  necessary  to 
his  salvation  ;  he  answered  (and  it  is  the 
usual  answer  of  distressed  and  timid 
minds,)  "  How  can  I  dare  believe  in  the 
favour  of  God,  so  long  as  there  is  no  real 
conversion  ?  I  must  be  changed  before 
He  can  receive  me." 

His  venerable  guide  proves  to  him 
that  there  can  be  no  real  conversion,  so 
long  as  man  fears  God  as  a  severe  judge. 
"  What  will  you  say  then,"  cries  Luther, 
"  to  so  many  consciences,  to  whom  are 
prescribed  a  thousand  insupportable  pen- 
ances in  order  to  gain  heaven  ?" 

Then  he  hears  this  answer  from  the 
Vicar-gfeneral ; — or  rather  he  does  not 
believe  that  it  comes  from  a  man  ;  it 
seems  to  him  a  voice  resounding  from 
heaven. f  "  There  is,"  said  Staupitz,  "  no 
true  repentance  but  that  which  begins  in 
the  love  of  God  and  of  righteousness.^ 
That  which  some  fancy  to  be  the  end 
of  repentance  is  only  its  beginning.  In 
order  to  be  filled  with  the  love  of  that 
which  is  good,  you  must  first  be  filled 
with  the  love  of  God.  If  you  wish  to 
be  really  converted,  do  not  follow  these 
mortifications  and  penances.  Love  him 
who  has  first  loved  you. 

Luther  listens,  and  listens  again. 
These  consolations  fill  him  with  a  joy 
before  unknown,  and  impart  to  him  new 

*  L.  Opp.  (W.)  ii.  264. 

t  Te  velut  e  coelo  sonantem  accepimus. — (L. 
Epp.  i.  115,  ad  Staupitium,  30  Maii,  1518.) 

X  Prenitentia  vero  non  est,  nisi  qua?  ab  amore 
justitise  et  Dei  incipit,  &c.— (Ibid.) 


76 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


light.  "  It  is  Jesus  Christ,"  thinks  he  in 
his  heart ;  "  yes,  it  is  Jesus  Christ  him- 
self who  comforts  me  so  wonderfully  by 
these  sweet  and  salutary  words."* 

These  words,  indeed,  penetrated  the 
heart  of  the  young  monk  like  a  sharp 
arrow  from  the  bow  of  a  strong  man.f 
In  order  to  repentance,  we  must  love  God  ! 
Guided  by  this  new  light,  he  consulted 
the  Scriptures.  He  looked  to  all  the 
passages  which  speak  of  repentance  and 
conversion.  These  words,  so  dreaded 
hitherto,  (to  use  his  own  expressions,) 
become  to  him  an  agreeable  pastime  and 
the  sweetest  refreshment.  All  the  pas- 
sages of  Scripture  which  once  alarmed 
him,  seemed  now  to  run  to  him  from  all 
sides,  to  smile,  to  spring  up  and  play 
around  him.| 

"  Before,"  he  exclaims,  "  though  I  care- 
fully dissembled  with  God  as  to  the  state 
of  my  heart,  and  though  I  tried  to  express 
a  love  for  him,  which  was  only  a  con- 
straint and  a  mere  fiction,  there  was  no 
word  in  the  Scripture  more  bitter  to  me 
than  that  of  repentance.  But  now  there 
is  not  one  more  sweet  and  pleasant  to 
me.§  Oh!  how  blessed  are  all  God's 
precepts,  when  we  read  them  not  in 
books  alone,  but  in  the  precious  wounds 
of  the  Saviour.  "|| 

However,  Luther,  though  comforted 
by  the  words  of  Staupitz,  sometimes  re- 
lapsed into  depression.  Sin  was  again 
felt  in  his  timid  conscience,  and  then  to 
the  joy  of  salvation,  succeeded  all  his 
former  despair.  "  Oh,  my  sin  !  my  sin ! 
my  sin !"  cried  the  young  monk,  one  day 
in  the  presence  of  the  Vicar-general,  and 
in  a  tone  of  the  bitterest  grief.  "  Well, 
would  you  be  only  the  semblance  of  a 
sinner,"  replied  the  latter,  "  and  have 
only  the  semblance  of  a  Saviour  ?"  And 
then  Staupitz  added  with  authority: 
"  Know  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Saviour 

*  Memini  inter  jucundissimas  et  salutares  fabu- 
las  tuas,  quibus  me  solet  Dominus  Jesus  miriflce 
consol  ari. — ( Ibid.) 

t  Hrcsit  hoc  verbum  tuum  in  me,  sicut  sagitta 
potentis  acuta. — (Ibid.) 

%  Ecce  jucundissimum  ludum  ;  verba  undique 
mihi  colludebant  planque  huic  sententiffi  arride- 
bant  et  assultabant. — (L.  Epp.  i.  115,  adStaupi- 
tium,  30  Maii,  1518.) 

§  Nunc  nihil  dulcius  aut  gratius  mihi  sonat 
quam  poenitentia,  &c. — (Ibid.) 

||  Ita  enim  dulcescunt  preeeepta  Dei,  quando 
non  in  libris  tantum,  sed  in  vulneribus  dulcissimi 
Salvatoris  legenda  intelligimus. — (Ibid.) 


of  those  even  who  are  real  and  great 
sinners,  and  deserving  of  utter  condem- 
nation." 

It  was  not  only  the  sin  that  he  found 
in  his  heart  that  troubled  Luther :  to  the 
doubts  of  his  conscience  were  added  those 
of  his  reason.  If  the  holy  precepts  of  the 
Bible  distressed  him,  some  of  the  doc- 
trines of  the  divine  word  increased  his 
distress.  The  truth,  which  is  the  great 
instrument  by  means  of  which  God  gives 
peace  to  man,  must  necessarily  begin  by 
taking  from  him  that  false  confidence 
which  is  his  ruin.  The  doctrine  of  elec- 
tion especially  troubled  the  young  man, 
and  launched  him  into  a  field  difficult 
indeed  to  explore.  Must  he  believe  that 
it  was  man  who  first  chose  God  for  his 
portion?  or  that  it  was  God  who  first 
chose  man  ?  The  Bible,  history,  daily 
experience,  the  writings  of  Augustine, 
all  had  shown  him,  that  we  must  always, 
and  in  every  thing  refer  in  the  last  case 
to  that  sovereign  will  by  which  every 
thing  exists,  and  upon  which  every  thing 
depends.  But  his  ardent  mind  desired 
to  go  farther.  He  wished  to  penetrate 
into  the  secret  counsels  of  God, — to  un- 
veil his  mysteries,  to  see  the  invisible, 
and  comprehend  the  incomprehensible. 
Staupitz  checked  him.  He  persuaded 
him  not  to  attempt  to  fathom  God,  who 
hideth  himself;  but  to  confine  himself 
to  what  He  has  revealed  of  his  character 
in  Christ.  "  Look  at  the  wounds  of 
Christ,"  said  he,  "and  you  will  there  see 
shining  clearly  the  purpose  of  God  to- 
wards men.  We  cannot  understand  God 
out  of  Christ.  '  In  Christ  you  will  see 
what  I  am  and  what  I  require,'  hath  the 
Lord  said ;  '  you  will  not  see  it  else- 
where, either  in  heaven  or  on  earth.'  "* 

The  Vicar-general  did  yet  more.  He 
brought  Luther  to  acknowledge  the  fa- 
therly design  of  God's  providence  in  per- 
mitting these  temptations  and  varied 
struggles  with  which  his  soul  had  to 
contend.  He  made  him  see  them  in  a 
light  well  suited  to  revive  his  spirit. 
God  prepares  for  himself  by  such  trials 
the  souls  which  he  destines  to  some  im- 
portant work.  We  must  prove  the  ves- 
sel before  we  launch  it  on  the  mighty 
deep.  If  education  is  necessary  for  every 
man,  there  is  a  particular  education  ne- 
cessary for  those  who  are  to  influence 
*  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xxii.  p.  489. 


YOUTH,  CONVERSION,  AND  EARLY  LABOURS  OF  LUTHER 


77 


the  generation  in  which  they  live.  This 
is  what  Staupitz  represented  to  the  monk 
of  Erfurth.  "  It  is  not  for  nothing,"  said 
he,  "  that  God  proves  you  by  so  many 
trials ;  however,  you  will  see,  there  are 
great  things  in  which  he  will  make  use 
of  you  as  his  minister." 

These  words,  which  Luther  heard  with 
wonder  and  humility,  filled  him  with 
courage,  and  discovered  to  him  in  him- 
self, powers  which  he  had  not  even  sus- 
pected. The  wisdom  and  prudence  of 
an  enlightened  friend  gradually  revealed 
the  strong  man  to  himself.  Staupitz  did 
not  stop  there.  He  gave  him  valuable 
directions  for  his  studies.  He  advised 
him  to  derive  henceforth  all  his  divinity 
from  the  Bible,  laying  aside  the  systems 
of  the  schools.  "  Let  the  study  of  the 
Scriptures,"  said  he,  "  be  your  favourite 
occupation."  Never  was  better  advice, 
or  better  followed.  But  what  especially 
delighted  Luther,  was  the  present  that 
Staupitz  made  him  of  a  Bible.  At  last 
he  himself  possessed  that  treasure  which 
until  that  hour  he  had  been  obliged  to 
seek  either  in  the  library  of  the  Uni- 
versity, or  at  the  chain  in  the  convent,  or 
in  the  cell  of  a  friend.  From  that  time 
he  studied  the  Scriptures,  and  especially 
St.  Paul's  Epistles,  with  increasing  zeal. 
His  only  other  reading  was  the  works 
of  St.  Augustine.  All  that  he  read  was 
powerfully  impressed  upon  his  mind. 
His  struggles  had  prepared  him  to  un- 
derstand the  word.  The  soil  had  been 
deeply  ploughed  ;  the  incorruptible  seed 
took  deep  root.  When  Staupitz  left 
Erfurth,  a  new  light  had  arisen  upon 
Luther. 

Still  the  work  was  not  finished.  The 
Vicar-General  had  prepared  it.  God 
reserved  the  completion  of  it  for  a  more 
humble  instrument.  The  conscience  of 
the  young  Augustine  had  not  yet  found 
repose.  His  health  at  last  sunk  under 
the  exertions  and  stretch  of  his  mind. 
He  was  attacked  with  a  malady  that 
brought  him  to  the  gates  of  the  grave. 
It  was  then  the  second  year  of  his  abode 
at  the  convent.  All  his  anguish  and 
terrors  returned  in  the  prospect  of  death. 
His  own  impurity  and  God's  holiness 
again  disturbed  his  mind.  One  day 
when  he  was  overwhelmed  with  des- 
pair, an  old  monk  entered  his  cell,  and 
spoke  kindly  to  him.     Luther  opened 


his  heart  to  him,  and  acquainted  him 
with  the  fears  that  disquieted  him.  The 
respectable  old  man  was  incapable  of 
entering  into  all  his  doubts,  as  Staupitz 
had  done ;  but  he  knew  his  Credo,  and 
he  had  found  there  something  to  comfort 
his  own  heart.  He  thought  he  would 
apply  the  same  remedy  to  the  young  bro- 
ther. Calling  his  attention  therefore  to 
the  Apostle's  creed,  which  Luther  had 
learnt  in  his  early  childhood  at  the  school 
of  Mansfeld,  the  old  monk  uttered  in 
simplicity  this  article  :  "  /  believe  in  the 
forgiveness  of  sins."  These  simple  words, 
ingenuously  recited  by  the  pious  brother 
at  a  critical  moment,  shed  sweet  consola- 
tion in  the  mind  of  Luther.  "  I  believe," 
repeated  he  to  himself  on  his  bed  of  suf- 
fering, "  I  believe  the  remission  of  sins." 
"  Ah,"  said  the  monk,  "  you  must  not 
only  believe  that  David's  or  Peter's  sins 
are  forgiven  :*  the  devils  believe  that. 
The  commandment  of  God  is  that  we 
believe  our  own  sins  are  forgiven."  How 
sweet  did  this  commandment  appear  to 
poor  Luther  !  "  Hear  what  St.  Bernard 
says  in  his  discourse  on  the  Annuncia- 
tion," added  the  old  brother.  "  The  tes- 
timony which  the  Holy  Ghost  applies 
to  your  heart  is  this  :  '  Thy  sins  are  for- 
given thee.'' '' 

From  that  moment  the  light  shone  into 
the  heart  of  the  young  monk  of  Erfurth. 
The  word  of  Grace  was  pronounced, 
and  he  believed  it. — He  renounced  the 
thought  of  meriting  salvation  ; — and 
trusted  himself  with  confidence  to  God's 
grace  in  Christ  Jesus.  He  did  not  per- 
ceive the  consequence  of  the  principle 
he  admitted  ; — he  was  still  sincerely  at- 
tached to  the  Church  : — and  yet  he  was 
thenceforward  independent  of  it ;  for  he 
had  received  salvation  from  God  him- 
self; and  Romish  Catholicism  was  vir- 
tually extinct  to  him.  From  that  hour 
Luther  went  forward  ; — he  sought  in  the 
writings  of  the  Apostles  and  Prophets 
for  alf  that  might  strengthen  the  hope 
which  filled  his  heart.  Every  day  he 
implored  help  from  above,  and  every  day 
new  light  was  imparted  to  his  soul. 

This  comfort  to  his  spirit  restored 
health  to  his  body.  He  quickly  arose 
from   his   sick-bed.      He   had   received 

*  Davidi  aut  Petro  .  .  .  Sed  mandatum  Dei 
esse,  ut  singuli  homines  nobis  remitti  peccata 
credamus. — (Melanc.  Vit.  L.) 


78 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


new  life  in  more  than  one  sense.  The 
festival  of  Christmas,  which  soon  after 
arrived,  was  to  him  an  occasion  of  rich 
enjoyment  of  all  the  consolations  of 
faith.  He  took  part  in  the  solemnities 
of  that  sacred  season  with  sweet  emotion  ; 
and  when,  in  the  services  of  the  day,  he 
had  to  sing  these  words,  "  O  bcata  culpa 
quce  tcvlcm  meruisti  Redemptorem  .'"*  his 
whole  soul  joyfully  responded — Amen. 

Luther  had  now  been  two  years  in  the 
cloister.  The  time  drew  near  when  he 
was  to  be  ordained  priest.  He  had  re- 
ceived largely ;  and  he  looked  forward 
with  joy  to  the  liberty  afforded,  by  the 
priest's  office,  of  freely  giving  what  he 
had  so  freely  received.  He  resolved  to 
take  advantage  of  the  approaching  so- 
lemnity, to  be  perfectly  reconciled  to  his 
•father.  He  invited  him  to  be  present  at 
it,  and  even  asked  him  to  fix  the  day. 
John  Luther,  who  had  not  yet  entirely 
forgiven  his  son,  nevertheless  accepted 
this  invitation,  and  named  Sunday,  May 
2,  1507. 

Amongst  the  number  of  Luther's  friends 
was  John  Braun,  vicar  of  Eisenach,  who 
had  been  his  faithful  adviser  during  his 
abode  in  that  town.  Luther  wrote  to 
him  on  the  22d  of  April :  this  is  the 
earliest  letter  extant  of  the  Reformer. 
It  is  addressed :  "  To  John  Braun,  holy 
and  venerable  priest  of  Christ  and  of 
Mary." 

It  is  only  in  the  two  earliest-letters  of 
Luther  that  the  name  of  the  Virgin  oc- 
curs. 

"  God,  who  is  glorious  and  holy  in  all 
his  Avorks,"  said  the  candidate  for  the 
priesthood,  "  having  condescended  to 
raise  me  up,  who  am  but  a  wretched 
man,  and  in  every  way  an  unworthy 
sinner,  and  to  call  me,  by  his  alone  and 
most  free  mercy,  to  his  high  and  holy 
ministry,  I,  that  I  may  testify  my  grati- 
tude for  goodness  so  divine  and  munifi- 
cent, ought  (as  far  as  dust  and  ashes  can) 
to  fulfil,  with  all  my  heart,  the  office 
entrusted  to  me. 

"  For  this  cause,  my  beloved  father, 
lord,  and  brother,  I  ask  you,  if  you  have 
time,  and  your  ecclesiastical  and  domestic 
affairs  allow  it,  to  deign  to  assist  me  by 
your  presence  and  your  prayers,  that  my 
sacrifice  may  be  acceptable  in  the  sisrht 
of  God. 

*  Keil,  p.  16. 


"  But  I  give  you  notice,  that  you  must 
come  straight  to  our  monastery,  and 
spend  some  time  with  us,  without  seek- 
ing any  other. lodging ;  you  must  become 
an  inhabitant  of  our  cells." 
■  At  length  the  day  arrived.  The  miner 
of  Mansfeld  did  not  fail  to  be  present  at 
the  consecration  of  his  son.  He  even 
gave  him  an  unequivocal  proof  of  his 
affection  and  generosity,  by  making  him 
a  present  on  this  occasion,  of  twenty 
florins. 

The  ceremony  took  place.  Jerome, 
bishop  of  Brandenburg,  officiated.  At 
the  moment  in  which  he  conferred  upon 
Luther  the  power  of  celebrating  the 
mass,  he  put  the  cup  into  his  hand,  and 
addressed  him  in  these  solemn  words : 
"  Accipe  potestatem  sacrificandi  pro  vivis 
et  mortuis — Receive  the  power  of  offer- 
ing sacrifice  for  the  living  and  the  dead." 
Luther,  at  that  moment,  listened  calmly 
to  these  words,  which  granted  him  power 
to  do  the  work  of  the  Son  of  God  him- 
self; but,  at  a  later  period,  they  made 
him  shudder.  "  That  the  earth  did  not 
then  swallow  us  both  up,  says  he,  "  was 
an  instance  of  the  patience  and  long-suf- 
fering of  the  Lord."* 

His  father»afterwards  dined  in  the  con- 
vent with  his  son,  the  friends  of  the  young 
priest,  and  the  monks.  The  conversa- 
tion turned  on  Martin's  entrance  into  the 
cloister.  The  brethren  commended  it  as 
a  highly  meritorious  action ;  on  which 
the  inflexible  John,  turning  to  them,  re- 
marked :  "  Have  you  not  read  in  the 
Scripture,  that  it  is  a  duty  to  obey  father 
and  mother'?"  These  words  struck  Lu- 
ther. They  exhibited  the  action  which 
brought  him  into  the  convent  in  a  totally 
different  light ;  and  long  afterwards  they 
resounded  in  his  heart. 

Luther,  after  his  consecration,  acting 
by  the  advice  of  Staupitz,  made  several 
short  excursions  on  foot  to  the  parishes 
and  convents  of  the  environs ;  either  to 
occupy  his  mind,  or  for  the  sake  of  ne- 
cessary exercise ;  or  else  to  accustom 
himself  to  preaching. 

It  had  been  appointed  that  Corpus- 
Christi  should  be  kept  with  much  cere- 
mony at  Eisleben.  The  Vicar-general 
was  to  be  present :  Luther  attended.  He 
still  felt  his  need  of  Staupitz,  and  took 
every  opportunity  of  being  in  the  com- 
*  L.  Opp.  xvi.  (W.)  1144. 


YOUTH,   CONVERSION,   AND   EARLY   LABOURS   OF   LUTHER. 


70 


pany  of  that  enlightened  guide,  who 
helped  forward  his  soul  in  the  way  of 
life.  The  procession  was  numerous  and 
gaudy.  Staupitz  himself  carried  the 
host:  —  Luther  followed  next,  in  his 
priestly  garments.  The  thought  that 
Jesus  Christ  himself  was  borne  before 
him  by  the  Vicar-general, — the  idea  that 
the  Lord  in  person  was  present, — sud- 
denly struck  upon  Luther's  imagination, 
and  so  overawed  him,  that  it  was  with 
difficulty  he  went  forward :  a  cold  sweat 
came  over  him ;  he  staggered,  and 
thought  he  should  die  in  the  agony  of 
his  fear  : — at  last,  the  procession  stopped. 
The  host,  which  had  awakened  the 
monk's  terrors,  was  reverently  deposited 
in  the  sacristy,  and  Luther,  left  alone 
with  Staupitz,  threw  himself  into  his 
arms,  and  confessed  the  cause  of  his  fear. 
Then  the  Vicar-general,  who  had  long 
known  that  gracious  Saviour  who  breaks 
not  the  bruised  reed,  gently  whispered ! 
—u  Dear  brother,  it  was  not  Jesus  Christ ; 
for  Christ  does  not  terrify ;  he  ever  com- 
forts."* 

Luther  was  not  destined  to  remain 
hidden  in  an  obscure  convent.  The 
time  had  arrived  which  was  to  transfer 
him  to  a  wider  theatre.  Staupitz,  with 
Avhom  he  still  maintained  a  regular  cor- 
respondence, was  well  persuaded  that 
there  was  in  the  young  monk  a  spirit 
too  stirring  to  be  confined  within  a  nar- 
row range.  He  spoke  of  him  to  Frede- 
ric, the  Elector  of  Saxony ;  and  that  en- 
lightened prince  invited  Luther,  in  1508, 
probably  near  the  close  of  that  year,  to 
become  professor  of  the  University  of 
Wittemberg.  Wittemberg  was  the  field 
on  which  Luther  was  ordained  to  fight 
many  a  hard  battle.  He  felt  himself 
called  thither.  He  was  pressed  to  repair 
quickly  to  his  new  post.  He  answered 
the  call  immediately ;  and  in  the  haste 
of  his  removal,  he  had  not  time  even  to 
write  to  one  whom  he  called  his  master 
and  well-beloved  father,  the  curate  of 
Eisenach,  John  Braun.  He  wrote  to 
him  from  Wittemberg,  a  few  months 
after:  "My  departure  was  so  sudden," 
said  he,  "  that  it  was  almost  unknown  to 
those  with  whom  I  was  living.  It  is 
true,  I  am  at  a  greater  distance,  but  the 

*  Es  ist  nicht  Christus,  denn  Christus  schreckt 
nicht,  sondern  trostet  nur. — (L.  Opp.  (W.)  xxii. 
p.  513,  &  724.) 


better  half  of  me  remains  still  with  you  ; 
and  the  further  I  am  removed  in  bodily 
presence,  the  more  closely  my  spirit  is 
drawn  to  you."*  Luther  had  been  three 
years  in  the  cloister  of  Erfurth. 

Arriving  at  AVittcmberg,  he  repaired 
to  the  convent  of  the  Augustim  s,  Where 
a  cell  was  assigned  him ;  for  though  a 
professor,  he  ceased  not  to  be  a  monk. 
He  Avas  appointed  to  teach  physics  and 
dialectics.  This  appointment  was  pro- 
bably conferred  upon  him  in  considera- 
tion of  his  philosophical  studies  at  Er- 
furth, and  his  degree  of  Master  of  Arts. 
Thus  Luther,  who  was  then  hungering 
and  thirsting  for  the  word  of  God,  was 
obliged  to  apply  himself  almost  exclu- 
sively to  the  scholastic  philosophy  of 
Aristotle.  He  felt  the  need  of  that  bread 
of  life  which  God  gives  to  the  world ; 
and  he  was  forced  to  bury  himself  in 
mere  human  subtleties.  Hard  necessity  ! 
how  did  he  sigh  under  it !  "I  am  very 
well,  by  God's  favour,"  wrote  he  to 
Braun,  "  but  that  I  am  compelled  to 
give  my  whole  attention  to  philosophy. 
From  the  moment  of  my  arrival  at  Wit- 
temberg, I  have  longed  to  exchange  that 
study  for  theology ;  but,"  added  he,  lest 
he  should  be  thought  to  mean  the  theol- 
ogy of  that  age,  "  I  mean  that  theology 
which  seeks  the  kernel  of  the  nut,  the 
pulp  of  the  wheat,  the  marrow  of  the 
bone.f  However  things  may  go,  God 
is  God,"  continued  he,  with  that  confi- 
dence which  was  the  life  of  his  soul, 
"  man  almost  always  errs  in  his  judg- 
ment ;  but  this  is  our  God  for  ever  and 
ever:  he  will  be  our  guide  unto  death." 
The  labours  that  were  then  imposed 
upon  Luther  were  at  a  later  period  of 
great  use  in  enabling  him  to  combat  the 
errors  of  the  schools. 

He  could  not  rest  there.  The  desire 
of  his  heart  was  destined  to  be  fulfilled. 
That  same  power,  which  some  years  be- 
fore had  driven  Luther  from  the  bar  to 
a  religious  life,  now  impelled  him  to  the 
Bible.  He  applied  himself  zealously  to 
the  study  of  the  ancient  languages,  espe- 
cially the  Greek  and  Hebrew,  that  he 
might  draw  knowledge  and  doctrine 
from  the  fountain  head.  He  was,  through 

*  Epp.  i.  p.  5.— 17th  March,  1509. 

t  Theologia  quae  nucleum  nucis  et  medullam 
tritici  et  medullam  ossium  scrutatur. — (L.  Epp 
i.6.) 


80 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


life,  indefatigable  in  his  studies.*  Some 
months  after  his  arrival  at  the  university 
he  solicited  the  degree  of  Bachelor  in 
Divinity.  He  obtained  it  at  the  end  of 
March,  1509,  with  a  particular  direction 
to  Biblical  theology. 

Every  day,  at  one  o'clock,  Luther  was 
expected  to  discourse  upon  the  Bible ;  a 
precious  hour  for  the  professor  and  the 
pupils,  and  which  always  gave  them 
deeper  insight  into  the  divine  sense  of 
those  discoveries  so  long  lost  to  the  peo- 
ple and  to  the  schools. 

He  began  these  lectures  by  explaining 
the  Psalms,  and  he  soon  passed  to  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans.  It  was  espe- 
cially in  meditating  upon  this  book  that 
the  light  of  truth  entered  his  heart.  In 
the  retirement  of  his  tranquil  cell,  he  de- 
voted whole  hours  to  the  study  of  the 
divine  word,  with  St.  Paul's  Epistle 
open  before  him.  One  day,  having  pro- 
ceeded as  far  as  the  17th  verse  of  the 
first  chapter,  he  there  read  this  passage 
of  the  prophet  Habakkuk :  "  The  just 
shall  live  by  faith."  The  precept  strikes 
him.  There  is  then  for  the  just  another 
life  than  that  possessed  by  the  rest  of 
men ;  and  this  life  is  the  fruit  of  faith. 
This  word,  which  he  receives  into  his 
heart  as  if  God  himself  had  planted  it 
there,  discloses  to  him  the  mystery  of  the 
Christian  life,  and  increases  that  life  in 
his  soul.  In  the  midst  of  his  struggles 
in  after  life,  the  words  often  recurred  to 
him,  "  The  just  shall  live  by  faith."f 

The  lectures  of  Luther,  with  such  a 
preparation,  were  very  different  from  any 
that  had  been  heard  before.  It  was  not 
now  an  eloquent  rhetorician,  or  a  pedan- 
tic schoolman  who  spoke ;  it  was  a  Chris- 
tian who  had  experienced  the  power  of 
revealed  truths ;  who  derived  them  from 
the  Bible,  who  drew  them  from  the  treas- 
ury of  his  own  heart,  and  presented  them 
in  full  life  to  his  astonished  auditors. 
It  was  no  longer  man's  teaching,  but 
God's. 

This  altogether  new  way  of  exhibit- 
ing the  truth  made  some  noise :  the  ru- 
mour of  it  spread  far,  and  attracted  to  the 
newly  founded  university  a  crowd  of 
young  and  foreign  students.  Several 
even  of  the  professors  attended  Luther's 

*  In  studiis  litterarum  corpore  ac  mente  inde- 
fessua. — (Pallavicini  Hist.  Concil.  Trid.  1.  p.  16.) 
t  Seckend.  p.  55. 


lectures,  and  amongst  others,  the  cele- 
brated Martin  Pollich  of  Mellerstadt, 
doctor  of  physic,  law,  and  philosophy, 
who,  with  Staupitz,  nad  organized  the 
University  of  Wittemberg,  and  had  been 
its  first  rector.  Mellerstadt,  who  has 
been  often  called  "  the  light  of  the 
world,"  modestly  mixed  with  the  pupils 
of  the  new  professor.  "  This  monk," 
said  he,  "  will  put  all  doctors  to  the  rout ; 
he  will  introduce  a  new  style  of  doctrine, 
and  will  reform  the  whole  Church :  he 
builds  upon  the  word  of  Christ ;  and  no 
one  in  this  world  can  either  resist  or 
overthrow  that  word,  though  it  should 
be  attacked  with  all  the  weapons  of 
Philosophers,  Sophists,  Scotists,  Albert- 
ists,  and  Thomists."* 

Staupitz,  who  was  as  the  hand  of  Pro- 
vidence to  develop  the  gifts  and  treasures 
that  lay  hidden  in  Luther,  invited  him 
to  preach  in  the  church  of  the  Augus- 
tines.  The  young  professor  shrunk  from 
this  proposal.  He  wished  to  confine 
himself  to  his  academical  duties ;  he 
trembled  at  the  thought  of  adding  to 
them  those  of  public  preaching.  In  vain 
Staupitz  entreated  him :  "  No,  no,"  re- 
plied he,  "  it  is  no  light  thing  to  speak 
to  men  in  God's  stead,  "f  An  affecting 
instance  of  humility  in  this  great  Refor- 
mer of  the  Church  !  Staupitz  persisted. 
"  But  the  ingenious  Luther  found,"  says 
one  of  his  historians,  "  fifteen  arguments, 
pretexts  or  evasions,  to  excuse  himself 
from  this  summons."  At  last  the  chief 
of  the  Augustines,  still  persevering  in  his 
application  :  "  Ah,  worthy  doctor,"  said 
Luther, "  it  would  be  the  death  of  me. 
I  could  not  stand  it  three  months."  "  And 
what  then,"  replied  the  Vicar-general ; 
"  in  God's  name  so  be  it ;  for  in  heaven 
also  the  Lord  requires  devoted  and  able 
servants."     Luther  was  obliged  to  yield. 

In  the  middle  of  the  square  of  Wit- 
temberg stood  an  old  wooden  chapel, 
thirty  feet  long  and  twenty  broad,  whose 
walls,  propped  on  all  sides,  were  falling 
to  ruins.  A  pulpit  made  of  planks, 
raised  three  feet  above  the  ground,  re- 
ceived the  preacher.  It  was  in  thia 
chapel  that  the  Reformation  was  first 
preached.  It  was  the  will  of  God  that 
this  work  for  the  restoration  of  his  glory 

*  Melch.  Adam.  Vita  Lutheri,  p.  104. 
t  Fabricius,  Centifolium  Lutheri,  p.  33. — Ma- 
thesius,  p.  6. 


YOUTH,  CONVERSION,   AND   EARLY   LABOURS   OF  LUTHER  81 


should  have  the  humblest  beginnings. 
The  foundation  of  the  church  of  the 
Augustines  was  only  just  laid,  and  till  it 
should  be  completed  they  made  use  of 
this  mean  place  of  worship.  "  That 
building,"  adds  the  contemporary  of  Lu- 
ther, who  relates  these  circumstances, 
"  may  be  aptly  compared  to  the  stable  in 
which  Christ  was  born.*  It  was  in  that 
enclosure  that  God  willed,  if  we  may  so 
speak,  that  his  well-beloved  Son  should 
be  born  a  second  time.  Amongst  the 
thousand  cathedrals  and  parish  churches 
with  which  the  world  is  filled,  not  one 
was  chosen  for  the  glorious  announce- 
ment of  everlasting  life." 

Luther  preached:  every  thing  was 
striking  in  the  new  preacher.  His  ex- 
pressive countenance  and  dignified  de- 
meanour, his  clear  and  sonorous  voice, 
charmed  the  audience.  Before  his  time, 
the  greater  number  of  preachers  had 
sought  to  amuse  their  hearers  rather  than 
to  convert  them.  The  deep  seriousness 
that  marked  the  preaching  of  Luther, 
and  the  joy  with  which  the  knowledge 
of  the  Gospel  filled  his  own  heart,  gave 
to  his  eloquence  an  authority,  energy, 
and  unction  which  none  of  his  predeces- 
sors had  possessed.  "  Gifted  with  a 
ready  and  lively  intelligence,"  says  one 
of  his  adversaries,!  "having  a  retentive 
memory,  and  speaking  his  mother  tongue 
with  remarkable  fluency,  Luther  was 
surpassed  in  eloquence  by  none  of  his 
contemporaries.  Addressing  his  hearers 
fxom  his  place  in  the  pulpit,  as  if  he  had 
been  agitated  by  some  powerful  passion, 
and  adapting  his  action  to  the  words,  he 
affected  their  minds  in  a  surprising  man- 
ner, and  carried  them  like  a  torrent 
whither  he  would.  So  much  power,  ac- 
tion, and  eloquence  are  rarely  found 
amongst  the  people  of  the  north."  "  He 
had,"  says  Bossuet,  "  a  lively  and  im- 
petuous eloquence,  which  delighted  and 
captivated  his  auditory. "| 

In  a  short  time  the  little  chapel  could 
no  longer  contain  the  crowds  that  flocked 
thither.  The  council  of  Wittemberg 
then  chose  Luther  for  their  preacher, 
and  called  upon  him  to  preach  in  the 
church  of  that  city.  The  impression 
which  he  there  produced  was  still  greater. 

*  Myconius. 

t  Florimond  Raymond,  Hist,  hares,  cap.  5. 
t  Bossuet,  Hist,  des  Variations,  1. 1. 
11 


His  wonderful  genius,  his  eloquent  style, 
ami  the  excellency  of  the  doctrines  he 
proclaimed,  equally  astonished  his  audi- 
tors. His  reputation  spread  far  and  wide, 
and  Frederic  the  Wise  himself  came 
once  to  Wittemberg  to  hear  him. 

It  was  as  if  a  new  existence  was  open- 
ing for  Luther.     To   the  drowsiness  of 
the  cloister  had  succeeded  a  life  of  active 
exertion.     Freedom,  employment,  earn- 
est and  regular  action  completed  the  &- 
establishment  of  harmony  and  peace  in 
his  spirit.     He  was  now   at  last  in  his 
proper  place,  and  the  work  of  God  was 
about    to    open   out  its  majestic   course. 
Luther  was  continuing  his  teaching  both 
in  the  hall  of  the  academy  and  in  the 
church,  when  he  was  interrupted  in  his 
labours.     In  1510,  or  according  to  some, 
not  till  1511  or  1512,  he  was  despatched 
to  Rome.     A  difference  had  arisen  be- 
tween seven  convents  of  his  order  and  the 
Vicar-general.*     Luther's  acuteness,  elo- 
quence, and  talents  in  discussion  led  to 
his  being  chosen  to  represent  these  seven 
monasteries-!     This  dispensation  of  di- 
vine Providence  was  needed.     It  was  fit 
that  Luther  should  know  what  Rome 
was.     Full  of  the  prejudices  and  illu- 
sions of  the  cloister,  he  had  always  pic- 
tured it  to  himself  as  the  seat  of  holiness. 
He  set  out ;  he  crossed  the  Alps.    But 
hardly  had  he  descended  into  the  plains 
of  rich   and  voluptuous  Italy  than  he 
found  at  every  step  matter  of  surprise 
and  scandal.     The  poor  German  monk 
was  entertained  at  a  wealthy  convent  of 
the  Benedictines,  situate  on  the  Po,  in 
Lombardy.     This  convent  enjoyed  a  re- 
venue   of    thirty-six    thousand    ducats; 
twelve  thousand  were  spent  for  the  table, 
twelve  thousand  on  the  buildings,  and 
twelve    thousand    to   supply   the    other 
wants   of  the    monks  J:     The    magnifi- 
cence of  the  apartments,  the  richness  of 
the  dresses,  and  the  delicacy  of  the  vi- 
ands, astonished  Luther.     Marble,  silk, 
and  luxury  of  every  kind ;  what  a  novel 
spectacle   to  the  humble  brother  of  the 
convent  of  Wittemberg !  He  was  amazed 
and  silent ;  but  Friday  came,  and  what 
was  bis  surprise  !     The  table  of  the  Bene- 

*  Quod  septera  conventus  a  vicario  in  quibus- 
dam  dissentirent. — (Cochlreus,  2.) 

t  Quod  esset  acer  ingenio  et  ad  contradiceo- 
dum  audax  et  vehemens. — (Ibid.) 

t  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xxii.  p.  1468. 


82 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


dictines  was  spread  with  abundance 
of  meats.  Then  he  found  courage  to 
speak  out.  "  The  Church,"  said  he,  "  and 
the  Pope  forbid  such  things."  The  Bene- 
dictines were  offended  at  this  rebuke 
from  the  unmannerly  German.  But 
Luther,  having  repeated  his  remark,  and 
perhaps  threatened  to  report  their  irregu- 
larity, some  of  them  thought  it  easiest  to 
get  rid  of  their  troublesome  guest.  The 
porter  of  the  convent  hinted  to  him  that 
he  incurred  danger  by  his  stay.  He  ac- 
cordingly took  his  departure  from  this 
epicurean  monastery,  and  pursued  his 
journey  to  Bologna,  where  he  fell  sick.* 
Some  have  seen  in  this  sickness  the  ef- 
fect of  poison.  It  is  more  probable  that 
the  change  in  his  mode  of  living  disor- 
dered the  frugal  monk  of  Wittemberg, 
who  had  been  used  to  subsist  for  the  most 
part  on  dry  bread  and  herrings.  This 
sickness  was  not  "  unto  death,"  but  for 
the  glory  of  God.  His  constitutional 
sadness  and  depression  returned.  What 
a  fate  was  before  him,  to  perish  thus  far 
away  from  Germany,  under  a  scorching 
sun,  in  a  foreign  land.  The  distress  of 
mind  he  had  experienced  at  Erfurth 
again  oppressed  him.  A  sense  of  his 
sins  disturbed  him ;  and  the  prospect  of 
the  judgment  of  God,  filled  him  with 
dismay.  But  in  the  moment  when  his 
terror  was  at  its  height  that  word  of 
Paul,  "  The  just  shall  live  by  Faith"  re- 
curred with  power  to  his  thought,  and 
beamed  upon  his  soul  like  a  ray  from 
heaven.  Raised  and  comforted,  he  ra- 
pidly regained  health,  and  again  set 
forth  for  Rome,  expecting  to  find  there  a 
very  different  manner  of  life  from  that 
of  the  Lombard  convents,  and  eager  to  ef- 
face, by  the  contemplation  of  Roman 
sanctity,  the  sad  impression  left  upon  his 
memory  by  his  sojourn  on  the  banks  of 
the  Po. 

At  last,  after  a  fatiguing  journey  under 
the  burning  sun  of  Italy,  he  approached 
the  seven-hilled  city.  His  heart  was 
moved  within  him.  His  eyes  longed  to 
behold  the  queen  of  the  earth  and  of  the 
Church !  As  soon  as  he  discovered  from 
a  distance  the  Eternal  City, — the  city  of 
St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  the  metropolis 
of  the  Catholic  World,  he  threw  himself 
on  the  earth,  exclaiming,  "  Holy  Rome, 
I  salute  thee !" 

*  Matth.  Dresser  Hist  Lutheri. 


Luther  was  now  in  Rome  ;  the  profes- 
sor of  Wittemberg  was  in  the  midst  of  the 
eloquent  ruins  of  the  Rome  of  Consuls 
and  of  Emperors,  the  Rome  of  Confes- 
sors of  Christ  and  of  Martyrs.  There 
had  lived  Plautus  and  Virgil,  whose 
works  he  had  carried  with  him  into  his 
cloister ;  and  all  those  great  men  whose 
history  had  so  often  stirred  his  heart. 
He  beheld  their  statues,  and  the  ruined 
monuments  which  still  attested  their 
glory.  But,  all  this  glory  and  power 
had  passed  away.  He  trod  under  foot 
the  dust  of  them.  He  called  to  mind,  at 
every  step  he  took,  the  melancholy  pre- 
sentiments of  Scipio,  when,  shedding 
tears  over  the  ruins  of  Carthage,  its  pa- 
laces in  flames,  and  its  walls  broken 
down,  he  exclaimed :  "  It  will  one  day 
be  thus  with  Rome  !"  "  And  truly,"  said 
Luther,  "  the  Rome  of  Scipios  and  Cae- 
sars is  but  a  corpse.  There  are  such 
heaps  of  ruin  that  the  foundations  of  the 
houses  rest  at  this  hour  where  once  their 
roofs  were.  There"  said  he,  turning  a 
melancholy  look  on  its  ruins,  "  there 
were  once  the  riches  and  treasures  of 
this  world  !"*  All  these  fragments  of 
wreck  which  his  foot  encountered  whis- 
pered to  Luther,  within  Rome  herself, 
that  what  is  strongest  in  the  sight  of 
men  may  be  destroyed  by  the  breath  of 
the  Lord. 

But  with  these  profaner  ruins  were 
mixed  holy  ashes :  the  thought  of  this 
came  to  his  mind.  The  burial  places 
of  the  martyrs  are  hard  by  those  of  Ro- 
man generals  and  conquerors.  Christian 
Rome  and  her  trials,  had  more  power 
over  the  heart  of  the  Saxon  monk,  than 
Pagan  Rome  with  all  her  glory.  In 
this  very  place  arrived  that  epistle  where- 
in Paul  wrote,  "  the  just  shall  live  by 
faith."  He  is  not  far  from  the  forum  of 
Appius,  and  the  Three  Taverns.  In  that 
spot  was  the  house  of  Narcissus ;  here 
stood  the  palace  of  Caesar,  where  the 
Lord  delivered  the  Apostle  from  the  jaws 
of  the  lion.  Oh,  how  did  these  recollec- 
tions strengthen  the  heart  of  the  monk  of 
Wittemberg ! 

Rome  then  presented  a  widely  differ- 
ent aspect.  The  warlike  Julius  II.  filled 
the  pontifical  chair,  and  not  Leo  X.  as 
some  distinguished  historians  of  Germany 
have  said,  doubtless  for  want  of  attention. 
*  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xxii.  2374,  2377. 


YOUTH,  CONVERSION,  AND  EARLY  LABOURS  OF  LUTHER. 


83 


Luther  often  related  an  incident  of  this 
Pope's  life.  When  the  news  was  brought 
him  that  his  army  had  been  defeated  by 
the  French  .before  Ravenna,  he  was  read- 
ing his  prayers ;  he  threw  the  book  on 
the  floor,  exclaiming  with  a  dreadful 
oath,  "  Well,  now  thou  art  become  a 
Frenchman. — Is  it  thus  thou  guardest 
thy  church  V  Then,  turning  himself  in 
the  direction  of  the  country  to  whose 
arms  he  thought  to  have  recourse,  he 
uttered  these  words,  "  Holy  Swiss  !  pray 
for  us."*  Ignorance,  levity,  and  disso- 
lute morals,  a  profane  contempt  of  every 
thing  sacred,  and  a  shameful  traffic  in 
divine  things  ;  such  was  the  spectacle 
presented  by  this  wretched  city.  (  Yet 
the  pious  monk  continued  for  a  while  in 
his  illusions. 

Having  arrived  about  the  period  of 
the  festival  of  St.  John,  he  heard  the 
Romans  repeating  around  him  a  proverb 
current  among  the  people  :  "  Blessed  is 
that  mother,"  said  they,  "  whose  son  says 
mass  on  St.  John's  eve."  Oh,  thought 
Luther,  how  gladly  would  I  make  my 
mother  blessed.  The  pious  son  of  Mar- 
garet made  some  attempts  to  say  mass 
on  that  day,  but  he  could  not,  the  crowd 
was  too  great,  f 

Warm  in  his  feeling,  and  confiding  in 
disposition,  he  visited  all  the  churches 
and  chapels,  gave  credit  to  all  the  mar- 
vellous stories  there  told  him,  went 
through  with  devotion  the  observances 
required,  and  was  pleased  at  being  able 
to  perform  so  many  pious  acts,  from 
which  his  friends  at  home  were  debarred. 
"  How  do  I  regret,"  thought  the  pious 
monk,  "  that  my  father  and  mother  are 
still  living :  how  happy  should  I  be  to 
deliver  them  from  the  fire  of  purgatory 
by  my  masses,  my  prayers,  and  other 
admirable  works."|  He  had  found  the 
light ;  but  the  darkness  was  far  from  be- 
ing wholly  chased  from  his  mind ;  he 
had  the  faith  and  love  of  the  Gospel, 
but  not  the  knowledge  of  it.  It  was  no 
easy  matter  to  emerge  from  that  deep 
gloom  that  had  for  so  many  ages  over- 
spread the  earth. 

Luther   said   mass   several    times   at 
Rome.      He  went  through  it  with  all 
*  Sancte   Swizere  !  ora  pro  nobis.— (L.  Opp. 
(W.)  xxii.  1314,  1332.) 

t  L.  Opp.  (W.)  Dedication  of  the  117  Psm. 
VI.  vol.  L.  g. 
X  Ibid. 


the  unction  and  dignity  that  such  an  act 
seemed  to  him  to  require.  But  how  was 
the  heart  of  the  Saxon  monk  distressed, 
when  he  saw  the  profane  and  heartless 
formality  with  which  the  Roman  clergy 
celebrated  this  Sacrament !  The  priests, 
on  their  part,  laughed  at  his  simplicity. 
One  day,  when  he  was  officiating,  he 
found  that  at  the  altar  they  had  read 
seven  masses  while  he  was  reading  one. 
"Quick!  quick!"  said  one  of  the  priests, 
"  send  Our  Lady  her  Son  back  speed- 
ily ;" — thus  impiously  alluding  to  the 
transubstantiation  of  the  bread  into  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ.  Another  time 
Luther  had  only  got  as  far  as  the  Gos- 
pel, when  the  priest  who  was  at  his  side 
had  already  finished  the  mass  :  "  Make 
haste,  make  haste !"  whispered  the  lat- 
ter, "do  have  done  with  it."* 

His  astonishment  was  still  greater, 
when  he  found,  in  the  dignitaries  of  the 
Church,  the  same  corruption  he  had  ob- 
served in  the  inferior  clergy.  He  had 
hoped  better  things  of  them. 

It  was  the  fashion  at  the  papal  court 
to  attack  Christianity  ;  and  a  person  was 
not  counted  a  man  of  sense,  if  he  did  not 
hold  some  eccentric  and  heretical  opinion 
in  relation  to  the  dogmas  of  the  Church. f 
Some  would  have  convinced  Erasmus, 
by  certain  passages  from  Pliny,  that 
there  was  no  difference  between  the 
souls  of  men  and  of  beasts ;  and  there 
were  young  courtiers  of  the  Pope,  who 
affirmed  that  the  orthodox  faith  was  the 
growth  of  the  cunning  invention  of  the 
saints. 

Luther's  office  of  envoy  from  the  Au- 
gustines  of  Germany,  procured  him  invi- 
tations to  several  meetings  of  distinguished 
ecclesiastics.  One  day,  in  particular,  he 
was  at  table  with  several  prelates :  the 
latter  exhibited  openly  their  buffoonery 
in  manners  and  impious  conversation  ; 
and  did  not  scruple  to  give  utterance  be- 
fore him  to  many  indecent  jokes,  doubt- 
less thinking  him  one  like  themselves. 
They  related,  amongst  other  things, 
laughing,  and  priding  themselves  upon 
it,  how  when  saying  mass  at  the  altar, 
instead  of  the  sacramental  words  which 
were  to  transform  the  elements  into  the 

*  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xix.  von  der  Winkelnesse,  &c 

t  In  quel  tempo  non  pareva  fosse  galantuomo 

e  buon  cortegiano  colui  che  de  dogmi  della  chiesa 

non  aveva  qualche  opinion  erronea  ed  heretica. 

—(CaracciolaVit.MS.  Paul  IV.)  cited  by  Rancke. 


84 


HISTORY  OF   THE    REFORMATION. 


body  and  blood  of  the  Saviour,  they  pro- 
nounced over  the  bread  and  wine  these 
sarcastic  words :  "  Bread  thou  art,  and 
bread  thou  shalt  remain  ;  wine  thou  art, 
and  wine  thou  shalt  remain — Panis  es 
et  panis  manebis ;  vinum  es  et  vinum 
manebis."  "Then,"  continued  they,  "we 
elevate  the  pyx,  and  all  the  people  wor- 
ship." Luther  could  scarcely  believe,  his 
ears.  His  mind,  gifted  with  much  viva- 
city, and  even  gaiety,  in  the  society  of 
his  friends,  was  remarkable  for  gravity 
when  treating  of  serious  things.  These 
Romish  mockeries  shocked  him.  "  I," 
says  he,  "  was  a  serious  and  pious  young 
monk ;  such  language  deeply  grieved 
me.  If  at  Rome  they  speak  thus  openly 
at  table,  thought  I,  what,  if  their  actions 
should  correspond  with  their  words,  and 
popes,  cardinals,  and  courtiers  should 
thus  say  mass.  And  I,  who  have  so  often 
heard  them  recite  it  so  devoutly,  how,  in 
that  case,  must  I  have  been  deceived  ?" 
Luther  often  mixed  with  the  monks 
and  citizens  of  Rome.  If  some  amongst 
them  extolled  the  Pope  and  the  clergy, 
the  greater  number  gave  free  vent  to 
their  complaints  and  sarcasms.  What 
stories  had  they  to  tell  of  the  reigning 
Pope,  of  Alexander  VI.,  and  of  so  many 
others !  One  day,  his  Roman  friends 
related,  how  Ccesar  Borgia  having  fled 
from  Rome,  had  been  taken  in  Spain. 
On  the  eve  of  trial,  he  prayed  for  mercy, 
and  asked  for  a  priest  to  visit  him  in  his 
prison.  They  sent  him  a  monk.  He 
murdered  him,  disguised  himself  in  his 
cowl,  and  effected  his  escape.  "  I  heard 
that  at  Rome  :  it  is  a  thing  well  known," 
says  Luther.*  Another  day,  passing 
along  the  principal  street  that  led  to  St. 
Peter's  church,  he  stopped  in  astonish- 
ment before  a  statue,  representing  a 
pope,  under  the  figure  of  a  woman  hold- 
ing a  sceptre,  clothed  in  the  papal  mantle, 
bearing  a  child  in  her  arms.  "  It  is  a 
girl  of  Mentz,"  said  the  people,  "  who 
was  chosen  Pope  by  the  cardinals,  and 
was  delivered  of  a  child  on  this  spot : 
therefore  no  pope  ever  passes  through 
this  street."  "  I  wonder,"  observed  Lu- 
ther, "  that  the  popes  allow  the  statue  to 
remain."! 

*  Das  habe  ich  zu  Rom,  fur  gewiss  gehort, — 
(Table  Talk,  p.  1322.) 

t  Es  nimmt  mich  *  Wunder  dass  die  Pabste 
solches  Bild  leiden  kdnnen  ! — (Ibid.  p.  1320.) 


Luther  had  expected  to  find  the  edifice 
of  the  church  encompassed  with  splen- 
dour and  strength ;  but  its  doors  were 
broken  in,  and  its  walls  consumed  by 
fire.  He  saw  the  desolation  of  the  sanc- 
tuary, and  drew  back  in  alarm.  He  had 
dreamed  of  sanctity ;  he  found  nothing 
but  profanation. 

He  was  not  less  struck  with  the  disor- 
ders committed  in  the  city.  "  The  po- 
lice is  strict  and  severe  in  Rome,"  said 
he.  "  The  judge,  or  captain  rides 
through  the  city  every  night,  with  three 
hundred  attendants.  He  stops  all  he 
finds  in  the  streets ;  if  he  meets  an 
armed  man,  he  hangs  him,  or  throws 
him  into  the  Tiber.  And  yet  the  city  is 
full  of  disorders  and  murders ;  whilst,  in 
places  where  the  word  of  God  is  truly 
and  faithfully  preached,  we  see  peace 
and  order  prevail,  without  the  necessity 
for  law  or  severity."*  "  It  is  incredible 
what  sins  and  atrocities  are  committed  in 
Rome,"  he  says  again  ;  "  they  must  be 
seen  and  heard  to  be  believed.  So  that 
it.  is  usual  to  say :  '  If  there  be  a  hell, 
Rome  is  built  above  it ;  it  is  an  abyss 
from  whence  all  sins  proceed.'  "f 

This  sight  made,  at  the  time,  a  great 
impression  on  Luther's  mind ;  an  im- 
pression which  Avas  afterwards  deepened. 
"  The  nearer  we  approach  to  Rome,  the 
greater  number  of  bad  Christians  do  we 
find,"  said  he,  several  years  after.  "  It  is 
commonly  observed,  that  he  who  goes 
to  Rome  for  the  first  time,  goes  to  seek 
a  knave  there ;  the  second  time,  he  finds 
him  ;  and  the  third  time,  he  brings  him 
away  with  him  under  his  cloak.  But 
now,  people  are  become  so  clever,  that 
they  make  the  three  journeys  in  one." J; 
One  of  the  most  profound  geniuses  of 
Italy,  though  of  deplorable  celebrity, 
Macchiavelli,  who  was  living  at  Flo- 
rence when  Luther  passed  through  that 
city  to  go  to  Rome,  has  made  a  similar 
remark  :  "  The  greatest  symptom,"  said 
he,  "  of  the  approaching  ruin  of  Chris- 
tianity, (by  which  he  meant  the  Roman 
Catholic  religion,)  is,  that  the  nearer  we 
approach  the  capital  of  Christendom,  the 
less  do  we  find  of  the  Christian  spirit  in 
the    people.     The   scandalous   example 

*  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xxii.  p.  2376. 
t  Address  to  the  Christian  Nobles  of  Germany. 
t  1st  irgend  eine  Haelle,  so  muss  Rom  darauf 
gebaut  seyn.— (lb.  2377.) 


YOUTH,  CONVERSION,  AND  EARLY  LABOURS  OF  LUTHER. 


85 


and  the  crimes  of  the  court  of  Rome 
have  caused  Italy  to  lose  every  principle 
of  piety,  and  every  religious  sentiment." 
"  We  Italians,"  continues  the  great  his- 
torian, "  are  principally  indebted  to  the 
Church  and  to  the  priests,  for  having  be- 
come impious  and  profligate."*  Luther 
felt,  later  in  life,  all  the  importance  of 
this  journey  :  "If  any  one  would  give  me 
a  hundred  thousand  florins,"  said  he,  "  I 
wo^ld  not  have  missed  seeing  Rome."f 

This  journey  was  also  of  advantage 
to  him  ir*  regard  to  learning.  Like 
Reuchlin,  Luther  profited  by  his  resi- 
dence in  Italy,  to  obtain  a  deeper  under- 
standing of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  He 
there  took  lessons  in  Hebrew  from  a 
celebrated  rabbin,  named  Elias  Levita. 
He  acquired  partly  at  Rome  the  know- 
ledge of  that  divine  word  under  the  as- 
sault of  which  Rome  was  doomed  to 
fall. 

But  this  journey  was  above  all  of 
great  importance  to  Luther  in  another 
respect.  Not  only  was  the  veil  with- 
drawn, and  the  sardonic  laugh,  the 
jesting  incredulity,  which  lay  concealed 
behind  the  Romish  superstitions,  re- 
vealed to  the  future  Reformer  :  but  also 
the  living  faith  which  God  had  im- 
planted in  him  was  then  powerfully 
strengthened. 

We  have  seen  how  he  had  at  first 
submitted  to  all  the  vain  practices  which 
the  church  enjoins  in  order  to  purchase 
the  remission  of  sins.  One  day,  in  par- 
ticular, wishing  to  obtain  an  indulgence 
promised  by  the  Pope  to  any  one  who 
should  ascend  on  his  knees  what  is 
called  Pilate's  staircase,  the  poor  Saxon 
monk  was  slowly  climbing  those  steps 
which  they  told  him  had  been  miracu- 
lously transported  from  Jerusalem  to 
Rome.  But,  whilst  he  was  going 
through  this  meritorious  work,  he 
thought  he  heard  a  voice  like  thunder, 
speaking  from  the  depth  of  his  heart: 
"  The  just  shall  live  by  faith."  These 
words,  which  already  on  two  occasions 
had  struck  upon  his  ear  as  the  voice  of 
an  angel  of  God,  resounded  instantane- 
ously, and  powerfully  within  him.  He 
started  up  in  terror  on  the  steps  up 
which  he  had  been  crawling ;  he  was 
horrified  at  himself;   and,  struck  with 

*  Dist.  on  the  1st  Decade  of  Livy. 
t  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xxii.  p.  2374. 


shame  for  the  degradation  to  which  su- 
perstition had  debased  him,  he  fled  from 
the  scene  of  his  folly.* 

This  powerful  text  had  a  mysterious 
influence  on  the  life  of  Luther.  It  was 
a  creative  word  for  the  Reformer  and  for 
the  Reformation.  It  was  by  means  of 
that  word  that  God  then  said :  "  Let  there 
be  light,  and  there  was  light." 

It  is  frequently  necessary  that  a  truth 
should  be  repeatedly  presented  to  our 
minds,  in  order  to  produce  its  due  effect. 
Luther  had  often  studied  the  Epistle  to 
the  Romans,  and  yet  never  had  justifica- 
tion by  faith,  as  there  taught,  appeared 
so  clear  to  him.  He  now  understood 
that  righteousness  which  alone  can 
stand  in  the  sight  of  God  ;  he  was  now 
partaker  of  that  perfect  obedience  of 
Christ  which  God  imputes  freely  to  the 
sinner  as  soon  as  he  looks  in  humility  to 
the  God-man  crucified.  This  was  the 
decisive  epoch  in  the  inward  life  of  Lu- 
ther. That  faith  which  had  saved  him 
from  the  fear  of  death  became  hencefor- 
ward the  soul  of  his  theology  ;  a  strong 
hold  in  every  danger,  giving  power  to 
his  preaching,  and  strength  to  his  charity, 
constituting  a  ground  of  peace,  a  motive 
to  service,  and  a  consolation  in  life  and 
death. 

But  this  great  doctrine  of  a  salvation 
which  proceeds  from  God  and  not  from 
man,  was  not  merely  the  power  of  God 
unto  salvation  to  Luther,  it  also  became 
the  power  of  God  to  reform  the  Church. 
It  was  the  same  -weapon  which  the 
Apostles  had  once  wielded,  and  now, 
after  long  disuse,  it  was  drawn  forth  in 
its  original  brightness  from  the  arsenal 
of  Almighty  God.  At  the  moment 
when  Luther  started  from  his  knees, 
transported  with  emotion  at  that  word 
which  St.  Paul  had  addressed  to  the  in- 
habitants of  Rome,  the  truth,  hitherto 
held  captive  and  fettered  in  the  Church, 
stood  up  also  to  fall  no  more. 

We  must  here  quote  his  own  words. 
"  Though  as  a  monk  I  was  holy  and  ir- 
reproachable," says  he,  "  my  conscience 
was  still  filled  with  trouble  and  torment. 
I  could  not  endure  the  expression — the 
righteous  justice  of  God.  I  did  not  love 
that  just  and  holy  Being  who  punishes 
sinners.  I  felt  a  secret  anger  against 
him  ;  I  hated  him  because,  not  satisfied 
*  Seek  p.  56. 


86 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


with  terrifying  by  his  law,  and  by  th?  mise- 
ries of  life,  poor  creatures,  already  ruined 
by  original  sin,  he  aggravated  our  suf- 
ferings by  the  Gospel.  But  when  by 
the  Spirit  of  God,  I  understood  these 
words, — when  I  learnt  how  the  justifica- 
tion of  the  sinner  proceeds  from  God's 
mere  mercy  by  the  way  of  faith,* — then 
I  felt  myself  born  again  as  a  new  man, 
and  I  entered  by  an  opened  door  into 
the  very  paradise  of  God.f  From  that 
hour  I  saw  the  precious  and  holy  Scrip- 
tures with  new  eyes.  I  went  through 
the  whole  Bible.  I  collected  a  multi- 
tude of  passages  which  taught  me  what 
the  work  of  God  was.  And  as  I  had 
before  heartily  hated  that  expression, 
'  the  righteousness  of  God,'  I  began 
from  that  time  to  value  and  to  love  it,  as 
the  sweetest  and  most  consolatory  truth. 
Truly  this  text  of  St.  Paul  was  to  me  as 
the  very  gate  of  heaven." 

Hence  it  was,  that  when  he  was 
called  upon  on  some  solemn  occasions 
to  confess  this  doctrine,  it  ever  roused  his 
enthusiasm  and  rough  eloquence.  "  I 
see,"  said  he  in  a  critical  moment,! 
"  that  the  devil,  by  means  of  his  teachers 
and  doctors,  is  incessantly  attacking  this 
fundamental  article,  and  that  he  cannot 
rest  to  cease  from  this  object.  Well, 
then,  I,  Doctor  Martin  Luther,  an  un- 
worthy evangelist  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  do  confess  this  article,  '  that  faith 
alone,  Avithout  works,  justifies  in  the 
sight  of  God,  and  I  declare,  that  in  spite 
of  the  emperor  of  the  Romans,  the  em- 
peror of  the  Turks,  the  emperor  of  the 
Tartars,  the  emperor  of  the  Persians,  the 
Pope,  all  the  cardinals,  bishops,  priests, 
monks,  nuns,  kings,  princes,  nobles,  all 
the  world,  and  all  the  devils,  it  shall 
stand  unshaken  for  ever !  that  if  they 
will  persist  in  opposing  this  truth,  they 
will  draw  upon  their  heads  the  flames 
of  hell.  This  is  the  true  and  holy  gos- 
pel, and  the  declaration  of  me,  Doctor 
Luther,  according  to  the  light  given  to 

me  by  the  Holy  Spirit There 

is  no  one,"  he  continues,  "  who  has  died 
for  our  sins,  but  Jesus  Christ  the  Son  of 

*  Qua  vos  Deusmisericorsjustifieat  perfidem. 
— (L.  Opp.  lat.) 

t  Hie  me  prorsus  renatum  esse  sensi  et  apertis 
portis  in  ipsum  paradisum  intrasse. — (Ibid.) 

t  Gloss  on  the  (Imperial  Edict,  1531. — (L. 
Opp.  (L.)  torn,  xx.) 


God.  I  repeat  it  once  more  :  let  all  the 
evil  spirits  of  earth  and  hell  foam  and 
rage  as  they  will,  this  is  nevertheless 
true.  And  if  Christ  alone  takes  away 
sin,  we  can  not  do  so  by  all  our  works. 
But  good  works  follow  redemption, — as 
surely  as  fruit  appears  upon  a  living 
tree.  This  is  our  doctrine,  this  the  Holy 
Spirit  teacheth,  together  with  all  holy 
Christian  people.  We  hold  it  in  God's 
name.     Amen !" 

It  was  thus  that  Luther  discovered 
what  hitherto  even  the  most « illustrious 
teachers  and  reformers  had  overlooked. 
It  was  in  Rome  that  God  gave  him  this 
clear  view  of  the  fundamental  doctrine 
of  Christianity.  He  had  come  to  seek 
in  that  city  of  the  Pontiffs,  the  solution 
of  some  difficulties  concerning  a  monastic 
order ;  he  brought  back  in  his  heart, 
that  which  was  to  emancipate  the 
Church. 

Luther  left  Rome  and  returned  to 
Wittemberg,  full  of  grief  and  indigna- 
tion. Turning  away  his  eyes  in  disgust 
from  the  pontifical  city,  he  directed 
them  trustfully  to  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
and  to  that  new  life  which  the  word  of 
God  seemed  then  to  offer  to  the  world. 
This  word  gained  ground  in  his  heart 
in  proportion  as  the  Church  lost  its  hold 
upon  him.  He  disengaged  himself 
from  the  one  to  turn  to  the  other.  All 
the  Reformation  was  comprised  in  that 
change  ;  for  it  put  God  in  the  place  the 
priest  had  usurped. 

Staupitz  and  the  Elector  did  not  lose 
sight  of  the  monk  they  had  called  to  the 
university  of  Wittemberg.  It  seems  as 
if  the  Vicar-general  had  a  presentiment 
of  the  work  that  was  to  be  accomplished 
in  the  world,  and  that  finding  it  too 
hard  for  him,  he  desired  to  urge  Luther 
to  undertake  it.  Nothing  is  more  re- 
markable, or  perhaps  more  inexplicable, 
than  the  character  of  the  man  who  was 
ever  ready  to  impel  the  monk  onward 
in  the  path  to  which  God  called  him, 
and  yet  himself  went  and  ended  his 
days  sadly  in  a  convent.  The  preach- 
ing of  the  young  professor  had  made  an 
impression  on  the  prince ;  he  admired 
the  strength  of  his  understanding,  the 
power  of  his  eloquence,  and  the  excel- 
lence of  the  subjects  that  he  handled.* 

*  Vim  ingenii,  nervos  orationis,  ac  rerum  boni- 


YOUTH,   CONVERSION,   AND   EARLY   LABOURS   OF  LUTHER 


87 


The  Elector  and  his  friends,  wishing  to 
promote  a  man  of  such  great  promise 
resolved  to  raise  him  to  the  distinction 
of  doctor  of  divinity.  Staupitz  repaired 
to  the  convent.  He  led  Luther  into  the 
cloister  garden,  and  there  talking  Avith 
him  alone  under  a  tree,  which  Luther 
afterwards  took  pleasure  in  pointing  out 
to  his  disciples,*  the  venerable  father 
said  to  him  :  "  My  friend,  you  must  now 
become  Doctor  of  the  Holy  Scriptures." 
Luther  drew  back.  The  thought  of  this 
distinguished  honour  overcame  him. 
"  Seek  one  more  worthy  of  it,"  said  he  ; 
"for  my  part,  I  cannot  consent  to  it." 
The  Vicar-general  pressed  the  point. 
"  The  Lord  has  much  to  do  in  the 
Church,  he  requires  just  now  young  and 
vigorous  doctors,"  "  This  was  said  per- 
haps jestingly,"  adds  Melancthon,  "  yet 
the  event  corresponded  to  it,  for  usually 
many  presages  announce  great  revolu- 
tions."! There  is  no  reason  to  suppose 
that  Melancthon  here  speaks  of  pro- 
phecy, strictly  so  called.  The  last  cen- 
tury, though  remarkable  for  incredulity, 
saw  this  exemplified : — how  many  pre- 
sages, without  miracle,  preceded  the  re- 
volution at  the  close  of  that  century  ! 

"  But  I  am  weak  and  ailing ;"  said 
Luther ;  "  I  have  not  long  to  live. 
Look  for  a  strong  man."  "  The  Lord 
has  work  in  heaven  as  in  earth  ;  dead 
or  alive,  God  requires  you."J 

"  The  Holy  Spirit  alone  can  make  a 
doctor  of  divinity,"  §  exclaimed  the  monk, 
more  and  more  overcome  with  fear. 
"Do  as  your  convent  desires,"  said  Stau- 
pitz, "  and  what  I  your  Vicar-General 
require  you  to  do,  for  you  have  promised 
to  obey  us."  "  But  think  of  my  pov- 
erty," resumed  the  friar,  "  I  have  no- 
thing wherewith  to  pay  the  expenses  in- 
cident to  such  a  promotion."  "  Do  not 
make  yourself  uneasy  about  that,"  said 
his  friend,  "  the  prince  is  so  kind  as  to 
take  the  charges  upon  himself."     Urged 

tatem  expositarum  in  concionibus  admiratus 
fuerat.— (Melancthon.  Vita.  Luth). 

*  Unter  einem  Baum  den  er  mir  und  andern 
gezeigt. — (Math.  6.) 

t  Malta  praecedunt  mutationes  proesagia. — 
(Vita  Luth.) 

X  Ihr  lebet  nun  oder  sterbet,  so  darff  euch 
Gott  in  seinem  Rathe. — (Math.  6.) 

§  Neminem  nisi  Spiritura  Sanctum  creare 
posse  doctorum  theologice. — (Weismanni  Hist. 
Eccles.  i.  p.  1404.) 


on  all  sides,  Luther  was  obliged  to  sub- 
mit. 

It  was  toward  the  summer  of  1512, 
Luther  set  out  for  Leipsic  to  receive  from 
the  treasurers  of  the  Elector,  the  money 
requisite  on  his  promotion.  But,  accord- 
ing to  court  custom,  the  money  did  not 
arrive.  Luther,  becoming  impatient, 
wished  to  depart ;  but  the  obedience  be- 
coming the  character  of  a  monk,  re- 
strained him.  At  last,  on  the  4th  of 
October,  he  received  from  Pfeffinger  and 
John  Doltzig,  fifty  florins.  He  gave 
them  a  receipt,  in  which  he  assumed  no 
other  designation  than  monk.  "  I,  Mar- 
tin," said  he,  "brother  of  the  order  of 
the  Eremites."*  Luther  hastened  back 
to  Wittemberg. 

Andrew  Bodenstein  of  Carlstadt,  was 
at  that  time  the  Dean  of  the  Faculty  of 
Theology.  Carlstadt  is  the  name  under 
which  this  doctor  is  best  known.  He 
was  also  called  the  A.  B.  C.  Melanc- 
thon first  gave  him  that  name,  alluding 
to  the  three  initials  of  his  name.  Boden- 
stein acquired  in  his  native  country  the 
first  elements  of  education.  He  was  of 
grave  and  sombre  character — perhaps 
inclined  to  jealousy,  of  unquiet  temper, 
but  very  eager  for  learning,  and  gifted 
with  great  capacity.  He  visited  several 
universities  to  enlarge  his  knowledge, 
and  studied  theology  at  Rome  itself.  On 
his  return  from  Italy  to  Germany,  he 
established  himself  at  Wittemberg,  and 
there  became  doctor  of  theology.  At 
this  time,  as  he  himself  afterwards  de- 
clared, he  had  not  read  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, f  This  trait  gives  a  very  just  idea 
of  what  then  constituted  theology.  Carl- 
stadt, besides  his  functions  as  professor, 
was  canon  and  archdeacon.  This  was 
the  man  who  was,  one  day,  to  divide  the 
Reformation.  He  then  saw  in  Luther 
only  an  inferior  ;  but  the  Augustine  soon 
became  an  object  of  his  jealousy.  One 
day  he  remarked,  "  I  will  not  be  less  dis- 
tinguished than  Luther."^  Far  from  an- 
ticipating at  this  time  the  future  great- 
ness of  the  young  professor,  Carlstadt 
conferred  on  his  destined  rival  the  first 
degree  of  the  university. 

On  the   18th  October,   1512,  Luther 


*  L.  Epp.  i.  11. 

t  Weismann.  Hist.  Eccles.  p.  1416. 

t  Weismann.  Hist.  Eccles.  p.  1416. 


88 


HISTORY   OF   THE   REFORMATION. 


was  made  licentiate  in  theology,  and  took 
the  following  oath : 

"I  swear  to  defend  the  truth  of  the 
Gospel  with  all  my  strength."*  The 
following  day,  Bodenstein  solemnly  de- 
livered to  him,  in  presence  of  a  numer- 
ous assembly,  the  insignia  of  Doctor  in 
Theology. 

He  was  made  Biblical  Doctor,  and  not 
Doctor  of  Sentences,  and  was  therefore 
specially  bound  to  devote  himself  to  the 
study  of  the  Bible,  instead  of  human  tra- 
ditions. Then  it  was,  as  he  himself  tells 
us,  that  he  espoused  his  well-beloved  and 
Holy  Scriptures,  f  He  promised  to  preach 
them  faithfully,  to  teach  them  in  purity, 
to  study  them  all  his  life,  and  to  defend 
them  so  far  as  God  should  enable  him, 
by  disputation,  and  by  writing  against 
false  teachers.  | 

This  solemn  vow  was  to  Luther  his 
vocation  as  a  Reformer.  Binding  upon 
his  conscience  the  sacred  obligation  to 
investigate  freely,  and  declare  openly 
evangelical  truth,  that  oath  lifted  the 
new  made  doctor  above  the  narrow 
bounds  to  which  his  monastic  vow 
might  have  restricted  him.  Called  by 
the  University,  by  his  Sovereign,  in  the 
name  of  the  Imperial  Majesty,  and  of 
the  Roman  See  itself,  and  bound  before 
God,  by  the  most  sacred  of  oaths,  he  was 
from  that  time  the  intrepid  herald  of  the 
word  of  life.  On  that  memorable  day, 
Luther  was  installed  Champion  of  the 
Bible. 

Therefore  it  is  that  this  oath,  pledged 
to  the  holy  Scriptures,  may  be  regarded 
as  one  of  the  immediate  causes  of  the 
revival  of  the  Church.  The  infallible 
authority  of  the  word  of  God  was  the 
first  and  fundamental  principle  of  the 
Reformation.  Every  reform  in  detail, 
afterwards  effected  in  doctrine,  morals, 
church  government,  and  public  worship, 
was  but  a  consequence  of  this  first  prin- 
ciple. In  these  days  we  can  hardly 
imagine  the  sensation  produced  by  this 
elementary  truth,  so  simple,  yet  for  ages 
neglected.  A  few  men,  of  more  enlarged 
discernment  than  the  vulgar,  alone  fore- 
saw its  important  consequences.     Speed- 

*  Juro  me  veritatem  evangelicam  viriliter  de- 
fensurum. 

t  Doctor  biblicus  non  sententiarius. — (Me- 
lancth.) 

X  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xvi.  p.  2061— Mathesius,  p.  7. 


ily  the  courageous  voices  of  all  the  Re- 
formers proclaimed  this  powerful  princi- 
ple, at  the  sound  of  which  the  influence 
of  Rome  crumbled  into  the  dust :  "  Chris- 
tians receive  no  other  doctrines  than  those 
which  rest  on  the  express  words  of  Christ, 
the  apostles  and  prophets.  No  man,  nor 
any  assembly  of  men,  has  power  to  pre- 
scribe new  doctrines." 

The  situation  of  Luther  was  changed. 
The  call  he  had  received  became  to  the 
Reformer  as  one  of  those  extraordinary* 
commissions  which  the  Lord  entrusted 
to  prophets  under  the  old  dispensation, 
and  to  apostles  under  the  new.  The 
solemn  engagement  he  had  contracted, 
made  so  profound  an  impression  on  his 
soul,  that  the  recollection  of  this  vow 
sufficed  at  a  later  period  to  comfort  him 
in  the  midst  of  the  greatest  dangers  and 
the  rudest  conflicts.  And  when  he  saw 
all  Europe  agitated  and  disturbed  by  the 
doctrine  he  had  proclaimed, — when  the 
accusations  of  Rome,  the  reproaches  .of 
many  pious  men,  and  the  doubts  and 
fears  of  his  own  heart  (so  easily  moved,) 
might  have  caused  him  to  falter,  to  fear, 
and  fall  into  despondency,  he  called  to 
mind  the  oath  he  had  taken,  and  re- 
mained firm,  tranquil,  and  rejoicing. 
"  I  came  forward,"  said  he,  "  in  a  criti- 
cal moment,  and  I  put  myself  into  the 
Lord's  hands.  Let  his  will  be  done. 
Who  asked  of  him  that  he  would  make 
me  a  teacher  ?  If  he  has  made  me  such, 
let  him  support  me  ; — or  if  he  change 
his  purpose,  let  him  deprive  me.  This 
tribulation  then  does  not  intimidate  me. 
I  seek  but  one  thing — to  have  his  favour 
in  all  he  calls  me  to  do  in  his  work." 
Another  time  he  said,  "  He  who  under- 
takes anything  without  a  divine  call 
seeks  his  own  glory.  But  I,  Doctor 
Martin  Luther,  was  constrained  to  be- 
come a  Doctor.  The  Papacy  endea- 
voured to  stop  me  in  the  discharge  of 
my  duty,  but  you  see  what  has  happened 
to  it ; — and  much  worse  shall  yet  befall 
it ;  they  cannot  defend  themselves  against 
me.  By  God's  help  I  am  resolved  to 
press  on,  to  force  a  passage  through,  and 
trample  dragons  and  vipers  under  foot. 
This  will  begin  in  my  life  time,  and 
finish  after  I  am  gone."* 

From  the  hour  of  this  oath  Luther  no 
longer  sought  the  truth  for  himself  alone, 
*  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xxi.  2061. 


YOUTH,   CONVERSION,   AND   EARLY   LABOURS  OF   LUTHER 


89 


but  for  the  Church.  Still  retaining-  his 
recollections  of  Rome,  he  perceived  in- 
distinctly before  him  a  path  in  which  he 
purposed  to  go  forward  with  all  the 
energy  of  his  soul.  The  spiritual  life 
which  hitherto  had  grown  up  within 
him,  began  to  manifest  itself  in  outward 
action.  This  was  the  third  period  of 
his  progress.  His  entrance  into  the  con- 
vent had  turned  his  thoughts  towards 
God  ;  the  knowledge  of  the  remission 
of  sins,  and  of  the  righteousness  of  faith, 
had  delivered  his  soul  from  bondage. 
The  oath  he  had  now  taken  had  given 
him  that  baptism  by  fire  which  constitu- 
ted him  the.  Reformer  of  the  Church. 

The  first  adversaries  he  attacked  were 
those  celebrated  schoolmen  whom  he  had 
studied  so  deeply,  and  who  then  reigned 
supreme  in  every  university.  He  ac- 
cused them  of  Pelagianism  ;  boldly  op- 
posing Aristotle  (the  father  of  the  school) 
and  Thomas  Aquinas,  he  undertook  to 
hurl  them  from  the  throne  whence  they 
exercised  so  commanding  an  influence, 
the  one  over  philosophy,  and  the  other 
over  theology* 

"  Aristotle,  Porphyry,  the  theologians 
of  the  Sentences,"  said  he,  writing  to 
Lange,  "  these  are  the  unprofitable  study 
of  this  age.  I  desire  nothing  more  ar- 
dently than  to  lay  open  before  all  eyes 
this  false  system,  which  has  tricked  the 
Church,  by  covering  itself  with  a  Greek 
mask ;  and  to  expose  its  worthlessness 
before  the  world. "f  In  all  his  public 
disputations  he  was  accustomed  to  repeat 
— "  The  writings  of  the  Apostles  and 
Prophets  are  more  certain  and  sublime 
than  all  the  sophisms  and  theology  of 
the  schools."  Such  language  was  new, 
but  gradually  people  became  familiarized 
with  it ;  and  about  one  year  after  this 
he  was  able  exultingly  to  write,  "  God 
works  amongst  us  ;  our  theology  and  St. 
Augustine  make  wonderful  progress,  and 
are  already  paramount  in  our  university. 
Aristotle  is  on  the  wane,  and  already  tot- 
ters to  his  fall,  which  is  near  at  hand 
and  irreversible.  The  lectures  on  the 
Sentences  are  received  with   utter  dis- 

*  Aristotelem  in  philosophicis,  Sanctum  Tho- 
mam  in  theologicis,  evertendos,  susceperat. — 
(Pallav.  i.  16.) 

t  Perdita  studia  nostri  soeculi. — (Epp.  i.  15,  8 
Feb.  1516.) 

12 


taste.  None  can  hope  for  hearers  unless 
he  profess  the  scriptural  theology."* 
Happy  the  university  where  such  testi- 
mony could  be  given  ! 

At  the  same  time  that  Luther  attacked 
Aristotle,  he  took  part  with  Erasmus  and 
Reuchlin  against  their  enemies.  He 
entered  into  correspondence  with  those 
great  men,  and  others  of  the  learned, 
such  as  Piickheimer,  Mutian,  Hiitten, 
who  belonged  more  or  less  to  the  same 
party.  He  formed  also  at  this  period 
another  friendship,  which  was  yet  more 
important  in  its  influence  on  his  after  life. 

There  was  then  at  the  court  of  the 
Elector  a  person  remarkable  for  wisdom 
and  candour.  This  was  George  Spala- 
tin,  a  native  of  Spaltus,  or  Spalt,  in  the 
bishopric  of  Eichstadt.  He  had  been 
curate  of  the  village  of  Hohenkirch,  near 
the  forests  of  Thuringia.  He  was  after- 
wards chosen  by  Frederic  the  Wise  as 
his  secretary  and  chaplain,  and  private 
teacher  of  his  nephew,  John  Frederic, 
heir  of  the  electoral  crown.  Spalatin 
was  a  man  of  simple  manners,  in  the 
midst  of  a  court ;  timid  in  emergencies, 
and  circumspect  and  prudent  as  his  mas- 
ter :f  contrasting  with  the  energetic  Lu- 
ther, with  whom  he  was  in  daily  com- 
munication. Like  Staupitz,  he  was  fitted 
rather  for  peaceable  than  for  stirring- 
times.  Such  men  are  necessary :  they 
are  like  that  soft  covering  in  which  we 
wrap  jewels  and  crystals,  to  protect  them 
from  injury  in  transporting  them  from 
place  to  place.  They  seem  of  no  use, 
and  yet  without  them  the  precious  gems 
would  be  broken  or  lost.  Spalatin  was 
not  capable  of  great  actions,  but  he  faith- 
fully and  noiselessly  discharged  the  task 
assigned  to  him.J  He  was  at  first  one 
of  the  principal  aids  of  his  master  in  col- 
lecting those  relics  of  the  saints  of  which 
Frederic  was  long  an  amateur.  But  by 
slow  degrees  he,  like  his  master,  turned 
toward  the  truth.  The  faith  which  was 
then  re-appearing  in  the  Church  did  not 
suddenly  lay  hold  on  him  as  on  Luther, 
— he  was  led  on  by  more  circuitous 
paths.     He  became  the  friend  of  Luther 

*  Ep.  i.  57.     May  18,  1517. 

t  Secundum  genium  heri  sui.  Weismann. 
Hist.  Eccles.  p.  1434. 

t  Fideliter  et  sine  strepitu  fungens.~(Weis- 
mann.  Hist,  Eccles.  p.  1434.) 


90 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


at  the  court,  the  agent  through  which 
matters  of  business  were  transacted  be- 
tween the  Reformer  and  the  Princes,  the 
go-between  of  the  Church  and.  the  state. 
The  Elector  honoured  Spalatin  with  the 
closest  intimacy,  and  in  his  journies  ad- 
mitted him  to  share  his  carriage.*  In 
other  respects  the  air  of  the  court  was 
often  oppressive  to  the  worthy  Spalatin, 
and  affected  him  with  deep  sadness  ;  he 
would  have  wished  to  leave  all  these 
honours,  and  again  to  become  a  simple 
pastor  in  the  woods  of  Thuringia.  But 
Luther  comforted  him,  and  persuaded 
him  to  remain  at  his  post.  Spalatin  ac- 
quired general  esteem.  The  princes  and 
scholars  of  his  age  evinced  the  sincerest 
respect  for  him.  Erasmus  was  accus- 
tomed to  say,  "  The  name  of  Spalatin  is 
inscribed  not  only  as  one  of  my  dearest 
friends,  but  of  my  most  revered  protec- 
tors, and  that  not  on  paper,  but  on  my 
heart."! 

The  affair  of  Reuchlin  and  the  monks 
was  then  making  much  noise  in  Ger- 
many. The  most  pious  persons  often 
hesitated  which  side  to  take,  for  the 
monks  were  bent  upon  destroying  the 
Jewish  books  which  contained  blasphe- 
mies against  Christ.  The  Elector  com- 
missioned his  chaplain  to  consult  the 
doctor  of  Wittemberg,  whose  reputation 
was  considerable.  Luther  replied  by 
letter,  and  it  is  the  earliest  of  his  letters 
to  the  court  preacher. 

"  What  shall  I  say  1  these  monks  pre- 
tend to  expel  Beelzebub, — but  it  is  not 
by  the  finger  of  God.  I  never  cease  to 
complain  and  grieve  at  it.  We  Chris- 
tians begin  to  be  wise  in  things  that  are 
without,  and  senseless  at  home.:}:  There 
are,  in  all  the  public  places  of  our  Jeru- 
salem, blasphemies  a  hundred  times 
worse  than  those  of  the  Jews,  and  in 
every  corner  of  it  spiritual  idols.  We 
ought  in  holy  zeal  to  carry  forth  and 
destroy  these  enemies  within.  But  we 
neglect  what  is  most  pressing,  and  the 
devil  himself  persuades  us  to  abandon 
our  own  concerns,  while  he  hinders  us 
from  reforming  what  is  amiss  in  others." 

Luther  never  lost  himself  in  this  quar- 
rel.    A  living  faith  in  Christ  was  that 

*  Qui  cum  principe  in  rheda  sive  lectico  solitus 
est  ferri.— (Corp.  Ref.  i.  33.; 

t  Melch.  Ad.  Vita  Spalat.  p.  100. 

X  Foris  sapere  et  domi  desipere (L.  Epp.  i. 


which  especially  filled  his  heart  and  life, 
"  Within  my  heart,"  says  he,  "  reigns 
alone,  and  must  alone  reign,  faith  in  my 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  alone  is  the 
beginning,  the  middle,  and  the  end  of  the 
thoughts  that  occupy  me  day  and  night."* 

His  hearers  listened  with  admiration 
as  he  spoke  from  the  professor's  chair,  or 
from  the  pulpit,  of  that  faith  in  Christ. 
His  instructions  diffused  light.  The 
people  marvelled  that  they  had  not  ear- 
lier acknowledged  truths  which  appeared 
so  evident  in  his  mouth.  "  The  desire  to 
justify  ourselves  is  the  spring  of  all  our 
distress  of  heart,"  said  he,  "  but  he  who 
receives  Christ  as  a  Saviour  has  peace, 
and  not  only  peace,  but  purity  of  heart. 
All  sanctification  of  the  heart  is  a  fruit  of 
faith.  For  faith  in  us  is  a  divine  work 
which  changes  us,  and  gives  us  a  new 
birth,  emanating  from  God  himself.  It 
kills  Adam  in  us ;  and,  through  the  Holy 
Spirit  which  it  communicates,  it  gives  us 
a  new  heart  and  makes  us  new  men.  It 
is  not  by  empty  speculations,"  he  again 
exclaims,  "  but  by  this  practical  method 
that  we  obtain  a  saving  knowledge  of 
Jesus  Christ."f 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Luther  preached 
on  the  Ten  Commandments  a  series  of 
discourses,  which  have  been  preserved  to 
us  under  the  name  of,  Declamations  for 
the  People.  Doubtless  they  are  not  free 
from  errors.  Luther  was  only  gradually 
gaining  light :  "  The  path  of  the  just  is 
as  the  shining  light,  which  shineth  more 
and  more  unto  the  perfect  day."  But 
still  what  truth  in  these  discourses  !  what 
simplicity !  what  eloquence !  how  well 
can  we  conceive  the  effect  that  the  new 
preacher  would  produce  on  his  audience 
and  on  his  age.  We  will  cite  only  one 
passage  at  the  opening  of  his  discourses. 

Luther  ascended  the  pulpit  of  Wittem- 
berg, and  read  these  words :  "  Thou  shalt 
have  no  other  gods  than  Me."  Then 
turning  to  the  people,  who  thronged  the 
sanctuary,  he  said :  "  All  the  sons  of 
Adam  are  idolaters,  and  guilty  trans- 
gressors  of  this   first   commandment. "J 

*  Pref.  ad  Gal. 

t  Non  per  speculationem  sed  per  hanc  viam 
practicam. 

1  Omnes  filii  Adas  sunt  idolatry. — Decern 
Praecepta  Wittembergensi  populo  prtedicata  per 
R.  P.  D.  Martinum  Lutherum,  Aug.  anno  1516. 
— (They  were  preached  in  German.  The  quo- 
tation is  from  the  Latin  edition,  i.  p.  1.) 


YOUTH,   CONVERSION,   AND   EARLY   LABOURS   OF   LUTHER. 


9! 


Doubtless  this  strange  assertion  startled 
his  audience.  He  must  justify  it.  The 
speaker  continued :  "  There  are  two 
kinds  of  idolatry  ;  the  one  in  outward 
action,  the  other  within  our  hearts. 

"  The  outward,  by  which  man  wor- 
ships wood,  stone,  reptiles,  or  stars. 

"  The  inward,  by  which  man,  dread- 
ing chastisement,  or  seeking  his  own 
pleasure,  renders  no  outward  worship  to 
the  creature,  but  yet  in  his  heart  loves  it 
and  trusts  in  it. 

"  But  what  kind  of  religion  is  this  ? 
you  do  not  bend  the  knee  before  riches 
and  honour,  but  you  give  them  your 
heart,  the  noblest  part  of  your  nature. 
Alas !  with  your  bodies  you  worship 
God,  and  with  your  spirits  the  creature. 

"  This  idolatry  pervades  every  man 
until  he  is  freely  recovered  by  faith  that 
is  in  Jesus  Christ. 

"  And  how  is  this  recovery  brought 
about  ? 

"  In  this  way :  Faith  in  Christ  strips 
you  of  all  confidence  in  your  own  wis- 
dom, and  righteousness,  and  strength  ; 
.it  teaches  you  that  if  Christ  had  not  died 
for  you,  and  saved  you  by  his  death,  nei- 
ther you  nor  any  created  power  could 
have  done  so.  Then  you  begin  to  de- 
spise all  these  things  which  you  see  to 
be  unavailing.* 

"  Nothing  remains,  but  Jesus — Jesus 
only ;  Jesus,  abundantly  sufficient  for 
your  soul.  Hoping  nothing  from  all 
created  things,  you  have  no  dependance 
save  on  Christ,  from  whom  you  look  for 
all,  and  whom  you  love  above  all. 

"  But  Jesus  is  the  one  sole  and  true 
God.  When  you  have  him  for  your 
God,  you  have  no  other  gods."f 

It  was  thus  that  Luther  pointed  out 
how  the  soul  is  brought  to  God,  its  sove- 
reign good  by  the  Gospel ; — agreeable 
to  that  declaration  of  Christ :  "  I  am  the 
way,  and  no  man  cometh  unto  the  Fa- 
ther but  by  me." 

The  man  who  thus  spoke  to  this  gene- 
ration was  surely  intent  not  merely  on 
overturning  some  abuses  ;  his  aim,  above 
all,  was  to  establish  true  religion.  His 
work*  was  not  merely  negative ;  it  was 
primarily  positive. 

*  Nisi  ipse  pro  te  mortuus  esset  teque  serva- 
ret,  nee  tu,  nee  omnis  creatura  tibi  posset  pro- 
desse. — (Ibid.) 

t  At  Jesus  est  verus,  unus,  soliis  Deus,  quern 
cum  habes,  non  habes  alienum  Deum. — (Ibid.) 


Luther  then  turned  his  discourse 
against  the  superstitions  which  filled 
Christendom  ;  signs  and  mysterious 
omens ;  observances  of  particular  days 
and  months  ;  familiar  demons,  phantoms, 
influences  of  the  stars,  incantations,  meta- 
morphoses, incubi  and  succubi ;  patron- 
age of  saints,  &c.  &c.  &c.  He  attacked 
them  all,  one  after  the  other,  and  with  a 
strong  arm  cast  down  these  false  gods. 

But  it  was  especially  before  the  acad- 
emy, before  that  youth,  enlightened  and 
eager  for  instruction,  that  Luther  spread 
out  the  treasures  of  the  word  of  God. 
"  He  so  explained  the  Scriptures,"  says 
his  illustrious  friend  Melancthon,  "  that, 
in  the  judgment  of  all  pious  and  enlight- 
ened men,  it  was  as  if  a  new  light  had 
arisen  on  the  doctrine  after  a  long  and 
dark  night.  He  pointed  out  the  differ- 
ence between  the  Law  and  the  Gospel. 
He  refuted  that  error,  then  predominant 
in  the  Church  and  schools,  that  men,  by 
their  own  works,  obtain  remission  of 
sins,  and  are  made  righteous  before  God 
by  an  external  discipline.  He  thus 
brought  back  the  hearts  of  men  to  the 
Son  of  God.*  Like  John  the  Baptist, 
he  pointed  to  the  Lamb  of  God  who  has 
taken  away  the  sins  of  the  world.  He 
explained  that  sin  is  freely  pardoned  on 
account  of  God's  Son,  and  that  man  re- 
ceives this  blessing  through  faith.  He 
in  no  way  interfered  with  the  usual  cere- 
monies. The  established  discipline  had 
not  in  all  his  order  a  more  faithful  ob- 
server and  defender.  But  he  laboured 
more  and  more  to  make  all  understand 
the  grand  essential  doctrines  of  Conver- 
sion; of  the  Forgiveness  of  Sins;  of  Faith; 
and  of  the  true  consolations  of  the  Cross. 
Pious  souls  were  attracted  and  penetrated 
by  the  sweetness  of  this  doctrine  ;  the 
learned  received  it  joyfully.f  One  might 
have  said  that  Christ  and  his  Apostles 
and  Prophets  had  come  forth  from  dark- 
ness or  from  some  impure  dungeon.]: 

The  firmness  with  which  Luther  ap- 
pealed to,  and  rested  on  the  Gospel,  gave 
great  authority  to  his  teaching.  But 
other  circumstances  added  yet  further  to 
his   power.     With   him,  action   corres- 

*  Revocavit  igitur  Lirtherus  hominum  mentes 
ad  filium  Dei.— (Melancthon,  Vit.  Luth.) 

t  Hujus  doctrince  dulcedine  pii  omnes  valdo 
capiebantur  et  eruditis  graturn  erat. — (Ibid.) 

X  Quasi  ex  tenebris,  carcere,  squalore  educi 
Christum,  prophetas,  apostolos. — (Ibid.) 


92 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


ponded  with  his  words.  It  was  known 
that  these  discourses  were  not  merely 
the  fruit  of  his  lips.*  They  came  from 
the  heart,  and  were  practised  in  his  daily 
walk.  And  when,  at  a  later  period,  the 
Reformation  burst  forth,  many  influen- 
tial men,  who  saw  with  grief  the  divi- 
sions of  the  Church,  won  before-hand  by 
the  holy  life  of  the  Reformer,  and  his 
remarkable  genius,  not  only  did  not  op- 
pose him,  but  embraced  the  doctrine  to 
which  his  life  gave  testimony.!  The 
more  men  loved  the  Christian  virtues, 
the  more  did  they  incline  toward  the 
Reformer  ; — all  the  most  upright  divines 
were  in  favour  of  him.|  This  is  what 
those  who  knew  him,  said  of  him,  and 
especially  the  wisest  man  of  his  age, 
Melancthon,  and  Luther's  celebrated  op- 
ponent, Erasmus.  Envy  and  detraction 
have  dared  to  talk  of  his  dissolute  life. 
Wittemberg  was  changed  by  this  preach- 
ing of  Faith.  This  city  became  the  focus 
of  a  light  which  was  soon  to  illuminate 
Germany,  and  spread  over  the  whole 
Church. 

Luther,  whose  heart  was  tender  and 
affectionate,  desired  to  see  those  whom 
he  loved  in  possession  of  the  light  which 
had  guided  him  in  the  paths  of  peace. 
He  availed  himself  of  all  the  opportuni- 
ties he  possessed  as  professor,  teacher, 
and  monk,  as  well  as  of  his  extensive 
correspondence,  to  communicate  his  treas- 
ure to  others.  One  of  his  old  associates 
of  the  convent  of  Erfurth,  the  monk 
George  Spenlein,  was  then  in  the  con- 
vent of  Memmingen,  having,  perhaps, 
spent  a  short  time  at  Wittemberg.  Spen- 
lein had  commissioned  Luther  to  sell 
some  effects  that  he  had  left  in  his  hands, 
a  cloak  of  Brussels  stuff,  a  work  by  the 
doctor  Isenac,  and  a  monk's  hood.  Lu- 
ther carefully  executed  this  commission. 
"He  got,"  says  he,  "  a  florin  for  the  cloak, 
half  a  florin  for  the  book,  and  a  florin  for 
the  hood,"  and  had  forwarded  the  amount 
to  the  Father  Vicar,  to  whom  Spenlein 
was  indebted  the  three  florins.  But  Lu- 
ther passed  quickly  from  this  account  of 
a  monk's  effects  to  a  more  important 
subject. 

*  Orationes  non  e  labris  nasci,  sed  in  pectore 
—(Ibid.) 

t  Eique,  propter  auctoritatem  quam  sanctitate 
morum  antea  pepererat,  adsenserunt. — (Ibid.) 

%  Puto  et  hodie  theologos  omnes  probos  fuvere 
Luthero.— (Erasm.  Epp.  i.  652.) 


"I  should  like,"  says  he  to  brother 
George,  "  to  know  how  it  is  with  your 
soul  ?  Is  it  weary  of  its  own  righteous- 
ness? In  a  word, does  it  breathe  freely? 
and  put  its  trust  in  the  righteousness  of 
Christ  1  In  these  days  pride  has  drawn 
many  aside,  and  especially  those  who  la- 
bour with  all  their  strength  to  be  right- 
eous. Not  understanding  the  righteous- 
ness of  God,  which  is  given  to  us  freely 
in  Jesus  Christ,  they  would  stand  before 
him  on  their  own  merits.  But  that  can 
never  be.  When  you  and  I  were  living 
together,  you  were  under  this  delusion, 
and  so  was  I.  I  contend  against  it  un- 
ceasingly, and  I  have  not  yet  entirely 
overcome  it." 

"  Oh,  my  dear  brother,  learn  to  know 
Christ,  and  him  crucified.  Learn  to 
sing  a  new  song — to  despair  of  your 
own  work,  and  to  cry  unto  him,  Lord 
Jesus,  thou  art  my  righteousness,  and  I 
am  thy  sin.  Thou  hast  taken  on  thee 
what  was  mine,  and  given  to  me  what 
is  thine  ;*  what  thou  wast  not  thou  be- 
camest,  that  I  might  become  what  I  was 
not.  Beware,  my  dear  George,  of  aspir- 
ing after  such  a  purity  as  that  thou  may-^ 
est  not  have  to  acknowledge  thyself  a 
sinner  ;  for  Christ  dwells  only  with  sin- 
ners. He  came  down  from  heaven, 
where  he  abode  with  the  just,  to  dwell 
also  with  sinners.  Meditate  often  on 
this  love  of  Christ,  and  you  will  taste  its 
unspeakable  comfort.  If  our  labours  and 
afflictions  could  give  peace  to  the  con- 
science, why  did  Christ  die  upon  the 
cross?  You  will  find  peace  in  him 
alone  ;  despairing  of  yourself  and  of  your 
works,  and  beholding  with  what  love  he 
spreads  his  arms  to  you  ;  taking  all  your 
sins  on  himself,  and  bestowing  on  you 
all  his  righteousness. 

Thus,  the  doctrine  of  power,  which 
had  already  been  the  saving  of  the  world 
in  the  days  of  the  Apostles,  and  which 
was  a  second  time  to  save  in  the  days 
of  the  Reformers,  was  set  forth  by  Lu- 
ther fearlessly  and  clearly.  Reaching 
across  many  centuries  of  ignorance  and 
superstition,  he,  in  this,  gave  his  hand  to 
St.  Paul. 

Spenlein  was  not  the  only  one  whom 
he  sought  to  instruct  in  this  fundamental 

*  Tu  Domine  Jesu  es  justitia  mea  ;  ego  au- 
tem  sum  peccatum  tuum  ;  tu  assumpsisti  meum, 
et  dedisti  mini  tuum. — (L.  Ep.  i.  p.  17.) 


YOUTH,  CONVERSION,  AND   EARLY  LABOURS   OF  LUTHER. 


93 


doctrine.  The  little  of  the  truth  he 
found  on  this  subject  in  the  writings  of 
Erasmus  distressed  him.  It  was  desira- 
ble to  enlighten  on  this  matter  a  man  of 
such  great  authority  and  such  admirable 
genius.  But  how  to  do  this.  His  friend 
at  the  court,  the  chaplain  of  the  Elector, 
was  much  respected  by  Erasmus  ;  to  him 
Luther  addressed  himself  thus  :  "  What 
displeases  me  in  Erasmus,  that  man  of 
rare  erudition,  is,  that  where  the  Apostle 
speaks  of  the  righteousness  of  works  and 
of  the  law,  he  understands  the  fulfilment 
of  the  ceremonial  law.  The  righteous- 
ness of  the  law  consists  not  alone  in  cere- 
monies, but  in  all  the  works  of  the  Ten 
Commandments.  When  these  works 
are  done  without  faith  in  Christ,  they 
may,  it  is  true,  make  a  Fabricius,  a  Re- 
gulus,  or  a  man  of  perfect  integrity  in 
man's  sight,  but  they,  in  that  case,  are  as 
little  entitled  to  the  name  of  righteous- 
ness, as  the  fruit  of  the  medlar-tree  is 
entitled  to  be  called  a  fig.  For  we  do 
not  become  righteous,  as  Aristotle  as- 
serts, by  doing  works  of  righteousness,  but 
when  we  are  righteous  we  do  righteous 
works.*  It  is  necessary  that  the  agent  be 
changed,  and  then  the  works  by  conse- 
quence. Abel  was  first  acceptable  to  God, 
and  then  his  sacrifice  was  accepted."  Lu- 
ther continues :  "  I  entreat  you.  fulfil  the 
duty  of  a  friend  and  of  a  Christian  in 
pressing  these  things  on  Erasmus."  This 
letter  is  dated  "  in  great  haste,  from  the 
corner  of  our  convent,  the  19th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1516."  It  exhibits  in  its  true  light 
the  relation  between  Luther  and  Eras- 
mus. It  shews  the  sincere  interest  he 
took  in  what  he  thought  really  for  the 
good  of  that  illustrious  writer.  Doubt- 
less at  a  later  period  Eramus's  opposi- 
tion to  the  truth  obliged  him  to  oppose 
him  openly;  but  he  did  so  only  after 
having  sought  to  set  his  adversary  right. 
The  world,  then,  heard  at  length  ideas 
at  once  clear  and  deep  on  the  nature  of 
that  which  is  good.  The  principle  was 
at  last  proclaimed,  that  what  constitutes 
the  real  goodness  of  an  action  is  not  its 
outward  character,  but  the  spirit  in  which 
it  is  performed.  This  was  aiming  a 
death-blow  at  all  the  superstitious  obser- 

*  Non  enim  just  agendo  justi  efficimur:  sed 
justi  fiendo  et  essendo  operamur  justa. — (L.  Ep. 
i.  p.  22.) 


vances,  which  had  for  centuries  oppressed 
the  Church,  and  prevented  the  Christian 
virtues  from  growing  and  prospering. 

"  I  read  Erasmus,"  writes  Luther  else- 
where, "  but  he  every  day  loses  weight 
with  me.  I  love  to  see  him  rebuke, 
with  so  much  learning  and  firmness,  the 
grovelling  ignorance  of  the  priests  and 
monks ;  but  I  fear  he  does  no  great  ser- 
vice to  the  doctrine  of  Christ.  What  is 
of  man,  is  nearer  to  his  heart  than  what 
is  of  God.*  We  live  in  critical  times. 
To  make  a  good  and  judicious  Christian, 
it  is  not  enough  to  understand  Greek 
and  Hebrew.  St.  Jerome  who  knew  five 
languages,  is  inferior  to  St.  Augustine 
who  understood  but  one ;  though  Eras- 
mus thinks  the  contrary.  I  carefully 
conceal  my  opinion  of  Erasmus,  lest 
I  should  give  an  advantage  to  his 
adversaries.  It  may  be,  that  the  Lord 
will  give  him  understanding  in  his  good 
time."f 

The  inability  of  man, — the  almighty 
power  of  God, — these  were  the  two 
truths  that  Luther  sought  to  re-establish. 
That  is  but  a  melancholy  religion,  and  a 
poor  philosophy,  which  directs  man  to 
his  own  natural  strength.  Past  ages 
have  made  trial  of  that  strength  ;  and 
whilst,  in  earthly  things,,  man  has  at- 
tained admirable  excellence,  he  has  ne- 
ver been  able  to  dissipate  the  darkness 
which  hides  God  from  his  soul,  or  to 
change  a  single  inclination  to  evil.  The 
highest  attainment  in  wisdom  of  the  most 
aspiring  minds,  or  of  the  souls  most  ea- 
ger after  perfection,  has  been  to  despair 
of  themselves.^  It  is  therefore,  a  gener- 
ous, consoling,  and  supremely  true  doc- 
trine, which  discovers  to  us  our  impo- 
tence, that  it  may  declare  a  power — of 
God — by  which  we  can  do  all  things ; 
and  that  is  a  noble  Reformation  which 
vindicates  on  earth  the  glory  of  heaven, 
and  pleads  before  man  the  rights  of  the 
mighty  God. 

But  no  one  knew  better  than  Luther 
the  intimate  connection  that  unites  the 
free  salvation  which  cometh  of  God, 
with  the  free  works  of  man.     No  one 

*  Humana  pnevalunt  in  eo  plusquam  divina. 
t  Dtibit  ei  Dominus  intollectumsuo  forte  tem- 
pore.— (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  52.)  ^  _ 

|  ri  nvv  ;  ivvarov  djajinprriTov  slvhi  'ion  > — Vvnai . 

is  it  possible  to  help  sinning  ?  asks  Epictetus,  iv. 
12,  19.     A/tnxay^.     Impossible  !  he  answers. 


94 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


shewed  better  than  he,  that  it  is  only  in 
receiving  all  from  Christ,  that  man  gives 
freely  to  his  brethren.  He  ever  pre- 
sented, in  the  same  picture,  these  two 
procedures, — that  of  God,  and  that  of 
man.  Thus,  after  having  declared  to 
Spenlein  the  righteousness  which  saves 
us,  he  added :  "  If  thou  firmly  believest 
these  things,  as  thou  oughtest,  (for 
cursed  is  he  whosoever  doth  not  believe 
them,)  receive  thine  erring  and  ignorant 
brethren  as  Jesus  Christ  hath  received 
thee.  Bear  with  them  patiently ;  make 
their  sins  your  own ;  and  if  you  have 
any  good  thing  to  communicate  to  them, 
do  it.  Receive  you  one  another,  said 
the  Apostle,  as  Christ  also  hath  re- 
ceived us,  to  the  glory  of  God.  It  is  a 
wretched  righteousness  which  will  not 
bear  with  others,  because  it  deems  them 
eviL,  and  seeks  the  solitude  of  the  desert, 
instead  of  doing  good  to  such,  by  long- 
suffering,  by  prayer,  and  example.  If 
thou  art  the  lily  and  the  rose  of  Christ, 
know  that  thy  dwelling-place  is  among 
thorns.  Only  take  heed,  lest  by  impa- 
tience, rash  judgments,  and  pride,  thou 
thyself  become  a  thorn.  Christ  reigns 
in  the  midst  of  his  enemies.  If  he  had 
desired  to  live  only  among  the  good, 
and  die  only  for  such  as  loved  him, 
would  he  have  died  at  all  ?  and  among 
whom  would  he  have  lived?" 

It  is  affecting  to  see  how  Luther  him- 
self put  in  practice  these  precepts  of 
charity.  An  Augustine  of  Erfurth, 
George  Leiffer,  was  exposed  to  many 
trials.  Luther  heard  of  it,  and  a  week 
after  he  wrote  this  letter,  he  went  to  him 
with  expressions  of  compassion :  "I  hear," 
said  he,  "  that  you  are  driven  about  by 
many  tempests,  and  that  your  soul  is 
impelled  hither  and  thither  by  the  waves. 
The  cross  of  Christ  is  divided  over  the 
earth,  and  each  one  has  his  share.  Do 
not,  you,  refuse  your  portion  ;  rather  re- 
ceive it  as  a  holy  relic ; — not,  indeed, 
into  a  gold  or  silver  vase,  but,  what  is 
much  preferable,  into  a  heart  of  gold — 
a  heart  imbued  with  meekness.  If  the 
wood  of  the  cross  was  so  sanctified  by 
the  blood  and  body  of  Christ,  that  we 
deem  it  the  most  venerable  of  relics,  how 
much  more  should  Ave  count,  as  holy 
relics,  the  wrongs,  persecutions,  suffer- 
ings and  hatred  of  men,  since  they  were 
not  only  touched  by  Christ's  flesh,  but 


embraced,  kissed,  and  made  blessed  by 
his  boundless  love."* 

The  teaching  of  Luther  bore  fruit. 
Many  of  his  disciples  felt  themselves 
impelled  to  a  public  profession  of  the 
truths  which  their  master's  lessons  had 
revealed  to  them.  Among  his  hearers 
was  a  young  scholar,  Bernard  of  Feld- 
kirchen,  professor  of  Aristotelian  physics 
in  the  university,  and,  five  years  later, 
the  first  of  the  ecclesiastics  who  entered 
into  the  marriage  state. 

Luther  desired  Feldkirchen  to  main- 
tain, under  his  presidence,  theses,  in  which 
his  principles  were  set  forth.  The  doc- 
trines professed  by  Luther  acquired  by 
this  means  additional  publicity.  The 
disputation  took  place  in  1516. 

This  was  Luther's  first  attack  on  the 
reign  of  the  sophists  and  on  the  Papacy, 
as  he  says  himself.  Feeble  as  it  was,  it 
cost  him  many  misgivings.  "  I  consent 
to  the  printing  of  these  propositions,"  said 
he,  many  years  after,  when  publishing 
them  in  his  works,  "  chiefly  that  the 
greatness  of  my  cause,  and  the  success 
with  which  God  has  crowned  it,  may 
not  lift  me  up ;  for  they  manifest  abun- 
dantly my  shame,  that  is  to  say,  the  in- 
firmity and  ignorance,  the  fear  and  trem- 
bling, with  which  I  began  this  contest. 
I  was  alone  ;  I  had  thrown  myself  rashly 
into  the  affair.  Not  being  able  to  draw 
back,  I  gave  up  to  the  Pope  many  im- 
portant points  ; — I  even  worshipped  his 
authority."! 

The  following  were  some  of  these 
propositions  :\ — 

"  The  old  man  is  the  vantiy  of  vani- 
ties ;  he  is  the  universal  vanity,  and  he 
makes  other  creatures  vain,  whatever 
goodness  may  be  in  them 

"  The  old  man  is  called  '  the  flesh,' 
not  merely  because  he  is  led  by  the  de- 
sires of  the  flesh,  but  also,  because  though 
he  should  even  be  chaste,  virtuous,  and 
just,  he  is  not  born  again  of  God,  by  the 
Spirit. 

"A  man  who  is  a  stranger  to  the 
grace  of  God  cannot  keep  the  command- 
ments of  God,  nor  prepare  himself  wholly, 

*  .  .  .  .  Sanctissimae  reliquiae  .  .  .  deifies  vo- 
luntatis suae  charitate  amplexae,  osculatae. — (L. 
Epp.  i.  18.) 

t  Sed  etiam  ultro  adorabam. — (L.  Opp.  lat.  i. 
p.  50.) 

X  L.  W.  (L.)  xviii.  p.  142,  and  in  the  Latin 
works.     Tom.  i.  p.  51. 


YOUTH,  CONVERSION,   AND   EARLY   LABOURS  OF   LUTHER. 


or  in  part,  to  receive  grace,  but  remains 
necessarily  under  sin. 

"  The  will  of  man,  without  divine 
grace,  is  not  free,  but  enslaved  and  will- 
ing to  be  so. 

"  Jesus  Christ,  our .  strength,  our  right- 
eousness, he  who  searches  the  hearts 
and  reins,  is  the  only  discerner  and  judge 
of  our  deserts. 

"  Since  all  things  are  possible,  through 
Christ,  to  him  that  belie  veth,  it  is  super- 
stitious to  seek  for  other  help,  either  in 
man's  will  or  in  the  saints."* 

This  disputation  made  a  great  noise, 
and  it  has  been  considered  as  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Reformation. 

The  moment  drew  nigh  when  that 
Reformation  was  to  burst  forth.  God 
hastened  the  preparation  of  the  instru- 
ment he  designed  to  use.  The  Elector, 
having  built  a  new  church  at  Wittem- 
berg,  and  gave  it  the  name  of  All  Saints, 
despatched  Staupitz  to  the  Low  'Coun- 
tries to  collect  relics  to  enrich  the  new 
temple.  The  Vicar-General  commis- 
sioned Luther  to  take  his  place  in  his 
absence,  and,  in  particular,  to  make  a 
visitation  to  forty  monasteries  of  Misnia 
and  Thuringia. 

Luther  went  first  to  Grimma,  and 
thence  to  Dresden.  Everywhere  he  en- 
deavoured to  establish  the  truths  he  had 
discovered,  and  to  enlighten  the  mem- 
bers of  his  order.  "  Do  not  join  yourself 
to  Aristotle,"  said  he  to  the  monks,  "  or 
to  the  other  teachers  of  a  misleading 
philosophy,  but  apply  yourselves  to  the 
reading  of  the  word  of  God.  Seek  not 
your  salvation  in  your  own  strength  and 
good  works,  but  in  the  merits  of  Christ 
and  in  the  grace  of  God."f 

An  Augustine  monk  of  Dresden  had 
eloped  from  his  convent,  and  was  resid- 
ing at  Mentz,  where  the  prior  of  the  Au- 
gustines  had  received  him.  Luther  wrote 
to  the  prior,|  desiring  him  to  send  back 
this  stray  sheep ;  and  he  added  these 
words  of  truth  and  charity :  "  I  know — I 
know  that  it  cannot  be  but  that  offences 
must  come.  It  is  no  wonder  when  man 
falls,  but  it  is  a  miracle  when  he  rises 
and  continues  standing.     Peter  fell  that 

*  Cum  credenti  omnia  sint,  auctore  Christo, 
possibilia,  superstitiosum  est,  humano  arbitrio, 
aliis  Sanctis,  alia  deputari  auxilia. — (Ibid.) 

t  Hilscher,  Luthers  Anwesenheit  in  Alt-  Dres- 
den, 1728. 

t  1  May,  1516.    Epp.  i.  p.  20. 


he  might  know  that  he  was  a  man. 
Even  at  this  day  we  see  cedars  of  Leba- 
non falling.  The  angels,  even,  (diffi- 
cult as  it  is  to  conceive  it,)  fell  in  heaven, 
and  Adam  in  Paradise.  Why,  then, 
should  we  wonder  when  a  reed  is  shaken 
by  the  whirlwind,  or  a  nickering  taper 
is  extinguished." 

From  Dresden,  Luther  repaired  to  Er- 
furth,  and  re-appeared,  to  exercise  the 
functions  of  Vicar-general  in  that  same 
convent,  where,  eleven  years  before,  he- 
had  wound  up  the  clock,  opened  the 
gates,  and  swept  the  floor  of  the  church. 
He  placed  in  tfie  post  of  prior  of  the  con- 
vent, his  friend  the  bachelor,  John  Lange, 
a  man  of  learning  and  piety,  but  austere 
in  his  disposition.  Therefore  it  was  he 
exhorted  him  to  affability  and  patience. 
"  Put  on,"  said  he,  writing  to  him  shortly 
after,  "  put  on  a  spirit  of  meekness  to- 
ward the  prior  of  Nuremberg.  It  is  pro- 
per that  you  should  do  so,  since  the  prior 
has  assumed  a  harsh  and  bitter  tone. 
Bitterness  is  not  expelled  by  bitterness, — 
that  is  to  say,  the  devil  is  not  cast  out  by 
the  devil ;  but  the  sweet  overcomes  and 
expels  the  bitter, — in  other  words,  the 
finger  of  God  casts  out  devils."*  Per- 
haps we  m?ly  regret  that  Luther  himself, 
on  some  occasions,  forgot  to  follow  these 
excellent  directions. 

At  Neustadt,  on  the  Orla,  there  was 
nothing  but  disunion.  Disturbances  and 
dissensions  reigned  in  the  convent.  The 
whole  body  of  the  monks  were  in  open 
war  with  their  prior.  They  beset  Lu- 
ther with  their  complaints.  The  prior 
Michael  Dressel — or  Tornator,  as  Luther 
calls  him,  translating  his  name  into  La- 
tin,— enumerated  to  the  Doctor  all  his 
grievances.  "  Oh,  for  peace  !"  said  the 
prior.  "  You  seek  peace,"  said  Luther, 
"  but  it  is  only  the  peace  of  the  world, 
and  not  the  peace  that  is  of  Christ.  Do 
you  not  know  that  our  God  has  set  His 
peace  in  the  midst  of  opposition  %  He 
whom  nobody  disturbs  has  not  peace, 
but  he  who,  harassed  by  all  men,  and 
by  the  things  of  this  life,  bears  all  tran- 
quilly and  joyfully ;  he  it  is  that  has  the 
true  peace.  You  cry  with  Israel,  'peace, 
peace,  when  there  is  no  peace.  Say 
rather  with  Christ,   the  cross,  the  cross, 

*  L.  Epp.  i.  p.  36.  Non  enim  asper  asperum, 
id  est  non  diabolus  diabolum,  sed  suavis  aspe- 
rum, id  est  digitum  Dei  ejicit  daemonia. 


96 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


and  there  will  be  no  cross :  for  the  cross 
ceases  to  be  a  cross  when  we  can  say 
with  love  :  '  O  blessed  cross !  there  is  no 
wood  like  thine  !'  "*  On  his  return  to 
Wittemberg,  Luther,  desiring  to  put  a 
stop  to  these  dissensions,  allowed  the 
monks  to  elect  another  prior.  Luther 
returned  to  Wittemberg  after  six  weeks' 
absence.  What  he  had  witnessed  sad- 
dened him ;  but  his  journey  gave  him 
a  better  knowledge  of  the  Church  and 
of  the  world,  and  more  confidence  in  his 
intercourse  with  mankind,  besides  offer- 
ing many  opportunities  of  pressing  the 
fundamental  truth  that  "  Holy  Scripture 
alone  shows  us  the  way  to  heaven,"  and 
at  the  same  time  exhorting  the  brethren 
to  live  holily  and  at  peace  one  with 
another,  t  Doubtless  a  plenteous  seed 
was  sown  in  the  different  Augustine  con- 
vents during  that  journey  of  the  Re- 
former. The  monastic  orders,  which 
had  long  been  the  support  of  Rome,  did 
more,  perhaps,  for  the  Reformation  than 
against  it.  This  was  especially  true  of 
the  Augustines.  Almost  all  the  men  of 
liberal  and  enlightened  piety  who  were 
living  in  the  cloisters,  turned  toward  the 
Gospel.  A  new  and  generous  blood 
seemed  to  circulate  through  ifiese  orders, 
which  were  as  the  arteries  of  the  Catho- 
lic body  in  Germany.  In  public,  little 
was  as  yet  heard  of  the  new  ideas  of  the 
Augustine  of  Wittemberg ;  while  they 
were  already  the  chief  subject  of  con- 
versation in  chapters  and  monasteries. 
More  than  one  cloister  was,  in  this  way, 
the  nursery  of  the  Reformers.  When 
the  great  struggle  came,  pious  and  brave 
men  came  forth  from  their  retirement 
and  exchanged  the  solitude  of  monkish 
life  for  the  active  service  of  ministers  of 
God's  word.  Even  as  early  as  this  visit 
of  inspection  in  1516,  Luther  aroused  by 
his  words  many  a  drowsy  spirit.  Hence 
that  year  has  been  named  "  the  Morning 
Star  of  the  Reformation." 

Luther  now  resumed  his  usual  occu- 
pation. He  Avas  at  this  period,  over- 
whelmed with  labour.  Besides  his  du- 
ties as  professor,  preacher,  and  confessor, 
he  was  burthened  with  many  temporal 
concerns  of  his  order  and  convent.     "  I 

*  Tarn  cito  enim  crux  cessat  esse  crux  quam 
cito  tetus  dixeris  :  Crux  benedicta  !  inter  ligna 
nullum  tale. — (Epp.  i.  27.) 

t  Heiliglich,  friedlich  und  zuchtig. — (Math 
p.  10.) 


require  almost  continually,"  said  he, 
"  two  secretaries ;  for  I  do  scarce  any- 
thing else  all  day  long  than  write  let- 
ters. I  am  preacher  to  the  convent, 
reader  of  prayers  at  table,  pastor  and  pa- 
rish minister,  director  of  studies,  vicar  of 
the  priory,  (that  is  to  say,  prior  ten  times 
over,)  inspector  of  the  fish-ponds  of  Litz- 
kau,  counsel  to  the  inns  of  Herzberg  at 
Torgau,  lecturer  on  St.  Paul,  and  com- 
mentator on  the  Psalms.  Seldom  have 
I  time  to  say  my  prayers,  or  sing  a 
hymn  ;  not  to  mention  my  struggle  with 
flesh  and  blood,  the  devil  and  the  world. 
See  what  an  idle  man  I  am  !"* 

About  this  time  the  plague  showed 
itself  at  Wittemberg.  A  great  num- 
ber of  the  students  and  doctors*  quitted 
the  town.  Luther  remained.  "  I  do 
not  very  well  know,"  wrote  he  to  his 
friend  at  Erfurth,  "  whether  the  plague 
will  suffer  me  to  finish  the  Epistle  to 
the  Galatians.  Quick  and  sudden  in  its 
attacks,  it' makes  great  havoc,  especially 
among  the  young.  You  advise  me  to 
flee — but  whither  shall  I  flee  ?  I  hope 
the  world  will  not  go  to  pieces  if  bro- 
ther Martin  should  fall,  t  If  the  plague 
spreads,  I  will  send  the  brethren  away 
in  all  directions,  but  for  my  part  I  am 
placed  here  ;  obedience  does  not  allow 
me  to  leave  the  spot  until  He  who 
called  me  hither  shall  call  me  away. 
Not  that  I  am  above  the  fear  of  death, 
(for  I  am  not  the  Apostle  Paul,  but  only 
his  commentator.)  but  I  trust  the  Lord 
will  deliver  me  from  the  fear  of  it." 
Such  was  the  firm  resolution  of  the  Doc- 
tor of  Wittemberg.  He  whom  the 
plague  could  not  force  to  retire  a  single 
step,  would  he  draw  back  from  fear  of 
Rome  1  would  he  recede  in  the  prospect 
of  the  scaffold? 

The  same  courage  that  Luther  evinced 
in  presence  of  the  most  formidable  evils. 
he  manifested  before  the  great  ones  of 
the  world.  The  Elector  was  well  satis- 
fied with  the  Vicar-general.  He  had 
reaped  a  rich  harvest  of  relics  in  the 
Low  Countries.  Luther  gave  an  ac- 
count of  it  to  Spajatin.  This  affair  of 
the  relics  is  singular  enough,  occurring 
as  it  did  at  the  moment  when  the  Refor- 

*  Epp.  i.  p.  41  to  Lange,  26  Oct  1516. 

t  Quo  fugiam  ?  spero  quod  non  corruet  orbis 
ruente  fratre  Martino.— (Epp.  i.  p.  42,  26  Oct. 
1516.) 


YOUTH,  CONVERSION,  AND  EARLY  LABOURS  OF  LUTHER. 


97 


mation  was  about  to  open.  Assuredly  the 
Reformers  did  not  see  clearly  whither 
they  were  tending.  The  Elector  deemed 
that  nothing  less  than  a  bishopric  was  a 
reward  commensurate  with  the  services 
of  the  Vicar-general.  Luther,  to  whom 
Spalatin  wrote  on  the  subject,  highly 
disapproved  the  suggestion.  "  There 
are  many  things,"  answered  he,  "  that 
are  pleasing  to  your  prince,  which  yet 
displease  God.  I  do  not  deny  that  he 
is  skilful  in  the  concerns  of  the  world, 
but  in  what  relates  to  God  and  the  sal- 
vation of  souls,  I  consider  him  altogether 
blind,  as  well  as  his  adviser  Pfeffinger. 
I  do  not  say  that  behind  his  back, 
like  a  calumniator  ;  I  do  not  conceal 
my  opinion  from  them  ;  for  I  am  at  all 
times  ready  myself  to  tell  them  both 
so  to  their  faces.  Why  will  you," 
continued  he,  "  seek  to  surround  that 
man  (Staupitz)  with  all  the  heavings 
and  tempests  of  episcopal  cares  ?"* 

The  Elector  did  not  take  amiss  the 
frankness  of  Luther.  "The  prince," 
wrote  Spalatin,  "  often  speaks  of  you  in 
honorable  terms."  Frederic  sent  the 
monk  some  stuff  for  a  gown.  It  was  of 
very  fine  cloth.  "  It  would  be  too  fine," 
said  Luther,  "  if  it  were  not  a  prince's 
gift.  I  am  not  worthy  that  any  man 
should  think  of  me,  much  less  a  prince, 
and  so  noble  a  prince.  Those  are  most 
useful  to  me  who  think  worst  of  me.f 
Present  my  thanks  to  our  Prince  for  his 
favour,  but  know  that  I  desire  neither 
the  praise  of  thyself  nor  of  others ;  all 
the  praise  of  man  is  vain,  the  praise  that 
cometh  of  God  being  alone  true." 

The  worthy  chaplain  would  not  con- 
fine himself  to  his  functions  at  the  court. 
He  wished  to  make  himself  useful  to 
the  people,  but,  like  many  others  in  all 
ages,  he  wished  to  do  it  without  offence, 
without  irritating  any  one,  and  so  to 
conciliate  general  favor.  "  Point  out 
to  me,"  said  he,  in  a  letter  to  Luther, 
"some  writing  to  translate,  but  one 
that  shall  give  general  satisfaction,  and 
at  the  same  time  be  useful."  "  Agreea- 
ble and  useful!"  replied  Luther,  "that 
is  beyond  my  skill.  The  better  things 
are,  the  less  they  please.     What  is  more 

*  Multa  placent  principi  tuo,  quse  Deo  displi- 
cent  (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  25.) 

t  Si  mihi  maxime   prosunt  que  mei  pessime 
meminerint. — (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  45.) 
13 


salutary  than  Christ?  and  yet  he  is  to 
most  a  savor  of  death.  You  will  say 
that  what  you  intend  is  to  be  useful 
to  those  who  love  Christ ; — then  cause 
them  to  hear  his  voice  ;  you  will  thus 
be  agreeable  and  useful — never  doubt 
it — but  to  a  small  number,  for  the 
sheep  are  but  rare  in  this  dreary  region 
of  wolves."* 

Luther,  however,  recommended  to  his 
friend  the  sermons  of  Tauler  the  Domini- 
can. "  I  never  saw,"  said  he,  "  either 
in  Latin  or  in  our  language,  a  theology 
more  sound  or  more  conformable  to  the 
Gospel.  Taste  them  and  see  how  gra- 
cious the  Lord  is,  but  not  till  you 
have  first  tasted  and  experienced  how- 
bitter  is  every  thing  in  ourselves."! 

It  was  in  the  course  of  the  year  1517 
that  Luther  became  connected  with 
Duke  George  of  Saxony.  The  house 
of  Saxony  had  at  that  time  two  chiefs. 
Two  princes,  Ernest  and  Albert,  car- 
ried off  in  their  childhood  from  the 
castle  of  Altenburg,  by  Kunz  of  Kau- 
fungen,  had  by  the  treaty  of  Leipsic 
been  acknowledged  as  the  founders  of 
the  two  houses  which  still  bear  their 
names.  The  Elector  Frederic,  son  of 
Ernest,  was  at  the  period  we  are  record- 
ing, the  head  of  the  Ernestine  branch, 
as  his  cousin,  Duke  George,  was  head 
of  the  Albertine  branch.  Dresden  and 
Leipsic  were  situated  in  the  states  of 
this  duke,  and  he  himself  resided  in 
the  former  of  these  cities.  His  mother, 
Sidonia,  was  daughter  of  the  King  of 
Bohemia,  George  Podibrad.  The  long 
struggle  which  Bohemia  had  maintained 
with  Rome,  since  the  time  of  John 
Huss,  had  had  some  influence  on  the 
Prince  of  Saxony.  He  had  often  ma- 
nifested a  desire  of  a  Reformation. 
"  He  sucked  it  with  his  mother's  milk," 
said  they;  "he  is,  by  his  nature,  an 
enemy  to  the  clergy.  "|  He  annoyed, 
in  many  ways,  the  bishops,  abbots,  ca- 
nons, and  monks;  and  his  cousin,  the 
Elector  Frederic,  often  had  to  interpose 
in  their  behalf.  It  must  have  seemed 
that  Duke  George  would  be  the  warm- 
est patron  of  a  Reformation.     The  de- 

*  Quo  sunt  aliqua  salubriora,  eo  minus  pla- 
cent— (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  46.) 

t  Quam  amarum  est,  quicquid  nos  Bumus. — 
(Ibid.) 

t  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xxii.  p.  1849. 


/ 


93 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


vout  Frederic,  on  the  contrary,  who 
had  in  early  life  assumed,  in  the  holy 
sepulchre,  the  spurs  of  Godfrey,  and 
armed  himself  with  the  long-  and  heavy 
sword  of  the  conqueror  of  Jerusalem, 
making-  oath  to  fight  for  the  Church, 
like  that  valiant  knight,  seemed  marked 
out  to  be  the  most  ardent  champion  of 
Rome.  But  in  what  pertains  to  the 
Gospel,  all  the  calculations  of  human 
wisdom  are  often  deceived.  The  very 
reverse  ensued.  The  Duke  would  have 
taken  pleasure  in  bringing  down  the 
Church  and  the  clergy,  in  humbling 
the  bishops,  whose  princely  retinue 
much  exceeded  his  own ;  but  to  re- 
ceive into  his  heart  the  doctrine  of  the 
Gospel,  which  was  to  humble  him, — to 
confess  himself  a  guilty  sinner,  incapable 
of  being  saved  except  by  grace, — was 
quite  another  thing.  He  would  have 
willingly  reformed  others,  but  he  had  no 
idea  of  reforming  himself.  He  would 
perhaps  have  put  his  hand  to  the  work 
to  oblige  the  Bishop  of  Mentz  to  limit 
himself  to  one  bishopric,  and  to  have 
only  fourteen  horses  in  his  stables,  as  he 
said  more  than  once  ;*  but  when  he  saw 
one  altogether  unlike  himself  appear 
as  the  Reformer, — when  he  beheld  a 
plain  monk  undertake  this  work,  and 
the  Reformation  gaining  ground  among 
the  people, — the  proud  grandson  of  the 
Hussite  King  became  the  most  violent 
adversary  of  the  reform  to  which  he  had 
shown  himself  favourable. 

In  the  month  of  July,  1517,  Duke 
George  requested  Staupitz  to  send  him 
a  learned  and  eloquent  preacher.  Stau- 
pitz sent  Luther,  recommending  him  as 
a  man  of  great  learning  and  irreproach- 
able conduct.  The  prince  invited  him 
to  preach  at  Dresden,  in  the  chapel  of  the 
castle,  on  St.  James  the  Elder's  day. 

The  day  came.  The  Duke  and  his 
court  repaired  to  the  chapel  to  hear  the 
preacher  from  Wittemberg.  Luther 
seized  with  joy  the  opportunity  of  giv- 
ing his  testimony  to  the  truth  before 
such  an  assembly.  He.  chose  as  his  text 
the  gospel  of  the  day :  "  Then  the  mo- 
ther of  Zebedee's  children  came  to  him 
with  her  sons,"  &c.  (Matt.  xx.  20.) 
He  preached  on  the  desires  and  unrea- 
sonable prayers  of  men,  and  then  pro- 
ceeded to  speak  with  energy  on  the 
*  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xxii.  p.  1849. 


assurance  of  salvation.  He  rested  it  on 
this  foundation  ; — that  they  who  hear 
the  word  of  God,  and  believe  it,  are  the 
true  disciples  of  Christ,  elect  unto  eternal 
life.  Then  he  spoke  of  free  election  ; 
he  shewed  that  this  doctrine,  viewed  in 
connection  with  Christ's  work,  has  power 
to  dispel  the  terrors  of  conscience,  so  that 
men,  instead  of  fleeing  far  from  the  Holy 
God,  in  the  consciousness  of  their  un- 
worthiness,  are  brought  by  grace  to  seek 
refuge  in  Him.  In  conclusion,  he  related 
a  story  of  three  virgins,  from  which  he 
deduced  edifying  instructions. 

The  word  of  truth  made  a  profound 
impression  on  the  hearers.  Two  of 
them,  especially,  "seemed  to  pay  particu- 
lar attention  to  the  sermon  of  the  monk 
of  Wittemberg.  The  first  was  a  lady 
of  respectable  appearance,  seated  on  the 
benches  of  the  court,  and  on  Avhose  fea- 
tures might  be  traced  a  deep  emotion. 
This  was  Madame  de  la  Sale,  lady  of 
the  bed-chamber  to  the  Duchess.  The 
other  was  Jerome  Emser,  licentiate  of 
canon  law,  and  secretary  and  counsellor 
to  the  Duke.  Emser  was  gifted  with 
talents  and  extensive  acquirements.  A 
courtier,  a  skilful  politician,  he  would 
have  wished  at  once  to  satisfy  two  oppo- 
site parties, — to  pass  at  Rome  as  a  de- 
fender of  the  Papacy,  and  at  the  same 
time  shine  among  the  learned  men  of 
Germany.  But  beneath  this  dexterous 
policy  lay  hid  much  violence  of  charac- 
ter. It  was  the  chapel  of  the  castle  of 
Dresden  that  was  the  scene  of  the  first 
meeting  of  Luther  and  Emser,  who  were 
destined  afterwards  to  break  more  than 
one  lance  together. 

The  dinner  hour  sounded  in  the  castle, 
and  soon  the  ducal  family  and  the  dif- 
ferent persons  of  the  court  were  assem- 
bled round  the  table.  The  conversation 
naturally  turned  on  the  morning  preacher. 
"  How  did  you  like  the  sermon  V  said 
the  Duke  to  Madame  de  la  Sale,  "If  I 
could  but  hear  one  other  such  sermon," 
answered  she,  "  I  would  die  in  peace." 
"  And  I,"  replied  Duke  George,  angrily, 
"  would  give  something  not  to  have  heard 
it ;  for  such  sermons  are  good  for  nothing, 
and  serve  only  to  encourage  men  in  sin." 

The  master  having  thus  made  known 
his  opinion,  the  courtiers  gave  vent  to 
their  dissatisfaction.  Each  was  ready 
with  his  remark.     Some  asserted  that  in 


YOUTH,    CONVERSION,   AND   EARLY   LABOURS   OF  LUTHER 


99 


Luther's  story  of  the  three  virgins,  he 
had  in  his  eye  three  ladies  of  the  court ; 
— hereupon  much  talk  and  whispering- 
ensued.  The  three  ladies  were  rallied 
on  the  circumstance  of  the  monk  of  Wit- 
temberg,  having,  as  they  said,  publicly 
pointed  them  out.*  "  He  is  an  ignorant 
fellow,"  said  some.  "A  proud  monk!" 
said  others.  Each  one  criticised  the  ser- 
mon in  his  own  manner,  and  made  the 
preacher  say  what  he  pleased.  The 
truth  had  fallen  in  the  midst  of  a  court 
little  prepared  to  receive  it.  Every  one 
mangled  it  at  his  will.  But  whilst  the 
word  of  God  was  thus  to  some  an  occa- 
sion of  falling,  it  was  to  the  lady  of  the 
bed-chamber  a  corner-stone  of  edification. 
One  month  afterwards,  she  fell  sick,  em- 
braced with  confidence  the  grace  of  the 
Saviour,  and  died  with  joy.f 

As  to  the  Duke,  it  was  not  perhaps  in 
vain  that  he  heard  this  testimony  to  the 
truth.  Whatever  had  been  his  opposi- 
tion to  the  Reformation  during  his  life, 
he  is  known  to  have  declared  on  his 
death-bed  that  he  had  no  other  hope  than 
in  the  merits  of  Christ. 

It  was  a  matter  of  course  that  Emser 
should  do  the  honours  to  Luther  in  the 
name  of  his  master.  He  invited  him  to 
supper.  Luther  declined.  But  Emser 
pressed  him  till  he  assented.  Luther 
expected  to  meet  only  a  few  friends,  but 
lie  soon  saw  it  was  a  trap  laid  for  him.| 
A  Master  of  Arts  of  Leipsic  and  several 
Dominicans  were  with  the  Prince's  secre- 
tary. The  Master  of  Arts,  full  of  confi- 
dence in  himself,  and  of  hatred  against 
Luther,  accosted  him  with  a  friendly  and 
gentle  air,  but  soon  lost  his  temper,  and 
talked  loudly. §  The  debate  was  opened. 
The  discussion  turned,  says  Luther,  on 
the  solemn  trifling  of  Aristotle  and  St 
Thomas.  ||  In  conclusion,  Luther  chal- 
lenged the  Master  of  Arts  to  define, 
with  all  the  learning  of  the  Thomists,  in 
what  obedience  to  God's  commandments 
consisted.  The  Master  of  Arts,  though 
puzzled,  put  a  good  face  upon  it.  "  Pay 
me  my  fees  first,"  said  he,  holding  out 
his  hand,  "  Da  pastim,"  as  though  he 

*  Has  tres  postea  in  aula  principis,  a  me  no- 
tatas  srarrierunt. — (L.  Epp.  i.  p  85.) 

t  Keith.  Leb.  Luth.  p.  32. 

X  Inter  medias  me  insidias  conjectum. — (L. 
Epp.  i.  85. 

§  In  me  acriter  et  clamose  invectns  est. — (Ibid.) 

||  Super  Aristotelis  et  Thomse  nugis. — (Ibid.) 


were  called  on  to  give  a  formal  lecture, 
treating  the  guests  as  his  scholars.  "  At 
this  ridiculous  reply,"  adds  the  Reformer, 
"  Ave  all  laughed  outright,  and  hereupon 
we  separated." 

During  this  conversation,  a  Dominican 
had  listened  at  the  door.  He  wanted  to 
enter  that  he  might  spit  in  Luther's  face.* 
He,  however,  restrained  himself;  but 
publicly  boasted  of  it  afterwards.  Em- 
ser, delighted  to  sec  his  guests  contend- 
ing with  each  other,  while  he  himself 
appeared  to  maintain  a  guarded  medium, 
took  pains  to  excuse  himself  to  Luther 
on  the  incident  of  the  evening. f  The 
latter  returned  to  Wittemberg. 

He  again  applied  himself  laboriously 
to  work.  He  was  preparing  six  or  seven 
young  divines,  who  were  about  to  un- 
dergo examination  for  license  to  teach. 
What  most  pleased  him  was,  that  their 
promotion  would  contribute  to  the  down- 
fal  of  Aristotle.  "  I  would  lose  no  time," 
said  he,  "  in  adding  to  the  number  of  his 
opponents."^  And  with  this  object,  he, 
about  that  time,  published  some  theses 
which  deserve  our  attention. 

The  Freedom  of  the  Will  was  his 
high  subject.  He  had  already  slightly 
touched  on  it  in  the  theses  of  Feldkir- 
chen  ;  he  now  went  more  fully  into  the 
question.  Ever  since  the  promulgation 
of  Christianity,  a  controversy  has  been 
carried  on,  with  more  or  less  keenness, 
between  the  two  doctrines  of  the  liberty 
and  the  bondage  of  the  human  will. 
Certain  scholastic  writers,  as  Pelagius, 
and  others,  had  taught  that  man  posses- 
sed, from  his  own  nature,  a  freedom  of 
will,  or  the  power  of  loving  God  and 
doing  righteousness.  Luther  denied  this 
doctrine  :  not  in  order  to  deprive  man  of 
liberty,  but  that  he  might  lead  him  to 
obtain  it.  The  point  of  dispute,  then,  is 
not,  as  has  been  commonly  said,  between 
liberty  and  slavery ;  it  is  between  a 
liberty  proceeding  from  man's  nature, 
and  a  liberty  that  cometh  of  God.  The 
one  party,  who  call  themselves  the  advo- 
cates of  liberty,  say  to  man  :  "  Thou  hast 
the  power  to  do  right,  thou  hast  no  need 
of  more  liberty !"  the  others,  who  have 

*  Ne  prodiret  et  in  faciem  mei  spueret. — 
(Ibid.) 

t  Enixe  sese  excusavit. 

X  Cujus  vellum  hostes  cito  quamplurimos  fieri. 
—(Epp.  i.  59.) 


100 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


been  styled  the  partizans  of  slavery,  say 
to  him  the  very  reverse  :  "  True  liberty 
is  what  thou  necdest,  and  it  is  what  God 
offers  to  thee  in  the  Gospel."  On  the 
one  side,  they  talk  of  liberty  so  as  to  per- 
petuate servitude ;  on  the  other,  they 
proclaim  to  us  our  bondage  that  we  may 
obtain  liberty.  Such  has  been  the  con- 
test in  St.  Paul's  time  ;  in  the  days  of 
St.  Augustine  ;  and,  again,  in  those  of 
Luther.  The  one  party,  congratulating 
man  on  his  freedom,  would,  in  effect, 
reconcile  him  to  slavery;  the  other,  show- 
ing how  his  fetters  may  be  struck  off,  are 
the  true  advocates  of  liberty. 

But  we  should  be  deceiving:  ourselves, 
it  we  are  to  sum  up,  in  this  question,  the 
whole  of  the  Reformation.  It  is  one,  and 
only  one,  of  many  doctrines  that  the  pro- 
fessor of  Wittemberg  contended  for.  It 
would,  especially,  be  a  strange  error  to 
assert,  that  the  Reformation  was  a  fatal- 
ism,— an  opposition  to  the  notion  of  hu- 
man liberty.  It  was  a  noble  emancipa- 
tion of  the  mind  of  man.  Bursting  the 
many  cords  with  which  the  hierarchy 
had  tied  down  the  thoughts  of  men, — 
restoring  the  ideas  of  liberty,  of  right  of 
free  investigation, — it  liberated  its  own 
age,  ourselves,  and  the  remotest  posterity. 
And  let  none  say :  "  True,  the  Reforma- 
tion did  liberate  man  from  all  human 
despotism  :  but,  at  the  same  time,  reduced 
him  to  slavery  in  other  things,  by  pro- 
claiming the  sovereignty  of  grace." 
Doubtless,  its  aim  was  to  bring  the  hu- 
man will  into  harmony  with  the  divine 
will,  to  subject  the  former  absolutely  to 
the  latter,  and  to  blend  them  together. 
But  where  is  the  philosopher  who  does 
not  know,  that  perfect  conformity  to  the 
will  of  God  is  the  sole,  sovereign,  and 
complete  liberty;  and  that  man  will 
never  be  truly  free,  until  perfect  right- 
eousness and  unchanging  truth  reign 
unrivalled  in  his  heart  and  mind  ? 

The  following  are  a  few  of  the  ninety- 
nine  propositions  which  Luther  put  forth 
in  the  Church,  against  the  Pelagian  ra- 
tionalism of  the  scholastic  theology  : — 

"  It  is  true  that  man,  who  is  become 
1  a  bad  tree,'  can  but  will  and  do  what  is 
evil. 

"  It  is  false  that  the  will,  left  to  itself, 
can  do  good  as  well  as  evil ;  for  it  is  not 
free,  but  led  captive. 


"  It  is  not  in  the  power  of  man's  will 
to  purpose  or  not  purpose  all  that  is  sug- 
gested to  him. 

"  Man,  by  nature,  cannot  wish  that 
God  should  be  God.  He  would  prefer 
that  himself  should  be  God,  and  that  God 
should  not  be  God. 

"  The  excellent,  infallible,  and  sole 
preparation  for  grace,  is  the  election  and 
the  everlasting  predestination  of  God.* 

"  It  is  false  to  say,  that  man,  if  he  does 
all  in  his  power,  dissipates  the  obstacles 
to  divine  grace. 

u  In  one  word,  nature  possesses  neither 
a  pure  reason  nor  a  good  will.f 

"  On  man's  part,  there  is  nothing  that 
goes  before  grace, — nothing  but  impo- 
tency  and  rebellion. 

"  There  is  no  moral  virtue  without 
pride  or  sadness, — that  is  to  say,  without 
sin. 

"  From  first  to  last,  we  are  not  the 
masters  of  our  actions,  but  their  slaves. 

"  We  do  not  become  righteous  by  do- 
ing that  which  is  righteous ;  but  having 
become  righteous,  we  do  that  which  is 
righteous. 

"  He  who  says  a  theologian,  unac- 
quainted with  logic,  is  an  heretic  and 
empiric,  makes  an  empirical  and  here- 
tical assertion. 

"  There  is  no  form  of  reasoning  or  syl- 
logism suited  to  the  things  of  God.| 

"  If  the  syllogistic  method  were  appli- 
cable to  divine  things,  the  doctrine  of  the 
Holy  Trinity  would  be  known  and  not 
believed. 

"  In  a  word,  Aristotle  is  to  theology  as 
darkness  to  light. 

"  Man  is  more  opposed  to  the  grace  of 
God  than  to  the  law  itself. 

"  He  who  is  destitute  of  the  grace  of 
God  sins  incessantly,  though  he  should 
neither  kill,  nor  steal,  nor  commit  adul- 
tery. 

"  He  sins,  because  he  does  not  fulfil 
the  law  spiritually. 

"  It  is  the  righteousness  of  hypocrites 
not  to  kill,  and  not  to  commit  adultery 
in  outward  acts. 

"  The  law  of  God  and  the  will  of 

*  Optima  et  infallibilis  ad  jrratiam  preparatio 
et  unica  dispositio  est  aeterna  Dei  electio  et  prae- 
destinatio. — (L.  Opp.  lat.  i.  56.) 

t  Breviter  nee  rectum  dictamen  habet  natura 
nee  bonam  voluntatem. — (lb.) 

t  Nulla  forma  syllogistica  tenet  in  terminis 
divinis — (L.  Opp.  lat.  i.  56.) 


YOUTH,   CONVERSION,   AND   EARLY   LABOURS   OF   LUTHER.         101 


man  are  two  opposites,  which,  without 
the  grace  of  God,  cannot  he  made  to 
meet* 

"  What  the  law  prescribes  the  will 
never  seeks,  unless,  from  fear  or  interest, 
it  affects  to  seek  it. 

"  The  law  is  a  task-master  of  our  will, 
which  is  not  brought  into  obedience,  save 
only  by  the  young  child  born  unto  us.f 
(Isa.  ix.  6.) 

u  The  law  makes  sin  to  abound,  for  it 
irritates  and  repels  the  will. 

"  But  the  grace  of  God  makes  right- 
eousness to  abound  '  by  Jesus  Christ ;' 
who  leads  us  to  love  the  law. 

"  All  the  works  of  the  law  seem  fair 
without,  but  are  sin  within. 

"  The  will,  when  it  turns  towards  the 
law,  without  the  grace  of  God,  does  so 
only  for  its  own  self-pleasing. 

"  They  are  still  under  the  curse  who 
do  the  works  of  the  law. 

"  Blessed  are  all  they  who  do  works 
of  the  grace  of  God. 

"  The  law  which  is  good,  and  in 
which  we  have  life,  is  the  love  of  God 
shed  abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

"  Grace  is  not  given,  that  works  may 
be  done  oftener  or  easier ;  but  because, 
without  grace,  no  work  of  love  can  be 
done. 

"  To  love  God  is  to  abhor  ourselves, 
and  to  have  nothing  out  of  God."| 

Thus,  Luther  attributes  to  God  all 
good  that  man  can  do.  It  is  not  enough 
to  repair  and  patch  up,  if  we  may  so 
speak,  man's  will ;  an  entirely  new  will 
must  be  given  him.  God  only  could 
have  said  this  ;  because  God  only  could 
accomplish  it.  This  is  one  of  the  great- 
est and  most  important  truths  that  the 
human  mind  can  receive. 

But  Luther,  while  proclaiming  the 
impotence  of  man,  did  not  fall  into  a 
contrary  extreme  to  that  he  opposed. 
He  says,  in  his  8th  thesis  :  "  It  does  not 
follow,  from  this  statement,  that  the  will 
is  in  its  nature  bad :  that  is,  that  its  na- 
ture is  that  of  evil  itself,  as  the  Maniche- 


*  Lex  et  voluntas  sunt  adversarii  duo  sine  gra- 
tia Dei  implicabiles. — (lb.  p.  57.) 

t  Lex  est  exactor  voluntatis,  qui  non  supera- 
tur  nisi  per  Parvulum  qui  natus  est  nobis. — (L. 
Opp.  lat.  i.  57.") 

t  L.  Opp.  Lips.  xvii.  p.  143  ;  and  Opp.  lat.  i. 


ans  have  asserted."*  The  nature  of  man 
was  at  first  essentially  good:  it  has  turned 
aside  from  good, — that  is,  from  God, — 
and  inclined  to  evil.  Still  its  holy  and 
glorious  origin  remains,  and  it  may,  by 
the  power  of  God,  be  restored  and  re- 
newed. The  office  of  Christianity  is 
thus  to  restore  it.  It  is  true,  the  Gospel 
represents  man  in  a  condition  of  humili- 
ation and  impotence,  but  between  two 
states  of  glory  and  of  grandeur — a  past 
glory,  from  which  he  has  been  hurled, 
and  a  future  glory,  to  which  he  is  called. 
That  is  the  real  truth :  man  knows  it, 
and  on  the  slightest  consideration,  he 
perceives  that  all  that  is  said  of  his  pre- 
sent purity,  power,  and  glory,  is  nothing 
but  a  fiction  designed  to  lull  and  soothe 
his  pride. 

Luther,  in  his  theses,  protested  not  only 
against  the  pretended  goodness  of  man's 
will,  but  also  against  the  asserted  illumi- 
nation of  his  understanding  in  regard  to 
divine  things.  The  schoolmen  had  ex- 
alted human  reason  as  well  as  man's 
will.  This  theology,  as  it  had  been  re- 
presented by  some  of  its  teachers,  was  at 
the  bottom  a  kind  of  rationalism.  The 
propositions  that  we  have  quoted,  show 
this.  We  might  suppose  them  directed 
against  the  rationalism  of  our  day.  In 
the  theses  which  were  the  signal  of  the 
Reformation,  Luther  censured  the  Church 
and  the  popular  superstitions  which  had 
overloaded  the  Gospel  with  indulgences, 
purgatory,  and  so  many  other  abuses. 
In  the  theses  we  have  now  quoted,  he 
attacked  the  schools  and  the  rationalism 
which  had  retrenched  from  the  Gospel 
the  doctrine  of  God's  sovereign  grace. 
The  Reformation  turned  against  ration- 
alism before  it  attacked  superstition.  It 
proclaimed  the  rights  of  God  before  it 
lopped  off  the  excrescences  of  man.  It 
was  positive — before  it  was  negative. 
This  has  not  been  sufficiently  adverted 
to,  and  yet,  if  we  do  not  keep  it  in  mind, 
it  is  impossible  to  appreciate  this  religious 
revolution  and  its  true  nature. 

However  this  may  be,  the  truths  that 
Luther  had  just  expressed  with  so  much 
energy,  were  quite  new  to  his  hearers. 
To  maintain  these  theses  at  Wittemberg 
would  have  been  an  easy  thing.     His 

*  Nee  igitur  sequitur  quod  sit  naturaliter  mala, 
id  est  natura  mali,  secundum  Manichaeos. — 
(Ibid.; 


102 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


influence  prevailed  there.  It  might  have 
been  said  that  he  was  choosing  a  field  in 
which  he  knew  no  antagonist  could  op- 
pose him.  By  offering  battle  in  another 
university,  he  was  giving  them  a  wider 
publicity  ;  and  it  was  through  publicity 
that  the  Reformation  was  to  be  effected. 
He  chose  Erfurth,  whose  divines  had 
shown  themselves  so  offended  with  him. 

He  therefore  sent  these  theses  to  John 
Lange,  prior  of  Erfurth,  and  wrote  to 
him  thus :  "  My  anxiety  to  know  your 
mind  on  these  paradoxes  is  great,  per- 
haps extreme.  I  strongly  suspect  that 
your  theologians  will  consider  as  paradox, 
and  even  as  cacodox,  that  which  I  must 
always  consider  very  orthodox.*  Tell 
me,  therefore,  your  opinion,  as  soon  as 
you  can.  Pray  inform  the  faculty  of 
theology,  and  all  others,  that  I  am  ready 
to  come  among  you,  and  publicly  main- 
tain these  propositions,  either  in  the  Uni- 
versity or  in  the  monastery."  It  does 
not  appear  that  Luther's  challenge  was 
accepted.  The  monks  of  Erfurth  con- 
tented themselves  with  letting  him  know 
that  these  theses  had  greatly  displeased 
them. 

But  he  determined  to  send  them  into 
another  part  of  Germany.  He  turned 
his  eyes,  for  that  purpose,  on  one  who 
played  a  remarkable  part  in  the  history 
of  the  Reformation,  and  whose  character 
it  is  necessary  we  should  understand. 

John  Meyer,  a  distinguished  professor, 
was  then  teaching  at  the  university  of 
Ingolstadt,  in  Bavaria.  He  was  a  native 
of  Eck,  a  village  of  Suabia,  and  was 
commonly  called  Doctor  Eck.  He  was 
a  friend  of  Luther,  who  highly  esteemed 
his  talents  and  information.  He  was 
full  of  intelligence,  well  read,  and  gifted 
with  an  extraordinary  memory.  To  his 
learning  he  united  eloquence.  His  ac- 
tion and  voice  expressed  the  liveliness  of 
his  genius.  Eck  was,  as  to  talent,  in 
southern  Germany,  what  Luther  was  in 
the  north.  They  were  the  two  most  dis- 
tinguished theologians  of  that  period, 
though  differing  widely  in  their  tenden- 
cy, as  the  sequel  showed.  Ingolstadt 
almost  rivalled  Wittemberg.  The  re- 
putation of  the  two  Doctors  drew  from 
all  sides,  to  their  respective  universities,  a 
crowd  of  students  eager  to  listen  to  their 
lectures.  Their  personal  qualities,  not 
*  Imo  cacodoxa  videri. — (L.  Epp.  i.  60.) 


less  than  their  learning,  endeared  them 
to  their  scholars.  The  character  of  Eck 
has  been  censured.  An  incident  of  his 
life  will  shew,  that,  at  this  period  at  least, 
his  heart  was  not  closed  against  gene- 
rous impulses. 

Among  the  students,  whom  his  reput- 
ation had  attracted  to  Ingolstadt,  was  a 
young  man  named  Urban  Regius,  born 
on  the  banks  of  one  of  the  Swiss  lakes. 
He  had  studied  first  at  the  university  of 
Friburg  in  Brisgau.  Arriving  at  Ingol- 
stadt, whither  the  reputation  of  Eck  had 
attracted  him,  Urban  there  attended 
courses  of  philosophy,  and  won  the  doc- 
tor's favor.  Obliged  to  provide  for  his 
own  necessities,  he  found  himself  com- 
pelled to  take  charge  of  the  education  of 
some  young  nobles^  He  was  not  only 
to  overlook  their  conduct  and  studies, 
but  himself  to  buy  for  them  the  books 
and  clothes  they  needed.  These  youths 
were  accustomed  to  dress  well,  and  live 
expensively.  Regius,  uneasy  at  this,  re- 
quested the  parents  to  remove  their  sons. 
"  Take  courage,"  answered  they.  His 
debts  increased,  his  creditors  became 
clamorous,  he  knew  not  what  would  be- 
come of  him.  The  Emperor  was  then 
collecting  an  army  against  the  Turks. 
Some  recruiting  parties  arrived  at  Ingol- 
stadt. In  his  desperation  Urban  enlisted.' 
He  appeared  in  the  ranks,  in  military 
garb,  at  a  review  preparatory  to  march- 
ing. Just  then,  Doctor  Eck  arrived  in 
the  square  with  some  of  his  colleagues. 
To  his  great  surprise,  he  recognised  his 
student  in  the  midst  of  the  recruits. 
"  Urban  Regius  !"  said  he,  approaching 
him,  and  fixing  on  him  a  scrutinizing 
eye.  "  I  am  here  !"  answered  the1  con- 
script. "  What,  I  pray  you,  is  the  cause 
of  this  change  ?"  The  young  man  told 
his  story.  "I  will  settle  the  affair,"  an- 
swered Eck.  He  then  proceeded  to  take 
away  his  halberd,  and  bought  his  dis- 
charge from  the  recruiting  officers.  The 
parents,  threatened  by  the  Doctor  with 
the  displeasure  of  their  prince,  sent  the 
necessary  funds  for  their  children's  ex- 
penditure. Urban  Regius  was  preserved, 
to  become,  at  a  later  period,  one  of  the 
supporters  of  the  Reformation. 

It  was  Doctor  Eck  that  Luther  pitched 
on  to  make  known  in  the  southern  states, 
his  theses  on  Pelagianism  and  the  Ra- 
tionalism of  the  schools.     He  did  not, 


THE  INDULGENCES,  AND  THE  THESES. 


103 


however,  send  them  direct  to  the  Profes- 
sor of  Ingolstadt,  but  addressed  them  to 
their  common  friend,  the  worthy  Chris- 
topher Scheurl,  town-clerk  of  the  city  of 
Nuremberg,  requesting  him  to  forward 
them  to  Eck,  at  Ingolstadt,  which  was 
not  far  from  Nuremberg.  "  I  send  you," 
said  he,  "  my  propositions,  (merely  pa- 
radoxical, or  even  kakistocloxical  as  they 
seem  to  many) ;  communicate  them  to 
our  dear  Eck,  that  learned  and  saga- 
cious man,  that  I  may  know  what  he 
thinks  of  them."*  It  was  thus  Luther 
then  spoke  of  Doctor  Eck  ;  such  was  the 
friendship  which  united  them.  Luther 
was  not  the  first  to  break  off  this  good 
understanding. 

But  the  combat  was  not  to  be  fought 
on  that  field.  These  theses  turned,  it 
may  be  thought,  on  doctrines  of  higher 
importance  than  those  which,  two 
months  after,  set  the  whole  Church  in  a 
flame.  And  yet,  notwithstanding  Lu- 
ther's challenge,  they  passed  unnoticed. 
They  were  read,  at  the  most,  in  the  pre- 
cincts of  the  school,  and  they  made  no 
sensation  beyond  its  bounds.  The  rea- 
son of  this  was,  that  they  contained  only 

*  Eccio  nostro  eruditissimo  et  ingeniossimo 
viro  exhibete,  ut  audiam  et  videam  quid  vocet 
Mas.— (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  63.) 


academic  propositions,  and  theological 
doctrines ;  whilst  the  theses  which  fol- 
lowed had  immediate  reference  to  an 
evil  which  had  grown  up  in  the  midst 
of  the  people,  and  overflowed  Germany 
on  all  sides.  So  long  as  Luther  con- 
fined himself  to  bringing  forth  long-for- 
gotten doctrine,  no  response  was  heard. 
When  he  pointed  to  the  abuses  which  of- 
fended all  minds,  every  one  gave  ear. 

Nevertheless,  Luther,  in  both  cases, 
did  but  design  to  raise  one  of  those  theo- 
logical discussions  then  frequent  in  the 
University.  His  ideas  did  not  range 
beyond  that  circle.  He  had  no  thought 
of  becoming  a  Reformer.  He  had  a 
low  opinion  of  his  own  powers,  and  his 
humility  even  amounted  to  mistrust  and 
anxiety.  "  I  deserve, — such  is  my  ignor- 
ance,"— said  he,  "  nothing  better  than  to 
be  hidden  in  a  corner  unknown  to  every 
one."*  But  a  powerful  hand  drew  him 
forth  from  this  corner,  where  he  would 
have  wished  to  remain  unknown  to  the 
world.  An  occurrence,  which  did  not 
depend  on  Luther's  will,  threw  him  on 
the  field  of  battle,  and  the  conflict  began. 
It  is  this  providential  circumstance  that 
the  progress  of  events  calls  on  us  to  nar- 
rate. 

*  L.  Opp.  (W.)  jsviii.  1944. 


BOOK    III. 


THE   INDULGENCES,   AND   THE   THESES. 
1517—1518. 

Tetzel Confessions — The  Sale — Penance — Letter  of  Indulgence — Relaxations— A  Soul  in  Pur- 

o-atory The  Shoemaker  of  Hagenau — Myconius— A  Stratagem— Opinions  of  the  People— The 

Miser  of  Schneeberg— Leo  X. — Albert— Farming  Indulgences — Franciscans  and  Dominicans 
—Confession— A  Calumny  Refuted— Luther's  Sermon— The  Dream— Theses— Letter  to  Albert 
—Efforts  for  Reform— The  Bishops— Spread  of  the  Theses— Reception  of  the  Theses— Effects 
of  the  Theses— Myconius— Apprehension— Opposers  at  Wittemberg— Luther's  Answer— De- 
jection of  Luther— Motives— Tetzel's  Attack— Luther's  Answer— Luther's  Boldness— Luther 
and  Spalatin— Study  of  the  Scriptures— Scheurl  and  Luther— Albert  Durer— Tetzel's  Reply- 
Disputation  at  Frankfort— Tetzel's  Theses— Luther's  Theses  Burned— Outcry  of  the  Monks- 
Luther's  Composure— Tetzel's  Theses  Burned— The  higher  Clergy— Prienas— The  Romish 
Svstem— The  Disciple  of  the  Bible— The  Doctrine  of  the  Reformation— Luther's  Reply  to 
Prierias— Hochstraten— Doctor  Eck— The  "  Obelisks"— The  "  Asterisks"— Scheurl  attempts 
Reconciliation-Luther's  Tracts-"  Who  art  in  Heaven"-"  Our  Daily  Bi-ead'-"  Remission 
of  Sins"— Effects  of  Luther's  Teaching— Luther's  Journey— The  Palatine  CasUe— 1  he  ra- 
radoxes"— The  Disputation— Its  Results—  Bucer— Brentz— The  Gospel  of  Heidelburg— Lttect 
on  Luther— The  Old  Professor — Return  to  Wittemberg. 


A  great  agitation  reigned,  at  that  time, 
among  the  people  of  Germany.     The 


Church  had  opened  a  vast  market  on  the 
earth.     Judging  from  the  crowd  of  buy- 


104 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


ers,  and  the  noise  and  jests  of  the  dealers, 
we  might  call  it  a  fair  ;  but  a  fair  held 
by  monks.  The  merchandise  they  ex- 
tolled, offering  it  at  a  reduced  price,  was, 
said  they,  the  salvation  of  souls ! 

The  dealers  passed  through  the  coun- 
try in  a  gay  carriage,  escorted  by  three 
horsemen,  in  great  state,  and  spending 
freely.  One  might  have  thought  it  some 
dignitary  on  a  royal  progress,  with  his 
attendants  and  officers,  and  not  a  com- 
mon dealer,  or  a  begging  monk.  When 
the  procession  approached  a  town,  a  mes- 
senger waited  on  the  magistrate  :  "  The 
grace  of  God,  and  of  the  Holy  Father, 
is  at  your  gates !"  said  the  envoy.  In- 
stantly every  thing  was  in  motion  in  the 
place.  The  clergy  >  the  priests,  the  nuns, 
the  council,  the  schoolmasters,  the  trades, 
with  their  flags, — men  and  women,  young 
and  old,  went  forth  to  meet  the  merchants, 
with  lighted  tapers  in  their  hands,  ad- 
vancing to  the  sound  of  music,  and  of  all 
the  bells  of  the  place  ;  "  so  that,"  says  an 
historian,  "  they  could  not  have  given  a 
grander  welcome  to  God  himself."  Sa- 
lutations being  exchanged,  the  whole  pro- 
cession moved  toward  the  church.  The 
pontiff's  bull  of  grace  was  borne  in  front, 
on  a  velvet  cushion,  or  on  cloth  of  gold. 
The  chief  vender  of  indulgences  fol- 
lowed, supporting  a  large  red  wooden 
cross ;  and  the  whole  procession  moved 
in  this  manner,  amidst  singing,  prayers, 
and  the  smoke  of  incense.  The  sound 
of  organs,  and  a  concert  of  instruments, 
received  the  monkish  dealer  and  his  at- 
tendants into  the  church.  The  cross  he 
bore  with  him  was  erected  in  front  of  the 
altar :  on  it  was  hung  the  Pope's  arms  ; 
and,  as  long  as  it  remained  there,  the 
clergy  of  the  place,  the  penitentiaries, 
and  the  sub-commissioners,  with  white 
wands  in  their  hands,  came  every  day 
after  vespers,  or  before  the  salutation,  to 
dp  homage  to  it.*  This  great  bustle  ex- 
cited a  lively  sensation  in  the  quiet  towns 
of  Germany. 

One  person  in  particular  drew  the  at- 
tention of  the  spectators  in  these  sales. 
It  was  he  who  bore  the  great  red  cross, 
and  had  the  most  prominent  part  as- 
signed to  him.  He  was  clothed  in  the 
habit  of  the  Dominicans,  and  his  port 

*  Instruction  of  the  Archbishop  of  Mentz  to 
the  sub-commissioners  of  the  Indulgence,  &c 
art.  8. 


was  lofty.  His  voice  was  sonorous,  and 
he  seemed  yet  in  the  prime  of  his  strength, 
though  he  was  past  his  sixty-third  year.* 
This  man,  who  was  the  son  of  a  gold- 
smith of  Leipsic  named  Diez,  bore  the 
name  of  John  Diezel  or  Tetzel.  He  had 
studied  in  his  native  town,  had  taken  his 
bachelor's  degree  in  1487,  and  entered 
two  years  later  into  the  order  of  the  Do- 
minicans. Numerous  honours  had  been 
accumulated  on  him.  Bachelor  of  The- 
ology, Prior  of  the  Dominicans,  Aposto- 
lical Commissioner,  Inquisitor,  (hereticce 
pravitatis  inquisitor,)  he  had  ever  since 
the  year  1502,  filled  the  office  of  an  agent 
for  the  sale  of  indulgences.  The  expe- 
rience he  had  acquired  as  a  subordinate 
functionary  had  very  early  raised  him  to 
the  station  of  chief  commissioner.  He 
had  an  allowance  of  80  florins  per  month, 
all  his  expenses  defrayed,  and  he  was  al- 
lowed a  carriage  and  three  horses  ;  but 
we  may  readily  imagine  that  his  indirect 
emoluments  far  exceeded  his  allowances. 
In  1507,  he  gained  in  two  days  at  Frey- 
berg  2000  florins.  If  his  occupation  re- 
sembled that  of  a  mountebank,  he  had 
also  the  morals  of  one.  Convicted  at 
Inspruck  of  adultery  and  abominable  pro- 
fligacy, he  was  near  paying  the  forfeit  of 
his  life.  The  Emperor  Maximilian  had 
ordered  that  he  should  be  put  into  a  sack 
and  thrown  into  the  river.  The  Elector 
Frederic  of  Saxony  had  interceded  for 
him,  and  obtained  his  pardon,  f  But  the 
lesson  he  had  received  had  not  taught 
him  more  decency.  He  carried  about 
with  him  two  of  his  children.  Miltitz, 
the  Pope's  legate,  cites  the  fact  in  one  of 
his  letters.  1  It  would  have  been  hard  to 
find  in  all  the  cloisters  of  Germany  a 
man  more  adapted  to  the  traffic  with 
which  he  was  charged.  To  the  theology 
of  a  monk,  and  the  zeal  and  spirit  of  an 
inquisitor,  he  united  the  greatest  effron- 
tery. What  most  helped  him  in  his  office 
was  the  facility  he  displayed  in  the  in- 
vention of  the  strange  stories  with  which 
the  taste  of  the  common  people  is  gener- 
ally pleased.  No  means  came  amiss  to 
him  to  fill  his  coffers.  Lifting  up  his 
voice  and  giving  loose  to  a  coarse  volu- 


5.) 


*  Ingenio  ferox  et  corpore  robustus. — (Cochl. 

t  Welchen  Churfurst  Friederich  vom  Sack 
zu  Inspruck  er  beten  Hatte. — (Mathes.  x.) 
X  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xv.  862. 


THE  INDULGENCES,   AND  THE  THESES. 


105 


bility,  he  offered  his  indulgences  to  all 
comers,  and  excelled  any  salesman  at  a 
fair  in  recommending  his  merchandise.* 

As  soon  as  the  cross  was  elevated  with 
the  Pope's  arms  suspended  upon  it,  Tet- 
zel  ascended  the  pulpit,  and,  with  a  bold 
tone,  began,  in  the  presence  of  the  crowd 
whom  the  ceremony  had  drawn  to  the  sa- 
cred spot,  to  exalt  the  efficacy  of  indul- 
gences. The  people  listened  and  won- 
dered at  the  admirable  virtues  ascribed 
to  them.  A  Jesuit  historian  says  him- 
self, in  speaking  of  the  Dominican  friars 
•whom  Tetzel  had  associated  with  him: 
— "  Some  of  these  preachers  did  not  fail, 
as  usual,  to  distort  their  subject,  and  so  to 
exaggerate  the  value  of  the  indulgences 
as  to  lead  the  people  to  believe  that,  as 
soon  as  they  gave  their  money,  they  were 
certain  of  salvation  and  of  the  deliver- 
ance of  souls  from  purgatory,  "f 

If  such  were  the  pupils,  we  may  ima- 
gine what  lengths  the  master  went.  Let 
us  hear  one  of  these  harangues,  pronoun- 
ced after  the  erection  of  the  cross. 

"  Indulgences,"  said  he,  "  are  the  most 
precious  and  sublime  of  God's  gifts. 

"  This  cross " — (pointing  to  the  red 
cross) — "  has  as  much  efficacy  as  the 
cross  of  Jesus  Christ.  J 

"Draw  near,  and  I  will  give  you  letters, 
duly  sealed,  by  which  even  the  sins  you 
shall  hereafter  desire  to  commit  shall  be 
all  forgiven  you. 
!  "  I  would  not  exchange  my  privileges 
for  those  of  Saint  Peter  in  heaven,  for  I 
have  saved  more  souls  with  my  indul- 
;  gences  than  he  with  his  sermons. 

"  There  is  no  sin  so  great  that  the  in- 
dulgence cannot  remit  it,  and  even  if  any 
one  should  (which  is  doubtless  impossi- 
ble) ravish  the  Holy  Virgin  Mother  of 
God,  let  him  pay, — let  him  only  pay 
largely,  and  it  shall  be  forgiven  him.§ 

)  *  Circumferuntur  venales  indulgentise  in  his 
regionibus  a  Tecelio,  Dominicano  impudentissi- 
mo  sycophanta. — (Melancth.  Vita  Luth.) 

t  Hist,  de  Lutheranisme  par  le  P.  Maimbourg 
de  la  compagnie  de  Jesus.     1681,  p.  21. 

t  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xxii.  1393. 

§  Tetzel  defended  and  maintained  this  asser- 
tion in  his  antitheses,  published  the  same  year. 
(Th.  99,  100,  101.) — Sub-commissariis,  insuper 
ac  prcedicatoribus  veniarum  imponere,  ut  si  quis 
per  impossibile  Dei  genetricem  semper  virginem 
violasset,  quod  eundem  indulgentiarum  vigore 
absolvere  possent,  luce  clarus  est.  (Positiones 
fratris  I.  Tezelii  quibus  defendit  indulgentias 
contra  Lutherum.) 

14      . 


"  Even  repentance  is  not  indispen- 
sable. 

"  But  more  than  all  this :  indulgences 
save  not  the  living  alone,  they  also  save 
the  dead. 

"  Ye  priests,  ye  nobles,  ye  tradesmen, 
ye  wives,  ye  maidens,  and  ye  young  men, 
hearken  to  your  departed  parents  and 
friends,  who  cry  to  you  from  the  bottom- 
less abyss :  '  We  are  enduring  horrible 
torment !  a  small  alms  would  deliver 
us; — you  can  give  it,  and  you  will 
not !' " 

A  shudder  ran  through  his  hearers  at 
these  words,  uttered  by  the  formidable 
voice  of  the  mountebank  monk. 

"  The  very  moment,"  continued  Tet- 
zel, "  that  the  money  clinks  against  the 
bottom  of  the  chest,  the  soul  escapes  from 
purgatory  and  flies  free  to  heaven.* 

"  Q,  senseless  people,  and  almost  like 
to  beasts,  who  do  not  comprehend  the 
grace  so  richly  offered !  This  day,  hea- 
ven is  on  all  sides  open.  Do  you  now 
refuse  to  enter?  When,  then,  do  you  in- 
tend to  come  in  ?  This  day  you  may 
redeem  many  souls.  Dull  and  heedless 
man,  with  ten  groschen  you  can  deliver 
your  father  from  purgatory,  and  you  are 
so  ungrateful  that  you  will  not  rescue 
him.  In  the  day  of  judgment,  my  con- 
science will  be  clear ;  but  you  will  be 
punished  the  more  severely  for  neglect- 
ing so  great  a  salvation.  I  protest  that 
though  you  should  have  only  one  coat, 
you  ought  to  strip  it  off  and  sell  it,  to 
purchase  this  grace.  Our  Lord  God  no 
longer  deals  with  us  as  God.  He  has 
given  all  power  to  the  Pope  !" 

Then,  having  recourse  to  other  in- 
ducements, he  added  : — "  Do  you  know 
why  our  most  Holy  Lord  distributes  so 
rich  a  grace?  The  dilapidated  Church  of 
St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  is  to  be  restored, 
so  as  to  be  unparalleled  in  the  whole 
earth.  That  church  contains  the  bodies 
of  the  holy  apostles,  Peter  and  Paul, 
and  a  vast  company  of  martyrs.  Those 
sacred  bodies,  owing  to  the  present  con- 
dition of  the  edifice,  are  now,  alas !  con- 
tinually trodden,  flooded,  polluted,  dis- 
honoured, and  rotting  in  rain  and  hail. 
Ah  !  shall  these  holy  ashes  be  suffered 
to  remain  degraded  in  the  mire  ?"f 

*  Th.  56.— (Ibid.) 

t  Instruction  of  the  Archbishop  of  Mentz,  &c. 


106 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


This  touch  of  description  never  failed 
to  produce  an  impression  on  many  hear- 
ers. There  was  an  eager  desire  to  aid 
poor  Leo  X.  who  had  not  the  means  of 
sheltering  from  the  rain  the  bodies  of  St. 
Peter  and  St.  Paul ! 

The  speaker  next  proceeded  to  de- 
claim against  the  disputers  who  should 
question,  and  the  traitors  who  should 
oppose  his  mission : — u  I  declare  them 
all  excommunicated  !" 

Then  turning  to  the  docile  souls  among 
his  hearers,  and  impiously  perverting  the 
Scripture  :  "  Blessed,"  said  he,  "  blessed 
are  the  eyes  that  see  what  you  see,  for  I 
tell  you  that  many  prophets  and  many 
kings  have  desired  to  see  the  things 
which  ye  see,  and  have  not  seen  them, 
and  to  hear  the  things  which  ye  hear, 
and  have  not  heard  them."  And  as  a 
finish  to  his  address,  pointing  to  the 
strong  box  in  which  the  money  was  re- 
ceived, he  generally  concluded  his  mov- 
ing discourse  by  thrice  calling  on  the 
people  :  "  Bring  your  money  !  bring 
money  !  bring  money  !"  "  He  uttered 
this  cry  with  such  a  dreadful  bellow- 
ing," observed  Luther,  "  that  one  might 
have  thought  some  wild  bull  was  rush- 
ing among  the  people  and  goring  them 
with  his  horns."*  The  moment  he  had 
made  an  end,  he  came  down  the  steps 
of  the  pulpit,  ran  towards  the  strong  box, 
and  in  sight  of  all  the  people,  threw  in 
a  piece  of  silver  with  a  loud  sound,  f 

Such  were  the  discourses  that  Ger- 
many heard  with  astonishment,  in  the 
days  when  God  was  preparing  Luther. 

The  sermon  ended,  the  indulgence 
was  considered  as  having  "  established 
its  throne  in  the  place  with  due  solemn- 
ity." Confessionals,  surmounted  with 
the  Pope's  arms,  were  prepared.  The 
sub-commissioners  and  confessors  chosen 
were  held  to  represent  the  apostolic  peni- 
tentiaries, or  absolving  priests  of  Rome, 
at  the  period  of  a  great  jubilee  ;  and  on 
each  of  their  confessionals  were  inscribed 
their  names  and  titles.^ 

Then  the  people  came  in  crowds  to 
the    confessors.      They  came   not  with 

*  Resolut.  on  the  32nd  Thesis. 

t  Teutzel,  Reformationgesch.  Myconii  Ref. 
Hist.  Instruction  of  the  Archbishop  of  Mentz 
to  the  sub-commissioners  of  the  indulgence. — 
Theses  of  Luther. 

t  Instruction,  etc.  5.  69. 


contrite  hearts,  but  with  money  in  their 
hands.  Men,  women,  the  young,  the 
poor,  and  those  who  lived  by  alms, — 
every  one  then  found  money.  The  ab- 
solving priest,  after  again  setting  forth 
the  indulgence,  thus  addressed  the  peni- 
tents :  "  How  much  money  can  you,  in 
your  conscience,  spare  to  obtain  so  per- 
fect a  remission  ?"  "  This  question," 
said  the  Archbishop  of  Mentz,  in  his  in- 
structions to  the  commissioners,  "  must 
be  put  at  the  moment,  in  order  that  the 
penitents  may  be  better  disposed  to  con- 
tribute." 

These  conditions  fulfilled  were  all  that 
was  necessary.  In  the  Pope's  bull,  some- 
thing was  indeed  said  of  the  repentance 
of  the  heart  and  confession  of  the  lips ; 
but  Tetzel  and  his  companions  cautiously 
abstained  from  all  mention  of  these  ; 
otherwise  their  coffers  might  have  re- 
mained empty.  The  archiepiscopal  in- 
structions forbade  even  to  mention  con- 
version or  contrition.  Three  great  bene- 
fits were  proclaimed.  It  is  sufficient  to 
notice  the  first.  "  The  first  benefit  we 
announce,"  said  the  commissioners,  act- 
ing on  their  instructions,  "  is  the  complete 
pardon  of  all  sins ;  and  it  is  not  possible 
to  speak  of  any  greater  benefit  than  this, 
since  man  who  lives  in  sin  is  deprived 
of  the  divine  favour,  and  by  this  com- 
plete pardon  he  recovers  the  grace  of 
God.*  Now  we  affirm,  that  to  obtain 
these  great  blessings,  it  is  only  necessary 
to  purchase  an  indulgence.!  And  as  to 
those  who  desire  to  deliver  souls  from 
purgatory,  and  to  procure  for  them  the 
forgiveness  of  all  their  sins,  let  them  put 
their  money  in  the  chest ;  but  it  is  not 
needful  that  they  should  feel  sorrow  of 
heart,  or  make  confession  with  the  lips.  J 
Let  them  only  hasten  to  bring  their 
money,  for  they  will  thus  do  a  work 
most  profitable  to  departed  souls,  and  to 
the  building  of  the  Church  of  St.  Peter." 
Greater  blessings  could  not  be  proposed, 
nor  at  a  lower  cost. 

Confession  beipg  gone  through,  (and 
it  was  soon  despatched,)  the  faithful  has- 
tened  to    the    vendor.      Only   one    was 

*  Die  erste  Gnade  ist  die  vollkommene  Verge- 
bung  aller  Siinden,  &c.    Instruction  19. 

t  Nun  den  Beichtbrief  zu  kaufen. — (Ibid.  36.) 
t  Auch  ist  nicht  nothigdas  sie  iif  dem  Herzen 
zerknirscht  sind,  und  mit  dem  Mund  gebeichtet 
haben.     (Ibid.  38.) 


THE  INDULGENCES,  AND  THE  THESES. 


107 


commissioned  to  sell.  He  had  his  coun- 
ter close  to  the  cross.  He  turned  a  scru- 
tinising glance  on  those  who  came.  He 
examined  their  manner,  step,  and  attire, 
and  demanded  a  sum  in  proportion  to  the 
apparent  circumstances  of  the  party  pre- 
senting himself.  Kings,  queens,  princes, 
archbishops,  bishops,  &c.  were  to  pay, 
according  to  the  regulation,  for  an  ordi- 
nary indulgence,  twenty-five  ducats  ; 
abbots,  counts,  barons,  &c.  ten.  The 
other  nobles,  superiors,  and  all  who  had 
an  annual  income  of  500  florins,  were  to 
pay  six.  Those  who  had  an  income  of 
200  florins,  one  ;  the  Test,  half  a  florin. 
And  further,  if  this  scale  could  not  in 
every  instance  be  observed,  full  power 
was  given  to  the  apostolic  commissary, 
and  the  whole  might  be  arranged  accord- 
ing to  the  dictates  of  sound  reason,  and 
the  generosity  of  the  giver.*  For  parti- 
ticular  sins  Tetzel  had  a  private  scale. 
Polygamy  cost  six  ducats  ;  sacrilege  and 
perjury,  nine  ducats ;  murder,  eight ; 
witchcraft,  two.  Samson,  who  carried 
on  in  Switzerland  the  same  traffic  as 
Tetzel  in  'Germany,  had  rather  a  dif- 
ferent scale.  He  charged  for  infanticide 
four  livres  tournois  ;  for  a  parricide  or 
fratricide,  one  ducat,  f 

The  apostolic  commissaries  sometimes 
encountered  difficulties  in  their  com- 
merce. It  often  happened,  as  well  in 
the  towns  as  in  the  villages,  that  hus- 
bands were  opposed  to  the  traffic,  and 
forbade  their  wives  to  carry  any  thing  to 
the  dealers.  What  were  their  supersti- 
tious partners  to  do  ?  "  Have  you  not 
your  marriage  portion,  or  some  other  pro- 
perty, at  your  disposal  1"  asked  the  ven- 
dors. "  In  that  case  you  can  dispose  of 
it  for  this  holy  purpose,  without  your  hus- 
band's consent."^ 

The  hand  that  delivered  the  indul- 
gence could  not  receive  the  money :  that 
was  forbidden  under  the  severest  penal- 
ties ; — there  was  good  reason  to  fear  that 
hand  might  not  always  be  trust  worthy. 
The  penitent  was  himself  to  drop  the 
price  of  his  pardon  into  the  chest.  §     An 

*  Nach  den  Stiltzen  der  gesundun  Vernuft, 
nach  ihrer  Magnificenz  und  Freigebigkeit. — (In- 
struction, &c.  26.) 

t  Muller's  Reliq.  iii.  p.  264. 

t  Wider  den  Willen  ihres  Mannes. — (Instruc- 
tion, 27. 

§  Ibid.  87,  90,  91. 


angry  look  was  cast  on  those  who  dared 
to  close  their  purses.* 

If,  among  those  who  pressed  into  the 
confessionals,  there  came  one  whose 
crimes  had  been  public,  and  yet  un- 
touched by  the  civil  laws,  such  person 
was  obliged,  first  of  all,  to  do  public 
penance.  He  was  conducted  to  a  cha- 
*pel,  or  sacristy ;  there  he  was  stripped 
of  his  clothes,  his  shoes  taken  off  his 
feet,  and  he  left  in  his  shirt.  They 
made  him  fold  his  arms  upon  his  breast, 
placed  a  light  in  one  hand,  and  a  wax 
taper  in  the  other.  Then  the  penitent 
walked  at  the  head  of  the  procession, 
which  passed  to  the  red  cross.  He 
kneeled  till  the  singing  and  the  collect 
were  concluded ;  then  the  commissary 
gave  out  the  psalm,  "  Miserere  mei" 
The  confessors  immediately  approached 
the  penitent,  and  led  him  across  the  station 
towards  the  commissary,  who,  taking  the 
rod,  and  striking  him  thrice  gently  on 
the  back,f  said :  "  God  take  pity  on  thee, 
and  pardon  thy  sin !"  After  this,  he 
gave  out  the  Kyrie  eleison,  &c.  Then 
the  penitent  being  led  back,  and  placed 
before  the  cross,  the  confessor  pronounced 
the  apostolical  absolution,  and  declared 
him  reinstated  in  the  company  of  the  faith- 
ful. Wretched  mummeries,  concluded 
by  a  passage  of  Scripture,  which,  at  such 
a  time,  was  a  profanation  ! 

We  will  give  one  of  these  letters  of 
absolution.  It  is  worth  while  to  know 
the  contents  of  these  diplomas,  which 
gave  occasion  to  the  Reformation. 

"  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  have  mercy 
on  thee,  N.N.,  and  absolve  thee  by  the 
merits  of  his  most  holy  sufferings !  And 
I,  in  virtue  of  the  apostolic  power  com- 
mitted to  me,  absolve  thee  from  all  eccle- 
siastical censures,  judgments,  and  penal- 
ties that  thou  mayst  have  merited ;  and 
further,  from  all  excesses,  sins,  and  crimes 
that  thou  mayst  have  committed,  however 
great  and  enormous  they  may  be,  and  of 
whatever  kind — even  though  they  should 
be  reserved  to  our  holy  father  the  Pope, 
and  to  the  Apostolic  See.  I  efface  all 
the  stains  of  weakness,  and  all  traces  of 
the  shame  that  thou  mayst  have  drawn 
upon  thyself  by  such  actions.  I  remit 
the  pains  thou  wouldst  have  had  to  en- 

*  Luth.  Opp.  Leipz.  xvii.  79. 
t  Dreimal  gelind  auf  den  Riicken. — (Instruc- 
tion.) 


108 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


dure  in  purgatory.  I  receive  thee  again 
to  the  sacraments  of  the  Church.  I  here- 
by reincorporate  thee  in  the  communion 
of  the  saints,  and  restore  thee  to  the  in- 
nocence and  purity  of  thy  baptism ;  so 
that,  at  the  moment  of  death,  the  gate  of 
the  place  of  torment  shall  be  shut  against 
thee,  and  the  gate  of  the  paradise  of  joy 
shall  be  opened  unto  thee.  And  if  thou' 
shouldst  live  long,  this  grace  continueth 
unchangeable,  till  the  time  of  thy  end. 

"  In  the  name  of  the  Father,  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Spirit.     Amen. 

"  The  Brother,  John  Tetzel,  commis- 
sary, hath  signed  this  with  his  own 
hand." 

In  this  document,  we  see  Avith  what 
art  presumptuous  and  false  doctrines 
were  interspersed  among  sacred  and 
Christian  expressions. 

All  the  faithful  were  to  come  and  con- 
fess in  the  spot  where  the  red  cross  was 
set  up.  None  but  the  sick,  old  men,  and 
women  with  child,  were  exempt.  If, 
however,  there  was  in  the  neighbour- 
hood any  noble  in  his  castle,  or  wealthy 
man  in  his  palace,  his  personal  attend- 
ance was  dispensed  with.*  For  he  might 
not  care  to  mingle  with  this  mob  of  peo- 
ple, and  his  money  was  worth  fetching 
from  his  residence. 

If  there  was  any  convent  whose  supe- 
riors, disapproving  Tetzel's  traffic,  for- 
bade their  monks  to  resort  to  the  places 
where  the  indulgence  was  offered, — 
means  were  still  found  to  remedy  this. 
Confessors  were  sent  to  them,  commis- 
sioned to  absolve  them  contrary  to  the 
rules  of  their  order  and  the  will  of  their 
superiors.!  Not  a  vein  of  the  mine  was 
left  unexplored. 

Then  came  what  was  the  object  and 
end  of  the  whole  affair, — the  reckoning 
of  the  money.  To  guard  against  all 
risks,  the  chest  had  three  keys: — one 
was  in  the  keeping  of  Tetzel,  the  other 
with  the  delegated  treasurer  of  the  house 
of  Fugger,  of  Augsburg,  to  whom,  some- 
time before,  this  vast  speculation  had 
been  farmed  ;  and  the  third  was  lodged 
with  the  eivil  authority.  When  the  ap- 
pointed day  arrived,  the  chest  was  opened 
in  presence  of  a  public  notary,  and  the 
whole  contents  carefully  counted,  and 
■entered  in  the  books.     Was  it  not  fit 


*  Instr.  9. 


t  Ibid.  69. 


that  Christ  should  arise  and  drive  out 
these  buyers  and  sellers  from  the  temple  ? 

The  mission  being  ended,  the  dealers 
relaxed  in  amusement,  after  their  labours. 
The  instruction  of  the  commissary-gen- 
eral did,  it  is  true,  forbid  their  frequenting 
taverns  and  disreputable  places.*  But 
they  paid  little  regard  to  this  interdict 
Sin  must  have  had  few  terrors  for  men 
who  carried  on  so  easy  a  traffic  in  it. 
"  The  mendicant  friars  led  an  irregular 
life,"  says  a  Roman  Catholic  historian  ; 
"  they  spent  in  taverns,  gaming  houses, 
and  houses  of  ill-fame,  what  the  people 
had  scraped  together  from  their  pover- 
ty"! It  is  even  affirmed  that,  when 
they  were  in  the  taverns,  they  would 
sometimes  stake  on  dice  die  salvation  of 
souls.  J 

But  let  us  see  to  what  scenes  this  sale 
of  the  pardon  of  sins  gave  rise  in  Ger- 
many. There  are  some  incidents,  which 
of  themselves  are  a  picture  of  the  times. 
We  like  to  let  those  whose  history  we 
write  speak  for  themselves. 

At  Masfdebura:,  Tetzel  refused  to  ab- 
solve  a  rich  lady,  unless  she  paid  down 
one  hundred  florins.  The  lady  con- 
sulted her  usual  confessor,  who  was  a 
Franciscan.  "  God  gives  us  remission 
of  sins  freely,"  answered  he  ;  "  He  does 
not  sell  it."  Yet  he  entreated  her  not  to 
mention  what  he  had  said.  But  the  re- 
port of  an  opinion  so  adverse  to  his  gains 
having  reached  the  ears  of  Tetzel, — 
"  Such  an  adviser,"  he  exclaimed,  "  de- 
serves to  be  expelled  or  burnt  alive. "§ 

Tetzel  found  but  few  sufficiently  en- 
lightened, and  still  fewer  bold  enough  to 
resist  him.  In  general  he  could  easily 
manage  a  superstitious  crowd.  He  had 
erected  the  red  cross  of  indulgences  at 
Zwickau,  and  the  good  people  of  the 
place  had  hastened  to  pour  in  the  money 
that  was  to  liberate  souls.  He  was  about 
to  leave  with  a  full  purse.  The  evening 
before  his  departure,  the  chaplains  and 
their  acolytes  called  upon  him  to  give 
them  a  farewell  repast.  The  request 
was  reasonable ;  but  what  was  to  be 
done  ? — the  money  was  already  counted 
and  sealed  up.  In  the  morning  he  had 
the  large  bell  tolled.  A  crowd  hurried 
to  the  church  : — every  one  thought  that 

*  Ibid.  4.        +  Sarpi,  Cnocile  de  Trente,  p.  5. 
t  Schrock,  K.  G.  v.  d.  R  1.  116. 
§  Schultet.  Annal.  Evangel,  p.  iv. 


THE  INDULGENCES,  AND  THE  THESES. 


109' 


something  extraordinary  had  happened, 
since  the  period  of  the  station  had  ex- 
pired. "  I  had  intended,"  said  he,  "  to 
take  my  departure  this  morning,  but  last 
night  I  was  awakened  by  groans.  I  lis- 
tened ;  they  proceeded  from  the  cemetery. 
Alas !  it  was  a  poor  soul  that  called  me, 
and  intreated  to  be  delivered  from  the 
torment  that  consumed  it.  I  therefore 
have  tarried  one  day  longer,  that  I  might 
move  Christian  hearts  to  compassion  for 
this  unhappy  soul.  Myself  will  be  the 
first  to  contribute  ; — but  he  who  will  not 
follow  my  example  will  be  worthy  of 
all  condemnation."  What  heart  would 
not  answer  to  such  an  appeal  1  Besides, 
who  can  tell  what  soul  thus  cries  from 
the  tomb  1  The  gifts  were  many  ;  and 
Tetzel,  with  the  chaplains  and  acolytes, 
sat  down  to  a  merry  feast,  paid  for  by  of- 
ferings for  the  poor  soul  of  Zwickau.* 

The  dealers  in  indulgences  had  estab- 
lished themselves  at  Hagenau  in  1517. 
The  wife  of  a  shoemaker,  profiting  by 
the  permission  given  in  the  instruction 
of  the  Commissary-general,  had  pro- 
cured, against  her  husband's  will,  a  let- 
ter of  indulgence,  and  had  paid  for  it  a 
gold  florin.  Shortly  after,  she  died  ;  and 
the  widower  omitting  to  have  mass  said 
for  the  repose  of  her  soul,  the  curate 
charged  him  with  contempt  of  religion, 
and  the  judge  of  Hagenau  summoned 
him  to  appear  before  him.  The  shoe- 
maker put  in  his  pocket  his  wife's  indul- 
gence, and  repaired  to  the  place  of  sum- 
mons. "  Is  your  wife  dead  V  asked  the 
judge. — "  Yes,"  answered  the  shoema- 
ker. "  What  have  you  done  with  her?" 
"I  buried  her  and  commended  her  soul 
to  God."  "  But  have  you  had  a  mass 
said  for  the  salvation  of  her  soul  ?"  "  I 
have  not : — it  was  not  necessary : — she 
went  to  heaven  in  the  moment  of  her 
death."  "How  do  you  know  that?" 
"  Here  is  the  evidence  of  it."  The 
widower  drew  from  his  pocket  the  indul- 
gence, and  the  judge,  in  presence  of  the 
curate,  read,  in  so  many  words,  that  in 
the  moment  of  death,  the  woman  who 
had  received  it  would  go,  not  into  pur- 
gatory, but  straight  into  heaven.  "If 
the  curate  pretends  that  a  mass  is  neces- 
sary after  that,"  said  the  shoemaker,  "my 

*  Loschers,  Ref.  Acta,  I.  404.  L.  Opp.  xv. 
443,  &c. 


wife  has  been  cheated  by  our  Holy  Fa- 
ther the  Pope ;  but  if  she  has  not  been 
cheated,  then  the  curate  is  deceiving  me." 
There  was  no  reply  to  this  defence,  and 
the  accused  was  acquitted.*  It  was  thus 
that  the  good  sense  of  the  people  disposed 
of  these  impostures. 

One  day,  when  Tetzel  was  preaching 
at  Leipsic,  and  had  introduced  into  his 
preaching  some  of  these  stories  of  which 
we  have  given  a  specimen,  two  students 
indignantly  left  the  church,  exclaiming 
— "  It  is  not  possible  to  listen  any  longer 
to  the  ridiculous  and  childish  tales  of 
that  monk. "|  One  of  these  students,  it 
is  affirmed,  was  young  Camerarius,  who 
was  subsequently  the  friend  of  Mclanc- 
thon,  and  wrote  his  life. 

But,  of  all  the  young  men  of  that  pe- 
riod, Tetzel  made  the  strongest  impres- 
sion on  Myconius — subsequently  cele- 
brated as  a  Reformer  and  an  historian 
of  the  Reformation.  N  Myconius  had 
received  a  religious  education.  "  My 
son,"  said  his  father,  who  was  a  pious 
Franconian,  "  pray  frequently ;  for  all 
things  are  freely  given  to  us  by  God 
alone.  The  blood  of  Christ,"  he  added, 
"  is  the  only  ransom  for  the  sins  of  the 
whole  world.  Oh,  my  son !  if  there 
were  but  three  men  to  be  saved  by 
the  blood  of  Christ,  only  believe  ; — and 
be  sure  that  you  shall  be  one  of  those 
three. \  It  is  an  insult  to  the  Saviour's 
blood  to  doubt  its  power  to  save." 
Then,  proceeding  to  warn  his  son  against 
the  trade  that  was  beginning  in  Germa- 
ny,— "  The  Roman  indulgences/'  said 
he,  "  are  nets  to  fish  for  money,  and  de- 
lude the  simple.  Remission  of  sins  and 
eternal  life  are  not  to  be  purchased  by 
money." 

At  thirteen,  Frederic  was  sent  to  the 
school  of  Annaberg,  to  finish  his  studies. 
Soon  after,  Tetzel  arrived  in  this  town, 
and  remained  there  for  two  months. 
The  people  flocked  in  crowds  to  hear 
him  preach.  "  There  is,"  exclaimed  Tet- 
zel, with  a  voice  of  thunder,  "  no  other 
means  of  obtaining  eternal  life  save  the 
satisfaction  of  good  works.  But  this  sa- 
tisfaction is  out  of  man's  power.     His 

*  Musculi  Loci  communes,  p.  362. 

t  Hoffmanns  Reformationgesch.  v.  Leipz.  p.  32. 

\  Si  tantum  tres  homines  esset  salvanda  per 
sanguinem  Christi,  certo  statueret  unum  se  esse 
ox  tribus  illis.— (Melch.  Adam.  Vita  Mycon.) 


110 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


only  resource  is  to  purchase  it  from  the 
Roman  Pontiff"* 

When  Tetzel  was  on  the  point  of 
leaving  Annaberg  his  appeal  became 
more  urgent.  "  Soon,"  said  he  with  a 
threatening  accent,  "  I  shall  take  down 
that  cross,  and  close  the  gate  of  heaven,f 
and  put  out  that  sun  of  grace  which 
shines  before  your  eyes."  Then,  resum- 
ing a  tenderer  strain  of  exhortation, — 
"  This,"  said  he,  "is  the  day  of  salvation, 
this  is  the  accepted  time."  And  as  a 
last  effort,  the  pontifical  Stentor,|  speak- 
ing to  the  inhabitants  of  a  country  rich 
in  mines,  exclaimed,  "  Inhabitants  of 
Annaberg!  bring  hither  your  money; 
contribute  liberally  in  aid  of  indulgen- 
ces, and  all  your  mines  and  mountains 
shall  be  filled  with  pure  silver."  Fi- 
nally, at  Easter,  he  proclaimed  that  he 
would  distribute  his  letters  to  the  poor 
gratuitously,  and  for  the  love  of  God. 

The  young  Myconius  happened  to  he 
among  the  hearers.  He  felt  a  wish  to 
take  advantage  of  this  offer.  "  I  am  a 
poor  sinner,"  said  he,  addressing  in  La- 
tin the  commissioners  to  whom  he  ap- 
plied, "and  I  need  a  free  pardon." 
"  Those  only,"  answered  the  dealers, 
"  can  share  in  the  merits  of  Christ  who 
stretch  forth  a  helping  hand  to'  the/ 
Church — that  is,  give  their  money."! 
"  What  mean,  then,"  said  Myconius^ 
"  those  promises  of  free  distribution 
posted  up  on  the  gates  and  walls  of 
the  churches  ?"  "  Give  at  least  a  grow 
said  Tetzel's  people,  after  having  vainly* 
interceded  for  the  young  man  with  their 
master.  "  I  cannot." — "  Only  six  deni- 
ers.» — «  I  have  not  even  so  much."  The 
Dominicans  then  began  to  apprehend 
that  he  meant  to  entrap  them.  "  Listen," 
said  they,  "  we  will  give  you  six  deni- 
ers." — On  which  the  young  man,  raising 
his  voice  with  indignation,  replied :  "  I 
will  have  none  of  the  indulgences  that 
are  bought  and  sold.  If  I  desired  to 
purchase  them,  I  should  only  have  to 
sell  one  of  my  books.  What  I  want  is 
a  free  pardon, — and  for  the  love  of  God. 
You  will  have  to  account  to  God  for 
having,  for  the  sake  of  six  deniers, 
missed  the  salvation  of  a  soul."     "  Ah  ! 

*  Si  nummis  redimatur  a  Pontifice  Romano. — 
(Melch.  Adam.) 

t  Clausurum  januam  cosli. — (Melch.  Adam.) 
X  Stentor  pontificius. — (lb.) 


ah !"  said  they,  "  who  sent  you  to  tempt 
us?"  " No  one,"  replied  the  young  man : 
"  the  desire  of  receiving  the  grace  of 
God  could  alone  induce  me  to  appear 
before  such  great  lords."     He  left  them. 

"I  was  grieved,"  says  he,"  at  being 
thus  sent  away  without  pity.  But  I 
felt  in  myself  a  Comforter,  who  whis- 
pered that  there  is  a  God  in  heaven  who 
forgives  repentant  souls  without  money 
and  without  price,  for  the  sake  of  his 
Son,  Jesus  Christ.  As  I  left  these  peo- 
ple, the  Holy  Spirit  touched  my  heart. 
I  burst  into  tears, — and  with  sighs  and 
groans  prayed  to  the  Lord :  O  God,  since 
these  men  have  refused  remission  of  sins 
because  I  had  no  money  to  pay,  do  thou, 
Lord,  take  pity  on  me,  and  forgive  them 
in  mere  mercy.  I  retired  to  my  cham- 
ber. I  took  my  crucifix  from  my  desk, 
placed  it  on  my  chair,  and  kneeled  be- 
fore it.  I  cannot  here  put  down  what  I 
experienced.  I  asked  of  God  to  be  my 
father,  and  to  make  me  what  he  would 
have  me.  I  felt  my  nature  changed, 
converted,  transformed.  What  had  be- 
fore delighted  me  was  now  distasteful. 
To  live  with  God,  and  to  please  Hm, 
became  my  most  ardent — my  single  de- 
sire."*   /^ ^ 

T,h«s'  Tetzel  himself  was  preparing 
the  Reformation.  By  scandalous  abuses 
he  made  way  for  a  purer  teaching  ;  and 
the  generous  indignation  which  he  ex- 
cited in  youthful  minds  was  destined 
one  day  to  break  forth  with  power.  We 
may  judge  of  this  by  the  following  inci- 
dent. 

A  Saxon  gentleman  had  heard  Tetzel 
at  Leipsic,  and  was  much  shocked  by 
his  impostures.  He  went  to  the  monk, 
and  inquired  if  he  was  authorised  to 
pardon  sins  in  intention,  or  such  as  the 
applicant  intended  to  commit  1  "  Assu- 
redly," answered  Tetzel ;  "  I  have  full 
power  from  the  Pope  to  do  so." 
"  Well,"  returned  the  gentleman,  "  I 
want  to  take  some  slight  revenge  on 
one  of  my  enemies,  without  attempting 
his  life.  I  will  pay  you  ten  crowns, 
if  you  will  give  me  a  letter  of  indul- 
gence that  shall  bear  me  harmless." 
Tetzel  made  some  scruples  ;  they  struck 
their  bargain  for  thirty  crowns.  Shortly 
after,  the    monk  set  out   from  Leipsic. 

*  Letter  of  Myconius  to  Eberus  in  Hechtii 
Vita  Tezelii,  Wittemb.  i.  p.  14. 


THE  INDULGENCES,  AND  THE  THESES. 


Ill 


The  gentleman,  attended  by  his  servants, 
laid  wait  for  him  in  a  wood  between 
Juterboch  and  Treblin, — fell  upon  him, 
gave  him  a  beating,  and  carried  off  the 
rich  chest  of  indulgence-money  the  in- 
quisitor had  with  him.  Tetzel  cla- 
moured against  this  act  of  violence, 
and  brought  an  action  before  the  judges. 
But  the  gentleman  showed  the  letter 
signed  by  Tetzel  himself,  which  ex- 
empted him  beforehand  from  all  respon- 
sibility. Duke  George,  who  had  at  first 
been  much  irritated  at  this  action,  upon 
seeing  this  writing  ordered  that  the  ac- 
cused should  be  acquitted.* 

This  traffic  every  where  agitated  the 
minds  of  the  people,  and  was  every 
where  discussed.  It  was  the  subject  of 
conversation  in  castles,  academies,  and 
private  houses,  as  well  as  in  inns,  ta- 
verns, and  all  places  of  resort,  f  Opinions 
were  divided  ;  some  believed,  some  were 
indignant.  But  the  sober  part  of  the 
nation  rejected  with  disgust  the  whole 
system  of  indulgences.  This  doctrine 
was  so  opposed  to  the  Scriptures  and  to 
sound  sense,  that  all  men  who  possessed 
any  knowledge  of  the  Bible,  or  any  na- 
tural acuteness,  had  already  condemned 
it  in  their  hearts,  and  only  waited  for  a 
signal  to  oppose  it.  On  the  other  hand, 
mockers  found  abundant  cause  for  ridi- 
cule. The  people,  who  had  been  irri-J 
tated  for  so  many  years  by  the  ill  con-? 
duct  of  the  priests,  and  whom  the  fear 
of  punishment  had  alone  retained  in  any! 
outward  respect,  gave~  loose  to  all  theii 
animosity ;  and  on  all  sides  were  heard 
complaints  and  sarcasms  upon  the  love- 
of  money  that  infected  the  clergy. 

The  people  went  still  farther.  They 
impugned  the  power  of  the  keys  and 
the  authority  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff 
"  Why,"  said  they,  "  does  not  the  Pope 
deliver  at  once  all  the  souls. from  purga- 
tory by  a  holy  charity,  and  on  account 
of  the  great  misery  oi  those  souls,  since 
he  frees  so  great  a  number  for  the  sake 
of  perishable  gam,  and  the  cathedral  of 
St.  Peter  ?" 

"  Why  do  we  continue  to  observe  the 
festivals  and  anniversaries  for  the  dead  1 
Why  does  not  the  Pope  surrender,  or 
why  does  he  not  permit  people  to  resume 

*  Albinus  Meissn.  Chronik.  L.  W.  (W.)  xv. 
446,  &c.  Hechtius  in  Vita  Tezelii. 
t  L.  Opp.  (Leipz.)  xvii.  p.  Ill,  116. 


the  benefices  and  prebends  founded  in 
favour  of  the  dead,  since  now  it  is  use- 
less, and  even  wrong,  to  pray  for  those 
whom  indulgences  have  for  ever  set 
free  %  What  is  this  new  kind  of  holi- 
ness of  God  and  of  the  Pope,  that  for 
the  sake  of  money  they  grant  to  a 
wicked  man,  and  an  enemy  of  God,  the 
power  of  delivering  from  purgatory  a 
pious  soul,  beloved  by  the  Lord,  rather 
than  themselves  deliver  it  freely  from 
love  for  it,  and  on  account  of  its  great 
misery  ?'•'* 

Accounts  were  circulated  of  the  gross 
and  immoral  conduct  of  the  traffickers  in 
indulgences.  "  To  pay,"  said  they,  "  what 
they  owe  to  drivers  who  carry  them  and 
their  goods ;  to  innkeepers,  at  whose 
houses  they  lodge,  or  to  any  one  who 
does  them  service,  they  give  a  letter  ot 
indulgence  for  four,  five,  or  as  many  souls 
as  they  wish."  Thus  the  brevets  of  sal- 
vation were 'circulated  in  the  inns  and 
markets,  like  bank  notes  or  paper  money. 
"  Bring  hither  your  money"  -said  the 
common  people,  "  is  the  beginning,  the 
middle,  and  the  end  of  their  sermons."f 

A  miner  of  Schneeberg,  meeting  a 
seller  of  indulgences,  inquired  :  "  Must 
we,  then,  believe  what  you  have  often 
said  of  the  power  of  indulgences,  and  of 
the  authority  of  the  Pope,  and  think  that 
we  can  redeem  a  soul  from  purgatory  by 
casting  a  penny  into  the  chest?"  The 
dealer  in  indulgences  affirmed  that  it 
(was  so.  "Ah !"  replied  the  miner,  "what 
a  cruel  man  the  Pope  must  be,  thus  to 
leave  a  poor  soul  to  suffer  so  long  in  the 
flames  for  a  wretched  penny  !  If  he  has 
itio  ready  money,  let  him  collect  a  few 
hundred  thousand  crowns,  and  deliver  all 
these  souls  by  one  act.  Even  Ave  poor 
folks  would  willingly  pay  him  the  prin- 
cipal and  interest." 

The  people  of  Germany  were  weary 
of  the  shameful  traffic  that  was  carrying 
on  in  the  midst  of  them.  They  could  no 
longer  bear  the  impostures  of  these  Ro- 
mish tricksters,  as  Luther  remarks.;}:  Yet 
no  bishop  or  divine  dared  lay  a  finger 
on  their  quackery  and  deceit.    The  minds 

*  Luther's  Theses  on  the  Indulgences. — (Th. 
82,  83,  84.) 

f  L.  Opp.  (Leipz.)  xvii.  79. 

t  Fessi  erant  Germani  omnes,  ferendis  expli- 
cationibus,  nundinationibus,  et  infinitis  impostu- 
ris  Romanensium  nebulonum.  (L  Opp.  Lat.  in 
praef.) 


112 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


of  men  were  in  suspense.  They  asked 
each  other,  if  God  would  not  raise  up 
some  powerful  instrument  for  the  work 
that  was  required  to  be  done.  But  such 
an  one  was  no  where  visible. 

The  pope  who  then  filled  the  pontifi- 
cal throne  was  not  a  Borgia,  but  Leo  X. 
of  the  illustrious  family  of  the  Medici. 
He  was  a  man  of  talent,  open-hearted, 
kind,  and  indulgent.  His  manners  were 
affable,  his  liberality  unbounded,  and  his 
morals  greatly  superior  to  those  of  his 
court.  Nevertheless  the  Cardinal  Palla- 
vicini  confesses  they  were  not  quite  free 
from  reproach.  To  these  amiable  quali- 
ties he  added  many  of  the  accomplish- 
ments that  form  a  great  prince.  He  was, 
especially,  a  liberal  patron  of  the  arts 
and  sciences.  The  earliest  Italian  come- 
dies were  represented  in  his  presence, 
and  most  of  the  dramas  of  his  time  were 
honoured  by  his  attendance.  He  was 
passionately  fond  of  music, — his  palace 
daily  resounded  with  musical  instru- 
ments, and  he  was  often  heard  humming 
the  airs  that  had  been  sung  before  him. 
Fond  of  magnificence,  he  spared  no  ex- 
pense in  feastings,  public  games,  theatri- 
cal entertainments,  and  gifts.  No  court 
surpassed  in  splendour  or  in  pleasures 
that  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  So  that 
when  news  was  brought  that  Julian  Me- 
dici was  about  to  choose  Rome  as  a  place 
of  residence  for  himself  and  his  young 
bride,  Cardinal  Bibliena,  the  most  influ- 
ential of  Leo's  council,  exclaimed,  "  God 
be  praised!  We  wanted  nothing  here 
but  a  female  circle."  A  "  female  circle" 
was  felt  requisite  to  complete  the  attrac- 
tions of  the  Pope's  court.  But  a  feeling 
of  religion  was  a  thing  of  which  Leo  was 
entirely  ignorant.  "  His  manners,"  says 
Sarpi,  "  were  so  charming,  that  he  would 
have  been  a  perfect  man,  if  he  had  some 
knowledge  in  religious  matters,  and  a 
little  more  inclination  for  piety,  concern- 
ing which  he  never  troubled  himself."* 

Leo  was  in  great  want  of  money.  He 
had  to  provide  for  his  vast  expenses  ;  to 
satisfy  all  demands  on  his  liberality ;  to 
fill  with  gold  the  purse  he  every  day 

*  Sarpi,  Concile  de  Trente,  p.  4.  Pallavicini, 
though  labouring  to  refute  Sarpi,  confirms  and 
even  aggravates  the  charge  : — suo  plane  officia 
defuit  (Leo)  ....  venationes,  facetias,  pompas 
adeo  frequenles  ....  (Council.  Trid.  Hist  i.  p. 
8,9.) 


threw  to  the  people  ;  to  defray  the  costs 
of  the  licentious  plays  at  the  Vatican  ;  to 
gratify  the  continual  demands  of  his  re- 
lations, and  of  courtiers  who  were  ad- 
dicted to  voluptuousness ;  to  portion  his 
sister,  who  had  married  Prince  Cibo,  a 
natural  son  of  Pope  Innocent  VIII. ;  and 
to  bear  all  the  expenses  attending  his 
taste  for  literature,  arts,  and  pleasures. 
His  cousin,  Cardinal  Pucci,  who  was  as 
skilful  in  the  art  of  amassing  money  as  Leo 
was  prodigal  in  spending,  advised  him  to 
have  recourse  to  indulgences  The  Pope, 
therefore,  published  a  bull,  proclaiming 
a  general  indulgence,  the  product  of 
which  should  be  appropriated,  he  said, 
to  the  building  of  St.  Peter's  church,  that 
splendid  monument  of  ecclesiastical  mag- 
nificence. In  a  letter  given  at  Rome, 
under  the  seal  of  the  fisherman,  in  No- 
vember, 1517,  Leo  required  from  his 
commissioner  of  indulgences  147  gold 
ducats,  "  to  pay  for  a  manuscript  of  the 
33rd  book  of  Livy."  Of  all  the  uses  he 
made  of  the  money  extorted  from  the 
Germans,  this  was  undoubtedly  the  best. 
But  it  was  strange  to  deliver  souls  from 
purgatory  that  he  might  purchase  a  man- 
uscript of  the  wars  of  the  Romans ! 

There  was  then  in  Germany  a  young 
prince  who  was  in  many  respects  a  coun- 
terpart of  Leo  X. : — this  was  Albert,  the 
younger  brother  of  the  Elector  Joachim 
of  Brandenburg.  This  young  man,  at' 
he  age  of  twenty-four,  had  been  made 
Archbishop  and  Elector  of  Mentz  and 
of  Magdeburg  ;  two  years  after  he  was 
made  Cardinal.  Albert  had  neither  the 
virtues  nor  the  vices  which  have  often 
characterised  the  dignitaries  of  the 
Church.  Young,  volatile,  worldly- 
minded,  but  not  devoid  of  generous  sen- 
tiTnents,  he  plainly  saw  many  of  the 
abuses  of  Catholicism,  and  cared  little 
for  the  fanatical  monks  that  surrounded 
him.  His  equity  inclined  him  to  ac- 
knowledge, at  least  in  part,  the  justice  of 
what  the  friends  of  the  Gospel  required. 
In  his  heart  he  was  not  greatly  opposed 
to  Luther.  Capito,  one  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished Reformers,  was  for  a  long- 
time his  chaplain,  counsellor,  and  inti- 
mate confidant.  Albert  regularly  at- 
tended his  preaching.  "  He  did  not  de- 
spise the  Gospel,"  says  Capito  ;  "  on  the 
contrary,  he  highly  esteemed  it,  and  for 
a  long  time  prevented  the  monks  from 


THE  INDULGENCES,  AND  THE  THESES. 


113 


attacking-  Luther."  But  he  would  have 
had  the  latter  abstain  from  compromis- 
ing him,  and  beware,  while  pointing  out 
the  errors  in  doctrine  and  the  vices  of 
the  inferior  clergy,  of  bringing  to  light 
the  faults  of  the  bishops  and  princes. 
Above  all,  he  feared  to  find  his  own  name 
thrust  forward  in  the  contest.  "  See."  said 
Capito  to  Luther,  at  a  subsequent  period, 
deluding  himself  as  is  usual  in  such 
cases,  "  see  the  example  of  Christ  and  of 
his  Apostles :  they  reproved  the  Phari- 
sees and  the  incestuous  person  in  the 
church  of  Corinth,  but  did  not  do  so  by 
name,.  You  do  not  know  what  is  passing 
in  the  hearts  of  the  bishops.  There  is, 
perhaps,  more  good  in  them  than  you 
think."  But  the  frivolous  and  profane 
turn  of  Albert's  character  was  likely  to 
indispose  him  for  the  Reformation,  even 
more  than  the  susceptibilities  and  fears 
of  his  self-love.  Affable  in  his  manners, 
witty,  graceful,  of  expensive  and  even 
dissipated  habits,  delighting  in  the  plea- 
sures of  the  table,  and  in  rich  equipages, 
houses,  licentious  pursuits,  and  literary 
society,  this  young  Archbishop  and  Elec- 
tor was  in  Germany  what  Leo  was  at 
Rome.  His  court  was  one  of  the  most 
splendid  of  the  Empire.  He  was  ready 
to  sacrifice  to  pleasure  and  grandeur  all 
the  foretastes  of  truth  that  might  visit  his 
soul.  Yet  there  was  in  him,  to  the  last, 
a  sort  of  struggle  with  his  better  convic- 
tions ;  and  he  more  than  once  manifested 
moderation  and  equity. 

Like  Leo,  Albert  was  in  want  of  mo- 
ney. Some  rich  merchants  of  Augsburg, 
named  Fugger,  had  made  him  some  ad- 
vances. He  was  pressed  for  the  means 
of  liquidating  his  debts ;  nay,  more,  al- 
though he  had  obtained  two  archbishop- 
rics and  a  bishopric,  he  had  not  enough 
to  pay  for  his  f  allium  at  Rome.  This 
ornament,  made  of  white  wool,  inter- 
spersed with  black  crosses,  and  blessed 
by  the  Pope,  who  was  accustomed  to 
send  it  to  the  archbishops  as  a  sign  of 
their  jurisdiction,  cost  them  26,000,  or, 
as  some  say,  30,000  florins. 

It  was  quite  natural  that  Albert  should 
form  the  project  of  resorting  to  the  same 
means  as  his  superior  to  obtain  money. 
He  solicited  from  the  Pope  the  contract 
for  the  "  farming  "  of  all  the  indulgences, 
or,  as  they  expressed  it  at  Rome,  "  the 
contract  for  the  sins  of  the  Germans." 
15 


At  times  the  Popes  kept  the  specula- 
tion in  their  own  hands.  Sometimes 
they  farmed  it  to  others ;  as,  in  certain 
states,  is  still  done  with  gaming  houses. 
Albert  proposed  to  Leo  to  divide  the  pro- 
fits. Leo,  in  accepting  the  bargain,  re- 
quired immediate  payment  of  the  pal- 
lium. Albert,  who  was  all  the  while  de- 
pending on  the  indulgences  for  the  means 
of  discharging  this  claim,  applied  to  the 
Fuggers,  who,  thinking  it  a  safe  invest- 
ment, made,  on  certain  conditions,  the 
required  advances ;  and  were  appointed 
cashiers  in  this  great  undertaking.  They 
were  at  this  period  bankers  to  many 
princes,  and  were  afterwards  made  counts 
for  the  services  they  had  rendered. 

The  Pope  and  Archbishop  having 
thus  divided  beforehand  the  spoils  of  the 
credulous  souls  of  Germany,  it  was  ne- 
cessary to  carry  out  the  project,  and  to 
find  some  one  to  undertake  the  trouble 
of  realizing  it.  The  charge  was  first  of- 
fered to  the  Franciscans,  and  their  guar- 
dian was  associated  in  it  with  Albert. 
But  the  Franciscans  did  not  desire  any 
part  in  this  undertaking,  which  was  al- 
ready in  ill  repute  among  good  people. 
The  Augustine  monks,  who  were  more 
enlightened  than  the  other  religious  or- 
ders, would  have  cared  still  less  to  join 
in  it.  Meanwhile,  the  Franciscans  feared 
to  offend  the  Pope,  who  had  lately  sent 
to  their  general,  Forli,  a  cardinal's  hat, 
which  cost  that  poor  mendicant  order 
30,000  florins.  The  guardian  therefore 
judged  it  most  prudent  not  to  meet  the 
offer  by  a  direct  refusal ;  but  he  raised 
all  kinds  of  difficulties  in  the  way  of  Al- 
bert ;  they  never  could  agree,  so  that  the 
Elector  was  glad  to  accept  the  proposal 
that  he  should  take  the  sole  charge  of 
the  concern.  The  Dominicans,  on  their 
part,  coveted  a  share  in  the  lucrative 
trade  about  to  be  opened.  Tetzel,  al- 
ready notorious  in  such  matters,  hastened 
to  Mentz,  and  tendered  his  services  to 
the  Elector.  His  proved  usefulness  in 
publishing  the  indulgences  for  the 
knio-hts  of  the  Teutonic  Order  of  Prus- 
sia and  Livonia  was  recollected,  and  he 
was  accepted ;  and  thus  it  was  that  all 
this  traffic  passed  into  the  hands  of  his 
order.* 

The  first  time  Luther  heard  speak  of 
Tetzel  was,  as  far  as  we  are  informed, 
*  Seckendorf.  42. 


114 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


in  the  year  1516,  at  Grimma,  when  he 
was  commencing  his  visitation  of  the 
churches.  Some  one  came  and  told 
Staupitz,  who  was  still  with  Luther,  that 
a  seller  of  indulgences,  named  Tetzel, 
was  making  much  noise  at  Wiirtzen. 
Some  of  his  extravagant  expressions  be- 
ing quoted,  Luther  was  indignant,  and 
exclaimed, "  God  willing,  I  will  make  a 
hole  in  his  drum."* 

Tetzel,  in  his  return  from  Berlin, 
where  he  had  met  with  a  most  friendly 
reception  from  the  Elector  Joachim,  a 
brother  of  the  farmer-general,  took  up 
his  abode  at  Jiiterboch.  Staupitz,  avail- 
ing himself  of  the  confidence  the  Elec- 
tor Frederic  reposed  in  him,  had  repeat- 
edly called  his  attention  to  the  abuse  of 
the  indulgences,  and  the  disgraceful  pro- 
ceedings of  the  collectors. f  The  Princes 
of  Saxony,  indignant  at  the  shameful 
traffic,  had  forbidden  Tetzel  to  enter 
their  provinces.  He  was  therefore  com- 
pelled to  stop  on  the  territory  of  his  pa- 
tron, the  Archbishop  of  Magdeburg. .  But 
he  drew  as  near  as  he  could  to  Saxony. 
At  Jiiterboch  he  was  only  four  miles 
distant  from  Wittemberg.  "  This  great 
purse-drainer,"  said  Luther,  "went  boldly 
to  work,  beating  up  the  country  all  round, 
so  that  money  began  to  leap  out  of  every 
man's  purse,  and  fall  into  his  chest." 
The  people  flocked  in  crowds  from  Wit- 
temberg, to  the  indulgence  market  at 
Jiiterboch. 

Luther  was  still  at  this  time  full  of  re- 
spect for  the  Church  and  for  the  Pope. 
He  says  himself,  "  I  was  then  a  monk,  a 
papist  of  the  maddest, — so  infatuated  and 
even  steeped  in  the  Romish  doctrines, 
that  I  would  willingly  have  helped  to 
kill  any  one  who  had  the  audacity  to  re- 
fuse the  smallest  act  of  obedience  to  the 
Pope.  I  was  a  true  Saul,  like  many 
others  still  living.^:  But,  at  the  same 
time  his  heart  was  ready  to  take  fire  for 
what  he  thought  the  truth,  and  against 
what,  in  his  judgment,  was  error.  "  I 
was  a  young  doctor,  fresh  from  the  anvil, 
glowing  and  rejoicing  in  the  glory  of 
the  Lord."§ 

*  Lingke,  Reisegesch.  Luthers,  p.  27. 

t  Instillans  ejuspectori  frequentes  indulgentia- 
rum  abusus. — (Cochlaeus.  4.) 

t  Monachum,  et  papistam  insanissimum,  ita 
ebrium,  im6  submersum  in  dogmatibus  papa?,  &c. 
—In  prsef.  Opp.  Witt.  I. 

§  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xxii. 


One  day  Luther  was  at  confessional  in 
Wittemberg.  Several  residents  of  that 
town  successively  presented  themselves: 
they  confessed  themselves  guilty  of  great 
irregularities,  adultery,  licentiousness, 
usury,  unjust  gains :  such  were  the 
things  men  came  to  talk  of  with  a  min- 
ister of  God's  word,  who  must  one  day 
give  an  account  of  their  souls.  He  re- 
proved, rebuked,  and  instructed.  But 
what  was  his  astonishment,  when  these 
persons  replied  that  they  did  not  intend 
to  abandon  their  sins !  The  pious  monk, 
shocked  at  this,  declared,  that  since  they 
would  not  promise  to  change  their  habits 
of  life,  he  could  not  absolve  them.  Then 
it  was  that  these  poor  creatures  appealed 
to  their  letters  of  indulgence ;  they 
shewed  them,  and  contended  for  their 
efficacy.  But  Luther  replied,  that  he 
had  nothing  to  do  with  their  paper :  and 
he  added,  "  If  you  do  not  turn  from  the 
evil  of  your  way,  you  will  all  perish." 
They  exclaimed  against  this,  and  re- 
newed their  application ;  but  the  doctor 
was  immoveable.  "  They  must  cease," 
he  said,  "  to  do  evil,  and  learn  to  do 
well,  or  otherwise  no  absolution.  Have 
a  care,"  added  he,  "  how  you  give  ear  to 
the  indulgences :  you  have  something 
better  to  do  than  to  buy  licences  which 
they  offer  you  for  paltry  pence."* 

Much  alarmed,  these  inhabitants  of 
Wittemberg  quickly  returned  to  Tetzel, 
and  told  him  that  an  Augustine  monk 
treated  his  letters  with  contempt.  Tet- 
zel, at  this,  bellowed  with  anger.  He 
held  forth  in  his  pulpit,  used  insulting 
expressions  and  curses,f  and,  to  strike 
the  people  with  more  terror,  he  had  a 
fire  lighted  several  times  in  the  grand 
square,  and  declared  that  he  was  ordered 
by  the  Pope  to  burn  the  heretics,  who 
should  dare  to  oppose  his  most  holy  in- 
dulgences. 

Such  was  the  incident  that  first  gave 
occasion  to  the  Reformation,  though  not 
the  cause  of  it.  A  pastor  sees  his  sheep 
going  on  in  a  way  that  would  lead  them 
to  their  ruin ; — he  seeks  „to  guide  them 
out  of  it.  He  has  as  yet  no  thought  of 
reforming  the   Church  and   the  world. 

*  Coepi  dissuadere  populis  et  eos  dehortari  ne 
indulgentiarum  clamoribus  aures  prreberent.  (L. 
Opp.  lat.  in  prsf.) 

t  Wutet,  schilt,  und  maledeiet  graulich  auf 
dem  Predigtstuhl.  —  (Myconius,  Reformation- 
gesch.) 


THE   INDULGENCES,   AND   THE  THESES. 


115 


He  has  seen  Rome  and  its  corruption ; 
but  he  does  not  erect  himself  against 
Rome.  He  discerns  some  of  the  abuses 
under  which  Christendom  groans,  but 
he  has  no  thought  of  correcting  those 
abuses.  He  does  not  desire  to  constitute 
himself  a  Reformer.*  He  has  no  more 
plan  in  his  mind  for  the  reform  of  the 
Church,  than  he  had  previously  had  for 
that  which  had  been  wrought  in  his  own 
soul.  God  himself  designed  a  Reforma- 
tion, and  to  make  Luther  the  instrument 
of  its  accomplishment.  The  same  rem- 
edy, of  which  the  efficacy  was  proved 
by  the  removal  of  his  own  distress,  it 
was  God's  purpose  that  he  should  apply 
to  the  distresses  of  Christendom.  He 
remains  quietly  in  the  circle  assigned  to 
him.  He  goes  simply  where  his  mas- 
ter calls  him.  He  is  discharging  at 
Wittemberg  his  duties  as  professor, 
preacher,  pastor.  He  is  seated  in  the 
temple,  where  the  members  of  his  church 
come  to  open  their  hearts  to  him.  It  is 
there,  on  that  field,  that  Evil  attacks,  and 
Error  seeks  him  out.  Those  about  him 
would*  hinder  him  from  discharging  his 
duty.  His  conscience,  bound  to  the  word 
of  God,  is  aroused.  Is  it  not  God  who 
calls  him  1  Resistance  is  a  duty, — there- 
fore it  is  also  a  right ; — he  must  speak. 
Such  was  the  course  of  the  events  occur- 
ring- in  the  providence  of  that  God,  who 
had  decreed  to  revive  Christianity  by  the 
agency  of  a  miner's  son ;  and  to  refine 
in  his  furnace  the  corrupted  teaching  of 
the  Church,  f 

After  what  has  been  stated,  it  is  need- 
less to  refute  a  lying  charge  invented  by 
some  enemies  of  Luther,  and  not  till  af- 
ter his  death.  It  has  been  said  it  was  a 
jealousy  on  the  part  of  the  monks  of  his 
order, — the  mortification  of  seeing  the 
Dominicans,  and  not  the  Augustines, 
who  had  previously  held  it,  entrusted 
with  this  shameful  and  disreputable 
commerce,  that  led  the  Doctor  of  Wit- 
temberg to  attack  Tetzel,  and  his  teach- 
ing. The  well  ascertained  fact  that 
this  traffic  had  been  at  first  offered  to 
the   Franciscans,    who  would  not  have 

*  Hbbc  initia  fuerunt  hujus  controversies,  in 
qua  Lutherus  nihil  suspicans  aut  somnians  de 
futura  mutatione  ritum,  &c—  (Melancth.  Vita 
Luth.) 

t  Mathesius. — Die  verseurte  Lehr  durch  den 
Ofen  gehen  (p.  10.) 


it,  suffices  to  refute  this  invention  re- 
peated by  writers  who  do  but  copy  one 
another.  Cardinal  Pallavicini  himself 
declares*  that  the  Augustines  had  ne- 
ver held  this  office.  Besides,  we  have 
seen  the  struggle  of  Luther's  soul.  His 
conduct  needs  no  other  explanation. 
He  could  not  refrain  from  confessing 
aloud  the  doctrine  to  which  he  owed  his 
happiness.  In  Christianity,  when  a  man 
finds  a  treasure  for  himself,  he  hastens  to 
impart  it  to  others.  In  our  day  men 
have  abandoned  such  puerile  and  un- 
worthy attempts  to  account  for  the  great 
revolution  of  the  sixteenth  century.  It 
is  recognized  that  there  must  be  some 
more  powerful  lever  to  raise  a  whole 
world, — and  that  the  Reformation  was 
not  in  Luther  merely, — but  that  the  age 
in  which  he  lived  must  necessarily  have 
given  birth  to  it. 

Luther,  called  on  alike  by  obedience 
to  the  truth  of  God,  and  by  charity  to 
man,  ascended  the  pulpit.  He  warned 
his  hearers,  as  was  his  duty,  as  he  him- 
self tells  us.f  His  Prince  had  obtained 
from  the  Pope  some  special  indulgences 
for  the  church  in  the  castle  of  Wittem- 
berg. Some  of  the  blows,  which  he  is 
about  to  strike  at  the  indulgences  of  the 
inquisitor,  may  easily  fall  on  those  of  the 
Elector.  It  matters  not ;  he  will  brave 
his  disgrace.  If  he  sought  to  please  man, 
he  would  not  be  the  servant  of  Christ. 

"  No  one  can  shew  from  the  Scriptures 
that  God's  justice  requires  a  penalty  or 
satisfaction  from  the  sinner,"  said  the 
faithful  minister  of  the  word  to  the  peo- 
ple of  Wittemberg.  "  The  only  duty  it 
imposes  on  him  is  a  true  repentance,  a 
sincere  change  of  heart,  a  resolution  to 
bear  the  cross  of  Christ,  and  to  strive  to 
do  good  works.  It  is  a  great  error  to 
seek  ourselves  to  satisfy  God's  justice  for 
our  sins,  for  God  ever  pardons  them  freely 
by  an  inestimable  grace. 

"  The  Christian  Church,  it  is  true,  re- 
quires somewhat  from  the  sinner,  and 
what  she  requires  she  may  remit.  But 
that  is  all.  And  furthermore,  these  in- 
dulgences of  the  Church  are  only  toler- 
ated out  of  regard  for  slothful  and  im- 
perfect Christians,  who  will  not  employ 
themselves  zealously  in  good  works ;  for 

*  Falsum  est  consuevisse  hoc  munus  injungi 
Eremitanis  S.  Augustini.  ...  (p.  14.) 
t  "  Sauberlich." 


116 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


they  excite  no  one  to  sanctification,  but 
leave  every  one  in  his  lowness  and  im- 
perfection." 

Then,  passing  to  the  pretext  on  which 
the  indulgences  were  proclaimed,  he  con- 
tinued :  "  It  would  be  much  better  to  con- 
tribute to  the  building  of  St.  Peter's  from 
love  to  God,  than  to  buy  indulgences  for 
such  a  purpose.  But  say  you  shall  Ave 
then  not  buy  them  1  I  have  already  said 
as  much,  and  I  repeat  it : — my  advice  is 
that  none  should  buy  them.  Leave  them 
for  drowsy  Christians,  but  do  you  keep 
yourselves  separate  from  such.  Let  the 
faithful  be  turned  from  indulgences,  and 
exhorted  to  the  works  they  neglect." 

Then,  glancing  at  his  adversaries,  Lu- 
ther concluded  in  these  words  :  "  And 
if  some  cry  that  I  am  a  heretic, — for  the 
truth  which  I  preach  is  prejudicial  to 
their  coffers — I  pay  little  regard  to  their 
clamours  ; — they  are  men  of  gloomy  or 
sickly  minds,  who  have  never  felt  the 
truths  of  the  Bible,  never  read  the  Chris- 
tian doctrine,  never  understood  their  own 
teachers,  and  are  perishing  in  the  tat- 
tered rags  of  their  vain  opinions.*  How- 
ever, God  grant  to  them  and  to  us  a  right 
understanding !  Amen."  This  said,  the 
Doctor  came  down  from  the  pulpit,  leav- 
ing his  hearers  much  affected  by  this  bold 
harangue. 

This  sermon  was  printed,  and  made  a 
deep  impression  on  all  who  read  it.  Tet- 
zel  answered  it,  and  Luther  defended 
himself ;  but  this  was  at  a  later  period, 
in  1518. 

The  feast  of  All  Saints  was  at  hand. 
Some  chroniclers  relate  at  this  time,  a 
circumstance,  which,  however  little  im- 
portant it  may  be  to  the  history  of  this 
epoch,  may  still  serve  to  characterise  it. 
It  is  a  dream  of  the  Elector, — beyond 
reasonable  doubt  true  in  the  essential 
parts,  though  some  circumstances  may 
have  been  added  by  those  who  related 
it.      It   is   mentioned   by   Seckendorf.f 

*  Sondern  in  ihren  lochreichen  und  zerrisse- 
nen  Opinien  viel  nahe  verwesen. — (L.  Opp.  (L.) 
xvii.  p.  119.) 

t  It  is  found  in  LSscher,  i.  46,  &c.  Zentzels 
Anf  und  Fortg.  der  Ref.  Sunkers  Ehrenged.  p. 
148.  Lehmanns  Beschr.  Meissen.  Erzgeb.  &c. 
and  in  a  manuscript  of  the  Archives  of  Weimar, 
written  from  the  dictation  of  Spalatin.  It  is 
from  this  manuscript,  published  at  the  last  jubilee 
of  the  Reformation  (1817),  that  we  take  the  ac- 
count of  this  dream. 


"  The  fear  of  giving  occasion  to  his  ad- 
versaries to  say  that  Luther's  doctrine 
rested  upon  dreams,  has  perhaps  pre- 
vented other  historians  from  speaking  of 
it,"  observes  this  respectable  writer. 

The  Elector,  Frederic  of  Saxony,  these 
chroniclers  tell  us,  was  then  at  his  castle 
of  Schweinitz,  six  leagues  from  Wittem- 
berg.  The  morning  of  the  31st  of  Octo- 
ber, being  with  his  brother,  Duke  John, 
(who  was  then  co-regent,  and  who  reign- 
ed alone  after  his  death,)  and  with  his 
Chancellor,  the  Elector  said  to  the 
Duke  :— 

"  Brother,  I  must  tell  you  a  dream 
that  I  had  last  night,  and  of  which  I 
should  be  very  glad  to  know  the  mean- 
ing. It  is  so  deeply  engraved  on  my 
mind,  that  I  should  not  forget  it  were  I 
to  live  a  thousand  years,  for  I  dreamt  it 
thrice,  and  each  time  with  some  new  cir- 
cumstances." 

Duke  John. — "  Is  it  a  good  dream  or 
bad  dream  ?" 

The  Elector. — "  I  know  not :  God 
knows." 

Duke  John. — "  Do  not  make  ycjurself 
uneasy  about  it:  tell  it  me." 

The  Elector. — "  Having  gone  to  bed 
last  night,  tired  and  dispirited,  I  fell  asleep 
soon  after  saying  my  prayers,  and  slept 
quietly  about  two  hours  and  a  half.  I 
then  woke  ;  and  continued  engaged  till 
midnight  with  a  variety  of  thoughts.  I 
considered  how  I  should  keep  the  festival 
of  All  Saints  ;  I  prayed  for  the  poor  souls 
in  purgatory,  and  besought  God  to  guide 
me,  my  counsellors  and  my  people,  into 
all  truth.  I  fell  asleep  again  :  and  then 
I  dreamt  that  Almighty  God  sent  a  monk 
to  me,  who  was  the  true  son  of  the 
Apostle  Paul.  All  the  saints  accom- 
panied him,  according  to  the  command 
of  God,  in  order  to  testify  to  me  in  his 
favour,  and  to  declare  that  he  was  not 
come  with  any  fraudulent  design,  but 
that  all  he  did  was  agreeable  to  the  will 
of  God.  They  asked  me,  at  the  same 
time,  graciously  to  allow  him  to  write 
something  on  the  church  door  of  the 
castle  of  Wittemberg ;  which  request  I 
granted  by  the  mouth  of  the  Chancellor. 
Thereupon  the  monk  went  his  way,  and 
began  to  write,  but  in  such  large  charac- 
ters, that  I  could  read  from  Schweinitz 
what  he  was  writing.  The  pen  that  he 
used   was   so   long    that   its    extremity 


THE  INDULGENCES,  AND  THE  THESES. 


117 


reached  even  to  Rome,  wounded  the  ears 
of  a  lion  (Leo)  that  was  couched  there, 
and  shook  the  triple  crown  on  the  Pope's 
head.  All  the  cardinals  and  princes, 
running-  hastily  towards  him,  endeav- 
oured to  support  it.  You  and  I,  bro- 
ther, among  the  rest,  attempted  to  sup- 
port it ;  I  put  out  my  arm :  but,  at  that 
moment  I  woke,  with  my  arm  extended, 
in  great  alarm,  and  very  angry  with  the 
monk  who  handled  his  pen  so  awkward- 
ly. I  recovered  myself  a  little  : — it  was 
only  a  dream. 

"  But  I  was  still  half  asleep,  and  I 
closed  my  eyes  again.  My  dream  con- 
tinued. The  lion,  still  disturbed  by  the 
pen,  began  to  roar  with  all  his  might,  so 
that  the  whole  city  of  Rome  and  all  the 
states  of  the  holy  Empire  ran  to  enquire 
what  was  the  matter.  The  Pope  called 
upon  us  to  restrain  the  monk,  and  ad- 
dressed himself  particularly  to  me,  be- 
cause he  lived  in  my  country.  I  woke 
again  :  I  repeated  a  Palet  noster.  I  be- 
sought God  to  preserve  the  ,holy  Father, 
and  I  then  fell  asleep  again. 

"  After  this,  I  dreamt  that  all  the 
Princes  of  the  Empire,  you  and  I 
amongst  the  rest,  were  flocking  to  Rome, 
trying  one  after  the  other  to  break  this 
pen  ;  but  the  more  we  exerted  ourselves 
the  stiffer  it  became  ;  it  resisted  as  if  it 
had  been  made  of  iron ;  at  length  Ave 
were  tired.  I  then  asked  the  monk,  (for 
I  seemed  to  be  sometimes  at  Rome  and 
sometimes  at  Wittemberg,)  where  he  had 
obtained  that  pen,  and  why  it  was  so 
strong  ?  '  The  pen,'  replied  he,  '  once 
belonged  to  the  wing  of  a  goose  of  Bo- 
hemia, a  hundred  years  old.*  I  received 
it  from  one  of  my  old  schoolmasters  ;  its 
strength  is — that  no  one  can  take  the 
pith  out  of  it ;  and  I  am  myself  quite  sur- 
prised at  it' — Suddenly  I  heard  a  loud 
cry ;  from  the  monk's  long  pen  had  issued 
a  great  number  of  other  pens.  I  woke 
a  third  time  :  it  was  daylight." 

Duke  John. — "  Master  Chancellor, 
what  do  you  think  of  it  1  Oh !  that  we 
had  here  a  Joseph  or  a  Daniel  enlight- 
ened by  God !" 

The  Chancellor. — "  Your  highnesses 
know  the  vulgar  proverb,  that  the  dreams 

*  John  Huss. — This  is  one  of  the  particulars 
that  may  have  been  added  at  a  subsequent  pe- 
riod, in  allusion  to  the  well  known  saying  of  Huss 
himself. 


of  maidens,  scholars,  and  nobles,  have 
generally  some  hidden  meaning ;  but 
we  shall  not  know  the  meaning  of  this 
for  some  time,  till  the  things  to  which  it 
relates  shall  have  taken  place.  Therefore, 
commend  the  accomplishment  of  it  to 
God,  and  leave  it  in  his  hands." 

Duke  John. — "  I  agree  with  you,  mas- 
ter Chancellor :  it  is  not  right  that  we 
should  puzzle  our  heads  about  the  mean- 
ing of  this:  God  will  turn  all  to  his 
glory." 

The  Elector. — ':  God  in  his  mercy 
grant  it !  However,  I  shall  never  forget 
the  dream.  I  have  thought  of  one  interpre- 
tation ; — but  I.  keep  it  to  myself.  Time 
will  perhaps  show  if  I  have  guessed 
right." 

Such,  according  to  the  manuscript  of 
Weimer,  was  the  conversation  that  took 
place  on  the  morning  of  the  31st  of  Oc- 
tober at  Schweinitz.  Let  us  next  see 
what  happened  in  the  evening  of  the 
same  day  at  Wittemberg.  We  now  re- 
turn to  the  firmer  ground  of  history. 

The  admonitions  of  Luther  had  pro- 
duced but  little  effect :  Tetzel,  without 
disturbing  himself,  continued  his  traffic 
and  his  impious  addresses  to  the  people.* 
Shall  Luther  submit  to  these  grievous 
abuses?  shall  he  keep  silence?  As  a 
pastor,  he  has  powerfully  exhorted  those 
who  attended  his  ministry ;  and  as  a 
preacher,  he  has  uttered  a  warning  voice 
from  the  pulpit.  He  has  yet  to  speak  as 
a  divine  ;  he  has  yet  to  address  himself, 
not  merely  to  a  few  persons  in  the  con- 
fessional, not  merely  to  the  assembly  of 
the  church  of  Wittemberg,  but  to  all 
those  who  are,  like  himself,  teachers  of 
God's  word.     His  resolution  is  formed. 

It  was  not  the  Church  that  he  thought 
of  attacking;  it  was  not  the  Pope  he 
was  about  to  call  to  account :  on  the  con- 
trary, his  respect  for  the  Head  of  the 
Church  would  not  allow  him  to  be  any 
longer  silent  in  regard  to  assumptions, 
by  which  the  Pope's  credit  was  dispa- 
raged. He  must  take  his  part  against 
those  audacious  men  who  dared  to  mix 
up  his  venerable  name  with  their  dis- 
graceful traffic.  Far  from  thinking  of  a 
revolution  that  should  overthrow  the  pri- 
macy of  Rome,  Luther  conceived  that  he 

*  Cujus  impiis  et  nefariis  concionibus  incitatus 
Lutherus  studio  pietatis  ardens  editit  propositionea 
de  indulgentiis.— (Melancth.  Vita  Luth.) 


118 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


had  the  Pope  and  Catholicism  with  him, 
against  the  effrontery  of  the  monks.* 

The  feasts  of  All  Saints  was  a  very 
important  day  at  Wittemberg,  and  espe- 
cially at  the  church  which  the  Elector 
had  built  and  filled  with  relics.  On  this 
occasion  those  relics,  encased  in  gold 
and  silver,  and  adorned  with  precious 
stones,  were  set  out  to  dazzle  the  eyes  of 
the  people  with  their  magnificence.! 
Whoever,  on  that  day,  visited  the  church, 
and  there  confessed  himself,  obtained  a 
plenary  indulgence.  On  that  great  day 
the  pilgrims  flocked  in  crowds  to  Wit- 
temberg. 

Luther,  whose  plan  was  already  formed, 
went  boldly  on  the  evening  of  the  31st 
of  October,  1517,  to  the  church,  towards 
which  the  superstitious  crowds  of  pil- 
grims were  flocking,  and  affixed  to  the 
door  ninety-five  theses  or  propositions, 
against  the  doctrine  of  indulgences. 
Neither  the  Elector,  nor  Staupitz,  nor 
Spalatin,  nor  any  of  his  friends,  even 
those  most  intimate  with  him,  had  any 
previous  intimation  of  his  design.;}: 

Luther  therein  declared,  in  a  kind  of 
preamble,  that  he  had  written  these 
theses  in  a  spirit  of  sincere  charity,  and 
with  the  express  desire  of  bringing  the 
truth  to  light.  He  declared  himself 
ready  to  defend  them,  next  day,  at  the 
university  itself,  against  all  opposers. 

The  attention  excited  by  them  was 
very  great ;  and  they  were  read  and  re- 
peated on  all  sides.  The  pilgrims,  the 
university,  and  the  whole  city  were  soon 
in  confusion.  The  following  are  some 
of  the  propositions  written  by  the  pen  of 
the  monk,  and  posted  on  the  door  of  the 
church  of  Wittemberg : 

"  1.  When  our  Master  and  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  says,  'Repent,'  he  means  that  the 
whole  lite  of  his  faithful  servants  upon 
earth  should  be  a  constant  and  continual 
repentance. 

"  2.  This  cannot  be  understood  of  the 
sacrament  of  penance,  (that  is  to  say  of 
confession  and  satisfaction,)  as  adminis- 
tered by  the  priest. 

*  Et  in  iis  certus  mihi  videbar,  me  habiturum 
patronuni  papain  cujus  fiducia  tunc  fortiter  nite- 
bar.     (L.  Opp.  Lat.  in  prcef.) 

t Quas  magnifico  apparatu  publice  popu- 

lis  ostendi  curavit. — (Cochlceus,  4.) 

t  Cum  hujus  disputationis  nullus  etiam  inti- 
morum  amicorum  merit  conscius. — (L  Edd  i 
186.)  m   ' 


"  3.  However,  our  Lord  does  not  here 
speak  only  of  inward  repentance :  in- 
ward repentance  is  invalid,  if  it  does  not 
produce  outwardly  every  kind  of  mortifi- 
cation of  the  flesh. 

"  4.  Repentance  and  grief — that  is  to 
say,  true  penitence,  lasts  as  long  as  a 
man  is  displeased  with  himself, — that  is 
to  say,  till  he  passes  from  this  life  to 
eternal  life. 

"  5.  The  Pope  has  no  power  or  inten- 
tion to  remit  any  other  penalty  than  that 
which  he  has  imposed,  according  to  his 
good  pleasure,  or  conformably  to  the  can- 
ons, that  is  to  say,  to  the  Papal  ordinances. 

"  6.  The  Pope  cannot  remit  any  con- 
demnation ;  but  can  only  declare  and 
confirm  the  remission  that  God  himself 
has  given  ;  except  only  in  cases  that  be- 
long to  him.  If  he  does  otherwise,  the 
condemnation  continues  the  same. 

"  8.  The  laws  of  ecclesiastical  penance 
can  only  be  imposed  on  the  living,  and 
in  no  wise  respect  the  dead. 

"21.  The  commissioners  of  indul- 
gences are  in  error  in  saying,  that, 
through  the  indulgence  of  the  Pope,  man 
is  delivered  from  all  punishment,  and 
saved. 

"  25.  The  same  power,  that  the  Pope 
has  over  purgatory  in  the  Church  at 
large,  is  possessed  by  every  bishop  in  his 
diocese  and  every  curate  in  his  parish. 

"27.  Those  persons  preach  human 
inventions  who  pretend  that,  at  the  veiy 
moment  when  the  money  sounds  in  the 
strong  box,  the  soul  escapes  from  purga 
tory. 

"  28.  This  is  certain  :  that,  as  soon  as 
the  money  sounds,  avarice  and  love  of 
gain  come  in,  grow  and  multiply.  But 
the  assistance  and  prayers  of  the  Church 
depend  only  on  the  will  and  good  plea- 
sure of  God. 

"  32.  Those  who  fancy  themselves 
sure  of  their  salvation  by  indulgences  will 
go  to  the  devil  with  those  who  teach 
them  this  doctrine. 

"35.  They  teach  anti-Christian  doc- 
trines who  profess  that,  to  deliver  a  soul 
from  purgatory,  or  to  purchase  an  indul- 
gence, there  is  no  need  of  sorrow  or  of 
repentance. 

"  36.  Every  Christian  who  feels  true 
repentance  for  his  sins  has  perfect  remis- 
sion from  the  punishment  and  from  the 
sin,  without  the  need  of  indulgences. 


THE  INDULGENCES,  AND  THE  THESES. 


119 


"37.  Every  true  Christian,  dead,  or 
living-,  is  a  partaker  of  all  the  riches  of 
Christ,  or  of  the  Church,  by  the  gift  of 
God,  and  without  any  letter  of  indul- 
gence. 

"  38.  Yet  we  must  not  despise  the 
Pope's  distributive  and  pardoning  power, 
for  his  pardon  is  a  declaration  of  God's 
pardon. 

"  40.  Repentance  and  real  grief  seek 
and  love  chastening ;  but  the  softness  of 
the  indulgence  relaxes  the  fear  of  chas- 
tisement, and  makes  us  averse  from  it. 

"  42.  We  must  teach  Christians,  that 
the  Pope  neither  expects  nor  wishes  us 
to  compare  the  act  of  preaching  indul- 
gences with  any  charitable  work  what- 
soever. 

"  43.  We  must  teach  Christians,  that 
he  who  gives  to  the  poor,  or  lends  to  the 
needy,  does  better  than  he  who  buys  an 
indulgence. 

"  44.  For  the  work  of  charity  makes 
charity  to  abound,  and  renders  man  more 
pious ;  whilst  the  indulgence  makes  him 
not  better,  but  only  more  confident  in 
himself,  and  more  secure  from  punish- 
ment. 

"  45.  We  must  teach  Christians  that 
he  who  sees  his  neighbour  in  want,  and, 
notwithstanding  that,  buys  an  indulgence, 
does  not  in  reality  acquire  the  Pope's  in- 
dulgence, and  draws  down  on  himself 
the  anger  of  God. 

"  4G.  We  must  teach  Christians,  that 
if  they  have  no  superfluity,  they  are 
bound  to  keep  for  their  families  where- 
with to  procure  necessaries,  and  they 
ought  not  to  waste  their  money  on  indul- 
gences.      •- 

"  47.  We  must  teach  christians,  that 
the  purchase  of  an  indulgence  is  not  a 
matter  of  commandment,  but  a  thing  in 
which  they  are  left  at  liberty. 

"  48.  We  must  teach  christians,  that 
the  Pope,  having  more  need  of  the 
prayer  of  faith,  than  of  money,  desires 
prayer  rather  than  money,  when  he  dis- 
tributes indulgences. 

"  49.  We  must  teach  christians,  that 
the  Pope's  indulgence  is  good,  if  we  do 
not  put  our  trust  in  it ;  but  that  nothing 
can  be  more  hurtful,  if  it  leads  us  to  neg- 
lect piety. 

"  50.  We  must  teach  christians,  that 
if  the  Pope  knew  the  exactions  of  the 
preachers  of  indulgences,  he  would  rather 


that  the  metropolitan  church  of  St.  Peter 
were  burnt  to  ashes,  than  see  it  built  up 
with  the  skin,  the  flesh,  and  bones  of  his 
flock. 

"51.  We  must  teach  christians,  that 
the  Pope,  as  in  duty  bound,  would  will- 
ingly give  his  own  money,  though  it 
should  be  necessary  to  sell  the  metropol- 
itan church  of  St.  Peter  for  the  purpose, 
to  the  poor  people  whom  the  preach- 
ers of  indulgences  now  rob  of  their  last 
penny. 

"  52.  To  hope  to  be  saved  by  indul- 
gences is  to  hope  in  lies  and  vanity  ;  even 
although  the  commissioner  of  indulgen- 
ces, nay,  though  even  the  Pope  himself, 
should  pledge  his  own  soul  in  attestation 
of  their  efficacy. 

"  53.  They  are  the  enemies  of  the 
Pope  and  of  Christ,  who,  to  favour  the 
preaching  of  indulgences,  forbid  the 
preaching  of  the  word  of  God. 

"  55.  The  Pope  can  think  no  other- 
wise than  this  :  If  the  -  indulgence 
(which  is  the  lesser)  is  celebrated  with 
the  sound  of  a  bell,  and  pomp  and  cere- 
mony, much  more  is  it  right  to  celebrate 
the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  (which  is 
the  greater)  with  a  hundred  bells,  and  a 
hundred  times  more  pomp  and  cere- 
mony. 

"  62.  The  true  and  precious  treasure 
of  the  Church  is  the  holy  Gospel  of  the 
glory  and  grace  of  God. 

"  65.  The  treasures  of  the  Gospel  are 
nets,  in  which  it  formerly  happened  that 
the  souls  of  rich  men,  living  at  ease, 
were  taken. 

"  66.  But  the  treasures  of  the  indul- 
gence are  nets,  wherewith  now  they  fish 
for  rich  men's  wealth. 

"  67.  It  is  the  duty  of  bishops  and 
pastors  to  receive  with  all  respect  the 
commissioners  of  the  apostolical  indul- 
gences. 

"  68.  But  it  is  much  more  their  duty 
to  satisfy  themselves,  by  their  presence, 
that  the  said  commissioners  do  not  preach 
the  dreams  of  their  own  fancy  instead  of 
the  Pope's  orders. 

"71.  Cursed  be  whosoever  speaks 
against  the  Pope's  indulgence. 

"  72.  But  blessed  be  he  who  opposes 
the  foolish  and  reckless  speeches  of  the 
preachers  of  indulgences. 

"  78.  The  Pope's  indulgence  cannot 
take  away  the  least  of  our  daily  sins, — 


120 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


so  far  as  the  blame  or  offence  of  it  is  con- 
cerned. 

"  79.  To  say  that  the  cross,  hung  with 
the  Pope's  arms,  is  as  powerful  as  the 
cross  of  Christ,  is  blasphemy. 

"  80.  The  bishops,  pastors,  and  di- 
vines, who  allow  these  things  to  be 
taught  to  the  people,  will  have  to  give 
account  for  it. 

"81.  This  shameless  preaching, — 
these  impudent  praises  of  indulgences, — 
make  it  difficult  for  the  learned  to  de- 
fend the  dignity  and  honour  of  the  Pope 
against  the  calumnies  of  preachers,  and 
the  subtle  and  artful  questions  of  the 
common  people. 

"  86.  Why,  say  they,  does  not  the 
Pope  build  the  metropolitan  church  of  St. 
Peter's  with  his  own  money,  rather  than 
with  that  of  poor  christians,  seeing  that 
he  is  richer  than  the  richest  Crassus  ? 

"  92.  May  we  therefore  be  rid  of  those 
preachers,  who  say  to  the  Church  of 
Christ  '  Peace,  peace,'  when  there  is  no 
peace. 

"94.  We  must  exhort  christians  to 
endeavour  to  follow  Christ,  their  head, 
under  the  cross,  through  death  and  hell. 

"  95.  For  it  is  better,  through  much 
tribulation,  to  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
heaven,  than  to  gain  a  carnal  security 
by  the  consolations  of  a  false  peace." 

Here  then  was  the  beginning  of  the 
work.  The  germs  of  the  Reformation 
were  inclosed  in  these  theses  of  Luther. 
They  attacked  the  indulgences,  and  this 
drew  notice  ; — but  under  this  attack  was 
found  a  principle,  which,  while  it  drew 
much  less  of  the  people's  attention,  was 
one  day  to  overturn  the  edifice  of  the 
Papacy.  The  evangelic  doctrine  of  a 
free  and  gracious  remission  of  sins  was 
for  the  first  time  publicly  professed. 
The  work  must  now  go  forward.  In 
fact  it  was  evident  that  whoever  should 
receive  that  faith  in  the  remission  of  sins 
proclaimed  by  the  Doctor  of  Wittemberg, 
— whoever  should  possess  that  repent- 
ance, that  conversion,  and  that  sanctifica- 
tion,  of  which  he  urged  the  necessity, — 
would  no  longer  regard  human  ordinan- 
ces, would  throw  off  the  bandages  and 
restraints  of  Rome,  and  acquire  the  lib- 
erty of  God's  children.  All  errors 
would  fall  before  this  truth.  It  was 
by  this  that  the  light  had  just  entered 
the  mind  of  Luther  ;  it  was  likewise  by 


it  that  the  light  was  ordained  to  spread 
in  the  Church.  A  clear  perception  of 
this  truth  was  what  had  been  wanting 
to  the  earlier  Reformers.  Hence  the 
unprofitableness  of  their  efforts.  Luther 
clearly  saw,  at  a  later  period,  that  in 
proclaiming  justification  by  faith,  he  had 
laid  the  axe  to  the  root  of  the  tree.  "  It 
is  doctrine  that  we  attack  in  the  follow- 
ers of  the  Papacy,"  said  he.  "  Huss 
and  Wickliff  only  attacked  their  life ; 
but  in  attacking  their  doctrine,  we  seize 
the  goose  by  the  throat.  Every  thing 
depends  on  the  word  of  God,  which  the 
Pope  has  taken  from  us  and  falsified.  I 
have  overcome  the  Pope,  because  my 
doctrine  is  according  to  God,  and  his  is 
the  doctrine  of  the  devil."* 

We  also,  in  our  day,  have  lost  sight 
of  this  cardinal  doctrine  of  justification 
by  faith,  though  not  in  the  same  way  as 
our  fathers.  "  In  Luther's  time,"  says 
'one  of  our  contemporaries,!  "  the  remis- 
sion of  sins  cost  some  money  at  least ; 
but  in  our  days,  every  one  takes  it 
gratuitously  to  himself."  There  is  much 
analogy  between  these  two  false  notions. 
In  our  error  there  is  perhaps  more  for- 
getfulness  of„  God  than  that  which  pre- 
vailed in  the  16th  century.  The  princi- 
ple of  justification  by  God's  free  grace, 
which  delivered  the  Church  from  such 
deep  darkness  at  the  period  of  the  Re- 
formation, can  alone  renew  this  gene- 
ration, terminate  its  doubts  and  waver- 
ings, destroy  the  egotism  which  con- 
sumes it,  establish  morality  and  upright- 
ness among  the  nations, — in  a  word, 
bring  back  to  God  the  world  which  has 
forsaken  him.  » 

But  if  these  theses  of  Luther  were 
strong  in  the  strength  of  the  truth  they 
proclaimed,  they  were  no  less  powerful 
in  the  faith  of  him  who  declared 
himself  their  champion.  He  had  boldly 
drawn  the  sword  of  the  word.  He  had 
done  this  in  reliance  on  the  power  of 
truth.  He  had  felt  that,  in  depend- 
ence on  the  promises  of  God,  something 
might  be  hazarded,  as  the  world  would 
express  it.  "  Let  him  who  resolves  to 
begin  a  good  work,"  (said  he,  speaking 
of  this  bold  attack,)  "  undertake  it,  rely- 

*  Wenn  man  die  Lehre  angreifft,  so  wird  die 
Gans  am  Krage  gegriffen. — (L.  Opp.  (W.)  xxii. 
p.  1369.) 

t  Harms  de  Kiel. 


THE  INDULGENCES,  AND  THE  THESES. 


121 


ing  on  the  goodness  of  the  thing  itself, 
and  in  no  degree  on  any  help  or  comfort 
to  be  derived  from  men : — moreover, 
let  him  not  fear  men,  nor  the  whole 
world.  For  that  text  shall  never  be 
falsified :  "  It  is  good  to  trust  in  tfye 
Lord,  and  he  that  trusteth  in  him  shall 
certainly  never  be  confounded."  But  as 
for  him  who  will  not,  or  cannot,  ven- 
ture something,  trusting  in  God,  let  him 
carefully  abstain  from  undertaking  any 
thing."*  We  cannot  doubt  that  Luther, 
after  having  fixed  his  theses  on  the  door 
of  the  church  of  All  Saints,  withdrew  to 
his  peaceful  cell,  filled  with  that  peace 
and  joy  which  flow  from  an  action  done 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  for  the 
cause  of  everlasting  truth. 

Whatever  boldness  may  appear  in 
these  theses,  we  still  discover  in  them 
the  monk  who  would  refuse  to  allow  a 
single  doubt  as  to  the  authority  of  the 
Roman  See.  But  in  attacking  the 
doctrine  of  indulgences,  Luther  had 
unconsciously  borne  hard  upon  many 
errors,  the  discovery  of  which  could  not 
be  agreeable  to  the  Pope,  since  it  must 
necessarily  lead,  sooner  or  later,  to  the 
discrediting  his  supremacy.  Luther's 
views,  at  that  time,  did  not  extend  so 
far ;  but  he  felt  the  boldness  of  the 
step  he  had  just  taken,  and  thought 
therefore  that  he  ought  to  qualify  it,  as 
far  as  he  could,  consistently  with  the  re- 
spect he  owed  to  the  truth.  He  con- 
sequently put  forth  these  theses  only  as 
doubtful  propositions,  in  respect  to  which 
he  solicited  information  from  the  learned  ; 
and  he  added  (in  accordance,  it  is  true, 
with  an  established  custom,)  a  solemn 
protestation,  by  which  he  declared,  that 
he  did  not  mean  to  say  or  affirm  any 
thing  that  was  not  founded  on  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  the  Fathers  of  the 
Church,  and  the  rights  and  decretals  of 
the  court  of  Rome. 

Often  did  Luther,  in  after  times,  when 
'  he  contemplated  the  vast  and  unexpected 
consequences   of    this   courageous   step, 
feel  amazed  at  himself,  and  unable  to 
comprehend  how  he  had  dared  to  take 
it.     The  truth  was,  an  invisible  and  all- 
powerful    hand  here  held  the   guiding 
rein,  and  urged  on  the  herald  of  truth  in 
a  road  which  he  knew  not,  and  from  the 
difficulties  of  which  he  would  perhaps 
*  L.  Opp.  Leipz.  vi.  p.  518. 
16 


have  shrunk,  had  he  been  aware  of 
them,  and  advanced  alone  and  of  his 
own  will.  "  I  entered  on  this  contro- 
versy," said  he,  "  without  any  settled 
purpose  or  inclination,  and  entirely  un- 
prepared. ...  I  call  God  to  witness  this 
who  sees  the  heart."* 

Luther  had  learned  what  was  the 
source  of  these  abuses.  A  little  book 
was  brought  him,  adorned  with  the  arms 
of  the  Archbishop  of  Mentz  and  Magde- 
burg, containing-  rules  to  be  followed  in 
the  sale  of  the  indulgences.  Thus  it 
was  this  young  prelate,  this  accomplished 
prince,  who  had  prescribed,  or  at  least 
sanctioned,  this  imposture.  Luther  saw 
in  him  only  a  superior,  whom  it  was  his 
duty  to  honour  and  respect. f  He  re- 
solved no  longer  to  beat  the  air,  but  ra- 
ther to  apply  to  those  who  had  the  office 
of  government  in  the  church.  He  ad- 
dressed to  him  a  letter  full  of  frankness 
and  humility.  Luther  wrote  to  Albert 
the  same  day  that  he  placarded  his 
theses. 

"  Forgive  me,  most  reverend  Father 
in  Christ,  and  most  illustrious  Prince,  if 
I,  who  am  the  very  meanest  of  men,;); 
have  the  boldness  to  write  to  your  sub- 
lime grandeur.  The  Lord  Jesus  is  my 
witness  that,  feeling  how  small  and  con- 
temptible I  am,  I  have  long  delayed  to 
do  so.  Yet  let  your  Highness  look  upon 
an  atom  of  dust,  and  in  your  episcopal 
compassion  graciously  receive  my  re- 
quest. 

"  Men  are  carrying  throughout  the 
country  the  papal  indulgence,  under 
your  Grace's  name.  I  will  not  so  much 
accuse  the  clamours  of  the  preachers 
(for  I  have  not  heard  them)  as  the  false 
opinions  of  simple  and  ignorant  people, 
who,  when  they  purchase  these  indul- 
gences, think  themselves  sure  of  their 
salvation. 

"  Great  God  !  the  souls  confided,  my 
very  excellent  Father,  to  your  care,  are 
trained  not  for  life,  but  for  death.  The 
strict  reckoning  that  will  one  day  be 
required  of  you  increases  every  day. 
I  could  no  longer  keep  silence.  No ! 
man  is  not  saved   by  the  work  or  the 

*  Casu  enim,  non  voluntate  nee  studio,  in  has 
turbas  icindi ;  Deum  ipsum  testor. — L.  Opp.  lat. 
in  prref.) 

t  Domino  suo  et  pastori  in  Christo  venerabili- 
ter  metuendo. — (Epp.  i.  p.  68.) 

I  Fex  hominum. — (Epp.  i.  pp.  68.) 


122 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


office  of  his  bishop.  Scarcely  even  is 
the  righteous  saved,  and  the  way  that 
leadeth  unto  life  is  narrow.  Why  then 
do  the  preachers  of  indulgences,  by 
empty  fictions,  lull  the  people  in  carnal 
security? 

"  The  indulgence  alone,  if  we  can 
give  ear  to  them,  is  to  be  proclaimed  and 
exalted.  What,  is  it  not  the  chief  and 
only  duty  of  the  bishops  to  teach  the 
people  the  Gospel  and  the  love  of 
Christ?*  Christ  himself  has  no  where 
told  us  to  preach  indulgences,  but  he 
has  enjoined  us  to  preach  the  Gospel. 
How  horrid  and  dangerous  then  it  is 
for  a  bishop  to  allow  the  Gospel  to  be 
withheld,  and  the  indulgences  alone  to 
be  continually  sounded  in  the  ears  of 
the  people ! 

"  Most  worthy  Father  in  God,  in  the 
Instruction  of  the  Commissioners,  which 
was  published  in  your  Grace's  name, 
(certainly  without  your  knowledge,)  it 
is  said,  that  the  indulgence  is  the  most 
precious  treasure,  that  by  it  man  is  rec- 
onciled to  God,  and  that  repentance  is 
not  needed  by  those  who  purchase  it. 

"  What  can  I,  what  ought  I  to  do, 
most  worthy  bishop  and  serene  prince  1 
Oh !  I  entreat  your  Highness,  by  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  look  into  this  mat- 
ter with  paternal  vigilance,  to  suppress 
this  book  entirely,  and  to  order  the 
preachers  to  address  to  the  people  dif- 
ferent instructions.  If  you  neglect  to  do 
this,  prepare  yourself  to  hear  some  day  a 
voice  lifted  that  shall  refute  these  preach- 
ers, to  the  great  disgrace  of  your  most 
serene  Highness." 

Luther,  at  the  same  time,  sent  his  the- 
ses to  the  Archbishop,  and  asked  him  in 
a  postscript  to  read  them,  in  order  to  con- 
vince himself  of  the  little  dependence 
that  was  to  be  placed  on  the  doctrine  of 
indulgences. 

Thus,  the  only  wish  of  Luther  was 
that  the  watchmen  of  the  Church  should 
arouse  themselves,  and  endeavour  to  put  a 
stop  to  the  evils  that  were  laying  it  waste. 
Nothing  could  be  more  noble  or  respect- 
ful than  this  letter  of  a  monk  to  one  of 
the  greatest  princes  of  the  Church  and 
of  the  Empire.  Never  did  any  one  act 
more  in  the  spirit  of  Christ's  precept: 
"  Render  unto  Caesar  the  things  that  are 

*  Ut  populus  Evangelium  discat  atque  chari- 
tatem  Christi.— (Epp.  1.  p.  68.) 


Caesar's,  and  unto  God  the  things  that 
are  God's."  This  conduct  bears  no  resem- 
blance to  that  of  the  reckless  revolution- 
ist who  despises  dominions,  and  speaks 
evil  of  dignities.  It  is  the  conscientious 
appeal  of  a  Christian  and  a  priest,  who 
renders  honour  to  all,  but,  above  all,  has 
the  fear  of  God  in  his  heart.  But  all  his 
entreaties  and  supplications  were  useless. 
Young  Albert,  wholly  engrossed  by 
pleasure  and  the  pursuits  of  ambition, 
made  no  reply  to  this  solemn  address. 
The  Bishop  of  Brandenburg,  Luther's 
ordinary,  a  learned  and  pious  man,  to 
whom  he  also  sent  the  theses,  replied 
that  he  was  attacking  the  power  of  the. 
Church  ;  that  he  would  bring  upon  him- 
self much  trouble  and  grief;  that  the  at- 
tempt would  be  found  too  much  for  his 
strength,  and  that  he  would  do  well  to 
give  up  the  affair  altogether.*  The 
princes  of  the  Church  closed  their 
ears  to  the  voice  of  God,  which  was 
making  itself  heard  in  so  affecting  and 
energetic  a  manner  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  Luther.  They  would  not 
understand  the  signs  of  the  times  ;  they 
were  struck  with  that  blindness  which 
has  already  accelerated  the  ruin  of  so 
many  powers  and  dignities.  "  They 
both  thought  at  that  time,"  as  Luther  af- 
terwards observed,  "  that  the  Pope  would 
be  too  powerful  for  a  poor  mendicant 
monk  like  me." 

But  Luther  could  judge  better  than 
the  bishops  of  the  fatal  effect  of  indul- 
gences on  the  lives  and  morals  of  the 
people  ;  for  he  was  intimately  connected 
with  them.  He  saw  constantly  and 
close  at  hand,  what  the  bishops  only 
knew  from  reports  that  could  not  be  de- 
pended on.  If  he  found  no  help  from 
the  bishops,  God  was  not  wanting  to 
him.  The  head  of  the  Church,  who  sits 
in  the  heavens,  and  to  whom  alone  all 
power  is  given  upon  earth,  had  himself 
prepared  the  soil,  and  committed  the 
seed  to  the  hand  of  his  servant ;  he  gave 
wings  to  those  seeds  of  truth,  and  scat- 
tered them  in  a  moment  over  the  whole 
field  of  the  church. 

No  one  appeared  next  day  at  the  uni- 
versity to  impugn  the  propositions  of  Lu- 
ther. Tetzel's  traffic  was  too  generally 
decried    and    too   disreputable   for   any 

*  Ersollte  still  halten ;  es  ware  eine  grosse 
Sache.— (Math.  13.) 


THE   INDULGENCES,   AND   THE   THESES. 


123 


other  person  than  himself,  or  one  of  his 
followers,  to  dare  to  accept  the  challenge. 
But  these  theses  were  destined  to  find  an 
echo  beyond  the  vaulted  roof  of  the  acad- 
emy. Hardly  had  they  been  nailed  to 
the  church  door  of  the  castle  of  Wittem- 
berg,  when  the  feeble  sound  of  the  ham- 
mer was  succeeded  by  a  thunder-clap, 
which  shook  the  very  foundations  of 
proud  Rome ;  threatened  with  instant 
ruin  the  walls,  gates,  and  pillars  of  the 
Papacy ;  stunned  and  terrified  its  cham- 
pions j  and  at  the  same  time  awakened 
from  the  slumber  of  error  many  thou- 
sands of  men.* 

These  theses  spread  with  the  rapidity 
of  lightning.  Before  a  month  had  elapsed, 
they  had  found  their  way  to  Rome.  "  In 
the  space  of  a  fortnight,"  says  a  contem- 
porary historian,  "  they  had  spread  over 
Germany,  and  within  a  month  they  had 
run  through  all  Christendom,  as  if  an- 
gels themselves  had  been  the  bearers  of 
them  to  all  men.  It  is  difficult  to  con- 
ceive the  stir  they  occasioned."!  They 
were  afterwards  translated  into  Dutch, 
and  into  Spanish ;  and  a  traveller  car- 
ried them  for  sale  as  far  as  Jerusalem. 
"  Every  one,"  said  Luther,  "  was  com- 
plaining of  the  indulgences,  and,  as  all 
the  bishops  and  doctors  had  kept  silence, 
and  no  one  was  inclined  to  take  the  bull 
by  the  horns,  poor  Luther  became  a  fa- 
mous doctor ;  because,  at  last,,  said  they, 
one  doctor  was  found  who  dared  grapple 
with  him.  But  I  did  not  like  this  glory, 
and  I  thought  the  song  in  too  high  a 
key  for  my  voice. "| 

Many  of  the  pilgrims  who  had  flocked 
from  all  sides  to  Wittemberg  at  the  feast 
of  All  Saints,  took  back  with  them — not 
the  indulgences — but  the  famous  theses 
of  the  Augustine  monk.  Thus  they 
helped  to  diffuse  them.  Every  one  read 
them,  meditating  and  commenting  on 
them.  Men  conversed  about  them  in 
convents  and  in  colleges.  §  The  devout 
monks  who  had  entered  the  convents 
that  they  might  save  their  souls,  and  all 
upright  and  well  intentioned  men  re- 
joiced at  so  simple  and  striking  a  confes- 
sion of  the  truth,  and  heartily  desired 

*  Walther,  Nachr.  v.  Luther,  p.  45. 

t  Myconius,  Hist.  Ref.  p.  23. 

X  Das  Lied  wollte  meiner  Stimme  zu  hoch 
wurden. — (L.  Opp.) 

§  In  alle  hohe  Schulen  und  Closter. — (Math. 
13.) 


that  Luther  might  continue  the  work  he 
had  begun.  "  I  observe,"  says  one  very 
worthy  of  credit,  and  a  great  rival  of  the 
Reformer  (Erasmus,)  speaking  to  a  car- 
dinal, "  that  the  more  irreproachable 
men's  morals,  and  the  more  evangelical 
their  piety,  the  less  are  they  opposed  to 
Luther.  His  life  is  commended  even  by 
those  who  cannot  endure  his  opinions. 
The  world  was  weary  of  a  method  of 
teaching  in  which  so  many  puerile  fic- 
tions and  human  inventions  were  mixed 
up,  and  thirsted  for  that  living,  pure,  and 
hidden  stream  which  flows  from  the 
veins  of  the  apostles  and  evangelists. 
The  genius  of  Luther  was  such  as  fitted 
him  for  these  things,  and  his  zeal  would 
naturally  take  fire  at  so  noble  an  enter- 
prise."* 

To  form  an  idea  of  the  various  but  pro- 
digious effect  that  these  propositions  pro- 
duced in  Germany,  we  should  endea- 
vour to  follow  them  wherever  they  pen- 
etrated,— into  the  study  of  the  learned, 
the  cell  of  the  monk,  and  the  palaces  of 
the  princes. 

Reuchlin  received  a  copy  of  them. 
He  was  tired  of  the  rude  conflict  he  had 
waged  with  the  monks.  The  strength 
evinced  by  the  new  combatant  in  these 
theses  cheered  the  depressed  spirits  of  the 
old  champion  of  letters,  and  gave  fresh 
joy  to  his  drooping  heart.  "  Thanks  be 
to  God,"  exclaimed  he,  after  having  read 
them,  "•  they  have  now  found  a  man  who 
will  give  them  so  much  to  do,  that  they 
will  be  very  glad  to  leave  my  old  age  to 
pass  away  in  peace." 

The  cautious  Erasmus  was  in  the 
Low  Countries  when  the  theses  reached 
him.  He  inwardly  rejoiced  to  see  his 
secret  desires  for  the  reform  of  abuses  so 
courageously  expressed;  he  commended 
their  author,  only  exhorting  him  to  more 
moderation  and  prudence.  And  yet, 
when  some  one  in  his  presence  blamed 
Luther's  violence,  "  God,"  said  Erasmus, 
"  has  sent  a  physician  who  cuts  into  the 
flesh,  because,  without  such  an  one,  the 
disorder  would  become  incurable."  And 
when  afterwards  the  Elector  of  Saxony 
asked  his  opinon  of  Luther's  affair, — "I 
am  not  at  all  surprised,"  answered  he, 
smiling,  "  that  he  has  occasioned  so  much 

*  Ad  hoc  prsestandum  mihi  videbatur  ille,  ut 
natura  compositus  et  accensus  studio. — (Erasm. 
Epp.  Campegio  Cardanali,  1.  p»  650.) 


124 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION, 


disturbance,  for  he  has  committed  two 
unpardonable  offences, — he  has  attacked 
the  tiara  of  the  Pope,  and  the  bellies  of 
the  monks."* 

Doctor  Flek,  prior  of  the  cloister  of 
Steinlausitz,  had  for  some  time  discon- 
tinued reading  mass,  but  he  told  no  one 
his  true  reason.  One  day  he  found  the 
theses  of  Luther  in  the  convent  refectory : 
he  took  them  up  and  read  ;  and  no  soon- 
er had  he  gone  through  some  of  them, 
than,  unable  to  suppress  his  joy,  he  ex- 
claimed, "  Oh  !  now  at  last,  one  is  come 
who  has  been  long  waited  for,  and  will 
tell  you  all; — look  there,  monks!" 
Thence  glancing  into  futurity,  as  Mathe- 
sius  remarks,  and  playing  on  the  word 
Wittemberg:  "All  the  world,"  said  he, 
"will  come  to  seek  wisdom  on  that 
mountain,  and  will  find  it."f  He  wrote 
to  the  Doctor,  urging  him  by  all  means 
to  continue  the  glorious  struggle  with 
courage.  Luther  calls  him  "  a  man  full 
of  joy  and  consolation." 

The  ancient  and  famous  episcopal  see 
of  Wurzburg  was  then  filled  by  a  pious, 
kind,  and  prudent  man,  Laurence  of 
Bibra.  When  a  gentleman  came  to  an- 
nounce to  him  that  he  destined  his 
daughter  for  the  cloister,  "  Better  give 
her  a  husband,"  said  he.  And  he  added, 
"  If  you  want  money  to  do  so,  I  will  lend 
you."  The  Emperor  and  all  the  princes 
had  the  highest  esteem  for  him.  He  de- 
plored the  disorders  of  the  Church,  and 
especially  of  the  convents.  The  theses 
reached  him  also  in  his  episcopal  palace, 
he  read  them  with  great  joy,  and  pub- 
licly declared  that  he  approved  Luther's 
view.  He  afterwards  wrote  to  the  Elec- 
tor Frederic :  "  Do  not  let  the  pious  Doc- 
tor Martin  Luther  leave  you,  for  the 
charges  against  him  are  unjust."  The 
Elector  rejoiced  at  this  testimony,  copied 
it  with  his  own  hand,  and  sent  it  to  the 
Reformer. 

The  Emperor  Maximilian,  the  prede- 
cessor of  Charles  V.,  himself  read  and 
admired  the  theses  of  the  monk  of  Wit- 
temberg. He  perceived  the  wide  grasp 
of  his  thoughts ; — he  foresaw  that  this 
obscure  Augustine  might  probably  be- 
come a  powerful  ally  in  Germany,  in 
her  struggle  with  Rome.     Accordingly, 

*  Muller's  Denkw.  iv.  256. 
+  Alle  Welt  von  dissem  Weissenberg,  Weis- 
eheit  bolen  und  bekom  men.  (p.  13.) 


he  sent  this  message  to  the  Elector  of 
Saxony :  "  Take  care  of  the  monk  Lu- 
ther, for  a  time  may  come  when  we  may 
have  need  of  him:"*  and  shortly  after, 
meeting  Pfeffinger,  the  confidential  ad- 
viser of  the  Elector,  at  the  Diet, — 
"Well!"  said  he,  "  what  is  your  Augus- 
tine about?  Truly  his  propositions  are 
not  to  be  despised.  He  will  show  won- 
ders to  the  monks,  "f 

Even  at  Rome,  and  at  the  Vatican, 
the  theses  were  not  so  ill  received.  Leo 
X.  regarded  them  rather  with  the  feel- 
ings of  a  friend  of  learning  than  a  Pope. 
The  amusement  they  gave  him  made 
him  overlook  the  stern  truths  they  con- 
tained :  and  when  Silvester  Prierias,  the 
master  of  the  sacred  palace,  besought 
him  to  treat  Luther  as  a  heretic,  he  an- 
swered: "That  same  brother,  |  Martin  Lu- 
ther, is  a  man  of  talent,  and  all  that  is  said 
against  him  is  mere  monkish  jealousy." 

There  were  few  on  whom  the  theses 
of  Luther  had  more  effect  than  on  the 
student  of  Annaberg,  whom  Tetzel  had 
so  unmercifully  repulsed.  Myconius 
had  entered  into  a  convent.  That  very 
night  he  had  dreamed  that  he  saw  a 
wide  field  covered  Avith  ripe  grain. 
"  Reap,"  said  the  voice  of  him  who 
seemed  to  conduct  him ;  and  when  he 
excused  himself  as  unskilled,  his  guide 
showed  him  a  reaper  labouring  at  his 
work  with  inconceivable  activity.  "  Fol- 
low him,  and  do  as  he  does,"§  said  his 
guide.  Myconius,  panting,  like  Luther, 
for  holiness,  gave  himself  up  in  the  con- 
vent to  watchings,  fastings,  macerations, 
and  all  the  works  of  man's  invention. 
But  in  the  end  he  abondoned  all  hope  of 
attaining  the  object  of  his  pursuit.  He 
left  off  study  and  applied  himself  only  to 
manual  labours.  Sometimes  he  bound 
books,  sometimes  he  wrought  as  a  turn- 
er, or  at  some  other  mechanical  occupa- 
tion. This  activity  of  body  was  unavail- 
ing, however,  to  quiet  his  troubled  con- 
science. God  had  spoken  to  him ;  he 
could  not  relapse  into  his  former  sleep. 
This  distress  of  mind  lasted  several  years. 

*  Das  ser  uns  den  Munch  Luther  fleissig  be- 
ware.    (Math.  15.) 

t  Schimdt,  Brand.  Reformationgesch.  p.  124. 

t  Che  frate  Martino  Luthero  haveva  un  bellis- 
simo  mgegno,  e  che  coteste  erano  invidie  fra- 
tesche. — (Brandelli,  a  contemporary  of  Leo,  and 
a  Dominican.     Hist.  Trag.  pars  3.) 

§  Melch.  Adami  Vita  Myconii. 


THE  INDULGENCES,,  AND  THE  THESES. 


125 


Men  sometimes  imagine  that  the  paths 
of  the  Reformers  were  altogether  plea- 
sant, and  that  when  once  they  had  re- 
jected the  burthensome  observances  of 
the  Church,  nothing  remained  but  ease 
and  delight.  Such  persons  do  not  know 
that  they  only  arrived  at  the  truth  by  in- 
ternal struggles  a  thousand  times  more 
painful  than  the  observances  to  which 
servile  spirits  readily  submitted. 

At  length  the  year  1715  arrived; — 
the  theses  of  Luther  were  published : 
they  ran  through  all  lands; — they  ar- 
rived at  the  convent  in  which  the  stu- 
dent of  Annaberg  was  immured.  He  re- 
tired with  another  monk,  John  Voit,  into 
a  corner  of  the  cloister,  that  he  might 
read  them  undisturbed.*  There  was  in- 
deed the  truth  he  had  learned  from  his 
father, — his  eyes  were  opened, — he  felt 
a  voice  within  him  responding  to  that 
which  then  resounded  throughout  Ger- 
many ;  and  a  rich  comfort  filled  his  heart. 
"  I  see  clearly,"  said  he,  "  that  Martin 
Luther  is  the  reaper  whom  I  beheld  in 
my  dream,  and  who  taught  me  to  gather  in 
the  ripe  corn."  Immediately  he  began 
to  profess  the  doctrine  which  Luther  had 
proclaimed.  The  monks  listened  to  him 
with  dismay,  combated  his  new  opinions, 
and  exclaimed  against  Luther  and  his 
convent.  "  That  convent,"  replied  My- 
conius,  "  is  as  the  Sepulchre  of  our  Lord ; 
some  men  attempt  to  hinder  Christ's  res- 
urrection, but  they  cannot  succeed  in 
their  attempt."  At  last  his  superiors, 
seeing  that  they  were  unable  to  con- 
vince him,  forbade  him  for  a  year  and  a 
half  all  intercourse  beyond  the  walls  of 
his  convent ;  prohibiting  him  from  writ- 
ing or  receiving  letters ;  and  threatened 
him  with  perpetual  imprisonment.  How- 
ever, the  hour  of  deliverance  came  also 
to  him.  Appointed  shortly  after  pastor 
at  Zwickau,  he  was  the  first  who  openly 
declared  against  the  Papacy  in  the 
churches  of  Thuringia.  "  Then  it  was 
that  I  was  enabled,"  says  he,  "  to  labour 
with  my  venerable  father  Luther  in  the 
harvest  of  the  Gospel."  Jonas  has  des- 
ignated him  a  man  capable  of  all  he 
undertook,  f 

Doubtless  there  were  other  souls  be- 
sides these  to  whom  the  theses  of  Luther 

*  Legit  tunc,  cum  Johanne  Voitio,  in  angulum 
abditus,  libellos  Lutheri. — (Mel.) 
t  Qui  potuit  quod  voluit. 


were  the  signal  of  life.  They  kindled  a 
new  light  in  many  a  cell,  cabin,  and 
even  palace.  Whilst  those  who  sought, 
in  monastic  seclusion,  a  well-supplied 
board,  a  life  of  indolence  or  the  rever- 
ence of  their  fellow-men,  observes  Ma- 
thesius,  heaped  reproaches  on  the  Re- 
former's name, — the  monks  who  lived 
in  prayer,  fastings  and  mortifications, 
thanked  God  when  they  heard  the  first 
cry  of  that  eagle  predicted  by  John  Huss, 
a  century  before.*  Even  the  common 
people,  who  understood  but  little  of  the 
theological  question,  and  only  knew  that 
this  man  protested  against  mendicant  fri- 
ars and  indolent  monks,  hailed  him  with 
shouts  of  joy.  An  extraordinary  sensa- 
tion was  produced  in  Germany-by  his 
bold  propositions.  But  others  of  his  con- 
temporaries foresaw  their  serious  conse- 
quences, and  the  many  obstacles  they 
would  have  to  encounter.  They  loudly 
expressed  their  fears,  and  never  rejoiced 
without  trembling. 

"  I  fear  much,"  wrote  Bernard  Adel- 
man,  the  excellent  canon  of  Augsburg, 
to  his  friend  Pirckheimer,  "that  the 
worthy  man  will  be  after  all  obliged 
to  yield  to  the  avarice  and  power  of 
the  partisans  of  indulgences.  His  re- 
monstrances have  had  so  little  effect,  that 
the  Bishop  of  Augsburg,  our  primate 
and  metropolitan,!  has  just  ordered,  in 
the  Pope's  name,  fresh  indulgences  for 
St.  Peter's  at  Rome.  Let  him,  without 
losing  time,  seek  the  support  of  the  prin- 
ces ;  let  him  beware  of  tempting  God ; 
for  one  must  be  void  of  common  sense 
not  to  see  the  imminent  danger  in  which 
he  stands."  Adelman  rejoiced  greatly 
when  a  report  was  current  that  King 
Henry  VIII.  had  invited  Luther  to  Eng- 
land. "  He  will  there,"  thought  he,  "  be 
able  to  teach  the  truth  without  molesta- 
tion." Many  there  were  who  thus  ima- 
gined that  the  doctrine  of  the  Gospel 
needed  to  be  supported  by  the  power  of 
princes.  They  knew  not  that  it  advan- 
ces without  any  such  power,  and  that  of- 
ten the  alliance  of  this  power  hinders 
and  weakens  it. 

The  celebrated  historian,  Albert  Kranz, 
was  lying  on  his   death-bed   at   Ham- 

*  Darvon  Magister  Johann.  Huss  geweissaget. 
—(Math.  13.) 

t  "  Totque  uxurum  vir,"  adds  he.  Heumanni 
Documenta  litt.  p.  167. 


S26 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


burgh,  when  the  theses  of  Luther  were 
brought  to  him.  "  Thou  hast  truth  on 
thy  side,  brother  Martin !"  exclaimed  the 
dying  man,  "  but  thou  wilt  not  succeed. 
Poor  monk,  get  thee  to  thy  cell,  and  cry, 
O  God,  have  mercy  on  me  !"* 

An  old  priest  of  Hexter,  in  Westpha- 
lia, having  received  and  read  the  theses 
in  his  presbytery,  said,  in  low  German, 
shaking  his  head :  "  Dear  brother  Mar- 
tin, if  you  succeed  in  casting  down  that 
purgatory  and  those  sellers  of  paper, 
truly  you  will  be  a  great  man."  Erbe- 
nius,  who  lived  a  hundred  years  later, 
wrote  these  lines  under  the  words  we 
have  quoted : 

Quid  vero,  nunc  si  viveret, 
Bonus  iste  clericus  diceret  ?t 

Not  only  did  many  of  Luther's 
friends  conceive  fears  from  his  proceed- 
ing ;  several  expressed  to  him  their  dis- 
approval. 

The  Bishop  of  Brandenburg,  grieved 
at  seeing  so  important  a  controversy  ori- 
ginating in  his  own  diocese,  would  have 
wished  to  stifle  it.  He  resolved  to  set 
about  it  with  mildness.  "  I  find,"  said  he 
to  Luther,  by  the  Abbot  of  Lenin,  "  no- 
thing in  the  theses  concerning  the  indul- 
gences at  variance  with  the  Catholic 
faith.  I  even  myself  condemn  those  im- 
prudent proclamations ;  but  for  the  love 
of  peace,  and  out  of  regard  to  your 
bishop,  cease  to  write  on  this  subject." 
Luther  was  embarrassed  that  so  distin- 
guished an  abbot  and  so  great  a  bishop 
should  address  him  with  such  humility. 
Moved  and  carried  away  by  the  first  im- 
pulse of  his  heart,  he  answered ;  "  I 
consent ;  I  prefer  obedience  even  to  the 
working  of  miracles,  if  that  were  possi- 
sible  to  me."| 

The  Elector  saw  with  regret  the  com- 
mencement of  a  contest,  legitimate  doubt- 
less, but  one  of  which  the  result  could 
not  be  foreseen.  No  prince  more  sin- 
cerely desired  to  maintain  the  public 
peace  than  Frederic.  Yet  now  what  a 
vast  conflagration  might  not  this  little 
fire  kindle  !  what  great  contentions,  what 

*  Frater,  abi  in  cellam,  et  die,  Miserere  mei. 
— (Lindner  in  Luthers  Leben,  p.  93.) 

t  What  would  the  worthy  clerk  now  say, 
If  he  were  living  in  our  day  ? 

t  Bene  sum  contentus :  malo  obedire  quam 
miracula  facere,  etiam  si  possem. — (Epp.  i.  71.) 


rending  asunder  of  the  nations  might 
this  quarrel  with  the  monks  produce ! 
The  Elector  sent  Luther  repeated  inti- 
mations of  his  uneasiness  on  the  sub- 
ject.* 

In  his  own  order,  and  even  in  his  con- 
vent of  Wittemberg,  Luther  met  with 
disapprobation.  The  prior  and  the  sub- 
prior  were  frightened  at  the  outcry  made 
by  Tetzel  and  all  his  companions.  They 
went  to  Brother  Martin's  cell,  alarmed 
and  trembling ;  u  Pray,"  said  they,  "  do 
not  bring  disgrace  upon  your  order ! 
The  other  orders,  and  especially  the  Do- 
minicans, are  already  transported  with 
joy  to  think  that  they  are  not  alone  in 
their  obloquy."  Luther  was  affected  by 
these  words ;  but  soon  recovering  him- 
self, he  answered :  "  Dear  fathers !  if  the 
thing  is  not  of  God,  it  will  come  to 
nought ;  if  it  is,  let  it  go  forward." 
The  prior  and  the  sub-prior  were  silent. 
"  The  thing  is  going  forward  stilly  adds 
Luther,  after  having  related  this  circum- 
stance, "  and  if  it  please  God,  it  will 
go  on  better  and  better  to  the  end. 
Amen."t 

Luther  had  many  other  attacks  of  a 
very  different  kind  to  endure.  At  Er- 
furth  he  was  accused  of  violence  and 
pride  in  the  manner  in  which  he  con- 
demned the  opinions  of  others ;  a  re- 
proach to  which  those  persons  are  gene- 
rally exposed  who  have  that  strength  of 
conviction  which  is  produced  by  the 
word  of  God.  He  was  reproached  with 
haste,  and  with  levity. 

u  They  require  modesty  in  me,"  re- 
plied Luther,  "  and  they  themselves 
trample  it  under  foot  in  the  judgment 
they  pass  on  me  !  .  .  .  We  behold  the 
mote  in  another's  eye,  and  consider  not  the 
beam  that  is  in  our  own  eye.  .  .  .  The 
truth  will  gain  no  more  by  my  modesty 
than  it  will  lose  by  my  rashness." — "  I 
should  like  to  know,"  continued  he,  ad- 
dressing himself  to  Lange,  "  what  errors 
you  and  your  divines  have  found  in  my 
theses  1  Who  does  not  know  that  we 
can  seldom  advance  a  -new  idea  without 
an  appearance  of  pride,  and  without  be- 
ing accused  of  seeking  quarrels !  If  hu- 
mility herself  attempted  any  thing  new, 
those  of  a  different  opinion  would  ex- 

*  Suumque  dolorem  ssepe  significavit,  metuens 
discordias  majores. — (Melanc.  Vita  Luth.) 
t  L.  Opp.  (L.)  vi.  p.  518. 


THE  INDULGENCES,  AND  THE  THESES. 


127 


claim  that  she  was  proud.*  Why  were 
Christ  and  all  the  martyrs  put  to  death  ? 
Because  they  appeared  proud  despisers 
of  the  wisdom  of  the  times  in  which 
they  lived,  and  because  they  brought 
forward  new  truths  without  having  first 
humbly  consulted  the  oracles  of  the  old 
opinions." 

"  Let  not  the  wise  men  of  the  present 
day,  therefore,  expect  from  me  so  much 
humility,  or  rather  hypocrisy,  as  to  ask 
their  judgment,  before  I  publish  that 
which  my  duty  calls  upon  me  to  pro- 
claim. What  I  am  doing  will  not  be 
effected  by  the  prudence  of  man,  but  by 
the  counsel  of  God.  If  the  work  is  of 
God,  who  shall  stop  it  1  If  it  is  not,  who 
can  forward  it  1  Not  my  will,  not  theirs, 
nor  ours,  but  Thy  will,  thine,  holy  Fa- 
ther, who  art  in  heaven  !" 

What  boldness,  what  noble  enthusi- 
asm, what  trust  in  God !  and  especially 
what  truth  in  these  words,  and  what 
truth  for  all  times ! 

However,  the  reproaches  and  accusa- 
tions which  were  brought  against  Lu- 
ther from  all  sides,  did  not  fail  to  make 
some  impression  upon  his  mind.  He 
was  deceived  in  his  expectations.  He 
had  expected  to  see  the  heads  of  the 
Church,  the  most  distinguished  philoso- 
phers of  the  nation,  publicly  join  him  ; 
but  it  was  quite  otherwise.  A  word  of 
encouragement  hastily  bestowed  at  the 
outset  was  all  that  the  more  favourably 
disposed  afforded  him ;  and  many  of 
those  whom  he  had  regarded  with  most 
veneration  were  loud  in  their  condemna- 
tion of  him.  He  felt  himself  alone  in 
the  Church ;  alone  against  Rome  ;  alone 
at  the  foot  of  that  ancient  and  formida- 
ble citadel,  whose  foundations  reached 
to  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  and  whose 
walls,  ascending  to  the  skies,  appeared 
to  deride  the  presumptuous  stroke  which 
his  hand  had  aimed  against  them.f  He 
was  disturbed  and  dejected  at  the 
thought.  Doubts,  which  he  thought 
he  had  overcome,  returned  to  his  mind 
with  fresh  force.  He  trembled  to  think 
that  he  had  the  whole  authority  of  the 
Church  against  him.  To  withdraw 
himself  from   that    authority,    to    resist 

*  Finge  enim  ipsam  humilitatem  nova  conari, 
statim  superbice  subjicietur  ab  iis  qui  aliter  sapi- 
unt. — (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  73.) 

t  Solus  primo  eram. — (L.  Opp.  lat  in  praef.) 


that  voice  which  nations  and  ages  had 
humbly  obeyed,  to  set  himself  in  op- 
position to  that  Church  which  he  had 
been  accustomed  from  his  infancy  to  re- 
vere as  the  mother  of  the  faithful ;  he,  a 
despicable  monk, — it  was  an  effort  be- 
yond human  power.*  No  one  step  cost 
him  so  much  as  this,  and  it  was  in  fact 
this  that  decided  the  fate  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. 

No  one  can  describe  better  than  him- 
self the  struggle  he  then  suffered  in  his 
mind.  "  I  began  this  affair,"  said  he, 
"  with  great  fear  and  trembling.  What 
was  I  at  that  time  1  a  poor,  wretched, 
contemptible  friar,  more  like  a  corpse 
than  a  man.f  Who  was  I,  to  oppose 
the  Pope's  majesty,  before  which  not 
only  the  kings  of  the  earth  and  the 
whole  world  trembled;  but  also,  if  I 
may  so  speak,  heaven  and  hell  were 
constrained  to  obey  the  slightest  intima- 
tion of  his  will  ?  No  one  can  know 
what  I  suffered  those  first  two  years, 
and  in  what  dejection,  I  might  say  in 
what  despair,  I  was  often  plunged. 
Those  proud  spirits  who  afterwards  at- 
tacked the  Pope  with  such  boldness, 
can  form  no  idea  of  my  sufferings ; 
though,  with  all  their  skill,  they  could 
have  done  him  no  injury,  if  Christ  had 
not  inflicted  upon  him,  through  me,  His 
weak  and  unworthy  instrument,  a  wound 
from  which  he  will  never  recover.  But 
whilst  they  were  satisfied  to  look  on  and 
leave  me  to  face  the  danger  alone,  I 
was  not  so  happy,  so  calm,  or  so  sure 
of  success ;  for  1  did  not  then  know 
many  things  which  now,  thanks  be  to 
God,  I  do  know.  There  were,  it  is 
true,  many  pious  Christians  who  were 
much  pleased  with  my  propositions  and 
thought  highly  of  them.  But  I  was  not 
able  to  recognize  these,  or  look  upon 
them  as  inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost; 
I  only  looked  to  the  Pope,  the  cardinals, 
the  bishops,  the  theologians,  the  juris- 
consults, the  monks,  the  priests.  It 
was  from  thence  that  I  expected  the 
Spirit  to  breathe.  However,  after  hav- 
ing triumphed,  by  means  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, over  all  opposing  arguments,  I  at 
last  overcame,  by  the  grace  of  Christ, 

*  Concilium  immanis  audaciae  plenum. — (Pal- 
lav,  i.  p.  17.) 

t  Miserrimus  tunc  fraterculus  cadaveri  simi- 
lior  quam  homini. — (L.  Opp.  lat.  i.  p.  49.) 


128 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


with  much  anguish,  labour,  and  great 
difficulty,  the  only  argument  that  still 
stopped  me,  namely,  '  that  I  must  hear 
the  church  ;'*  for,  from  my  heart,  I  hon- 
oured the  church  of  the  Pope  as  the  true 
church,  and  I  did  so  with  more  sincerity 
and  veneration  than  those  disgraceful 
and  infamous  corrupters  of  the  church, 
who,  to  oppose  me,  now  so  much  extol 
it.  If  I  had  despised  the  Pope,  as 
those  persons  do  in  their  hearts,  who 
praise  him  so  much  with  their  lips,  I 
should  have  feared  that  the  earth  would 
open  at  that  instant,  and  swallow  me  up 
alive,  like  Korah  and  his  company." 

How  honourable  are  these  struggles 
to  -Luther's  character !  what  sincerity, 
what  uprightness,  do  they  evince !  and 
how  much  more  worthy  of  our  respect  is 
he  rendered  by  these  painful  assaults 
from  within  and  from  without,  than 
he  could  have  been  by  an  intrepidity 
untried  by  conflict.  This  travail  of  his 
soul  is  good  evidence  of  the  truth  and 
divine  nature  of  his  work.  We  see  that 
the  cause  and  principle  of  all  his  actions 
was  from  heaven.  Who  will  dare  to 
say,  after  all  the  characteristics  we  have 
pointed  out,  that  the  Reformation  was  a 
political  affair  ?  No,  certainly,  it  was 
not  the  fruit  of  human  policy,  but  of  di- 
vine power.  If  Luther  had  only  been 
actuated  by  human  passions,  he  would 
have  yielded  to  his  fears ;  his  disap- 
pointments and  misgivings  would  have 
smothered  the  fire  that  had  been  kindled 
in  his  soul,  and  he  would  only  have 
shed  a  transient  light  upon  the  Church, 
as  had  been  done  before  by  so  many 
zealous  and  pious  men,  whose  names 
have  been  handed  down  to  posterity. 
But  now  God's  time  was  come ;  the 
work  was  not  to  be  arrested ;  the  en- 
franchisement of  the  Church  must  be  ac- 
complished. Luther  was  destined  at 
least  to  prepare  the  way  for  that  com- 
plete deliverance  and  that  mighty  in- 
crease which  are  promised  to  the  king- 
dom of  Christ.  Accordingly  he  experi- 
enced the  truth  of  that  glorious  prom- 
ise:  "The  youths  shall  faint,  and  be 
weary,  and  the  young  men  shall  utterly 
fail :    But    they  that  wait  on  the  Lord 

*  Et  cum  omnia  argumenta  superassem  per 
Ecripturas,  hoc  unum  cum  summa  difficultate  et 
augustia,  tandem  Christo  favente,  vix  superavi, 
Ecclesiam  scilicet  audiendam. — (L  Opp  lat  i 
p.  49.) 


shall  renew  their  strength ;  they  shall 
mount  up  with  wings,  as  eagles."  And 
the  same  divine  power,  which,  anima- 
ting the  heart  of  the  Doctor  of  Wittem- 
berg,  had  led  him  to  the  combat,  soon  re- 
stored his  former  courage. 

The  reproaches,  the  timidity,  or  the 
silence  of  his  friends  had  discouraged 
him ;  the  attacks  of  his  enemies  re-ani- 
mated him ;  this  is  usually  the  case. 
The  adversaries  of  the  truth,  thinking 
by  their  violence  to  do  their  own  work, 
did  in  fact  the  work  of  God.*  Tetzel 
took  up  the  gauntlet,  but  with  a  feeble 
hand.  The  sermon  of  Luther,  which 
had  had  the  same  effect  upon  the  com- 
mon people  as  the  theses  had  had  upon 
the  learned,  was  the  first  thing  he  un- 
dertook to  answer.  He  replied  to  this 
discourse,  sentence  by  sentence,  in  his 
own  manner ;  he  then  gave  notice  that 
he  was  preparing  to  confute  his  adver- 
sary more  at  length,  in  some  theses 
which  he  would  maintain  at  the  famous 
university  of  Frankfort  upon  the  Oder. 
"  Then,"  said  he,  referring  to  the  con- 
clusion of  Luther's  sermon,  "  every  one 
will  be  able  to  discover  who  is  an  here- 
siarch,  a  heretic,  a  schismatic, — who  is 
in  error,  who  is  rash,  who  is  a  slan- 
derer. Then  it  will  be  evident  to  the 
eyes  of  all,  who  has  'a  gloomy  brain,' 
who  has  '  never  felt  the  Bible,  read  the 
doctrines  of  Christianity,  and  understood 
his  own  teachers ;' — and  in  defence  of 
the  propositions  that  I  bring  forward  I 
am  ready  to  suffer  any  punishment 
whatsoever,  imprisonment,  bastinado,  wa- 
ter, or  fire." 

One  thing  strikes  us  in  this  work  of 
Tetzel's.  It  is  the  difference  between 
his  German  and  that  of  Luther.  It 
seems  as  if  there  were  a  distance 
of  several  ages  between  them.  A  for- 
eigner especially  finds  it  difficult  to  un- 
derstand Tetzel,  whilst  the  language 
of  Luther  is  almost  entirely  such  as  is 
used  at  the  present  day.  It  is  suffi- 
cient to  compare  their  writings,  to  see 
that  Luther  is  the  father  of  the  German 
language.  This  is  undoubtedly  one 
of  the  least  of  his  merits,  but  still  it  is  a 
merit. 

*  Hi  furores  Tezeliiet  ejus  sattellitum  imponunt 
necessitatem  Luthero  do  rebus  iisdem  copiosius 
disserendi  et  tuendiE  veritatis. — (Melancth.  Vita 
Luth.) 


THE  INDULGENCES,  AND  THE  THESES. 


129 


Luther  replied  to  this  attack  without 
naming  Tetzel ; — Tetzel  had  not  named 
him.  But  there  was  no  one  in  Ger- 
many who  could  not  have  written  in 
the  front  of  their  productions  the  names 
which  the  authors  thought  fit  to  conceal. 
Tetzel  endeavoured  to  confound  the  re- 
pentance that  God  requires  with  the  pen- 
itence that  the  Church  imposes  ;  in  order 
to  give  higher  value  to  his  indulgences. 
Luther  undertook  to  clear  up  this  point. 
"  To  avoid  many  words,"  said  he,  in 
his  own  picturesque  language,  "  I  give 
to  the  winds,  (which  have  more  leisure 
than  I  have,)  his  other  remarks,  which 
are  but  paper  flowers  and  dry  leaves, 
and  I  content  myself  with  examining 
the  foundations  of  his  edifice  of  burrs.'" 

"  The  penitence  imposed  by  the  holy 
Father  cannot  be  the  repentance  re- 
quired by  Christ :  for  what  the  holy  Fa- 
ther imposes  he  can  dispense  with  ;  and 
if  these  two  penitences  are  one  and 
the  same  thing,  it  follows  that  the  holy 
Father  takes  away  what  Christ  im- 
poses, and  destroys  the  commandment 
of  God  .  .  .  Let  him  only  ill  treat  me," 
continues  Luther,  after  having  quoted 
other  false  interpretations  of  Tetzel,  "  let 
him  call  me  a  heretic ;  schismatical, 
slanderous,  and  whatever  he  pleases;  I 
shall  not  be  his  enemy  on  that  account ; 
nay,  so  far  from  it,  I  will,  on  that  account, 
pray  for  him  as  for  a  friend.  But  it  can- 
not be  endured  that  he  should  treat  the 
Holy  Scripture,  our  consolation,  as  a  sow 
treats  a  sack  of  oats."* 

We  must  accustom  ourselves  to  find 
Luther  sometimes  using  expressions  too 
coarsely  vituperative  for  modern  taste : 
it  was  the  custom  of  the  time  ;  and  we 
generally  find  in  those  words  which 
shock  our  notions  of  propriety  in  lan- 
guage, a  suitableness  and  strength  which 
redeem  their  harshness.     He  continues  : 

"He who  purchases  indulgences,"  say 
our  adversaries  again,  "  does  better  than 
he  who  gives  alms  to  a  poor  man,  unless 
he  be  reduced  to  the  greatest  extremity. 
Now,  if  they  tell  us  that  the  Turks  are 
profaning  our  churches  and  crosses,  we 
may  hear  it  without  shuddering,  for  we 
have  amongst  ourselves  Turks  a  hundred 
times  worse,  who  profane  and  annihilate 
the  only  true  sanctuary,  the  word  of  God 

*  Das  er  die  Schrift,  unsern  Trost,  nicht  an- 
ders  behandelt  wie  die  Sau  einen  Habersack. 
17 


which  sanctifies  all  things.  .  .  .  Let  him 
who  wishes  to  follow  this  precept,  take 
good  care  not  to  feed  the  hungry,  or  to 
clotho  the  naked,  before  they  die  of  want, 
and  consequently  have  no  more  need  of 
assistance." 

It  is  important  to  compare  Luther's 
zeal  for  good  works,  with  what  he  says 
about  justification  by  faith.  Indeed,  no 
one  who  has  any  experience  and  knowl- 
edge of  Christianity,  wants  this  new 
proof  of  a  truth  of  which  he  has  felt  the 
fullest  evidence  ;  namely,  that  the  more 
firmly  we  hold  the  doctrine  of  justifica- 
tion by  faith,  the  better  we  know  the 
necessity  of  works,  and  the  more  diligent 
we  are  in  the  practice  of  them ;  whilst 
on  the  other  hand,  any  laxity  of  the  doc- 
trine of  faith,  brings  with  it,  of  necessity, 
a  neglect  of  good  works.  Luther,  St. 
Paul  before  him,  and  Howard  after 
him,  are  proofs  of  the.  former  assertion. 
All  men  without  this  faith, — and  the 
world  is  full  of  such, — give  proof  of  the 
latter. 

Luther  proceeds  to  refer  to  the  insults 
of  Tetzel,  and  returns  them  in  this 
fashion  :  "  It  seems  to  me,  at  the  sound 
of  these  invectives,  that  I  hear  a  great 
ass  braying  at  me.  I  rejoice  at  it,  and 
should  be  very  sorry  that  such  people 
should  call  me  a  good  christian."  .... 
We  must  represent  Luther  such  as  he 
was,  and  with  all  his  weaknesses.  This 
inclination  to  humour,  and  even  low  hu- 
mour, was  one  of  them.  He  was  a  great 
man,  a  man  of  God  ;  but  he  was  a  man, 
and  not  an  angel,  nor  even  a  perfect 
man.  Who  has  the  right  to  require  this 
in  him? 

"  Furthermore,"  adds  he,  defying  and 
challenging  his  adversaries  to  combat, 
"  although  for  such  things  it  is  not  the 
custom  to  burn  heretics,  here  am  I,  at 
Wittemberg,  I,  Doctor  Martin  Luther! 
and  if  there  is  any  inquisitor  who  wishes 
to  chew  iron,  or  blow  up  rocks,  I  give 
him  notice  that  he  may  have  a  safe-con- 
duct hither,  open  gates,  a  good  table, 
and  a  lodging  prepared  for  him,  all 
through  the  gracious  care  of  the  worthy 
prince,  Duke  Frederic,  Elector  of  Sax- 
ony, who  will  never  be  the  protector  of 
heretics."* 

We  see  that  Luther  was  not  wanting- 
He  trusted  in  the  word  of 
*  L.  Opp.  Leips.  xvii.  132. 


in  courasre. 


130 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


God,  and  that  is  a  rock  that  never  fails 
to  shelter  us  in  the  storm.  But  God  in 
his  faithfulness  also  afforded  him  other 
assistance.  To  the  bursts  of  joy  with 
which  the  multitude  received  the  theses 
of  Luther,  had  succeeded  a  mournful  si- 
lence. The  learned  had  timidly  with- 
drawn when  they  heard  the  calumnies 
and  insults  of  Tetzel  and  of  the  Domin- 
icans. The  bishops,  who  had  before 
loudly  blamed  the  abuse  of  the  indul- 
gences, seeing  them  at  last  attacked,  had 
not  failed,  as  is  always  the  case,  to  dis- 
cover that  the  attack  was  unseasonable. 
The  greater  part  of  the  Reformer's  friends 
were  alarmed.  Every  one  shrunk  back 
But  when  the  first  alarm  was  over,  a 
change  took  place  in  the  minds  of  men. 
The  monk  of  Wittemberg,  who,  for 
some  time,  had  been  almost  alone  in 
the  Church,  soon  saw  himself  again  sur- 
rounded by  a  multitude  of  friends  and 
admirers. 

There  was  one,  who,  though  timid, 
still  remained  faithful  to  him  at  this  cri- 
sis, and  whose  friendship  was  a  consola- 
tion and  support.  This  was  Spalatin. 
Their  correspondence  had  been  kept  up. 
"  I  return  you  thanks,"  he  says  to  him, 
speaking  of  a  special  mark  of  friendship 
he  had  received  from  him,  "  but  what  do 
I  not  owe  you  ?"•*  It  was  on  the  11th 
of  November,  1517,  eleven  days  after 
the  publication  of  the  theses,  and  conse- 
quently at  the  moment  when  the  minds 
of  the  people  were  in  the  greatest  fer- 
ment, that  Luther  thus  poured  forth  his 
gratitude  to  his  friend.  It  is  interesting 
to  see  in  this  very  letter  to  Spalatin,  how 
this  strong  man,  who  had  just  performed 
an  action  requiring  so  much  courage,  ac- 
knowledges whence  his  strength  is  de- 
rived. "  We  can  do  nothing  of  our- 
selves ;  Ave  can  do  all  things  by  the 
grace  of  God.  Ignorance  in  any  mea- 
sure is  altogether  beyond  our  power  to 
overcome.  There  is  no  ignorance  so 
dark  but  the  grace  of  God  can  dispel  it. 
The  more  we  labour  by  our  own 
strength  to  attain  Avisdom,  the  more  in- 
fatuated we  become. f  And  it  is  not  true 
that   this   invincible   ignorance   excuses 

*  Tibi  gratias  ago :  im6  quid  tibi  non  debeo  ? 
— (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  74.) 

t  Quanto  magis  conamur  ex  nobis  ad  sapien- 
tiam,  tanto  amplius  appropinquamus  insipientire. 
— (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  74.) 


the  sinner,  for  otherwise  there  is  no  such 
thing  as  sin  in  the  world." 

Luther  had  sent  his  propositions  nei- 
ther to  the  prince  nor  to  any  of  his  cour- 
tiers. It  appears  that  the  chaplain  ex- 
pressed some  surprise  at  this.  "  I  did 
not  wish,"  answered  Luther,  that  my 
theses  should  reach  the  hands  of  our  il- 
lustrious prince,  or  any  of  his  circle,  be- 
fore those  who  think  they  are  therein 
referred  to  had  received  them,  lest  they 
should  suppose  that  I  published  them  by 
the  prince's  direction,  or  to  court  his  fa- 
vour, and  out  of  ill  will  to  the  Bishop  of 
Mentz.  I  am  told  there  are  several  who 
fancy  this  ; — but  now  I  can  safely  affirm, 
that  my  theses  were  published  without 
the  privity  of  Duke  Frederic."* 

If  Spalatin  comforted  his  friend,  and 
supported  him  with  all  his  influence, 
Luther,  on  his  part,  endeavoured  to  an- 
swer all  the  enquiries  addressed  "to  him 
by  the  diffident  chaplain.  Among  his 
questions  was  one  which  is  often  pro- 
posed in  our  days.  "  What,"  asked  he, 
a  is  the  best  method  of  studying  the  Scrip- 
tures?" 

"  Hitherto,"  answered  Luther,  "  wor- 
thy Spalatin,  you  have  asked  only  things 
I  was  able  to  answer.  But  to  guide  you 
in  the  study  of  the  Holy  Scripture  is  be- 
yond my  strength.  However,  if  you  in- 
sist on  knowing  my  method,  I  will  not 
conceal  it  from  you. 

"  It  is  most  plain  we  cannot  attain  to 
the  understanding  of  Scripture  either  by 
study  or  by  strength  of  intellect.  There- 
fore your  first  duty  must  be  to  begin 
with  prayer,  f  Entreat  the  Lord  to  deign 
to  grant  you,  in  his  rich  mercy,  rightly 
to  understand  his  word.  There  is  no 
other  interpreter  of  the  word  of  God  but 
the  author  of  that  word  himself;  even 
as  He  has  said,  '  They  shall  all  be 
taught  of  God.'  Hope  nothing  from  your 
study,  or  the  strength  of  your  intellect ; 
but  simply  put  your  trust  in  God,  and  in 
the  guidance  of  his  Spirit.  Believe  one 
who  has  made  trial  of  this  method." J 

*  Sed  salvum  est  nunc  etiam  jurare,  quod  sine 
scitu  ducis  Frederici  exierint. — (Ibid.  p.  76.) 

t  Primum  id  certissimum  est,  sacras  litteras 
non  posse  vel  studio,  velin  genio  penetrari.  Ide6 
primum  officium  est  ut  ab  oratione  incipias. 

t  Igitur  de  tuo  studio  desperes  oportet  omnino, 
simul  et  ingenio.  Deo  autem  soli  confidas  et 
influxui  spiritus.  Experto  crede  ista. — (L.  Epp. 
i.  p.  88.  18.  Jan.) 


THE  INDULGENCES,  AND  THE  THESES. 


131 


Here  we  see  how  Luther  attained  to  the 
possession  of  the  truth  which  he  preached 
to  others.  It  was  not,  as  some  have  said, 
by  following  the  guidance  of  his  own 
presumptuous  reason ;  nor  Avas  it,  as 
others  assert,  by  surrendering  himself  to 
the  contentious  passions.  He  drew  from 
the  purest  and  holiest  spring,  by  humble, 
trusting,  and  prayerful  enquiry  of  God 
himself.  But  then,  there  are  few  men 
of  this  age  who  follow  his  example  ;  and 
hence  it  is  that  there  are  few  who  under- 
stand him.  To  a  thoughtful  mind  these 
words  of  Luther  are  of  themselves  a  jus- 
tification of  the  Reformation. 

Luther  also  found  consolation  in  the 
friendship  of  respectable  laymen.  Chris- 
topher Scheurl,  the  worthy  town-clerk 
of  the  imperial  city  of  Nuremberg,  at 
this  time  afforded  him  some  affecting 
marks  of  his  regard.*  How  sweet  to 
the  heart  of  a  man  encompassed  with  ad- 
versaries is  every  intimation  of  interest 
felt  in  his  success !  The  town-clerk  of 
Nuremberg  went  further  ;  he  wished  to 
bring  over  other  friends  to  the  man  he 
himself  befriended.  He  proposed  to  him 
that  he  should  dedicate  one  of  his  writ- 
ings to  Jerome  Ebner,  a  jurisconsult  of 
Nuremberg,  who  was  then  in  great  repute. 
"  You  have  a  high  notion  of  my  labours," 
answered  Luther  modestly ;  "  but  I  my- 
self have  a  very  poor  opinion  of  them. 
It  was  my  wish,  however,  to  comply 
with  your  desire.  I  looked, — but  amongst 
all  my  papers,  which  I  never  before 
thought  so  meanly  of,  I  could  find  no- 
thing but  what  seemed  totally  unworthy 
of  being  dedicated  to  so  distinguished  a 
person  by  so  humble  an  individnal  as 
myself."  Touching  humility !  The 
words  are  those  of  Luther, — and  he  is 
speaking  of  the  comparatively  unknown 
name  of  Doctor  Ebner !  Posterity  has 
not  ratified  his  estimate. 

Luther,  who  made  no  attempt  to  circu- 
late his  theses,  had  not  only  abstained 
from  sending  them  to  the  Elector  and 
his  court,  but  had  not  even  sent  them  to 
Scheurl.  The  to  wn-clerk  of  Nuremberg 
expressed  some  surprise  at  this.  "  My 
design,"  answered  Luther,  "  was  not  to 

*  "  Literse  tua?,"  wrote  Luther  to  him,  on  the 
11th  of  December,  1517,  "  animum  tuum  erga 
meam  parvitatem  candidum  et  longo  ultra  merita 
benevolentissimum  probaverunt." — (L.  Epp.  i.  p. 
79.) 


make  them  so  public.  I  wished  to  discuss 
the  various  points  comprised  in  them  with 
some  of  our  associates  and  neighbours.* 
If  they  had  condemned  them,  I  would 
have  destroyed  them ;  if  they  had  ap- 
proved them,  I  would  have  published 
them.  But  now  they  have  been  printed 
again  and  again,  and  circulated  so  far 
beyond  all  my  expectations,  that  I  regret 
the  production  of  them  ;f  not  that  I  fear 
the  truth  being  made  known  to  the  peo- 
ple, for  that  is  my  object ;  but  they  are 
not  in  the  best  form  for  general  instruc- 
tion. They  contain  some  points,  too, 
which  are  still  questionable  in  my  own 
judgment.  And  if  I  had  thought  they 
would  have  made  such  an  impression, 
there  are  propositions  that  I  would  have 
left  out,  and  others  that  I  would  have  as- 
serted with  greater  confidence."  Luther 
afterwards  thought  differently.  Far  from 
fearing  that  he  had  said  too  much,  he  de- 
clared he  ought  to  have  spoken  out  much 
more  fully.  But  the  apprehensions  that 
Luther  evinced  to  Scheurl  do  honour  to 
his  sincerity.  They  shew  that  he  had 
no  preconceived  plan,  or  party  purpose  ; 
that  he  was  free  from  self-conceit,  and 
was  seeking  the  truth  alone.  When  he 
had  discovered  it  in  its  fulness,  his  lan- 
guage was  changed.  "  You  will  find 
in  my  earlier  writings,"  said  he,  many 
years  afterwards,  "that  I  very  humbly 
conceded  to  the  Pope  many  and  impor- 
tant things  which  I  now  abhor  and  re- 
gard as  abominable  and  blasphemous. "J 

Scheurl  was  not  the  only  layman  of 
consideration  who  then  manifested  a 
friendly  disposition  towards  Luther.  The 
famous  painter,  Albert  Durer,  sent  him 
a  present,  probably  one  of  his  produc- 
tions, and  the  Doctor  expressed  his  grat- 
itude for  the  gift.§ 

Thus  Luther,  at  that  time,  experienced 
in  his  own  person  the  truth  of  the  divine 
word :  "  A  friend  loveth  at  all  times ; 
and  a  brother  is  born  for  adversity." 
But  he  recalled  the  passage  for  comfort  to 
others  as  Avell  as  to  himself. 

*  Non  fuit  consilium  voturrj  neque  eas  evulgari, 
sed  cum  paucis  apud  et  circum  nos  habitautibus 
primiim  super  ipsis  conferri. — (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  95.) 

i"  Ut  me  paeniteet  hujus  foeturse. — (Ibid.) 

t  Qua?  istis  temporibus  pro  summa  blasphemia. 
et  abominatione  habeo  et  execror. — (L.  Opp.  Lat. 
(Witt,  in  praef.) 

§  Accepi  ....  simul  et  donum  insignis  viri 
Alberti  Durer. — (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  95.) 


132 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


He  pleaded  for  the  entire  nation.  The 
Elector  had  just  levied  a  tax,  and  it  was 
affirmed  that  he  was  about  to  levy  another, 
in  accordance,  probably,  with  the  advice 
of  Pfeffinger,  his  counsellor,  whose  con- 
duct was  often  the  subject  of  Luther's 
strictures.  The  Doctor  boldly  placed 
himself  in  the  breach.  "  Let  not  your 
Highness,"  said  he,  "  despise  the  prayer 
of  a  poor  friar.  I  beseech  you,  in  God's 
name,  not  to  impose  any  further  tax.  I 
was  heart-broken, — and  so  were  many 
of  those  who  are  most  devoted  to  you, — 
at  seeing  to  what  a  degree  the  last  had 
injured  your  Highness's  fair  name  and 
popularity.  It  is  true  that  God  has  en- 
dowed you  with  a  lofty  judgment,  so 
that  you  see  further  into  the  consequen- 
ces of  these  things  than  I  or  your  sub- 
jects in  general.  But  it  may  be  the  will 
of  God  that  a  meaner  capacity  shall  min- 
ister instruction  to  a  greater, — to  the  end 
that  no  one  may  trust  in  himself,  but 
simply  in  the  Lord  our  God.  May  he 
deign,  for  our  good,  to  preserve  your 
body  in  health,  and  your  soul  for  ever- 
lasting blessedness.  Amen."  Thus  the 
Gospel,  while  it  honours  kings,  pleads 
the  cause  of  the  people.  It  instructs  sub- 
jects in  their  duties,  and  it  calls  upon 
princes  to  be  regardful  of  their  subjects' 
rights.  The  voice  of  such  a  Christian 
man  as  Luther,  speaking  in  the  secret 
chamber  of  a  sovereign,  may  often  do 
more  than  can  be  effected  by  a  whole  as- 
sembly of  legislators. 

In  this  same  letter,  in  which  Luther 
inculcated  a  stern  lesson  to  his  prince,  he 
was  not  afraid  to  ask  a  boon  of  him,  or 
rather,  to  remind  him  of  a  promise, — the 
promise  he  had  made  him  of  a  new 
gown.  This  freedom  on  Luther's  part, 
at  a  moment  when  he  might  fear  he  had 
offended  Frederic,  is  equally  honourable 
to  the  Prince  and  the  Reformer.  "  But 
if,"  said  he,  "  Pfeffinger  has  the  charge 
of  these  matters,  let  him  give  it  me  in 
reality,  and  not  in  protestations  of  friend- 
ship. For  as  to  weaving  fine  words  to- 
gether, it  is  what  he  excels  in ;  but  no 
good  cloth  comes  of  that."  Luther 
thought  that  by  his  faithful  counsels  he 
had  fairly  earned  his  court  garment.* 
However,  two  years  after  he  had  not  re- 
ceived it,  and   his   solicitation   was   re- 

*  Mein  Hofkleid  verdienen. — (Epp.  L.  i.  77,  78.) 


newed.*  A  fact  which  seems  to  shew 
that  Frederic  was  not  so  easily  wrought 
upon  by  Luther  as  has  been  supposed. 

The  minds  of  men  had  gradually  re- 
covered from  the  alarm  that  had  at  first 
been  communicated  to  them.  Luther 
himself  was  inclined  to  declare  that  his 
words  did  not  bear  the  construction  that 
had  been  put  upon  them.  New  events 
might  have  diverted  public  attention ; 
and  the  blow  aimed  against  the  Romish 
doctrine  might  have  spent  itself  in  the 
air,  as  had  often  been  the  case  before. 
But  the  partisans  of  Rome  prevented  the 
affair  from  ending  thus.  They  fanned 
the  flame  instead  of  extinguishing  it. 

Tetzel  and  the  Dominicans  haughtily 
replied  to  the  attack  made  upon  them. 
Eager  to  crush  the  audacious  monk  who 
had  disturbed  their  traffic,  and  to  concil- 
iate the  favour  of  the  Roman  Pontiff, 
they  raised  a  shout  of  indignation, — af- 
firmed that  to  attack  the  indulgences  es- 
tablished by  the  Pope,  was  to  attack  the 
Pope  himself:  and  summoned  to  their  as- 
sistance all  the  monks  and  divines  of  their 
school,  f  It  is  evident,  indeed,  that  Tet- 
zel was  conscious  of  his  own  inability  to 
cope  with  such  an  adversary  as  Luther. 
Quite  disconcerted  by  the  Doctor's  attack, 
and  irritated  in  the  highest  degree,  he 
quitted  the  neighbourhood  of  Wittem- 
berg,  and  went  to  Frankfort  on  the  Oder, 
where  he  arrived  in  November,  1517. 
Conrad  Wimpina,  a  man  of  great  elo- 
quence, and  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
divines  of  the  time,  was  one  of  the  profes- 
sors in  the  university  of  that  city.  Wim- 
pina regarded  with  a  jealous  eye,  both  the 
Doctor  of  Wittemberg,  and  the  universi- 
ty to  which  he  belonged.  The  reputa- 
tion enjoyed  by  both  gave  him  umbrage. 
Tetzel  requested  him  to  answer  the  theses 
of  Luther,  and  Wimpina  accordingly 
wrote  two  series  of  antitheses,  the  first  in 
defence  of  the  doctrine  of  indulgences, 
and  the  second  of  the  Papal  authority. 

On  the  20th  January,  1518,  took  place 
that  disputation  which  had  been  so  long 
preparing,  which  had  been  announced 
so  ostentatiously,  and  on  which  Tetzel 
built  his  hopes.  Loudly  had  he  beat  to 
arms.      Monks   had  been  gathering  to- 

*  Epp.  L.  i.  p.  293. 

t  Suum  senatum  convocat ;  monachos  aliquot 
et  theologos  sua  sophistica  utcumque  tinctos. — 
(Melancth.  Vita  Luth.  106.) 


THE  INDULGENCES,  AND  THE  THESES. 


133 


gether  from  all  the  neighbouring  clois- 
ters. More  than  three  hundred  were 
now  assembled.  Tetzel  read  to  them  his 
theses.  In  these  he  repeated  all  that  he 
had  advanced  before,  even  the  declara- 
tion that — "  Whosoever  shall  say  the 
soul  does  not  take  its  flight  from  purga- 
tory, immediately  that  the  money  is  drop- 
ped into  the  chest,  is  in  error."* 

But  above  all,  he  put  forward  propo- 
sitions by  which  the  Pope  seemed  actu- 
ally "  seated,"  as  the  apostle  expresses  it, 
"  in  the  temple  of  God,  shewing  himself 
to  be  God."  This  shameless  dealer  in 
counterfeit  wares  found  it  convenient  to 
retreat  with  all  his  disorders  and  scan- 
dals under  the  cover  of  the  Pope's  mantle. 

The  following  are  positions  which  he 
declared  himself  ready  to  defend,  in  pres- 
ence of  the  numerous  assembly  that  sur- 
rounded him. 

"  3.  Christians  should  be  taught,  that 
the  Pope,  in  the  plentitude  of  his  power, 
is  higher  than  the  universal  church  and 
superior  to  councils  ;  and  that  entire  sub- 
mission is  due  to  his  decrees. 

"  4.  Christians  should  be  taught,  that 
the  Pope  alone  has  the  right  to  decide 
in  questions  of  Christian  doctrine  ; — that 
he  alone,  and  no  other,  has  power  to  ex- 
plain, according  to  his  judgment,  the 
sense  of  Holy  Scripture,  and  to  approve 
or  condemn  the  words  and  works  of 
others. 

"  5.  Christians  should  be  taught,  that 
the  judgment  of  the  Pope,  in  things  per- 
taining to  Christian  doctrine,  and  neces- 
sary to  the  salvation  of  mankind,  can  in 
no  case  err. 

"  6.  Christians  should  be  taught,  that 
they  should  place  more  dependance  in 
matters  of  faith  on  the  Pope's  judgment, 
expressed  in  his  decrees,  than  of  the 
unanimous  opinion  of  all  the  learned, 
resting  merely  upon  their  interpretation 
of  Scripture. 

"  8.  Christians  should  be  taught,  that 
they  who  conspire  against  the  honour  or 
dignity  of  the  Pope  incur  the  guilt  of 
treason,  and  deserve  to  be  accursed. 

"  17.  Christians  should  be  taught,  that 
there  are  many  things  which  the 
Church  regards  as   certain   articles   of 

*  Quisquis  ergo  dicet,  non  citius  posse  animam 
volare  quam  in  fundo  cistae  denarius  possit  tin- 
nire,  errat. — (Positiones  fratris  Joh.  Tezelii,  Pos. 
66.  L.  Opp.  i.  p.  94.) 


the  Catholic  faith,  although  they  are  not 
found  either  in  the  inspired  Scriptures  or 
in  the  early  Fathers. 

"  44.  Christians  should  be  taught  to 
regard,  as  obstinate  heretics,  all  who,  by 
speech,  action,  or  writing,  declare  that 
they  would  not  retract  their  heretical 
propositions,  though  excommunication  af- 
ter excommunication  should  be  showered 
upon  them  like  hail. 

"  48.  Christians  should  be  taught,  that 
they  who  protect  the  errors  of  heretics, 
and  who,  by  their  authority,  hinder  them 
from  being  brought  before  the  judge  who 
has  a  right  to  hear  them,  are  excommu- 
nicate ; — and  that  if,  within  the  space  of 
one  year,  they  cease  not  from  doing  so, 
they  will  be  declared  infamous,  and  se- 
verely visited  with  punishment,  conform- 
able to  the  provisions  of  the  law,  and  for 
the  warning  of  others.* 

"  50.  Christians  should  be  taught,  that 
they  who  scribble  so  many  books  and 
tracts, — who  preach,  or  publicly,  and 
with  evil  intention,  dispute  about  the 
confession  of  the  lips,  the  satisfaction  of 
works,  the  rich  and  large  indulgences 
of  the  Bishop  of  Rome  and  his  power ; 
they  who  side  with  those  who  preach 
or  write  such  things,  and  take  pleasure 
in  their  writings,  and  circulate  them 
among  the  people  and  in  society;  and 
finally,  all  they,  who,  in  secret,  speak 
of  these  things  with  contempt  or  irre- 
verence, must  expect  to  fall  under  the 
penalties  before  recited,  and  to  plunge 
themselves,  and  others  along  with  them, 
into  eternal  condemnation  at  the  great 
day,  and  the  deepest  disgrace  in  this  pres- 
ent world.  For  every  beast  that  touch- 
eth  the  mountain  shall  be  stoned." 

We  perceive  that  Luther  was  not  the 
only  object  of  Tetzel's  attack.  In  his 
48th  thesis  he  probably  had  an  eye  to 
the  Elector  of  Saxony.  In  other  respects 
these  propositions  savour  strongly  of  the 
Dominican.  To  threaten  all  opposition 
with  rigorous  chastisements,  was  an  in- 
quisitor's argument,  which  there  was  no 
way  of  answering.  The  three  hundred 
monks,  whom  Tetzel  had  assembled, 
were  full  of  admiration  of  all  that  he 
had  said.     The  divines  of  the  university 

*  Pro  infamibus  sunt  tenendi,  qui  etiam  per 
juris  capitula  terribiliter  multis  plectectur  poenis 
in  omnium  hominum  terrorem. — (Positiones  fra- 
tris Joh.  Tezelii.  56.  L.  Opp.  i.  p.  98.) 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


were  too  fearful  of  being  classed  among 
the  promoters  of  heresy,  and  too  much 
attached  to  the  principles  of  Wimpina, 
openly  to  attack  the  astounding  theses 
which  had  been  read  in  their  presence. 

This  affair,  therefore,  about  which 
there  had  been  so  much  noise,  seemed 
likely  to  end  like  a  mock  fight;  but 
among  the  crowd  of  students  present  at 
the  discussion  was  a  young  man,  about 
twenty  years  of  age,  named  John  Knip- 
strow.  He  had  read  the  theses  of  Lu- 
ther, and  found  them  agreeable  to  the 
Scriptures.  Indignant  at  seeing  the 
truth  publicly  trampled  under  foot,  with- 
out any  one  offering  himself  in  its  de- 
fence, the  young  man  raised  his  voice,  to 
the  great  surprise  of  the  whole  assembly, 
and  attacked  the  presumptuous  Tetzel. 
The  poor  Dominican,  who  had  not  reck- 
oned on  any  such  opposition,  was  thrown 
into  dismay.  After  some  attempts  at  an 
answer,  he  abandoned  the  field  of  battle, 
and  made  room  for  Wimpina.  The  lat- 
ter defended  his  cause  with  more  vig- 
our ;  but  Knipstrow  pressed  him  so  hard 
that,  to  put  an  end  to  the  untoward  con- 
test, Wimpina,  in  his  capacity  of  presi- 
dent, declared  the  discussion  terminated, 
and  proceeded  at  once  to  the  promoting 
of  Tetzel  to  the  rank  of  Doctor,  ,as 
the  recompense  of  this  glorious  dispute. 
After  this,  Wimpina,  to  get  rid  of  his 
young  antagonist,  caused  him  to  be 
sent  to  the  convent  of  Pyritz,  in  Po- 
merania,  with  directions  that  he  should 
be  strictly  watched.  But  this  newly- 
risen  luminary,  removed  from  the  banks 
of  the  Oder,  was  destined,  at  a  later  pe- 
riod, to  diffuse  the  light  over  Pomera- 
nia.#  God,  when  he  sees  fit,  employs 
the  disciple  to  confound  the  master. 

Tetzel,  desirous  to  make  up  for  the 
check  he  had  met  with,  had  recourse 
to  the  ultima  ratio  of  Rome  and  its  in- 
quisitors,— the  fire.  He  set  up  a  pul- 
pit and  a  scaffold  in  one  of  the  sub- 
urbs of  Frankfort.  He  went  thither  in 
solemn  procession,  arrayed  in  the  insig- 
nia of  an  inquisitor  of  the  faith.  He 
inveighed,  in  his  most  furious  manner, 
from  the  pulpit.  He  hurled  his  thun- 
ders with  an  unsparing  hand,  and  loudly 
exclaimed,  that  "  the  heretic  Luther 
ought  to  be  burned  alive."     Then,  pla- 

*  Spicker,  Gesch.  Dr.  M.  Luthers. — Beck- 
manni  Notitia  univ.     Francofurt.  8,  &c. 


cing  the  Doctor's  propositions  and  ser- 
mon on  the  scaffold,  he  set  fire  to 
them.*  He  shewed  greater  dexterity 
in  this  operation  than  he  had  dis- 
played in  defending  his  theses.  Here 
there  was  none  to  oppose  him,  and  his 
victory  was  complete.  The  arrogant 
Dominican  re-entered  Frankfort  in  tri- 
umph. When  parties  accustomed  to 
power  have  sustained  defeat,  they  have 
recourse  to  certain  shows  and  semblan- 
ces, which  must  be  allowed  them  as  a 
consolation  for  their  disgrace. 

The  second  theses  of  Tetzel  mark 
an  important  epoch  in  the  Reformation. 
They  changed  the  ground  of  the  dispute, 
transferring  it  from  the  indulgence-mar- 
ket to  the  halls  of  the  Vatican, — and 
diverted  the  attack  from  Tetzel,  to  di- 
rect it  against  the  Pope.  For  the  con- 
temptible trafficker  whom  Luther  had 
assailed  and  held  powerless  in  his  grasp, 
they  substituted  the  sacred  person  of  the 
Head  of  the  Church.  Luther  was  all 
astonishment  at  this.  A  little  later, 
probably,  he  would,  of  his  own  accord, 
have  taken  up  this  new  position  ;  but 
his  enemies  spared  him  the  trouble. 
Thenceforward,  the  dispute  had  refer- 
ence, not  merely  to  a  discredited  traffic, 
but  to  Rome  itself;  and  the  blow,  that 
a  bold  hand  had  aimed  against  Tetzel's 
stall,  smote,  and  shook  to  its  founda- 
tion, the  throne  of  the  pontifical  king. 

The  theses  of  Tetzel  served,  moreover, 
only  as  a  signal  to  the  troop  of  Romish 
doctors.  A  shout  was  raised  against 
Luther  by  the  monks,  enraged  at  the  ap- 
pearance of  an  adversary  more  formida- 
ble even  than  Erasmus  or  Reuchlin. 
The  name  of  Luther  resounded  from  all 
the  Dominican  pulpits.  They  stirred 
up  the  passions  of  the  people ;  they 
called  the  intrepid  Doctor  a  madman,  a 
seducer,  a  wretch  possessed  by  the  devil. 

His  teaching  was  decried  as  the  most 
horrible  of  heresies.  "  Only  wait,"  said 
they,  "  a  fortnight,  or,  at  most,  a  month, 
and  that  notorious  heretic  will  be  burned 
alive."  Had  it  depended  on  the  Do- 
minicans, indeed,  the  Saxon  Doctor 
would  soon  have  met  the  fate  of  Huss 

*  Fulmina  in  Lntheram  torquet :  vociferatnr 
ubique  nunc  haereticum  igni  perdendum  esse ; 
propositiones  etiam  Lutheri  et  concionem  de  in- 
dulgentiis  publice  conjicit  inflammas. — (Melanc 
Vita  Luth.) 


THE  INDULGENCES,  AND  THE  THESES. 


135 


and  of  Jerome  ;  but  God  was  watching 
over  him.  His  life  was  destined  to  ac- 
complish what  the  martyrdom  of  Huss 
had  begun.  For  each  individual  serves 
the  purposes  of  God;  one  by  his  life,  an- 
other by  his  death.  Already  many  ex- 
claimed that  the  whole  university  of 
Wittemberg  was  tainted  with  heresy, 
and  they  pronounced  it  infamous.*  "  Let 
us  drive  out  the  wretch  and  all  his  parti- 
sans," said  they.  And  in  many  cases 
these  clamours  did,  in  fact,  excite  the 
passions  of  the  people.  Those  who 
shared  in  the  opinions  of  the  Reformer 
were  pointed  out  to  public  observation, 
and  wherever  the  monks  had  power  in 
their  hands,  the  friends  of  the  Gospel 
felt  the  effects  of  their  hatred.  Thus  the 
prophecy  of  our  Saviour  began  to  be  ful- 
filled :  "  They  shall  revile  you,  and 
persecute  you,  and  say  all  manner  of 
evil  against  you  falsely,  for  my  sake." 
This  recompense  of  the  world  is  in  no 
age  withheld  from  the  decided  disciples 
of  the  Gospel. 

When  Luther  heard  of  the  theses  of 
Tetzel  and  of  the  general  attack  of 
which  they  had  given  the  signal,  his 
courage  rose.  He  saw  that  it  was  ne- 
cessary to  face  such  adversaries  boldly ; 
his  intrepid  spirit  felt  no  difficulty  in 
resolving  to  do  so.  But,  at  the  same 
time,  their  weakness  discovered  to  him 
his  own  strength,  and  inspired  him  with 
the  consciousness  of  what  in  reality  he 
was. 

He  did  not,  however,  give  way  to 
those  emotions  of  pride  which  are  so  con- 
genial to  man's  heart.  "I  have  more 
difficulty,"  wrote  he  to  Spalatin,  at  this 
time,  "  to  refrain  from  despising  my  adver- 
saries, and  so  sinning  against  Christ,  than 
I  should  have  in  vanquishing  them. 
They  are  so  ignorant,  both  of  human 
and  divine  things,  that  it  is  humbling  to 
have  to  dispute  with  them ;  and  yet  it  is 
this  very  ignorance  which  gives  them 
their  inconceivable  boldness  and  their 
brazen  front"!  But  what,  above  all, 
strengthened  his  heart,  in  the  midst 
of  this  general  hostility,  was  the  deep 
conviction  that  his  cause  was  the  cause 
of  truth.     "Do  not  wonder,"  he  wrote 

*  Et>  furunt  usque  ut  universitatem  Wittem- 
bergensem  propter  me  infamem  conantur  facere 
et  hsreticam. — (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  92.) 

t  Epp.  Luth.  i.  p.  62. 


to  Spalatin,  in  the  beginning  of  1518 
"  that  they  revile  me  so  unsparingly. 
I  hear  their  revilings  with  joy.  If  they 
did  not  curse  me,  we  could  tnot  be  so 
firmly  assured  that  the  cause  I  have  un- 
dertaken is  that  of  God  himself*  Christ 
was  set  for  a  sign  that  should  be  spoken 
against."  «  I  know,"  said  he,  another 
time,  "  that  from  the  beginning  the 
Word  of  God  has  been  such  as  that 
whosoever  would  carry  it  into  the  world, 
must,  like  the  apostles,  leave  everything, 
and  be  delivered  unto  death.  If  it  were 
not  so,  it  would  not  be  the  word  of 
Christ."!  This  peace,  in  the  midst  of 
agitation,  is  a  thing  unknown  to  the  he- 
roes of  the  world.  We  see  men  at  the 
head  of  a  government, — of  a  political 
party, — sink  under  their  labours  and  tri- 
als. The  Christian  generally  gathers 
new  strength  in  conflict.  It  is  because 
he  is  acquainted  with  a  hidden  source  of 
refreshment  and  courage,  unknown  to 
him  whose  eyes  are  closed  against  the 
Gospel. 

One  thing,  however,  at  times  disturbed 
Luther :  It  was  the  thought  of  the  dis- 
sensions his  courageous  resistance  might 
give  rise  to.  He  knew  that  a  word 
might  be  enough  to  set  the  world  in 
a  flame.  He  at  times  foresaw  prince 
opposing  prince ;  nation,  perhaps  set 
against  nation.  His  love  for  his  coun- 
try took  alarm  ;  his  Christian  charity  re- 
coiled from  the  prospect.  He  would 
gladly  have  secured  peace ;  yet  it  be- 
hoved him  to  speak.  It  was  the  Lord's 
will.  "  I  tremble,"  said  he, — "  I  shud- 
der— at  the  thought  that  I  may  be  an 
occasion  of  discord  to  such  mighty 
princes."| 

He  still  kept  silence  in  regard  to  Tet- 
zel's  propositions  concerning  the  Pope  ; 
had  he  been  carried  away  by  passion, 
doubtless  he  would  have  fallen  with  im- 
petuosity upon  that  astounding  doctrine, 
under  which  his  adversary  sought  shel- 
ter and  concealment  for  himself.  But 
he  did  nothing  of  the  kind.  There  is  in 
his  delay,  reserve,  and  silence,  a  some- 

*  Nisi  Maledicerer  non  crederem  ex  Deo  esse 
qiiEE  tracto. — (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  85.) 

t  "  Morte  emptum  est  (verbum  Dei,")  con- 
tinues he,  in  deeply  energetic  language,  "  morti- 
bus  vulgatum,  mortibus  servatum,  mortibus  quo- 
que  servandum  aut  referendum  est." 

t  Inter  tantos  principes  dissidii  origo  esse  valde 
horreo  et  timeo. — (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  93.) 


136 


HISTORY   OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


thing  grave  and  solemn,  which  suffi- 
cienly  reveals  the  spirit  that  animated 
him.  He  paused,  yet  not  from  weak- 
ness,— for  the  blow  was  but  the  heavier, 
when  at  length  it  fell. 

Tetzel,  after  his  auto-da-fe  at  Frank- 
fort on  the  Oder,  had  hastened  to  send 
his  theses  into  Saxony.  They  will  serve, 
thought  he,  as  an  antidote  to  those  of 
Luther.  A  man  was  despatched  by  the 
inquisitor  from  Alle  to  distribute  his  prop- 
ositions at  Wittemberg.  The  students 
of  that  university,  indignant  that  Tetzel 
should  have  burned  the  theses  of  their 
master,  no  sooner  heard  of  the  arrival  of 
his  messenger  than  they  surrounded  him 
in  troops  inquiring  in  threatening  tones 
how  he  had  dared  to  bring  such  things 
thither.  Some  of  them  purchased  a  por- 
tion of  the  copies  he  had  brought  with 
him ;  others  seized  on  the  remainder : 
thus  getting  possession  of  his  whole 
stock,  which  amounted  to  eight  hundred 
copies ;  then  unknown*  to  the  Elector, 
the  senate,  the  rector,  Luther,  and  all 
the  professors,  the  students  of  Wittem- 
berg posted  bills  on  the  gates  of  the  uni- 
versity, bearing  these  words  :  "  Whoso- 
ever desires  to  be  present  at  the  burning 
and  obsequies  of  the  theses  of  Tetzel,  let 
him  repair  at  two  o'clock  to  the  market 
place." 

They  assembled  in  crowds  at  the  hour 
appointed  ;  and,  amidst  the  acclamations 
of  the  multitude,  committed  the  proposi- 
tions of  the  Dominican  to  the  flames. 
One  copy  was  saved  from  the  fire.  Lu- 
ther afterwards  sent  it  to  his  friend 
Lange,  of  Erfurth.  The  young  students 
acted  on  the  precept  of  them  of  old  time, 
"  an  eye  for  an  eye,  and  a  tooth  for  a 
•tooth,"  and  not  on  that  of  Christ  But 
when  doctors  and  professors  had  set  such 
an  example  at  Frankfort,  can  we  wonder 
that  young  students  should  follow  it  at 
Wittemberg?  The  report  of  this  aca- 
demic execution  spread  through  Ger- 
many, and  made  much  noise. f  Luther 
was  deeply  grieved  at  it. 

"  I  am  surprised,"  wrote  he,  to  his 
old  master,  Jodocus,  at  Erfurth,  "  that 
you  could  think  I  had  anything  to  do 
with    the    burning    of   Tetzel's    theses. 

*  Hffic  inscio  principe,senatu,rectore,denique 
omnibus  nobis. — (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  99.) 

t  Fit  ex  ea  re  ingens  undique  fabula. — (L.  Epp. 
I  p.  99.) 


Do  you  think  I  have  utterly  lost  my 
senses  7  But  what  can  I  do  ?  When 
the  tale  is  told  of  me,  anything,  and 
from  every  quarter,  gains  implicit  belief* 
Can  I  tie  up  men's  tongues  ?  No  mat- 
ter !  let  them  tell,  and  hear,  and  see, 
and  report  whatever  they  please.  I  will 
go  on  as  long  as  the  Lord  shall  give 
me  strength ;  and,  with  God's  help,  I 
will  fear  nothing." — "  What  will  come 
of  it,"  said  he  to  Lange,  "  I  know  not ; 
this  only  I  know,  that  the  peril  in  which 
I  stand  is  greatly  enhanced  by  the  act.f 
This  occurrence  shows  how  the  hearts 
of  the  young  were  already  kindled  in 
the  cause  of  which  Luther  was  the  cham- 
pion. It  was  a  sign  of  high  import ;  for 
a  movement  once  begun  among  the 
young  is  necessarily  soon  communicated 
to  the  entire  generation. 

The  theses  of  Tetzel  and  of  Wim- 
pina,  though  slightly  esteemed,  produced 
a  certain  effect.  They  opened  out  the 
questions  in  dispute  ;  they  enlarged  the 
rent  in  the  mantle  of  the  church;  they 
brought  new  questions  of  thrilling  in- 
terest into  the  field  of  controversy.  Con- 
sequently, the  heads  of  the  Church  began 
to  take  a  nearer  view  of  the  debate,  and 
to  declare  themselves  strongly  against 
the  Reformer.  "  I  know  not  truly,  on 
whose  protection  Luther  can  rely,"  said 
the  Bishop  of  Brandenburg,  "  that  he 
ventures  in  this  way  to  attack  the  au- 
thority of  the  bishops."  Perceiving  that 
this  new  conjuncture  called  for  new  pre- 
cautions, the  Bishop  came  himself  to 
Wittemberg.  But  he  found  Luther  ani- 
mated by  that  inward  joy  which  springs 
from  a  good  conscience,  and  determined 
to  give  battle.  The  Bishop  felt  that  the 
monk  was  obeying  a  power  higher  than 
his  own,  and  returned  in  an  angry  mood 
to  Brandenburg.  One  day  (before  the 
close  of  the  winter  of  1518),  while  seated 
at  his  fireside,  he  said,  turning  to  those 
who  surrounded  him,  "  I  will  not  lay 
my  head  down  in  peace  until  I  have 
cast  Martin  into  the  fire  like  this  fag- 
got ;"  and  as  he  spoke  he  cast  the  fag- 
got on  the  blazing  hearth.  The  revo- 
lution of  the  sixteenth  century  was  to 
be  no  more  indebted  for  support  to  the 
heads  of  the  Church  than  that  of  the 
first  century  had    been    to  the  sandhe- 

*  Omnes  omnibus  omnia  creduntde  me. — (Ibid.) 
t  L.  Epp.  i.  p.  98. 


THE  INDULGENCES,  AND  THE  THESES. 


137 


drim  and  the  synagogue.  The  digni- 
fied priesthood  was  again,  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  opposed  to  Luther,  the 
Reformation,  and  its  ministers,  as  it  had 
formerly  been  to  Jesus  Chuist,  the  Gos- 
pel, and  his  Apostles,  and  as  it  too  of- 
ten is,  in  all  periods,  to  the  truth.  "  The 
Bishops,"  said  Luther,  speaking  of  the 
visit  of  the  prelate  of  Brandenburg,  "  be- 
gin to  see  that  they  should  have  done 
what  I  am  doing,  and  they  are  ashamed. 
They  call  me  arrogant  and  audacious  ; 
and  I  do  not  deny  that  I  am  so.  But 
they  are  not  the  people  to  know  either 
what  God  is,  or  what  we  are."* 

A  more  formidable  resistance  than  that 
which  Tetzel  had  offered  had  now  sprung 
up  against  Luther.  Rome  had  answered 
him.  A  reply  had  gone  forth  from  the 
Avails  of  the  sacred  palace.  It  was  not 
Leo  X.,  however,  who  condescended  to 
meddle  with  theology.  "  A  squabble 
among  the  monks  !"  said  he  :  "  the  best 
way  is  to  take  no  notice  of  it."  And  on 
another  occasion  he  observed,  "  It  is  a 
drunken  Germanf  that  has  written  these 
theses :  when  he  is  sober  he  will  talk 
very  differently."  A  Dominican  of  Rome, 
Sylvester  Prierias,  master  of  the  pontifi- 
cal palace,  filled  the  office  of  censor.  In 
that  capacity  he  was  the  first  to  take  cog- 
nizance of  the  theses  published  by  the 
Saxon  monk. 

A  Roman  censor,  and  the  theses  of 
Luther !  how  remarkable  the  encounter ! 
Freedom  of  speech,  freedom  of  enquiry, 
and  freedom  of  religious  belief,  had  now 
to  maintain  a  conflict,  within  the  very 
gates  of  Rome,  against  the  power  that 
claims  to  hold  in  its  hands  the  monopoly 
of  spiritual  knowledge,  and  at  its  own 
will  to  suppress  the  voice  of  Christian 
truth  or  allow  its  utterance.  The  strug- 
gle between  that  Christian  liberty  which 
stamps  men  the  children  of  God,  and 
that  pontifical  despotism  which  makes 
them  the  slaves  of  Rome,  is  symbolized, 
as  it  were,  in  the  very  beginning  of  the 
Reformation,  by  the  encounter  of  Luther 
and  Prierias. 

This  Roman  censor,  this  prior-general 
of  the  Dominicans,  this  dignitary,  whose 
office  empowered  him  to  determine  what 

*  Quid  vel  Deus  vel  ipsi  sumus. — (L.  Epp.  i. 
224.) 

t  Ein  voller  trunkener  Deutscher. — (L.  Opp. 
(W.)  xxii.  1337.) 

18 


doctrines  Christian  men  should  profess, 
and  on  what  points  they  should  be  silent, 
was  eager  to  replyt  He  published  a 
writing  which  he  dedicated  to  Leo  X.7 
and  in  which  he  spoke  contemptuously 
of  the  German  monk,  and  declared,  with 
an  assurance  altogether  Roman,  that  he 
should  like  to  know  whether  that  Mar- 
tin had  indeed  an  iron  snout  and  a  head 
of  brass,  which  it  was  impossible  to  shat- 
ter.* Then,  under  the  form  of  a  dia- 
logue, he  proceeded  to  attack  Luther's 
theses,  employing  by  turns  ridicude,  re- 
viling, and  threats. 

The  contest,  between  the  Augustine 
of  Wittemberg  and  the  Dominican  of 
Rome,  was  waged  on  the  question  which 
is  in  itself  the  principle  of  the  Reforma- 
tion ;  namely,  what  is  the  sole  infallible 
authority  for  Christians  ?  Take  the  sys- 
tem of  the  Church,  as  set  forth  by  its 
most  independent  organs,  t 

The  letter  of  the  written  word  is  dead, 
without  that  spirit  of  interpretation,  which 
alone  reveals  its  hidden  meaning.  But 
this  spirit  is  not  given  to  every  Christian, 
but  to  the  Church,  that  is,  to  the  priests. 
It  is  great  presumption  to  affirm  that  He, 
who  promised  to  the  Church  to  be  with 
her  always  even  to  the  end  of  the  world, 
could  have  abandoned  her  to  the  power 
of  error.  It  will  be  said,  perhaps,  that 
the  doctrine  and  constitution  of  the 
Church  are  not  now  such  as  we  find 
them  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Undoubt- 
edly ;  but  this  change  is  only  apparent, 
it  extends  only  to  the  form  and  not  to 
the  substance.  Nay^  more, — this  change 
is  a  progression.  The  life-giving  power 
of  the  Divine  Spirit  has  imparted  reality 
to  what,  in  Scripture,  existed  only  in 
idea.  To  the  outline  of  the  word  it  has 
given  a  body,  put  a  finishing  touch  to  its 
rough  draught,  and  completed  the  work 
of  which  the  Bible  had  merely  furnished 
the  rudiments.  Consequently,  we  must 
understand  the  meaning  of  Holy  Scrip- 
ture, as  it  has  been  determined  by  the 
Church,  under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy 
Spirit. — So  far  the  Catholic  doctors  were 
agreed  :  at  this  point  they  were  divided, 
— General  Councils,  said  some  (and  Ger- 

*  An  ferreum  nasum  aut  caput  aeneum  gerat 
iste  Lutherus,  ut  eftringi  non  possit. — (Sylv. 
Prieratis  Dialogus.) 

t  See  "  Joh.  Gersonis  Proposition es  de  sensu 
iitterali  S.  Scripture. — (Opp.  torn,  i.) 


138 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


son  was  of  their  number),  are  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Church.  Others  said, 
it  is  the  Pope  who  is  the  depositary  of 
the  spirit  of  interpretation ;  and  no  one 
has  the  right  to  construe  Scripture  other- 
wise than  in  accordance  with  the  decree 
of  the  Roman  Pontiff  This  was  the 
tenet  espoused  by  Prierias. 

Such  was  the  doctrine  which  the  mas- 
ter of  the  palace  opposed  to  the  infancy 
of  the  Reformation.  He  advanced  asser- 
tions, with  respect  to  the  power  of  the 
Church  and  of  the  Pope,  to  which  the 
most  shameless  flatterers  of  the  court  of 
Rome  would  have  blushed  to  subscribe. 
The  following  is  one  of  the  principles 
laid  down  at  the  commencement  of  his 
writing :  "  Whosoever  does  not  rely  on 
the  teaching  of  the  Roman  Church,  and 
of  the  Roman  Pontiff,  as  the  infallible 
rule  of  faith,  and  as  that  from  which 
Holy  Scripture  itself  derives  its  obliga- 
tion and  authority,  is  an  heretic."* 

Then  follows  a  dialogue  in  which  the 
speakers  are  Luther  and  Sylvester,  and 
in  which  the  latter  labours  to  refute  the 
Doctor's  propositions.  The  sentiments 
of  the  Saxon  monk  were  altogether  new 
and  strange  to  a  Roman  censor ;  hence 
Prierias  shewed  that  he  understood 
neither  the  feelings  of  his  heart  nor  the 
principles  that  regulated  his  conduct. 
He  estimated  the  teacher  of  the  truth  by 
the  petty  standard  of  the  retainers  of  the 
Papacy.  "My  good  Luther,"  says  he, 
"  were  it  thy  fortune  to  receive  from  our 
Lord  the  Pope  a  good  bishoprick  and  a 
plenary  indulgence  for  the  rebuilding  of 
thy  church,  how  would  thy  tone  be  al- 
tered, and  how  loudly  wouldst  thou  extol 
the  indulgence  which  it  now  delights 
thee  to  disparage  !"  With  all  his  preten- 
sions to  refinement,  this  Italian  has  fre- 
quent recourse  to  the  grossest  scurrility 
of  language.  "  If  it  is  the  nature  of  dogs 
to  bite,"  says  he  to  Luther,  "  I  should 
fear  thou  hadst  a  dog  for  thy  father."! 
Toward  the  close  of  his  work,  the  Do- 
minican even  marvels  at  his  own  con- 
descension, in  parleying  thus  with  a  mu- 
tinous monk ;  and  in  taking  leave  of  his 
adversary,  he  shows  him  the  cruel  teeth 

*  A  qua,  etiam  Sacra  Scriptura,  robur  trahit 
et  auctoritatem,  haareticus  est. — (Fundamentum 
tertium.) 

t  Si  mordere  canum  est  proprium,  vereor  ne 
tibi  pater  cards  fuerit. — (Sylv.  Prier.  Dial.) 


of  an  inquisitor.  "  The  Roman  Church," 
says  he,  "  the  supremacy  of  whose  power, 
spiritual  and  temporal,  is  vested  in  the 
Pope,  can  restrain,  by  the  secular  arm, 
those  who,  having  first  received  the  faith, 
afterwards  depart  from  it.  The  Church 
is  under  no  obligation  to  employ  argu- 
ment to  combat  and  overcome  rebels."* 
Such  words,  proceeding  from  the  pen  of 
a  dignitary  of  the  Roman  court,  were 
deeply  significant ;  yet  they  did  not  inti- 
midate Luther  ;  he  believed,  or  affected 
to  believe,  that  this  dialogue  was  not  writ- 
ten by  Prierias,  but  by  Ulric  de  Hutten, 
or  some  other  contributor  to  the  Lilterm 
Obscurorum  Virorum.  "  One  of  that  fra- 
ternity," said  he,  "  from  the  mere  love  of 
satire,  or  to  set  Luther  against  Prierais, 
has  collected  together  this  mass  of  absur- 
dity."! However,  after  having  for  some 
time  kept  silence,  his  doubts,  if  he  had 
any,  were  removed ;  he  set  to  work,  and 
in  two  days  prepared  his  answer.  | 

The  Bible  had  decided  Luther's  des- 
tiny :  it  had  moulded  the  Reformer  and 
commenced  the  Reformation.  Luther's 
belief  depended  not  on  the  testimony  of 
the  Church.  His  faith  had  come  from 
the  Bible  itself:  from  within,  and  not 
from  without.  He  was  so  deeply  con- 
vinced that  the  evangelic  doctrine  was 
immoveably  built  upon  the  word  of  God, 
that  all  external  doctrine  was  to  him  su- 
perfluous. This  experimental  knowl- 
edge possessed  by  Luther  opened  to  the 
Church  a  new  futurity.  The  living 
spring,  which  had  gushed  forth  for  the 
refreshment  of  the  monk  of  Wittemberg, 
was  to  become  a  mighty  river  that  should 
slake  the  thirst  of  nations. 

"  To  understand  Scripture,  it  is  neces- 
sary that  the  Spirit  of  God  should  open 
the  understanding,"  said  the  Church,  and 
thus  far  it  said  truly.  But  its  error  lay 
in  considering  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  ex- 
clusive privilege  of  a  particular  caste,  and 
supposing  that  he  could  be  pent  up  in  as- 
semblies and  colleges,  in  a  city,  or  a  con- 
clave. "The  wind  bloweth  where  it 
listeth,"  said  the  Son  of  God,  when  speak- 

*  Seculari  brachio  potest  eos  compescere,  nee 
tenetur  rationibus  certare  ad  vincendos  proter- 
vientes. — (Ibid.) 

t  Convenit  inter  nos  esse  personatum  aliquem 
Sylvestrem  ex  obscuris  viris,  qui  tantas  ineptias 
in  hominem  luserit  ad  provocandum  me  adversus 
eum. — (Epp.  i.  p.  87,  14  Jan.) 

t  T.  i.  Witt.  Lat.  p.  170. 


THE  INDULGENCES,   AND  THE  THESES. 


13$ 


ing  of  the  Spirit  of  God, — -and  elsewhere •:. 
"  They  shall  be  all  taught  of  God."  The 
corruption  of  the  Church,  the  ambition 
of  the  Pontiff's,  the  passions  of  Councils, 
the  animosities  of  the  clergy,  the  pomp 
of  the  prelates,  had  banished  far  from 
those  priestly  abodes  that  Holy  Spirit — 
that  Spirit  of  humility  and  of  peace. 
The  Spirit  of  God  had  departed  from  the 
assemblies  of  the  proud,  and  the  palaces 
of  princes  of  the  Church,  and  had  taber- 
nacled with  simple  Christians  and  hum- 
ble priests.  He  had  turned  from  a  tyr- 
annous hierarchy,  whose  bloody  heel 
again  and  again  had  trampled  on  the 
poor, — from  a  proud  and  ignorant  clergy, 
whose  leaders  were  better  skilled  in  the 
use  of  the  sword  than  of  the  Bible, — and 
was  present  Avith  despised  sectaries,  or 
with  men  of  understanding  and  learning. 
The  holy  cloud,  that  had  withdrawn  it- 
self from  the  stately  temple  and  the 
proud  cathedral,  had  descended  on  the 
secluded  dwellings  of  the  humble,  or  the 
tranquil  chamber  of  the  conscientious  en- 
quirer. The  Church,  debased  by  her 
love  of  power  and  lucre,  dishonoured  be- 
fore the  people,  by  her  venal  perversion 
of  the  doctrine  of  life, — the  Church,  busy 
in  selling  salvation,  that  she  might  re- 
plenish a  treasury  exhausted  by  her 
pride  and  debaucheries, — had  forfeited 
all  respect ;  and  men  of  sense  no  longer 
attached  any  value  to  her  testimony. 
Despising  an  authority  so  degraded,  they 
gladly  turned  toward  the  divine  word 
and  its  infallible  authority  as  the  only 
refuge  open  to  them  in  that  universal 
confusion. 

The  age  therefore  was  ripe.  The 
bold  movement  by  which  Luther  shifted 
the  support  of  the  highest  hopes  of  man's 
heart, — loosening  them  with  a  strong 
hand  from  the  walls  of  the  Vatican  to 
fix  them  on  the  rock  of  the  word  of  God, 
was  hailed  with  enthusiasm.  This  was 
the  object  the  Reformer  had  in  view  in 
his  answer  to  Prierias. 

Passing  by  the  principles  the  Domini- 
can had  laid  down  at  the  opening  of  his 
work — "  I,"  said  he,  "  following  your  ex- 
ample, will  also  lay  down  certain  princi- 
ples." 

The  first  is  this  passage  of  St.  Paul : — 
"  If  any  one  preach  unto  you  another 
Gospel  than  that  is  preached,  though  he 


should   be   an   angel  from  heaven,  let 
him  be  accursed." 

The  second  is  the  following,  from  St. 
Augustine  writing  to  St.  Jerome : — "  I 
have  learned  to  render  to  the  inspired 
Scriptures  alone  the  homage  of  a  firm 
belief,  that  they  have  never  erred ;  as  to 
others,  I  do  not  believe  in  the  things 
they  teach,  simply  because  it  is  they  who 
teach  them." 

Here  Luther,  with  a  steady  hand,  es- 
tablishes the  fundamental  principles  of 
the  Reformation.  The  word  of  God, — 
the  whole  word  of  God, — and  nothing 
but  the  word  of  God.  "  If  you  rightly 
understand  these  principles,"  continues 
he,  "  you  will  also  understand  that  your 
whole  Dialogue  is  overturned  by  them ; 
for  you  have  done  nothing  but  bring  for- 
ward phrases  and  opinions  of  St.  Tho- 
mas." Then,  openly  impugning  the 
axioms  of  his  adversary,  he  freely  confess- 
es that  he  thinks  both  Popes  and  Coun- 
cils may  err.  He  complains  of  the  flat- 
teries of  the  Roman  courtiers,  who  as- 
cribe this  and  that  power  to  the  Pope. 
He  declares  that  the  Church  exists  vir- 
tually in  Christ  alone,  and  representa- 
tively in  a  General  Council.*  And  then, 
alluding  to  the  insinuation  of  Prierias : 
"Undoubtedly  you  judge  me  by  your- 
self," said  he ;  "  but  if  I  aspired  to  be 
made  a  bishop  I  certainly  should  not  use 
the  language  which  you  find  so  offensive. 
Do  you  imagine  I  am  ignorant  of  the 
manner  in  which  bishoprics  and  priest's 
orders  are  obtained  at  Rome?  Do  not 
the  very  children  sing,  in  every  street  of 
that  city,  these  well  known  words : — 

•  Of  all  foul  spots  the  wide  world  round, 
The  foulest  here,  hi  Rome,  is  found  T  "t 

(Such  songs  had  been  current  in  Rome 
before  the  election  of  one  of  the  last 
Popes.)  Yet  Luther  speaks  of  Leo  with 
respect.  "  I  know,"  says  he,  "  that  he 
may  be  compared  to  Daniel  in  Babylon  : 
his  innocence  has  often  endangered  his 
life."  He  concludes  by  replying  very 
briefly  to  the  threatening  language  used 
by  Prierias.     "  Lastly,  you  say  that  the 

*  E^o  ecclesiam  virtualiter  non  scio  nisi  in 
Christo,  representative  non  nisi  in  concilio. — (L. 
Opp.  lat.  p.  174.)       ( 

t  Quando  hanc  pueri  in  omnibus  plateis  ur- 
bis  cantant :  Denique  nunc  facta  est  fcedissima 
Roma.— (Ibid.  p.  183.) 


140 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


Pope  is  both  pontiff  and  emperor,  and 
that  he  can  employ  the  secular  arm  to 
compel  obedience.  Do  you  thirst  for 
blood  then  1  I  protest  to  you  that  these 
rhodomontades  and  menaces  of  yours 
■give  me  not  the  slightest  alarm.  For 
what  if  I  were  to  lose  my  life  1  Christ 
still  lives  ;  Christ  my  Lord,  and  the  Lord 
of  all,  blessed  for  ever.     Amen." 

Thus  fearlessly  did  Luther,  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  infidel  altar  of  the  Papacy, 
set  up  the  altar  of  the  holy  and  infallible 
word  of  God ;  an  altar,  before  which  he 
would  have  every  knee  to  bow,  and  on 
which  he  declares  himself  ready  to  offer 
up  his  life. 

A  new  adversary  now  presented  him- 
self in  the  lists, — a  Dominican,  like  his 
predecessors.  James  Hochstraten,  the 
inquisitor  of  Cologne,  of  whose  outcries 
against  Reuchlin,  and  the  friends  of  lit- 
erature, Ave  have  already  spoken,  could 
not  restrain  his  rage  when  he  heard  of 
the  first  efforts  of  the  hero  of  the  Refor- 
mation. It  was  not  to  be  wondered  at 
that  monkish  ignorance  and  fanaticism 
should  assail  the  man  who  was  to  give 
them  the  death-blow.  Monachism  had 
arisen  when  the  primitive  truth  had  be- 
gun to  disappear.  From  that  period 
monachism  and  error  had  grown  up  side 
by  side.  The  man  who  was  to  accele- 
rate their  fall  had  now  appeared.  But 
his  sturdy  antagonists  would  not  abandon 
the  field.  The  struggle  lasted  to  the 
end  of  Luther's  life,  but  we  regard  it  as 
epitomized  in  this  dispute  of  Hochstraten 
and  Luther ;  the  free  and  courageous 
Christian,  and  the  irascible  slave  of 
monkish  superstitions !  Hochstraten  lost 
his  temper,  he  gave  vent  to  his  indigna- 
tion, and  loudly  demanded  the  death  of 
the  heretic.  He  would  have  had  re- 
course to  the  stake  to  secure  the  triumph 
of  Rome.  "  It  is  high  treason  against 
the  Church,"  exclaimed  he,  "  to  suffer  so 
horrid  a  heretic  to  live  an  hour  longer. 
Away  with,  him  at  once  to  the  scaffold  I" 
This  sanguinary  counsel  was  but  too  well 
followed  in  many  countries,  and  the 
voices  of  many  martyrs,  as  in  the  earlier 
ages  of  the  Church,  gave  testimony  to 
the  truth  from  the  midst  of  the  flames. 
Rut  in  vain  were  fire  and  sword  invoked 
against  Luther.  The  angel  of  the  Lord 
encamped  around  him,  and  defended  him. 
Luther  answered  Hochstraten  in  few 


words,  but  with  much  vigour:  "Out 
upon  thee,"  said  he,  at  the  close  of  his 
reply,  "  thou  senseless  murderer,  thirsting 
for  the  blood  of  thy  brethren  !  I  sin- 
cerely desire  that  thou  shouldst  not  call 
me  Christian  and  faithful ;  but  that  thou 
shouldst  continue,  on  the  contrary,  to  de- 
cry me  as  an  heretic.  Understand  me, 
thou  blood-thirsty  man!  enemy  to  the 
truth !  and  if  thy  rage  prompt  thee  to  at- 
tempt my  life,  take  care  to  act  circum- 
spectly, and  to  choose  thy  time  well: 
God  knows  what  is  my  purpose  if  my 
life  should  be  spared  .  .  .  My  hope  and 
expectation,  God  willing,  shall  not  be  dis- 
appointed."*  Hochstraten  made  no  reply. 

An  attack  more  trying  to  his  feelings, 
awaited  the  Reformer.  Doctor  Eck,  the 
celebrated  professor  of  Ingolstadt,  the  de- 
liverer of  Urban  Regius,  the  friend  of 
Luther,  had  received  the  famous  theses. 
Eck  was  not  a  man  to  defend  the  abuses 
of  the  indulgences ;  but  he  was  a  doctor 
of  the  School,  not  of  the  Bible, — well 
versed  in  the  scholastic  divinity,  but  not 
in  the  word  of  God.  If  Prierias  had  rep- 
resented Rome,  and  Hochstraten  the 
monks,  the  new  combatant  represented 
the  schools.  The  scholastic  philosophy, 
which  for  almost  five  centuries  held 
sway  over  Christendom,  far  from  yield- 
ing to  the  earliest  efforts  of  the  Reform- 
er, arose  in  its  pride  to  crush  the  man 
who  dared  to  treat  it  with  contempt 
Eck  and  Luther,  Luther  and  the  Schools, 
were  often  afterwards  arrayed  one  against 
the  other.  But  it  was  now  the  contest 
opened. 

It  could  hardly  happen  but  that  Eck 
should  consider  many  of  Luther's  asser- 
tions erroneous.  We  have  no  reason  to 
doubt  the  sincerity  of  his  convictions. 
He  was  enthusiastic  in  defence  of  the 
scholastic  opinions,  whilst  Luther  was 
an  equally  enthusiastic  adherent  of  the 
word  of  God.  We  may  even  imagine 
that  Eck  felt  some  concern  at  the  neces- 
sity of  opposing  his  old  friend :  and  yet 
it  appears,  from  the  manner  in  which  he 
assailed  him,  that  passion  and  jealousy 
had  some  share  in  his  motives. 

It  was  under  the  title  of  Obelisks  that 
he  wrote  his  remarks  on  the  theses  of 
Luther.  Desiring  at  first  to  keep  up  ap- 
pearances, he  did  not  publish  his  work, 
but  contented  himself  with  communica- 
*  L.  Opp.  Leips.  xvii.  p.  140. 


THE  INDULGENCES,  AND  THE  THESES. 


141 


ting  it  in  confidence  to  his  ordinary,  the 
Bishop  of  Eichstadt.     But  the  Obelisks 
were     soon     widely     dispersed,     either 
through  the  indiscretion  of  the  Bishop, 
or  by  the  Doctor's  own  act.     One  copy 
fell  into  the  hands  of  Link,  a  preacher  at 
Nuremberg,  and  a  friend  of  Luther  ;   by 
him  it  was  communicated  to  Luther  him- 
self.    Eck  was  a  very  different  adversa- 
ry from  either  Tetzel,  Prierias,  or  Hoch- 
straten  :  the  more  his  work  excelled  theirs 
in  learning  and  subtlety,  the   more  inju- 
rious was  likely  to  be   its  effect.     He 
spoke  of"  his  feeble  adversary"  in  a  tone 
of  compassion,  well  knowing  that  pity  is 
more  disparaging  than  anger.     He  in- 
sinuated that  Luther's  propositions  were 
spreading  the  Bohemian  poison,  that  they 
savoured  of  Bohemia,  and  by  these  ma- 
lignant references,  drew  upon  Luther  the 
odium  attaching  in  Germany  to  the  name 
of  Huss  and  the  Bohemian  schismatics. 
The  malice  that  was   discernible  in 
this  writing  roused  Luther's  indignation. 
But  he  was  still  more  grieved  at   the 
thought  that  the  blow  came  from  an  old 
friend.  "  It  was  then,"  thought  he,  "  at  the 
cost  of  the  affection  of  his  friends,  that  truth 
must  be  defended."     Luther  unbosomed 
the  sadness  of  his  heart,  in  a  letter  to 
Egranus,  pastor  at  Zwickau.     "  In  these 
Obelisks,"  said  he,  "  I  am  called  a  '  pes- 
tilent man,'  '  a  Bohemian,'  '  an  heretic,' 
and  reproached  as  '  seditious,'  '  insolent,' 
and '  rash.'     I  overlook  minor  reproaches, 
such  as  '  dull,'  '  stupid,'  '  ignorant,'  '  de- 
spiser     of  the    sovereign    pontiff,'    &c. 
Throughout  there  are  nothing  but  insults, 
and  yet  he  who  has  written  them  is  a 
distinguished  man,  in  whom  genius  and 
learning    are   blended;    moreover,    one 
who  was  united  to  me  by  a  great  intimacy, 
recently  contracted.*     His  name  is  John 
Eck,  doctor  of  divinity,  chancellor  of  In- 
golstadt,  &c,  a  man  well  known  and 
highly  esteemed  for  his  writings.    If  I  did 
not  know  the  design  of  Satan,  I  should 
wonder  at  the  rage  which  has  prompted 
Eck  to  violate  a  friendship  so  delightful, 
and  so  recent  besides,!  and  that  without 
giving  me  one  word  of  notice." 

But  if  Luther's  heart  was  wounded,  his 

*  Et  quod  magis  urit,  antea  mihi  magna,  re- 
centerque  contracts,  amicitia  conjunctus. — (L. 
Epp.  i.  p.  100.) 

t  Quo  furore  ille  amicitias  recentissimas  et 
jucundissimas  solveret. — (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  100.) 


courage  was  not  abated.  On  the  con- 
trary, he  caught  fresh  fire  for  the  dispute. 
"  Rejoice,  brother,"  he  said  to  Egranus 
who  had  likewise  been  attacked  by  a 
violent  adversary,  "  rejoice,  and  let  not 
these  paper  missiles  terrify  you !  The 
more  furious  my  adversaries,  the  more  I 
advance.  I  leave  the  things  that  are  be- 
hind, for  them  to  bark  at,  and  I  stretch 
forward  to  those  that  are  before,  that 
they  may  bark  at  those  also  in  their 
turn." 

Eck  felt  how  disgraceful  his  conduct 
had  been,  and  endeavoured  to  justify 
himself  in  a  letter  to  Carlstadt.  In  it 
he  termed  Luther  "  their  common  friend." 
He  threw  all  the  blame  on  the  Bishop 
of  Eichstadt,  at  whose  solicitation  he  de- 
clared he  had  written  his  work.  He 
had  not  intended  to  publish  the  Obelisks, 
he  said ;  if  it  had  been  otherwise  he 
would  have  manifested  more  regard  for 
the  ties  of  friendship,  by  which  he  was- 
united  to  Luther.  Finally,  he  intimated, 
a  wish  that,  instead  of  engaging  in  a 
public  controversy  with  him,  Luther 
should  turn  his  arms  against  the  divines 
of  Frankfort.  The  professor  of  Ingol- 
stadt,  who  had  not  feared  to  strike  the 
first  blow,  began  to  quail  when  he  con- 
sidered the  strength  of  the  adversary  he 
had  had  the  imprudence  to  attack.  He 
would  willingly  have  avoided  the  con- 
test.    But  it  was  now  too  late. 

All  these  fine  speeches  did  not  satisfy 
Luther ;  however,  he  wished  to  remain 
silent.  "  I  will  swallow  patiently,"  he 
said,,  "  this  morsel,  worthy  of  Cerberus."* 
But  his  friends  were  of  a  different  opin- 
ion. They  importuned  him  and  obliged 
him  to  comply.  He  therefore  answered 
Eck's  Obelisks  by  his  Asterisks,  or  Stars; 
"  opposing,"  as  he  said,  "  the  light  and 
dazzling  brightness  of  the  stars  of  heav- 
en, to  the  rust  and  livid  hue  of  the 
Obelisks  of  the  doctor  of  Ingolstadt."  In 
this  work  he  treated  his  new  adversary 
■with  less  harshness  than  he  had  used 
towards  his  former  opponents;  but  his 
suppressed  indignation  at  times  broke 
forth  in  his  words. 

He  proved  that  in  all  that  chaos  of 
Obelisks  there  was  nothing  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, nothing  of  the  Fathers  of  the 
Church,    nothing    of    the   ecclesiastical 

*  Volui  tamen  hanc  ofFam  Cerbero  dignam 
|  absorbere  patientia. — (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  100.) 


142 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


canons;  but  throughout,  nothing  but 
glosses  of  the  schools ;  opinions,  mere 
opinions,  and  dreams  ;*  in  a  word,  all 
those  very  things  that  Luther  had  at- 
tacked. The  Asterisks  are  full  of  life 
and  energy.  The  author  is  indignant 
at  the  errors  in  his  friend's  book,  but  he 
pities  the  man.f  He  again  asserts  the 
fundamental  principle  that  he  had  main- 
tained in  his  answer  to  Prierias :  "  The 
sovereign  pontiff  is  a  man,  and  may  be 
led  into  error;  but  God  is  truth  itself,  and 
cannot  erf."|  And  afterwards,  using  an 
argument,  '  ad  homincm]  against  the 
scholastic  doctor  ;  "  It  is  certainly  an  act 
of  audacity,"  says  he,  "  for  any  one  to 
teach  as  the  philosophy  of  Aristotle, 
what  he  cannot  prove  on  Aristotle's 
authority. — You  allow  this. — Well,  with 
much  greater  reason  is  it  the  height  of 
audacity,  to  affirm  in  the  Church,  and 
amongst  Christians,  what  Christ  himself 
has  not  taught.  §  Now  where  do  we 
find  in  the  Bible,  that  the  treasure  of 
Christ's  merits  is  confided  to  the  Pope  ?" 

Lastly,  he  adds :  "  As  to  the  malicious 
reproach  of  Bohemian  heresy,  I  bear 
this  accusation  patiently,  for  Christ's  sake. 
I  live  in  a  celebrated  university,  a  city 
of  note,  a  considerable  bishoprick,  a 
powerful  duchy,  where  all  are  orthodox, 
and  where,  undoubtedly,  they  would  not 
tolerate  so  wicked  a  heretic." 

Luther  did  not  publish  the  Asterisks, 
he  only  communicated  them  to  his 
friends;  it  was  not  till  afterwards  that 
they  were  given  to  the  public.  || 

This  rupture  between  the  doctor  of 
Ingolstadt  and  the  doctor  of  Wittemberg 
caused  a  great  sensation  in  Germany. 
They  had  common  friends.  Scheurl, . 
especially,  took  alarm.  It  was  through  , 
him  that  the  two  doctors  had  become  ac- 
quainted. He  was  one  of  those  who 
wished  to  see  a  Reformation  take  place 
in  the  universal  Germanic  church,  and 

*  Omnia  scholasticissima,  opinisissima,  mera- 
que  somnia.— (Ast  Opp.  L.  lat.  i.  145.) 

t  Indignor  rei  et  misereor  hominis.— ( Ast.  Opp. 
L.  lat.  i.  150.) 

t  Homo  est  sumnras  Pontifex,  falli  potest. 
Sed  Veritas  est  Deus,  qui  falli  non  potest.— (Ibid. 
155.) 

§  Longe  ergo  impudentissima  omnium  teme- 
ritas  est,  aliquid  in   ecclesia  asserere,  et   inter 

christianos.  quod  non  docuit  Christus 'Ast  Odd 

L.  lat  i.  156.)  v  "^ 

||  Cum  privatim  dedenm  Astericos  meos,  fit  ei 
respondendi  necessitas. — (L.  Epp.  p.  126.) 


by  the  agency  of  its  most  distinguished 
members.  But  if,  at  the  outset,  the  most 
eminent  theologians  were  to  fall  to  quar- 
reling ;  if,  whilst  Luther  was  advancing 
new  opinions,  Eck  stood  up  as  the  rep- 
resentative of  the  old,  what  confusion 
was  to  be  apprehended?  Would  not 
numerous  adherents  flock  around  each 
chief,  and  form  two  hostile  camps  in  the 
bosom  of  the  empire  ? 

On  these  accounts  Scheurl  endeavoured 
to  reconcile  Eck  and  Luther.  The  lat- 
ter declared  himself  ready  to  forget 
everything;  that  he  loved  Eck's  talents  ;* 
that  he  admired  his  learning ;  and  that 
he  felt  more  grief  than  anger  at  his  old 
friend's  conduct.  "  I  am  prepared,"  said 
he  to  Scheurl,  "  either  for  peace  or  war  ; 
but  I  prefer  peace.  Help  us,  then,  by 
your  good  offices ;  grieve  with  us  that 
the  deyil  has  kindled  this  beginning  of 
discord  among  us  ;  and  afterwards  rejoice 
that  Christ  in  his  mercy  has  extinguished 
it."  He  wrote  affectionately  to  Eck,  but 
the  latter  returned  no  answer. f  He  did 
not  even  send  him  any  message.  The 
time  for  a  reconciliation  was  past.  The 
breach  grew  wider  and  wider.  The 
pride  of  Eck  and  his  implacable  spirit 
soon  broke  the  last  ties  of  their  declining 
friendship. 

Such  were  the  struggles  which  the 
champion  of  God's  word  had  to  main- 
tain in  the  beginning  of  his  career.  But, 
in  the  estimation  of  a  Christian,  those 
combats  are  of  small  account,  that  are  to 
be  waged  in  the  high  places  of  this 
world,  or  in  the  arena  of  the  schools. 
Human  teachers  imagine  that  they  have 
obtained  a  splendid  triumph  if  some 
literary  circles  are  filled  with  the  fame 
of  their  systems.  As  their  desire  is 
rather  to  gratify  their  self-love,  or  to 
please  a  party,  than  to  benefit  mankind, 
this  brilliant  worldly  success  suffices 
them.  Thus,  their  labours  may  be  com- 
pared to  smoke,  which,  after  blinding 
the  eyes,  passes  away  without  leavino- 
any  vestige  behind.  Neglecting  to  de- 
posit their  principles  in  the  masses,  they 
do  little  more  than  skim  the  surface  of 
society. 

*  Diligimus  hominis  ingenium  et  admiramur 
eruditionem. — (L.  Epp.  ad  Scheurlum,  15  Jun. 
1518,  i.  p.  125.) 

t  Nihil  neque  literarum  neque  verboram  me 
participem  fecit. — (L.  Epp.  ad  Scheurlum,  15 
Jun.  1518,  i.  p.  125.) 


THE  INDULGENCES,  AND  THE  THESES. 


143 


Not  so  the  Christian  ;  his  aim  is  neither 
a  name  in  society,  nor  academical  hon- 
ours ;  hut  the  salvation  of  souls.  He 
willingly  foregoes  the  intellectual  rivalry 
in  which  he  might  engage  at  his  ease, 
with  the  disputers  of  this  world, — and 
prefers  the  secret  labours  which  carry 
light  and  life  into  the  sequestered  dwell- 
ings of  the  poor.  This  did  Luther  ;  or 
rather,  following  his  Master's  precept, 
"  He  did  this,  and  left  no  other  things 
undone."  While  combating  inquisitors, 
chancellors  of  universities,  and  masters 
of  the  palace,  he  laboured  to  diffuse 
sound  religious  knowledge  among  the 
multitude.  With  this  view,  he  about 
the  same  time  published  several  popular 
tracts,  such  as  his  sermons  on  the  Ten 
Commandments,  preached  two  years  pre- 
viously in  the  church  of  Wittemberg, 
and  which  have  already  been  mentioned, 
and  also  his  explanation  of  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  for  the  simple  and  unlearned 
laity.  Who  would  not  desire  to  know 
what  the  Reformer  then  addressed  to  the 
people  ?*  We  will  cite,  therefore,  some 
of  the  words  which  he  put  forth  to  "  run 
through  the  land,"  as  he  says  in  the  pref- 
ace to  the  last  mentioned  work. 

Prayer,  that  interior  act  of  the  heart, 
will  undoubtedly  be  ever  one  of  the 
points  with  which  a  true  and  vital  refor- 
mation will  commence  ;  Lumer's  thought 
was  turned  to  this  solemn  subject.  It  is 
not  possible  to  transfuse  his  energetic 
'style  and  the  vigour  of  his  language, 
which  was  in  course  of  formation,  so  to 
speak,  under  his  pen,  as  he  composed. 
We  will  however  make  some  attempt. 

"  When  thou  prayest,"  said  he,  "  let 
thv  words  be  few,  but  thy  thoughts  and 
feelings  many  and  deep.  The  less  thou 
speakest,  the  better  thy  prayers.  Few 
words  and  much  thought  is  a  Christian 
frame.  Many  words  and  little  thought 
is  heathenish." 

"  The  prayer  that  is  external  and  of 
the  body  is  that  mumbling  of  the  lips, 
that  outward  babble,  gone  through  with- 
out attention,  and  heard  and  seen  of 
men  ;  but  prayer  in  spirit  and  in  truth 
is  the  inward  desire,  the  motions  and 
sighs  that  proceed  from  the  depth  of  the 
heart.  The  former  is  the  prayer  of  hyp- 
ocrites, and  of  those  who  trust  in  them- 

*  L.  Opp.  Leips.  vii.  p.  1086.) 


selves.     The  latter  is  the  prayer  of  God's 
children  who  walk  in  his  fear." 

Passing  on  to  the  opening  words  of 
the  Lord's  Prayer,  he  thus  expresses 
himself  : — Our  Father.  "  Of  all  names 
there  is  not  one  which  more  inclines  us 
towards  God  than  the  name  of  Father. 
We  should  feel  less  love,  and  derive  less 
consolation,  from  addressing  him  as  Lord, 
or  God,  or  Judge.  By  that  word  Father, 
his  bowels  of  compassion  are  moved  : 
for  there  is  no  sound  more  sweet  or  pre- 
vailing with  a  father  than  the  voice  of 
his  child." 

He  continues,  and  on  the  words,  u  who 
art  in  heare/i"  he  says  :  "  Whosoever 
professes  that  he  has  a  father  in  heaven, 
acknowledges  himself  to  be  a  stranger 
upon  earth  ; — hence  there  is  in  his  heart 
an  ardent  longing,  like  that  of  a  child 
that  is  living  among  strangers  in  want 
and  grief,  afar  from  its  father-land.  It 
is  as  if  he  said,  Alas !  my  father,  thou 
art  in  heaven,  and  I,  thy  suffering  child, 
am  on  earth,  far  from  thee,  encompassed 
with  dangers,  wants,  and  mourning." 

"  Hallowed  be  thy  name.'''' — u  He  who 
is  passionate,  abusive,  envious,  and  slan- 
derous, dishonours  the  name  of  God  in 
which  he  has  been  baptized.  Profaning 
to  impious  uses  a  vessel  that  God  has 
consecrated  to  himself,  he  is  like  a  priest 
who  should  take  the  holy  cup  and  give 
drink  to  swine,  or  gather  dung  into  it." 

"  Thy  kingdom  come.'''' — "  Those  who 
amass  property  and  build  magnificent 
mansions,  who  strive  after  what  the 
world  can  give,  and  utter  this  prayer 
with  their  lips,  resemble  those  huge 
organ  pipes  which  incessantly  sing  with 
all  their  power  in  the  churches,  without 
speech,  feeling,  or  reason." 

Further  on,  Luther  attacks  the  error  of 
pilgrimages,  which  was  then  so  preva- 
lent :  "  One  goes  to  Rome,  another  to 
St.  James,  a  third  builds  a  chapel,  and  a 
fourth  endows  religious  houses,  in  order 
to  attain  to  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  but  all 
neglect  the  one  thing  needful,  which  is, 
to  become  themselves  his  kingdom  ! 
Why  seek  the  kingdom  of  God  beyond 
the  seas  I  It  is  in  thy  heart  it  should 
arise." 

"  It  is  an  awful  thing,"  he  continues, 
"  to  hear  us  offer  this  petition,' '  Thy  will 
be  done.'  Where  in  the  church  do  we 
see    this  '  will   of  God  V     One  bishop 


144 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


rises  against  another  bishop  ;  one  church 
against  another  church.  Priests,  monks, 
and  nuns  quarrel,  and  thwart,  and  wage 
war  with  each  other,  and  every  where 
discord  prevails.  And  yet  each  party 
declares  that  there  is  good  will  and 
upright  intention  ;  and  so,  to  the  honour 
and  glory  of  God,  they  altogether  do  the 
devil's  work.  .  .  ." 

"  Why  do  we  use  the  words,  '  our 
bread  V  "  he  continues,  expounding  these 
words,  '  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread? 
"  Because  we  do  not  pray  for  the  com- 
mon bread  that  heathens  partake,  and 
which  God  gives  to  all  men, — but  for 
'our1  bread,  the  bread  of  those  who  are 
'children'  of  the  heavenly  Father." 

"  And  what  then  is  this  bread  of  God  ? 
It  is  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord.  '  I  am  the 
bread  of  life  which  came  down  from 
heaven,  and  giveth  life  to  the  world.' 
Therefore  let  no  one  be  deluded  :  what- 
ever sermons  and  instructions  do  not 
exhibit  and  make  known  Jesus  Christ, 
cannot  be  the  daily  bread  and  nourish- 
ment of  souls." 

"  Of  what  use  is  it  that  such  bread  has 
been  provided,  if  it  is  not  served  up,  and 
so  we  are  unable  to  partake  of  it  ?  It  is 
as  if  a  noble  feast  were  prepared,  and 
none  were  ready  to  distribute  the  bread, 
to  place  the  meat  on  table,  or  fill  the 
cups,  and  so  the  guests  should  be  reduced 
to  feed  on  the  mere  sight  and  smell. 
Therefore  we  must  preach  Christ  alone. 

"  But,  say  you,  what  is  it  to  know 
Christ  ?  and  what  good  will  come  of  it  ? 
I  answer  ;  to  learn  and  know  Christ,  is 
to  understand  what  the  Apostle  declares, 
namely  :  that  '  Christ  is  made  unto  us 
of  God,  wisdom,  righteousness,  sanctifi- 
cation,  and  redemption.'  Now  you 
understand  that,  if  you  acknowledge  all 
your  wisdom  mere  blameworthy  foolish- 
ness, your  righteousness  a  criminal  ini- 
quity, your  holiness  a  guilty  pollution, 
your  redemption  a  miserable  sentence  of 
condemnation  ;  if  you  'feel  that  you  are 
truly,  before  God.  and  before  all  crea- 
tures, a  fool,  a  sinner,  an  impure  and 
condemned  man  ;  if  you  manifest,  not 
by  word  alone,  but  from  the  bottom  of 
your  heart,  and  by  your  works, — that 
there  is  neiftier  salvation  nor  comfort  for 
you,  save  only  in  Christ.  To  believe  is 
nothing  else  than  feeding  on  this  bread 
from  heaven.11 


Thus  Luther  faithfully  adhered  to  his 
resolution  to  open  the  eyes  of  a  blinded 
people,  whom  the  priests  were  leading 
at  their  pleasure.  His  writings  rapidly 
dispersed  throughout  Germany,  called  up 
a  new  light,  and  shed  abundantly  the 
seed  of  truth  on  a  soil  well  prepared  for 
it.  But,  while  attending  to  those  who 
were  at  a  distance,  he  did  not  forget 
those  who  were  nigh  at  hand. 

The  Dominicans,  from  their  pulpit, 
anathematized  the  infamous  heretic.  Lu- 
ther,— the  man  of  the  people,  and  who, 
if  he  had  desired  it,  could,  by  a  few 
words,  have  called  up  the  popular  fury 
against  them, — disdained  such  triumphs, 
and  thought  only  of  instructing  his 
hearers. 

And  he  did  so.  His  reputation,  which 
spread  more  and  more  widely,  and  the 
boldness  with  which  he  lifted  the  ban- 
ner of  Christ  in  the  midst  of  an  enslaved 
Church,  increased  the  eager  attendance 
on  his  preaching  at  Wittemberg.  The 
crowd  of  hearers  was  more  considerable 
than  ever.  Luther  went  straight  to  his 
mark.  One  day,  having  ascended  the 
pulpit,  he  undertook  to  prove  the  doc- 
trine of  repentance,  and  on  this  occasion, 
he  pronounced  a  discourse  which  became 
afterwards  very  celebrated,  and  in  which 
he  laid  down  some  of  the  grounds  of  the 
evangelical  doctrine. 

He  first  contrasted  man's  pardon  with 
God's  pardon.  "  There  are,"  said  he, 
"  two  kinds  of  remission  :  the  remission 
of  the  penalty,  and  the  remission  of  the 
sin.  The  first  reconciles  outwardly  the 
offender  with  the  Church.  The  second, 
which  is  the  heavenly  grace,  reconciles 
the  offender  with  God.  If  a  man  does 
not  find  in  himself  that  peace  of  con- 
science, that  joy  of  heart  which  springs 
from  God's  remission  of  sin,  there  is  no 
indulgence  that  can  help  him,  though 
he  should  buy  all  that  had  ever  been 
offered  upon  earth." 

He  continues  :  "  They  wish  to  do  good 
works  before  their  sins  are  forgiven  them, 
— whilst  it  is  indispensable  that  our  sins 
be  pardoned  before  good  works  can  be 
done.  It  is  not  works  which  banish 
sin  ;  but  drive  out  sin  ana  you  will  have 
works.*     For  good  works  must  be  done 

*  Nicht  die  Werke  treiben  die  Sunde  aus ; 
Bondem  die  Austreibung  der  Sunde  thut  gute 
Werke.— (L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  p.  162.) 


THE   INDULGENCES,   AND   THE  THESES. 


145 


with  a  joyful  heart,  and  a  good  con- 
science toward  God,  that  is,  with  remis- 
sion of  sins." 

He  then  comes  to  the  chief  object  of 
this  sermon, .  which  was  also  the  great 
end  of  the  whole  Reformation.  The 
Church  had  put  itself  in  the  place  of 
God  and  his  word  ;  he  rejects  her 
assumption,  and  shews  everything  to 
depend  on  faith  in  God's  word. 

u  The  remission  of  the  sin  is  out  of 
the  power  of  pope,  bishop,  priest,  or  any 
man  living  ;  and  rests  solely  on  the 
word  of  Christ,  and  on  thine  own  faith. 
For  Christ  did  not  design  that  our  com- 
fort, our  hope,  and  our  salvation,  should 
be  built  on  a  word  or  work  of  man,  but 
solely  on  himself,  on  his  work,  and  on 
his  word.  .  .  .  Thy  repentance  and  thy 
works  may  deceive  thee  ;'  but  Christ, 
thy  God,  will  not  deceive  thee,  nor  will 
he  falter,  and  the  devil  shall  not  over- 
throw his  words."* 

"  A  popte  or  a  bishop  has  no  more 
power  to  remit  sin  than  the  humblest 
priest.  And  even,  without  any  priest, 
every  christian,  even  though  a  woman 
or  a  child,  can  do  the  same.f  For  if  a 
simple  believer  say  to  thee,  '  God  pardon 
thy  sin  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ,' — 
and  thou  receive  that  word  with  firm 
faith,  and  as  though  God  himself  spake 
it  to  thee, — thou  art  absolved." 

"  If  thou  dost  not  believe  that  thy  sins 
are  forgiven  thee,  thou  makest  thy  God 
a  liar,  and  shewest  thyself  to  hold  more 
to  thy  vain  thoughts  than  to  God  and 
his  word." 

u  Under  the  Old  Testament,  neither 
priest,  nor  king,  nor  prophet,  had  author- 
ity to  declare  remission  of  sins.  But 
under  the  New,  every  believer  has  this 
power.  The  Church  is  'full  of  remission 
of  sins  !  J  If  a  devoted  christian  should 
comfort  thy  conscience  by  the  word  of 
the  cross,  whether  that  christian  be  a 
man  or  woman,  young  or  old,  receive 
that  comfort  with  such  faith  as  to  endure 
death  a  hundred  times,  rather  than  doubt 
that  God  has  ratified  it.  Repent  :  do 
all  the  works  thou  canst  ;  but  let  faith 

*  Christns  deia  Gott  wird  dir  nicht  li'igen, 
noch  wanken. — (L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  p.  162.) 

t  Ob  es  schon  ein  Weib  oder  ein  Kind  ware. 
—(Ibid.) 

t  Also  siehst  du  dass  die  ganze  Kirche  voll  von 
Vergebung  der  Siindenist. — (Ibid.) 

19 


in  pardon  through  Christ,  hold  the  first 
rank,  and  command  the  whole  field  of 
your  warfare."* 

Thus  spake  Luther  to  his  surprised 
and  delighted  hearers.  All  the  super- 
structures which  presumptuous  priests 
had  raised  for  their  own  gain  between 
God  and  the  soul  of  man  were  thrown 
down,  and  man  brought  face  to  face  with 
his  God.  The  word  of  forgiveness  now 
descended  pure  from  on  high  without 
passing  through  a  thousand  corrupting 
channels.  That  the  witness  of  God 
should  be  received,  it  was  no  lono-er 
necessary  that  men  should  attach  to  it 
their  delusive  seal.  The  monopoly  of 
the  priestly  caste  was  abolished  ;  the 
Church  was  delivered  from  her  thraldom. 

Meanwhile  it  was  become  needful 
that  the  flame  that  had  been  lighted  up 
in  Wittemberg  should  be  kindled  else- 
where Luther,  not  satisfied  with  proclaim- 
ing the  truth  of  the  Gospel  in  the  place 
of  his  own  abode,  as  well  to  the  students 
as  to  the  people,  was  desirous  to  scatter 
in  other  places  the  seeds  of  sound  doc- 
trine. In  the  spring  of  1518  the  order 
of  the  Augustines  held  its  chapter  general 
at  Heidelberg.  Luther  was  summoned 
thither  as  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
men  of  his  order.  His  friends  made  every 
effort  to  dissuade  him  from  undertaking 
this  journey.  In  truth,  the  monks  had 
laboured  to  make  the  name  of  Luther 
hated  in  all  the  places  he  would  have  to 
pass  through.  To  insult  they  added 
threats.  A  little  matter  would  suffice  to 
raise  a  tumult  on  his  journey,  in  which 
he  might  fall  a  victim.  "  Or  else,"  said 
his  friends,  "  what  they  dare  not  do  by 
violence,  they  will  accomplish  by  treach- 
ery and  fraud."f  But  Luther  never 
allowed  himself  to  be  stopped  short  in 
the  performance  of  a  duty  by  fear  of 
danger  however  imminent.  Accordingly, 
he  was  deaf  to  the  timid  suggestions  of 
his  friends  :  he  plainly  shewed  in  whom 
he  put  his  trust,  and  under  whose  pro- 
tection he  was  resolved  to  undertake  this 
dreadful  journey.  Then  the  festival  of 
Easter  being  terminated,  he  quietly  set 
out  on  foot,!  the  13th  April,  1518. 

He  took  with  him  a  guide,  named 
Urban,  who  carried  his  little  baggage, 

*  Und  Hauptmann  im  Felde  bleibe. — (Ibid.) 

t  L.  Epp.  i.  p.  98. 

I  Pedester  veniam. — (Ibid.) 


146 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


and  was  to  accompany  him  as  far  as 
Wurtzburg.  What  thoughts  must  have 
crowded  the  heart  of  this  servant  of  the 
Lord,  during  his  journey  !  At  Weis- 
senfels,  the  pastor,  who  had  no  previous 
knowledge  of  him,  recognised  him  im- 
mediately as  the  Doctor  of  Wittemberg, 
and  received  him  cordially.*  AtErfurth, 
two  other  brethren  of  the  order  of  the 
Augustines  joined  company  with  him. 
At  Judenbach,  the  three  travellers  met 
Degenhard  Pfeffinger,  the  confidential 
adviser  of  the  Elector,  and  were  enter- 
tained by  him  at  the  inn.  "  I  had  the 
pleasure,"  writes  Luther  to  Spalatin,  "  of 
making  the  rich  lord  poorer  by  some 
groscken  ;  you  know  how  I  love  on  all 
occasions  to  levy  contributions  on  the 
rich  for  the  advantage  of  the  poor ; 
especially  when  the  rich  are  friends*  of 
mine."f  He  reached  Coburg  overcome 
with  fatigue.  "  All  goes  well,  by  God's 
favour,"  wrote  he,  "  unless  it  be  that  I 
must  acknowledge  myself  to  have  sinned 
in  undertaking  this  journey  on  foot.  But 
for  that  sin  I  think  I  have  no  need  of any 
indulgence,  for  my  contrition  is  perfect, 
and  the  satisfaction  plenary.  I  am  ex- 
hausted with  fatigue,  and  all  the  con- 
veyances are  full.  Is  not  this  enough, 
and  more  than  enough,  of  penance,  con- 
trition, and  satisfaction  ?"| 

The  Reformer  of  Germany,  not  find- 
ing room  in  the  public  conveyances,  nor 
any  one  willing  to  give  up  his  place  to 
him,  was  obliged,  on  the  following  morn- 
ing, notwithstanding  his  weariness,  to 
set  out  again  from  Coburg,  on  foot.  He 
arrived  at  Wurtzburg  the  second  Sunday 
after  Easter,  towards  evening.  From 
thence  he  sent  back  his  guide. 

It  was  in  this  town  that  the  Bishop  of 
Bibra  resided,  who  had  received  his 
theses  with  so  much  approbation.  Luther 
was  the  bearer  of  a  letter  to  him  from 
the  Elector  of  Saxony.  The  Bishop, 
delighted  with  the  opportunity  thus 
offered  of  becoming  personally  acquaint- 
ed with  this  courageous  champion  of 
the  truth,  immediately  invited  him  to  the 
episcopal  palace.  He  himself  went  to 
meet  him,  addressed  him  very  affection- 
ately, and  offered  to  procure  him  a  guide 
as  far  as  Heidelberg.  But  Luther  had 
met  at  Wurtzburg  his  two  friends,  the 

*  L.  Epp.  i.  p.  105.         t  L.  Epp.  i.  p.  104. 
X  Ibid.  106. 


Vicar-general  Staupitz,  and  Lange,  the 
Prior  of  Erfurth,  and  had  been  offered 
a  seat  in  their  carriage.  He  therefore 
thanked  Bibra  for  his  proffered  kind- 
ness, and  the  next  day  the  three  friends 
set  out  from  Wurtzburg.  They  travelled 
in  this  manner  for  three  days,  conversing 
together.  On  the  21st  of  April  they 
reached  Heidelberg.  Luther  alighted  at 
the  convent  of  the  Augustines. 

The  Elector  of  Saxony  had  given  him 
a  letter  for  the  Count  Palatine  Wolf- 
gang, Duke  of  Bavaria.  Luther  re- 
paired to  his  magnificent  castle,  the 
delightful  situation  of  which  is  even  at 
this  day  the  admiration  of  strangers. 
The  monk,  a  native  of  the  plains  of 
Saxony,  had  a  heart  capable  of  admir- 
ing the  picturesque  situation  of  Heidel- 
berg, commanding  the  two  beautifnl 
valleys  of  the  Rhine  and  the  Necker. 
He  delivered  his  letter  of  recommenda- 
tion to  John  Simler,  the  steward  of  the 
household.  The  latter,  on  -reading  it, 
observed  :  "  Truly,  you  have  a  valuable 
letter  of  credit  here."*  The  Count  Pala- 
tine received  Luther  very  graciously. 
He  invited  him  repeatedly  to  his  table, 
together  with  Lange  and  Staupitz.  It 
was  a  great  comfort  to  Luther  to  meet 
with  so  friendly  a  reception.  "  We  were 
very  happy  together,"  says  he,  "  and 
amused  each  other  with  agreeable  and 
pleasant  conversation,  taking  our  repast, 
examining  the  beauties  of  the  Palatine 
palace,  admiring  the  ornaments,  the 
armoury,  cuirasses,  and  every  thing 
remarkable  that  this  celebrated  and 
truly  royal  castle  contains."! 

But  Luther  had  another  task  to  per- 
form. He  must  work  while  it  was  yet 
day.  Called  for  a  time  to  a  university 
which  exercised  an  extensive  influence 
over  the  west  and  south  of  Germany,  he 
was  there  to  strike  a  blow  which  should 
put  in  movement  the  churches  of  those 
countries.  He  began  therefore  to  write 
some  theses,  which  he  proposed  to  main- 
tain in  a  public  disputation.  Such  dis- 
putations were  not  unusual  ;  but  Luther 
felt  that,  to  make  this  useful,  it  must  be 
of  a  striking  character.  His  natural 
disposition,  moreover,  prompted  him  to 
present    truth    in    a  paradoxical    form 

*  Ihr  habt,  bei  Gott,  einen  kostlichen  Cre- 
denz. — (L.  Epp.  1.  ii.) 
t  L.  Epp.  1.  iii. 


THE  INDULGENCES,  AND  THE  THESES. 


147 


The  professors  of  the  university  would 
not  suffer  the  disputation  to  take  place 
in  their  great  hall.  A  room  was,  there- 
fore, engaged  in  the  convent  of  the  Au- 
gustines,  and  the  26th  of  April  was  fixed 
for  the  discussion. 

Heidelberg  at  a  later  period  received 
the  evangelical  doctrine.  One  who  was 
present  at  the  conference  in  the  convent 
of  the  Augustines  might  have  then  fore- 
seen, that  that  conference  would  one  day- 
bear  fruit. 

The  reputation  of  Luther  attracted  a 
numerous  auditory, — professors,  courtiers, 
burghers,  students,  came  in  crowds.  The 
following  are  some  of  the  Doctor's  "  para- 
doxes," for  by  that  name  he  designated 
his  theses.  Even  in  our  day,  perhaps, 
some  might  give  them  no  better  name  ; 
yet  it  would  be  easy  to  render  them  in 
propositions  obvious  to  common  sense. 

"  1.  The  law  of  God  is  a  salutary 
rule  of  life  ;  and  yet  it  cannot  help  man 
in  the  obtaining  of  righteousness  ;  but 
on  the  contrary  impedes  him." 

"  3.  Works  of  men,  let  them  be  as 
fair  and  good  as  they  may,  are  yet  evi- 
dently nothing  but  mortal  sins." 

"  4.  Works  that  are  of  God,  however 
unsightly  and  evil  in  appearance,  have 
yet  an  endless  efficacy." 

"  7.  The  works  of  the  righteous  them- 
selves would  be  mortal  sins, — if,  from  a 
holy  reverence  of  the  Lord,  they  did  not 
fear  that  their  works  might  indeed  be 
mortal  sins."* 

"9.  To  say  that  works  done  out  of 
Christ  are  truly  dead  works, — but  not 
mortal  sins, — is  a  dangerous  forgetful- 
ness  of  the  fear  of  God." 

"  13.  Free  will,  since  the  fall  of  man, 
is  but  an  empty  word  ;  and  if  man  does 
all  he  can,  he  still  sins  mortally." 

"16.  A  man  who  dreams  he  can 
attain  to  grace  by  doing  all  that  is  in  his 
power,  adds  sin  to  sin, — and  is  doubly 
guilty." 

"  18.  It  is  certain  that  man  must 
altogether  despair  of  his  own  ability,  if 
he  would  be  made  capable  of  receiving 
the  grace  of  Christ." 

"  21.  A  theologian  of  this  world  calls 
good — evil,    and     evil — good  ;    but     a 

*  Justorum  opera  essent  mortalia,  nisi  pio  Dei 
timore  ab  ipsismet  justis  ut  mortalia  timerentur. 
— (L.  Opp.  lat.  i.  55.) 


teacher  of  the  cross  is  a  teacher  of 
truth." 

"  22.  The  wisdom  which  applies  itself 
to  learn  the  invisible  perfections  of  God 
from  his  works,  puffs  up,  blinds,  and 
hardens  men." 

"  23.  The  law  calls  forth  God's  anger : 
slays,  accurses,  judges,  and  condemns 
whatsoever  is  not  in  Christ."* 

"  24.  Yet  this  wisdom  ($  22,)  is  not 
an  evil ;  and  the  law  (§  23,)  is  not  to  be 
rejected  ;  but  he  who  learns  not  the  wis- 
dom of  God  under  the  Cross,  turns  to 
evil  whatever  is  good." 

"  25.  That  man  is  not  justified  who 
does  many  works  ;  but  he  who,  with- 
out having  yet  done  works,  has  much 
faith  in  Christ." 

"  26.  The  law  says,  <  Do  this,'  and 
what  it  enjoins  is  never  done  ;  Grace 
says,  '  Believe  in  him,'  and  immediately 
all  is  perfected."! 

"  28.  The  love  of  God  finds  nothing 
in  man,  but  creates  in  him  what  he  loves. 
Man's  love  is  the  gift  of  his  well  be- 
loved."} 

Five  Doctors  of  Divinity  attacked 
these  theses.  They  had  read  them  with 
the  surprise  that  their  novelty  excited. 
Such  theology  seemed  to  them  extrava- 
gant. They,  however,  entered  on  the 
discussion,  as  Luther  tells  us,  with  a 
courtesy  which  inspired  him  with  much 
esteem  for  them  ;  yet  with  great  ear- 
nestness and  discernment.  Luther,  on 
his  part,  manifested  unusual  mildness  in 
his  mode  of  reply,  unrivalled  patience  in 
listening  to  the  objections  of  his  oppo- 
nents, and  all  the  quickness  of  St.  Paul 
in  solving  the  difficulties  opposed  to  him. 
His  answers, — short  but  full  of  the  word 
of  God, — astonished  his  hearers.  "  He 
is  exactly  like  Erasmus,"  said  many, 
"  except  that  he  surpasses  him  in  one 
thing  ; — that  is,  he  openly  professes 
what  Erasmus  was  satisfied  with  insinu- 
ating."§ 

*  Lex  iram  Dei  operatur,  occidit,  maledicit, 
reum  facit,  judicat,  damnat,  quicquid  non  est  in 
Christo.— (Ibid.) 

t  Lex  dicit :  Fac  !  et  nunquam  fit.  Gratia 
dicit :  Crede  in  hunc,  et  jam  facta  sunt  omnia 
— (L.  Opp.  lat.  i.  55.) 

X  Amor  Dei  non  invenit  sed  creat  suum  dili- 
gibile  ;  amor  hominis  fit  a  suo  diligibili. 

§  Bucer  in  Schultetet. — Annal.  Evang.  reno- 
vat.  p.  22. 


148 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


The  disputation  was  drawing  near  to 
its  close.  The  adversaries  of  Luther 
had,  at  least,  retreated  with  honour  from 
the  field  ;  the  youngest  of  them,  Doctor 
George  Niger,  alone  continued  the  con- 
test with  the  powerful  disputant ;  alarmed 
at  the  hold  propositions  of  the  Augustine 
monk,  and  not  knowing  what  argument 
to  have  recourse  to,  he  exclaimed,  with 
an  accent  of  fear,  "  If  our  peasantry  heard 
such  things,  they  would  stone  you  to 
death."*  At  these  words  a  general 
laugh  went  round  the  assembly. 

Yet  never  did  an  auditory  listen  with 
more  attention  to  a  theological  discussion. 
The  first  words  of  the  Reformer  had 
aroused  men's  minds.  -Questions,  which, 
but  a  little  while  before,  would  have  met 
only  with  indifference,  were  at  that  hour, 
teeming  with  interest.  An  observer 
might  have  read  in  the  countenances  of 
those  present  the  new  ideas  which  the 
bold  assertions  of  the  Saxon  Doctor 
awakened  in  their  minds. 

Three  youths  especially  were  much 
affected.  One  of  them,  by  name  Martin 
Bucer,  was  a  Dominican,  of  twenty-seven 
years  of  age,  who,  in  spite  of  the  preju- 
dices of  his  order,  seemed  unwilling  to 
lose  a  word  of  the  Doctor's  remarks.  A 
native  of  a  small  town  in  Alsace,  he  had, 
in  his  sixteenth  year,  entered  a  convent. 
He  soon  shewed  such  capacity,  that  the 
more  enlightened  of  the  monks  formed 
high  expectations  of  him.f  u  He  will, 
one  day,"  said  they,  "  be  an  honour  to 
our  order."  His  superiors  accordingly 
sent  him  to  Heidelberg,  that  he  might 
apply  himself  to  the  study  of  philosophy, 
theology,  Greek,  and  Hebrew.  At  that 
period,  Erasmus  published  several  of  his 
writings.  Martin  Bucer  read  them  with 
avidity. 

Shortly  after  this,  the  first  published 
writings  of  Luther  appeared.  The  stu- 
dent of  Alsace  hastened  to  compare  the 
doctrines  of  the  Reformer  with  the  Holy 
Scriptures.  Some  misgivings  as  to  the 
truth  of  Popery  were  then  awakened  in 
his  mind.  |     It  was  in  this  way  that  light 

*  Si  rustici  haec  audirent,  certe  lapidibus  vos 
obruerent  et  interficerent. — (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  111.) 

t  Prudentioribus  monachis  spem  de  se  prsecla- 
ram  excitavit. — (Melch.  Adam.  Vit.  Buceri,  p. 
211.) 

t  Cum  doctrinam  in  eis  traditam  cum  sacris 
Uteris  contulisset,  quaedam  in  pontificia  religione 
suspecta  habere  coepit. — (Ibid.) 


was  spread  in  those  days.  The  Elector 
Palatine  took  notice  of  the  young  man. 
His  powerful  and  sonorous  voice  and 
agreeable  manners,  his  eloquence,  and 
the  freedom  with  which  he  attacked  the 
prevailing  vices,  made  his  preaching 
remarkable.  Appointed  chaplain  to  the 
Elector,  he  was  fulfilling  the  functions 
of  his  office,  when  he  heard  of  Luther's 
visit  to  Heidelberg.  How  great  was  his 
joy  !  He  was  among  the  first  to  repair 
to  the  hall  of  the  convent  of  the  Augus- 
tines.  He  had  with  him  paper,  pens, 
and  ink,  intending  to  take  notes.  But 
whilst  his  hand  rapidly  traced  the  words 
of  Luther,  the  hand  of  God  wrote  in  im- 
perishable characters  on  his  heart  the 
great  truths  he  heard.  The  first  gleams 
of  the  doctrine  of  grace  diffused  them- 
selves in  his  soul  in  the  course  of  that 
memorable  hour.*  The  Dominican  was 
won  to  Christ. 

Not  far  from  Bucer  sate  John  Brentz, 
or  Brentius,  then  nineteen  years  of  age. 
Brentz,  son  of  a  magistrate  of  a  town  in 
Suabia,  had  been  entered  student  at 
Heidelberg  in  his  thirteenth  year.  His 
application  was  unequalled.  He  rose  at 
midnight  for  study.  This  custom  had 
become  so  confirmed,  that  in  after  life  he 
could  never  sleep  after  that  hour.  But 
at  a  later  period  he  devoted  the  stillness 
of  these  seasons  to  mediation  on  the  Scrip- 
tures. Brentz  was  one  of  the  first  to 
discern  the  new  light  then  appearing  in 
Germany.  He  hailed  it  with  a  soul 
overflowing  with  love.f  He  eagerly 
perused  the  writings  of  Luther.  But 
how  was  he  rejoiced  at  the  opportunity 
of  hearing  him  at  Heidelberg  !  One  X)f 
the  Doctor's  propositions  especially  struck 
young  Brentz.  It  was  this :  u  That 
man  is  not  justified  in  the  sight  of  God 
who  does  many  works  ;  but  he  who, 
without  having  yet  done  works,  has 
much  faith  in  Christ." 

A  pious  woman  of  Heilbronn,  on  the 
Necker,  the  wife  of  one  of  the  council 
of  that  town,  named  Snepf,  following  the 
example  of  Hannah,  had  dedicated  her 
first-born  son  to  the  Lord,  in  the  fervent 
desire  to  see  him  devote  himself  to  the 

*  Primam  lucem  purioris  sentential  de  justifica- 
tione  in  suo  pectore  sensit. — (Mclch.  Adam.  Vit 
Buceri,  p.  211.) 

t  Ingens  Dei  beneficium  leetus  Brentius  agno- 
vit,  et  grata  mente  ampiexus  est. — (Ibid.) 


THE   INDULGENCES.   AND   THE   THESES. 


149 


study  of  divinity.  This  young  man,  born 
in  1 495,  made  rapid  progress  in  learning  ; 
I  but  either  from  liking,  or  from  ambition, 
or  else  in  compliance  with  his  father's 
desire,  he  took  to  the  study  of  jurispru- 
dence. The  pious  mother  grieved  to  see 
her  son  Ehrhard  pursuing  a  course  differ- 
ent from  that  to  which  she  had  conse- 
crated him.  She  admonished  him,  ex- 
postulated, and  again  and  again  reminded 
him  of  her  vow  made  at  his  birth.*  At 
length,  overcome  by  his  mother's  perse- 
verance, Ehrhard  Snepf  complied,  and 
he  soon  had  such  a  relish  for  his  new 
studies,  that  nothing  could  have  diverted 
him  from  them. 

He  was  very  intimate  with  Bucer  and 
Brentz,  and  this  friendship  continued  as 
long  as  they  lived  ;  "  for,"  says  one  of 
their  historians,  "  friendships  founded  on 
the  love  of  literature  and  of  virtue  are 
always  lasting."  He  was  present  with 
his  two  friends  at  the  disputation  at  Heid- 
elberg. The  paradoxes  and  courageous 
efforts  of  the  Doctor  of  Wittemberg  gave 
a  new  impulse  to  his  mind.  Rejecting 
the  vain  opinion  of  human  merit,  he 
embraced  the  doctrine  of  the  free  justifi- 
cation of  the  sinner. 

The  next  day,  Bucer  went  to  Luther. 
"  I  had,"  says  he,  "  a  familiar  private 
conversation  with  him,  a  most  exquisite 
repast — of  no  ordinary  viands,  but  of  the 
truths  which  he  set  before  me.  To  every 
objection  that  I  made,  the  Doctor  had  a 
ready  reply  ;  and  he  explained  every 
thing  with  the  greatest  clearness.  Oh  ! 
would  to  God  I  had  time  to  write  you 
more  about  it."f  Luther  was  himself 
affected  with  Bucer's  deep  emotion.  "  He 
is  the  only  brother  of  his  order,"  he  wrote 
to  Spalatin,  "  who  is  sincere  ;  he  is  a 
young  man  of  great  promise.  He  re- 
ceived me  with  simplicity,  and  conversed 
very  earnestly.  He  deserves  our  love 
and  confidence."! 

Brentz,  Snepf,  and  many  others,  moved 
by  the  new  truths  which  were  beginning 
to  enlighten  their  minds,  also  visited 
Luther  ;  they  talked  and  conferred  with 
him  ;  they  requested  an  explanation  of 

*  Crebris  interpellationibus  cum  voti  quod  de 
nato  ipsa  facerat  admoneret,  et  a  studio  juris  ad 
theologiam  quasi  conviciis  avocaret. — (Melch. 
Adami  Snepfii  Vita.) 

t  Gerdesius,  Monument.  Antip.  &c. 

t  L.  Epp.  i.  p.  412. 


what  they  had  not  understood.  The 
Reformer,  leaning  on  the  word  of  God, 
answered  them.  Every  word  that  he 
spoke  imparted  fresh  light  to  their  minds. 
A  new  world  seemed  to  open  before 
them. 

After  the  departure  of  Luther,  these 
noble-minded  men  began  to  teach  at 
Heidelberg.  It  was  fit  that  they  should 
carry  on  what  the  man  of  God  had 
begun,  and  not  leave  the  torch  that  he 
had  kindled  to  expire.  The  disciple  will 
speak  when  the  teacher  is  silent.  Brentz, 
young  as  he  was,  undertook  to  expound 
St.  Matthew's  Gospel, — at  first  in  his  own 
room — afterwards,  when  that  apartment 
was  found  too  small,  in  the  hall  of  Phi- 
losophy. The  theologians,  envious  at 
the  concourse  of  hearers  that  this  young 
man  drew  together,  betrayed  their  irri- 
tation. Brentz  then  took  orders,  and 
transferred  his  lectures  to  the  college  of 
the  canons  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Thus 
the  fire,  already  kindled  in  Saxony,  was 
communicated  to  Heidelberg.  The  light 
spread  rapidly.  This  period  has  been 
called  the  seed-time  of  the  Palatinate. 

But  it  was  not  the  Palatinate  alone 
that  reaped  the  fruits  of  that  memorable 
disputation  at  Heidelberg.  These  cour- 
ageous friends  of  the  truth  soon  became 
shining  lights  in  the  Church.  All  of 
them  attained  to  eminent  stations,  and 
took  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  transac- 
tions to  which  the  Reformation  gave  birth. 
Strasburg,  and  afterwards  England, 
were  indebted  to  the  labours  of  Bucer 
for  a  purer  knowledge  of  the  truth. 
Snepf  first  declared  it  at  Marburg,  then 
at  Stuttgard,  at  Tubingen,  and  at  Jena. 
And  Brentz,  after  having  laboured  at 
Heidelberg,  taught  for  a  long  time  at 
Halle  in  Suabia,  and  at  Tubingen.  We 
shall  meet  with  them  again,  as  we  trace 
the  course  of  the  Reformation. 

This  disputation  carried  forward  Lu- 
ther himself.  He  increased  from  day  to 
day  in  the  knowledge  of  the  truth.  "  I 
am  one  of  those,"  said  he,  "  who  have 
myself  made  progress  by  writing  for 
and  instructing  others, — not  one  of  those 
who,  with'-iut  any  such  training,  have 
suddenly  become  great  and  learned  doc- 
tors." 

He  was  delighted  to  see  the  eagerness 
with  which  the  young  students  received 
the   growing  truth.     This  it  was   that 


150 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


comforted  him  when  he  found  the  old 
doctors  so  deeply-rooted  in  their  opinions. 
"  I  have  the  glorious  hope,"  said  he, 
"  that  even  as  Christ,  when  rejected  by 
the  Jews,  turned  towards  the  Gentiles, 
so  we  shall  see  the  rising  generation 
receive  the  true  theology,  which,  these 
old  men,  wedded  to  their  vain  and  most 
fantastical  opinions,  now  obstinately  re- 
ject."* 

The  chapter  being  ended,  Luther 
proposed  returning  to  Witttemberg.  The 
Count  Palatine  gave  him  a  letter  for  the 
Elector,  dated  the  1st  of  May,  in  which 
he  said  that  "  the  skill  which  Luther 
had  shewn  in  the  disputation  did  great 
honour  to  the  university  of  Wittemberg." 
He  was  not  allowed  to  return  on  foot.f 
The  Augustines  of  Nuremberg  con- 
ducted him  as  far  as  Wurtzburg. 
From  thence  he  went  to  Erfurth  with 
the  brethren  of  that  city.  Immediately 
on  his  arrival,  he  paid  a  visit  to  his 
former  master,  Jocodus.  The  old  pro- 
fessor, much  grieved  and  scandalized  at 
the  course  his  pupil  had  taken,  was 
accustomed  to  prefix  to  all  Luther's  prop- 
ositions a  theta,  the  letter  which  the 
Greeks  made  use  of  to  denote  condem- 
nation.:{:  On  several  occasions  he  had 
written  to  the  young  doctor  in  a  style  of 
reproach.  The  latter  wished  to  answer 
those  letters  by  word  of  mouth.  Not 
being  admitted,  he  wrote  to  his  master  : 
"All  the  university,  with  the  exception 
of  one  licentiate,  think  as  I  do.  Nay, 
more :  the  Prince,  the  Bishop,  several 
other  prelates,  and  all  the  most  enlight- 
ened of  our  citizens,  declare  unanimously 
that  till  now  they  never  knew  or  under- 
stood Christ  and  his  Gospel.  I  am 
willing  to  receive  your  reproofs.  And 
even  should  they  be  harsh,  they  will 
appear  gentle  to  me.     Open  your  heart, 

*  L.  Epp.  i.  p.  112. 

t  Veni  autem  curru  qui  ieram  pedester. — (L. 
Epp.  i.  p.  110.)    " 

t  Omnibus  placitis  meis  nigrum  theta  praefigit. 
— (Ibid.  p.  111.) 


therefore,  without  fear  ;  express  your 
displeasure  :  I  will  not  and  cannot  be 
angry  with  you.  God  and  my  own 
conscience  are  my  witnesses."* 

The  old  doctor  was  affected  by  these 
expressions  of  his  former  pupil.  He 
wished  to  try  whether  there  were  no 
means  of  removing  the  condemnatory 
theta.  They  talked  over  the  subject, 
but  to  no  purpose.  "  I  made  him  under- 
stand, however,"  says  Luther,  "  that  all 
their  dogmas  were  like  that  creature 
which  is  said  to  devour  itself.  But  it  is 
useless  to  talk  to  a  deaf  man.  These 
doctors  cling  to  their  petty  distinctions, 
though  they  confess  that  they  have 
nothing  to  confirm  them  but  what  they 
call  the  light  of  natural  reason, — a 
gloomy  chaos  to  us  who  proclaim  the 
one  and  only  light,  Christ  Jesus,  "f 

Luther  quitted  Erfurth  in  the  carriage 
belonging  to  the  convent,  which  took 
him  to  Eisleben.  From  thence  the 
Augustines  of  the  place,  proud  of  the 
doctor  who  had  done  such  honour  to  their 
order  and  their  town,  which  was  his 
native  place,  furnished  him  with  horses 
to  proceed  to  Wittemberg  at  their  ex- 
pense. Every  one  wished  to  show  some 
mark  of  affection  and  esteem  to  this 
extraordinary  man,  whose  fame  was  daily 
increasing. 

He  arrived  on  the  Saturday  after  As- 
cension day.  The  journey  had  done 
him  good,  and  his  friends  thought  him 
looking  stronger  and  in  better  health 
than  before  he  set  out.:}:  They  rejoiced 
at  all  that  he  related.  Luther  rested  for 
a  while  after  the  fatigue  of  his  journey 
and  his  dispute  at  Heidelberg  ;  but  this 
rest  was  only  a  preparation  for  severer 
labours. 

*  L.  Epp.  i.  p.  111. 

t  Nisi  dictamine  rationis  naturalis,  quod  apud 
nos  idem  est  quod  chaos  tenebratum,  qui  non 
proedicamus  aliam  lucem  quam  Christum  Jesum 
iucem  veram  et  solam. — (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  111.) 

X  Ita  ut  nonnullis  videar  factus  habilior  et  cor- 
pulentior. — (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  111.) 


LUTHER  BEFORE  THE  LEGATE. 


151 


BOOK     IV. 


LUTHER  BEFORE   THE   LEGATE. 


MAY  TO  DECEMBER,  1518. 

The  Pope — 'Leo  X. — Luther  to  his  Bishop — Luther  to  the  Pope — Luther  to  the  Vicar-General — 
The  Cardinal  to  the  Elector — Sermon  on  Excommunication — Luther's  Influence — Diet  at  Augs- 
burg— The  Emperor  and  the  Elector — Letters  to  the  Pope — Citation  of  Luther  to  Rome — Inter- 
cession of  the  University — The  Legate  De  Vio — The  Pope's  Brief — Luther's  Indignation — The 
Pope  to  the  Elector — George  Schwarzerd — Melancthon — Luther  and  Melancthon — Staupitz  to 
Spalatin— Luther's  Resolution — He  sets  out — At  Nuremburg — Luther  at  Nuremburg — De  Vio 
— Serra  Longa  and  Luther — Return  of  Serra  Longa — Prior  of  the  Camelites — Serra  Longa — 
Luther  and  Serra  Longa — The  Safe-conduct — Appearance  before  the  Legate — First  Interview 
— De  Vio's  Proofs — Luther's  Replies — A  Proposal — Luther  and  De  Vio — Luther's  Declaration 
— The  Legate's  Answer — Luther's  Request — Third  Conference — Luther's  Declaration — The. 
Legate's  Answer — Luther's  Reply — The  Cardinal  Foiled— Rumours — De  Vio  and  Staupitz — 
Luther  to  Carlstadt — The  Communion — Departure  of  Staupitz — Letter  to  the  Legate — Luther 
and  the  Legate — Luther's  Letter  to  the  Legate — His  Appeal — Luther's  Flight — Nuremburg — 
The  Legate  to  the  Elector — Luther  to  the  Elector — Graefenthal — Luther  to  Spalatin — Luther's 
Intended  Departure — A  Critical  Hour — Deliverance — Dissatisfaction  at  Rome — The  Pope's  Bull 
— Luther  Appeals  to  a  Council. 


At  length  Truth  had  raised  its  head 
in  the  midst  of  the  nations  of  Christen- 
dom. Having  triumphed  over  the  infe- 
rior instruments  of  the  papal  power,  it 
was  now  to  enter  upon  a  struggle  with 
its  head  himself.  We  are  about  to  con- 
template Luther  in  close  conflict  with 
Rome. 

It  was  after  his  return  from  Heidel- 
berg that  Luther  advanced  to  the  attack. 
His  first  Theses  on  the  indulgences  had 
been  imperfectly  understood.  He  re- 
solved to  set  forth  their  meaning  more 
plainly.  He  had  found,  by  the  clamours 
proceeding  from  the  blindness  and  hatred 
of  his  enemies,  how  important  it  was  to 
gain  over  to  the  side  of  the  truth  the 
more  enlightened  portion  of  the  nation  : 
— he  decided  therefore  to  appeal  to  its 
judgment,  by  presenting  to  it  the  grounds 
on  which  his  new  conviction  rested.  It 
was  quite  necessary  to  invite  the  decision 
of  Rome  ;  he  did  not  hesitate  to  send 
thither  his  explanations  ;  while  with 
one  hand  he  held  them  forth  to  all  his 
impartial  and  enlightened  fellow-coun- 
trymen, he,  with  the  other,  laid  them 
before  the  footstool  of  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff. 

These  explanations  of  his  theses, 
which  he  called  solutions*  were  written 
with  great  moderation.  Luther  tried  to 
*  L.  Opp.  Leipsig.  xvii.  p.  29  to  113. 


soften  the  passages  that  had  occasioned 
irritation,  and  evinced  a  genuine  modesty. 
But,  at  the  same  time,  he  manifested  an 
immoveable  conviction,  and  courageously 
defended  every  proposition  that  truth 
obliged  him  to  maintain.  He  repeated, 
once  more,  that  every  Christian  who 
truly  repented  had  remission  of  sins 
without  any  indulgence  ;  that  the  Pope 
had  no  more  power  than  the  lowest 
priest  to  do  anything  beyond  simply  de- 
claring the  forgiveness  that  God  had 
already  granted  ;  that  the  treasury  of  the 
merits  of  saints,  administered  by  the 
Pope,  was  a  pure  fiction  :  and  that  holy 
Scripture  was  the  sole  rule  of  faith. 
But  let  us  listen  to  his  own  statement  of 
some  of  these  things. 

He  begins  by  laying  down  the  nature 
of  true  repentance,  and  contrasts  that  act 
of  God,  by  which  man  is  regenerated 
with  the  mummeries  of  the  Romish 
Church.  "  The  Greek  word  fiBxavoelie 
said  he,  "  signifies,  put  on  a  new  spirit. 
a  new  mind, — take  to  you  a  new  nature, 
so  that,  ceasing  to  be  earthly,  you  may 
become  heavenly  ;  Christ  is  a  teacher  of 
the  spirit,  and  not  of  the  letter,  and  his 
words  are  spirit  and  life."  Thus  he 
teaches  a  repentance  in  spirit  and  in 
truth,  and  not  those  outward  penances 
which  the  haughtiest  sinner  may  per- 
form without  any  real  humiliation, — he 


152 


HISTORY'  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


requires  a  repentance,  which  may  be 
wrought  in  every  situation  of  life, — un- 
der the  purple  robe  of  kings,  under  the 
priest's  cassock,  the  prince's  hat, — in  the 
midst  of  the  splendours  of  Babylon, 
where  Daniel  dwelt, — as  well  as  under 
the  monk's  frock,  or  the  mendicant's 
rags.* 

Further  on  we  read  these  bold  words : 
"  I  care  little  what  pleases  or  displeases 
the  Pope.  He  is  a  man  like  other  men. 
There  have  been  many  popes  who  have 
not  only  taken  up  with  errors  and  vices, 
but  things  yet  more  extraordinary.  I 
listen  to  the  Pope  as  pope,  that  is,  when 
he  speaks  in  the  canons,  agreeably  to 
the  canons,  or  regulates  any  matter  con- 
jointly with  a  council, — but  not  when  he 
speaks  of  his  own  mind.  If  I  acted  on 
any  other  rule,  might  I  not  be  required 
to  say,  with  those  who  know  not  Jesus 
Christ,  that  the  horrible  massacres  of 
Christians,  by  which  Julius  II.  was 
stained,  were  the  good  deeds  of  a  kind 
shepherd  of  the  Lord's  sheep  ?"f 

"  I  must  needs  wonder,"  he  continues, 
"  at  the  simplicity  of  those  who  have  said 
that  the  two  swords  in  the  Gospel  repre- 
sent the  one  the  spiritual,  the  other  the 
temporal  power.  True  it  is,  that  the 
Pope  holds  a  sword  of  Iron,  and  thus 
offers  himself  to  the  view  of  Christians 
not  as  a  tender  father,  but  as  an  awful 
tyrant.  Alas !  God,  in  his  anger,  hath 
given  us  the  sword  we  preferred,  and 
withdrawn  that  which  we  despised. 
Nowhere,  in  all  the  earth,  have  there 
been  more  cruel  wars  than  among 
Christians.  Why  did  not  the  same  in- 
genious critic  who  supplied  this  fine  com- 
mentary, interpret  the  narrative  of  the 
two  keys  delivered  to  St.  Peter  in  the 
same  subtle  manner,  and  establish,  as  a 
dogma  of  the  Church,  that  one  serves  to 
unlock  the  treasury  of  heaven,  and  the 
other  the  treasures  of  this  world  1"% 

"  It  is  impossible,"  says  he,  "for'  a  man 
to  be  a  Christian  without  having  Christ ; 
and,  if  he  has  Christ,  he  has,  at  the  same 
time,  all  that  is  in  Christ.  What  gives 
peace  to  the  conscience  is  that,  by  faith, 
our  sins  are  no  more  ours,  but  Christ's, 
upon  whom  God  hath  laid  them  all ;  and 
that,  on  the  other  hand,  all  Christ's 
righteousness  is  ours,  to  whom  God  hath 


*  On  the  first  Thesis. 
t  Thesis  80. 


t  Thesis  26. 


given  it.  Christ  lays  his  hand  upon  us, 
and  we  are  healed.  He  casts  his  mantle 
upon  us,  and  we  are  clothed ;  for  he  is 
the  glorious  Saviour,  blessed  for  ever."* 

With  such  views  of  the  riches  of  sal- 
vation by  Christ,  there  could  no  longer 
be  any  need  of  indulgences. 

At  the  same  time  that  Luther  thus  at- 
tacked the  papal  rule,  he  spoke  honour- 
ably of  Leo  X.  "  The  times  we  live  in," 
said  he,  "  are  so  evil,  that  even  persons 
of  the  highest  station  have  no  power  to 
help  the  Church.  We  have  at  this  time 
a  very  good  Pope  in  Leo  X.  His  sin- 
cerity and  learning  are  a  matter  of  joy 
to  us.  But  what  can  he  do  alone,  amia- 
ble and  gracious  as  he  is  1  He  deserved, 
assuredly,  to  be  elected  Pope  in  better 
times.  In  these  days  we  deserved  none 
but  such  as  Julius  II.  or  Alexander  VI." 

He  then  came  to  this  point. — "  I  will 
speak  out,  in  a  few  words  and  boldly. — 
The  Church  requires  to  be  reformed. 
And  it  is  a  work  neither  for  one  man, 
as  the  Pope, — nor  for  several,  as  the  car- 
dinals and  fathers  in  council  assembled, 
— but  for  the  whole  world  ;  or  rather  it 
is  a  work  which  appertains  to  God  alone. 
As  to  the  time  when  such  Reformation 
shall  commence,  he  only  knows  it  who 
has  appointed  all  time.  The  barriers 
are  thrown  down,  and  it  is  no  longer  in 
our  power  to  restrain  the  overflowing 
billows." 

These  are  a  few  of  the  declarations 
and  thoughts  which  Luther  addressed  to 
the  more  enlightened  of  his  countrymen. 
Whitsuntide  was  drawing  near,  and  thus 
it  was  at  the  same  season  which  the 
apostles  rendered  to  their  risen  Saviour 
the  first  testimony  of  their  faith,  that  Lu- 
ther, the  new  apostle,  published  this  ani- 
mated testimony,  in  Avhich  he  breathed 
forth  his  ardent  desires  for  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  Church.  On  Whitsun-eve, 
22d  May,  1518,  he  despatched  this  wri- 
ting to  the  Bishop  of  Brandenburg,  his 
ordinary,  accompanied  with  these  words: 
"  Most  worthy  Father  in  God ! 

"  It  is  now  some  time  since  a  new  and 
unheard-of  doctrine,  concerning  the  apos- 
tolic indulgences,  began  to  be  preached 
in  these  parts :  the  learned  and  the  un- 
learned were  troubled  by  it ;  and  many 
persons  known,  or  personally  unknown 
to  me,  requested  me  to  declare  from  the 
*  Thesis  37. 


LUTHER  BEFORE  THE   LEGATE. 


153 


pulpit,  or  by  writing-,  my  opinion  of  the 
novelty — I  will  not  say  the  impudence 
— of  the  doctrine  I  refer  to.  At  first  I 
kept  myself  silent  and  neutral.  But,  at 
last,  things  came  to  such  a  pass,  that  the 
Pope's  holiness  was  compromised. 

"  What  could  I  do  ?  I  thought  it  my 
part  neither  to  approve  nor  condemn 
these  doctrines,  but  to  open  a  discussion 
on  this  important  subject,  till  such  time 
as  the  holy  Church  should  pronounce 
upon  it. 

"  No  one  presenting  himself,  or  accept- 
ing the  challenge  to  a  discussion  which 
I  had  invited  all  the  world,  and  my  the- 
ses being  considered  not  as  matter  of  de- 
bate, but  as  propositions  dogmatically 
asserted  ;* — I  find  myself  obliged  to  put 
forth  an  explanation  of  them.  Deign, 
therefore,  to  accept  these  offerings!  that 
I  present  to  you,  most  clement  Bishop. 
And  that  all  may  see  that  I  am  not 
acting  presumptuously,  I  entreat  your 
reverence  to  take  pen  and  ink  and  blot 
out  or  even  throw  into  the  fire  what- 
ever may  displease  you.  I  know  that 
Christ  needs  none  of  my  labour  or  ser- 
vices, and  that  he  can  easily,  without  my 
instrumentality,  make  known  the  good 
tidings  in  his  church.  Not  that  the  de- 
nunciations and  threats  of  my  enemies 
alarm  me.  Gluite  the  contrary.  If  they 
were  not  so  wanting  in  prudence,  and 
lost  to  shame,  no  one  should  hear  or 
know  anything  about  me.  I  would 
immure  myself  in  a  corner,  and  there 
study  alone  for  my  own  profit.  If  this 
matter  is  not  of  God,  it  will  certainly  not 
be  to  my  honour,  nor  to  the  honour 
of  any  man,  but  will  come  to  nought. 
May  glory  and  honour  be  to  him  to 
whom  alone  they  belong  !" 

Luther  was,  up  to  this  time,  under  the 
influence  of  respect  for  the  head  of  the 
church  ;  he  gave  credit  to  Leo  for  justice 
and  a  love  of  truth.  Accordingly  he 
resolved  to  write  to  him  also.  A  week 
after,  on  Trinity  Sunday,  30th  May, 
1518,  he  addressed  to  him  a  letter,  of 
which  the  following  are  some  fragments. 
"  To  the  Most  blessed  Father,  Pope 
Leo  X.,  Supreme  Bishop, — brother  Mar- 
tin Luther,  an  Augustine,  wishes  eternal 
salvation  ! 

*  Non  ut  disputabilia  sed  asserta  acciperentur. 
— (L.  Epp.  i.  114.) 
t  Ineptias. 

20 


"  I  hear,  most  holy  Father,  that  evil 
reports  circulate  concerning  me,  and  that 
my  name  is  in  bad  odour  with  your  Ho- 
liness. I  am  called  a  heretic,  an  apos- 
tate, a  traitor,  and  a  thousand  other  re- 
proachful names.  What  I  see  surprises 
me,  and  what  I  hear  alarms  me.  But 
the  sole  foundation  of  my  tranquillity  re- 
mains unmoved,  being  a  pure  and  quiet 
conscience.  O,  holy  Father !  deign  to 
hearken  to  me,  who  am  but  a  child  and 
need  instruction." 

Luther  then  relates  the  affair  from  its 
beginning,  and  thus  proceeds : 

"  Nothing  was  heard  in  all  the  tav- 
erns but  complaints  of  the  avarice  of 
the  priests,  attacks  on  the  power  of  the 
keys,  and  of  the  supreme  bishop.  I  call 
all  Germany  to  witness.  When  I  heard 
these  things,  my  zeal  was  aroused  for 
the  glory  of  Christ, — if  I  understand  my 
own  heart ;  or  if  another  construction  is 
to  be  put  on  my  conduct, — my  young 
and  warm  blood  was  inflamed. 

"  I  represented  the  matter  to  certain 
princes  of  the  Church,  but  some  laughed 
at  me,  and  others  turned  a  deaf  ear.  The 
awe  of  your  name  seemed  to  have  made 
all  motionless.  Thereupon,  I  published 
this  dispute. 

"  This,  then,  holy  Father,  this  is  the 
action  which  has  been  said  to  have  set 
the  whole  world  in  a  flame  ! 

"  And  now  what  am  I  to  do  1  I  can- 
not retract  what  I  have  said,  and  I  see 
that  this  publication  draws  down  on  me, 
from  all  sides,  an  inexpressible  hatred. 
I  have  no  wish  to  appear  in  the  great 
world, — for  I  am  unlearned,  of  small 
wit,  and  far  too  inconsiderable  for  such 
great  matters,  more  especially  in  this 
illustrious  age,  when  Cicero  himself,  if 
he  were  living,  would  be  constrained  to 
hide  himself  in  some  dark  corner.* 

"  But  in  order  to  appease  my  enemies 
and  satisfy  the  desires  of  many  friends, 
I  here  publish  my  thoughts.  I  publish 
them,  holy  Father,  that  I  may  dwell  the 
more  safely  under  your  protection.  All 
those  who  desire  it  may  here  see  with 
what  simplicity  of  heart  I  have  petitioned 
the  supreme  authority  of  the  Church  to 
instruct  me,  and  what  respect  I  have 
manifested  for  the  power  of  the  keys.f 

*  "  Sed  cogit  necessitas  mo  anserem  strepere 
inter  olores,''  adds  Luther. — (L  Epp.  i.  121.) 
t  Quam    pure    simpliciterque   ecclesiasticam 


154 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


If  I  had  not  acted  with  propriety,  it 
would  have  been  impossible  that  the 
serene  lord  Frederic,  Duke  and  Elector 
of  Saxony,  who  shines  foremost  among 
the  friends  of  the  apostolic  and  christian 
truth,  should  have  endured  that  one,  so 
dangerous  as  I  am  asserted  to  be,  should 
continue  in  his  university  of  Wittem- 
berg. 

"  Therefore,  most  holy  Father,  I  throw 
myself  at  the  feet  of  your  Holiness,  and 
submit  myself  to  you,  with  all  that  I 
have  and  all  that  I  am.  Destroy  my 
cause  or  espouse  it  ;  pronounce  either 
for,  or  against  me  ;  take  my  life,  or 
restore  it,  as  you  please  ;  I  will  receive 
your  voice  as  that  of  Christ  himself,  who 
presides  and  speaks  through  you.  If  I 
have  deserved  death,  I  refuse  not  to  die  ;* 
the  earth  is  the  Lord's,  and  all  that 
therein  is.  May  He  be  praised  for  ever 
and  ever.  May  he  maintain  you  to  all 
eternity.     Amen. 

"  Signed  the  day  of  the  Holy  Trinity, 
in  the  year  1518.  Brother  Martin 
Luther,  Augustine." 

What  humility  and  truth  in  this  fear, 
or  rather  this  admission  of  Luther,  that 
his  young  and  warm  blood  had  perhaps 
taken  fire  too  hastily  !  We  see  here  the 
man  of  sincerity,  who,  instead  of  pre- 
suming on  himself,  dreads  the  influence 
of  his  passions,  even  in  such  actions  as 
are  most  conformable  to  the  command- 
ment of  God.  This  is  not  the  language 
of  a  proud  fanatic.  We  behold  Luther's 
earnest  desire  to  gain  over  Leo  to  the 
cause  of  truth,  to  avoid  all  schism,  and  to 
cause  the  Reformation  (the  necessity  of 
which  he  proclaimed,)  to  proceed  from 
the  highest  authority  in  the  Church. 
Certainly,  it  is  not  he  who  can  be  accused 
of  having  broken  up  that  unity  of  the 
western  Church,  which  so  many  of  all 
sects  have  since  regretted.  On  the  con- 
trary, he  gave  up  everything  but  truth 
that  he  might  maintain  it.  It  was  his 
adversaries  who,  refusing  to  allow  the 
fulness  and  sufficiency  of  the  salvation 

potestatem  et  revereatiam  clavium  quaesierim  et 
coluerim. — (Ibid.) 

*  Quare,  beatissime  Pater,  prostratum  me  pedi- 
bus  tuas  Beatitudinis  offero,  cum  omnibus  quee 
sum  et  habeo ;  vivifica,  occide :  voca,  revoca ; 
approba,  reproba,  ut  placuerit.  Vocem  tuam  vo- 
cem  Christi  in  te  prsesidentis  et  loquentis  agnos- 
cam.  Si  mortem  merui,  mori  non  recusabo.— (L. 
Epp.  i.  p.  121.) 


wrought  by  Jesus  Christ,  tore  to  shreds 
the  Lord's  vesture  at  the  foot  of  the 
cross. 

After  writing  this  letter,  Luther,  on  the 
same  day,  wrote  to  his  friend  Staupitz, 
Vicar-general  of  his  order.  It  was 
through  him  that  he  resolved  to  forward 
to  Leo  both  his  "Solutions"  and  his  letter. 

"  I  beg  of  you,"  said  he,  "  to  receive 
with  favour  the  poor  productions  that  I 
send  you,*  and  to  forward  them  to  the 
excellent  Pope  Leo  X.  Not  that  I  mean 
by  this  to  draw  you  into  the  peril  in 
which  I  stand  ;  I  am  resolved  myself  to 
incur  the  whole  danger.  Christ  will 
look  to  it,  and  make  it  appear  whether 
what  I  have  said  comes  from  him  or  my- 
self,— Christ,  without  whom  the  Pope's 
tongue  cannot  move,  nor  the  hearts  of 
kings  decree. 

"  As  for  those  who  threaten  me,  I  have 
no  answer  for  them  but  the  saying  of 
Reuchlin  :  '  The  poor  man  has  nothing 
to  fear,  for  he  has  nothing  to  lose.'f  I 
have  neither  money  nor  estate,  and  I 
desire  none.  If  I  have  sometimes  tasted 
of  honour  and  of  good  report,  may  He 
who  has  begun  to  strip  me  of  them  finish 
his  work.  All  that  is  .left  me  is  this 
wretched  body,  enfeebled  by  many  trials 
— let  them  kill  it  by  violence  or  fraud,  so 
it  be  to  the  glory  of  God  ;  by  so  doing 
they  will  but  shortern  the  term  of  my 
life  by  a  few  hours.  It  is  sufficient  for 
me  that  I  have  a  precious  Redeemer,  a 
powerful  High  Priest,  my  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  I  will  praise  him  as  long  as  I 
have  breath.  If  another  will  not  join 
me  in  praising  him,  what  is  that  to  me  ?" 
In  these  words  we  read  the  innermost 
heart  of  Luther. 

Whilst  he  was  thus  placing  confidence 
in  Rome,  Rome  had  thoughts  of  ven- 
geance against  him.  As  early  as  the 
3rd  of  April,  Cardinal  Raphael  de  Ro- 
vera  had*  written  to  the  Elector  Frederic 
in  the  Pope's  name,  to  intimate  that 
some  suspicion  was  entertained  of  his 
fidelity,  and  to  desire  him  to  avoid  pro- 
tecting Luther.  "  The  Cardinal  Ra- 
phael," observed  the  latter,  "  would  have 
been  well  pleased  to  see  me  burned  alive 
by  Duke  Frederic."^:     Thus  Rome  was 

*  The  Solutions. 

t  Qui  pauper  est  nihil  timet,  nihil  potest  per- 
dere.— (L.  Epp.  i.  118.) 
J  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xv.  p.  339. 


LUTHER   BEFORE   THE   LEGATE. 


155 


beginning'  to  turn  arms  against  Luther  ; 
her  first  blow  was  directed  to  the  depri- 
ving him  of  his  protectors  favour.  If  she 
succeeded  in  destroying  this  shelter  of 
the  monk  of  Wittemberg,  he  would  fall 
an  easy  prey  to  her  agents. 

The  German  sovereigns  were  very 
tenacious  of  their  reputation  as  Christian 
princes.  The  slightest  suspicion  of 
heresy  filled  them  with  fears.  The 
Roman  Court  had  skilfully  taken  advan- 
tage of  this  disposition  of  mind.  Frederic 
had  always  been  attached  to  the  religion 
of  his  fathers.  Hence  the  Cardinal 
Raphael's  letter  produced  a  very  con- 
siderable impression  upon  his  mind. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  Elector  made 
it  a  rule  never  to  be  hasty  in  anything. 
He  knew  that  truth  was  not  always  on 
the  side  of  the  strongest.  The  disputes 
of  the  Empire  with  Rome  had  taught 
him  to  discern  the  interested  views  of 
that  Court.  He  had  arrived  at  the  con- 
viction that,  to  be  a  christian  prince,  it 
was  not  necessary  to  be  a  slave  to  the 
Pope. 

u  He  was  not  one  of  those  profane 
persons,"  says  Melancthon,  "  who  would 
stifle  all  changes  in  their  very  birth. 
Frederic  submitted  himself  to  the  will 
of  God.  He  carefully  read  the  writings 
that  were  put  forth,  and  would  not  allow 
any  to  destroy  what  he  thought  true." 
He  possessed  this  power.  Besides,  being 
absolute  sovereign  of  his  own  dominions, 
he  enjoyed  at  least  as  much  respect 
throughout  the  Empire  as  was  paid  to 
the  Emperor  himself. 

It  is  probable  that  Luther  received 
some  intimation  of  this  letter  of  Cardinal 
Raphael's,  which  reached  the  Elector  on 
the  7th  of  July.  Perhaps  it  was  in  the 
prospect  of  excommunication,  which  this 
Roman  missive  seemed  to  forebode,  that 
he  ascended  the  pulpit  of  Wittemberg 
on  the  15th  of  the  same  month,  and 
preached  a  discourse  on  that  topic,  which 
made  a  deep  impression  on  his  hearers. 
He  explained  the  distinction  between 
inward  and  outward  excommunications, 
the  former  excluding  from  communion 
with  God,  and  the  latter,  from  the  rites 
and  ceremonies  of  the  Church.  "  No 
one,"  said  he,  "  can  reconcile  the  fallen 
soul  to  God  but  the  Lord.  No  one  can 
separate  a  man  from  communion  with 
God  but  that  man  himself,  by  his  own 


sins.  Blessed  is  that  man  who  dies  un- 
der an  unjust  sentence  of  excommuni- 
cation !  Whilst,  for  righteousness'  saker 
he  suffers  a  cruel  judgment  from  men, 
he  receives  from  God  the  crown  of  ever- 
lasting happiness  !" 

Some  loudly  commended  this  bold 
language  ;  others  were  yet  more  enraged 
by  it. 

But  Luther  did  not  now  stand  alone  ; 
and  though  his  faith  needed  no  other 
support  than  that  of  God  himself,  he  had 
called  up  on  all  sides  a  power  that  pro- 
tected him  from  his  enemies.  The  voice 
of  this  man  had  been  heard  by  the  whole 
German  nation.  From  his  sermons  and 
writings  issued  beams  of  light  which 
awakened  and  illuminated  his  contem- 
poraries. The  energy  of  his  faith  rushed 
like  a  stream  of  fire  upon  the  frozen 
hearts  of  men.  The  life  which  God  had 
given  to  this  extraordinary  mind  was 
imparted  to  the  dead  body  of  the  Church. 
Christendom,  which  had  remained  mo- 
tionless for  so  many  years,  was  now 
alive  with  religious  enthusiasm.  The 
popular  attachment  to  the  superstitions 
of  Romanism  was  daily  lessening  ;  those 
who  came  with  money  in  hand  to  pur- 
chase pardon  were  every  day  fewer  ;* 
and  the  reputation  of  Luther  was  every 
dav  extended.  Men's  thoughts  were 
directed  toward  him,  and  he  was  hailed 
with  affection  and  respect,  as  the  intrepid 
defender  of  truth  and  freedom. f  Doubt- 
less all  did  not  penetrate  the  depths  of 
the  doctrines  he  proclaimed.  It  was 
enough  for  the  greater  number  to  know 
that  the  new  doctor  stood  up  against  the 
Pope  ;  and  that,  at  his  powerful  word, 
the  dominion  of  the  priests  and  monks 
was  tottering  to  its  fall.  The  attack  of 
Luther  was  to  them  like  a  beacon-fire  on 
a  mountain-top,  which  announces  to  a 
whole  people  the  moment  for  bursting 
their  bonds.  Luther  was  not  aware  of 
the  influence  he  had  obtained,  till  all  the 
generous  spirits  among  his  countrymen 
had  by  acclamation  acknowledged  him 
their  leader.  But  to  many  the  appear- 
ance of  Luther  was  much  more  than 
this.  The  word  of  God,  which  he 
handled  with  so  much  power,  penetrated 

*  Rarescebant  manus  largentium. — (Coch- 
laeus,  7.) 

t  Luthero  autem  contra  augebatur  auctoritas, 
favor,  fides,  sestimatio. 


156 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


to  the  souls  of  men  like  a  two-edged 
sword.  In  many  hearts  an  ardent  desire 
was  kindled  to  obtain  the  assurance  of 
pardon  and  everlasting  life.  Since  the 
first  ages  of  the  Church,  there  had  not 
been  witnessed  such  hungering  and 
thirsting  after  righteousness.  If  the 
preaching  of  Peter  the  Hermit  and  of 
Bernard  had  induced  multitudes,  during 
the  middle  ages,  to  assume  outwardly  the 
symbol  of  the  cross,  the  preaching  of 
Luther  influenced  the  hearts  of  men  to 
take  up  the  true  cross, — the  truth  that 
saves  the  soul.  The  superstructure,  which 
then  encumbered  the  Church,  had  smo- 
thered true  piety j  the  form  had  extin- 
guished the  spirit  The  word  of  power 
given  to  Luther  was  as  a  breath  of  life  to 
Christendom.  At  first  sight  the  writings 
of  Luther  carried  with  them  the  sym- 
pathy both* of  the  faithful  and  of  the 
unbeliever  ; — of  the  latter,  because  the 
positive  doctrines,  afterwards  to  be  es- 
tablished, were  not  yet  fully  opened  ; 
of  the  former,  because  those  doctrines 
were  in  principle  comprised  in  that  living 
faith,  which  his  writings  set  forth  with 
so  much  power.  Hence  the  influence 
of  those  writings  was  unbounded.  They 
spread  instantaneously  throughout  Ger- 
many, and  the  whole  world.  Every- 
where a  persuasion  existed  that  what 
men  now  beheld  was  not  merely  the  rise 
of  a  new  sect,  but  a  new  birth  of  the 
Church  and  of  society.  Those  who 
were  then  born  again  by  the  breath  of 
God's  Spirit  rallied  round  him  who  had 
been  instrumental  in  imparting  to  them 
spiritual  life.  Christendom  was  divided 
into  two  opposing  parties  ;  the  one  con- 
tending for  the  spirit  against  form  ;  and 
the  other  for  form  against  the  spirit.  On 
the  side  of  form  there  Avas,  it  is  true, 
every  appearance  of  strength  and  mag- 
nificence ;  on  the  side  of  the  spirit  there 
was  weakness  and  littleness.  But  form, 
void  of  the  spirit,  is  as  an  empty  body 
which  the  first  breath  may  overthrow. 
Its  resemblance  of  strength  serves  only 
to  exasperate  the  hostility  and  hasten  its 
downfall.  Thus  the  simple  word  of 
truth  had  called  forth  a  whole  host  in 
favour  of  Luther. 

It  could  not  be  otherwise,  for  the 
nobles  were  beginning  to  bestir  them- 
selves, and  the  empire  and  the  Church 
were  already  uniting  their  forces  to  rid 


themselves  of  the  troublesome  monk, 
The  Emperor  Maximilian  was  then 
holding  an  imperial  diet  at  Augsburg. 
Six  electors  had  repaired  thither  in  per- 
son at  his  summons.  All  the  Germanic 
states  had  their  representatives  in  this 
assembly.  The  kings  of  France,  of 
Hungary,  and  of  Poland,  had  sent  am- 
bassadors. All  these  princes  and  envoys 
displayed  great  magnificence.  The  war 
against  the  Turks  was  one  of  the  causes 
for  which  the  diet  was  held.  The  Sul- 
tan Selim,  after  having  poisoned  his 
father,  and  put  his  brothers  and  their 
children  to  death,  had  carried  his  vic- 
torious arms  into  Armenia,  Egypt,  and 
Syria.  Serious  apprehensions  were  en- 
tertained that  he  might  push  forward 
his  armies  into  Italy  and  Hungary.  It 
was  not  long,  however,  before  death 
closed  his  career.  But  Leo  X.  did  not, 
on  that  account,  abandon  the  project  of 
a  new  crusade.  His  legate  earnestly 
exhorted  the  Germanic  states  to  prepare 
for  war.  "  Let  the  clergy,"  said  he, 
"  pay  a  tenth,  the  laity  a  fiftieth  part  of 
their  property  ;  let  each  family  furnish 
the  pay  of  one  soldier ;  let  the  rich  give 
annual  contributions,  and  all  will  go 
well."  The  states,  bearing  in  mind 
the  bad  use  that  had  been  made  of 
former  contributions,  and  influenced  by 
the  prudent  advice  of  the  Elector  Fred- 
eric, contented  themselves  with  answer- 
ing that  they  would  consider  the  matter, 
and  at  the  same  time  brought  forward 
new  grievances  against  Rome.  A  Latin 
discourse,  published  whilst  the  Diet  was 
sitting,  boldly  pointed  out  to  the  German 
princes  the  real  danger.  "  You  wish," 
said  the  author,  "to  expel  the  Turk. 
Your  intention  is  good,  but  I  fear  you 
are  mistaken  as  to  his  person.  You 
must  look  for  him  in  Italy,  and  not  in 
Asia.  Each  of  our  princes  has  power 
sufficient  to  defend  his  country  against 
the  Turk  of  Asia  ;  but  as  to  the  Turk 
of  Rome,  the  whole  of  Christendom  is 
not  sufficient  to  conquer  him.  The 
former  has  not  yet  done  us  any  harm, 
the  latter  walketh  about  everywhere 
thirsting  for  the  blood  of  the  poor."* 

Another  affair  no  less  important  was  to 
engage  the  attention  of  the  Diet.     Max- 
imilian  wished  to   have   his   grandson 
Charles,  who  was  already  King  of  Spain 
*  Schrock,  K.  Gesch.  n.  d.  R.  I.  p.  156. 


LUTHER  BEFORE  THE  LEGATE. 


157 


and  Naples,  proclaimed  King  of  the  Ro- 
mans, and  his  successor  in  the  Imperial 
dignity.  The  Pope  understood  his  own 
interest  too  well  to  wish  to  see  the 
throne  of  the  Empire  filled  by  a  prince 
whose  power  in  Italy  might  make  him 
so  formidable  to  himself.  The  Emperor 
imagined  that  he  had  gained  over  to  his 
side  the  majority  of  the  Electors  and 
of  the  states ;  but  he  met  with  a  deci- 
ded opposition  from  Frederic.  It  was 
in  vain  that  he  solicited  him ;  in  vain 
did  the  ministers  and  best  friends  of  the 
Elector  join  their  entreaties  to  the  solici- 
tations of  the  Emperor ;  the  Prince  -was 
inexorable,  and  showed,  as  has  been  ob- 
served, that  he  had  firmness  of  mind  not 
to  depart  from  a  resolution  of  which  he 
had  seen  the  propriety.  The  Emperor's 
design  failed. 

From  that  time  Maximilian  sought 
to  insinuate  himself  into  the  good  graces 
of  the  Pope,  in  order  to  win  his  as- 
sent to  his  favourite  plan.  Wishing  to 
give  him  a  particular  proof  of  his  attach- 
ment, he  wrote  to  him  (on  the  5th  of 
August)  the  following  letter :  "  Most 
holy  Father,  we  were  informed  some 
days  since,  that  a  brother  of  the  Augus- 
tine order,  named  Martin  Luther,  had 
taken  upon  himself  to  maintain  certain 
propositions  relative  to  the  sale  of  indul- 
gences. What  gives  us  the  more  con- 
cern is,  that  the  aforesaid  brother  meets 
with  many  protectors,  amongst  whom  are 
some  of  exalted  rank.*  If  your  Holiness, 
and  the  most  reverend  Fathers  of  the 
Church  (the  Cardinals),  do  not  promptly 
exert  your  authority  to  put  an  end  to  these 
scandalous  proceedings,  these  mischie- 
vous teachers  will  not  only  seduce  the  com- 
mon people,  but  will  involve  great  princes 
in  their  destruction.  We  will  be  careful 
to  enforce  throughout  our  Empire,  what- 
ever your  Holiness  shall  decree  on  this 
subject,  to  the  glory  of  Almighty  God." 

This  letter  must  have  been  written  in 
consequence  of  s6me  rather  warm  dis- 
cussion that  Maximilian  had  had  with 
Frederic.  The  same  day  the  Elector 
wrote  to  Raphael  de  Rovera.  He  was 
doubtless  apprised  that  the  Emperor  was 
addressing  the  Roman  Pontiff,  and,  in 
order  to  parry  the  blow,  he  himself 
opened  a  communication  with  Rome. 

*  Defensores  et  patronos  etiam  potentes  quos 
dictus  frater  consecutest. — (Raynaldad  an.  1518.) 


"  It  will  ever  be  my  desire,"  said  he, 
"  to  prove  my  submission  to  the  univer- 
sal Church. 

"Therefore  have  I  never  defended  the 
writings  and  discourses  of  Doctor  Martin 
Luther.  I  hear,  however,  that  he  has 
uniformly  expressed  his  willingness  to 
appear,  under  a  safe-conduct,  before 
learned,  christian,  and  impartial  judges, 
to  defend  his  doctrine,  and  to  submit  to 
their  descision,  if  they  should  be  able 
by  the  Scriptures  to  convince  him  of 
error."* 

Leo  X.,  who,  until  this  hour,  had  al- 
lowed the  matter  to  take  its  course, 
roused  at  length  by  the  outcry  of  theolo- 
gians and  monks,  now  appointed  an  ec- 
clesiastical court  in  Rome,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  judging  Luther,  and  in  which 
the  Reformer's  great  enemy,  Sylvester 
Prierias,  was  at  once  accuser  and  judge. 
The  preliminaries  were  soon  arranged, 
and  the  court  summoned  Luther  to 
appear  before  it  in  person  within  sixty 
days. 

Luther  was  at  Wittemberg,  quietly 
awaiting  the  good  effects  which  he  ima- 
gined his  submissive  letter  to  the  Pope 
was  calculated  to  produce,  when,  on 
the  7th  August,  two  days  only  after  the 
letters  from  Frederic  and  Maximilian 
had  been  despatched  to  Rome,  he  re- 
ceived the  summons  from  the  papal  tri- 
bunal. "  At  the  moment  that  I  looked 
for  benediction,"  said  he,  "  I  saw  the 
thunderbolt  descend  upon  me.  I  was 
like  the  lamb  that  troubled  the  stream 
at  which  the  wolf  was  drinking.  Tetzel 
escaped,  and  I  was  devoured." 

This  summons  threw  all  Wittemberg 
into  consternation,  for,  whatever  course 
Luther  might  take,  he  could  not  escape 
danger.  If  he  went  to  Rome  he  would 
become  the  victim  of  his  enemies.  If 
he  refused  to  appear,  he  would,  as  usual, 
be  condemned  for  contumacy,  and  would 
not  escape,  for  it  was  known  that  the 
Legate  had  received  from  the  Pope  an 
order  to  strain  every  nerve  to  excite  the 
Emperor  and  the  German  princes  against 
Luther.  His  friends  were  alarmed. 
Shall  the  preacher  of  the  truth  go  and 
risk  his  life  "  in  that  great  city,  drunk 
with  the  blood  of  the  saints  and  of  the 
martyrs  of  Jesus?"  Shall  every  man 
who  ventures  to  lift  his  head  in  the 
*  L.  Opp.  lat.  xvii.  p.  169. 


158 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


midst  of  the  enslaved  nations  of  Chris- 
tendom be,  on  that  account,  struck 
down  ?  Shall  this  man  be  trampled  un- 
der foot,  who  seemed  formed  to  resist  a 
power  which  nothing  had  previously 
been  able  to  withstand  1  Luther  him- 
self could  see  no  one  but  the  Elector 
able  to  save  him ;  but  he  preferred  death 
to  endangering  his  prince's  safety.  His 
friends  at  last  agreed  on  an  expedient 
which  would  not  compromise  Frederic. 
Let  him  refuse  Luther  a  safe-conduct : 
the  latter  would  then  have  a  fair  excuse 
for  not  appearing  at  Rome. 

On  the  8th  of  August,  Luther  wrote 
to  Spalatin,  to  ask  him  to  use  his  influ- 
ence with  the  Elector,  to  have  his  cause 
heard  in  Germany.  "  See,"  said  he, 
writing  to  Staupitz,  "  what  snares  they 
lay  for  me,  and  how  I  am  surrounded 
by  thorns.  But  Christ  lives  and  reigns, 
the  same,  yesterday,  to-day,  and  for  ever. 
My  conscience  tells  me  that  I  have 
taught  the  truth,  though  truth  appears 
still  more  odious  because  I  teach  it.  The 
Church  is  the  womb  of  Rebecca.  The 
children  must  struggle  together,  even 
to  the  endangering-  of  the  mother's 
life.*  As  to  the  rest,  pray  to  the  Lord 
that  I  may  not  take  too  much  joy  in  the 
trial.  May  God  not  lay  this  sin  to  their 
charge  !" 

The  friends  of  Luther  did  not  confine 
themselves  to  consultations  and  com- 
plaints. Spalatin  wrote,  on  the  part  of 
the  Elector,  to  Renner,  the  Emperor's 
secretary :  "  Doctor  Martin  will  will- 
ingly submit  himself  to  the  judgment 
of  any  of  the  universities  of  Germany, 
except  Erfurth,  Lepizic,  and  Frankfort 
on  the  Oder,  which  have  forfeited  their 
claim  to  be  regarded  as  impartial.  It  is 
out  of  his  power  to  appear  at  Rome  in 
person."! 

The  members  of  the  university  of  Wit- 
temberg  addressed  an  intercessory  letter 
to  the  Pope  himself.  "  His  weak  health," 
they  said,  speaking  of  Luther,  "  and  the 
dangers  of  the  journey,  make  it  difficult, 
and  even  impossible,  that  he  should  obey 
the  order  of  your  Holiness.  His  distress 
and  his  entreaties  incline  us  to  compas- 
sionate  him.     We   beseech    you   then, 

*  Uterus  Rebecca  est :  parvulos  in  eo  collidi 

necesse  est,  etiam  usque  ad  periculum  matris 

(L.  Epp.  i.  p.  138.; 

t  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  p.  173. 


most  Holy  Father,  as  obedient  children, 
to  look  upon  him  in  the  light  of  one 
who  has  never  been  tainted  by  any 
doctrines  opposed  to  the  tenets  of  the 
Romish  Church." 

The  university,  in  its  solicitude,  ad- 
dressed another  letter  the  same  day  to 
Charles  von  Miltitz,  a  Saxon  gentleman, 
who  was  chamberlain  to  the  Pope,  and 
was  much  esteemed  by  him.  In  this 
letter  they  gave  a  more  decided  testi- 
mony in  favour  of  Luther,  than  they 
had  dared  to  do  in  the  former.  "  The 
reverend  father,  Martin  Luther,  the  Au- 
gustine," said  they,  "  is  the  noblest  and 
most  distinguished  member  of  our  uni- 
versity. For  several  years,  we  have 
been  witnesses  of  his  talent,  his  learn- 
ing, his  intimate  acquaintance  with  arts 
and  literature,  his  irreproachable  morals, 
and  his  truly  christian  deportment."* — 
This  strong  sympathy  of  those  about 
him  is  one  of  the  greatest  proofs  of  Lu- 
ther's worth. 

Whilst  the  result  of  this  application 
was  anxiously  awaited  it  was  settled  with 
less  difficulty  than  might  have  been  ex- 
pected. The  Legate  de  Vio,  mortified 
at  his  failure  in  the  commission  he  had 
received  to  excite  a  general  Avar  against 
the  Turks,  wished  to  give  importance  to 
his  embassy  into  Germany  by  some  other 
distinguished  service.  He  thought  that 
if  he  were  to  extirpate  heresy  he  should 
return  to  Rome  with  honour.  He  there- 
fore petitioned  the  Pope  to  put  this  affair 
into  his  hands.  Leo,  on  his  part,  was 
well  disposed  towards  Frederic,  for  hav- 
ing so  firmly  resisted  the  election  of 
Charles.  He  felt  that  he  might  again 
have  need  of  his  assistance.  Without 
further  reference  to  the  former  summons, 
he  commissioned  his  Legate,  by  a  brief, 
dated  the  23d  of  August,  to  investigate  the 
affair  in  Germany.  The  Pope  conceded 
nothing  by  consenting  to  this  mode  of 
proceeding,  and  in  case  Luther  should 
be  prevailed  on  to  retract,  the  publicity 
and  scandal  that  must  have  attended  his 
appearance  at  Rome  would  be  avoided. 

"  We  charge  you,"  said  the  Pope,  "  to 
compel  the  aforesaid  Luther  to  appear 
before  you  in  person  ;  to  prosecute  and 
reduce  him  to  submission  without  delay, 
as  soon  as  you  shall  have  received  this 

*  L.  Opp.  (lat.)  i.  183,  184.  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xviL 
171,  172. 


LUTHER  BEFORE   THE   LEGATE. 


159 


our  order  ;  he. '  having  already  been  de- 
clared a  heretic  by  our  dear  brother  Je- 
rome, bishop  of  Asculan."* 

"  For  this  purpose,"  said  he,  "  invoke 
the  power  and  assistance  of  our  very 
dear  son  in  Christ,  Maximilian,  and  the 
other  princes  of  Germany,  and  of  all 
the  communities,  universities,  and  poten- 
tates, whether  ecclesiastical  or  secular. 
And  when  you  have  secured  his  per- 
son, cause  him  to  be  detained  in  safe 
custody,  that  he  may  be  brought  before 
us."f 

We  see  that  this  indulgent  concession 
of  the  Pope,  was  little  else  than  an  ex- 
pedient for  dragging  Luther  to  Rome. 
Then  follows  the  milder  alternative. 

"  If  he  should  return  to  a  sense  of  his 
duty,  and  ask  pardon  for  so  great  an 
offence,  freely  and  of  his  own  accord,  we 
give  you  power  to  receive  him  mto  the 
unity  of  holy  mother  Church." 

The  Pope  soon  returns  to  his  male- 
dictions. 

"If  he  should  persist  in  his  stubborn- 
ness, and  you  fail  to  get  possession  of 
his  person,  we  give  you  power  to  pro- 
scribe him  in  all  places  in  Germany  ;  to 
put  away,  curse,  and  excommunicate  all 
those  who  are  attached  to  him,  and  to 
enjoin  all  Christians  to  shun  their  society." 
Even  this  is  not  enough. 
"  And  to  the  end,"  he  continues,  "  that 
this  pestilence  may  the  more  easily  be 
rooted  out,  you  will  excommunicate  all 
the  prelates,  religious  orders,  universities, 
communities,  counts,  dukes,  and  poten- 
tates, the  Emperor  Maximilian  excepted, 
who  shall  neglect  to  seize  the  said  Mar- 
tin Luther,  and  his  adherents,  and  send 
them  to  you  under  proper  and  safe 
custody.  And  if  (which  God  forbid) 
the  aforesaid  princes,  communities,  uni- 
versities, and  potentates,  or  any  who  be- 
long to  them,  shelter  the  said  Martin  and 
his  adherents,  or  give  them  publicly  or 
secretly,  directly  or  indirectly,  assistance 
and  advice,  we  lay  an  interdict  on  these 
princes,  communities,  universities,  and 
potentates,  with  their  towns,  boroughs, 
countries,  and  villages,  as  well  as  on  the 

*  Dictum  Lutheram  hsereticum  per  praedictum 
auditorem  jani  declaratum. — (Breve  Leonis  ad 
Thomam.) 

t  Brachio  cogas  atque  compellas,  et  eo  in  po- 
testate  tua  redacto  eum  sub  fideli  custodia  reti- 
neas,  ut  coram  nobis  sistatur. — (Breve  Leonis  ad 
Thomam.) 


towns,  boroughs,  countries,  and  villages, 
where  the  said  Martin  shall  take  refuge, 
as  long  as  he  shall  remain  there,  and 
three  days  after  he  shall  have  quitted  the 
same." 

This  audacious  power,  which  affects 
to  be  the  earthly  representative  of  him 
who  said :  "  God  sent  not  his  Son  into 
the  world  to  condemn  the  world,  but  that 
the  world  through  him  might  be  saved," 
— continues  its  anathemas;  and,  after 
having  pronounced  penalties  against  ec- 
clesiastics offending,  thus  proceeds  : 

"  As  to  the  laity,  if  they  do  not  obey 
your  orders,  without  any  delay  or  demur, 
we  declare  them  reprobate,  (excepting 
always  his  Imperial  Majesty,)  unable  to 
perform  any  lawful  act,  disentitled  to 
christian  burial,  and  deprived  of  all  fiefs 
which  they  may  hold  either  from  the 
apostolic  see,  or  from  any  lord  what- 
ever."* 

Such  was  the  treatment  that  awaited 
Luther.  The  Roman  despot  had  pre- 
pared every  thing  to  crush  him.  He  had 
set  every  engine  at  work  ;  even  the 
quiet  of  the  grave  must  be  invaded. 
His  ruin  seemed  inevitable.  How  could 
he  escape  this  powerful  combination  ? 
But  Rome  had  miscalculated  ;  the  move- 
ment excited  by  the  Spirit  of  God  could 
not  be  quelled  by  the  decrees  of  its 
chancery. 

Even  the  semblance  of  a  just  and 
impartial  inquiry  had  been  disregarded  ; 
and  Luther  had  already  been  declared 
an  heretic,  not  only  before  he  had  been 
heard,  but  even  long  before  the  expira- 
tion of  the  time  allowed  for  his  personally 
appearing.  The  passions  (and  never 
are  they  more  strongly  excited  than  in 
religious  discussions)  break  through  all 
forms  of  justice.  Not  only  in  the  Roman 
church,  but  in  those  Protestant  churches 
which  have  departed  from  the  Gospel, 
and  in  every  place  where  truth  has  been 
forsaken,  do  we  find  it  treated  in  this 
way.  All  means  seem  good  against  the 
Gospel.  We  frequently  see  men,  Vho, 
in  any  other  case,  would  shrink  from 
committing  the  least  injustice,  not  hesi- 
tating to  trample  under  foot  all  rule  and 
equity,  when  Christianity,  or  her  wit- 
nesses, are  concerned. 

*  Infamire  et  inhabilitatis  ad  omnes  actus  le- 
gitimes, ecclesiastics  sepulturse,  privationis  quo- 
que  feudorum. — (Breve  Leonis  ad  Thomam.) 


160 


HISTORY  OP  THE  REFORMATION. 


When  Luther  eventually  came  to  the 
knowledge  of  this  brief,  he  gave  free  ex- 
pression to  his  indignation.  "  The  most 
remarkable  part  of  the  transaction  is 
this,"  said  he  ;  "  the  brief  was  issued  the 
23rd  of  August  ;  I  was  summoned  the 
7th  of  August ;  so  that  between  the 
summons  and  the  brief,  sixteen  days  had 
elapsed.  Now,  make  the  calculation, 
and  you  will  find  that  my  Lord  Jerome, 
bishop  of  Asculan,  proceeded  against  me, 
pronounced  judgment,  condemned  me, 
and  declared  me  a  heretic,  before  the 
summons  reached  me,  or,  at  the  most, 
within  sixteen  days  after  it  had  been 
forwarded  to  me.  Now,  I  ask  what 
becomes  of  the  sixty  days  that  are 
granted  me  in  the  summons  itself.  They 
began  the  7th  of  August — they  would 
expire  the  7th  of  October.  .  .  Is  this 
the  style  and  manner  of  the  Roman 
Court,  that  in  the  same  day  she  sum- 
mons, exhorts,  accuses,  judges,  condemns, 
and  declares  guilty,  and  this,  too,  in  the 
case  of  one  who  is  at  such  a  distance 
from  Rome,  and  who  can  have  no  knowl- 
edge of  what  is  going  on  1  What 
answer  can  they  make  to  all  this? 
They  certainly  forgot  to  clear  their  brains 
with  hellebore,  before  they  had  recourse 
to  such  clumsy  artifice."* 

But  at  the  same  time  that  Rome  was 
arming  the  legate  with  her  thunders, 
she  was  endeavouring,  by  soft  and  flat- 
tering speeches,  to  detach  from  Luther's 
interest  the  prince  whose  power  she 
most  dreaded.  ■  The  same  day,  {the  23rd 
of  August,  1518,)  the  Pope  wrote  to  the 
Elector  of  Saxony.  He  had  recourse  to 
the  same  practised  policy  which  we  have 
before  noticed,  and  sought  to  natter  the 
Prince's  vanity. 

u  Dear  Son,"  said  the  Roman  Pontiff, 
"when  we  think  of  your  noble  and 
worthy  family ;  of  you,  who  are  its 
ornament  and  head ;  when  we  remem- 
ber how  you  and  your  ancestors  have 
always  wished  to  uphold  the  Christian 
faith  and  the  honour  and  dignity  of  the 
Holy  See,  we  cannot  believe  that  a  man 
who  abandons  the  faith  can  rely  on  your 
Highness's  favour,  and  recklessly  give 
the  rein  to  his  wickedness.  And  yet 
reports  have  reached  us  from  all  quarters, 
that  a  certain  brother  Martin  Luther,  a 
monk  of  the  order  of  St.  Aug-ustine, 
*  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  p.  1 76. 


acting  the  part  of  a  child  of  iniquity 
and  a  despiser  of  God,  has  forgotten  his 
habit  and  his  order,  which  require  hu- 
mility and  obedience,  and  boasts  that  he 
fears  neither  the  authority  nor  the  chas- 
tisement of  any  man,  assured,  as  he 
declares  himself,  of  your  favour  and  pro- 
tection. 

"But,  as  we  are  sure  that  he  is,  in 
this,  deceiving  himself,  we  have  thought 
it  good  to  write  to  your  Highness,  and 
to  exhort  you,  according  to  the  will  of 
God,  to  be  jealous  of  your  honour  as  a 
Christian  prince,  the  ornament,  the  glory, 
and  the  sweet  savour  of  your  noble 
family, — to  defend  yourself  from  these 
calumnies, — and  to  clear  yourself,  not 
only  from  the  commission  of  so  great  a 
crime  as  that  which  is  imputed  to  you, 
but  also  from  the  very  suspicion  which 
the  rash  presumption  of  this  monk  tends 
to  bring  upon  you." 

Leo,  at  the  same  time,  intimated  to 
Frederic  that  he  had  commissioned  the 
Cardinal  of  St.  Sixtus  to  examine  into 
the  affair,  and  he  desired  him  to  deliver 
up  Luther  into  the  hands  of  the  Legate, 
"  lest,"  added  he,  recurring  to  his  favour- 
ite argument,  "  pious  people  of  this  or 
after  times  should  one  day  lament  and 
say :  The  most  dangerous  heresy  that 
ever  afflicted  the  Church  of  God,  arose 
through  the  assistance,  and  under  the 
protection,  of  that  noble  and  worthy 
family."* 

Thus  Rome  had  taken  her  measures. 
To  one  party  she  offered  the  intoxicating 
incense  of  flattery ;  for  the  other  she  re- 
served her  vengeance  and  her  terrors. 

All  earthly  powers, — emperor,  pope, 
princes,  and  legates, — were  put  in  motion 
against  the  humble  friar  of  Erfurth, 
whose  inward  conflicts  we  have  already 
traced.  "  The  kings  of  the  earth  stood 
up  and  the  rulers  took  counsel  against 
the  Lord,  and  against  his  anointed." 

Before  this  letter  and  brief  had  yet 
reached  Germany,  and  while  Luther  was 
still  fearing  that  he  should  be  obliged 
to  appear  at  Rome,  a  fortunate  circum- 
stance occurred  to  comfort  his  heart. 
He  needed  a  friend  into  whose  bosom 
he  could  pour  out  his  sorrows,  and  whose 
faithful  love  should  comfort  him  in  his 
hours  of  dejection.  God  sent  him  such 
a  friend  in  Melancthon. 

*  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  p.  173. 


LUTHER   BEFORE   THE   LEGATE. 


161 


George  Schwarzerd  was  a  skilful 
master-armourer  of  Bretten,  a  small 
town  in  the  Palatinate.  On  the  14th 
of  February,  1497,  a  son  was  born  to 
him,  whom  he  named  Philip,  and  who, 
afterwards,  became  celebrated  under  the 
name  of  Melancthon.  George,  who  en- 
joyed the  esteem  of  the  princes  of  the 
Palatinate  of  Bavaria,  and  of  Saxony, 
was  remarkable  for  the  perfect  upright- 
ness of  his  dealings.  Often  did  he  refuse 
to  take  from  purchasers  the  price  they 
offered  ;  and,  if  he  knew  that  they  were 
poor,  he  obliged  them  to  take  back  their 
money. '  He  regularly  rose  at  midnight, 
and  offered  a  prayer  upon  his  knees.  If 
he  ever  happened  to  omit  this  service, 
he  was  dissatisfied  with  himself  all  day. 
Schwarzerd's  wife,  whose  name  was 
Barbara,  was  the  daughter  of  a  respect- 
able magistrate,  John  Reuter.  She  was 
of  an  affectionate  disposition,  somewhat 
inclined  to  superstition,  but  very  discreet 
and  prudent.  Some  old  and  well  known 
German  rhymes  are  ascribed  to  her  pen. 
We  give  their  sense  as  well  as  we  are 
able : 

Gifts  to  the  poor  impoverish  none, 
To  church  to  pray  will  hinder  none, 
To  grease  the  wheel  delayeth  none, 
Ill-gotten  wealth  enricheth  none, 
God's  holy  book  deludeth  none. 

Also  the  following : 

He  who  is  a  freer  spender 

Than  his  plough  or  toil  can  render, 

Sure  of  ruin,  slow  or  fast, 

May  perhaps  be  hanged  at  last.* 

Philip  was  not  eleven  years  old  when 
his  father  died.  Two  days  before  his 
death,  George  summoned  his  son  to  his 
bedside,  and  exhorted  him  to  "  set  the 
Lord  always  before  him."  "  I  foresee," 
said  the  dying  man,  "  that  stormy  times 
are  at  hand.  I  have  witnessed  great 
things  ;  but  there  are  greater  still  in  prep- 
aration. God  preserve,  and  guide  you, 
my  son!"  After  receiving  his  father's 
blessing,  Philip  was  sent  to  Spire,  that 
he  might  not  be  present  at  his  father's 
death.  He  wept  bitterly  on  taking  his 
departure, 

Reuter,  the  worthy  bailiff,  Philip's 
grandfather,  who  had  a  young  son  of  his 
own,  performed  a  father's  part  towards 
the  orphan.     He  took  both  Philip  and 

*  Ahnosen  geben  armt  nicht,  &c.  Wer  mehr 
will  verzehren,  etc. — (Miiller's  Reliquien.) 

21 


his  brother  George  into  his  own  house, 
and  shortly  after,  engaged  John  Hun- 
garus  as  tutor  to  the  three  boys.  Hun- 
garus  was  an  excellent  man,  and  after- 
wards preached  the  Gospel  with  great 
effect,  continuing  his  labours  to  an  advan- 
ced age.  He  never  overlooked  any  fault 
in  the  young  man,  but  punished  it  with 
discretion  :  "  It  was  thus,"  said  Melanc- 
thon, in  1554,  "  that  he  made  me  a 
grammarian.  He  loved  me  as  if  I  had 
been  his  son  ;  I  loved  him  as  a  father  ; 
and  I  trust  that  we  shall  meet  in 
heaven."* 

Philip  was  remarkable  for  the  excel- 
lence of  his  understanding,  his  quickness 
in  acquiring,  and  his  talent  for  commu- 
nicating knowledge.  He  could  never 
be  idle,  but  was  always  seeking  for  some 
one  with  whom  he  might  discuss  the 
things  he  had  heard,  f  It  often  hap- 
pened, that  learned  foreigners  passed 
through  Bretten,  and  visited  Reuter. 
On  such  occasions,  the  bailiff's  grand- 
son immediately  accosted  them,  engaged 
them  in  conversation,  and  pressed  them" 
so  closely  on  the  subjects  discussed,  that 
by-standers  were  astonished. 

To  a  powerful  genius  he  united  great 
sweetness  of  disposition,  and  thus  gained 
the  favour  of  all  who  knew  him.  He 
had  an  impediment  in  his  speech  ;  but, 
following  the  example  of  the  illustrious 
Grecian  orator,  he  laboured  with  so 
much  perseverance  to  overcome  this  de- 
fect, that  in  after  life  no  traces  of  it  were 
perceptible. 

On  the  death  of  his  grandfather,  young 
Philip  was  sent  with  his  brother  and  his 
uncle  John  to  the  school  of  Pforzheim. 
The  young  boys  lodged  with  one  of 
their  female  relations,  who  was  sister  to 
the  celebrated  Reuchlin.  Thirsting  for 
knowledge,  Philip,  under  the  tuition  of 
George  Simler,  made  rapid  progress  in 
learning,  and  especially  in  the  Greek 
language,  to  which  he  was  passionately 
devoted.  Reuchlin  often  visited  Pforz- 
heim. At  his  sister's  house  he  became 
acquainted  with  her  young  inmates,  and 
was  very  much  struck  with  Philip's  an- 

*  Dilcxit  me  ut  filium,  et  ego  eum  ut  patrem ; 
et  conveniemus,  spero,  in  vita  sterna. — (Me- 
laucth.  Expl.  Evang.) 

t  Quiescere  non  poterat,  sed  qusrebat  ubique 
aliquem  cum  quo  de  auditis  disputaret. — (Came- 
rarius,  Vita  Melancth.  p.  7.) 


162 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


swers.  He  presented  him  with  a  Greek 
grammar  and  a  Bible.  These  two 
books  were  destined  to  be  the  study  of 
his  whole  life. 

When  Reuchlin  returned  from  his 
second  journey  into  Italy,  his  young  re- 
lation, who  was  then  twelve  years  old, 
celebrated  the  day  of  his  arrival  by  acting 
in  his  presence,  with  some  friends,  a 
,  Latin  comedy  of  his  own  composing. 
Reuchlin,  delighted  with  the  young 
man's  talent,  tenderly  embraced  him, 
called  him  his  beloved  son,  and,  smi- 
ling, placed  upon  his  head  the  red  hat 
he  had  received  when  he  was  made  doc- 
tor. It  was  at  this  time  that  Reuchlin 
changed  his  name  of  Schwarzerd  for  that 
of  Melancthon.  Both  words  signify 
black  earth,  the  one  in  the  German,  the 
other  in  Greek.  Most  of  the  learned 
men  of  those  times  translated  their  names 
into  Greek  or  Latin. 

At  twelve  years  of  age  Melancthon 
went  to  the  university  of  Heidelberg. 
It  was  there  he  began  to  slake  his  thirst 
for  knowledge.  At  fourteen  he  was 
made  bachelor.  In  1512  Reuchlin  in- 
vited him  to  Tubingen,  where  many 
eminent  scholars  were  assembled.  He 
attended  the  lectures  of  the  theologians, 
the  physicians,  and  the  jurisconsults. 
There  was  no  kind  of  knowledge  that 
he  deemed  unworthy  of  pursuit.  He 
sought  not  for  fame,  but  for  the  possession 
and  advantage  of  learning-. 

Holy  Scripture  especially  engaged  his 
attention.  Those  who  frequented  the 
church  of  Tubingen  had  remarked  that 
he  had  frequently  a  book  in  his  hand, 
which  he  read  between  the  services. 
The  mysterious  volume  seemed  larger 
than  the  ordinary  mass  books :  and  a  re- 
port was  circulated  that  Philip  on  such 
occasions  read  some  profane  author. 
But  it  turned  out  that  the  suspected 
book  was  a  copy  of  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
recently  printed  at  Bale  by  John  Frobe- 
nius.  He  continued  to  use  this  book  all 
hjs  life,  with  the  most  diligent  attention. 
He  always  carried  about  him  this  pre- 
cious volume,  taking  it  with  him  to  the 
various  public  assemblies  which  he  was 
called  on  to  attend.*  Rejecting  the  vain 
systems  of  the  schoolmen,  he  adhered  to 
the  plain  word  of  God,  Erasmus,  wri- 
ting at  that  time  to  CEcolampadius,  thus 
*  Camerar.  Vita  Philip.  Melancthonis,  p.  16. 


expresses  himself:  "I  have  the  highest 
opinion  and  the  most  brilliant  expecta- 
tions of  Melancthon.  May  our  Lord  so 
order  events,  that  he  may  long  survive 
us !  He  will  altogether  eclipse  Eras- 
mus."* 

Nevertheless,  Melancthon  then  par- 
took of  the  errors  of  his  time.  "  I  shud- 
der,"— said  he,  at  an  advanced  period  of 
his  life,  "  when  I  think  of  the  supersti- 
tious respect  I  paid  to  images,  while  I 
was  yet  a  Papist."! 

In  1514,  he  was  made  Doctor  of  Phi- 
losophy, and  began  to  lecture  publicly. 
He  was  then  seventeen.  The  grace 
and  charm  which  he(  communicated  to 
his  instructions  formed  a  striking  con- 
trast to  the  tasteless  method  then  fol- 
lowed by  the  doctors,  and  especially  by 
the  monks.  He  took  an  active  part  in 
the  contest  in  which  Reuchlin  was  en- 
gaged with  the  ignoramuses  of  his  time. 
Agreeable  in  conversation,  gentle  and 
graceful  in  manners,  and  beloved  by  all 
who  knew  him,  he  soon  acquired  great  au- 
thority and  established  reputation  among 
the  learned. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  the  Elector 
Frederic  formed  the  design  of  inviting 
some  man  of  distinguished  learning  to 
become  professor  of  the  ancient  lan- 
guages in  his  university  in  Wittem- 
berg.  He  applied  to  Reuchlin,  who  rec- 
ommended Melancthon.  Frederic  fore- 
saw the  celebrity  that  the  young  Gre- 
cian would  confer  on  an  institution  so 
dear  to  him — and  Reuchlin,  overjoyed 
at  so  favourable  an  opening  for  his 
young  friend,  wrote  to  him  in  the  words 
of  the  Lord  to  Abraham  ;  "  Get  thee 
out  from  thy  country,  and  from  thy 
kindred,  and  from  thy  father's  house,  and 
I  will  make  thy  name  great,  and  thou 
shalt  bo  a  blessing."  "  Yes,"  continued 
the  old  man,  "  I  trust  it  will  be  thus 
with  thee,  my  dear  Philip,  my  disciple 
and  my  joy."!  Melancthon  acknowl- 
edged the  voice  of  God  in  this  summons. 
All  the  university  grieved  at  his  depar- 
ture :  yet  were  there  some  who  envied 
and  hated  him.  He  bade  farewell  t<> 
his  native  place,  exclaiming,  "  The  will 

"*  Erasmi  Epist.  i.  p.  405 

t  Horresco  quando  cogito  qnomodo  ipse  acces- 
serim  ad  statuas  in  papatu. — (Explicat.  Jyrang.) 

t  Meum  opus  et  meum  duatiam. — (Corp.  Ret", 
i.  33.) 


LUTHER  BEFORE    THE   LEGATE. 


163 


of  the  Lord  be  done !"  He  was  then  one- 
and-twenty. 

Melancthon  performed  the  journey  on 
horseback  in  company  with  some  Saxon 
merchants,  as  in  the  desert  the  traveller 
joins  a  caravan  :  for,  as  Reuchlin  says, 
"  he  knew  neither  the  roads  nor  the 
towns  they  had  to  pass  through."*  At 
Augsburg  he  waited  on  the  Elector,  who 
was  stopping  there.  At  Nuremberg  he 
made  acquaintance  with  the  excellent 
Pirckheimer,  and  at  Leipzig  with  the 
learned  Grecian  Mosellanus.  The  uni- 
versity of  this  latter  city  gave  a  feast  in 
his  honour.  The  repast  was  truly  aca- 
demical. A  variety  of  dishes  were  intro- 
duced in  succession,  and  as  each  was 
put  upon  the  table,  one  of  the  professors 
rose  and  addressed  a  studied  Latin 
speech  to  Melancthon.  The  latter  an- 
swered impromptu.  At  last,  tired  of  so 
much  eloquence,  he  said,  "  My  learned 
friends,  suffer  me  to  answer  once  for  all 
to  your  orations  ;  for,  being  entirely  un- 
prepared, I  am  unable  to  infuse  into  my 
replies  so  much  variety  as  you  have  in- 
troduced in  your  addresses."  After  this 
the  dishes  were  brought  in  without  the 
accompanying  orations,  f 

Melancthon  arrived  at  Wittemberg  on 
the  25th  of  August,  1518,  two  days  after 
Leo  X.  had  signed  the  brief  addressed 
to  Cajetan,  and  the  letter  to  the  Elector. 

The  professors  of  Wittemberg  did  not 
receive  Melancthon  so  graciously  as 
those  of  Leipzig  had  done.  Their  first 
impression  of  him  did  not  answer  the 
expectation  they  had  formed.  They  be- 
held a  young  man,  who  looked  even 
younger  than  he  really  was,  of  small 
stature,  and  of  a  shy  and  timid  demean- 
our. Is  this  the  famous  Doctor,  thought 
they,  that  the  great  men  of  our  day,  such 
as  Erasmus  and  Reuchlin,  so  highly 
extol  1  .  .  .  .  Neither  Luther,  to  whom 
he  first  introduced  himself,  nor  Luther's 
colleagues,  conceived  any  great  hopes 
of  him,  when  they  remarked  his  youth, 
his  diffidence,  and  his  retiring  man- 
ners. 

On  the  29th  of  August,  being  four 
days  after  his  arrival,  he  delivered  his 
inaugural  discourse.  The  whole  uni- 
versity was  convened  on  the    occasion. 

*  Des  Wegs  mid  der  Orte  unbekannt. — (Ibid. 
30.) 

t  Camcr.  Vita  Mel.  26. 


The  lad,*  as  Luther  calls  him,  spoke 
such  elegant  Latin,  and  manifested  so 
much  learning,  so  cultivated  an  under- 
standing, and  such  sound  judgment,  that 
all  his  auditors  were  astonished. 

When  he  had  concluded  his  speech, 
all  crowded  around  him  to  offer  their 
congratulations  ;  but  no  one  felt  more 
delighted  than  Luther.  He  hastened  to 
communicate  to  his  friends  the  senti- 
ments of  his  heart.  "  Melancthon,"  said 
he,  writing  to  Spalatin  on  the  31st  of 
August,  "  delivered,  only  four  days  after 
his  arrival,  so  beautiful  and  learned  an 
oration  that  it  was  heard  by  all  with  ap- 
probation and  astonishment.  We  soon 
got  over  the  prejudices  we  had  conceived 
from  his  personal  appearance ;  we  now 
extol  and  admire  his  eloquence.  We 
thank  the  prince  and  yourself  for  the 
service  you  have  done  us.  I  can  wish 
for  no  better  Greek  master.  But  I  fear 
that  our  poor  fare  will  not  suit  his  deli- 
cate frame,  and  that  we  shall  not  keep 
him  long  with  us,  on  account  of  the 
smallness  of  his  allowance.  1  hear  that 
the  people  of  Leipzig  are  already  brag- 
ging that  they  will  be  able  to  carry  him 
off  from  us.  Beware,  my  dear  Spalatin. 
of  despising  this  youth.  The  young  man 
is  worthy  of  the  highest  honour."! 

Melancthon  began  at  once  to  expound 
Homer  and  St.  Paul's  Epistle  to  Titus. 
He  was  full  of  ardour.  "  I  will  use 
every  endeavour,"  he  wrote  to  Spalatin, 
"  to  win  the  favour  of  those  at  Wittem- 
berg, who  love  learning  and  virtue." 
Four  days  after  his  inauguration,  Luther 
again  wrote  to  Spalatin  : 

"  I  commend  to  your  special  regard 
that  most  learned  and  very  amiable  Gre- 
cian, Philip.  His  lecture  room  is  always 
crowded.  All  the  theologians,  especially, 
attend  his  lectures.  He  puts  them  all, 
whether  they  be  in  the  upper,  the  lower, 
or  the  middle  classes,  upon  learning 
Greek."| 

Melancthon,  on  his  part,  felt  he  could 
return  Luther's  affection.  He  soon  dis- 
cerned in  him  a  kindness  of  disposition, 
a  strength  of  mind,  a  courage,  and  a 
wisdom,  which  till  then  he  had  never 

*  Puer  et  adolescentulus,  si  astatem  consideres. 
(L.  Epp.  i.  141.) 

t  L.  Epp.  i.  135. 

X  Summos  cum  mediis  et  infimis  studiosos  facit 
graecitatis. — (L.  Epp.  i.  140.) 


164 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


found  in  any  man.  He  revered  and 
Joved  him.  "  If  there  he  any  one,"  said 
he,  "  that  I  love  and  embrace  with  my 
whole  heart,  it  is  Martin  Luther."* 

With  such  feelings  did  Luther  and 
Melancthon  meet ;  and  their  friendship 
continued  till  death.  We  cannot  suffi- 
ciently admire  the  goodness  and  wisdom 
of  God,  in  bringing  together  two  men  so 
different,  and  yet  so  necessary  to  each 
other.  Melancthon  was  as  remarkable 
for  calmness,  prudence,  and  gentleness,  as 
Luther  was  for  wisdom,  impetuosity,  and 
energy.  Luther  communicated  vigour 
to  Melancthon  : — Melancthon  moderated 
Luther.  They  were  like  positive  and 
negative  agents  in  electricity,  by  whose 
reciprocal  action  an  equilibrium  is  main- 
tained. If  Melancthon  had  not  been  at 
Luther's  side,  the  torrent  might  have 
overflowed  its  banks: — when  Luther 
was  not  by,  Melancthon  faltered,  and 
gave  way  even  where  he  ought  not.f — 
Luther  did  much  by  potter : — Melanc- 
thon did  no  less,  perhaps,  by  following  a 
slower  and  gentler  method.  Both  were 
upright,  open-hearted,  and  generous  ; 
both,  full  of"  love  for  the  word  of  eternal 
life,  proclaimed  it  with  a  fidelity  and 
devotion  which  governed  their  whole 
lives. 

Melancthon' s  appearance  wrought  a 
revolution,  not  merely  in  Wittemberg, 
but  throughout  Germany  and  the  learned 
world.  The  study  he  had  applied  to  the 
Greek  and  Latin  classics  and  philosophy 
had  given  an  order,  clearness,  and  pre- 
cision to  his  ideas  which  diffused  on  the 
subjects  he  handled  a  new  light  and  an 
indescribable  beauty.  The  sweet  spirit 
of  the  Gospel  fertililized  and  animated 
all  his  reflections;  and  in  his  lectures 
the  driest  sciences  appeared  clothed  with 
a  grace  that  charmed  all  hearers.  The 
sterility  that  the  scholastic  philosophy 
had  spread  over  instruction  was  gone,  a 
new  method  of  teaching  and  of  study  was 
introduced  by  Melancthon.  "Thanks  to 
him,"  says  a  distinguished  historian  of 
Germany,^  "  Wittemberg  became  the 
school  of  the  nation." 

*  Martinum,  si  omnino  in  rebus  humanis  quid- 
quam,  vehementissime.  diligo,  et  aninio  integerri- 
mo  complector. — (Mel.  Epp.  i.  411.) 

t  Calvin,  writing  to  Sleidan,  observes:  "  Do- 
minus  eum  fortiore  spiritu  instruat,  ne  gravem 
ex  ejus  timiditato  jacturam  sentiat  posteritas." 

\  Plank. 


The  impulse  that  Melancthon  gave  to 
Luther  in  his  work  of  translating  the 
Bible,  is  one  of  the  most  memorable  cir- 
cumstances of  the  friendship  between 
these  great  men.  As  early  as  1517, 
Luther  had  made  some  attempts  towards 
that  translation.  He  got  together  as 
many  Greek  and  Latin  books  as  he 
could  collect.  With  the  aid  of  his  dear 
Philip,  his  labour  now  proceeded  with 
fresh  energy.  Luther  obliged  Melanc- 
thon to  take  part  in  his  researches,  con- 
sulted him  in  difficult  passages ;  and  the 
work,  which  was  destined  to  be  one  of 
the  grandest  works  of  the  Reformer,  ad- 
vanced more  securely  and  rapidly  to  its 
completion. 

Doubtless,  the  arrival  of  Melancthon 
at  so  critical  a  moment,  brought  with  it 
a  sweet  relaxation  to  the  mind  of  Luther. 
Doubtless,  in  the  delightful  expansion  of 
a  new  friendship,  and  in  the  midst  of 
the  Biblical  studies  to  which  he  applied 
himself  with  fresh  zeal,  he  sometimes 
altogether  forgot  Rome,  Prierias,  Leo, 
and  that  ecclesiastical  court  before  which 
he  was  to  appear.  Yet  these  were  brief 
moments  that  soon  passed  away.  His 
thoughts  were  ever  reverting  to  the  aw- 
ful tribunal  before  which  he  was  cited 
by  the  influence  of  his  implacable  ene- 
mies. With  what  terror  would  not  the 
thought  have  filled  a  soul  desiring  aught 
but  the  triumph  of  truth '  But  Luther 
did  not  tremble  in  the  prospect  of  it :  full 
of  trust  in  the  faithfulness  and  power  of 
God,  he  remained  firm :  and  was  ready 
to  expose  himself  alone  to  the  wrath  of 
enemies  more  terrible  than  those  who 
had  brought  Huss  to  the  stake. 

A  few  days  after  the  arrival  of  Melanc- 
thon, and  before  the  decision  of  the  Pope, 
which  removed  the  citation  of  Luther 
from  Rome  to  Augsburg,  could  be  known, 
Luther  wrote  thus  to  Spalatin : — "  I  do 
not  ask  our  sovereign  to  do  the  least 
thing  in  defence  of  my  theses  ; — I  am 
willing  to  be  delivered  up,  and  cast  alone 
into  the  hands  of  all  my  adversaries. 
Let  him  suffer  the  storm  to  exhaust  all 
its  rage  on  me.  What  I  have  under- 
taken to  defend,  I  hope  I  shall,  by  Christ's 
help,  be  enabled  to  maintain.  As  to 
force,  we  must  needs  yield  to  that,  but 
without  forsaking  the  truth."* 

Luther's  courage  communicated  itself 
*  L.  Epp.  i.  p.  139. 


LUTHER   BEFORE   THE   LEGATE. 


165 


to  others.  The  gentlest  and  most  timid, 
beholding  the  danger  that  threatened  the 
witness  of  the  truth,  found  language  full 
of  energy  and  indignation.  The  prudent 
and  pacific  Staupitz  wrote  to  Spalatin  on 
the  7th  of  September  :  "  Do  not  cease  to 
exhort  the  Prince,  our  master,  not  to  be 
dismayed  by  the  roaring  of  the  lions. 

"  Let  the  Prince  make  a  stand  for  the 
truth,  without  regarding  Luther  or  Stau- 
pitz, or  the  order.  Let  there  be  at  least 
one  place  where  we  may  speak  freely 
and  fearlessly.  I  know  that  the  plague 
of  Babylon  (I  had  almost  said,  of  Rome) 
is  let  loose  against  all  who  attack  the 
corruptions  of  those  who  betray  Christ 
for  gain.  I,  myself,  have  seen  a  preacher 
of  the  truth  pulled  out  of  his  pulpit,  and, 
though  on  a  saint's  day,  bound  and  drag- 
ged to  prison.  Others  have  witnessed 
still  greater  atrocities.  Therefore,  my 
dearly  beloved,  persuade  his  Highness  to 
continue  in  his  present  sentiments."* 

The  order  for  his  appearance  at  Augs- 
burg, before  the  cardinal  legate,  at  length 
arrived.  It  was  now  with  one  of  the 
princes  of  the  Roman  Church  that  Lu- 
ther had  to  do.  All  his  friends  besought 
him  not  to  set  out.f  They  feared  that  a 
snare  might  be  laid  for  him  on  his  jour- 
ney, or  a  design  formed  against  his  life. 
Some  set  about  finding  a  place  of  con- 
cealment for  him.  Staupitz  himself,  the 
timid  Staupitz,  was  moved  at  the  thought 
of  the  danger  which  threatened  that  bro- 
ther Martin  whom  he  had  drawn  forth 
from  the  obscurity  of  the  cloister,  and 
launched  upon  the  agitated  sea  where 
his  life  was  now  in  peril.  Ah !  would 
it  not  have  been  better  for  that  poor  bro- 
ther to  have  remained  all  his  life  un- 
known? It  is  too  late  now.  Yet  he 
will  do  all  in  his  power  to  save  him. 
Accordingly  he  wrote  to  him  from  his 
convent  at  Salzburg,  on  the  I5th  Sep- 
tember, imploring  him  to  flee  and  take 
refuge  with  him.  "  It  seems  to  me," 
said  he,  "  that  the  whole  world  is  up  in 
arms,'  and  combined  against  the  truth. 
Even  so  was  the  crucified  Jesus  hated ! 
I  see  not  that  you  have  anything  else  to 
expect  than  persecution.  Ere  long,  no 
one  without  the  Pope's  permission,  will 
be  allowed  to  search  the  Scriptures,  and 

*  Jen.  Aug.  i.  p.  384. 

t  (Contra  omnium  amicorum  consilium  com- 
parui.) 


to  learn  Christ  from  them,  which  yet  is 
Christ's  injunction.  Your  friends  are 
few  in  number.  God  grant  to  those  few 
friends  courage  to  declare  themselves  in 
opposition  to  your  formidable  enemies ! 
Your  most  prudent  course  is  to  leave 
Wittemberg  for  a  time,  and  come  and 
reside  with  me.  Then — let  us  live  and 
die  together.  This  is  also  the  Prince's 
opinion,"  adds  Staupitz.* 

From  different  quarters  Luther  re- 
ceived alarming  information.  Count  Al- 
bert of  Mansfeldt  sent  him  a  message 
to  abstain  from  setting  out,  because  some 
great  nobles  had  bound  themselves  by  an 
oath,  to  seize  and  strangle,  or  drown 
him.f  But  nothing  could  shake  his 
resolution.  He  would  not  listen  to  the 
Vicar-general's  offer. — He  will  not  go 
and  hide  in  the  convent  of  Salzburg  : — 
he  will  continue  faithfully  on  that  stormy 
stage  where  the  hand  of  God  has  placed 
him.  It  is  by  perseverance  in  the  midst 
of  opposers,  by  loudly  proclaiming  the 
truth  in  the  midst  of  the  world,  that 
the  kingdom  of  the  truth  is  advanced. 
Why  then  should  he  flee  ?  He  is  not 
of  those  who  draw  back  unto  perdition, 
but  of  those  who  believe  to  the  saving 
of  their  souls.  That  word  of  the  Mas- 
ter, whom  he  is  resolved  to  serve  and 
love  continually,  resounds  in  his  heart: 
"  Whosoever  shall  confess  me  before 
men,  him  will  I  confess  before  my  Fa- 
ther which  is  in  heaven."  Everywhere, 
in  the  history  of  Luther,  and  of  the  Ref- 
ormation, do  we  find  ourselves  in  pres- 
ence of  that  intrepid  spirit,  that  elevated 
morality,  that  boundless  charity,  which 
the  first  establishment  of  Christianity  had 
exhibited  to  the  world.  "I  am  like 
Jeremiah,"  said  Luther,  at  the  moment 
we  are  speaking  of, — "  '  a  man  of  strife 
and  contention ;'  but  the  more  they  in- 
crease their  threatenings,  the  more  they 
multiply  my  joy.  My  wife  and  children 
are  well  provided  for.  My  lands  and 
houses  and  all  my  goods  are  safe4  They 
have  already  torn  to  pieces  my  honour 
and  my  good  name.  All  I  have  left  is 
my  wretched  body  ; — let  them  have  it ; 
— they  will  then  shorten  my  life  by  a 

*  Epp.  i.  61. 

t  Ut  vel  stranguler,  vel  baptizer  ad  mortem. — 
(L.  Epp.  i.  120.) 

t  Uxor  mea  et  liberi  mei  provisi  sunt. — (L. 
Epp.  i.  129.) — He  had  none. 


166 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


few  hours.  But  as  to  my  soul, — they 
shall  not  have  that.  He,  who  resolves 
to  bear  the  word  of  Christ  to  the  world, 
must  expect  death  at  every  hour ; — for 
our  spouse  is  a  bloody  husband  unto  us."* 

The  Elector  was  then  at  Augsburg. 
Shortly  before  he  left  that  city  and  the 
Diet,  he  pledged  himself  to  the  Legate, 
that  Luther  sbould  appear  before  him. 
Spalatin  wrote  to  his  friend,  by  direction 
of  the  Prince,  that  the  Pope  had  named 
a  commission  to  hear  him  in  Germany  ; 
that  the  Elector  would  not  suffer  him  to 
be  carried  to  Rome  ; — and  desired  him 
to  prepare  to  set  out  for  Augsburg.  Lu- 
ther resolved  to  obey.  The  information 
he  had  received  from  Count  Mansfeldt 
induced  him  to  ask  Frederic  for  a  safe- 
conduct.  The  latter  replied,  that  it  was 
not  needed,  and  sent  him  only  letters  of 
recommendation  to  several  of  the  most 
distinguished  counsellors  of  Augsburg. 
He,  at  the  same  time,  forwarded  some 
money  for  his  journey,  and  the  Reformer, 
poor  and  unprotected,  set  forth  on  foot,  to 
place  himself  in  the  power  of  his  adver- 
saries.! 

With  what  feelings  must  he  have  quit- 
ted Wittemberg,  and  directed  his  steps 
towards  Augsburg,  where  the  Pope's  leg- 
ate awaited  him !  The  object  of  his 
journey  was  not  like  that  to  Heidelberg, 
— a  friendly  meeting  ; — he  was  about  to 
appear,  without  any  safe-conduct,  before 
the  delegate  of  Rome ;  perhaps  he  was 
going  to  meet  death.  But  his  faith  was 
not  in  word,  it  was  in  truth.  Therefore 
it  was  that  it  gave  him  peace ;  and  he 
advanced  without  fear,  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord  of  Hosts,  to.  bear  his  testimony 
to  the  Gospel.  , 

He  reached  Weimar  on  the  28th  of 
September,  and  took  up  his  lodgings  in 
the  convent  of  the  Cordeliers.  One  of 
the  monks  could  not  take  his  eyes  off 
him.  This  was  Myconius.  It  was  the 
first  time  he  had  seen  Luther.  He  wish- 
ed to  approach  him,  and  whispered  that 
he  owed  to  him  the  peace  of  his  soul, 
and  that  all  his  desire  was  to  labour  with 
him.  But  Myconius  was  closely  Avatch- 
ed  by  his  superiors,  and  was  not  permitted 
to  speak  to  Luther.;); 

*  Sic  enim  sponsus  noster  sponsus  sanguinum 
nobis  est. — (L.  Epp.  see  Exodus,  iv.  25.) 

t  Veni  igitur  pedester  et  pauper  Augustam. 
.  .  . — (L.  Opp.  Lat.  in  prsef.) 

X  Ibi  Myconius  primum  vidit  Lutherum :  sed 


The  Elector  of  Saxony  then  held  his 
court  at  Weimar,  and  it  is  probable  that, 
on  that  account,  the  Cordeliers  received 
the  Doctor.  The  day  after  his  arrival 
was  the  festival  of  St.  Michael : — Luther 
said  mass,  and  was  even  invited  to  preach 
in  the  Castle  Chapel.  It  was  a  mark  of 
favour  that  his  Prince  took  pleasure  in 
conferring  upon  him.  He  preached  from 
an  overflowing  heart,  in  the  presence  of 
the  court,  on  the  text  of  the  day,  which 
is  in  Matthew's  Gospel,  ch.  xviii.  verses 
1  to  1 1.  He  spoke  strongly  against  hyp- 
ocrites, and  such  as  boast  of  their  own 
righteousness.  But  he  said  not  a  word 
of  the  angels,  though  it  was  the  invari- 
able custom  to  do  so  on  St.  Michael's 
day. 

The  courage  of  the  Doctor,  who  was 
repairing  quietly  on  foot  to  attend  a  sum- 
mons, which,  for  so  many  before  him, 
had  been  a  summons  to  die,  astonished 
those  who  beheld  him.  Interest,  won- 
der, and  compassion  successively  took 
possession  of  their  hearts.  John  Kest- 
ner,  provisor  of  the  Cordeliers,  struck 
with  apprehension  at  the  thought  of  the 
dangers  that  awaited  his  guest,  said : 
"  My  brother,  you  have  to  meet  Italians 
at  Augsburg.  They  are  shrewd  people, 
subtle  antagonists,  and  will  give  you 
enough  to  do.  I  fear  you  will  not  be 
able  to  defend  your  cause  against  them. 
They  will  cast  you  into  the  fire,  and  the 
flames  will  consume  you."*  Luther 
answered  gravely :  "  My  dear  friend, 
pray  to  our  Lord  God,  who  is  in  heaven, 
and  put  up  a  pater  noster  for  me  and  for 
his  dear  child  Jesus,  whose  cause  is  mine, 
— that  he  may  be  favourable  to  him.  If 
He  maintains  his  cause,  mine  is  safe  ;  but 
if  He  will  not  maintain  it,  certainly  it  is 
not  in  me  to  maintain  it;  and  it  is  He 
who  will  bear  the  dishonour." 

Luther  continued  his  journey  on  foot, 
and  arrived  at  Nuremberg.  Being  about 
to  present  himself  before  a  prince  of  the 
church,  he  wished  to  make  a  suitable 
appearance.  The  dress  he  wore  was  old, 
and  much  the  worse  for  his  journey.  He 
therefore  borrowed  a  monk's  frock  of  his 
faithful  friend  Wenceslaus  Link,  the 
preacher  at  Nuremberg. 

ab  accessu  et  colloquio  ejus  tunc  est  prohibitus. 
— (M.  Adami  Vita  Myconii,  p.  176.) 

*  Profect6  in  ignem  te  conjicient,  et  flammis 
exurent. — (Melch.  Adam.  Vita  Myconii,  p.  176, 
Ref.  Hist.  p.  30.) 


LUTHER  BEFORE   THE   LEGATE. 


167 


Doubtless  Luther  did  not  call  on  Link 
alone,  but  visited  his  other  friends  at 
Nuremberg,  and  among  them  Scheurl, 
the  town-clerk,  Albert  Durer,  the  cele- 
brated painter,  (to  whose  memory  that 
town  is  at  this  time  erecting  a  statue,) 
and  others.  He  was  confirmed  in  his 
resolution  by  his  intercourse  with  these 
excellent  ones  of  the  earth,  whilst  many- 
monks  as  well  as  laity  caught  the  alarm 
at  his  journey,  and  besought  him  to  turn 
back.  The  letters  he  wrote  from  this 
town  breathe  the  spirit  which  then  ani- 
mated him:  "I  find,"  said  he,  "men  of 
cowardly  spirit,  who  wish  to  persuade  me 
not  to  go  to  Augsburg  ;  but  I  am  deter- 
mined to  go  on.  May  the  Lord's  will 
be  done !  Even  at  Augsburg,  and  in 
the  midst  of  his  enemies,  Christ  reigns. 
Let  Christ  be  exalted,  and  the  death  of 
Luther  or  any  other  sinner,  is  of  little 
moment.  As  it  is  written,  '  May  the 
God  of  my  salvation  be  exalted  !'  Fare- 
well !  persevere,  stand  fast,  for  we  must 
be  rejected t either  by  men  or  by  God: 
but  God  is  true,  and  man  is  a  liar."* 

Link  and  Leonard,  an  Augustine 
monk,  could  not  bear  to  let  Luther  en- 
counter alone  the  dangers  that  threatened 
him.  They  knew  his  disposition,  and 
that,  overflowing  as  he  was  with  self-de- 
votion and  courage,  he  would  probably 
be  wanting  in  prudence.  They  there- 
fore accompanied  him.  When  they 
were  within  five  leagues  of  Augsburg, 
Luther,  who  was  no  doubt  suffering  from 
the  fatigue  of  his  journey,  and  the  agita- 
tion of  his  mind,  was  seized  with  violent 
pains  in  the  stomach.  He  thought  he 
should  die.  His  two  friends,  much 
alarmed,  engaged  a  waggon.  They  ar- 
rived at  Augsburg  in  the  evening  of  Fri- 
day, the  7th  of  October,  and  alighted  at 
the  convent  of  the  Augustines.  Luther 
was  much  exhausted;  but  he  rapidly-re- 
covered ;  and  doubtless  his  faith  and  the 
vivacity  of  his  mind  greatly  conduced  to 
his  restoration  to  health. 

Immediately  on  his  arrival,  and  before 
he  had  seen  any  one,  Luther,  desiring 
to  show  every  mark  of  respect  to  the  Leg- 
ate, begged  Wenceslaus  Link  to  go  to 
his  house,  to  announce  that  he  was  in 

*  Vitat  Christus ;  moriatur  Martinus  .  .  .  . 
— (Weismanni,  Hist.  Sacr.  Novi  Test.  p.  1465.) 
Weismann  had  read  this  letter  in  manuscript. 
It  is  not  in  the  collection  of  M.  de  Wette. 


Augsburg.  Link  did  so,  and  respect- 
fully intimated  to  the  Cardinal,  on  behalf 
of  the  Doctor  of  Wittemberg,  that  the 
latter  was  ready  to  appear  before  him 
whenever  he  should  require  his  attend- 
ance. De  Vio  was  rejoiced  at  this  in- 
telligence. At  length,  then,  he  had  the 
hot-headed  heretic  in  his  power ;  he  in- 
wardly resolved  that  he  should  not  leave 
Augsburg  as  he  had  entered  it.  At  the 
same  time  that  Link  waited  upon  the 
Legate,  the  monk  Leonard  went  to  an- 
nounce to  Staupitz  Luther's  arrival  at 
Augsburg.  The  Vicar-general  had  pre- 
viously written  to  the  Doctor,  to  say  he 
would  certainly  visit  him  as  soon  as  he 
arrived.  Luther  lost  no  time  in  inform- 
ing him  of  his  presence.* 

The  Diet  was  over.  The  Emperor 
and  the  Electors  had  already  left  the 
place.  The  Emperor,  it  is  true,  had  not 
finally  taken  his  departure,  but  was  hunt- 
ing in  the  environs.  The  representative 
of  Rome  alone  remained  at  Augsburg. 
Had  Luther  arrived  whilst  the  Diet  was 
sitting,  he  would  have  met  powerful 
friends  ;  but  everything  now  seemed 
likely  to  yield  before  the  papal  authority. 

The  Judge  before  whom  Luther  was 
to  appear  was  not  of  a  character  to  calm 
his  apprehensions.  Thomas  de  Vio,  who 
was  surnamed  Cajetan  from  the  Town 
of  Gaeta,  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples, 
where  he  was  born  (1469),  was  one  of 
whom  great  expectations  had  been  enter- 
tained from  his  youth.  At  sixteen  he 
had  entered  into  the  order  of  the  Domin- 
icans, contrary  to  the  express  wish  of  his 
parents.  He  had  afterwards  become 
general  of  his  order,  and  cardinal  of  the 
church  of  Rome.  But  what  boded  ill 
to  Luther,  the  learned  Doctor  was  one 
of  the  most  zealous  advocates  of  that 
scholastic  theology  which  the  Reformer 
had  so  severely  handled.  His  learning, 
the  austerity  of  his  disposition,  and  the 
purity  of  his  morals,  ensured  to  him  an 
influence  and  authority  in  Germany, 
which  other  Roman  courtiers  would  not 
easily  have  acquired.  It  was  to  his  rep- 
utation for  sanctity,  no  doubt,  that  he 
owed  his  appointment.  Rome  had  cal- 
culated that  this  would  admirably  serve 
her  purposes.  Thus  even  the  good  qual- 
ities of  Cajetan  made  him  still  more 
formidable.  Besides,  the  affair  entrusted 
*  Epp.  i.  p.  144. 


168 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION.    • 


to  him  was  by  no  means  a  complicated 
one.  Luther  was  already  declared  a 
heretic.  If  he  would  not  retract,  the 
Legate's  duty  must  be  to  send  him  to 
prison  ;  and,  if  he  escaped,  to  visit  with 
excommunication  such  as  should  dare  to 
receive  him.  This  was  the  course  which 
the  dignitary  before  whom  Luther  was 
cited  was  authorized  to  take  on  behalf 
of  Rome.* 

The  Reformer  had  recruited  his  strength 
by  a  night's  rest.  On  the  morning  of 
Saturday,  the  8th  of  October,  he  began 
to  reflect  on  his  strange  situation.  He 
was  resigned,  and  was  patiently  waiting 
till  God's  will  should  be  manifested  by 
the  progress  of  events  ;  he  did  not  wait 
long.  A  person,  unknown  to  him,  sent 
him  word,  as  if  entirely  devoted  to  his 
service,  that  he  was  coming  to  visit  him, 
advising  him  to  avoid  appearing  before 
the  Legate  till  he  had  seen  him.  The 
message  came  from  an  Italian  courtier, 
named  Urban  de  Serra  Longa,  who  had 
often  visited  Germany  as  envoy  from  the 
Margrave  of  Montserrat.  He  had  known 
the  Elector  of  Saxony,  at  whose  court  he 
had  been  accredited,  and  after  the  Mar- 
grave's death,  he  had  attached  himself  to 
the  Cardinal  de  Vio. 

The  art  and  address  of  this  courtier 
presented  the  most  striking  contrast  to 
the  noble  frankness,  and  generous  in- 
tegrity of  Luther.  The  Italian  soon 
arrived  at  the  monastery  of  the  Augus- 
tines.  The  Cardinal  had  sent  him  to 
sound  the  Reformer,  and  to  prepare  him 
for  the  recantation  expected  from  him. 
Serra  Longa  imagined  that  his  long  resi- 
dence in  Germany  gave  him  an  advan- 
tage over  the  other  courtiers  of  the  Leg- 
ate's train ;  he  expected  to  make  short 
work  with  this  German  monk.  He  ar- 
rived, attended  by  two  servants,  and  pro- 
fessed to  have  come  of  his  own  accord, 
from  friendship  for  a  favourite  of  the 
Elector  of  Saxony,  and  out  of  love  to  the 
Church.  After  having  saluted  Luther 
with  many  professions,  the  diplomatist 
added,  in  a  tone  of  affection  : 

"  I  am  come  to  offer  you  prudent  and 
good  advice.  Make  your  peace  with 
the  church.  Submit  unreservedly  to  the 
Cardinal.  Retract  your  calumnies.  Rec- 
ollect the  abbot  Joachim  of  Florence ; 

*  The  Pope's  Bull.— (L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  p. 
174.)  r 


he,  as  you  know,  had  put  forth  heresies, 
and  yet  he  was  afterwards  declared  no 
heretic,  because  he  retracted  his  errors." 

Luther  intimated  his  intention  of  stand- 
ing upon  his  defence. 

Serra  Longa. — "  Beware  of  that. 
Would  you  presume  to  enter  the  lists 
with  the  Legate  of  his  Holiness  ?" 

Luther. — "  If  they  can  prove  to  me 
that  I  have  taught  any  thing  contrary  to 
the  Romish  Church,  I  will  be  my  own 
judge,  and  immediately  retract.  But 
the  main  point  is,  to  ascertain  whether 
the  Legate  relies  more  on  the  authority 
of  St.  Thomas  than  the  faith  will  sanc- 
tion. If  he  does,  I  shall  certainly  not 
submit  to  him." 

Serra  Longa. — "  Oh,  oh  !  you  intend, 
then,  to  offer  him  battle  !" 

Upon  this  the  Italian  began  to  use 
language  which  Luther  designates  as 
horrible.  He  asserted  that  one  might 
maintain  false  propositions,  if  they  only 
brought  in  money  and  filled  the  strong 
box ;  that  all  discussion  in  the  universi- 
ties concerning  the  Pope's  authority  was 
to  be  avoided  ;  but  that,  on  the  contrary, 
it  was  sound  doctrine  that  the  Pontiff 
might,*  by  a  nod,  alter  or  suppress  arti- 
cles of  faith ;  with  much  more  in  the 
same  strain.  But  the  crafty  Italian  soon 
perceived  that  he  was  forgetting  him- 
self ;  he  resumed  his  former  gentleness, 
and  endeavoured  to  persuade  Luther  to 
submit  to  the  Legate  in  every  thing,  and 
to  retract  his  doctrine,  his  theses,  and  the 
oaths  he  had  taken. 

The  Doctor,  who  at  first  had  given 
some  credit  to  the  fair  professions  of  the 
orator  Urban,  (as  he  calls  him  in  his 
narrative,)  began  to  suspect  that  they 
were  very  hollow,  and  that  he  was  much 
more  in  the  interest  of  the  Legate  than 
in  his.  He  therefore  spoke  with  rather 
more  reserve,  and  contented  himself 
with  saying  that  he  was  quite  ready  to 
be  humble  and  obedient,  and  to  give  sat- 
isfaction in  any  point  in  which  he  might 
be  shewn  to  be  in  error.  At  these 
words  Serra  Longa  exclaimed,  exult- 
ingly :  "  I  will  go  directly  to  the  Legate, 
and  you  will  follow  me  presently.  Every 
thing  will  go  well,  and  it  will  be  soon 
settled."! 

*  Et  nutu  solo  omnia  abrogare,  etiam  ea  quae 
fidei  assent. — (L.  Epp.  i.  144.) 
t  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  p.  179. 


LUTHER  BEFORE   THE   LEGATE. 


169 


He  took  his  leave,  and  the  Saxon 
monk,  who  had  more  discernment  than 
the  Roman  courtier,  thought  within  him- 
self: "  This  crafty  Sinon  has  been  poorly 
trained  by  his  Greeks."*  Luther  was 
divided  between  hope  and  fear.  Yet 
hope  prevailed.  The  visit  of  Serra 
Longa,  whom  he  afterwards  calls  a  fool- 
ish meddler,!  and  his  strange  assertions, 
aroused  his  courage. 

The  different  counsellors,  and  other 
respectable  inhabitants  of  Augsburg,  to 
whom  the  Elector  had  recommened  Lu- 
ther, were  all  eager  to  visit  a  man  whose 
name  already  resounded  through  all  Ger- 
many. Peutinger,  the  Imperial  coun- 
sellor, one  of  the  most  distinguished  pa- 
tricians in  the  city,  and  who  often  invited 
Luther  to  his  table,  the  counsellor  Lan- 
gemantel,  Doctor  Auerbach  of  Leipzig, 
and  the  two  brothers  Adelmann,  both 
canons,  with  several  others,  repaired  to 
the  convent  of  the  Augustines.  With 
cordial  friendship  they  accosted  this  ex- 
traordinary man,  who  had  taken  a  long 
journey  to  deliver  himself  up  to  the 
agents  of  Rome.  "Have  you  a  safe-con- 
duct ?"  asked  they.  "  No,"  replied  the 
intrepid  monk.  "  What  boldness  !"  they 
exclaimed.  "  This,"  said  Luther,  u  was 
a  civil  phrase  to  express  my  fool-hardi- 
ness." All  joined  in  entreating  him  not 
to  go  to  the  Legate  without  first  obtain- 
ing a  safe-conduct  from  the  Emperor 
himself.  It  is  probable  that  something 
had  already  transpired  concerning  the 
papal  brief  of  which  the  Legate  was  the 
bearer. 

"  But  I  came  to  Augsburg  without  a 
safe-conduct,"  replied  Luther,  "  and  I  met 
with  no  harm." 

"  The  Elector,"  resumed  Langeman- 
tel,  with  affectionate  earnestness,  "com- 
mended you  to  our  care ;  you  ought 
therefore  to  follow  our  directions." 

Doctor  Auerbach  added  his  entreaties 
to  those  of  Langemantel.  "  We  know," 
said  he,  "  that  the  Cardinal  is,  in  his 
heart,  enraged  against  you  to  the  great- 
est degree.^  We  must  not  trust  tnese 
Italians."  § 

*  Hunc  Sinonem  parum  consults  instructum 
arte  pelasga. — (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  144:  see  Virgil's 
jEneid,  Book  2.) 

t  Mediator  ineptus. — (Ibid.) 

t  Sciunt  enim  eum  in  me  exacerbatissimum  in- 
tus.  quicquid  simulet  foris. . . — (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  143.) 

§  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  p.  201. 
22 


The  canon  Adelmann  spoke  to  the 
same  effect :  "  They  have  sent  you  with- 
out protection,"  said  he,  "  and  they  have 
neglected  to  provide  you  with  the  very 
thing  which  you  most  need."* 

His  friends  took  upon  themselves  to 
obtain  the  necessary  safe-conduct  from 
the  Emperor.  They  then  proceeded  to 
tell  Luther  how  many  persons  of  conse- 
quence were  favourably  disposed  toward 
him.  "  The  French  minister  himself, 
who  left  Augsburg  a  few  days  ago,  spoke 
of  you  most  honourably,  "f  This  re- 
mark struck  Luther,  and  he  remembered 
it  afterwards.  Thus  some  of  the  most 
remarkable  citizens  of  one  of  the  first 
cities  in  the  empire  were  already  gained 
over  to  the  Reformation. 

Their  conversation  had  reached  this 
point,  when  Serra  Longa  returned : — 
"  Come,"  said  he  to  Luther,  "  the  Cardi- 
nal is  waiting  for  you.  I  will  myself 
conduct  you  to  him.  But  first  let  me  tell 
you  how  you  must  appear  in  his  presence. 
When  you  enter  the  room  where  he  is 
sitting,  you  must  prostrate  yourself  with 
your  face  to  the  ground ;  when  he  tells 
you  to  rise,  you  must  kneel  before  him, 
and  you  must  not  stand  erect  till  he 
orders  you  to  do  so.J  Remember  that  it 
is  before  a  prince  of  the  church  you  are 
about  to  appear.  As  to  the  rest,  fear 
nothing ;  all  will  soon  be  settled  without 
any  difficulty."' 

Luther,  who  had  before  promised  to 
accompany  Serra  Longa  whenever  he 
should  summon  him,  was  embarrassed. 
However,  he  did  not  fail  to  repeat  the 
advice  of  his  Augsburg  friends,  and  said 
something  of  a  safe-conduct. 

"  Beware  of  asking  any  thing  of  the 
sort,"  replied  Serra  Longa  quickly,  "  you 
have  no  need  of  it  whatever.  The  Leg- 
ate is  well  disposed  towards  you,  and 
quite  ready  to  end  the  affair  amicably. 
If  you  ask  for  a  safe-conduct,  you  will 
spoil  all."§ 

"My  gracious  lord,  the  Elector  of  Sax- 
ony," replied  Luther,  "  recommended  me 
to  several  honourable  men  in  this  town. 
They  advise  me  not  to  venture  without  a 
safe-conduct :  I  ought  to  follow  their  ad- 
vice. Were  I  to  neglect  it,  and  any 
thing  should  befal  me,  they  would  write 

*  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  p.  203. 

t  Seckendorf,  p.  144.       t  Seckendorf,  p.  130. 

§  L.  Opp.  (L)  179. 


170 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


to  the  Elector,  my  master,  that  I  would 
not  hearken  to  them." 

Luther  persisted  in  his  resolution  ;  and 
Serra  Longa  Avas  obliged  to  return  to  his 
employer,  and  report  to  him  the  failure 
.  of  his  mission,  at  the  very  moment  when 
he  fancied  it  would  be  crowned  with  suc- 
cess. 

Thus  ended  that  day's  conference  with 
the  orator  of  Montserrat. ' 

Luther  received  another  invitation, 
proceeding  from  very  different  motives. 
John  Frosch,  prior  of  the  Carmelites, 
was  an  old  friend.  Two  years  before, 
he  had  maintained  some  theses,  as  a 
licentiate  in  theology,  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  Luther.  He  called  on  him, 
and  pressed  him  to  come  and  stay  with 
him.  He  laid  claim  to  the  honour  of 
having  the  Doctor  of  all  Germany  as 
his  guest.  Already  men  did  not  fear  to 
render  him  homage  in  the  face  of  Rome  : 
already  the  weak  was  become  the  strong- 
er. Luther  accepted  the  invitation,  and 
accordingly  removed  from  the  convent 
of  the  Augustines  to  that  of  the  Carme- 
lites. 

The  day  did  not  close  without  his  seri- 
ously reflecting  on  his  position.  The 
visit  of  Serra  Longa,  and  the  apprehen- 
sions of  the  counsellors,  concurred  to  con- 
vince him  of  the  difficult  circumstances 
in  which  he  stood.  Nevertheless,  he  had 
God  in  heaven  for  his  protector,  and  in 
His  keeping  he  could  sleep  in  peace. 

The  next  day  was  Sunday  ;  he  obtain- 
ed, a  little  more  rest.  However,  he  was 
obliged  to  bear  another  kind  of  fatigue. 
Nothing  was  talked  of  in  the  city  but 
Dr.  Luther,  and  all  desired  to  see  (as  he 
wrote  to  Melancthon)  "  the  new  Erostra- 
tus  who  had  kindled  so  vast  a  conflagra- 
tion." They  crowded  about  him;  and 
the  good  Doctor,  doubtless,  smiled  at  this 
strange  excitement. 

But  he  had  also  to  support  another  sort 
of  importunity.  If  there  was  a  general 
wish  to  see  him,  there  was  a  still  greater 
desire  to  hear  him.  He  was  asked  on 
all  sides  to  preach.  Luther  had  no  great- 
er joy  than  to  proclaim  the  Gospel.  He 
would  have  rejoiced  to  preach  Christ  in 
this  great  city,  and  in  the  solemn  circum- 
stances in  which  he  was  placed.  But  on 
this,  as  on  many  occasions,  he  manifested 
a  most  proper  feeling  of  decorum,  and 
much  respect-  for  his  superiors.     He  de- 


clined to  preach,  in  the  fear  that  the  Leg- 
ate might  think  he  did  so  to  vex  and  to 
brave  him.  This  moderation  and  pru- 
dence were  assuredly  as  valuable  instruc- 
tions as  a  sermon. 

However,  the  Cardinal's  agents  did 
not  let  him  rest,  but  returned  to  the 
charge.  "  The  Cardinal,"  said  they, 
"  sends  you  assurances  of  his  grace  and 
favour  :  why  are  you  afraid  ?"  And  they 
endeavoured  by  every  possible  argument 
to  persuade  him  to  wait  upon  the  Legate. 
"  He  is  so  gracious,  that  he  is  like  a 
father,"  said  one  of  "these  emissaries. 
But  another,  going  close  up  to  him, 
whispered  :  "  Do  not  believe  what  they 
say.  There  is  no  dependence  to  be 
placed  upon  his  words."*  Luther  per- 
sisted in  his  resolution. 

On  the  morning  of  Monday,  the  10th 
of  October,  Serra  Longa  again  renewed 
his  persuasions.  The  courtier  had  made 
it  a  point  of  honour  to  succeed  in  his  ne- 
gotiations.    The  moment  he  entered  : 

"  Why,"  he  asked  in  Latin,  "  why  do 
you  not  go  to  the  Cardinal  2  He  is  ex- 
pecting you  in  the  most  indulgent  frame 
of  mind.  With  him  the  whole  question 
is  summed  up  in  six  letters, — Revoca, — 
retract.  Come,  then,  with  me,  you  have 
nothing  to  fear." 

Luther  thought  within  himself  that 
those  were  six  very  important  letters ; 
but  without  further  discussion,  he  re- 
plied, 

"  As  soon  as  I  have  received  the  safe- 
conduct,  I  will  appear." 

Serra  Longa  lost  his  temper  at  these 
words.  He  persisted — he  brought  for- 
ward additional  reasons  for  compliance. 
But  Luther  was  immoveable.  The  Ital- 
ian courtier,  still  irritated,  exclaimed  : 

"  You  imagine,  no  doubt,  that  the 
Elector  will  take  up  arms  in  your  favour, 
and  risk,  for  your  sake,  the  loss  of  the 
dominions  he  inherits  from  his  ances- 
tors." 

Luther. — "  God  forbid  I" 

Serra  Longa. — u  When  all  forsake 
you,  where  will  you  take  refuge  ?" 

Luther,  smiling  and  looking  upwards 
with  the  eye  of  faith. — "  Under  heaven  !"f 

For  an  instant  Serra  Longa  was  struck 


*  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  p.  305. 
f  Et  ubi  manebis  ?  .  .  .  Respondi :  Sub  Coelo. 
— (L.  Opp.  in  praef.) 


LUTHER  BEFORE  THE  LEGATE. 


171 


dumb  by  this  sublime  and  unexpected 
reply ; — he  then  continued  : 

"  How  would  you  act,  if  you  had  the 
Leg-ate,  the  Pope,  and  all  the  Cardinals 
in  your  power,  as  they  have  you,  at  this 
moment,  in  theirs?" 

Luther. — "  1  would  pay  them  all  re- 
spect and  honour.  But  the  word  of  God 
is  with  me — above  all." 

Serra  Longa,  laughing,  and  moving 
one  of  his  fingers  backward  and  forward 
in  a  maimer  peculiar  to  the  Italians. — 
"  Ha  !  ha !  all  proper  honour  !  I  do  not 
believe  a  word  of  it !" 

He  then  left  the  house,  leaped  into  his 
saddle,  and  disappeared. 

Serra  Longa  went  no  more  to  Luther  ; 
but  he  long  remembered  the  resistance 
he  had  met  with  from  the  Reformer,  and 
that  which  his  master  was  doomed  soon 
after  to  experience  in  person.  We  shall 
find  him  again,  at  a  later  period,  loudly 
demanding  the  blood  of  Luther. 

Shortly  after  Serra  Longa  had  left  Lu- 
ther, the  latter  received  the  safe-conduct. 
His  friends  had  procured  it  from  the%  Im- 
perial counsellors.  It  is  probable  that 
they  had  consulted  the  Emperor  on  the 
subject,  as  he  was  not  far  from  Augsburg. 
It  would  even  seem,  from  what  the  Car- 
dinal afterwards  said,  that,  from  a  wish 
to  avoid  offending  him,  they  had  asked 
his  consent  to  their  application  ;  perhaps 
that  may  have  been  the  reason  why  De 
Vio  sounded  Luther  through  Serra  Longa ; 
for  to  oppose  openly  the  giving  him  a  safe- 
conduct  would  have  discovered  intentions 
that  it  was  wished  to  conceal.  It  seemed 
a  safer  policy  to  persuade  Luther  himself 
to  desist  from  the  demand.  But  it  soon 
became  evident  that  the  Saxon  monk  was 
not  likely  to  yield. 

Luther  was  about  to  appear  before  the 
Legate.  In  requiring  a  safe-conduct,  he 
did  not  lean  upon  an  arm  of  flesh,  for  he 
well  remembered  that  the  Emperor's  safe- 
conduct  had  not  preserved  John  Huss 
from  the  flames.  He  only  desired  to  do 
his  duty  by  following  the  advice  of  his 
master's  friends.  The  Lord  would  de- 
cide his  cause.  If  God  required  his  life, 
he  was  ready  joyfully  to  lay  it  down. 
At  this  solemn  moment,  he  felt  the  need 
of  once  more  communicating  with  his 
friends,  and  especially  with  Melancthon, 
already  so  endeared  to  him ;  and  he  avail- 


ed himself  of  an  interval  of  leisure  to 
write  to  him. 

"  Shew  yourself  a  man,"  said  he,  "  as 
you  are  ready  to  do.  Instruct  the  youth 
of  our  beloved  country  in  what  is  right 
and  agreeable  to  the  will  of  God.  As 
for  me,  I  am  going  to  offer  up  myself  for 
you  and  for  them,*  if  it  be  the  Lord's 
will.  I  prefer  death,  yea,  even,  what  to 
me  would  be  the  greatest  misfortune,  the 
loss  of  your  valued  society,  to  retracting 
what  it  was  my  duty  to  teach,  and  per- 
haps ruining  by  my  failure  the  noble 
cause  to  which  we  are  devoted. 

u  Italy  is  involved,  as  Egypt  was  for- 
merly, in  thick  darkness,  even  darkness 
which  may  be  felt.  The  whole  nation 
knows  nothing  of  Christ,  nor  of  what 
pertains  to  him.  And  yet  they  arc  our 
lords  and  masters  in  the  faith  and  in 
morals.  Thus  the  wrath  of  God  is  ful- 
filled amongst  us ;  as  the  prophet  says, 
'  I  will  give  children  to  be  their  princes, 
and  babes  shall  rule  over  them.'  Do  your 
duty  to  God,  my  dear  Philip,  and  avert 
his  wrath  by  fervent  and  holy  prayer." 

The  Legate,  apprised  that  Luther 
would  appear  the  next  day  before  him, 
called  together  those  in  Avhom  he  had 
confidence,  both  Italians  and  Germans, 
that  he  might  concert  with  them  how  he 
ought  to  treat  the  German  monk.  Opin- 
ions were  divided.  One  said,  "  We  must 
compel  him  to  retract."  Another,  "  We 
must  arrest  him  and  throw  him  into  pris- 
on." A  third  was  of  opinion  that  it 
would  be  better  to  put  him  out  of  the 
way.  A  fourth,  that  it  would  be  expe- 
dient rather  to  win  him  over  by  gentle- 
ness and  mildness.  The  Cardinal  seems 
to  have  resolved,  in  the  first  instance,  to 
make  trial  of  this  last  method,  f 

At  length  the  day  of  conference  arrived.  J 
The  Legate,  knowing  that  Luther  had 
declared  himself  willing  to  retract  what- 
ever should  be  proved  contrary  to  the 
truth,  was  sanguine  as  to  the  result :  he 
did  not  doubt  that  one  of  his  rank  and 
learning  would,  without  much  difficulty, 
reclaim  the  monk  to  obedience  to  the 
Church. 

Luther  repaired  to  the  house  of  the 

*  Ego  pro  illis  et  vobis  vado  immolari. — (L 
Epp.  i.  146.) 

t  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  p.  113. 
t  Tuesday,  11th  of  October. 


172 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


Legate,  accompanied  by  the  prior  of  the 
Carmelites,  his  friend  and  host,  by  two 
friars  of  the  convent,  by  Doctor  Link, 
and  by  an  Augustine,  probably  the  same 
that  had  accompanied  him  from  Nurem- 
berg. Scarcely  had  he  entered  the  Leg- 
ate's palace,  when  all  the  Italians,  who 
composed  the  train  of  this  Prince  of  the 
Church,  flocked  round  him,  desiring  to 
see  the  famous  Doctor,  and  pressed  him 
so  closely  that  he  could  hardly  proceed. 
On  entering  the  room  where  the  Cardinal 
was  waiting  for  him,  Luther  found  him 
accompanied  by  the  apostolical  nuncio 
and  Serra  Longa.  His  reception  was 
cool,  but  civil ;  and,  according  to  Roman 
etiquette,  Luther,  following  the  instruc- 
tions of  Serra  Longa,  prostrated  himself 
before  the  Cardinal ;  when  the  latter  told 
him  to  rise,  he  knelt ;  and  when  the 
command  was  repeated,  he  stood  erect. 
Several  of  the  most  distinguished  Italians 
of  the  Legate's  household  entered  the 
room,  in  order  to  be  present  at  the  inter- 
view, impatient  to  see  the  German  monk 
humble  himself  before  the  Pope's  repre- 
sentative. 

The  Legate  was  silent.  He  expected, 
says  a  contemporary,  that  Luther  would 
begin  his  recantation.  But  Luther  waited 
reverently  for  the  Roman  Prince  to  address 
him.  Finding,  however,  that  he  did  not 
open  his  lips,  he  understood  his  silence 
as  an  invitation  to  open  the  business,  and 
spoke  as  follows : — 

"Most  worthy  father,  upon  the  sum- 
mons of  his  Holiness  the  Pope,  and  at  the 
desire  of  my  gracious  Lord,  the  Elector 
of  Saxony,  I  appear  before  you,  as  a 
humble  and  obedient  son  of  the  holy 
Christian  Church ;  and  I  acknowledge 
that  it  was  I  who  published  the  proposi- 
tions and  theses  that  are  the  subject  of 
inquiry.  I  am  ready  to  listen  with  all 
submission  to  the  charges  brought  against 
me,  and,  if  I  am  in  error,  to  be  instructed 
in  the  truth." 

The  Cardinal,  who  had  determined  to 
assume  the  tone  of  a  kind  and  compas- 
sionate father  towards  an  erring  child, 
answered  in  the  most  friendly  manner, 
commended  Luther's  humility,  and  ex- 
pressed the  joy  he  felt  on  beholding  it, 
saying : — "  My  dear  son,  you  have  filled 
all  Germany  with  commotion  by  your 
dispute  concerning  indulgences.  I  hear 
that  you  are  a  doctor  well  skilled  in  the 


Scriptures,  and  that  you  have  many  fol- 
lowers. If,  therefore,  you  wish  to  be  a 
member  of  the  Church,  and  to  have  in 
the  Pope  a  most  gracious  lord,  listen  to 
me." 

After  this  exordium,  the  Legate  did 
not  hesitate  to  tell  him  all  that  he  ex- 
pected of  him,  so  confident  was  he  of  his 
submission  :  "  Here,"  said  he,  "  are  three 
articles  which,  acting  under  the  direction 
of  our  most  holy  Father,  Pope  Leo  the 
Tenth,  I  am  to  propose  to  you : — 

"  First,  you  must  return  to  your  duty  ; 
you  must  acknowledge  your  faults,  and 
retract  your  errors,  your  propositions,  and 
sermons.  Secondly,  you  must  promise 
to  abstain,  for  the  future,  from  propagating 
your  opinions.  And,  thirdly,  you  must 
engage  to  be  more  discreet,  and  avoid 
every  thing  that  may  grieve  or  disturb 
the  church." 

Luther. — "  Most  worthy  father,  I  re- 
quest to  be  permitted  to  see  the  Pope's 
brief,  by  virtue  of  which  you  have  re- 
ceived full  power  to  negotiate  this  affair." 

Serra  Longa  and  the  rest  of  the  Italians 
of  the  Cardinal's  train  were  struck  with 
astonishment  at  such  a  demand,  and  al- 
though the  German  monk  had  already 
appeared  to  them  a  strange  phenomenon, 
they  were  completely  disconcerted  at  so 
bold  a  speech.  Christians  familiar  with 
the  principles  of  justice  desire  to  see  them 
adhered  to  in  proceedings  against  others 
or  themselves  ;  but  those  who  are  accus- 
tomed to  act  according  to  their  own  will 
are  much  surprised  when  required  to 
proceed  regularly  and  agreeably  to  form 
and  law. 

De.  Vio. — "  Your  command,  my  son, 
cannot  be  complied  with.  You  have  to 
acknowledge  your  errors ;  to  be  careful 
for  the  future  what  you  teach  ;  not  to 
return  to  your  vomit ;  so  that  you  may 
rest  without  care  and  anxiety  ;  and  then, 
acting  by  the  command  and  on  the  au- 
thority of  our  most  holy  father  the  Pope, 
I  will  adjust  the  whole  affair." 

Luther. — "  Deign,  then,  to  inform  me 
wherein  I  have  erred." 

At  this  request,  the  Italian  courtiers, 
who  had  expected  to  see  the  poor  Ger- 
man fall  upon  his  knees  and  implore 
mercy,  were  still  more  astonished  than 
before.  Not  one  of  them  would  have 
condescended  to  answer  so  impertinent 
a  question.     But  De  Vio,  who  thought 


LUTHER  BEFORE  THE  LEGATE. 


173 


it  scarcely  generous  to  crush  this  feeble 
monk  by  the  weight  of  all  his  authority, 
and  trusted,  moreover,  to  his  own  learn- 
ing for  obtaining  an  easy  victory,  con- 
sented to  tell  Luther  what  he  was  accused 
of,  and  even  to  enter  into  discussion  with 
him.  We  must  do  justice  to  the  general 
of  the  Dominicans.  It  must  be  acknowl- 
edged, that  he  showed  more  equity,  a 
greater  sense  of  propriety,  and  less  irrita- 
tion, than  have  subsequently  been  ex- 
hibited in  a  majority  of  similar  cases.  He 
assumed  a  tone  of  condescension,  and  said, 

"  My  beloved  son !  there  are  two  prop- 
ositions put  forward  by  you,  which  you 
must,  before  all,  retract : — 1st.  l  The  treas- 
ure of  indulgences  does  not  consist  of 
the  merits  and  sufferings  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ :' — 2ndly.  '  The  man  who 
receives  the  holy  sacrament  must  have 
faith  in  the  grace  offered  to  him.' " 

Both  these  propositions  did  indeed 
strike  a  death-blow  at  the  commerce  of 
Rome.  If  the  Pope  had  not  power  to 
dispose  at  will  of  the  Saviour's  merits, — 
if,  on  receiving  the  paper  in  which  the 
brokers  of  the  Church  traded,  men  did 
not  acquire  a  portion  of  that  infinite 
righteousness, — this  paper  currency  lost 
its  value,  and  men  would  count  it  no 
better  than  a  mere  rag.  And  thus  also 
with  the  sacraments.  The  indulgences 
were,  in  some  sense,  an  extraordinary 
branch  of  commerce  with  Rome  ;  the 
sacraments  made  part  of  her  ordinary 
traffic.  The  revenue  they  yielded  was 
by  no  means  small.  But  to  assert  that 
faith  was  necessary  to  make  them  pro- 
ductive of  any  real  benefit  to  the  soul  of 
the  Christian  was  to  rob  them  of  their 
attraction  in  the  sight  of  the  people.  For 
faith  is  not  in  the  Pope's  gift ;  it  is  be- 
yond his  power,  and  can  come  from  God 
alone.  To  declare  its  necessity  was, 
therefore,  to  snatch  irom  the  hands  of 
Rome  both  the  speculation  and  the  prof- 
its attached  to  it.  In  assailing  these 
two  doctrines,  Luther  had  followed  the 
example  of  Christ  himself.  In  the  very 
beginning  of  his  ministry,  he  had  over- 
turned the  tables  of  the  money-changers, 
and  driven  the  dealers  out  of  the  temple. 
"  Make  not  my  Father's  house  a  house  of 
merchandise." 

Cajetan  continued  :  "  I  will  not 'bring 
forward  the  authority  of  St.  Thomas,  and 
the  other   scholastic  doctors,  to  confute 


these  errors ;  I  will  rest  entirely  on  the 
holy  Scriptures,  and  speak  to  you  in  per- 
fect friendship." 

Nevertheless,  when  De-Vio  proceeded 
to  bring  forward  his  proofs,  he  departed 
from  the  rule  he  had  laid  down.*  He 
combated  Luther's  first  proposition  by  an 
Extravagance  or  Constitution]  of  Pope 
Clement ;  and  the  second  by  all  sorts  of 
opinions  from  the  scholastic  divines.  The 
discussion  turned  at  its  outset  upon  this 
constitution  of  the  Pope  in  favour  of  in- 
dulgences. Luther,  indignant  at  hear- 
ing what  authority  the  Legate  attributed 
to  a  decree  of  Rome,  exclaimed  : 

"  I  cannot  receive  such  constitutions  as 
sufficient  proofs  on  subjects  so  important. 
For  they  wrest  the  holy  Scriptures,  and 
never  quote  them  to  the  purpose." 

De  Vio. — "  The  Pope  has  authority 
and  power  over  all  things." 

Luther  [warmly). — "  Save  the  Scrip- 
tures."^ 

De Vio {in  derision). — "Save  the  Scrip- 
tures !  .  .  .  Do  not  you  know  that  the 
Pope  is  higher  than  the  Councils,  for  he 
has  recently  condemned  and  punished 
the  council  of  Bale." 

Luther. — "  But  the  university  of  Paris 
has  appealed  against  his  decision." 

De  Vio. — "  Those  gentlemen  of  Paris 
will  receive  their  desert." 

The  Cardinal  and  Luther  then  pro- 
ceeded to  discuss  the  second  article, 
namely,  the  faith  that  Luther  declared  to 
be  necessary  to  render  the  sacraments 
efficacious.  Luther,  pursuing  his  usual 
method,  quoted,  in  favour  of  the  opinion 
that  he  maintained,  several  passages  of 
Scripture.  But  the  Legate  received  them 
with  derision.  "  It  is  of  faith  in  general 
that  you  are  speaking  now,"  said  he. 
"  Not  so,"  replied  Luther.  One  of  the 
Italians,  the  Legate's  master  of  the  cere- 
monies, provoked  at  Luther's  resistance 
and  answers,  was  burning  with  desire 
to  speak.  He  often  attempted  to  inter- 
rupt the  conversation ;  but  the  Legate 
commanded  silence.  At  last  he  was 
obliged  to  reprove  him  in  so  authori- 
tative a  tone,  that  the  master  of  the  cere- 
monies left  the  room  in  confusion.  § 

*  L.  Opp.  (L)  xvii.  p.  180. 

t  This  name  is  given  to  certain  Constitutions 
of  the  Popes,  collected  and  appended  to  the 
Canon  Law. 

X  Salva  Scriptura.     §  L  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  p. '  180. 


174 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


"  As  to  indulgences,"  said  Luther  to 
the  Legate,  "  if  you  .can  prove  to  me 
that  I  am  mistaken,  I  am  ready  to  re- 
ceive instruction.  We  may  leave  that 
subject  open,  without  compromising  our 
faith  as  Christians.  But  as  to  that  other 
article,  c6ncerning  faith,  if  I  yielded  any 
thing  there,  I  should  be  denying  Christ. 
I  cannot,  therefore,  and  I  will  not  yield 
that  point,  and  by  God's  help  I  will  hold 
it  to  the  end.1' 

De  Vio  [beginning  to  lose  temper), — 
"  Whether  you  will  or  will  not,  you  must 
this  very  day  retract  that  article,  or  else 
for  that  article  alone,  I  will  proceed  to 
reject  and  condemn  all  your  doctrine." 

Luther, — "  I  have  no  will  but  the 
Lord's.  He  will  do  with  me  what  seem- 
eth  good  in  his  sight.  But  had  I  a  hun- 
dred heads,  I  would  rather  lose  them  all 
than  retract  the  testimony  I  have  borne 
to  the  holy  Christian  faith." 

De  Vio. — "  I  am  not  come  here  to  ar- 
gue with  you.  Retract,  or  prepare  to 
endure  the  punishment  you  have  de- 
served."* 

Luther  clearly  perceived  that  it  was 
impossible  to  end  the  affair  by  a  confer- 
ence. His  adversary  was  seated  before 
him  as  though  he  himself  were  Pope, 
and  required  a  humble  submission  to  all 
that  he  said  to  him,  whilst  he  received 
Luther's  answers,  even  when  grounded 
on  the  holy  Scriptures,  with  shrugs  and 
every  kind  of  irony  and  contempt.  He 
thought  the  most  prudent  plan  would  be 
to  answer  the  Cardinal  in  writing.  This 
means,  thought  he,  offered  at  least  one 
consolation  to  the  oppressed.  Others 
might  then  give  their  judgment  of  the 
affair :  and  the  unjust  adversary,  who, 
by  clamour,  remained  master  of  the 
field,  might  be  overawed  by  the  public 
voice,  f 

Having,  therefore,  shown  a  disposition 
to  withdraw:  "Do  you  wish,"  said  the 
Legate  to  him,  "  that  I  should  give  you 
a  safe-conduct  to  repair  to  Rome  ?" 

Nothing  would  have  pleased  Cajetan 
better  than  the  acceptance  of  this  offer. 
He  would  thus  have  got  rid  of  an  affair 
of  which  he  began  to  perceive  the  diffi- 
culties, and  Luther  and  his  heresy  woujd 
have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  those  who 
would   have   known  how  to  deal  with 

*  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  p.  180,  183,  206,  &c. 
t  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  p.  209. 


them.  But  the  Reformer,  who  was  sen- 
sible of  the  dangers  that  surrounded  him 
even  at  Augsburg,  took  care  to  refuse  an 
offer  that  would  have  delivered  him  up, 
bound  hand  and  foot,  to  the  vengeance 
of  his  enemies.  He  rejected  the  propo- 
sal as  often  as  De  Vio  chose  to  repeat 
it :  which  he  did  several  times.  The 
Legate  concealed  the  chagrin  he  felt  at 
Luther's  refusal  •  he  assumed  an  air  of 
dignity,  and  dismissed  the  monk  with  a 
compassionate  smile,  under  which  he  en- 
deavoured to  hide  his  disappointment,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  with  the  politeness  of 
one  who  hopes  to  have  better  success 
another  time. 

Hardly  had  Luther  reached  the  court- 
yard of  the  palace,  when  the  loquacious 
Italian,  the  master  of  the  ceremonies, 
whom  the  Cardinal's  reprimands  had 
obliged  to  leave  the  hall  of  audience,  de- 
lighted at  being  able  to  speak  to  him  out 
of  the  hearing  of  Cajetan,  and  eager  to 
confound  the  abominable  heretic  by  his 
overpowering  arguments,  ran  after  him. 
and,  before  he  came  up  with  him,  began 
to  deal  out  his  sophisms.  But  Luther, 
disgusted  with  the  man's  folly,  answered 
him  with  one  of  those  sarcastic  rebukes 
which  he  always  had  at  command,  and 
the  master  of  the  ceremonies,  quite  con- 
founded, turned  back  and  slunk  abashed 
to  the  Cardinal's  palace. 

Luther  had  not  been  impressed  with 
a  very  high  opinion  of  his  dignified  ad- 
versary. He  had  heard  from  him,  as  he 
afterwards  wrote  to  Spalatin,  assertions 
which  were  quite  contrary  to  sound  the- 
ology, and  which,  in  the  mouth  of  an- 
other, would  have  been  considered  arch- 
heresies.  And  yet  De  Vio  was  looked 
upon  as  the  most  learned  of  the  Domini- 
cans. Next  to  him  stood  Prierias.  ':  We 
may  judge  from  this,"  said  Luther,  "what 
those  must  be  who  fill  the  tenth  or  the 
hundredth  rank!"* 

On  the  other  hand,  the  noble  firmness 
of  the  Doctor  of  Wittemberg  had  greatlv 
surprised  the  Cardinal  and  all  his  cour- 
tiers. Instead  of  a  poor  monk,  suing 
abjectly  for  pardon,  they  beheld  a  man  oi 
independent  spirit,  an  undaunted  Chris- 
tian, an  enlightened  Doctor,  who  required 
them  to  bring  proofs  to  support  their  un- 
just accusations, and  courageously  defend- 
ed his  own  doctrine.  The  inmates  of 
*  L.  Epp.  i.  173. 


LUTHER  BEFORE    THE  LEGATE. 


175 


Cajetari's  palace  exclaimed  with  one 
voice  against  'the  pride,  obstinacy,  and 
effrontery  of  the  heretic.  Luther  and 
De  Vio  had  learned  to  know  one  an- 
other, and  both  were  preparing  them- 
selves for  a  second  interview. 

A  joyful  surprise  awaited  Luther  on 
his  return  to  the  convent  of  the  Carme- 
lites. The  Vicar-general  of  the  order 
of  the  Augustines,  his  friend,  his  father, 
Staupitz,  had  arrived  there.  Not  having 
been  able  to  prevent  Luther  from  going 
to  Augsburg,  Staupitz  gave  his  friend  a 
new  and  affecting  proof  of  his  attach- 
ment, by  joining  him  in  that  city,  with 
the  hope  of  rendering  him  some  service. 
This  excellent  man  foresaw  that  the  con- 
ference with  the  Legate  would  have 
momentous  results.  His  fears  and  his 
friendship  for  Luther  combined  to  dis- 
turb him.  It  was  a  balm  to  the  Reform- 
er's heart,  after  that  trying  conference,  to 
embrace  so  precious  a  friend.  He  related 
to  him  how  he  had  found  it  impossible  to 
obtain  a  satisfactory  answer,  and  how  he 
had  been  required  to  recant  without  even 
an  attempt  to  convict  him  of  error.  "  You 
must  absolutely,"  said  Staupitz,  "  answer 
the  Legate  in  writing." 

After  what  he  had  heard  of  this  first 
interview,  Staupitz  expected  no  good  re- 
sult from  any  succeeding  one.  He  there- 
fore determined  upon  a  step  which  he 
thought  present  circumstances  made  ne- 
cessary;  he  decided  to  release  Luther 
from  the  obligation  of  obedience  to  his 
order.  Staupitz  proposed  by  this  means 
to  attain  two  objects :  if,  as  he  could  not 
but  forebode,  Luther  should  fail  in  his 
undertaking,  this  proceeding  would  pre- 
vent the  disgrace  of  his  condemnation 
from  being  reflected  on  his  whole  order ; 
and  if  the  Cardinal  should  enjoin  him  to 
oblige  Luther  to  silence  or  to  a  recanta- 
tion, he  would  have  an  excuse  for  non- 
compliance.* This  ceremony  was  gone 
throuodi  in  the  usual  forms.  Luther 
clearly  perceived  all  that  it  foreboded. 
His  mind  was  deeply  affected  by  the 
breaking  of  ties  that  he  had  formed  in 
the  enthusiasm  of  youth.  The  order 
he  had  chosen  now  rejected  him.  His 
natural  protectors  forsook  him.  Already 
he  was  become  a  stranger  to  his  breth- 
ren.    But  though  his  heart  was  oppressed 

*  Darinn  ihn  Staupitz  von  dem  Kloster-Ge- 
horsam  absolvirt. — (Math.  15.) 


with  sorrow  at  the  thought,  he  recovered 
his  serenity  by  looking  to  the  promises  of 
a  faithful  God,  who  has  said  .  "  I  will  nev- 
er leave  thee  ;  1  will  never  forsake  thee." 

The  Imperial  counsellors,  having  inti- 
mated to  the  Legate  through  the  Bishop 
of  Trent  that  Luther  was  provided  with 
the  Emperor's  safe-conduct,  at  the  same 
time  cautioning  him  against  taking  any 
steps  against  the  Reformer's  person,  De 
Vio,  in  a  silent  passion,  abruptly  answer- 
ed in  the  true  Romish  style,  "  Be  it  so : 
but  I  shall  do  what  the  Pope  enjoins 
me."*  We  know  what  the  Pope's  in- 
junctions were. 

The  next  dayf  both  parties  prepared 
for  a  second  interview,  which  seemed 
likely  to  be  decisive.  Luther's  friends, 
intending  to  accompany  him  to  the  Leg- 
ate's palace,  repaired  to  the  convent  of 
the  Carmelites.  The  Dean  of  Trent 
and  Peutinger,  both  Imperial  counsellors, 
and  Staupitz,  arrived  one  after  the  other. 
Besides  these,  Luther  soon  had  the  plea- 
sure of  Welcoming  the  knight  Philip 
von  Feilitzsch,  and  Doctor  Ruhel,  coun- 
sellors of  the  Elector,  who  had  received 
orders  from  their  master  to  be  present  at 
the  conferences,  and  to  watch  over  Lu- 
ther's personal  safety.  They  had  arrived 
at  Augsburg  on  the  previous  evening. 
They  were  commissioned  to  keep  close 
to  him,  says  Mathesius,  as  the  knight 
Chlum  stood  by  John  Huss  at  Constance. 
The  Doctor  also  took  a  notary  with  him, 
and,  accompanied  by  all  his  friends,  re- 
paired to  the  Legate's  palace. 

As  they  set  out  Staupitz  drew  close  to 
Luther  ;  he  felt  all  that  his  friend  would 
have  to  endure  ;  he  kneAV  that  if  his  eye 
were  not  directed  towards  the  Lord,  who 
is  the  deliverer  of  his  people,  he  must 
sink  under  his  trial :  "  My  dear  brother," 
said  he,  solemnly,  "  ever  bear  in  mind 
that  you  entered  on  these  struggles  in 
the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."! 
It  was  thus  that  God  encompassed  his 
humble  servant  with  consolations  and 
encouragement. 

Luther,  on  arriving  at  the  Cardinal's, 
found  there  a  new  opponent :  this  was 
the  prior  of  the  Dominicians  of  Augs- 
burg, who  was  seated  beside  his  superior. 
Luther,  in  conformity  with  his  resolu- 

*  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  201. 
t  Wednesday,  12th  Oct 
t  Seckend.  p.  137. 


176 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


tion,  had  put  his  answer  in  writing. 
The  customary  salutations  being  gone 
through,  he  read,  with  a  firm  voice,  the 
following  declaration : 

"  I  declare  that  I  honour  the  holy  Ro- 
man Church,  and,  moreover,  that  I  will 
continue  to  do  so.  I  have  sought  after 
truth  in  my  public  disputations,  and  what 
I  have  taught,  I,  to  this  hour,  regard  as 
right,  true,  and  christian.  Nevertheless 
I  am  but  a  man,  and  I  may  be  mistaken. 
I  am  therefore  willing  to  be  instructed 
and  corrected  wherever  I  may  have 
erred.  I  declare  myself  ready  to  answer 
by  word  of  mouth,  or  in  writing,  all  ob- 
jections and  all  charges  that  the  illustri- 
ous Legate  may  bring  against  me.  I 
declare  myself  willing  to  submit  my 
theses  to  the  decision  of  the  four  univer- 
sities of  Bale.  Fribourg  in  Brisgau,  Lou- 
vain,  and  Paris,  and  to  retract  whatever 
they  shall  declare  to  be  erroneous.  In 
a  word,  I  am  ready  to  do  all  that  can  be 
required  of  a  christian  man.  But  I  sol- 
emnly protest  against  the  method  that 
has  been  pursued  in  this  affair,  and 
against  that  strange  assumption  which 
would  oblige  me  to  retract,  without  hav- 
ing convicted  me  of  error." 

Undoubtedly  nothing  could  be  more 
consonant  with  reason  than  these  propo- 
sals of  Luther,  and  they  must  have  greatly 
embarrassed  a  judge  who  had  been  previ- 
ously instructed  Avhat  judgment  he  was  to 
pronounce.  The  Legate,  who  was  quite 
unprepared  for  this  protest,  endeavoured 
to  hide  his  confusion,  by  affecting  a 
laugh,  and  putting  on  the  semblance  of 
mildness. 

"  This  protest,"  he  said  to  Luther  with 
a  smile,  "is  quite  unnecessary;  I  will  not 
dispute  with  you  in  public  or  in  private, 
but  my  wish  is  to  settle  the  whole  affair 
with  paternal  tenderness."* 

It  was  the  policy  of  the  Cardinal  to 
lay  aside  the  strict  forms  of  justice, 
which  afford  protection  to  the  accused, 
and  to  treat  the  matter  as  an  affair  of  ad- 
ministration, between  a  superior  and  his 
inferior ; — a  convenient  method,  as  it 
leaves  the  fullest  scope  to  the  exercise  of 
arbitrary  power. 

Continuing  in  the  most  affectionate 
tone  :-*-"  My  dear  friend,"  said  De  Vio, 
"  I  beseech  you  to  abandon  this  useless 

*  Loscher,  ii.  463.  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  181, 
209. 


design ;  but  rather  return  to  a  sense  of 
duty,  acknowledge  the  truth,  and  behold 
me  ready  to  reconcile  you  to  the  Church, 
and  to  the  supreme  bishop.  .  .  .  Retract, 
my  friend,  retract ;  such  is  the  Pope's 
will.  Whether  it  be  your  will  or  not, 
matters  little ;  you  would  find  it  hard  to 
kick  against  the  pricks.  ..." 

Luther,  who  saw  himself  already 
treated  as  a  rebellious  child,  rejected  by 
the  Church,  exclaimed :  "  I  cannot  re- 
tract !  but  I  offer  to  answer,  and  in  wri- 
ting. We  had  enough  of  contention — 
yesterday."* 

De  Vio  was  provoked  at  this  .expres- 
sion, which  reminded  him  that  he  had 
not  acted  with  sufficient  discretion  ;  but 
he  recovered  himself,  and  said,  smiling  : 

"  Contention  !  my  dear  son  ;  I  did  not 
contend  with  you.  I  am  as  little  in- 
clined as  yourself  to  contention  ;  but  to 
gratify  his  Highness  the  Elector  Frede- 
ric, I  am  ready  to  hear  you,  and  exhort 
you  as  a  friend  and  a  father." 

Luther  did  not  understand  why  the 
Legate  should  have  taken  umbrage  at 
the  phrase  he  had  made  use  of;  for, 
thought  he  to  himself,  if  I  had  not  wished 
to  be  courteous,  I  should  not  have  said 
"  contend,"  but  "  dispute"  and  "  quarrel," 
for  that  was  what  we  really  did  yester- 
day. 

However,  De  Vio,  who  felt  that,  be- 
fore the  respectable  witnesses  present  at 
the  conference  he  must  at  least  appear  to 
convince  Luther  and  endeavour  to  crush 
him  by  argument,  reverted  to  the  two 
propositions  which  he  had  pointed  out  as 
fundamental  errors,  fully  resolved  to  al- 
low the  Reformer  the  fewest  possible  op- 
portunities of  reply.  Relying  on  Italian 
volubility,  he  overwhelmed  him  with 
objections  without  waiting  for  an  answer. 
Sometimes  he  sneered,  sometimes  he 
chided ;  he  declaimed  with  passionate 
energy ;  he  jumbled  together  the  most 
incongruous  things  ;  quoted  St.  Thomas 
and  Aristotle ;  exclaimed  and  raved 
against  all  who  differed  from  them ;  and 
broke  out  in  invective  against  Luther. 
Again  and  again  the  latter  attempted  to 
reply ;  but  the  Legate  instantly  inter- 
rupted him  and  overwhelmed  him  with 
threats.  "Recant!  recant  I"  was  the 
burthen  of  his  harangue ;  he  stormed, 
enacted  the  dictator,  and  put  down  all 
*  Digladiatum.— (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  181.) 


LUTHER  BEFORE  THE  LEGATE. 


17? 


effort  to  reply.*  Staupitz  undertook  to 
stop  the  Legate.  "  Deign  to  allow  Doc- 
tor Martin  time  to  answer,"  said*  he. 
But  the  Legate  resumed  his  harangue  : 
he  quoted  the  extravagances  and  the 
opinions  of  St.  Thomas :  he  had  resolved 
to  have  all  the  talk  to  himself.  Unable 
to  convince,  and  fearing  to  strike,  he 
would  at  least  stun  by  his  violence. 

Luther  and  Staupitz  clearly  perceived 
that  they  must  not  only  forego  all  hope 
of  enlightening  De  Vio  by  discussion, 
but  also  of  making  any  useful  confession 
of  the  faith.  Luther,  therefore,  renewed 
the  request  he  had  made  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  interview,  and  which  the 
Cardinal  had  then  eluded.  And  not  be- 
ing permitted  to  speak,  he  requested  that 
he  might  he  allowed  at  least  to  put  his 
answer  in  writing  and  send  it  to  the 
Legate.  Staupitz  seconded  his  request ; 
several  of  the  company  present  joined  in 
his  solicitations ;  and  Cajetan,  in  spite 
of  his  dislike  to>  written  documents,: — 
for  he  remembered  that  such  documents 
are  lasting, — at  length  consented.  They 
separated.  The  hope  which  had  been 
conceived  that  the  affair  might  be  termi- 
nated at  this  interview  was  thus  ad- 
journed, and  it  was  necessary  to  await 
the  result  of  the  ensuing  conference. 

The  permission  granted  to  Luther  by 
the  general  of  the  Dominicans  to  take 
time  for  reflection,  and  to  write  his  an- 
swer to  the  two  distinct  allegations 
brought  against-  him  relating  to  the  in- 
dulgences— and  to~  faith, — was  undoubt- 
edly no  more  than  strict  justice  ;  and  yet 
we  must  give  De  Vio  credit  for  it,  as  a 
mark  of  moderation  and  impartiality. 

Luther  left  the  Cardinal's  palace  rejoic- 
ing that  his  just  request  had  been 
granted.  In  his  way  to  and  from  the 
palace,  he  was  the  object  of  general  at- 
tention. Enlightened  men  were  inter- 
ested in  his  cause,  as  if  they  themselves 
were  about  to  stand  upon  their  trial.  It 
was  felt  that  it  was  the  cause  of  the 
gospel,  of  justice,  and  of  liberty,  which 
was  then  to  be  pleaded  at  Augsbnrg. 
The  lower  orders  alone  sided  with  Caje- 
tan, and  they,  doubtless,  gave  the  Reform- 
er significant  proofs  of  their  disposition, 
for  he  took  notice  of  it.f 

*  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  p.  181,  209.— Decies  ferfe 
coepi  ut  loquerer,  toties  rursus  tonabat  et  solus 
regnabat.  +  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  186. 


It  daily  became  more  evident  that  the 
Legate  would  hear  nothing  from  him 
save  the  words,  "  I  retract ;"  and  those 
words  Luther  was  determined  not  to  ut- 
ter. What  issue  could  be  looked  for  in 
so  unequal  a  struggle?  How  could  it 
for  a  moment  be  thought  that  the  whole 
power  of  Rome,  arrayed  _  against  one 
man,  could  fail  in  the  end  to  crush  him? 
Luther  saw  all  this  :  lie  fit  the  pressure 
of  that  heavy  hand  under  which  he  had 
dared  to  place  himself;  he  despaired  of 
ever  returning  to  Wittemberg,  of  seeing 
his  dear  Philip  again,  and  once  more 
finding  himself  encircled  by  those  noble 
youths  in  whose  hearts  he  so  delighted 
to  sow  the  seeds  of  everlasting  life.  He 
saw  the  sentence  of  excommunication 
suspended  over  his  head,  and  did  not 
doubt  that  it  would  shortly  fall  upon  him.* 
These  forebodings  distressed  him,  but 
did  not  cast  him  down.  His  trust  in 
God  was  not  shaken.  God  may,  in- 
deed, destroy  the  instrument  he  has 
hitherto  made  use  of-;  but  he  will  main- 
tain the  truth.  Whatever  may  happen, 
Luther  must  defend  it  to  the  last.  With 
these  feelings,  therefore,,  he  began  to  pre- 
pare the  protest  he  intended  to  present 
to  the  Legate.  It  seems  he  devoted  to 
that  purpose  a  part  of  the  13th  of  Octo- 
ber. 

On  the  following  day,  Luther  returned 
to  the  Cardinal's  palace,  attended  by  the 
counsellors  of  the  Elector.  The  Italians 
crowded  round  him  as  usual,  and  a  num- 
ber of  them  were  present  at  the  con- 
ference. Luther  stepped  forward  and  pre- 
sented his  protest  to  the  Legate.  The 
Cardinal's  attendants  gazed  intently  on 
his  writing,  in  their  eyes  so  daring  and 
presumptuous.  The  following  is  the  dec- 
laration which  the  Doctor  of  Wittem- 
berg handed  to  their  master  : — f 

"  You  charge  me  upon  two  points. 
And  first  you  bring  against  me  the  con- 
stitution of  Pope  Clement  VI.,  in  which 
it  is  asserted  that  the  treasure  of  indul- 
gences is  the  merit  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  of  the  saints ;  an  assertion 
which  I  deny  in  my  theses. 

"-Panormitanus,"  continues  he,  (apply- 
ing that  designation  to  Ives,  Bishop  of 
Chartres,  towards  the  close  of  the  eleventh 
century,  and  author  of  the  famous  collec- 

*  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  185. 
t  L.  Opp.  (L)  xvii.  187. 


178 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


tion  of  ecclesiastical  law  called  Panormia) 
— "  Panormitanus  in  his  first  book  de- 
clares, that,  in  what  pertains  to  our 
holy  faith,  not  only  a  General  Council, 
but  even  a  private  Christian,  is  above 
the  Pope,  if  he  can  adduce  clearer  testi- 
mony from  the  Scriptures,  and  better 
reasons.*  The  voice  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  is  far  above  the  voice  of  all  men, 
by  whatever  names  they  may  be  called. 
"  What  most  disturbs  me  and  excites 
my  most  painful  reflections  is,  that  this 
constitution  contains  in  it  many  things 
altogether  contrary  to  the  truth.  First, 
it  asserts  that  the  merits  of  the  saints  form 
a  treasury  ; — whilst  the  whole  volume  of 
Scripture  testifies  that  God  rewards  us 
far  more  richly  than  we  have  deserved. 
The  prophet  exclaims  :  '  Enter  not  into 
judgment  with  thy  servant,  O  Lord,  for 
in  thy  sight  shall  no  man  living  be  justi- 
fied.'! '  Woe  to  man,'  says  St.  Augustine, 
'however  honourable  and  praiseworthy 
his  life  may  be,  if  God  were  to  pronounce 
a  judgment  upon  him  from  which  mercy 
should  be  excluded. 'J 

"  Thus,  then,  the  saints  are  not  saved 
by  their  merits,  but  solely  by  the  mercy 
of  God,  as  I  have  declared.  I  maintain 
this,  and  I  take  my  stand  upon  it.  The 
words  of  holy  Scripture,  which  teach  us 
that  the  saints  have  not  merit  enough, 
ought  to  be  more  regarded  than  those 
words  of  men,  which  affirm  that  they 
have  merits  in  superabundance.  For 
the  Pope  is  not  above,  but  under  the 
authority  of  the  word  of  God." 

Luther  did  not  stop  there :  he  shewed 
that  if  the  indulgences  could  not  consist 
in  the  merits  of  the  saints,  neither  could 
they  consist  in  the  merits  of  Christ.  He 
proved  that  the  indulgences  were  barren 
and  unprofitable,  since  they  had  no  other 
effect  than  to  excuse  men  from  good 
works,  such  as  prayer,  alms,  &c.  "  No," 
he  exclaimed,  "the  righteousness  of  Christ 
Jesus  is  not  a  treasure  of  indulgences,  ex- 
cusing us  from  good  works,  but  a  treasure 
of  grace  quickening  us  to  perform  them. 
The  righteousness  of  Christ  is  applied  to 
the  faithful,  not  by  indulgences,  not  by 
the  keys,  but  by  the  Holy  Ghost  alone, 

*  Ostendit  in  materia,  fidei  non  modb  generate 
concilium  esse  super  papam  sed  etiam  quemlibet 
fidelium,  si  melioribus  nitatur  auctoritate  et  rati- 
one  quam  papa. — (L.  Opp.  lat.  i.  p.  209.) 

t  Ps.  143.  2.  t  Confess  ix. 


and  not  by  the  Pope.  If  any  one  holds 
an  opinion  resting  on  better  foundations 
than  mine,"  added  he,  in  concluding 
what  referred  to  this  first  point,  "  let  him 
make  it  known,  and  then  will  I  retract." 

"  I  have  affirmed,"  said  he,  adverting 
to  the  second  charge,  "  that  no  man  can 
be  justified  before  God  except  by  Faith ; 
so  that  it  is  necessary  that  a  man  should 
believe  with  a  perfect  confidence  that  he 
has  received  pardon.  To  doubt  of  this 
grace  is  to  reject  it.  The  faith  of  the 
just  is  his  righteousness  and  his  life."* 

Luther  supported  his  proposition  by 
many  texts  from  Scripture. 

"  Deign,  then,  to  intercede  in  my  be- 
half with  our  most  holy  lord  the  Pope 
Leo  X.,  that  he  may  not  treat  me  with 
so  much  severity.  My  soul  seeks  the 
light  of  truth.  I  am  not  so  proud,  nor 
so  set  upon  vain-glory,  that  I  should  be 
ashamed  to  retract,  if  I  had  taught  what 
is  not  agreeable  to  the  truth.  My  greatest 
joy  will  be  to  see  the  triumph  of  that 
doctrine  which  is  according  to  the  mind 
of  God.  Only  let  me  not  be  forced  to  do 
any  thing  that  is  against  my  conscience." 

The  Legate  took  the  declaration  which 
Luther  presented,  and,  after  looking  it 
over,  said  coolly :  "  You  have  wasted 
many  words,  and  written  what  is  little 
to  the  purpose :  you  have  replied  very 
foolishly  to  the  two  charges  brought 
against  you,  and  you  have  covered  your 
paper  with  numerous  passages  from  the 
holy  Scriptures  that  have  no  reference 
whatever  to  the  subject."  De  Vio  then 
with  a  contemptuous  gesture  threw  down 
Luther's  protest,  as  if  unworthy  of  his 
regard ;  and  resuming  the  tone  which 
had  in  some  degree  been  successful  in 
the  last  interview,  he  renewed  the  cry 
that  Luther  must  retract.  The  latter  was 
inflexible.  "Brother!  brother!"  cried 
De  Vio  in  Italian,  "  when  you  were  last 
here  you  were  very  docile,  but  to-day 
you  are  altogether  intractable."  Then 
the  Cardinal  began  a  long  speech,  bor- 
rowed from  the  writings  of  St.  Thomas ; 
he  again  extolled  with  all  his  might  the 
constitution  of  Clement  VI. ;  he  persisted 
in  maintaining  that,  in  virtue  of  that  con- 
stitution, the  very  merits  of  Christ  are 
distributed  to  the  faithful  by  means  of  the 
indulgences  :  he  thought  he  had  silenced 

*  Justitia  justi  et  vita  ejus,  est  fides  ejus. — (L. 
Opp.  lat.  i.  p.  211.) 


LUTHER  BEFORE  THE  LEGATE. 


179 


Luther.  The  latter  at  times  attempted 
to  speak ;  but  De  Vio  scolded  and  thun- 
dered on  without  intermission,  and,  as  on 
the  previous  occasion,  claimed  the  sole 
right  to  be  heard. 

This  manner  of  proceeding  had  on  the 
first  occasion  been  in  some  measure  suc- 
cessful ; — but  Luther  was  not  a  man  to 
bear  with  it  a  second  time.  His  indig- 
nation at  length  broke  forth,  and  it  was 
now  his  turn  to  astonish  the  bystanders, 
who  thought  him  already  conquered  by 
the  prelate's  volubility.  He  raised  his 
sonorous  voice :  he  took  up  the  Cardinal's 
favourite  objection,  and  made  him  pay 
dearly  for  his  temerity  in  entering  the 
lists  against  him.  "  Retract !  retract !" 
repeated  De  Vio,  shewing  him  the  con- 
stitution of  the  Pope.  "  Well !"  said 
Luther,  "  only  prove  to  me,  by  this  con- 
stitution, that  the  treasure  of  indulgences 
is  the  very  merit  of  Christ,  and  I  consent 
to  retract,  according  to  the  will  and  pleas- 
ure of  your  eminence  .  .  ." 

The  Italians,  who  had  not  expected 
this,  exulted  at  his  words,  and  could  not 
repress  their  joy  at  seeing  the  adversary 
at  length  taken  in  the  toils.  As  to  the 
Cardinal,  he  was  like  one  beside  him- 
self; he  laughed  aloud — but  it  was  an 
indignant  and  angry  laugh  ;  he  stepped 
forward,  took  up  the  volume  containing 
the  famous  constitution,  turned  over  the 
leaves,  found  the  passage,  and  elated  with 
the'  advantage  he  thought  he  had  secured, 
read  it  aloud  with  breathless  eagerness.* 
The  Italians  were  now  triumphant ;  the 
counsellors  of  the  Elector  were  anxious 
and  embarrassed ;  Luther  waited  the 
right  moment.  At  last,  when  the  Car- 
dinal came  to  these  words,  "  The  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  acquired  this  treasure  by 
his  sufferings,"  Luther  interrupted  him ; 
"  Most  worthy  father,"  said  he,  "  deign  to 
consider  this  passage  well,  and  to  medi- 
tate upon  it  carefully:  '  He  has  acquired.'! 
Christ  has  acquired  a  treasure  by  his 
merits  ;  the  merits  then  are  not  the  treas- 
ure ;  for,  to  speak  with  philosophic  pre- 
cision, the  cause  is  a  different  thing  from 
that  which  flows  from  it.  The  merits 
of  Christ  have  acquired  for  the  Pope  the 
power  of  giving  such  indulgences  to  the 
people  ;  but  they  are  not  the  very  merits 

*  Legit  fervens  et  anhelans. — (L.  Epp.  i.  p- 
145.) 
t  Acquisivit. — (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  145.) 


of  the  Lord  which  the  Pope  distributes. 
Thus,  then,  my  conclusion  is  true,  and 
this  constitution,  which  you  so  loudly 
appeal  to,  testifies  with  me  to  the  truth 
which  I  declare." 

De  Vio  still  held  the  book  in  his  hand; 
his  eyes  still  rested  on  the  fatal  passage : 
the  inference  was  unanswerable.  Be- 
hold him  taken  in  the  very  net  he  had 
spread  for  another ;  and  Luther,  with  a 
strong  hand,  held  him  fast,  to  the  utter 
astonishment  of  the  Italian  courtiers  who 
surrounded  him.  The  Legate  would 
have  eluded  the  difficulty ;  but  all  re- 
treat was  closed.  From  an  early  stage 
of  the  discussion  he  had  given  up  the 
testimony  of  the  Scriptures,  and  that  of 
the  Fathers ;  and  had  sheltered  himself 
under  this  extravagance  of  Clement  VI., 
and  now  he  was  taken  in  his  strong  hold. 
Still  he  was  too  artful  to  betray  his  em- 
barrassment. In  order  to  conceal  his 
confusion,  the  Cardinal  abruptly  changed 
the  subject,  and  vehemently  attacked 
Luther  on  other  points  of  difference. 
Luther,  who  detected  this  skilful  man- 
oeuvre, drew  tighter  on  every  side  the 
net  in  which  he  had  taken  his  opponent, 
making  it  impossible  for  him  to  escape  : 
"  Most  reverend  father,"  said  he,  in  a 
tone  of  irony,  veiled  under  the  semblance 
of  respect,  "  your  Eminence  must  not 
suppose  that  we  Germans  are  altogether 
ignorant  of  grammar :  to  be  a  treasure, 
and  to  purchase  a  treasure,  are  two  very 
different  things." 

"  Retract !"  exclaimed  De  Vio,  "  re- 
tract !  or  I  will  send  you  to  Rome,  there 
to  appear  before  the  judges  commissioned 
to  take  cognizance  of  your  cause.  I  will 
excommunicate  you  and  all  your  parti- 
zans,  and  all  who  shall  at  any  time  coun- 
tenance you ;  and  will  cast  them  out  of 
the  Church.  Full  power  has  been  given 
to  me  for  this  purpose  by  ,the  holy  apos- 
tolic see.*  Think  you  that  your  protect- 
ors will  stop  me?  Do  you  imagine  that 
the  Pope  can  fear  Germany?  The 
Pope's  little  finger  is  stronger  than  all 
the  princes  of  Germany  put  together."! 

"  Condescend,"  replied  Luther,  "  to  for- 
ward the  written  answer  I  have  given 
you  to  Pope  Leo  X.,  with  my  most  hum- 
ble prayers." 

The  Legate   at  these  words,  glad  to 

*  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  p.  197. 
t  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xxii.  1331. 


180 


HISTORY  OF   THE  REFORMATION. 


have  a  momentary  respite,  again  assumed 
an  air  of  dignity,  and  turning  to  Luther, 
said,  in  a  haughty  and  angry  tone  : 

"  Retract,  or  return  no  more  !"* 

The  expression  struck  Luther.  He 
must  now  answer  in  another  manner 
than  by  words.  He  made  an  obesiance 
and  withdrew.  The  counsellors  of  the 
Elector  followed,  and  the  Cardinal  and 
his  Italians,  left  alone,  looked  at  each 
other,  utterly  confounded  at  such  a  result 
of  the  discussion. 

Luther  and  De  Vio  never  met  again : 
but  the  Reformer  had  made  a  powerful 
impression  on  the  Legate,  which  was 
never  entirely  effaced.  What  Luther 
had  said  concerning  faith,  what  De  Vio 
read  in  the  subsequent  writings  of  the  Doc- 
tor of  Wittemberg,  considerably  changed 
the  Cardinal's  sentiments.  The  theolo- 
gians of  Rome  saw  with  surprise  and 
dissatisfaction  the  opinions  touching  jus- 
tification which  he  brought  forward  in  his 
commentary  upon  the  Epistle  to  the  Ro- 
mans. The  Reformation  did  not  recede, 
nor  did  the  Reformer  retract ;  but  his 
judge,  who  had  so  repeatedly  command- 
ed him  to  retract,  changed  his  views, — 
and  himself  indirectly  retracted  his  er- 
rors. Thus  the  unshaken  fidelity  of  the 
Reformer  was  crowned  with  reward. 

Luther  returned  to  the  monastery  where 
he  had  been  a  guest.  He  had  stood 
firm :  he  had  borne  witness  to  the  truth  ; 
he  had  done  what  it  was  his  duty  to  do  ; 
God  would  do  the  rest.  His  heart  over- 
flowed with  joy  and  peace. 

However,  the  tidings  that  were  brought 
him  were  not  encouraging ;  a  rumour 
prevailed  throughout  the  city  that,  if  he 
did  not  retract,  he  was  to  be  seized  and 
thrown  into  a  dungeon.  The  Vicar-gen- 
eral of  the  order,  Staupitz  himself,!  it 
was  asserted,  had  given  his  consent  to 
this.  Luther  could  not  believe  that  his 
friend  would  act  in  this  manner.  No! 
Staupitz  could  not  betray  him!  As  to 
the  designs  of  the  Cardinal,  his  own 
words  had  thrown  sufficient  light  upon 
them.  Yet  Luther  would  not  flee  from 
the  danger ;  his  life,  as  well  as  the  truth 
itself,  was  in  powerful  keeping,  and,  in 
spite  of  all  these  threatenings,  he  deter- 
mined not  to  leave  Augsburg. 

*  Revoca  aut  non  revertere. — (L.  Opp.  (L.) 
xvii.  202.) 

t  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  p.  210. 


The  Legate  soon  repented  of  his  vio- 
lence ;  he  felt  that  he  had  forgotten  the 
part  it  was  his  policy  to  play,  and  wish- 
ed to  resume  it.  Hardly  had  Stau- 
pitz dined,  (for  the  interview  had  taken 
place  in  the  morning, — and  dinner  was 
served  at  noon,)  when  he  received  a  mes- 
sage from  the  Cardinal,  inviting  him  to 
his  house.  Staupitz  repaired  thither,  ac- 
companied by  Wenceslaus  Link.*  The 
Vicar-general  found  the  Legate  alone 
with  Serra  Longa.  De  Vio  immediately 
advanced  towards  Staupitz,  and  addressed 
him  in  the  gentlest  manner  : — "  Try 
now,"  said  he,  "  to  prevail  upon  your 
monk  and  induce  him  to  retract.  Really, 
I  am  pleased  with  him  on  the  whole,  and 
he  has  no  better  friend  than  myself."  f 

Staupitz. — "  I  have  already  done  my 
endeavours,  and  I  will  now  again  advise 
him  humbly  to  submit  to  the  church." 

De  Vio. — "  You  must  give  him  prop- 
er answers  to  the  arguments  that  he  ad- 
duces from  the  Scriptures." 

Staupitz. — "  I  must  confess,  my  lord, 
that  that  is  beyond  my  power  ;  for  Doc- 
tor Martin  is  more  than  a  match  for  me, 
both  in  acuteness  and  in  knowledge  of 
the  Scriptures." 

The  Cardinal  smiled,  we  may  imag 
ine,  at  the  Vicar-general's  frank  confes- 
sion. His  own  experience,  moreover, 
had  taught  him  the  difficulty  of  convict- 
ing Luther  of  error.  He  continued,  ad- 
dressing himself  to  Link  as  well  as  to 
Staupitz  : 

"  Are  you  aware  that,  as  favourers  of 
heretical  doctrine,  you  are  yourselves  ex- 
posed to  the  penalties  of  the  church?" 

Staupitz. — "  Deign  to  resume  the  con- 
ference with  Luther,  and  open  a  public 
disputation  on  the  controverted  points." 

De  Vio,  alarmed  at  the  thought  of  such 
a  measure,  exclaimed, — "  I  will  argue  no 
more  with  the  beast.  Those  eyes  of  his 
are  too  deeply  set  in  his  head,  and  his 
looks  have  too  much  meaning  in  them."  J 

Staupitz  finally  obtained  the  Cardinal's 
promise  that  he  would  state  in  writing 
what  he  required  Luther  to  retract. 

The  Vicar-general  then  returned  to 
Luther.  In  some  degree  shaken  by  the 
representations  of  the  Cardinal,  he  en- 

*  Ibid.  p.  204.  t  Ibid.  p.  185. 

X  Ego  nolo  amplius  cum  hac  bestia  disputare. 
Habet  enim  profundos  oculos  et  mirabiles  specu- 
lationes  in  capite  suo. — (Myconius,  p.  33.) 


LUTHER  BEFORE  THE   LEGATE. 


181 


deavoured  to  lead  him  to  some  conces- 
sion. "  Refute  then,"  said  Luther,  "  the 
Scriptures  I  have  brought  forward." — 
"  That  is  beyond  my  power,"  said  Stau- 
pitz. — "  Very  well,"  replied  Luther,  "  my 
conscience  will  not  allow  me  to  retract 
until  those  passages  of  Scripture  can  be 
shewn  to  have  another  meaning.  And 
so,"  continued  he,  "the  Cardinal  pro- 
fesses his  willingness  to  settle  the  affair 
in  this  way,  without  subjecting  me  to 
disgrace  or  detriment.  Ah !  these  are 
fine  Italian  words,  but,  in  plain  Ger- 
man, they  mean  nothing  less  than  my 
everlasting  shame  and  ruin.  What  bet- 
ter can  he  look  for  who,  from  fear  of  man 
and  against  his  own  conscience,  denies 
the  truth?"* 

Staupitz  desisted  ;  he  merely  informed 
Luther  that  the  Cardinal  had  consented 
to  send  him  in  writing  the  points  on 
which  he  required  his  recantation.  He 
then,  doubtless,  acquainted  him  with  his 
intention  of  leaving  Augsburg,  where  he 
had  now  nothing  more  to  do.  Luther 
communicated  to  him  a  purpose  he  had 
formed  for  comforting  and  strengthening 
their  souls.  Staupitz  promised  to  return, 
and  they  separated  for  a  short  time. 

Left  alone  in  his  cell,  Luther's  thoughts 
turned  towards  the  friends  most  dear  to 
his  heart.  His  thoughts  wandered  to 
Weimar  and  to  Wittemberg.  He  wished 
to  tell  the  Elector  what  was  passing,  and 
thinking  there  might  be  impropriety  in 
addressing  the  Prince  in  person,  he 
wrote  to  Spalatin,  and  begged  the  chap- 
lain to  let  his  master  know  the  state  of 
his  affairs.  He  related  to  him  all  that 
had  passed,  even  to  the  promise  the 
Legate  had  just  made  to  send  a  state- 
ment of  the  controverted  points  in  wri- 
ting. He  concluded,  by  saying  :f  "  Thus 
the  matter  stands ;  but  I  have  neither 
hope  nor  confidence  in  the  Legate.  I 
am  resolved  not  to  retract  a  single  sylla- 
ble. I  shall  publish  the  answer  that  I 
have  put  into  his  hands,  in  order  that,  if 
he  proceed  to  violence,  he  may  be  cov- 
ered with  shame  in  the  sight  of  all  Chris- 
tendom." 

The  Doctor  next  availed  himself  of 
the  few  moments  that  were  still  remain- 
ing, to  send  tidings  of  himself  to  his  friends 
at  Wittemberg. 

*  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  p.  129. 
t  L.  Epp.  149. 


"  Peace  and  happiness !"  he  wrote  to 
Doctor  Carlstadt.  "  Accept  these  few 
words  in  place  of  a  long  letter :  for  time 
and  events  are  pressing.  Another  time 
I  hope  to  write  to  you  and  others  more 
fully.  For  three  days  my  affair  has 
been  in  hand,  and  things  are  at  such 
a  point  that  I  have  no  longer  a  hope 
of  seeing  you  again,  and  have  nothing 
to  expect  but  excommunication.  The 
Legate  will  not  allow  me  to  defend  my- 
self, either  publicly  or  in  private.  His 
wish,  he  tells  me,  is  to  act  the  part  of 
a  father,  not  of  a  judge  ;  and  yet  he 
will  hear  nothing  from  me  but  the  words: 
'I  retract,  and  acknowledge  that  I  have 
been  in  error.'  And  those  are  words 
I  will  not  utter !  The  peril  in  which 
my  cause  is  placed  is  so  much  the  great- 
er, because  it  is  judged  not  only  by 
implacable  enemies,  but  even  by  men 
incapable  of  understanding  its  merits. 
However,  the  Lord  God  lives  and  reigns  : 
to  His  keeping  I  commend  myself;  and 
I  doubt  not  that  in  answer  to  the  prayers 
of  pious  souls,  He  will  send  me  deliv- 
erance :  /  seem  to  feel  that  prayer  is  being 
made  for  me  ! 

"Either  I  shall  return  to  you  unhurt; 
or  else  under  a  sentence  of  excommuni- 
cation ;  I  must  seek  shelter  elsewhere. 

"  Whatever  may  happen  to  me,  quit 
yourself  manfully  ;  stand  fast,  and  glorify 
Christ  joyfully  and  without  fear.  .  .  . 

"  The  Cardinal  always  styles  me  'his 
dear  son.'  I  know  how  little  that  means. 
Still  I  am  persuaded  I  should  be  to  him 
one  of  the  dearest  and  most  acceptable  of 
men,  if  I  would  but  pronounce  the  single 
word  :  '  Revoca.)  But  I  will  not  become 
a  heretic  by  renouncing  the  faith  that 
has  made  me  a  christian.  Better  far 
would  it  be — to  be  cast  out  and  accursed, 
and  perish  at  the  stake. 

"  Farewell,  my  dear  Doctor !  show 
this  letter  to  our  theologians, — to  Ams- 
dorff,  to  Philip,  to  Otten,  and  to  others, 
in  order  that  you  may  pray  for  me,  and 
also  for  yourselves ;  for  it  is  your  cause 
also  that  is  now  trying.  It  is  the  cause 
of  the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  of  the 
grace  of  God."* 

Sweet  thought !  which  ever  fills  with 

consolation  and  peace  the  hearts  of  those 

who  have  borne  witness  to  Jesus  Christ, 

to  his  divinity  and  grace,  when  the  world 

*  L.  Epp.  i.  159. 


182 


HISTORY   OF  THE    REFORMATION. 


rains  upon  them  from  all  sides  its  cen- 
sures, its  interdicts,  and  its  scorn !  "  Our 
cause  is  the  cause  of  faith  in  the  Lord." 
And  what  sweetness  also  in  the  convic- 
tion expressed  by  the  Reformer :  "  /  seem 
to  feel  that  I  am  prayed  for."  The  Ref- 
ormation was  a  work  of  prayer  and  of 
piety  toward  God.  The  struggle  be- 
tween Luther  and  De  Vio  was,  in  truth, 
one  of  a  religious  principle,  then  re-ap- 
pearing in  full  vigour,  with  the  expiring 
strength  of  the  disputatious  dialectics  of 
the  middle  age. 

Thus  did  Luther  converse  with  his  ab- 
sent friends.  Staupitz  soon  returned ; 
Doctor  Ruhel  and  the  knight  FeiKtzsch, 
both  of  them  sent  by  the  Elector,  also 
visited  him,  after  taking  leave  of  the  Car- 
dinal. Some  other  friends  of  the  Gospel 
joined  them  ;  and  Luther,  seeing  thus  as- 
sembled together  these  noble-minded  men, 
who  were  soon  to  be  parted  from  each 
other,  and  from  whom  he  himself  was 
about,  perhaps,  to  be  for  ever  separated, 
proposed  that  they  should  join  in  cele- 
brating the  Lord's  Supper.  The  propo- 
sal was  agreed  to  ;  and  this  little  assem- 
bly of  the  faithful  partook  of  the  body 
and  blood  of  Christ.  What  must  have 
been  the  feelings  of  the  Reformer's  friends 
at  the  moment  when,  as  they  celebrated 
with  him  the  Lord's  Supper,  they  reflected 
that  this  was  perhaps  the  last  time  that 
this  privilege  would  be  allowed  him. 
What  joy  and  love  must  have  filled  the 
heart  of  Luther  in  the  consciousness  of 
being  so  graciously  accepted  by  his  Mas- 
ter, at  the  very  moment  when  men  were 
rejecting  him.  How  solemn  must  have 
been  that  supper !  How  sacred  that 
evening  !* 

The  next  day,f  Luther  expected  to  re- 
ceive the  instructions  which  the  Legate 
was  to  send  to  him. 

But,  not  receiving  any  message  from 
him,  he  requested  his  friend,  Doctor  Wen- 
ceslaus Link,  to  wait  upon  the  Cardinal. 
De  Vio  received  Link  most  affably,  and 
assured  him  that  he  wished  to  take  the 
most  friendly  course.  "  I  no  longer  con- 
sider Doctor  Martin  Luther  a  heretic," 
added  he  ;  "I  will  not,  at  this  time,  ex- 
communicate him,  unless  I  receive  fur- 
ther instructions  from  Rome  :  for  I  have 
sent  his  answer  to  the  Pope  by  an  ex- 

*  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  178. 
t  Sunday,  15th  Oct. 


press."  Then,  to  give  a  proof  of  his  good 
intentions  towards  him,  he  added ■  "  If 
Doctor  Luther  would  only  retract  on 
the  subject  of  indulgences,  the  business 
would  soon  be  concluded  ;  for,  as  to  faith' 
in  the  sacraments,  that  is  an  article  that 
every  one  may  interpret  and  understand 
in  his  own  way."  Spalatin,  who  relates 
this,  adds  this  sarcastic  but  just  observa- 
tion :  "  Whence  it  is  evident,  that  Rome 
attaches  more  importance  to  money  than 
to  our  holy  faith  and  the  salvation  of 
souls."* 

Link  returned  to  Luther.  He  found 
Staupitz  there,  and  gave  an  account  of 
his  visit.  When  he  mentioned  the  un- 
expected concession  of  the  Legate  :  "  It 
would  have  been  well,"  said  Staupitz, 
"  if  Doctor  Wenceslaus  had  had  a  notary 
and  witnesses  with  him,  to  have  taken 
down  that  speech  in  writing  ;  for,  if  such 
a  proposal  were  made  public,  it  would  do 
no  small  prejudice  to  the  cause  of  these 
Romans." 

However,  the  more  the  Roman  prelate 
softened  his  tone,  the  more  confirmed  the 
honest  Germans  were  in  their  distrust  of 
him.  Several  of  those  trustworthy  per- 
sons to  whom  Luther  had  been  recom- 
mended held  a  council  together :  "  The 
Legate,"  said  they,  "  is  preparing  some 
mischief,  through  this  courier  he  speaks 
of,  and  it  is  much  to  be  feared  that  you 
will  all  be  seized  and  cast  into  prison." 

Staupitz  and  Wenceslaus,  therefore, 
determined  to  leave  the  town  ;  they  em- 
braced Luther,  who  persisted  in  remain- 
ing at  Augsburg,  and  directed  their  course 
by  two  different  roads  to  Nuremberg,  not 
without  many  misgivings  as  to  the  fate 
of  the  magnanimous  witness  whom  they 
were  leaving  behind  them. 

Sunday  passed  very  quietly.  Luther 
waited  in  vain  for  a  message  from  the 
Legate:  the  latter  sent  none.  He  then 
determined  to  write  to  him.  Staupitz 
and  Link,  before  they  set  out,  had  beg- 
ged him  to  treat  the  Cardinal  with  all 
possible  respect.  Luther  had  not  yet 
made  trial  of  Rome  and  her  envoys  ;  it 
was  his  first  experience.  If  his  humble 
deference  did  not  succeed  he  would  know 
what  to  expect  in  future.  But  now,  at 
least,  he  must  make  trial  of  it.  As  to 
his  own  share  in  the  matter,  not  a  day 
passed  in  which  he  did  not  condemn 
*  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  p.  182. 


LUTHER  BEFORE  THE  LEGATE. 


183 


himself,  and  mourn  over  his  proneness  to 
use  expressions  stronger  than  the  occa- 
sion required ;  why  should  he  not  con- 
fess to  the  Cardinal  what  he  every  day 
confessed  to  God?  Besides,  Luther's 
heart  was  easily  affected  by  kindness, 
and  he  suspected  no  evil.  He  therefore 
took  up  his  pen,  and  with  a  feeling  of 
repectful  goodwill,  wrote  to  the  Cardinal 
as  follows  :* 

"  My  very  worthy  father  in  God,  I 
approach  you  once  more,  not  personally, 
but  by  letter,  entreating  your  fatherly 
kindness  graciously  to  listen  to  me. 

"  The  reverend  Doctor  Staupitz,  my 
very  dear  father  in  Christ,  has  advised 
me  to  humble  myself,  to  mistrust  my  own 
judgment,  and  to  submit  my  opinion  to 
the  judgment  of  pious  and  impartial 
men.  He  also  commended  your  fatherly 
kindness,  and  has  fully  convinced  me  of 
your  friendly  disposition  towards  me. 
This  intelligence  has  filled  me  with  joy. 

"  Now,  therefore,  most  worthy  father, 
I  confess,  as  I  have  already  done  before, 
that  as  I  have  not  shown,  (as  they  tell 
me,)  sufficient  diffidence,  gentleness,  and 
respect  for  the  name  of  the  sovereign 
pontiff;  and  though  my  opponents  have 
given  me  great  provocation,  I  now  see 
that  it  would  have  been  better  to  have 
conducted  my  cause  more  meekly,  cour- 
teously, and  reverently,  and  not  to  have 
answered  a  fool  according  to  his  folly, 
lest  I  should  be  like  unto  him. 

"  This  grieves  me  very  much,  and  I 
ask  pardon.  I  will  publicly  acknowl- 
edge it  from  the  pulpit,  as  indeed  I  have 
often  done  before.  I  will  endeavour,  by 
the  grace  of  God,  to  speak  differently.  I 
will  do  more  ;  I  am  ready  to  promise  of 
my  own  accord,  not  again  to  say  a  single 
word  on  the  subject  of  indulgences,  if 
this  business  is  arranged.  But  then,  let 
those  also  who  led  me  to  begin  it  be 
compelled,  on  their  part,  to  moderate 
their  discourses,  or  to  be  silent. 

"  So  far  as  the  truth  of  what  I  have 
taught  is  concerned,  the  authority  of  St. 
Thomas  and  of  the  other  doctors  cannot 
satisfy  me.  I  must  hear  (if  I  am  worthy 
to  do  so)  the  voice  of  the  spouse,  which 
is  the  Church.  For  it  is  certain  she 
hears  the  voice  of  the  bridegroom,  Christ. 

"  I  therefore,  in  all  humility  and  sub- 
mission, entreat  you  to  refer  this  matter, 

*  This  letter  bears  date  the  17th  October. 


hitherto  so  unsettled,  to  our  most  holy 
lord,  Leo  X.,  in  order  that  the  Church 
may  decide,  pronounce,  and  ordain,  and 
that  those  who  shall  be  called  on  to  re- 
tract, may  do  so  with  a  good  conscience, 
or  believe  in  all  sincerity."* 

In  reading  this  letter,  another  reflec- 
tion occurs  to  us.  We  see  that  Luther 
did  not  act  upon  a  preconceived  plan, 
but  solely  in  obedience  to  convictions  suc- 
cessively impressed  upon  his  mind  and 
heart.  Far  removed  from  any  settled 
scheme  or  preconcerted  opposition,  he 
was  sometimes,  without  suspecting  it,  in 
contradiction  with  himself;  earlier  con- 
victions were  still  standing  in  his  mind, 
although  their  opposites  had  already 
found  a  place  there.  And  yet  it  is  in 
these  characters  of  truth  and  sincerity 
that  some  have  spught  for  objections  to 
the  Reformation;  it  is  because  it  followed 
that  necessary  law  of  progression,  im- 
posed in  every  thing  on  the  human  mind, 
that  some  have  written  the  history  of  its 
variations ;  it  is  in  those  very  features  that 
mark  its  sincerity;  and  make  it  honour- 
able, that  one  of  eminent  genius  has  seen 
the  most  powerful  objections  against  it.f  . . 
Strange  perverseness  of  the  mind  of  man ! 

Luther  received  no  answer  to  his  let- 
ter. Cajetan  and  all  his  courtiers,  after 
being  so  violently  agitated,  had  suddenly 
become  motionless.  What  could  be  the 
reason  of  this?  Might  it  not  be  that 
calm  which  precedes  a  storm?  Some 
viewed  the  delay  in  the  light  in  which 
Pallavicini  has  represented  it.  "  The 
Cardinal  was  waiting,"  says  he,  "  till  the 
proud  monk,  like  an  inflated  bellows, 
should  gradually  lose  the  wind  which 
filled  him,  and  become  humble. "\  Those 
who  thought  they  better  understood  the 
ways  of  Rome,  felt  sure  that  the  Legate 
intended  to  arrest  Luther,  but  that,  not 
daring  to  proceed  to  such  extremities  on 
his  own  authority,  on  account  of  the  Im- 
perial safe-conduct,  he  was  awaiting  an 
answer  from  Rome  to  his  message. 
Others  could  not  believe  that  the  Cardi- 
nal would  wait  so  long.  "  The  Emper- 
or Maximilian,"  they  said,  (and  in  this 
they  might  speak  the  truth,) "  will  no  more 

*  L.  Opp.  (L.)  198. 

t  Bossuet,  Hist,  des  Variations. — (Liv.  i.  p.  25, 
&c.) 

X  Ut  follis  ille  ventosa  elatione  distantus  ...  (p. 
40.) 


184 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


scruple  to  give  up  Luther  for  trial  by  the 
Church,  notwithstanding  his  safe-conduct, 
than  Sigismund  did  to  surrender  Huss  to 
the  Council  of  Constance.  The  Legate 
is  perhaps  now  in  communication  with 
the  Emperor.  The  sanction  of  Maximil- 
ian may  every  hour  be  expected.  The 
more  opposed  he  was  before  to  the  Pope, 
the  more  does  he  seem  to  seek  to  please 
him  ;  and  so  it  will  be  till  the  crown 
of  the  empire  encircles  his  grandson's 
brows."  Not  a  moment  was  to  be  lost. 
"  Draw  up  an  appeal  to  the  Pope-,"  said 
the  kind-hearted  men  who  surrounded 
Luther ;  '•  Draw  up  an  appeal  to  the  Pope, 
and  leave  Augsburg  without  delay/' 

Luther,  whose  presence  in  that  city 
had  for  the  last  four  days  been  utterly 
useless,  and  who  had  sufficiently  proved, 
by  remaining  after  the  departure  of  the 
Saxon  counsellors  sent  by  the  Elector  to 
watch  over  his  safety,  that  he  feared  no- 
thing, and  was  ready  to  answer  for  him- 
self, yielded  at  last  to  the  wishes  of  his 
friends.  But  first  he  resolved  to  inform 
De  Vio  of  his  intention ;  he  wrote  to  him 
on  the  Tuesday,  the  eve  of  his  departure. 
This  letter  was  in  a  bolder  strain  than 
the  former.  Seeing  his  advances  were 
unavailing,  Luther  seems  to  erect  him- 
self in  the  consciousness  of  his  right,  and 
of  the  injustice  of  his  enemies. 

••  Most  worthy  father  in  God,"  he 
wrote  to  De  Vio,  "  your  parental  kind- 
ness has  witnessed,  yea.  witnessed  and 
sufficiently  acknowledged  my  obedience. 
I  have  undertaken  a  long  journey,  in  the 
midst  of  dangers,  in  great  weakness  of 
body,  and  notwithstanding  my  extreme 
poverty,  at  the  command  of  our  most  holy 
lord,  Leo  X. ; — I  have  personally  appear- 
ed be-fore  your  eminence  ; — and  lastly,  I 
have  thrown  myself  at  the  feet  of  his 
Holiness,  and  now  wait  his  good  pleasure, 
ready  to  submit  to  his  judgment,  whether 
he  condemn  or  acquit  me.  1  therefore 
feel  that  I  have  left  nothing  undone  that 
becomes  an  obedient  son  of  the  Church. 

"  It  is  my  intention,  therefore,  not  use- 
lessly to  prolong  my  stay  here ;  it  is  in- 
deed impossible  I  should  do  so,  as  I  want 
the  means  ;  and  you  have  positively  for- 
bidden my  ag-ain  appearing  before  you 
unless  I  would  retract. 

"  Thus  I  again  set  out  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord,  desiring,  if  possible,  to  find 
some  place  where  I  may  live  in  peace. 


Several  persons  of  more  importance  than 
myself  have  persuaded  me  to  appeal  from 
your  paternal  kindness,  and  even  from 
our  most  holy  lord,  Leo  X.,  ill-informed, 
to  himself  when  he  shall  be  better  in- 
formed on  the  matter.  Though  I  know 
that  such  an  appeal  will  be  more  agree- 
able to  his  highness  the  Elector  than  a 
recantation,  yet  if  it  had  been  my  duty 
only  to  consult  my  own  feelings,  I  would, 
not  have  made  it.  ...  I  have  committed 
no  crime : — I  ought  therefore  to  have 
nothing  to  fear." 

Luther  having  written  this  letter 
(which  was  not  delivered  to  the  Legate 
until  after  his  departure),  prepared  to 
leave  Augsburg.  God  had  preserved 
him  hitherto,  and  with  all  his  heart  he 
praised  the  Lord  for  his  protection.  But 
it  was  his  duty  not  to  tempt  God.  He 
embraced  his  friends,  Peutinger,  Lange- 
mantel,  the  Adelmanns,  Auerbach,  and 
the  Prior  of  the  Carmelites,  who  had  af- 
forded him  such  Christian  hospitality.  On 
Wednesday,  before  daybreak,  he  was  up 
and  ready  to  set  out.  His  friends  had 
advised  him  to  take  every  possible  pre- 
caution, fearing,  that  if  his  departure  were 
known,  it  might  be  opposed.  He  fol- 
lowed their  advice  as  well  as  he  could. 
A  horse,  that  Staupitz  had  left  at  his 
disposal,  was  brought  to  the  door  of  the 
convent.  Once  more  he  bids  adieu  to  his 
brethren ;  he  then  mounts  and  sets  out, 
without  a  bridle  for  his  horse,  without 
boots  or  spurs,  and  unarmed.  The  ma- 
gistrate of  the  city  had  sent  him  as  a 
guide  a  horseman,  who  was  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  roads.  This  man  con- 
ducts him  in  the  dark  through  the  silent 
streets  of  Augsburg.  They  direct  their 
course  to  a  little  gate  in  the  wall  of  the 
city.  One  of  the  counsellors,  Lageman- 
tel.  had  ordered  that  it  should  be  opened 
to  him.  He  is  still  in  the  Legate's  pow- 
er. The  hand  of  Rome  is  still  over 
him;  doubtless,  if  the  Italians  knew  that 
their  prey  was  escaping,  the  cry  of  pur- 
suit would  be  raised  :  —  who  knows 
Avhethcr  the  intrepid  adversary  of  Rome 
may  not  still  be  seized  and  thrown  into 
prison  ?  .  .  .  At  last  Luther  and  his  guide 
arrive  at  the  little  gate : — they  pass 
through.  They  are  out  of  Augsburg; 
and  putting  their  horses  into  a  gallop, 
they  soon  leave  the  city  far  behind  them. 
Luther,  on  leaving,  had  deposited  his 


LUTHER   BEFORE    THE   LEGATE. 


185 


appeal  to  the  Pope  in  the  hands  of  the 
Prior  of  Pomesaw.  His  friends  advised 
him  not  to  send  it  to  the  Legate.  The 
Prior  was  commissioned  to  have  it  post- 
ed, two  or  three  days  after  the  Doctor's 
departure,  on  the  door  of  a  cathedral,  in 
the  presence  of  a  notary  and  of  witnesses. 
This  was  done. 

In  this  writing1  Luther  declared  that 
he  appealed  from  the  most  holy  Father 
the  Pope,  ill-informed  in  this'  business, 
to  the  most  holy  Lord  and  Father  in 
( ihrist,  Leo  X.  by  name,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  when  better  informed,  &c.  &c* 
The  appeal  had  been  drawn  up  in  the 
regular  form,  by  the  assistance  of  the 
Imperial  notary,  Gall  de  Herbrachtin- 
gen,  in  the  presence  of  two  Augustine 
monks,  Bartholomew  Utzmair  and  Wen- 
gel  Stcinbies.  It  was  dated  the  16th  of 
October. 

When  the  Cardinal  heard  of  Luther's 
departure,  he  was  struck  with  surprise, 
and,  as  he  affirmed  in  a  letter  to  the 
Elector,  even  with  alarm  and  apprehen- 
sion. He  had,  indeed,  some  reason  to  be 
vexed.  This  departure,  which  so  abrupt- 
ly terminated  his  negotiations,  disconcert- 
ed all  the  hopes  which  his  pride  had  so 
long  cherished.  He  had  been  ambitious 
of  the  honour  of  healing  the  wounds  of 
the  Church,  and  re-establishing  the  de- 
clining influence  of  the  Pope  in  Germa- 
ny :  and  not  only  had  the  heretic  escaped 
with  impunity,  but  without  his  having 
so  much  as  humbled  him.  The  con- 
ference had*  served  only  to  exhibit  in  a 
strong  light,  on  the  one  hand  the  sim- 
plicity, uprightness,  and  firmness  of  Lu- 
ther, and  on  the  other,  the  imperious  and 
unreasonable  procedure  of  the  Pope  and 
his  representative.  Inasmuch  as  Rome 
had  gained  nothing,  she  had  lost ; — and 
her  authority,  not  having  been  reinforced, 
had  in  reality  sustained  a  fresh  check. 
What  will  be  said  of  all  this  at  the  Vati- 
can 1  what  will  be  the  next  despatches  re- 
ceived from  Rome  1  The  difficulties  of 
the  Legate's  situation  will  be  forgotten, 
the  untoward  issue  of  the  affair  will  be 
ascribed  to  his  want  of  skill.  Serra 
Longa  and  the  rest  of  the  Italians  were 
furious  on  seeing  themselves,  dexterous 
as  they  were,  outwitted  by  a  German 
monk.  De  Vio  could  hardly  conceal 
his  vexation.  Such  an  insult  appeared 
*  Melius  informandum.— (L  Opp.  lat.  i.  p.  219.) 
24 


to  call  for  vengeance,  and  we  shall  soon 
see  him  give  utterance  to  his  anger  in  a 
letter  to  the  Elector. 

.Meanwhile  Luther,  accompanied  by 
the  horseman,  continued  his  journey  from 
Augsburg.  He  urged  his  horse  and 
kept  the  poor  animal  at  full  speed.  He 
called  to  mind  the  real  or  supposed  flight 
of  John  Huss,  the  manner  in  which  he 
was  overtaken,  and  the  assertion  of  his 
adversaries,  who  affirmed  that  Huss  hav- 
ing, by  his  flight,  annulled  the  Krnper- 
or's  safe-conduct,  they  had  a  right  to  con- 
demn him  to  the  flames.*  However, 
these  uneasy  feelings  did  not  long  occu- 
py Luther's  mind.  Having  got  clear 
from  the  city  where  he  had  spent  ten 
days  under  that  terrible  hand  of  Rome 
which  had  already  crushed  so  many 
thousand  witnesses  for  the  truth,  and 
shed  so  much  blood, — at  large,  breath- 
ing the  open  air,  traversin-j-  the  villages 
and  plains,  and  wonderfully  delivered  by 
the  arm  of  the  Lord,  his  whole  soul 
overflowed  with  praise.  He  might  well 
say :  "  Our  soul  is  escaped  as  a  bird  out 
of  the  snare  of  the  fowlers ;  the  snare 
is  broken,  and  we  are  delivered.  Our 
help  is  in  the  name  of  God,  who  made 
heaven  and  earth."f  Thus  was  the 
heart  of  Luther  filled  with  joy.  But  his 
thoughts  again  reverted  to  De  Vio : 
"  The  Cardinal,"  thought  he,  "  would 
have  been  well  pleased  to  get  me  into 
his  power  and  send  me  to  Rome.  He 
is,  no  doubt,  mortified  that  I  have  es- 
caped from  him.  He  thought  he  had 
me  in  his  clutches  at  Augsburg.  He 
thought  he  held  me  fast ;  but  he  was 
holding  an  eel  by  the  tail.  Shame  that 
these  people  should  set  so  high  a  price 
upon  me !  They  would  give  many 
crowns  to  have  me  in  their  power, 
whilst  our  Saviour  Christ  was  sold  for 
thirty  pieces  of  silver."! 

Luther  travelled  fourteen  leagues  the 
first  day.  In  the  evening,  when  he  ar- 
rived at  the  inn  where  he  was  to  spend 
the  night,  he  was  so  fatigued — (his  horse, 
says  one  of  his  biographers,  had  a  very 
rough  trot,) — that,  on  alighting,  he  was 
unable  to  stand,  and  dropped  motionless 
upon  the  straw.  He,  however,  enjoyed 
some  rest.  The  next  day  he  continued 
his  journey.     At  Nuremberg  he  found 

*  Weissman,  Hist.  Eccles.  i.  p.  237. 

t  Ps.  124.  %  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  p.  202 


186 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


Staupitz,  who  was  engaged  in  visiting 
the  convents  of  his  order.  It  was  in  this 
city  that  he  first  saw  the  brief  that  the 
Pope  had  sent  to  Cajetan  concerning 
him.  He  was  indignant  at  it,  and  had  he 
read  it  before  he  left  Wittemberg,  it  is 
very  probable  he  would  never  have  ap- 
peared before  the  Cardinal.  "  It  is  im- 
possible to  believe,"  said  he,  "  that  any 
thing  so  monstrous  can  have  emanated 
from  a  Sovereign  Pontiff."* 

Every  where  on  his  journey  Luther 
was  an  object  of  general  interest.  He 
was  returning  without  having  given  up 
any  thing.  Such  a  victory  gained  by 
a  mendicant  friar  over  the  representa- 
tives of  Rome,  filled  every  heart  with 
astonishment.  It  seemed  as  if  Germany 
had  now  its  revenge  for  the  Italian  con- 
tempt of  Ultramontanes.  God's  word 
had  obtained  more  honour  than  the 
word  of  the  Pope.  The  power  which 
for  ages  had  borne  rule,  had  just  re- 
ceived a  formidable  check.  The  jour- 
ney of  Luther  was  a  triumph.  Men  re- 
joiced at  the  obstinacy  of  Rome,  because 
it  was  likely  to  hasten  her  ruin.  If  she 
had  not  insisted  on  retaining  her  shame- 
ful gains, — if  she  had  been  prudent 
enough  not  to  despise  the  Germans, — if 
she  had  reformed  flagrant  abuses, — per- 
haps, according  to  human  calculations, 
things  would  have  returned  to  the  death- 
like state  from  which  Luther  had  awa* 
kened.  But  the  Papacy  would  not  yield  ; 
and  the  Doctor  was  to  be  constrained  to 
bring  many  other  errors  to  light,  and  to 
advance  in  the  knowledge  and  manifes- 
tation of  the  truth. 

On  the  26th  of  October,  Luther  arrived 
at  Graefenthal,  at  the  extremity  of  the 
woods  of  Thuringia.  He  there  met 
Count  Albert  of  Mansfeldt,  the  same 
person  who  had  so  strongly  dissuaded 
him  from  going  to  Augsburg.  The 
Count  laughed  heartily  at  his  strange 
equipment.  He  compelled  him  to  stop, 
and  obliged  him  to  become  his  guest : 
Luther  soon  afterwards  continued  his 
journey. 

He  hastened  on,  desiring  to  be  at 
Wittemberg  on  the  31st  of  October,  in 
the  expectation  that  the  Elector  would  be 
there  at  the  feast  of  All  Saints,  and  that 
he  might  have  an  interview  with  him. 
The  brief  which  he  had  read  at  Nurem- 
*  L.  Epp.  i.  p.  166. 


berg  had  revealed  to  him  all  the  danger 
of  his  situation.  In  fact,  being  already 
condemned  at  Rome,  he  could  not  hope 
either  to  continue  at  Wittemberg,  or  to 
find  an  asylum  in  a  convent,  or  to  dwell 
any  where  in  peace  and  safety.  The 
protection  of  the  Elector  might,  perhaps, 
avail  him ;  but  he  was  far  from  being 
sure  of  it.  He  had  nothing  more  to 
hope  from  the  true  friends  he  had  hith- 
erto possessed  at  this  prince's  court. 
Staupitz,  having  lost  the  favour  he  had 
long  enjoyed,  was  then  leaving  Saxony. 
Spalatin,  though  beloved  by  Frederic, 
had  not  much  influence  over  him.  The 
Elector  himself  was  not  sufficiently  in- 
structed in  the  doctrine  of  the  Gospel  to 
expose  himself  for  the  sake  of  it  to  man- 
ifest dangers.  However,  Luther  thought 
he  could  not  do  better  than  return  to 
Wittemberg,  and  there  wait  to  see  what 
the  eternal  and  merciful  God  would  do 
with  him.  If,  as  some  expected,  he  were 
unmolested,  he  resolved  to  devote  him- 
self entirely  to  the  study  and  to  the  in- 
struction of  youth.* 

Luther  got  back  to  Wittemberg  on 
the  30th  of  October.  His  haste  had  been 
in  vain.  Neither  the  Elector  nor  Spala- 
tin had  come  to  the  feast.  His  friends 
were  delighted  to  see  him  again  amongst 
them.  He  hastened  to  inform  Spalatin 
of  his  arrival.  "  I  have  arrived  to-day 
at  Wittemberg,  safe  and  sound,  through 
God's  mercy,"  said  he ;  "  but  how  long 
I  shall  stay  here  I  know  not.  ...  I  am 
filled  with  joy  and  peace ;  and  find  it 
hard  to  conceive  how  the  trial  I  am  en- 
during can  appear  so  grievous  to  so  many 
distinguished  men." 

De  Vio  had  not  waited  long,  after 
the  departure  of  Luther,  to  pour  forth  all 
his  indignation  to  the  Elector.  His  let- 
ter breathed  vengeance. 

He  gave  Frederic  an  account  of  the 
conference,  with  an  air  of  self-satisfac- 
tion : — "  Since  brother  Martin,"  said  he 
in  conclusion,  "  cannot  be  brought  by  pa- 
ternal measures  to  acknowledge  his  er- 
ror, and  to  continue  faithful  to  the  Cath- 
olic Church,  I  request  your  Highness 
to  send  him  to  Rome,  or  to  banish  him 
from  your  territories.  Be  assured  that 
this  complicated,  evil-intentioned,  and 
mischievous  affair  cannot  be  long  pro- 
tracted ;  for  as  soon  as  I  shall  have  in- 
*  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xru.  p.  183. 


LUTHER  BEFORE  THE  LEGATE. 


187 


formed  our  most  holy  lord  of  all  this  ar- 
tifice and  malice,  he  will  bring  it  to  a 
speedy  end."  In  a  postscript,  written 
with  his  own  hand,  the  Cardinal  en- 
treated the  Elector  not  to  tarnish  with 
shame  his  own  honour  and  that  of  his 
illustrious  ancestors,  for  the  cause  of  a 
contemptible  monk.* 

Never  was  the  soul  of  Luther  roused 
to  higher  indignation  than  when  he 
read  the  copy  of  this  letter  which  the 
Elector  sent  him.  The  sense  of  the 
sufferings  he  was  destined  to  endure,  the 
value  of  the  truth  for  which  he  con- 
tended, contempt  for  the  conduct  of  the 
Roman  Legate,  together  swelled  his 
heart.  His  answer,  written  at  the  mo- 
ment when  his  whole  soul  was  thus  agi- 
tated, is  distinguished  by  that  courage, 
elevation,  and  faith,  which  he  ever  dis- 
played in  the  most  trying  circumstances 
of  his  life.  He  gave,  in  his  turn,  an 
account  of  the  conference  at  Augsburg. 
He  described  the  deportment  of  the  Car- 
dinal :  and  thus  proceeded  : 

"  I  would  like  to  answer  the  Legate, 
putting  myself  in  the  place  of  the  Elector. 

" '  Prove  to  me  that  you  understand 
what  you  talk  about,'  I  would  say  to 
him ;  '  let  the  whole  discussion  be  car- 
ried on  in  writing.  I  will  then  send 
brother  Martin  to  Rome,  or  else  I  will 
apprehend  him  and  have  him  put  to 
death.  I  will  take  care  of  my  own  con- 
science and  honour,  and  I  will  not  allow 
my  glory  to  be  sullied.  But  as  long  as 
your  absolute  knowledge  shuns  the  light, 
and  only  discovers  itself  by  clamour,  I 
cannot  put  faith  in  darkness.' 

"  This,  most  excellent  Prince,  is  the  an- 
swer I  would  make  him. 

"  Let  the  reverend  Legate,  or  the  Pope 
himself,  specify  my  errors  in  writing: 
let  them  bring  forward  their  reasons; 
let  them  instruct  me,  who  desire  to  be 
instructed,  who  ask  to  be  so,  who  intend 
what  I  say,  and  long  for  instruction, 
so  that  even  a  Turk  would  not  refuse 
to  satisfy  me.  If  I  do  not  retract  and 
condemn  myself,  when  they  have  proved 
to  me  that  the  passages  of  Scripture  that 
I  have  quoted  ought  to  be  understood  in 
a  different  sense  from  that  in  which  I 
have  understood  them, — then,  O  most 
excellent  Elector  !  let  your  Highness  be 
the  first  to  prosecute  and  expel  me,  let 
*  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  p.  203. 


the  university  reject  me  and  overwhelm 
me  with  indignation.  I  will  go  further, 
and  I  call  heaven  and  earth  to  witness, 
let  the  Lord  Christ  Jesus  himself  reject 
and  condemn  me  !  These  are  not  words 
of  vain  presumption,  but  of  firm  convic- 
tion. Let  the  Lord  deprive  me  of  his 
grace,  and  every  creature  of  God  refuse 
to  countenance  me,  if,  when  I  have  been 
shewn  a  better  doctrine,  I  do  not  em- 
brace it. 

"  But  if,  on  account  of  my  low  estate, 
and  because  I  am  but  a  poor  mendicant 
brother,  they  despise  me,  and  so  refuse  to 
instruct  me  in  the  way  of  truth,  let  your 
Highness  beg  the  Legate  to  inform  you 
in  writing  wherein  I  have  erred ;  and  if 
they  refuse  this  favour  to  your  Highness 
yourself,  let  them  write  their  own  views, 
either  to  his  Imperial  Majesty,  or  to  some 
German  Archbishop.  What  ought  I 
to  do — what  can  I  do — more  ? 

"  Let  your  Highness  listen  to  the  voice 
of  your  conscience  and  of  your  honour, 
and  not  send  me  to  Rome.  No  man  has 
the  right  to  require  this  of  you  ;  for  it  is 
impossible  that  I  should  be  safe  in  Rome. 
The  Pope  himself  is  not  safe  there.  It 
would  be  enjoining  you  to  betray  Chris- 
tian blood.  Tb,ey  have  there  paper,  pens, 
and  ink  ;  they  have  also  numberless  no- 
taries. It  is  easy  for  them  to  write  wherein 
and  wherefore  I  have  erred.  It  will  cost 
them  less  trouble  to  instruct  me  at  a  dis- 
tance by  writing,  than,  having  me  among 
them,  to  put  me  to  death  by  stratagem. 

"  I  resign  myself  to  banishment.  My 
adversaries  lay  snares  for  me  on  all  sides ; 
so  that  I  can  nowhere  live  in  safety. 
That  no  harm  may  happen  to  you  on 
my  account,  I  leave  your  territories,  in 
God's  name.  I  will  go  wherever  the  eter- 
nal and  merciful  God  will  have  me.  Let 
him  do  with  me  what  seemeth  him  good. 

"  Thus,  then,  most  serene  Elector,  I 
reverently  bid  you  farewell.  I  commend 
you  to  Almighty  God,  and  I  give  you 
endless  thanks  for  all  your  kindness  to 
me.  Whatever  be  the  people  among 
whom  I  may  hereafter  live,  wherever 
my  future  lot  may  be  cast,  I  shall  ever 
remember  you,  and' shall  gratefully  pray, 
without  ceasing,  for  the  happiness  of  you 
and  yours.* 

*  Ego  enim  ubicumque  ero  gentium,  illustris- 
simce  Dominationis  tuae  nunquam  non  ero  memor 
— (L.  Epp.  i.  187.) 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


"  I  am  still,  thanks  to  God,  full  of  joy, 
and  praise  him  that  Christ,  the  Son  of 
God,  counts  me  worthy  to  suffer  in  so 
holy  a  cause.  May  He  for  ever  preserve 
your  illustrious  Highness.     Amen." 

This  letter,  so  overflowing  with  the 
accents  of  truth  and  justice,  made  a  deep 
impression  on  the  Elector.  "  He  was 
shaken  by  a  very  eloquent  letter,"  says 
Maimbourg.  Never  could  he  have  had 
the  thought  of  giving  up  an  innocent 
man  to  the  power  of  Rome.  Perhaps  he 
might  have  persuaded  Luther  to  conceal 
himself  for  some  time.  But  he  resolved 
not  even  in  appearance  to  yield  in  any 
way  to  the  Legate's  threats.  He  wrote 
to  his  counsellor,  Pfeffinger,  who  was 
then  at  the  court  of  the  Emperor,  to  rep- 
resent to  his  Majesty  the  real  state  of 
affairs,  and  to  beg  him  to  write  to  Rome, 
so  that  the  matter  might  be  brought  to  a 
conclusion,  or  at  least  be  determined  in 
Germany  by  impartial  judges.* 

Some  days  after,  the  Elector  wrote  to 
the  Legate  in  reply :  "  Since  Doctor 
Martin  has  appeared  before  you  at  Augs- 
burg, you  ought  to  be  satisfied.  We  did 
not  expedt  that,  without  convincing  him 
of  error,  you  would  claim  to  oblige  him 
to  retract.  Not  one  of  the  learned  men 
in  our  states  has  intimated  to  us  an  opin- 
ion that  Martin's  doctrine  is  impious, 
antichristian,  or  heretical."  The  Prince, 
in  the  latter  part  of  his  letter,  declined 
sending  Luther  to  Rome,  or  expelling 
him  from  his  territories. 

This  letter,  which  was  communicated 
to  Luther,  rejoiced  his  heart.  "  Gracious 
God  !"  he  wrote  to  Spaiatin,  "  with  what 
joy  I  read  and  re-read  it ;  for  I  know 
what  confidence  I  may  repose  in  these 
words,  at  once  so  forcible  and  so  discreet. 
I  fear  the  Italians  will  not  understand 
their  full  import.  But  they  will  at  least 
comprehend  that  what  they  believed  al- 
ready finished  is  scarcely  yet  begun.  Be 
pleased  to  present  my  grateful  acknowl- 
edgments to  the  Prince.  It  is  strange 
that  he  (De  Vio)  who,  a  little  while  ago, 
was  a  mendicant  friar  like  myself,  is  not 
afraid  to  address  the  most  powerful  princes 
with  disrespect,  to  call  them  to  account, 
to  threaten  and  command  them,  and  treat 
them  with  such  preposterous  haughti- 
ness. Let  him  learn  that  the  temporal 
power  is  ordained  of  God,  and  that  none 
*  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  p.  244. 


are  permitted  to  trample  its  glory  under 
foot."* 

One  thing  that  had  undoubtedly  en- 
couraged Frederic  to  answer  the  Legate 
in  a  tone  which  the  latter  did  not  expect, 
was  a  letter  addressed  to  him  by  the 
university  of  Wittemberg.  It  was  not 
without  reason  that  they  declared  them- 
selves in  the  Doctor's  favour.  The  uni- 
versity was  increasing  in  reputation,  and 
surpassed  all  the  other  schools.  A  crowd 
of  students  flocked  thither  from  all  parts 
of  Germany  to  listen  to  this  extraordinary 
man,  whose  instructions  seemed  to  open 
a  new  era  to  religion  and  learning. 
These  young  men,  who  arrived  from  the 
different  provinces,  would  often  stop  when 
they  discovered  in  the  distance  the  stee- 
ples of  Wittemberg ;  and,  raising  their 
hands  toward  heaven,  bless  God  for  hav- 
ing caused  the  light  of  truth  to  shine 
forth  from  Wittemberg,  as  in  former 
ages  from  Mount  Sion,  that  it  might 
penetrate  to  the  most  distant  lands,  f  A 
life  and  activity,  hitherto  unknown,  was 
infused  into  the  university  studies. — 
"  Our  young  men  are  as  diligent  here 
as  ants  upon  an  ant-hill,"}:  wrote  Lu- 
ther. 

Thinking  that  he  might  soon  be  driven 
out  of  Germany,  Luther  busied  himself 
in  publishing  a  report  of  the  conference 
at  Augsburg.  He  resolved  that  it  should 
be  preserved  as  a  memorial  of  the  strug- 
gle between  Rome  and  himself.  He 
saw  the  storm  ready  to  burst,  but  he  did 
not  fear  it.  He  was  in  daily  expectation 
of  the  maledictions  of  Rome.  He  ar- 
ranged and  regulated  every  thing,  that 
he  might  be  ready  when  they  arrived. 
"  Having  tucked  up  my  gown  and  gird- 
ed my  loins,"  said  he,  "  I  am  ready  to 
depart  like  Abraham,  not  knowing  whith- 
er I  go  ;  or  rather  well  knowing  whither, 
since  God  is  every  where. "§  He  intend- 
ed to  leave  behind  him  a  farewell  letter. 
"  Take  courage,  then,"  he  wrote  to  Spa- 
latin  ;  "  to  read  the  letter  of  a  man  ac- 
cursed and  excommunicated." 

His  friends  were  full  of  fears  and  anx- 
iety on  his  account.  They  entreated 
him  to  deliver  himself  up  as  a  prisoner 

*  L.  Epp.  i.  p.  198. 
t  Scultet.  Annal.  i.  p.  17. 
t  Studium  nostrum  more  formicarum  fervet. — 
(L.  Opp.  i.  p.  193.) 

§  Quia  Deus  ubique. — (L.  Opp.  i.  p.  188.) 


LUTHER  BEFORE  THE  LEGATE. 


into  the  Elector's  hands,  that  that  prince 
might  keep  him  somewhere  in  safety.* 

His  enemies  could  not  comprehend 
the  grounds  of  his  confidence.  One  day, 
at  the  court  of  the  Bishop  of  Branden- 
burg, the  conversation  turned  on  the  Re- 
former, and  it  was  asked  on  what  sup- 
port he  could  be  depending.  Some  said, 
"  It  is  on  Erasmus  and  Capito  and  other 
learned  men  that  he  reckons  for  protec- 
tion."— "No,  no!"  replied  the  Bishop: 
"  the  Pope  would  care  very  little  for  those 
gentiy.  It  is  to  the  University  of  Wittem- 
berg and  the  Duke  of  Saxony  that  he 
looks  for  support."  ....  Thus  both  par- 
ties were  ignorant  of  that  strong  tower  in 
which  the  Reformer  had  sought  refuge. 

Thoughts  of  taking  his  departure  were 
passing  through  Luther's  mind.  It  was 
not  the  fear  of  danger  that  gave  rise  to 
them,  but  the  presentiment  of  the  inces- 
santly renewed  opposition  he  should  find 
in  Germany  to  the  open  profession  of  the 
truth.  "  If  I  stay  here,"  said  he,  "  I 
shall  be  denied  the  liberty  of  speaking 
and  writing  many  things.  If  I  depart,  I 
will  pour  forth  freely  the  thoughts  of  my 
heart,  and  devote  my  life  to  Christ,  "f 

France  was  the  country  where  Luther 
hoped  he  might  without  hindrance  pro- 
claim the  truth.  The  liberty  enjoyed  by 
the  doctors  of  the  university  of  Paris  ap- 
peared to  him  worthy  of  envy.  Besides, 
he,  on  many  points,  agreed  in  the  opin- 
ions that  prevailed  there.  What  might 
have  ensued,  if  Luther  had  been  removed 
from  Wittemberg  to  France?  Would 
the  Reformation  have  established  itself 
there  as  it  did  in  Germany?  Would 
the  power  of  Rome  have  been  dethroned 
there ;  and  France,  which  was  destined 
to  endure  a  long  struggle  between  the 
hierarchical  principles  of  Rome  and  the 
ruinous  principles  of  an  irreligious  philos- 
ophy, have  become  the  great  dispenser 
of  evangelical  light  ?  It  is  useless  to  in- 
dulge in  vain  conjectures.  But,  certainly. 
Luther  at  Paris  would  have  made  a 
great  difference  in  the  fortunes  of  the 
Church  and  of  France. 

The  soul  of  Luther  was  deeply  moved. 
He  often  preached  in  the  church  of  the 
city,  supplying  the  place  of  Simon  Heyns 

*  Ut  principi  me  in  captivitatem  darera. — (L. 
Epp.  i.  p.  189.) 

t  Si  iero,  totum  effundara,  et  vitam  offeram 
Christo.— (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  190.) 


Pontanus,  the  pastor  of  Wittemberg, 
who  was  frequently  indisposed.  He 
thought  it  right,  at  all  hazards,  to  take 
leave  of  the  congregation  to  whom  he 
had  so  often  preached  the  doctrine  of 
salvation.  "  I  am  a  very  unstable  preach- 
er," said  he  one  day  in  the  pulpit,  "  and 
very  uncertain  in  my  position.  How 
often  have  I  left  you  suddenly  without 
taking  leave  of  you.  If  this  should  hap- 
pen again,  and  I  should  never  return, 
receive  my  last  farewell."  Then,  hav- 
ing added  a  few  words,  he  concluded  by 
saying,  with  moderation  and  gentleness : 
"  Finally,  I  warn  you  not  to  be  ter- 
rified, if  the  Papal  censures  should  be 
discharged  against  me  in  all  their  fury. 
Do  not  blame  the  Pope,  nor  bear  any  ill- 
will  to  him,  or  to  any  man  living,  but 
leave  the  whole  matter  to  God."* 

At  length  the  moment  of  his  departure 
seemed  at  hand.  The  Prince  gave  him 
to  understand  that  he  wished  him  to 
leave  Wittemberg.  The  wishes  of  the 
Elector  were  too  sacred  with  Luther  for 
him  not  to  hasten  to  comply  with  them. 
The  Reformer  prepared  to  depart,  with- 
out knowing  well  to  what  quarter  to 
direct  his  steps.  Resolving,  however, 
once  more  to  see  his  friends  about  him, 
be  invited  them  to  a  farewell  repast. 
Seated  with  them  at  table,  he  once  more 
enjoyed  their  conversation  and  their  af- 
fectionate and  anxious  friendship.  A 
letter  was  brought  to  him.  It  came  from 
the  court.  He  opened  and  read  it.  His 
heart  sank  within  him.  It  enclosed  an 
order  for  his  departure.  The  Prince  in- 
quired :  "  Why  he  delayed  so  long  ?" 
His  soul  was  overwhelmed  with  dejec- 
tion. However,  he  resumed  courage ; 
and,  raising  his  head,  said  firmly  and 
joyfully,  turning  to  those  about  him : 
"  Father  and  mother  forsake  me ;  but 
the  Lord  will  take  me  up."f  Depart 
then  he  must.  His  friends  were  much 
affected.  What  would  become  of  him? 
If  Luther's  protector  rejects  him,  who  will 
receive  him?  And  this  Gospel,  this 
word  of  truth,  and  this  admirable  work 
he  had  taken  in  hand,  will,  doubtless, 
perish  with  the  faithful  witness.  The 
fate  of  the  Reformation  seemed  suspend- 
ed  by  a  single  thread ;  and  would  not 

*  Deo  rem  committerent. — (Luth.  Epp.i.p.  191.) 
t  Vater  und  Mutter  verlassen  mich,  aber  der 
Herr  nimmt  mich  auf. 


190 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


the  moment  in  which  Luther  left  the 
walls  of  Wittemberg  break  that  thread? 
Luther  and  his  friends  said  little.  Sym- 
pathising in  his  feelings,  they  gave  vent 
to  their  tears.  However,  but  a  short 
time  had  elapsed,  when  a  second  mes- 
senger arrived.  Luther  opened  this  let- 
ter, expecting  to  find  a  reiterated  order 
for  his  departure.  But,  lo  !  the  mighty 
power  of  the  Lord !  for  the  present  he  is 
saved.  Every  thing  is  changed.  "  As 
the  Pope's  new  envoy,"  said  the  letter, 
u  hopes  that  every  thing  may  be  settled 
by  a  conference,  remain  for  the  present."* 
How  important  was  this  hour!  and  what 
might  have  happened  if  Luther,  ever 
anxious  to  obey  the  Prince's  pleasure, 
had  left  Wittemberg  immediately  on  the 
receipt  of  the  first  letter !  Never  had 
Luther  and  the  cause  of  the  Reformation 
been  brought  lower  than  at  this  moment. 
It  might  have  been  thought  that  their 
fate  was  decided :  in  an  instant  it  was 
changed.  Having  reached  the  lowest 
step  in  his  career,  the  Reformer  rapidly 
arose,  and.  from  that  time  his  influence 
continued  to  ascend.  "  At  the  word  of 
the  Lord,"  in  the  language  of  the  prophet, 
"  his  servants  go  down  to  the  depths,  and 
mount  up  again  to  heaven." 

Spalatin,  by  Frederic's  orders,  sent  for 
Luther  to  Lichtemberg,  to  have  an  inter- 
view with  him.  They  had  a  long  con- 
versation on  the  state  of  affairs.  "  If 
the  Pope's  sentence  of  condemnation 
come,  I  certainly  cannot  remain/at  Wit- 
temberg," said  Luther.  "  Beware,"  re- 
plied Spalatin,  "  of  being  in  too  great  a 
hurry  to  go  to  France. "f  He  left  him, 
telling  him  to  wait  further  tidings  from 
him.  "  Only  commend  my  soul  to  Christ," 
said  Luther  to  his  friends.  "  I  see  that 
my  adversaries  are  more  and  more  deter- 
mined on  my  destruction.  But  Christ  is 
meanwhile  strengthening  me  in  my  de- 
termination not  to  give  way.";}; 

Luther  at  that  time  published  his  re- 
port of  the  conference  at  Augsburg. 
Spalatin  had  written  to  him  from  the 
Elector  to  abstain  from  doing  so ;  but  it 
was  too  late.  When  the  publication  had 
taken  place,  the  Prince  gave  his  sanc- 

*  L.  Opp.  xv.  824. 

t  Ne  tam  cit6  in  Galliam  irem. — (L.  Epp.  i.  p. 
195.) 

t  Firmat  Christus  propositum  non  cedendi  in 
me. — (Ibid.) 


tion.  "  Great  God  !"  said  Luther  in  his 
preface,  "  what  a  new,  what  an  amazing 
crime  to  seek  after  light  and  truth,  and 
above  all  in  the  Church,  that  is  to  say, 
in  the  kingdom  of  truth  !"  "I  send  you 
this  document,"  said  he,  writing  to  Link : 
"  it  cuts  too  deep,  no  doubt,  to  please  the 
Legate ;  but  my  pen  is  ready  to  give 
out  much  greater  things.  I  mysef  know  , 
not  whence  these  thoughts  come  to  me. 
As  far  as  I  can  see,  the  work  is  not  yet 
begun  ;*  so  little  reason  is  there  for  the 
great  men  of  Rome  hoping  to  see  an  end 
of  it.  I  shall  send  you  what  I  have 
written,  in  order  that  you  may  judge  if 
I  am  right  in  believing  that  the  Anti- 
christ of  whom  St.  Paul  speaks,  now 
reigns  in  the  court  of  Rome.  I  think  I 
can  prove  that  now-a-days  the  power  that 
presides  there  is  worse  than  the  Turks 
themselves." 

On  all  sides,  sinister  reports  reached 
Luther.  One  of  his  friends  wrote  him 
word  that  the  new  envoy  from  Rome 
had  received  orders  to  apprehend  him 
and  deliver  him  to  the  Pope.  Another 
reported  that,  as  he  was  travelling,  he 
had  met  with  a  courtier,  and  that,  the 
conversation  having  turned  upon  the  af- 
fairs which  were  then  the  general  topic 
in  Germany,  the  latter  confided  to  him 
that  he  had  undertaken  to  seize  and  de- 
liver Luther  into  the  hands  of  the  Sover- 
eign Pontiff!  "  But  the  more  their  fury 
and  violence  increase,"  wrote  Luther, 
"  the  less  do  I  fear  them."f 

Cajetan's  ill  success  had  occasioned 
much  dissatisfaction  at  Rome.  The  vex- 
ation felt  at  the  failure  of  the  affair, 
fell  in  the  first  instance  upon  him.  All 
the  Roman  courtiers  thought  they  had 
cause  to  reproach  him  for  having  been 
deficient  in  the  prudence  and  address 
which,  in  their  account,  were  the  most 
indispensable  qualifications  in  a  legate, 
and  for  not  having  relaxed  the  strictness 
of  his  scholastic  theology  on  so  impor- 
tant an  occasion.  "  The  failure  is  en- 
tirely owing  to  him,"  said  they.  "  His 
awkward  pedantry  has  spoiled  all.  Why 
did  he  provoke  Luther  by  insults  and 
threats,  instead  of  alluring  him  by  the 
promise  of  a  bishopric,  or  even,  if  neces- 

*  Res  ista  necdum  habet  initium  suum,  meo 
judicio. — (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  193.) 

t  Qu6  illi  magis  furunt  et  vi  affectant  viam 
eo  minus  ego  terreor. — (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  191. 


LUTHER  BEFORE  THE  LEGATE. 


191 


sary,  a  cardinal's  hat  ?"*  These  merce- 
naries judged  of  the  Reformer  by  them- 
selves. The  failure,  however,  must  be 
retrieved.  On  the  one  hand,  it  was  re- 
quisite that  Rome  should  declare  her- 
self; on  the  other,  she  must  not  offend 
the  Elector,  who  might  be  very  service- 
able to  her  in  the  anticipated  event  of 
the  election  of  an  Emperor.  As  it  was 
impossible  for  Roman  ecclesiastics  to 
form  a  notion  of  the  true  source  whence 
Luther  derived  his  strength  and  courage, 
they  imagined  that  the  Elector  was  much 
more  deeply  implicated  in  the  matter 
than  he  really  was.  The  Pope  resolved, 
therefore,  to  pursue  a  different  line  of 
policy.  He  caused  to  be  published  in 
Germany,  by  his  Legate,  a  bull,  wherein 
he  confirmed  the  doctrine  of  indulgences 
precisely  in  those  points  which  had  been 
questioned,  but  making  no  mention  ei- 
ther of  the  Elector  or  of  Luther.  As 
the  Reformer  had  always  declared  that 
he  would  submit  to  the  decision  of  the 
Romish  Church,  he  must  now,  as  the 
Pope  thought,  either  keep  his  word,  or 
openly  shew  himself  to  be  a  disturber  of 
the  peace  of  the  Church,  and  a  despiser 
of  the  apostolic  see.  In  either  case,  the 
Pope,  it  was  thought,  must  be  a  gainer. 
But  nothing  is  ever  gained  by  so  obsti- 
nate a  resistance  against  the  truth.  In 
vain  had  the  Pope  threatened  with  ex- 
communication whosoever  should  teach 
otherwise  than  he  ordained;  the  light 
is  not  arrested  by  such  orders.  It  would 
have  been  wiser  to  moderate,  by  cer- 
tain restrictions,  the  pretensions  of  the 
sellers  of  indulgences.  Apparently,  this 
decree  of  Rome  was  a  further  act  of  im- 
policy. By  legalizing  the  most  flagrant 
abuses,  it  irritated  all  sensible  men,  and 
rendered  impossible  the  return  of  Luther 
to  his  allegiance  to  the  Church.  "  It  was 
commonly  thought,"  says  a  Catholic  his- 
torian,! and  a  great  enemy  to  the  Refor- 
mation, "that  this  bull  had  been  framed 
only  for  the  gain  of  the  Pope  and  of  the 
mendicant  friars,  who  began  to  find  that 
no  one  would  give  any  thing  for  their 
indulgences." 

The  Cardinal  De  Vio  published  this 
decree  at  Lintz,  in  Austria,  on  the  13th 
of  December,  1518  ;  but  Luther  had  al- 
*  Sarpi,  Concile  de  Trente,  p.  8.     t  Maimbourg. 


ready  taken  his  stand  in  a  position  of  se- 
curity. On  the  28th  of  November  he 
had  appealed,  in  the  chapel  of  Corpus 
Christi  at  Wittemberg,  from  the  Pope 
to  a  General  Council  of  the  Church. 
He  foresaw  the  storm  that  was  about  to 
burst  upon  him,  and  he  knew  that  God 
only  could  avert  it.  But  there  was 
something  he  himself  was  called  to  do ; 
— and  he  did  it.  He  must  no  doubt 
leave  Wittemberg,  if  it  were  only  for 
the  sake  of  the  Elector,  as  soon  as  the 
maledictions  of  Rome  should  arrive 
there ;  yet  he  resolved  not  to  quit  Saxony 
and  Germany  without  a  public  protest. 
He,  therefore,  drew  up  his  appeal ;  "  and 
that  it  might  be  ready  to  be  distributed 
as  soon  as  the  furies  of  Rome  should 
overtake  him,"  as  he  says,  he  had  it 
printed,  under  the  express  condition  that 
the  bookseller  should  deposit  with  him 
all  the  copies.  But  this  man,  from  de- 
sire of  gain,  sold  almost  the  whole  im- 
pression whilst  Luther  was  quietly  ex- 
pecting to  receive  them.  He  was  much 
annoyed,  but  the  thing  was  done.  This 
bold  appeal  was  dispersed  far  and  wide. 
In  it  Luther  again  protested  that  he  had 
no  intention  of  saying  any  thing  against 
the  holy  Church,  or  the  authority  of  the 
Apostolic  see,  and  the  Pope  duly  informed. 
"  But,"  continued  he,  "  seeing  that  the 
Pope,  who  is  God's  vicar  upon  earth, 
may,  like  any  other  man,  fall  into  error, 
commit  sin,  and  utter  falsehood,  and  that 
the  appeal  to  a  General  Council  is  the 
only  safeguard  against  acts  of  injustice 
which  it  is  impossible  to  resist, — on  these 
grounds  I  find  myself  obliged  to  have 
recourse  to  it."* 

Behold,  then,  the  Reformation  launch- 
ed upon  a  new  career.  It  is  no  longer 
to  depend  upon  the  Pope  and  his  de- 
crees, but  upon  a  General  Council.  Lu- 
ther speaks  to  the  Church  at  large,  and 
the  voice  which  proceeds  from  the  chapel 
of  Corpus  Christi  is  to  make  itself  heard 
in  all  the  gatherings  of  the  Lord's  flock. 
It  is  not  in  courage  that  the  Reformer  is 
wanting.  Behold  him  giving  new  proof 
of  it.  Will  God  be  wanting  to  him? 
The  answer  will  be  read  in  the  different 
phases  of  the  Reformation  which  are  still 
to  pass  before  us 

*  Loscher,  Ref.  Act. 


192 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


BOOK    V, 


THE   LEIPSIC   DISCUSSION,   1519. 

The  Pope's  Chamberlain — Luther  in  Danger — Favourable  Circumstances — Tetzel's  Fears — Mil- 
titz's  Caresses — Retraction — Luther  proposes  silence — The  Legate's  Kiss — Tetzel  Rebuked — ■ 
Luther's  Letter — Opposed  to  Separation — De  Vio  and  Miltitz  at  Treves — The  Reformed  Opin- 
ions Spread — Luther's  Writings — Contest  seems  to  Flag — Eck — The  Pope's  Authority — Luther 
Answers — Alarm  of  Lutber's  Friends — Truth  Secure  of  Victory — The  Bishop's  Remonstrance — 
Mosellanus — Arrival  of  Eck — An  111  Omen — Eck  and  Luther — The  Pleissenburg — Judges  Pro- 
posed— The  Procession — Luther — Carlstadt — Eck — Carlstadt's  Books — Merit  of  Congruity — 
Scholastic  Distinction — Grace  gives  Liberty — Melancthon — .Eck  claims  Victory  —  Luther 
Preaches — Quarrel  of  Students  and  Doctors — Eck  and  Luther — The  Roman  Primacy — Equal- 
ity of  Bishops — Christ  the  Foundation — Insinuation — The  Hussites — Commotion  in  the  Audi- 
ence— Monkish  Horror — The  Indulgences — Attention  of  the  Laity — Eck's  Report — George  of 
Anhalt — The  Students  of  Leipsic — Results  of  the  Disputation — More  Liberty — Activity  of  Eck 
— Melancthon's  Defence — Firmness  of  Luther — Staupitz's  Coolness — Christ  given  for  us — In- 
fatuation of  the  Adversaries — The  Lord's  Supper — Is  Faith  Necessary — God's  Word  a  Sword — 
Luther's  Calmness. 


The  clouds  were  gathering  over  Luther 
and  the  Reformation.  The  appeal  to  a 
General  Council  was  a  new  attack  on 
Papal  authority.  A  bull  of  Pius  II.  had 
pronounced  the  greater  excommunication 
against  any  one,  even  though  he  should 
be  the  Emperor  himself,  who  should  be 
guilty  of  such  a  rejection  of  the  Holy 
Father's  authority.  Frederic  of  Saxony, 
scarcely  yet  well  established  in  the  evan- 
gelic doctrine,  was  on  the  point  of  ban- 
ishing Luther  from  his  states.*  A  second 
message  from  Leo  X.  would,  in  that 
case,  have  thrown  the  Reformer  among 
strangers,  who  might  fear  to  compromise 
their  own  security  by  harbouring  a  monk 
whom  Rome  had  anathematized.'  And 
even  if  cne  of  the  German  nobles  had 
taken  up  arms  in  his  defence,  such  poor 
knights,  looked  down  upon  with  con- 
tempt by  the  powerful  sovereigns  of  Ger- 
many, must  ere  long  have  sunk  in  their 
hazardous  enterprize. 

But  at  the  moment  when  all  his  court- 
iers were  urging  Leo  to  rigorous  meas- 
ures, when  another  blow  would  have 
laid  his  enemy  at  his  feet,  that  Pope 
suddenly  changed  his  course,  and  made 
overtures  of  conciliation.!  Doubtless  it 
may  be  said,  he  mistook  the  disposition 
of  the  Elector,  and  thought  him  much 

*  Letter  from  the  Elector  to  his  envoy  at 
Rome.— (L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  p.  298.) 

t  Rationem  agendi  prorsus  oppositam  inire 
statuit. — (Card.  Pallavicini,  Hist.  Concil.  Trid. 
vol.  iv.  p.  51.) 


more  favourable  to  Luther  than  he  really 
was.  We  may  allow  that  public  opin- 
ion, and  the  spirit  of  the  age — powers 
then  comparatively  new — might  seem  to 
Leo  to  surround  the  Reformer  with  an 
insurmountable  rampart  of  defence.  We 
may  suppose,  as  one  historian*  has  done, 
that  Leo  did  but  follow  the  impulse  of 
his  judgment  and  his  heart,  which  in- 
clined him  to  gentleness  and  moderation. 
But  this  method,  so  unlike  Rome,  at 
such  a  juncture,,  is  so  strange,  that  it  is 
impossible  not  to  acknowledge  in  it  a 
more  powerful  intervention. 

A  noble  Saxon,  chamberlain  to  the 
Pope,  and  canon  of  Mentz,  of  Treves, 
and  of  Meissen,  was  then  at  the  court  of 
Rome.  He  had  worked  his  way  into 
favour.  He  boasted  of  his  connection, 
by  family  relationships,  with  the  princes 
of  Saxony — so  that  the  Roman  courtiers 
sometimes  called  him  Duke  of  Saxony. 
In  Italy  he  paraded  his  German  nobility. 
In  Germany  he  affected  awkwardly  the 
manners  and  refinement  of  Italy.  He 
was  addicted  to  wine,  and  this  vice  had 
gained  strength  from  his  residence  at 
Rome.f  Nevertheless  the  Roman  court- 
iers built  great  hopes  on  him.  His  Ger- 
man origin,  his  insinuating  manner,  and 
his  skill  in  negociation,  altogether  per- 
suaded them  that  Charles  Miltitz  would, 

*  Roscoe,  vol.  iv.  p.  2. 

t  Nee  ab  usu  immoderato  vini  abstinuit. — (Pal- 
lavicini, vol.  i.  p.  69.) 


THE  LEIPSIC   DISCUSSION,  1519. 


193 


by  his  prudence,  succeed  in  arresting  the 
revolution  that  threatened  the  world. 

It  was  important  to  hide  the  real  ob- 
ject of  the  Roman  chamberlain's  mission 
— this  was  not  difficult.  Four  years  be- 
fore, the  pious  Elector  had  petitioned 
the  Pope  for  the  gulden  rose.  This  rose 
was  deemed  to  represent  the  body  of  Je- 
sus Christ.  It  was  consecrated  every 
year  by  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  and  pre- 
sented to  one  of  the  leading  princes  of 
Europe.  It  was  decided  to  present  it 
this  year  to  the  Elector.  Miltitz  set  out, 
with  instructions  to  inquire  into  the  state 
of  affairs,  and  to  gain  over  Spalatin  and 
Pfeffinger,  the  Elector's  counsellors.  He 
was  entrusted  with  private  letters  for 
them.  By  thus  conciliating  the  co-oper- 
ation of  those  who  surrounded  the  Elect- 
or, Rome  expected  quickly  to  become 
the  mistress  of  her  now  formidable  ad- 
versary. 

The  new  Legate  arrived  in  Germany, 
in  December,  1518,  and  endeavoured  in 
the  course  of  his  journey  to  sound  the 
general  opinion.  To  his  extreme  aston- 
ishment he  noticed,  wherever  he  stopped, 
that  the  majority  of  the  inhabitants  were 
favourable  to  the  Reformation.  Men 
spoke  of  Luther  with  enthusiasm.*  For 
one  who  declared  himself  on  the  Pope's 
side,  he  found  three  against  him.f  Lu- 
ther has  preserved  an  incident  that  occur- 
red. "  What  is  your  opinion  of  the  See 
(sedia)  of  Rome,"  often  inquired  the 
Legate,  of  the  mistresses  and  domestics 
of  the  inns.  One  day,  one  of  these  poor 
women  answered  with  naivete  :  "  What 
can  we  know  of  the  sort  of  chairs  (sedia) 
you  have  at  Rome,  whether  of  stone  or 
wood?"| 

The  mere  report  of  the  arrival  of  the 
new  Legate,  spread  suspicion  and  dis- 
trust in  the  Elector's  court,  the  univer- 
sity, the  city  of  Wittemberg,  and  through- 
out Saxony.  "  Thank  God,  Martin  is 
still  alive  !"  wrote  Melancthon  in  alarm.  § 

*  Sciscitatus  per  viam  Mitilius  quanam  esset 
in  asstimatione  Lutherus  ....  sensit  de  eo  cum 
admiratione  homines  loqui. — (Pallavicini,  torn.  i. 
p.  51.) 

t  Ecce  ubi  unum  pro  papa  stare  inveni  tres  pro 
te  contra  papain  stabant. — (L.Opp,  lat.  in  prajf.) 

I  Quid  nos  scire  possunms  quales  vos  Romos 
habeatis  sellas,  ligneasne  an  lapideas? — (L.  Opp. 
lat.  in  praef.) 

§  Martinus  noster,  Deo  gratias,  adhuc  spirat. 
— (Corpus  Reformatorum  edidit  Bretschneider,  i. 
p.  61.) 

25 


It  was  whispered  that  the  Roman  cham- 
berlain had  orders  to  get  Luther  into  his 
power  by  stratagem  or  violence.  On  all 
sides  the  Doctor  was  advised  to  be  on 
his  guard  against  the  snares  of  Miltitz. 
"  He  is  sent,"  said  they,  "  to  seize  and 
deliver  you  to  the  Pope.  Persons  de- 
serving of  credit  have  seen  the  brief 
with  which  he  is  furnished." — "  I  await 
the  will  of  God,"  replied  Luther.* 

Miltitz.  had  indeed  arrived,  bearing 
letters  addressed  to  the  Elector,  his  coun- 
sellors, the  bishops,  and  the  burgomaster 
of  Wittemberg.  He  brought  with  him 
seventy  apostolic  briefs.  If  the  flattery 
and  favours  of  Rome  were  successful, 
and  Frederic  should  deliver  up  Luther, 
these  briefs  were  to  be  used  as  passports. 
It  was  his  plan  to  post  up  one  of  them 
in  each  of  the  towns  on  his  route,  and  in 
this  way  to  convey  his  prisoner  to  Rome, 
without  opposition.! 

The  Pope  seemed  to  have  taken  all 
his  measures.  In  the  Elector's  court 
they  scarce  knew  what  course  to  pursue. 
Violence  they  might  have  resisted,  but 
what  to  oppose  to  the  head  of  Christen- 
dom, uttering  the  language  of  mildness 
and  reason  ?  would  it  not  be  well-timed 
if  Luther  could  lie  concealed  till  the 
storm  should  have  passed  by  ?  An  un- 
foreseen event  came  to  the  deliverance  of 
Luther,  the  Elector,  and  the  Reforma- 
tion from  this  perplexing  position.  The 
aspect  of  the  world  was  suddenly  changed. 

On  the  12th  of  January,  1519,  died 
Maximilian,  the  Emperor  of  Germany. 
Frederic  of  Saxony,  agreeably  to  the 
Germanic  Constitution,  became  adminis- 
trator of  the  Empire.  From  that  mo- 
ment the  Elector  was  relieved  from  the 
fear  of  nuncios  and  their  projects.  New 
interests  were  set  to  work  in  the  Roman 
Court,  which  compelled  it  to  temporize 
in  its  negociations  with  Frederic,  and 
arrested  the  blow  which  it  cannot  be 
doubted  Miltitz  and  De  Vio  had  medi- 
tated. 

The  Pope  had  an  earnest  desire  to  ex- 
clude from  the  imperial  throne  Charles 
of  Austria,  then  the  reigning  king  of 
Naples — a  neighbour  on  a  throne  was  in 
his  judgment  more  to  be  feared  than  a 

*  Expecto  consilium  Dei. — (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  191.) 
t  Per  singula  oppida  affigeret  unum,  et    ita 

tutus  me  perduceret  Romam. — (L»  Opp-  lat.  in 

praf.) 


194 


HISTORY   OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


monk  of  Germany.  Desiring  to  secure 
the  co-operation  of  the  Elector — who  in 
this  matter  might  be  of  so  great  service, 
he  resolved  to  afford  some  respite  to  the 
monk  that  he  might  the  better  counter- 
work the  king.  In  spite  of  this  policy 
both  made  progress.  It  formed,  however, 
the  motive  for  the  change  in  Leo  X.'s 
proceedings. 

Another  circumstance  contributed  to 
avert  the  storm  that  impended  over  the 
Reformation.  Political  troubles  broke 
out  immediately  after  the  Emperor's  de- 
mise. In  the  south  the  Suabian  Confed- 
eration sought  to  avenge  itself  on  Ulric 
of  Wurtemberg,  who  had  broken  his  al- 
legiance. In  the  north  the  Bishop  of 
Hildcsheim  invaded,  with  an  armed 
force,  the  Bishopric  of  Minden  and  the 
states  of  the  Duke  of  Brunswick.  Amidst 
these  confusions,  how  could  the  great 
ones  of  the  age  attach  importance  to  a 
dispute  concerning  the  remission  of  sins! 
But  God  made  above  all  conductive  to 
the  progress  of  the  Reformation  the  rep- 
utation of  the  Elector,  now  Vicar  of  the 
Empire,  for  prudence,  and  the  protection 
he  afforded  to  the  new  teachers.  "  The 
tempest  was  hushed,"  says  Luther,  "  the 
Papal  excommunication  began  to  be 
thought  light  of."  Under  shelter  of  the 
Elector  the  Gospel  spread  itself  abroad, 
and  hence  no  small  damage  to  the  cause 
of  the  Papacy.* 

We  may  add  that  during  an  interreg- 
num the  severest  prohibitions  naturally 
lost  much  of  their  authority.  Communi- 
cation became  more  open  and .  easy. 
The  ray  of  liberty  that  beamed  upon 
those  first  beginnings  of  the  Reformation, 
helped  materially  to  develop  the  yet  ten- 
der plant ;  and  a  thoughtful  observer 
might  even  then  have  discerned  how  fa- 
vourable political  liberty  would  one  day 
be  to  the  progress  of  evangelic  Chris- 
tianity. 

Miltitz,  who  had  reached  Saxony  be- 
fore the  death  of  Maximilian,  had  lost 
no  time  in  visiting  his  former  friend 
Spalatin;  but  scarcely  did  he  begin  to 
open  his  charges  against  Luther — before 
the  chaplain  broke  out  in  complaint 
against  Tetzel.  He  acquainted  the 
Nuncio  with  the  falsehoods  and  blasphe- 
mies of  the  vender  of  indulgences,  and 

*  Tunc  desiit  paululum  saevire  tempestas  .  . 
— (L.  Opp.  lat.  in  prsef.) 


declared  that  all  Germany  ascribed  to  the 
Dominican's  proceedings  the  dissensions 
that  distracted  the  Church. 

Miltitz  was  astonished.  Instead  of  ac- 
cuser, he  found  himself  in  the  place  of 
one  accused.  His  wrath  was  instantly 
turned  against  Tetzel ;  and  he  sum- 
moned him  to  appear  before  him  at  Al- 
tenburg,  and  account  for  his  conduct. 

The  Dominican,  as  cowardly  as  he 
was  boastful,  dreading  the  people  whose 
indignation  had  been  roused  by  his  im- 
postures, had  discontinued  his  progresses 
through  the  towns  and  provinces,  and 
was  then  living  in  retirement  in  the  col- 
lege of  St.  Paul.  He  turned  pale  on 
the  receipt  of  Miltitz's  letter.  Rome  her- 
self seemed  to  abandon  him — to  con- 
demn him — and  to  tempt  him  to  quit 
the  only  asylum  in  which  he  reckoned 
himself  safe — as  if  to  expose  him  to  the 
anger  of  his  enemies.  Tetzel  refused 
to  obey  the  Nuncio's  summons.  He 
wrote  to  Miltitz  on  the  31st  December, 
1518 — "Certainly  I  would  not  shrink 
from  the  fatigue  of  the  journey  if  I  could 
leave  Leipsic  without  risking  my  life — 
but  Martin  Luther  has  so  roused  and  ex- 
cited powerful  chiefs  against  me,  that 
I  am  no  where  safe.  A  great  number 
of  his  partisans  have  bound  themselves 
by  oath  to  put  me  to  death  ;  therefore  I 
cannot  come  to  you."*  A  striking  con- 
trast between  the  two  men  then  dwell- 
ing, one  in  the  college  of  St.  Paul  at 
Leipsic,  and  the  other  in  the  cloister  of 
St.  Augustine  at  Wittemberg.  The  ser- 
vant of  God  manifested  an  intrepid  cour- 
age in  the  face  of  danger  ; — the  servant 
of  men  betrayed  a  contemptible  cow- 
ardice. 

Miltitz  had  been  directed  in  the  first 
instance  to  try  the  effect  of  persuasion ; 
and  it  was  only  on  the  failure  of  this, 
that  he  was  to  produce  his  seventy  briefs, 
and  play  off  the  favours  of  Rome  so  as 
to  induce  the  Elector  to  restrain  Lu- 
ther. He  therefore  expressed  a  wish  for 
an  interview  with  the  Reformer.  Spal- 
atin, their  common  friend,  offered  his 
house  for  the  purpose,  and  Luther  left 
Wittemberg  for  Altenburg  on  the  2d  or 
3d  of  January. 

In  this  interview  Miltitz  exhausted  all 
the  stratagems  of  a  diplomatist  and  Ro- 
man courtier.     At  the  instant  of  Luther's 
*  Loscher,  ii.  567. 


THE   LEIPSIC   DISCUSSION,  1519. 


195 


arrival,  the  Nuncio  approached  him  with 
great  show  of  friendship — "  Oh,"  thought 
Luther,  "  how  is  his  former  violence 
changed  to  gentleness.  The  second  Saul 
came  to  Germany  the  bearer  of  seventy- 
briefs,  authorising  him  to  drag  me  in 
chains  to  that  homicide  Rome,  but  the 
Lord  has  thrown  him  to  the  earth  in  the 
way."*  "  Dear  Martin,"  said  the  Pope's 
chamberlain,  in  a  persuasive  tone,  "  I 
thought  you  were  an  old  theologian, 
who,  quietly  seated  at  his  fireside,  had 
certain  theological  crotchets,  but  I  see  you 
are  yet  young  and  in  the  prime  of  life."t 

"Do  you  know,"  continued  he,  assu- 
ming a  graver  tone,  "  that  you  have 
drawn  away  all  the  world  from  the 
Pope."!  Miltitz  well  knew  that  it  is 
by  flattering  the  pride  of  men  that  they 
are  most  readily  deluded, — but  he  did 
not  know  the  man  he  had  to  deal  with. 

"  Even  if  I  were  backed  by  an  army 
of  twenty-five  thousand  men,'r  continued 
he,  "  I  truly  would  not  undertake  to  kid- 
nap and  carry  you  to  Rome."§  Thus, 
notwithstanding  her  power,  Rome  felt 
weak  when  opposed  to  a  poor  monk,  and 
the  monk  was  conscious  of  strength  in 
his  opposition  to  Rome.  "  God  arrests 
the  billows  on  the  shore,"  said  Luther, 
"  and  he  does  so  with  the  sand  !"|| 

The  Nuncio,  thinking  he  had  by 
these  flatteries  prepared  the  mind  of  Lu- 
ther, thus  continued :  "  Be  persuaded, 
and  yourself  staunch  the  wound  you 
have  inflicted  on  the  Church,  and  which 
none  but  yourself  can  heal.  Beware,  I 
beseech  you,"  he  added,  "  of  raising  a 
storm  in  which  the  best  interests  of  man- 
kind would  be  wrecked.'"^  And  then 
he  gradually  proceeded  to  hint  that  a  re- 
tractation was  the  only  way  of  remedy- 
ing the  evil,  but  instantly  softened  the 
objectionable  word  by  expressions  of 
high  esteem  for  Luther,  and  indignation 

*  Sed  per  viam  a  Domino  prostratus  .... 
mutavit  violentiam  in  benevolentiam  fallaeissime 
Bimulatam. — (L.  Epp.  1.  206.) 

t  O  Martine,  ego  credebam  te  esse  senem  ali- 
quem  theologum,  qui  post  fornacem  sedens 
.  .  .  . — (L.  Opp.  lat.  in  priEf.) 

X  Quod  orbem  totum  mihi  conjunxerim  et  pa- 
pae  abstraxerim. — (L.  Epp.  1.  231. 

§  Si  habrem  25  milla  armatorum,  non  confiderem 
te  posse  a  me  Romam  perduci. — (L.  Opp.  in  preef.) 

||  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xxii. 

IT  Profusis  Iacrymis  ipsum  oravit,  ne  tam  per- 
niciosam  Christiano  generi  tempestatem  cieret. — 
(Pallavicini,  1.  52.) 


against  Tetzel.  The  net  was  spread  by 
a  skilful  hand, — what  hope  of  escape  from 
its  meshes? 

"If  the  Archbishop  of  Mentz  had  acted 
thus  with  me  from  the  first,"  said  Luther, 
at  a  later  period,  "  this  matter  had  not 
made  the  noise  it  has  done."* 

Luther  spoke  out :  enumerated,  with 
calmness,  yet  with  earnestness  and  ener- 
gy, the  just  complaints  of  the  Church; 
he  gave  free  expression  to  his  indigna- 
tion against  the  Archbishop  of  Mentz, 
and  boldly  complained  of  the  unworthy 
manner  in  which  the  Roman  Court  had 
treated  him,  notwithstanding  the  purity 
of  his  intentions. 

Miltitz,  who  had  not  expected  so  deci- 
ded a  tone,  nevertheless  suppressed  his 
anger.  "  I  offer,"  said  Luther,  "  from 
this  time  forth  to  keep  silence  on  these 
things,  and  to  let  the  matter  die  away,f 
provided  my  enemies  are  reduced  to  si- 
lence ;  but  if  they  continue  their  at- 
tacks, we  shall  very  soon  see  a  partial 
dispute  give  rise  to  a  serious  struggle. 
My  weapons  are  ready  prepared."  After 
a  moment's  pause,  he  continued,  "  I  will 
even  go  a  step  further.  I  will  write  to 
his  Holiness,  acknowledging  that  I  have 
been  a  little  too  violent ;  and  declare 
that  it  is  as  a  faithful  son  of  the  Church 
that  I  have  opposed  a  style  of  preach- 
ing which  drew  upon  it  the  mockeries 
and  insults  of  the  people.  I  even  con- 
sent to  put  forth  a  writing  wherein  I 
will  desire  all  who  shall  read  my  works, 
not  to  see  in  them  any  attack  on  the 
Church  of  Rome,  and  to  continue  in 
submission  to  its  authority.  Yes,  I  am 
willing  to  do  everything  and  bear  every- 
thing :  but  as  to  a  retractation,  don't  ex- 
pect it  from  me." 

Miltitz  saw  by  Luther's  resolute  man- 
ner that  the  wisest  course  was  to  seem 
satisfied  with  what  the  Reformer  was 
willing  to  promise.  He  merely  proposed 
that  they  should  name  an  Archbishop  as 
arbritrator  on  some  of  the  points  they 
would  have  to  discuss.  "  Be  it  so,"  said 
Luther — "  but  I  much  fear  that  the 
Pope  will  not  accept  of  any  judge;  if  so, 
I  will  not  abide  by  the  Pope's  decision, 
and  then  the  dispute  will  begin  again. 

*  Non  evasisset  res  in  tantum  tumultum. — (Ir 
Opp.  lat.  in  prasf.) 

t  Und  die  Sache  sich  zu  Tode  bluten. — (L. 
Epp.  i.  207.) 


196 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


The  pope  will  give  us  the  text,  and  I 
will  make  my  own  commentary  on  it." 

Thus  ended  the  first  interview  of  Lu- 
ther with  Miltitz.  They  met  once  again, 
and  at  this  meeting  the  truce,  or  rather 
the  peace,  was  signed.  Luther  immedi- 
ately gave  information  to  the  Elector  of 
all  that  had  passed. 

"  Most  serene  Prince  and  gracious 
Lord,"  wrote  he,  "  I  hasten  humbly  to 
inform  your  Electoral  Highness  that 
Charles  Miltitz  and  myself  are  at  last 
agreed,  and  have  terminated  our  differ- 
ences by  the  following  articles : — 

"  1.  Both  sides  are  forbidden  to  write 
or  act,  henceforward,  in  the  question  that 
has  been  raised. 

"  Miltitz  will,  without  delay,  commu- 
nicate to  his  Holiness  the  state  of  affairs. 
His  Holiness  will  commission  an  enlight- 
ened bishop  to  inquire  into  the  affair,  and 
to  point  out  the  erroneous  articles  which 
I  am  to  retract.  If  proof  is  afforded  me 
that  I  am  in  error,  I  will  gladly  retract, 
and  never  more  do  any  thing  that  can 
lessen  the  honour  or  authority  of  the  holy 
Roman  Church."* 

The  agreement  thus  effected,  Miltitz's 
joy  broke  forth.  "  For  a  century,"  said 
he,  "  no  question  has  caused  more  anx- 
iety to  the  Cardinals  and  Court  of  Rome. 
They  would  have  given  ten  thousand 
ducats  rather  than  see  it  prolonged."! 

The  Pope's  chamberlain  spared  no 
marks  of  attention  to  the  monk  of  Wit- 
temberg ;  one  moment  he  expressed  his 
satisfaction,  the  next  he  shed  tears. 
These  demonstrations  of  sensibility  but 
little  moved  the  Reformer,  yet  he  avoided 
betraying  what  he  thought  of  them.  "  I 
feigned  not  to  understand  the  meaning 
of  those  crocodile  tears,"  said  he. — The 
crocodile  is  said  to  weep  wdien  it  is  una- 
ble to  seize  on  its  prey.J 

Miltitz  invited  Luther  to  supper.  The 
doctor  accepted  the  invitation.  His  host 
laid  aside  the  dignity  of  his  function,  and 
Luther  gave  free  vent  to  the  cheerfulness 
of  his  natural  temper.  The  repast  was 
joyous  ;§  and  the  moment  of  adieu  arri- 

*  L.  Epp.  i.  p.  209. 

t  Ab  integro  jam  soeculo  nullum  negotium 
Ecclesice  contigisse  quod  mnjarem  illi  sollicitudi- 
nem  incussisset. — (Pallav.  t.  i.  p.  52.) 

i  Ego  dissimulabam  has  crocodili  lacrymas  a 
me  intelligi. — (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  216.) 

§  Atque  vesperi,  me  accepto,  convivio  lsetati 
sumus.— (Ibid.  231.) 


ving,  the  Legate  opened  his  arms  to  the 
heretic  doctor,  and  saluted  him.*  "  A 
Judas  kiss,"  thought  Luther.  "  I  af- 
fected not  to  understand  these  Italian 
manners,"  wrote  he  to  Staupitz.f 

Would  that  salute  indeed  make  recon- 
ciliation between  Rome  and  the  dawn- 
ing Reformation  1  Miltitz  hoped  it 
might,  and  rejoiced  in  the  hope  ;  for  he 
had  a  nearer  view  than  the  Roman 
Court  could  take  of  the  terrible  effect 
the  Reformation  was  likely  to  produce 
on  the  Papacy.  If  Luther  and  his  op- 
ponents are  silenced,  said  he  to  himself, 
the  dispute  will  be  terminated ;  and 
Rome,  by  skilfully  calling  up  new  cir- 
cumstances, will  regain  her  former  influ- 
ence. To  all  appearance,  therefore,  the 
struggle  was  nearly  passed — Rome  had 
opened  her  arms  and  the  Reformer  had 
cast  himself  into  them.  But  this  work 
was  not  of  man,  but  of  God.  It  was  the 
mistake  of  Rome  to  see  only  a  contro- 
versy with  a  monk,  in  what  was  in  real- 
ity a  revival  of  the  Church.  The  kisses 
of  a  papal  chamberlain  could  not  arrest 
the  renewal  of  Christianity. 

Miltitz,  acting  on  the  agreement  that 
he  had  just  concluded,  repaired  from  Al- 
tenburg  to  Leipsic,  where  Tetzel  was 
then  residing.  There  was  no  need  to 
enjoin  silence  on  the  Dominican,  for  he 
would  gladly  have  sought,  if  possible,  to 
hide  himself  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth ; 
but  the  Nuncio  resolved  to  vent  his 
wrath  upon  him.  On  arriving  at  Leip- 
sic he  cited  him  before  him.  He  over- 
whelmed him  with  reproaches,  accused 
him  of  being  the  cause  of  all  the  evil, 
and  threatened  him  with  the  Pope's  an- 
ger.|  He  went  further :  the  agent  of 
the  house  of  Fugger,  who  was  then  at 
Leipsic,  was  confronted  with  him.  Mil- 
titz exhibited  to  the  Dominican  the  ac- 
counts of  that  house,  papers  that  bore 
his  own  signature !  and  demonstrated 
that  he  had  squandered  or  appropria- 
ted to  his  own  use  considerable  sums. 
The  unhappy  man,  whom,  in  the  day  of 
his  triumph,  nothing  could  abash,  was 
struck  motionless  by  these  well-founded 

*  Sic  amice  discessimus  etiam  cum  osculo 
(Judse  scilicet.) — (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  216.) 

t  Has  Italitates.— (Ibid.  231.) 

X  Verbis  minisque  pontificis  ita  fregit  hominem, 
hactenus  terribilem  cunctis  et  imperterritum  sten- 
torem. — (L.  Opp.  in  pnef.) 


THE   LEIPSIC   DISCUSSION,   1519- 


197 


charges.  He  shrunk  despairingly — his 
health  gave  way — and  he  knew  not 
where  to  hide  his  shame.  Luther  re- 
ceived intelligence  of  the  miserable  fate 
of  his  former  adversary,  and  seems  to 
have  been  the  only  person  concerned  for 
him.  "  I  pity  Tetzel"  wrote  he  to  Spal- 
atin.*  He  did  not  stop  there.  It  was 
not  the  man,  but  his  actions,  that  he  had 
hated.  At  the  very  time  when  Rome 
was  pouring  wrath  upon  him,  Luther 
wrote  to  him  a  letter  of  consolation.  But 
all  was  in  vain  !  Tetzel,  haunted  by  the 
remorse  of  conscience,  alarmed  by  the 
reproaches  of  his  dearest  friends,  and 
dreading  the  anger  of  the  Pope,  died 
miserably,  shortly  afterwards.  It  was 
commonly  believed  that  grief  had  hasten- 
ed his  end.f 

Luther,  in  fulfilment  of  the  promises 
that  he  had  made  to  Miltitz,  wrote  to 
the  Pope,  on  the  3rd  of  March,  as  fol- 
lows : — "  Most  holy  Father, — May  your 
Holiness  condescend  to  incline  your  pa- 
ternal ear,  which  is  that  of  Christ  him- 
self, toward  your  poor  sheep,  and  listen 
with  kindness  to  his  bleating.  What 
shall  I  do,  most  holy  Father !  I  cannot 
stand  against  the  torrent  of  your  anger, 
and  I  know  no  way  of  escape.  They 
require  of  me  that  I  should  retract.  I 
would  be  prompt  to  do  so,  if  that  could 
lead  to  the  result  they  desire.  But 
the  persecutions  of  my  enemies  have 
spread  my  writings  far  and  wide,  and 
they  are  too  deeply  engraven  on  the 
hearts  of  men  to  be  by  possibility  erased. 
A  retractation  would  only  still  more  dis- 
honour the  Church  of  Rome,  and  call 
forth  from  all  a  cry  of  accusation  against 
her.  Most  holy  Father,  I  declare  it  in 
the  presence  of  God,  and  of  all  the  world, 
I  never  have  sought,  nor  will  I  ever 
seek,  to  weaken,  by  force  or  artifice, 
the  power  of  the  Roman  Church  or  of 
your  Holiness.  I  confess  that  there  is 
nothing  in  heaven  or  earth  that  should 
be  preferred  above  that  Church,  save 
only  Jesus  Christ  the  Lord  of  all.":}; 

These  words  might  appear  strange, 
and  even  reprehensible  in  Luther,  if 
we  failed  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  light 

*  DoleoTotzel'mm  .  .  .  .— (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  223.) 
t  Sed  conscientia  indignati  Papa?  forte  occu- 

buit. — (L.  Opp.  in  praef.) 

X  Praeter  unum  Jesum   Christum   Dominum 

omnium. — (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  234.) 


broke  in  upon  him  not  suddenly,  but  by 
slow  and  progressive  degrees.-  They 
are  evidence  of  the  important  truth,  that 
the  Reformation  was  not  a  mere  opposi- 
tion to  the  Papacy.  It  was  not  a  war 
waged  against  a  certain  form  or  con- 
dition of  things,  neither  was  it  the  result 
of  any  negative  tendency.  Opposition 
to  the  Pope  was  its  secondary  sign.  A 
new  life,  a  positive  doctrine,  was  its  gen- 
erating principle — "  Jesus  Christ  the 
Lord  of  all,  and  who  should  be  prefer- 
red before  all,"  and  above  Rome  herself, 
as  Luther  intimates  in  the  latter  Words 
of  his  letter.  Such  was  essentially  the 
cause  of  the  Revolution  of  the  sixteenth 
century. 

It  is  probable  that  a  short  time  previ- 
ous to  the  period  we  are  recording,  the 
Pope  would  not  have  passed  over  unno- 
ticed a  letter  in  which  the  monk  of  Wit- 
temberg  flatly  refused  any  retractation. 
But  Maximilian  was  no  more  ; — it  was 
a  question  who  was  to  succeed  him,  and 
Luther's  letter  was  disregarded  in  the 
midst  of  the  political  intrigues  Avhich 
then  agitated  the  city  of  the  Pontiffs. 

The  Reformer  turned  his  time  to  bet- 
ter account  than  his  potent  enemy. 
Whilst  Leo  the  Tenth,  absorbed  in  his 
interests  as  a  temporal  prince,  was  strain- 
ing every  nerve  to  exclude  a  formidable 
neighbour  from  the  throne,  Luther  daily 
grew  in  knowledge  and  in  faith.  He 
studied  the  decretals  of  the  Popes,  and 
the  discoveries  he  made  materially  mod- 
ified his  ideas.  He  wrote  to  Spalatin 
—  "I  am  reading  the  decretals  of  the 
Pontiffs,  and,  let  me  whisper  it  in  your 
ear,  I  know  not  whether  the  Pope  is 
Antichrist  himself,  or  whether  he  is  his 
apostle  ;  so  misrepresented,  and  even  cru- 
cified, does  Christ  appear  in  them."*  _ 

Yet  he  still  esteemed  the  ancient 
Church  of  Rome,  and  entertained  no 
thought  of  separation  from  it.  "  That 
the  Roman  Church,"  said  he,  "  is  more 
honoured  by  God  than  all  others,  is  not 
to  be  doubted.  St.  Peter,  St.  Paul,  for- 
ty-six popes,  some  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  martyrs,  have  laid  down  their  lives 
in  its  communion,  having  overcome  hell 
and  the  world,  so  that  the  eyes  of  God 
rest  on  the  Roman  Church  with  special 
favour.     Though  now-a-days  every  thing 

*  Nescio  au  Papa  sit  Antichristus  ipse  vel 
apostolus  ejus. — (L.  Epp.  i.  239.) 


198 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


there  is  in  a  wretched  state,  it  is  no 
ground  for  separating  from  it.  On  the 
contraiy,  the  worse  things  are  going,  the 
more  should  we  hold  close  to  it ;  for  it  is 
not  by  separation  from  it  that  we  can 
make  it  better.  We  must  not  separ- 
ate from  God  on  account  of  any  work 
of  the  devil,  nor  cease  to  have  fellowship 
with  the  children  of  God,  who  are  still 
abiding  in  the  pale  of  Rome,  on  account 
of  the  multitude  of  the  ungodly.  There 
is  no  sin,  no  amount  of  evil,  which 
should  be  permitted  to  dissolve  the  bond 
of  charity  or  break  the  unity  of  the 
body.  For  love  can  do  all  things,  and 
nothing  is  difficult  to  those  who  are 
united."* 

It  was  not  Luther  who  separated  him- 
self from  Rome,  but  Rome  that  separated 
herself  from  Luther ;  and  in  so  doing 
put  from  her  the  ancient  faith  of  that 
Catholic  Church  which  she  then  repre- 
sented. It  was  not  Luther  who  took 
from  Rome  her  power,  and  obliged  her 
bishop  to  descend  from  a  throne  that  had 
been  usurped :  the  doctrines  he  pro- 
claimed, the  word  of  the  apostles,  which 
God  again  made  known  in  the  Church 
with  power  and  clearness,  were  alone 
effectual  to  dethrone  the  tyranny  that 
had  for  centuries  enslaved  the  Church. 

These  declarations  of  Luther,  pub- 
lished towards  the  end  of  February,  were 
not  such  as  were  altogether  satisfactory 
to  Miltitz  and  De  Vio.  These  two  vul- 
tures had  both  seen  their  prey  escape 
them,  and  had  retired  within  the  walls 
of  ancient  Treves.  There,  under  fa- 
vour of  the  Archbishop,  they  nourished 
the  hope  of  accomplishing  by  their  union 
the  purpose  each  had  separately  failed 
to  effect.  The  two  Nuncios  saw  plainly 
that  nothing  was  to  be  expected  from 
Frederic,  now  invested  with  supreme 
power.  They  saw  that  Luther  persisted 
in  his  refusal  to  retract.  The  only 
chance  of  success  consisted  in  depriving 
the  heretical  monk  of  the  Elector's  coun- 
tenance, and  then  inveigling  him  within 
their  reach.  Once  at  Treves,  in  a  state 
subject  to  a  Prince  of  the  Church,  and 
no  cunning  will  deliver  him  till  he  shall 
have  fully  satisfied  the  requirements  of 
the  Pontiff.  They  went  to  work  with- 
out delay.  "Luther,"  said  Miltitz  to  the 
Elector  Archbishop  of  Treves,  "  has  ac- 
*  L.  Opp.  L.  xvii.  224. 


cepted  the  arbitration  of  your  Grace : 
we  request  you,  therefore,  to  summon 
him  before  you."  The  Elector  of 
Treves  accordingly  wrote  on  the  3rd 
of  May  to  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  request- 
ing him  to  send  Luther  to  him.  De 
Vio,  and  shortly  after  Miltitz  himself,  re- 
paired to  Frederic,  to  announce  to  him 
that  the  Golden  Rose  had  arrived  at 
Augsburg,  consigned  to  the  care  of  the 
Fuggers.  The  moment  they  thought 
had  arrived  for  striking  a  decisive  blow. 

But  affairs  were  changed — neither 
Frederic  nor  Luther  was  moved  from 
his  confidence.  The  Elector  compre- 
hended his  new  position,  and  no  longer 
feared  the  Pope,  much  less  his  agents. 
The  Reformer,  seeing  Miltitz  and  De 
Vio  united,  foresaw  the  fate  that  awaited 
him,  if  he  complied  with  their  .summons. 
"  On  all  sides,"  said  he,  "  my  life  is  way- 
laid."* Besides,  he  had  appealed  to  the 
Pope,  and  the  Pope,  busy  in  intrigues 
with  crowned  heads,  had  not  answered 
his  appeal.  Luther  wrote  to  Miltitz, 
"  How  can  I  set  out  without  an  order 
from  Rome  in  these  troublous  times? 
How  can  I  expose  myself  to  so  many 
dangers,  and  such  heavy  expense,  poor 
as  I  am?" 

The  Elector  of  Treves,  a  prudent  and 
moderate  man,  and  connected  by  relations 
of  friendship  with  Frederic,  resolved  to 
consult  the  interests  of  the  latter.  He  had 
no  wish  to  interfere  unless  positively  re- 
quired to  do  so.  He,  therefore,  came  to 
an  agreement  with  the  Elector  of  Sax- 
ony, to  adjourn  the  examination  to  the 
ensuing  Diet, — and  it  was  not  until  two 
years  after  that  the  Diet  assembled. 

Whilst  the  dangers  that  threatened 
Luther  were  thus  warded  off  by  a  prov- 
idential hand,  he  himself  was  boldly  ad- 
vancing to  a  result  he  did  not  discern. 
His  reputation  was  increased,  the  cause 
of  truth  gained  strength,  the  number 
of  students  at  Wittemberg  increased, 
and  among  them  were  found  the  most 
distinguished  youth  of  Germany.  "  Our 
city,"  wrote  Luther,  "  can  scarce  hold 
the  numbers  who  are  arriving  ;"  and  on 
another  occasion  he  observes,  •'  The  stu- 
dents increase  upon  us  like  an  overflow- 
ing tide."f 

*  Video  ubique,  undique,  quocumque  modo,  an- 

imam  meam  quaeri. — (L.  Epp.  i.  p.  274.  16  May.) 

t  Sicut  aquainundans. — (L.  Epp.i.  p.278,279.) 


THE   LEIPSIC   DISCUSSION,   1519. 


199 


But,  already,  the  Reformer's  voice 
was  heard  beyond  the  confines  of  Ger- 
many. Passing  the  frontiers  of  the  Em- 
pire, it  had  begun  to  shake  the  founda- 
tions of  the  Roman  power  among  the 
several  nations  of  Christendom.  Frobe- 
nius,  the  celebrated  printer  of  Balse,  had 
put  forth  a  collection  of  Luther's  wri- 
tings. They  circulated  rapidly.  At 
Basle,  the  bishop  himself  commended 
Luther.  The  Cardinal  of  Sion,  after 
reading  his  works,  exclaimed,  with  an 
ironical  play  on  his  name,  "  O  Luther  ! 
thou  art  a  true  Luther,"  (a  purifier,  lau- 
terer.) 

Erasmus  was  at  Louvain  when  the 
writings  of  Luther  were  received  in  the 
Low  Countries.  The  Prior  of  the  Au- 
gustines  of  Antwerp,  who  had  studied  at 
Wittemberg,  and  acquired,  according  to 
the  testimony  of  Erasmus,  a  knowledge 
of  primitive  Christianity,  read  them  with 
eagerness,  as  did  other  Belgians.  But 
those  who  were  intent  only  on  their  own 
selfish  interests,  remarks  Erasmus,  men 
who  fed  the  people  with  old  wives'  tales, 
broke  out  in  angry  fanaticism.  "  I  can- 
not tell  you,"  wrote  Erasmus  to  Luther, 
"  the  emotion  and  truly  tragic  agitation 
your  writings  have  occasioned."* 

Frobenius  sent  600  copies  of  these  wri- 
tings to  France  and  Spain.  They  were 
publicly  sold  in  Paris :  the  Sorbonne 
doctors  read  them  with  approbation,  as  it 
would  appear.  It  was  high  time,  said 
some  of  them,  that  those  who  devoted 
themselves  to  biblical  studies  should  speak 
out  freely.  In  England  these  books 
were  received  with  still  greater  eager- 
ness. Some  Spanish  merchants  transla- 
ted them  into  Spanish,  and  forwarded 
them  from  Antwerp  to  their  own  coun- 
try. "  Assuredly,"  says  Pallavicini,  "  these 
merchants  must  have  been  of  Moorish 
blood"! 

Calvi,  a  learned  bookseller  of  Pavia, 
took  a  large  quantity  of  copies  to  Italy, 
and  distributed  them  in  the  transalpine 
cities.  It  was  no  desire  of  gain  that  in- 
spired this  man  of  letters,  but  a  wish 
to  contribute  to  the  revival  of  the  love  of 
God.      The  power  with  which  Luther 

*  Nullo  sermone  consequi  queam,  quos  tragce- 
dias  hie  excitarint  tui  libelli  .  .  . — (Erasm.  Epp. 
vi.  4.) 

t  Maurorum  stirpe  prognatis. — (Pallavicini,  i. 

91.) 


maintained  the  cause  of  Christ  filled 
him  with  joy.  "  All  the  learned  men 
of  Italy,"  wrote  he,  "  will  unite  with  me, 
and  we  will  send  you  tributary  verses 
from  our  most  distinguished  writers." 

Frobenius,  in  transmitting  to  Luther 
a  copy  of  his  publication,  related  these 
joyful  tidings,  and  thus  continued  : — "  I 
have  sold  all  the  impressions  except  ten 
copies,  and  no  speculation  ever  answered 
my  purpose  so  well  as  this."  Other  let- 
ters informed  Luther  of  the  joy  his  wri- 
tings diffused.  "  I  am  delighted,"  said 
he,  "  that  the  truth  is  found  so  pleasing, 
although  she  speaks  with  little  learning 
and  in  stammering  accents."* 

Such  was  the  commencement  of  the 
awakening  in  the  several  countries  of 
Europe.  If  we  except  Switzerland,  where 
the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  had  been  al- 
ready heard,  the  arrival  of  the  Doctor  of 
Wittemberg's  writings  every  where  forms 
the  first  page  in  the  history  of  the  Ref- 
ormation. A  printer  of  Basle  scattered 
the  first  germs  of  truth.  At  the  mo- 
ment when  the  Roman  Pontiff  thought 
to  stifle  the  work  in  Germany,  it  be- 
gan to  manifest  itself  in  France,  the 
Low  Countries,  Italy,  Spain,  England, 
and  Switzerland.  Even  though  the 
power  of  Rome  should  fell  the  parent 
stem  ....  the  seeds  are  henceforth 
spread  abroad  in  all  lands. 

Whilst  the  conflict  was  beginning  be- 
yond the  limits  of  the  Empire,  it  seemed 
to  be  suspended  within.  The  most  tur- 
bulent allies  of  Rome,  the  Franciscan 
monks  of  Juterbok,  who  had  imprudently 
attacked  Luther,  had  retired  in  silence 
after  a  vigorous  reply  from  the  Reformer. 
The  Pope's  partisans  were  no  longer 
heard — Tetzel  was  incapable  of  any 
movement.  The  friends  of  Luther  en- 
treated him  to  give  over  further  contest, 
and  he  had  promised  to  do  so.  The 
theses  were  beginning  to  be  forgotten. 
This  hollow  peace  struck  powerless  the 
eloquence  of  the  Reformer.  The  Ref- 
ormation appeared  arrested  in  its  prog- 
ress— «  But,"  observed  Luther,  speaking 
subsequently  of  this  period,  "  men  were 
forming  vain  schemes,  for  the  Lord  had 
arisen  to   judge   among  the    nations."! 

*  In  his  id  guadeo,  quod  Veritas,  tarn  barbare 
et  indocte  loquens,  adeo  placet. — (L.  Epp.  i.  255.) 

+  Dominus  evigilavit  et  stat  ad  judicandos 
populos. — (L.  Opp.  lat.  in  praef.) 


200 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


Elsewhere  we  find  him  exclaiming, 
"  God  does  not  conduct,  but  drives  me, 
and  carries  me  forward.  1  am  not  mas- 
ter of  my  own  actions.  I  would  gladly- 
live  in  peace,  but  I  am  cast  into  the 
midst  of  tumult  and  changes."* 

The  scholastic  Eck,  author  of  the  Obe- 
lisks, and  Luther's  early  friend,  was  the 
first  to  re-commence  the  combat.  He 
was  sincerely  attached  to  the  Papacy; 
but  he  appears  to  have  been  a  stranger 
to  the  religion  of  the  heart,  and  to  have 
been  of  that  class,  too  numerous  in  every 
age,  who  look  upon  science,  and  even 
upon  theology  and  religion,  as  means  of 
advancement  in  the  world.  Vain  glory 
dwells  under  the  cassock  of  the  pastor  as 
well  as  under  the  armour  of  the  warrior. 
Eck  had  applied  himself  to  the  logic  of 
the  schools,  and  Avas  acknowledged  an 
adept  in  this  kind  of  controversy.  Whilst 
the  knights  of  the  middle  ages,  and  the 
warriors  of  the  age  of  the  Reformation, 
sought  glory  in  tournaments,  the  scho- 
lastic pedants  contended  for  distinction  in 
those  syllogistic  discussions  for  which- the 
academies  often  afforded  a  stage.  Eck, 
full  of  confidence  in  himself,  and  proud 
of  the  popularity  of  his  cause,  and  of  the 
prizes  he  had  won  in  eight  universities  of 
Hungary,  Lombardy,  and  Germany,  ar- 
dently desired  an  opportunity  of  display- 
ing his  ability  and  address.  The  "  ob- 
scure monk,"  who  had  so  suddenly  grown 
into  a  giant — this  Luther,  whom  no  one 
had  hitherto  humbled — offended  his  pride 
and  aroused  his  jealousy,  f  It  may  have 
occurred  to  him,  that  in  seeking  his  own 
glory  he  might  ruin  the  cause  of  Rome. 
.  .  .  But  scholastic  pride  was  not  to  be 
checked  by  such  a  thought.  Divines,  as 
well  as  princes,  have  at  times  sacrificed 
the  general  weal  to  their  own  personal 
glory.  We  shall  see  what  particular  cir- 
cumstance afforded  the  Doctor  of  Ingol- 
stadt  the  desired  opportunity  of  entering 
the  lists  with  his  rival. 

The  zealous  but  too  ardent  Carlstadt 
was  still  in  communication  with  Luther ; 
they  were  also  especially  united  by  their 
attachment  to  the  doctrine  of  grace,  and 
by  their  admiration  for  St.   Augustine. 

*  Deus  rapit,  pellit,  nedum  ducit  me  ;  non  sum 
compos  mei ;  volo  esse  quietus,  et  rapior  in  me- 
dios  tumultos. — (L.  Epp.  i.  231.) 

.t  Nihil  cupiebat  ardentius,  quam  sui  specimen 
prtebere  in  solemni  disputatione  cum  cemulo. — 
(Pallavicini,  torn.  i.  p.  55.)  . 


Of  enthusiastic  character  and  small  dis- 
cretion, Carlstadt  was  not  a  man  to  be 
restrained  by  the  skill  and  policy  of  a 
Miltitz.  He  had  published  against  Eck's 
Obelisks  some  theses,  wherein  he  espoused 
the  opinions  of  Luther  and  their  common 
faith.  Eck  had  put  forth  a  reply,  and 
Carlstadt  had  not  left  him  the  advantage 
of  the  last  word.*  The  discussion  grew 
warm.  Eck,  desiring  to  profit  by  the  op- 
portunity, had  thrown  down  the  gauntlet, 
and  the  impetuous  Carlstadt  had  taken 
it  up.  God  used  the  passions  of  these 
two  men  to  bring  about  his  purposes. 
Luther  had  taken  no  part  in  these  dis- 
cussions, and  yet  he  was  destined  to  be 
the  hero  of  the  struggle.  There  are 
some  men  who  by  the  necessity  of  the 
case  are  continually  brought  forward  on 
the  stage.  It  was  settled  that  Leipsic 
should  be  the  scene  of  the  discussion. 
This  was  the  origin  of  the  Leipsic  dis- 
pute, afterwards  so  famous. 

Eck  thought  it  a  small  thing  to  contest 
the  question  with  Carlstadt.  It  was  his 
object  to  humble  Luther.  He  therefore 
sought  by  every  means  to  tempt  him  into 
the  field,  and  for  this  end  put  forth  thir- 
teen theses,!  which  he  so  framed  as  to 
bear  directly  on  the  principal  doctrines  of 
the  Reformer.  The  thirteenth  was  in 
these  words, — "  We  deny  that  the  au- 
thority of  the  Roman  Church  did  not 
rise  above  that  of  other  churches  before 
the  time  of  Pope  Sylvester :  and  we  ac- 
knowledge in  every  age  as  successor  of 
St.  Peter  and  Vicar  of  Jesus  Christ  him 
who  was  seated  in  the  chair  and  held  the 
faith  of  St.  Peter."  Sylvester  lived  in 
the  time  of  Constantine  the  Great ;  Eck, 
therefore,  in  this  thesis,  denied  that  the 
primacy  possessed  by  Rome  was  given  to 
it  by  that  emperor. 

Luther,  who  had  consented,  not  with- 
out reluctance,  to  remain  silent,  was  deep- 
ly moved  as  he  read  these  propositions. 
He  saw  that  they  were  directed  against 
him,  and  felt  that  he  could  not  decline  the 
challenge  without  disgrace.  "  That  man," 
said  he,  "  declares  Carlstadt  to  be  his  an- 
tagonist, and  at  the  same  moment  attacks 
me.  But  God  reigns.  He  knows  what 
it  is  that  He  will  bring  out  of  this  tra- 
gedy. \      It  matters  little  how  it  affects 

*  Defensio  adversus  Eckii  monomachiam. 

t  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  242. 

X  Sed  Deus  in  medio  horum  ;  ipse  novit  quid 


THE   LEIPSIC   DISCUSSION,   1519. 


201 


Doctor  Eck  or  me.  The  purpose  of  God 
must  be  fulfilled.  Thanks  to  Eck,  this, 
which  has  hitherto  been  but  a  trifle,  will 
in  the  end  become  a  serious  matter,  and 
strike  a  fatal  blow  against  the  tyranny  of 
Rome  and  her  Pontiff." 

The  truce  had  been  broken  by  Rome 
herself.  Nay,  more,  in  again  giving  the 
signal  of  battle,  the  contest  had  been 
transferred  to  a  quarter  which  Luther 
had  not  yet  directly  attacked.  Eck  had 
called  the  attention  of  his  adversaries 
to  the  primacy  of  Rome.  He  thus  fol- 
lowed the  dangerous  example  of  Tetzel* 
Rome  invited  the  stroke ; — and  if  in  the 
result  she  left  on  the  arena  proofs  of  her 
defeat,  it  is  certain  that  she  herself  had 
provoked  the  formidable  blow. 

The  Pontiff's  supremacy  once  over- 
turned, all  the  superstructure  of  Rome 
must  needs  crumble  into  dust.  Hence 
the  papacy  was  in  danger,  and  yet  nei- 
ther Miltitz  nor  Cajetan  took  any  step  to 
prevent  this  new  contest.  Could  they 
imagine  the  Reformation  subdued — -or 
were  they  smitten  with  the  blindness 
which  deludes  the  powerful  to  their 
ruin  ? 

Luther,  who  had  set  a  rare  example 
of  moderation  in  keeping  silence  so  long, 
boldly  accepted  the  challenge  of  his  new 
antagonist.  He  put  forth  fresh  theses  in 
reply  to  those  of  Eck.  The  concluding 
one  was  thus  expressed — "  It  is  by  con- 
temptible decretals  of  Roman  Pontiffs, 
composed  hardly  four  centuries  ago,  that 
it  is  attempted  to  prove  the  primacy  of  the 
Roman  Church  ; — but  arrayed  against 
this  claim  are  eleven  centuries  of  credible 
history,  the  express  declarations  of  Scrip- 
ture, and  the  conclusions  of  the  Council 
of  Nice,  the  most  venerable  of  all  the 
councils."! 

"  God  knows,"  wrote  Luther,  at  the 
same  time  to  the  Elector,  "  that  it  was 
my  fixed  purpose  to  keep  silence,  and 
that  I  was  rejoiced  to  see  the  struggle 
brought  to  a  close.  I  was  so  scrupulous 
in  my  adherence  to  the  treaty  concluded 
with  the  Pope's  commissary,  that  I  did 
not  answer  Sylvester  Prierias.  notwith- 
standing the  taunts  of  my  adversaries,  and 
the  advice  of  my  friends.     But  now  Dr. 

ex  ea  tragedia.  deducere  voluerit. — (L.  Epp.  i. 
230,  222.) 

*  See  p.  163. 

t  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  p.  245. 

26 


Eck  attacks  me  ;  and  not  me  only,  but 
the  whole  University  of  Wittemberg.  I 
cannot  allow  truth  to  be  thus  loaded  with 
opprobrium."* 

Luther  wrote  at  the  same  time  to  Carl- 
stadt :  "  Worthy  Andrew,  I  am  not  will- 
ing that  you  should  enter  on  this  dis- 
pute, since  the  attack  is  in  reality  directed 
against  me.  I  gladly  lay  aside  my  seri- 
ous studies  to  turn  my  strength  against 
these  parasites  of  the  Pontiff"!  Then 
turning  to  his  adversary,  and  disdainfully 
calling  from  Wittemberg  to  Ingolstadt, 
he  exclaims,  "Now  then,  dear  Eck,  take 
courage, — gird  on  thy  sword.}:  If  I  could 
not  please  thee  when  thou  earnest  as  a 
go-between,  perhaps  I  may  better  satisfy 
thee  as  an  antagonist.  Not  that  I,  of 
course,  can  expect  to  overcome  thee, — 
but  that  after  all  thy  triumphs  in  Hun- 
gary, Lombardy,  Bavaria,  (if  we  are  to 
believe  thy  own  report,)  I  shall  be  giv- 
ing thee  the  opportunity  of  earning  the 
name  of  conqueror  of  Saxony  and  Mis- 
nia ! — so  that  thou  shalt  ever  after  be 
hailed  with  the  glorious  epithet  of  Au- 
gust,."§ 

All  Luther's  friends  did  not  share  in 

his  courage, — for  no  one    had    hitherto 

been  able  to  resist  the  sophisms  of  Eck. 

But  their  great  cause  of  alarm  was  the 

subject  matter  of  the   dispute  .  .   .  the 

Pope's   primacy !     Plow    can   the    poor 

monk  of  Wittemberg  dare  to  stand  up 

against  the  giant  who  for  ages  has  Crush- 
es o  o 

ed  all  his  enemies  1  The  courtiers  of  the 
Elector  were  alarmed.  Spalatin,  the 
prince's  confidant,  and  the  intimate  friend 
of  Luther,  was  filled  with  apprehensions. 
Frederic  himself  was  not  at  ease.  Even 
the  sword  of  the  Knight  of  the  Holy  Sep- 
ulchre, with  which  he  had  been  invested 
at  Jerusalem,  would  not  avail  him  in  this 
struggle.  Luther  alone  was  unmoved. 
"The  Lord,"  thought  he,  "will  deliver 
him  into  my  hand."  His  own  faith  fur- 
nished him  with  encouragement  for  his 
friends.  "  I  beseech  you,  my  dear  Spala- 
tin," said  he,  "  do  not  give  way  to  fear. 
You  well  know  that  if  Christ  had  not 
been  on  our  side,  what  I  have  already 

*  L.  Epp.  i.  237. 

t  Gaudens  et  videns  posthabeo  istorum  mea 
seria  ludo. — (L.  Epp.  i.  251.) 

I  Esto  vir  fortis  et  accingere  gladio  tuo  super 
femur  tuum,  potentissime  ! — (Ibid.) 

§  Ac  si  voles  semper  Augustus  saluteris  in 
sternum. — (Ibid.) 


202 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


done  must  have  been  my  ruin.  Even 
lately  did  not  news  come  from  Rome  to 
the  Duke  of  Pomerania's  chancellor,  that 
I  had  destroyed  all  respect  for  Rome,  and 
that  no  way  appeared  of  quieting  the 
general  feeling ;  so  that  it  was  intended 
to  deal  with  me,  not  judicially,  but  by 
Roman  stratagem;  such  were  the  words 
used — 1  suppose  meaning  poison,  am- 
bush, or  assassination  !" 

"  I  restrain  myself,  and  out  of  regard 
to  the  Elector  and  the  University,  I  keep 
back  many  things  which  I  would  employ 
against  Babylon,  if  I  were  elsewhere.  O, 
my  dear  Spalatin,  it  is  not  possible  to 
speak  truth  concerning  Scripture  and  the 
Church,  without  rousing  the  beast.  Don't 
expect  to  see  me  at  peace  unless  I  re- 
nounce the  study  of  divine  things.  If 
this  matter  be  of  God,  it  will  not  end  till 
all  my  friends  have  forsaken  me,  as  all 
the  disciples  of  Christ  forsook  him. — 
Truth  will  stand  unaided,  and  will  pre- 
vail by  his  right  hand,  not  mine  or  yours, 
or  by  any  other  man's.*  If  I  perish,  the 
world  will  not  perish  with  me.  But 
wretch  that  I  am,  I  fear  I  am  not  worthy 
to  die  in  such  a  cause."  "Rome,"  wrote 
he  again  about  this  time,  "  Rome  eagerly 
longs  for  my  destruction,  and  I  grow 
weary  of  defying  her.  I  am  credibly  in- 
formed that  a  paper  effigy  of  Martin  Lu- 
ther has  been  publicly  burnt  in  the  Cam- 
pus Floralis  at  Rome,  after  being  loaded 
with  execrations.  I  await  their  onset."f 
"The  whole  world,"  he  continued,  "is 
in  motion  and  shaking.  What  will  be 
the  consequence,  God  alone  knows.  For 
my  part  I  foresee  wars  and  calamities. 
God  have  mercy  on  us."| 

Luther  wrote  letter  after  letter  to  Duke 
George,  to  ask  permission  of  that  prince,^ 
in  whose  states  Leipsic  was  situated,  to 
repair  thither,  and  take  part  in  the  dis- 
cussion :  still  he  received  no  answer. 
The  grandson  of  the  Bohemian  king 
Podiebrad,  alarmed  by  Luther's  proposi- 
tion touching  the  Pope's  authority,  and 
fearing,  lest  Saxony  should  become  the 

*  Et  sola  sit  Veritas,  quce  salvet  se  dextera  sua> 
non  mei,  non  tua,  non  ullius  hominis  .  .  . — (L- 
Epp.  i.  261.) 

t  Expecto  furorem  illorum. — (Ibid.  280  of  the 
30th  May,  1519.) 

t  Totus  orbis  nutat  et  movetur,  tam  corpore 
quam  anima. — (L.  Epp.  i.  261.) 

§  Ternis  Uteris,  a  duce  Georgio  non  potui  cer- 
tum  obtinere  responsum. — (Ibid.  282.) 


theatre  of  struggles  similar  to  those  which 
had  long-  ravaged  Bohemia,  resolved  not 
to  consent  to  Luther's  request.  The  lat- 
ter hereupon  decided  to  publish  some  ex- 
planations of  his  thirteenth  thesis.  But 
this  tract,  so  far  from  persuading  Duke 
George,  strengthened  him  in  his  resolu- 
tion ;  and  he  decidedly  refused  the  Re- 
former his  permission  to  take  part  in  the 
discussion,  allowing  him  only  to  be  pres- 
ent as  a  spectator.*  Luther  was  greatly 
mortified  ;  nevertheless  it  was  his  desire 
simply  to  follow  God's  leadings,  and  he 
resolved  to  repair  thither,  to  witness  what 
took  place,  and  wait  any  opening  that 
might  offer. 

At  the  same  time,  the  prince  promoted 
by  all  his  influence  the  discussion  be- 
tween Eck  and  Carlstadt.  George  was 
devotedly  attached  to  the  established  doc- 
trine— but  he  was  upright,  sincere,  a 
friend  to  free  enquiry,  and  far  from  deem- 
ing all  exercise  of  individual  judgment 
in  such  things  justly  open  to  the  charge 
of  heresy,  merely  because  it  might  give 
offence  to  Rome.  Add  to  this,  the  Elec- 
tor united  his  influence  with  his  cousin, 
and  George,  emboldened  by  the  language 
of  Frederic,  ordered  that  the  dispute 
should  take  place. | 

Bishop  Adolphus  of  Meresburg,  in 
whose  diocese  Leipsic  was  situate,  saw 
more  clearly  than  Miltitz  and  Cajetan 
the  danger  of  subjecting  questions  of  such 
high  importance  to  the  uncertain  issue  of 
a  single  combat.  Rome  could  not  well 
expose  to  such  hazard  the  acquisition  of 
several  centuries.  All  the  divines  of 
Leipsic  sharing  in  the  alarm,  entreated 
their  bishop  to  interfere  and  prevent  the 
discussion.  Adolphus,  therefore,  ear- 
nestly dissuaded  Duke  George,  but  the 
latter  answered  with  much  good  sense  :J 
"  I  am  surprised  to  find  a  bishop  holding 
in  abhorrence  the  ancient  and  laudable 
custom  of  our  fathers,  to  enquire  into 
doubtful  questions  in  matters  of  faith. 
If  your  theologians  object  to  defend  their 
doctrines,  the  money  given  them  would 
be  better  bestowed  in  maintaining  old 
women  and  children,  who  at  least  might 
sew  and  sing." 

*  Ita  ut  non  disputator  sed  spectator  futurus 
Lipsiam  ingrederer. — (L.  Opp.  in  praef.) 

t  Principis  nostri  verbo  firmatus. — (L.  Epp.  i. 
255.) 

I  Schneider,  Lips.  Chr.  iv.  168. 


THE   LEIPSIC   DISCUSSION,   1519. 


203 


This  letter  produced  little  effect  on  the 
bishop  and  his  divines.  Error  has  a 
hidden  conscience  which  makes  its  sup- 
porters fear  discussion,  even  while  they 
talk  most  largely  of  free  enquiiy.  Ad- 
vancing without  circumspection,  it  draws 
back  with  cowardice.  Truth  provokes 
not,  but  holds  firm.  Error  provokes  en- 
quiry and  then  retires.  The  prosperity 
of  the  university  of  Wittemberg  was  an 
object  of  jealousy  at  Leipsic.  The 
monks  and  the  priests  from  their  pulpits 
besought  the  people  to  avoid  the  new 
heretics.  They  reviled  Luther,  depict- 
ing him  and  his  friends  in  the  darkest 
colours,  to  rouse  the  fanaticism  of  the 
lowest  classes  against  the  doctors  of  the 
Reformation.*  Tetzel  himself,  who  was 
still  living,  exclaimed  from  his  retreat, 
"  It  is  the  devil  himself  who  is  urging 
on  this  contest."! 

Still  not  all  the  Leipsic  professors  were 
of  this  opinion.  Some  belonged  to  the 
class  of  indifferent  spectators,  ever  ready 
to  find  amusement  in  the  faults  of  both 
sides.  Of  this  number  was  Peter  Mosel- 
lanus.  He  cared  little  for  John  Eek, 
or  Carlstadt,  or  Martin  Luther,  but  he 
promised  himself  much  amusement  from 
their  contest.  "  John  Eck,  the  most  il- 
lustrious of  gladiators  of  the  pen  and 
rhodomontadists,"  said  he,  writing  to  his 
friend  Erasmus,  "  John  Eck,  who,  like 
the  Socrates  of  Aristophanes,  looks  down 
upon  the  gods  themselves,  is  about  to 
come  to  blows  with  Andrew  Carlstadt. 
The  battle  will  end  in  smoke.  There 
will  be  matter  for  mirth  for  ten  Demo- 
crituses."| 

On  the  "other  hand,  the  timid  Erasmus 
was  alarmed  at  the  idea  of  a  dispute  ; 
and  his  prudence  tried  to  prevent  the 
discussion.  "  If  you  would  trust  Eras- 
mus," wrote  he  to  Melancthon,  "you 
would  apply  yourself  rather  to  the  culti- 
vation of  literature,  than  to  disputes  with 
its  enemies.  §  In  that  way  I  think  we 
should  get  on  better.  Above  all,  let 
us  remember  in  the  contest  that  we  must 
not  conquer  by  force  of  words  only,  but 

*  Theologi  interim  ne  proscindunt  .  .  .  popu- 
lum  Lipsiae  inclamant. — (L.  Epp.  i.  255.) 

t  Das  wait  del-  Teufel !— (Ibid.) 

t  Seckendorf,  201. 

§  Malim  te  plus  opera?  sumere  in  asserendis 
bonis  litteris,  quam  in  sectandis  harum  hostibus. 
— (Corpus  Reform,  ed.  Bretschneider,  i.  78,  April 
22,  1519.) 


also  by  modesty  and  gentleness."  Nei- 
ther the  fears  of  the  priests,  nor  the 
prudence  of  pacificators,  could  now  pre- 
vent the  contest.  Each  party  prepared 
himself. 

Eck  was  the  first  to  arrive  at  the  place 
of  rendezvous.  On  the  21st  of  June  he 
entered  Leipsic,  accompanied  by  Polian- 
der,  a  young  man  whom  he  had  brought 
from  Ingolstadt  to  take  notes  of  the  dis- 
cussion. He  was  received  with  great 
honours.  Attired  in  priestly  garments, 
at  the  head  of  a  numerous  procession,  he 
passed  through  the  streets  of  the  city  on 
Corpus  Christi  day.  All  crowded  to  see 
him.  "  The  whole  population  was  in 
my  favour,"  said  he,  in  speaking  of  it ; 
"  nevertheless,"  he  continues,  "  a  rumour 
was  spread  abroad  in  the  city  that  I 
should  be  defeated  in  the  encounter." 

The  day  after  the  festival,  Friday,  the 
24th  of  June,  and  St.  John's  day,  the 
party  from  Wittemberg  arrived  in  Leip- 
sic. Carlstadt,  who  was  to  conduct  the 
controversy  against  Eck,  was  alone  in 
his  travelling  car,  in  advance  of  the  rest. 
Duke  Barnim  of  Pomerania,  who  was 
at  that  time  studying  at  Wittemberg, 
and  had  been  chosen  Rector  of  the  Uni- 
versity, followed  in  an  open  carriage. 
Seated  beside  him  were  the  two  cele- 
brated divines — the  fathers  of  the  Refor- 
mation— Melancthon  and  Luther.  Me- 
lancthon had  refused  to  be  separated 
from  his  friend.  "Martin,  that  soldier 
of  Jesus  Christ,"  were  his  words  to  Spal- 
atin,  "  has  stirred  up  all  this  filthy  bog.* 
My  soul  is  moved  with  indignation  when 
I  think  of  the  shameful  conduct  of  the 
Pope's  doctors.  Stand  firm  and  constant 
with  us."  Luther  himself  had  requested 
his  Achates,  as  he  has  been  termed,  to 
bear  him  company. 

John  Lange,  vicar  of  the  Augustines, 
several  doctors  of  law,  a  few  masters  of 
arts,  two  licentiates  in  theology,  and 
other  ecclesiastics,  among  whom  was 
noticed  Nicholas  Amsdorff,  closed  the 
procession.  Amsdorff,  descended  from  a 
noble  family  of  Saxony,  far  from  being 
fascinated  by  the  brilliant  career  to  which 
his  birth  seemed  to  call  him,  had  de- 
voted himself  to  theology.  The  theses 
on  Indulgences  had  led  him  to  the 
knowledge  of  the    truth.     Instantly  he 

*  Martinus,  Domini  miles,  hanc  camarinam 
movit.— (Corp.  Ref.  i.  82.) 


£04 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


had  made  a  courageous  profession  of 
faith.*  Of  energetic  mind  and  vehe- 
ment character,  Amsdorff  was  accustom- 
ed to  urge  on  Luther,  already  by  na- 
ture prompt  to  actions  of  questionable 
prudence.  Born  to  elevated  station,  he 
was  not  awed  by  rank,  and  in  address- 
ing the  great  he  spoke  at  times  with  a 
freedom  bordering  upon  rudeness.  "  The 
gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,"  said  he  in  pres- 
ence of  a  noble  assembly,  "  belongs  to 
the  poor  and  afflicted,  and  not  to  princes, 
lords,  and  courtiers,  such  as  you,  who 
live  in  a  round  of  pleasures  and  enjoy- 
ments."! 

But  this  was  not  all  the  array  of 
Wittemberg.  A  large  bpdy  of  students 
accompanied  their  teachers.  Eck  affirms 
that  there  were  as  many  as  two  hundred. 
Armed  with  pikes  and  halberds,  they 
attended  the  doctors  in  their  route,  re- 
solved to  defend  them,  and  proud  of  their 
cause. 

In  this  order  the  procession  of  the  Re- 
formers arrived  at  Leipsic.  Just  as  it 
had  passed  the  Grimma  gate,  and  had 
reached  the  cemetery  of  St.  Paul,  a 
wheel  of  Carlstadt's  travelling  car  broke 
down.  The  archdeacon,  whose  vanity 
was  pleasing  itself  with  so  solemn  an  en- 
try, was  precipitated  into  the  mud.  He 
was  not  hurt,  but  was  compelled  to 
proceed  on  foot  to  the  place  assigned 
for  his  abode.  Luther's  chariot,  which 
was  following  that  of  Carlstadt,  got  be- 
fore him,  and  bore  the  Reformer  safe 
and  sound  to  his  destination.  The  peo- 
ple of  Leipsic,  who  had  assembled  to 
witness  the  entry  of  the  •champions  of 
Wittemberg,  interpreted  this  accident  as 
an  ill  omen  for  Carlstadt ;  and  it  was 
soon  a  prevalent  impression  that  he 
would  break  down  in  the  conflict,  but  that 
Luther  would  remain  master  of  the  field.  J 

Adolphus  of  Merseburg  was  not  idle. 
As  soon  as  he  learned  the  approach  of 
Luther  and  Carlstadt,  and  even  before 
they  had  alighted,  he  caused  to  be  affixed 
on  the  doors  of  the  churches  a  notice 
prohibiting  the  opening  of  the  discussion 
under  pain  of  excommunication.     Duke 

*  Nee  cum  carne  et  sanguine  diu  contulit,  sed 
statim  palam  ad  alios  fidei  confessionem  constan- 
ter  edidit— (M.  Adami  Vita  Amsdorff.) 

t  Weismann,  Hist.  Eccl.  i.  1444. 

t  Seb.  Froschel  vom  Priesterthum. — (Wittemb. 
1585,  in  prael'.) 


George,  astounded  at  this  audacity,  di- 
rected the  city  council  to  tear  down  the 
bishop's  placard,  and  committed  to  prison 
the  daring  meddler  who  had  ventured 
to  be  the  agent  of  his  orders.*  George 
had  himself  arrived  at  Leipsic.  He  was 
accompanied  by  all  his  court ;  among  the 
rest  by  Jerome  Emser,  with  whom  Lu- 
ther had  spent  a  memorable  evening  at 
Dresden.!  George  made  the  customary 
presents  to  the  two  disputants.  "  The 
Duke,"  said  Eck  boastfully,  "  presented 
me  with  a  fine  stag,  and  to  Carlstadt  he 
gave  only  a  roebuck. "| 

The  moment  Eck  heard  that  Luther 
had  arrived,  he  repaired  to  the  doctor's 
lodging ; — "  What  is  this  ?"  said  he,  "  I 
am  told  you  object  to  dispute  with  me." 
— Luther.  "  How  can  I  dispute,  since 
the  Duke  forbids  me  to  do  so," — Eck. 
"  If  I  am  not  allowed  to  dispute  with 
you,  I  shall  take  very  little  interest  in 
discussing  with  Carlstadt.  It  is  on  your 
account  I  am  here."§  Then,  after  a  mo- 
ment's silence,  he  continued,  "  If  I  obtain 
the  Duke's  permission,  will  you  take  the 
field  ?" — Luther,  (overjoyed).  "  Only 
obtain  permission,  and  we  will  meet." 

Eck  instantly  waited  on  the  Duke  ; 
he  laboured  to  dissipate  his  fears ;  he  as- 
sured him  that  he  was  certain  of  victory, 
and  that  the  Pope's  authority,  far  from 
suffering  by  the  dispute,  would  come  out 
of  it  the  more  glorious.  "  It  was  fit,"  he 
said,  "  that  the  argument  should  bear 
against  the  principal  party. — If  Luther 
be  unhumbled,  every  thing  is  still  to  be 
done  ;  if  he  is  overcome,  all  is  at  au 
end."  George  granted  the  desired  per- 
mission. 

The  Duke  had  had  a  large  apartment 
prepared  in  his  palace  named  Pleissen- 
burg.  Two  elevated  pulpits  had  been 
erected  opposite  each  other, — tables  had 
been  placed  for  the  notaries  engaged  to 
take  notes  of  the  discussion,  and  benches 
were  ranged  around  for  the  audience. 
The  pulpits  and  benches  were  hung 
with  rich  tapestry.  In  front  of  that  in- 
tended for  the  doctor  of  Wittemberg, 
was  suspended  the  portrait  of  St.  Martin  ; 
— on  that  of  Eck  was  the  figure  of  St. 

*  L.  Opp.  L.  xvii.  245. 

t  See  p.  122.  t  Seckend.  p.  190. 

§  Si  tecum  non  licet  disputare  neque  cum 
Carlstatio  volo ;  propter  te  enim  hue  veni. — (L. 
Opp.  in  praef.) 


THE   LEIPSIC   DISCUSSION,   1519. 


295 


George.. — "  We  shall  see,"  said  the 
haughty  Eck,  a?  he  contemplated  this 
emblem — "  if  I  do  not  trample  my  an- 
tagonists under  my  feet."  Every  thing 
announced  the  high  importance  attached 
to  the  dispute. 

On  the  25th  of  June,  a  meeting  was 
held  in  the  Castle  to  settle  the  order 
that  should  be  followed.  Eck,  who  placed 
even  more  dependence  on  his  declama- 
tion and  action,  than  on  his  arguments, 
exclaimed,  "  We  will  dispute  freely 
and  extempore,  and  the  notaries  need  not 
take  down  our  words." 

Carlstadt.  "  It  was  understood  that 
the  discussion  should  be  written,  printed, 
and  submitted  to  the  judgment  of  the 
public."  , 

Eck.  "  Writing  down  all  that  is  said 
wearies  the  minds  of  the  disputants,  and 
protracts  the  contest.  There  is  an  end 
at  once  of  the  spirit  necessary  to  give 
animation  to  the  discussion.  Do  not  de- 
lay the  flow  of  eloquence."* 

The  friends  of  Eck  supported  his  pro- 
posal ; — but  Carlstadt  persisted  in  his  ob- 
jections, and  the  champion  of  Rome  was 
obliged  to  give  way. 

Eck.  "  Well,  be  it  so ;  let  it  be  in 
writing  :  but  at  least  the  discussion  taken 
down  by  the  notaries  must  not  be  made 
public  before  it  has  been  submitted  to  the 
inspection  of  chosen  judges." 

Luther.  "  Then  does  the  truth  that 
Doctor  Eck  and  his  followers  hold  dread 
the  light  ?" 

Eck.  "  There  must  be  judges." 
Luther.  "  What  judges  V 
Eck.  "  When  the  discussion  is  closed, 
we  will  settle  who  they  shall  be." 

The  object  of  the  Romanist  was  ap- 
parent. If  the  Wittemberg  divines  ac- 
cepted judges  they  were  lost :  for  their 
adversaries  were  previously  secure  of  the 
favour  of  those  who  would  be  applied 
to.  If  they  refused  to  abide  their  de- 
cision, their  enemies  would  cover  them 
with  shame,  by  circulating  the  report 
that  they  feared  to  submit  themselves  to 
impartial  award. 

The  Reformers  demanded  for  judges 
— not  this  and  that  individual,  whose, 
opinion  had  been  previously  formed,  but 
the  general  body  of  Christians.  It  was 
to  this  universal  suffrage  they  appealed. 
Besides,  sentence  of  condemnation  given 
*  Melaucth.  Opp.  i.  139.— (Koethe  ed.) 


against  them,  would,  in  their  judgment, 
matter  little,  if,  in  defending  their  cause 
before  the  christian  world,  they  should 
lead  souls  to  the  discovery  of  the  light. 
"  Luther,"  says  a  Roman  historian,  "re- 
quired the  whole  body  of  believers  for 
his  judges  ;  in  other  words,  a  tribunal  so 
extensive  that  no  urn  would  be  found  to 
receive  the  suffrages."* 

The  parties  separated. — "  Observe  their 
artifices,"  remarked  Luther  and  his 
friends  to  each  other. — "  They  no  doubt 
mean  to  require  that  the  Pope  or  the 
Universities  should  be  the  judges  of  the 
result." 

In  fact,  on  the  following  morning  the 
Romish  party  sent  one  of  their  number 
to  Luther,  with  instructions  to  propose  to 
him  ....  the  Pope  ....  as  judge — 
the  Pope  !  "  The  Pope  !"  said  Luther, 
"  how  can  I  accede  to  such  a  proposal?" 

"  Beware,"  said  all  his  friends,  "  of  ac- 
cepting such  unjust  conditions." — Eck 
and  his  advisers  held  another  council 
They  gave  up  the  Pope,  and  proposed 
certain  Universities.  "  Do  not  retract 
the  liberty  you  have  before  conceded  to 
us,"  said  Luther.  "  We  cannot  yield 
this  point,"  replied  they. — "  Then,"  ex- 
claimed Luther,  "  I  will  take  no  part  in 
the  discussion."! 

Again  the  parties  separated,  and 
throughout  the  city  the  affair  was  a  sub- 
ject of  conversation. — "  Luther  will  not 
accept  the  challenge,"  said  the  Roman- 
ists .  .  .  "  He  will  not  acknowledge  any 
judge  !"  His  words  are  commented  on 
and  misconstrued,  and  endeavours  are 
made  to  represent  them  in  the  most  un- 
favourable colours. — "What,  is  it  true 
that  he  declines  the  discussion  V  said  the 
warmest  friends  of  the  Reformer.  They 
flock  around  him  and  give  expression  to 
their  misgivings — "  You  decline  the  dis- 
cussion !"  said^  they,  "  your  refusal  will 
bring  lasting  shame  on  your  University, 
and  on  the  cause  you  have  taken  in 
hand." 

It  was  assailing  him  on  his  weak  side. 
"  Well  then,"  said  he,  indignantly,  "  I 
accept  the  conditions  proposed  ; — but  I 
reserve  to  myself  the  right  to  appeal,  and 
decline  the  jurisdiction  of  Rome."! 

*  Aiebat,  ad  universos  mortales  pertinere  judi- 
cium, hoc  est  ad  tribunal  cujuscolligendis  calculis 
nulla  urna  satis  capax.— (Pallavicini,  torn.  i.  55.) 

f  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  245.         t  Ibid.  246. 


206 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


The  27th  of  June  was  the  day  fixed 
for  the  opening  of  the  discussion.  Early 
in  the  morning  a  meeting  took  place  in 
the  great  college  of  the  University,  and 
from  thence  the  train  walked  in  proces- 
sion to  the  church  of  St.  Thomas,  where 
a  solemn  mass  was  performed  by  order, 
and  at  the  expense  of  the  Duke.  After 
the  service  the  parties  present  repaired  in 
procession  to  the  ducal  castle.  In  front, 
walked  Duke  George  and  the  Duke  of 
Pomerania;  then  came  counts,  barons, 
knights,  and  other  persons  of  rank,  and 
lastly,  the  doctors,  of  both  sides.  A  guard 
consisting  of  seventy-three  citizens,  arm- 
ed with  halberds,  accompanied  their 
march,  with  banners  flying,  and  martial 
music,  halting  at  the  castle-gates. 

The  procession  having  reached  the 
palace,  each  took  his  seat  in  the  hall, 
where  the  discussion  was  to  take  place. 
Duke  George,  the  hereditary  Prince 
John,  Prince  George  of  Anhalt,  then 
twelve  years  of  age,  and  the  Duke  of 
Pomerania,  occupied  the  seats  assigned 
them. 

Mosellanus  ascended  the  pulpit,  to  re- 
mind the  theologians,  by  the  Duke's  or- 
der, in  what  manner  they  were  to  dis- 
pute. "  If  you  fall  to  quarrelling,"  said 
the  speaker,  "  what  difference  will  re- 
main between  a  theologian  in  discussion 
and  a  shameless  duellist  %  In  this  ques- 
tion what  is  victory,  but  the  recovery  of 
a  brother  from  error  %  It  seems  as  if 
each  of  you  should  be  more  desirous  to 
be  so  conquered  than  to  conquer  !"* 

This  address  terminated,  sacred  mu- 
sic resounded  in  the  halls  of  the  Pleis- 
senburg ;  the  whole  assembly  fell  upon 
their  knees,  and  the  ancient  hymn  of  in- 
vocation to  the  Holy  Spirit,  Vcni,  Sancte 
Spiritus,  was  chaunted.  Solemn  mo- 
ments in  the  history  of  the  Reformation  ! 
Thrice  was  the  invocation  repeated,  and 
whilst  this  impressive  voice  was  heard 
around,  the  defenders  of  the  ancient  doc- 
trine, and  the  champions  of  this  new 
teaching,  the  churchmen  of  the  middle 
ages,  and  those  who  sought  to  restore  the 
church  of  the  apostles,  humbly  bowed 
their  foreheads  to  the  earth.  The  time- 
honoured  bond  of  one  communion  still 
bound  together  all  these  different  minds  ; 
the  same  prayer  still  proceeded  from  all 
these  lips,  as  if  one  heart  pronounced  it. 
*  Seckend.  p.  209. 


These  were  the  last  moments  of  out- 
ward and  lifeless  unity :  a  new  Oneness 
of  the  spirit  and  of  life  was  commencing. 
The  Holy  Spirit  was  invoked  upon  the 
church,  and  was  preparing  to  answer  in 
the  revival  of  Christianity. 

The  chaunting  and  prayer  being  con- 
cluded, all  rose  from  their  knees.  The 
discussion  was  about  to  commence,  but  it 
being  twelve  o'clock,  it  was  postponed 
till  two  in  the  afternoon. 

The  Duke  assembled  at  his  table  the 
principal  persons  who  intended  to  be 
present  at  the  discussion.  After  the  re- 
past, they  returned  to  the  castle.  The 
hall  was  filled  with  spectators.  Discus- 
sions of  this  kind  Were  the  public  meet- 
ings of  that  age.  It  was  in  such  meet- 
ings that  the  men  who  represented  the 
generation  in  which  they  lived  agitated 
the  questions  which  occupied  the  general 
mind.  Soon  the  speakers  took  their 
places.  That  their  appearance  may  be 
better  conceived,  we  will  give  their  por- 
traits as  traced  by  one  of  the  most  im- 
partial witnesses  of  the  encounter.  , 

"  Martin  Luther  is  of  middle  size,  and 
so  thin,  by  reason  of  his  continual  studies, 
that  one  can  almost  count  his  bones. 
He  is  in  the  prime  of  life,  and  his  voice 
is  clear  and  sonorous.  His  knowledge 
and  understanding  of  the  Holy  Scriptures 
are  incomparable :  the  whole  word  of 
God  is  at  his  fingers'  ends.*  Added  to 
this,  he  has  vast  resources  of  argument 
and  ideas.  One  might  perhaps  desire 
somewhat  more  judgment  to  arrange 
eveiy  thing  in  its  right  order.  In  con- 
versation he  is  agreeable  and  obliging ; 
in  no  respect  stoical  or  proud  ;  he  accom- 
modates himself  to  every  one  ;  his  man- 
ner of  speaking  is  pleasing,  and  full  of 
joviality ;  he  evinces  much  firmness,  and 
has  ever  a  contented  expression  of  coun- 
tenance, whatever  may  be  the  threats  of 
his  adversaries.  So  that  one  is  constrain- 
ed to  believe  that  it  is  not  without  divine 
assistance  that  he  does  such  great  things. 
He  is  blamed,  however,  for  being  more 
severe  in  his  reproofs  than  is  becoming  in 
a  divine,  especially  when  advancing  nov- 
elties in  religion." 

"  Carlstadt  is  smaller  in  stature :  he 
has  a  dark  and  sunburnt  complexion; 

*  Seine  Gelehrsamkeit  aber  und  Verstand  in 
heiliger  Schrift  ist  unvergleichlich,  so  dass  er  fast 
alles  ira  Griff  hat. — (Mosellanus  in  Seckend.  206.) 


THE   LEIPSIC   DISCUSSION,  1519. 


207 


his  voice  is  harsh  ;  his  memory  less  tena- 
cious than  that  of  Luther,  and  he  is  yet 
more  warm  in  temper.  Yet  he  pos- 
sesses, though  in  a  lower  degree,  the 
same  qualities  for  which  his  friend  is  re- 
markable." 

"  Eck  is  tall  and  broad  shouldered ; 
his  voice  is  strong  and  truly  German. 
He  has  good  lungs,  so  that  he  would  be 
well  heard  in  a  theatre,  and  would  even 
make  a  capital  town-crier.  His  articu- 
lation is  rather  thick  than  clear.  He  has 
none  of  the  grace  so  much  commended 
by  Fabius  and  Cicero.  His  mouth, 
eyes,  and  whole  countenance  give  you 
the  idea  rather  of  a  soldier,  or  a  butcher, 
than  of  a  divine.*  His  memory  is  won- 
derful, and  if  his  understanding  were 
equal  to  it,  he  would  be  a  truly  perfect 
man.  But  his  comprehension  is  slow, 
and  he  wants  that  judgment,  without 
which  all  other  gifts  are  useless.  Hence, 
in  disputing,  he  produces  a  mass  of  pas- 
sages from  the  Bible,  citations  from  the 
Fathers,  and  different  kinds  of  proof, 
without  careful  selection  or  discernment. 
Add  to  this,  his  effrontery  is  almost  in- 
conceivable. If  he  is  embarrassed  he 
breaks  off  from  the  subject  in  hand, 
plunges  into  another,  sometimes  even 
takes  up  the  opinion  of  his  antagonist 
under  a  different  form  of  expression,  and 
with  wonderful  address  attributes  to  his 
opponent  the  very  absurdity  he  himself 
was  defending." 

Such  is  the  description  given  by  Mo- 
sellanus  of  the  men  who  then  engaged 
the  attention  of  the  multitude  who  throng- 
ed the  great  hall  of  the  Pleissenburg. 

The  discussion  was  opened  by  Eck 
and  Carlstadt. 

Eck's  eyes  rested  for  an  instant  on 
some  articles  that  lay  on  the  desk  of  his 
adversary's  pulpit,  and  which  seemed  to 
offend  his  eye.  These  were  the  Bible 
and  the  Fathers.  "  I  object  to  entering 
upon  the  discussion,"  exclaimed  he  on  a 
sudden,  "  if  you  are  permitted  to  bring 
your  books  with  you."  Strange  that  a 
theologian  should  have  recourse  to  books 
in  order  to  dispute.  Eck's  surprise  ought 
to  have  been  yet  more  surprising.  "All 
this  is  but  a  fig-leaf  by  which  this  Adam 

*  Das  Maul,  Augen  und  ganze  Gesicht,  pres- 
entirt  ehe  einen  Fleischer  oder  Soldaten,  als 
einen  Theologum. — (Mossellanus  in  Seckend. 
206.) 


seeks  to  hide  his  shame,"  said  Luther. 
"  Did  not  Augustine  consult  books  when 
he  contended  against  the  Manicheans?"* 
It  mattered  not !  the  partisans  of  Eck 
were  loud  in  their  clamours.  Mutual 
imputations  were  thrown  out.  "  The 
man  has  no  memory,"  said  Eck.  Final- 
ly, it  was  arranged,  according  to  the 
wish  of  the  chancellor  of  Ingolstadt,  that 
each  party  should  be  restricted  to  the  use 
of  his  memory  and  of  his  tongue.  "  Thus, 
then/!  said  many,  "  in  this  disputation 
the  point  at  issue  will  not  be  the  inquiry 
after  truth,  but  what  praise  is  to  be  as- 
signed to  the  speech  and  memory  of  the 
disputants." 

It  being  impossible  to  relate,  at  length, 
the  course  of  a  discussion  which  lasted 
seventeen  days,  we  must,  to  borrow  the 
expression  of  an  historian,  imitate  paint- 
ers, who,  in  representing  a  battle,  give 
prominence  to  the  more  memorable  ac- 
tions, leaving  the  rest  in  the  back 
ground,  f 

The  subject  in  dispute,  between  Eck 
and  Carlstadt.  was  an  important  one. 
"  Man's  will,  previous  to  his  conversion," 
said  Carlstadt,  "can  do  no  good  work. 
Every  good  work,  proceeds  entirely  and 
exclusively  from  God,  who  gives  to  man 
first  the  will  and  afterwards  the  power 
to  perform  it."  This  truth  had  been 
proclaimed  by  Holy  Scripture,  in  the 
words — It  is  God  that  workcth  in  you, 
both  to  will  and  to  do  of  his  good  pleas- 
ure£  and  by  Saint  Augustine,  who,  in 
disputing  with  the  Pelagians,  had  ex- 
pressed it  almost  in  the  same  words. 
Every  action  which  is  wanting  in  love 
to  God,  and  obedience  to  Him,  is  in  His 
sight  destitute  of  that  which  can  alone 
render  it  good  ;  even  though  in  other  re- 
spects flowing  from  the  noblest  of  human 
motives.  But  there  is  in  man  a  natural 
opposition  to  the  will  of  God.  He  has 
not  in  himself  the  strength  to  overcome 
this.  He  has  neither  the  power  nor  the 
will  to  do  so.  This  then  must  be  the 
work  of  divine  power. 

This  is  the  doctrine  so  cried  down  by 
the  world,  and  which  is  yet  so  simple  ; 
the  doctrine  of  Free-will.  But  the  scho- 
lastic divines  had  expounded  it  so  as 
scarcely   to   be   recognised.     Doubtless, 

*  Praetexit  tamen  et  hie  Adam  ille  folium  fici 
pulcherrimum. — (L.  Epp.  i.  294.) 

t  Pallavicini,  i.  65.  t  Phflippians  ii.  13. 


208 


HISTORY   OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


said  they,  the  will  of  man  in  a  state  of 
nature  can  do  nothing  truly  acceptable 
to  God ;  but  it  can  do  much  to  render 
him  more  capable  of  receiving  the  grace 
of  God,  and  more  meet  to  obtain  it. 
They  called  these  preparations  a  merit 
of  congruity  ;*  "  because  it  was  congru- 
ous," says  Thomas  Aquinas,  "  that  God 
should  treat  with  special  favour  the  man 
who  makes  a  right  use  of  his  own  will." 
And  as  to  the  conversion  which  must  be 
wrought  in  man,  doubtless  it  was  the 
grace  of  God;  which,  as  the  scholastic  di- 
vines taught,  must  effect  it ;  but  without 
excluding  natural  powers.  These  pow- 
ers, said  they,  have  not  been  destroyed 
by  sin: — sin  but  interposes  an  obstacle  to 
their  development:  but  when  this  im- 
pediment is  removed,  and  that,  said  they, 
it  is  the  office  of  the  Spirit  of  God  to  ac- 
complish, the  action  of  these  powers  is 
restored.  To  make  use  of  their  favour- 
ite illustration,  the  bird  that  has  been 
long  confined,  has,  in  this  condition,  nei- 
ther lost  its  strength  nor  forgotten  how- 
to  fly ;  but  a  friendly  hand  is  needed  to 
loose  its  fetters  before  it  can  again  rise  on 
the  wing.  Such,  said  they,  is  the  condi- 
tion of  man.f 

This  was  the  subject  of  dispute  be- 
tween Eck  and  Carlstadt.  Eck  had  at 
first  seemed  entirely  opposed  to  Carlstadt's 
propositions  on  this  subject;  but  finding 
it  difficult  to  maintain  the  position  he  had 
chosen,  he  said,  "  I  grant  that  our  will 
has  not  power  to  do  a  good  act,  and  that 
it  receives  power  from  God."  "  Do  you 
then  acknowledge,"  asked  Carlstadt,  over- 
joyed" at  having  won  such  a  concession, 
"  that  a  good  work  comes  entirely  of 
God?"  "The  whole  good  work  comes 
truly  from  God,"  replied  the  subtle  Eck, 
"but  not  entirely."  "  That  is  a  discov- 
ery most  worthy  of  theological  learning," 
cried  Melancthon.  "An  entire  apple," 
pursued  Eck,  "  is  produced  by  the  sun, 
but  not  by  one  effect,  and  without  the  co- 
operation of  the  plant." J  Doubtless  no 
one  ever  maintained  that  an  apple  was 
altogether  the  product  of  the  sun. 

Well,  then,  said  the  opposing  parties, 
going  deeper  into  this  question,  at  once 

*  Meritum  conrruum.  t  Planck,  i.  176. 

t  Quanquam  totum  opus  Dei  sit,  non  tamen 
*  totaliter  a  Deo  esse,  quemadmodum  totum  po- 
mum  efficitur  a  sole,  sed  non  a  sole  totaliter  et 
sine  plants  efficentia.— (Pallavicini,  t.  i.  58.) 


so  delicate  and  so  important  in  philoso- 
phy and  religion,  let  us  then  inquire  how 
God  acts  on  man,  and  how  man  concurs 
with  this  action.  "  I  acknowledge,"  said 
Eck,  "that  the  first  thought  leading  to 
the  conversion  of  a  man  comes  from  God, 
and  that  man's  will  is  in  this  entirely 
passive."*  So  far  the  two  antagonists 
were  agreed.  "  I  acknowledge,"  said 
Carlstadt,  "  on  my  side,  that  after  this 
first  act,  which  proceeds  from  God,  some- 
thing is  requisite  on  the  part  of  man 
which  St.  Paul  calls  will,  which  the  Fa- 
thers term  consent."  Here  again  both 
agreed ;  but  from  this  point  they  diverg- 
ed. "  This  consent  on  the  part  of  man," 
said  Eck,  "  comes  partly  from  our  natu- 
ral will,  partly  from  God's  grace  to  us."t 
"  No,"  said  Carlstadt,  "  it  is  requisite  that 
God  should  entirely  create  this  will  in 
man."!  Hereupon  Eck  began  to  mani- 
fest surprise  and  anger  at  words  so  well 
adapted  to  make  man  sensible  of  his  own 
nothingness.  "  Your  doctrine,"  said  he, 
"  regards  man  as  a  stone,  a  log,  incapa- 
ble of  reciprocal  action."  "What!"  an- 
swered the  Reformers,  "  does  not  the  ca- 
pacity for  receiving  the  strength  that  God 
produces  in  him, — a  capacity  which,  ac- 
cording to  us,  man  possesses. — sufficiently 
distinguish  him  from  a  stone,  or  a  log  of 
wood  ?"  "  But,"  replied  their  antago- 
nist, "you  take  a  position  that  directly 
contradicts  experience,  when  you  refuse 
to  acknowledge  any  natural  ability  in 
man."  "  We  do  not  deny,"  replied  the 
others,  "  that  man  possesses  certain  pow- 
ers^and  ability  to  reflect,  meditate,  and 
choose  ;  only  we  count  such  powers  as 
mere  instruments  which  can  do  no  good  * 
thing  until  the  hand  of  God  has  moved 
them  ;  they  are  like  to  a  saw  that  a  man 
holds  in  his  hands.''§ 

The  great  question  of  Free-will  was 
here  discussed ;  and  it  was  easy  to  de- 
monstrate that  the  doctrine  of  the  Refor- 
mers did  not  take  away  from  a  man  the 
liberty  of  a  moral  agent,  and  reduce  him 
to  a  passive  machine.  The  liberty  of  a 
moral  agent  consists  in  the  power  of  act- 
ing conformably  to  his  choice.     Every 

*  Motionem  seu  inspirationem  prevenientem 
esse  a  solo  Deo  ;  et  ibi  liberum  arbitrium  habet 
se  passive. 

t  Partim  a  Deo,  partim  a  libero  arbitrio. 

X  Consentit  homo,  sed  consensus  est  donum 
Dei. — Consentire  non  est  age  re. 

§  Ut  serra  in  manu  hominis  trahentis. 


THE   LEIPSIC   DISCUSSION,  1519. 


209 


action  performed  without  external  con- 
straint, and  in  pursuance  of  the  determi- 
nation of  the  soul  itself,  is  a  free  action 
The  soul  is  determined  by  motives  ;  but 
we  constantly  see  the  same  motives  act- 
ing diversely  on  different  minds.  Many 
do  not  act  conformably  to  the  motives  of 
which  they  yet  acknowledge  all  the 
force.  This  failure  of  the  motive  pro- 
ceeds from  obstacles  opposed  by  the  cor- 
ruption of  the  heart  and  understanding. 
But  God,  in  giving  "  a  new  heart  and  a 
new  spirit,"  takes  away  these  obstacles  ; 
and  in  removing  them,  far  from  depri- 
ving man  of  liberty,  he  removes  that 
which  hindered  him  from  acting  freely, 
and  from  following  the  light  of  his  con- 
science ;  and  thus,  as  the  Gospel  ex- 
presses it,  makes  him  free.  (John  viii. 
36.) 

A  trivial  incident  interrupted  the  dis- 
cussion. Carlstadt,  as  Eck  relates,*  had 
prepared  certain  arguments,  and,  like 
many  preachers  of  our  own  clay,  he  was 
reading  what  he  had  written.  Eck  saw 
in  this  mere  college  tactics  ;  he  objected 
to  it.  Carlstadt,  embarrassed,  and  fear- 
ing he  should  not  get  on  well  without 
his  paper,  persisted.  "  Ah  !"  exclaimed 
the  doctor  of  the  schools,  proud  of  the  ad- 
vantage he  thought  he  had  obtained, 
"  he  has  not  quite  so  good  a  memory  as 
I  have."  The  point  was  referred  to  ar- 
bitrators, who  permitted  the  reading  of 
passages  of  the  Fathers,  but  came  to  the 
resolution  that  with  that  exception  the 
discussion  should  be  extempore. 

This  first  stage  of  the  dispute  was 
often  interrupted  by  the  spectators.  Much 
agitation  and  even  audible  expressions 
of  feeling  broke  forth.  Any  proposition 
that  did  not  find  favour  with  the  ma- 
jority excited  instant  clamours,  and 
then  it  was  necessary  to  enjoin  silence. 
The  disputants  themselves  were  some- 
times carried  away  by  the  eagerness  of 
the  dispute 

Close  to  Luther  stood  Melancthon, 
who  was  almost  in  an  equal  degree  an 
object  of  curiosity.  He  was  of  small 
stature,  and  would  have  passsed  as  not 
above  eighteen  years  of  age.  Luther, 
who  was  a  head  taller,  seemed  connected 
with  him  in  the  closest  friendship :  they 
came  in  and  went  out  together.  "  To 
look  at  Melancthon,"  said  a  Swiss  di- 
*  Seckendorf,  p.  192. 
27 


vine**  who  studied  at  Wittemberg,  "  one 
would  say  he  was  but  a  youth ;  but  in 
understanding,  learning,  and  talent,  he- 
is  a  giant :  and  one  wonders  how  such 
heights  of  wisdom  and  genius  can  be 
contained  within  so  slight  a  frame." 
Between  the  sittings  Melancthon  con- 
versed with  Carlstadt  and  Luther.  He 
aided  them  in  their  preparation  for  the 
discussion,  and  suggested  the  arguments 
that  his  vast  learning  enabled  him  to 
contribute  ;  but  while  the  discussion  was 
going  on,  he  remained  quietly  seated 
among  the  spectators,  listening  with  at- 
tention to  the  words  of  the  speakers,  f 
At  times,  however,  he  came  to  the  assist, 
ance  of  Carlstadt.  Whenever  the  latter 
was  near  giving  way  under  the  decla- 
mation of  the  Chancellor  of  Ingolstadt, 
the  young  professor  would  whisper  a 
word,  or  hand  him  a  slip  of  paper  where- 
on he  had  noted  down  a  reply.  Eck 
having  on  one  occasion  perceived  this, 
and  indignant  that  the  grammarian,  as 
he  termed  him,  should  dare  to  meddle  in 
the  discussion,  turned  round  and  said  in- 
solently ;  "  Be  silent,  Philip,  mind  your 
studies,  and  do  not  stand  in  my  way."| 
Eck  may  perhaps  have  even  then  fore- 
seen how  formidable  an  opponent  he 
would  one  day  find  in  this  youth.  Lu- 
ther was  roused  by  this  rude  insult  di- 
rected against  his  friend.  "  The  judg- 
ment of  Philip,"  said  he,  "  has  greater 
weight  with  me  than  a  thousand  Dr. 
Ecks." 

.  The  calm  Melancthon  easily  detected 
the  weak  points  of  the  discussion.  "  One 
cannot  help  feeling  astonished,"  said  he, 
with  that  prudence  and  gracious  spirit 
which  we  recognise  in  all  his  words, 
"when  we  think  on  the  violence  with 
which  these  subjects  were  treated.  How 
could  any  expect  to  derive  instruction 
from  it'?  The  Spirit  of  God  loves  retire- 
ment and  silence;  it  is  there  he  pene- 
trates into  our  hearts.  The  bride  of 
Christ  does  not  take  her  stand  in  the 
streets  and  cross-ways,  but  she  leads  her 
spouse  into  the  house  of  her  mother."^ 
Each  party  claimed  the  victory.     Eck 

*  John  Kessler,  afterwards  Reformer  at  St. 
Gall. 

t  Lipsicse  pugnEe  ociosus  spectator  in  reliquo 
vulgo  sedi. — (Corpus  Reformatorum,  i.  111.) 

t  Tace  tu,  Philippe,  ac  tua  studia  cura,  ne  me 
perturba. — (Ibid.  i.  149.) 

§  Melancth.  Opp.  p.  134. 


210 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


resorted  to  every  arfrfice  to  appear  victo- 
rious. As  the  lines  of  divergence  ran 
closely  together,  it  often  happened  that 
he  exclaimed  that  he  had  reduced  his 
adversary  to  his  opinion  ;  or  else,  like 
another  Proteus,  said  Luther,  he  turned 
suddenly  round,  put  forth  Carlstadt's 
opinion  differently  expressed,  and  tri- 
umphantly demanded  if  he  could  refuse 
to  acknowledge  it.  And  the  uninitiated, 
who  had  not  watched  the  manoeuvre  of 
the  sophist,  began  to  applaud  and  exult 
with  him.  Nevertheless,  Eck,  -without 
perceiving  it,  in  reality  gave  up  in  the 
course  of  the  discussion,  much  more 
than  he  had  intended.  His  partisans 
laughed  immoderately  at  his  successive 
devices ;  "  but,"  said  Luther,  "  I  am 
much  inclined  to  think  that  their  laugh- 
ter was  affected,  and  that  they  were  ac- 
tually on  thorns  when  they  saw  their 
chief,  who  had  commenced  the  battle 
with  bravados,  abandon  his  standard,  leave 
his  own  ranks,  and  act  the  part  of  a  shame- 
less deserter."* 

Three  or  four  days  after  the  opening 
of  the  conference,  it  had  been  interrupted 
on  account  of  the  festival  of  the  apostles 
St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul. 

The  Duke  of  Pomerania  requested 
Luther  to  preach  on  the  occasion  in  his 
chapel.  Luther  gladly  consented.  But 
the  chapel  was  early  thronged,  and  the 
crowds  of  hearers  increasing,  the  assem- 
bly adjourned  to  the  great  hall  of  the 
castle  where  the  conference  had  been 
carried  on.  Luther  took  his  text  from 
the  gospel  of  the  day,  and  preached  on 
the  grace  of  God  and  the  authority  of  St. 
Peter.  What  he  was  accustomed  to 
maintain  before  a  learned  auditory,  he 
then  declared  to  the  people. — Christian- 
ity brings  the  light  of  truth  to  the  hum- 
blest as  well  as  the  most  intelligent 
minds.  It  is  this  which  distinguishes  it 
from  all  other  religions,  and  all  systems 
of  philosophy.  The  Leipsic  divines,  who 
had  heard  Luther's  sermon,  hastened  to 
report  to  Eck  the  offensive  expressions 
with  which  they  had  been  scandalized. 
"  You  must  answer  him,"  cried  they, 
"  these  specious  errors  must  be  publicly 
refuted."  Eck  desired  nothing  better. 
All  the  churches  were  at  his  service,  and 
on  four  successive  occasions  he  ascended 

*  Relictis  signis,  desertorem  exercitus  et  trans- 
fugam  factum. — (L.  Epp.  i.  265.) 


the  pulpit  and  inveighed  against  Luther 
and  his  sermon.  Luther's  friends  were 
indignant.  They  demanded  that  the 
theologian  of  Wittemberg  should  in  his 
turn  be  heard.  But  their  demand  was 
disregarded.  The  pulpits  were  open  to 
the  enemies  of  the  gospel,  and  shut  to 
those  who  proclaimed  it.  "  I  was  si- 
lent," said  Luther,  "  and  was  obliged  to 
suffer  myself  to  be  attacked,  insulted,  and 
calumniated  without  even  the  power  to 
excuse  or  defend  myself."* 

It  was  not  only  the  clergy  who  oppo- 
sed the  teachers  of  the  evangelical  doc- 
trine ;  the  burghers  of  Leipsic  were  in 
that  of  one  mind  with  the  clergy.  A 
blind  fanaticism  rendered  them  the  ready 
dupes  of  the  falsehood  and  prejudice 
which  were  circulated  abroad.  The 
principal  inhabitants  abstained  from  vis- 
iting Luther  or  Carlstadt ;  and  if  they 
accidentally  met 'in  the  street,  they  passed 
them  without  salutation.  They  misrep- 
resented them  to  the  Duke.  On  the 
other  hand,  they  were  in  daily  commu- 
nication and  interchange  of  visits  with 
the  Doctor  of  Ingolstadt.  To  Luther 
they  offered  the  disputant's  customary 
present  of  wine.  Beyond  this,  any  who 
were  favourably  disposed  toward  him 
concealed  their  predilection  from  others : 
several,  following  the  example  of  Nicb- 
demus,  came  to  him  in  the  night  or  by 
stealth.  Two  individuals  alone  stood 
forward  to  their  own  honour,  and  pub- 
licly declared  themselves  his  friends : — 
Doctor  Auerbach,  whom  we  have  al- 
ready seen  at  Augsburg,  and  Doctor  Pis- 
tor  the  younger. 

The  greatest  agitation  prevailed  in  the 
city.  The  two  parties  resembled  two 
hostile  camps,  and  sometimes  came  to 
blows.  Frequent  quarrels  took  place  in 
the  inns  between  the  Leipsic  students 
and  those  of  Wittemberg.  It  was  cur- 
rently asserted,  even  in  the  meetings  of 
the  clergy,  that  Luther  carried  about 
with  him  a  devil  enclosed  in  a  small 
box.  "  I  know  not,"  said  Eck  spitefully, 
"  whether  the  devil  is  in  the  box  or  un- 
der his  frock — but  sure  I  am  he  is  in  one 
or  the  other."  ' 

Several  doctors  of  the  opposing  parties 
were  lodged,  during  the  progress  of  the 
disputation,  in  the  house  of  the  printer 

*  Mich  verklagen,  schelten  und  schmffihen. 
.  .— (L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  247.) 


THE   LEIPSIC   DISCUSSION,   1519. 


211 


Herbipolis.  Their  contentions  ran  so 
high,  that  their  host  was  obliged  to  place 
a  police  sergeant,  armed  with  a  halberd, 
at  the  head  of  the  table,  with  instructions 
to  preserve  the  peace.  One  day  Baum- 
garten,  a  vendor  of  indulgences,  came  to 
blows  with  a  gentleman  attached  to  Lu- 
ther, and  in  the  violence  of  his  fit  of  pas- 
sion, burst  a  blood-vessel  and  expired. 
u  I  myself,"  says  Froschel,  who  relates 
the  fact,*  "  was  one  of  those  who  carried 
him  to  the  grave."  In  such  results  the 
general  ferment  in  men's  minds  mani- 
fested itself.  Then,  as  in  our  days,  the 
speeches  in  the  assemblies  found  an  echo 
in  the  dinner-room  and  public  streets. 

Duke  George,  though  strongly  biassed 
in  favour  of  Eck,  did  not  evince  so  much 
zeal  in  his  cause  as  his  subjects.  He 
invited  all  three,  Eck,  Luther,  and  Carl- 
stadt,  to  dinner.  He  even  requested  Lu- 
ther to  visit  him  in  private  ;  but  soon 
manifested  the  prejudices  that  had  been 
artfully  inculcated.  "  Your  tract  on  tin- 
Lord's  Prayer,"  said  the  Duke,  "  has 
misled  the  consciences  of  many.  There 
are  some  who  complain  that  for  four  days 
together  they  have  not  been  able  to' say 
one  pater" 

It  was  on  the  4th  of  July  that  the  con- 
test commenced  between  Eck  and  Lu- 
ther. Everything  announced  that  it 
would  be  more  violent  and  decisive  than 
that  which  had  just  terminated.  The 
two  disputants  were  advancing  to  the 
arena,  firmly  rogolved  not  to  lay  down 
their  arms  till  victory  should  have  de- 
clared in  favour  of  one  or  the  other. 
General  attention  was  alive,  for  the  sub- 
ject of  dispute  was  the  Pope's  primacy. 
Two  prominent  hindrances  obstruct  the 
progress  of  the  Gospel,  the  hierarchy 
and  rationalism.  Rationalism  as  applied 
to  the  doctrine  of  man's  moral  powers, 
had  been  the  object  of  attack  in  the  ear- 
ly part  of  the  discussion.  The  hierar- 
chy, viewed  in  what  was  at  once  its  basis 
as  well  as  climax — the  doctrine  of  the 
Pope's  authority — was  now  to  be  im- 
pugned. On  the  one  side  appeared  Eck, 
the  defender  of  the  established  teaching, 
and,  like  some  boastful  soldier,  strong  in 
confidence  derived  from  previous  tri- 
umphs.!    On   the  other  side  came   Lu- 

*  Loscher,  iii.  278. 

t  Faciebat  hoc  Eccius  quia  certam  sibi  gloriam 
propositam  cemebat,  propter  propositionem  meam, 


ther,  to  whom  the  contest  seemed  to 
promise  nothing  but  persecutions  and  ig- 
nominy, but  who  presented  himself  with 
a  clear  conscience,  a  firm  determination 
to  sacrifice  every  thing  to  the  cause  of 
truth,  and  a  hope  full  of  faith  in  God's 
power  to  deliver  him. 

At  seven  in  the  morning  the  two  dis- 
putants had  taken  their  places,  encom- 
passed by  an  attentive  and  numerous  au- 
ditory. 

Luther  stood  up,  and  adopting  a  neces- 
sary precaution,  said,  with  humility : 

"  In  the  name  of  the  Lord — Amen. 
I  declare  that  the  respect  I  have  for  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff  would  have  prevented 
my  sustaining  the  part  I  am  taking  in 
this  discussion,  had  not  the  worthy  Doc- 
tor Eck  persuaded  me  thereto." 

Eck.  "  In  thy  name,  blessed  Jesus ! 
Before  I  enter  on  this  discussion,  I  pro- 
test in  your  presence,  noble  chiefs,  that 
all  I  shall  say  is  subject  to  the  judgment 
of  the  first  of  all  episcopal  chairs,  and  to 
the  master  who  fills  it." 

After  a  moment's  silence,  Eck  con- 
tinued : 

"  There  is  in  God's  Church  a  prima- 
cy derived  from  Christ  himself.  The 
Church  militant  has  been  set  up  in  the 
likeness  of  the  Church  triumphant.  But 
this  latter  is  a  monarchy,  wherein  every 
thing  ascends  hierarchially  to  its  sole 
head — God  himself.  Therefore  it  is  that 
Christ  has  established  a  similar  order 
upon  earth.  How  monstrous  would  the 
Church  be  without  a  head."* 

Luther,  turning  to  the  assembly, 

"  When  the  doctor  declares  that  it  is 
most  needful  that  the  Church  universal 
have  a  Head,  he  says  well.  If  there  be 
any  one  among  us  who  affirms  the  con- 
trary, let  him  stand  forth.  I  hold  no  such 
thing." 

Eck.  "  If  the  Church  militant  has  nev- 
er been  without  its  one  Head,  I  would 
beg  to  ask  who  he  can  be,  but  the  Ro- 
man Pontiff?" 

Luther,  raising  his  eyes  to  heaven, 

"  The  Head  of  the  Church  militant  is 
Christ  himself,  and  not  a  mortal  man. 
I  believe  this,  on  the  authority  of  God's 

in  qua  negaban  Papam  esse  jure  divino  caput 
Ecclesiee:  hie  patuit  ei  campus  magnus. — (L. 
Opp.  in  praef.) 

*  Nam  quod  monstram  esset,  Ecclesiam  esse 
acephalam ! — (L  Opp.  lat.  i.  243.) 


212 


HISTORY   (3F  THE   REFORMATION. 


testimony,  whose  word  says,  He  must 
reign  until  his  enemies  be  put  under  his 
feet.*  Let  us  then  no  longer  give  ear  to 
those  who  put  away  Christ  to  the  Church 
triumphant  in  heaven.  His  kingdom  is 
a  kingdom  of  faith.  We  see  not  our 
Head,  and  yet  we  are  joined  to  him."t 

Eck,  not  discomfited,  and  turning  to 
other  arguments,  resumed : 

u  It  is  from  Rome,  as  St.  Cyprian  tells 
us,  that  sacerdotal  unity  proceeded." X 

Luther.  "  As  regards  the  Western 
Church,  agreed.  But  is  not  this  Roman 
Church  herself  derived  from  that  of  Je- 
rusalem? And  to  speak  correctly,  the 
church  of  Jerusalem  was  mother  and 
nurse  of  all  the  churches."^ 

Eck.  "  St.  Jerome  affirms,  that  if  au- 
thority above  that  of  all  other  churches  is 
not  lodged  with  the  Pope,  there  will  be 
in  the  Church  as  many  schisms  as  there 
are  bishops."  || 

Luther.  "  I  admit  it,T  that  is  to  say, 
that  if  all  the  faithful  were  consenting, 
this  authority  might,  agreeably  to  the 
principles  of  human  legislation,  be  right- 
fully ascribed  to  the  chief  Pontiff  Nei- 
ther would  I  deny  that  if  the  whole  body 
of  believers  should  consent  to  acknowl- 
edge as  first  and  chief  bishop — the  bishop 
of  Rome,  or  of  Paris,  or  of  Magdeburg, 
it  would  be  our  duty  to  acknowledge  him 
as  such, — from  respect  to  this  general 
consent  of  the  whole  church  :  but  that  is 
what  the  world  has  never  seen  nor  ever 
will  see.  Even  in  our  own  day,  does  not 
the  Greek  church  withhold  her  consent 
to  Rome  ?" 

Luther  was  at  this  time  quite  prepared 
to  acknowledge  the  Pope  as  chief  magis- 
trate of  the  Church, — freely  chosen  by  it ; 
but  he  denied  his  divine  right.  It  was 
not  until  a  later  period  that  he  denied 
that   any  submission   was  due  to   him. 

*  1  Cor.  xv.  25. 

t  Prorsus  audiendi  non  sunt  qui  Christum 

extra  Ecclesiam  militantem,  tendunt  in  trium- 

^    phantem,  cum  sit  regnum  fidei.    Caput  nostrum 

non  videmus;  tamen  habemus. — (L.  Opp.  lat.  i. 

243.) 

^  Unde  sacerdotalis  unitas  exorta  est. — (Ibid. 
243.) 

§  Hasc  est  matrix  proprie  omnium  ecclesiarum. 
—(Ibid.  244.) 

||  Cui  si  non  exors  quaedam  et  ab  omnibus 
eminens  detur  potestas. — (Ibid.  243.) 

V  Detur,  inquit,  hoc  est  jure  humano,  posse 
fieri,  consentientibus  caeteris  omnibus  fidelibus. 
-(Ibid.  244.) 


That  was  an  advance  to  which  the  Leip- 
sic  controversy  mainly  contributed.  But 
Eck  was  on  ground  which  Luther  knew 
better  than  he.  As  Eck  appealed  to  the 
authority  of  the  Fathers,  Luther  resolved 
to  defeat  him  by  the  Fathers  themselves. 

"  That  my  construction  of  the  words," 
said  he,  "is  truly  what  St.  Jerome  intend- 
ed, I  will  prove  by  his  own  epistle  to 
Evagrius.  Every  Bishop,  says  he,  whe- 
ther of  Rome  or  of  Eugubium,  whether 
of  Constance  or  of  Regium,  whether  of 
Alexandria  or  of  Thanis,  has  the  same 
honour  and  the  same  priestly  rank.*  The 
influence  of  wealth,  or  the  humility  of 
poverty  alone,  makes  their  difference  of 
standing." 

From  the  Fathers  Luther  passed  to 
the  decrees  of  the  Councils,  which  recog- 
nize in  the  bishop  of  Rome  only  the  first 
among  his  peers,  f  "  We  read,"  said  he, 
"  in  the  decree  of  the  Council  of  Africa, 
'  Let  not  the  bishop  of  the  chief  see  be 
called  Prince  of  the  Pontiffs,  or  Sovereign 
Pontiff,  or  any  other  name  of  that  sort, 
but  simply  bishop  of  the  first  see.'  If  the 
monarchy  of  the  bishop  of  Rome  were  of 
divine  right,"  continued  Luther,  "would 
not  this  decision  be  heretical  ?" 

Eck  met  this  by  one  of  the  subtle  dis- 
tinctions to  which  he  was  so  accustomed 
to  have  recourse. 

"  The  bishop  of  Rome,  if  you  please, 
is  not  universal  bishop,  but  bishop  of  the 
church  universal. "J 

Luther.  "  I  will  not  say  one  word  on 
that  answer.  Let  our  hearers  themselves 
judge  concerning  it." 

"  Certainly,"  he  afterwards  observed, 
"  that  was  a  gloss  worthy  of  a  theologian, 
and  just  of  a  kind  to  content  a  disputant 
eager  for  triumph.  I  have  not  remained 
at  Leipsic,  at  considerable  cost  to  no  pur- 
pose, since  I  have  learned  that  the  Pope 
of  a  truth  is  not  universal  bishop,  but 
bishop  of  the  church  universal  !"§ 

Eck.  "  Well,  to  come  to  the  point. 
The  venerable  doctor  requires  from  me,  a 
proof  that  the  primacy  of  the  church  of 
Rome  is  of  divine  right ;  I  find  that 
proof  in  the  words  of  Christ — '  Thou  art 

*  Ejusdem  meriti  et  ejusdem  sacerdotti  est. — 
(L.  Opp.  lat.  i.  244.) 

t  Primus  inter  pares. 

t  Non  episcopus  universalis,  sed  universalis 
Ecclesiae  Episcopus. — Clb.  246.) 

§  Ego  gloriar  me  tot  expensis  non  frustra  .  . — 
(L.  Opp.  i.  299.) 


THE   LEIPSIC   DISCUSSION,   1519. 


213 


Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my 
church.''  St.  Augustine,  in  one  of  his 
epistles,  has  thus  explained  the  meaning 
of  the  passage — 'Thou  art  Peter,  and  on 
this  rock,  that  is  to  say,  on  Peter,  I  will 
build  my  church.'  It  is  true,  that  Au- 
gustine has  elsewhere  said,  that  by  this 
rock  we  must  understand  Christ  himself, 
but  he  has  not  retracted  his  first  explana- 
tion." 

Luther.  "If  the  reverend  doctor  brings 
against  me  these  words  of  St.  Augustine, 
let  him  himself  first  reconcile  such  oppo- 
site assertions.  For  certain  it  is,  that 
St.  Augustine  has  repeatedly  said,  that 
the  rock  was  Christ,  and  hardly  once 
that  it  was  Peter  himself.  But  even 
though  St.  Augustine  and  all  the  Fathers 
should  say  that  the  Apostle  is  the  rock 
of  which  Christ  spake,  I  would,  if  I 
should  stand  alone,  deny  the  assertion — 
supported  by  the  authority  of  the  Holy 
Scripture — in  other  words  by  divine 
right* — for  it  is  written,  Other  founda- 
tion can  no  man  lay  than  that  is  laid, 
even  Christ  Jesus.]  Peter  himself  calls 
Christ  the  chief  corner-stone,  and  living 
rock,  on  which  toe  arc  built  up  a  spiritual 
house.11  % 

Eck.  "I  am  astonished  at  the  humility 
and  diffidence  with  which  the  reverend 
doctor  undertakes  to  stand  alone  against 
so  many  illustrious  Fathers,  thus  affirm- 
ing that  he  knows  more  of  these  things 
than  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  the  Councils, 
divines,  and  universities !  ....  It  would 
no  doubt  be  very  wonderful  if  C4od  had 
hidden  the  truth  fronj  so  many  saints  and 
martyrs  till  the  advent  of  the  reverend 
father." 

Luther.  "  The  Fathers  are  not  op- 
posed to  me. — St.  Augustine,  St.  Am- 
brose, and  the  most  eminent  divines  say 
as  I  do.  On  that  confession  of  faith  the 
church  is  built,  says  St.  Ambrose,^  ex- 
plaining what  is  to  be  understood  by  the 
stone  on  which  the  church  rests.  Let 
my  antagonist  then  restrain  his  speech. 
Such  expressions  as  he  has  just  used  do 
but  stir  up  animosity,  instead  of  helping 
in  learned  discussion." 

*  Resistam  eis  ego  umis,  auctoritate  Apostoli 
id  est,  divino  jure. — (L.  Opp.  lat.  i.  237.) 

t  1  Cor.  iii.  11. 

X  1  Peter  ii.  4,  5. 

§  The  Church  is  built  upon  that  confession  of 
faith.— (L.  Opp.  lat.  i.  254.) 


Eck  had  not  expected  so  much  learn- 
ing in  his  adversary,  and  managed  to 
extricate  himself  from  the  labyrinth  m 
which  he  had  endeavoured  to  entangle 
him.  '•  The  reverend  father,"  said  he, 
"  has  entered  on  this  discussion  after  well 
preparing  his  subject.  Your  excellencies 
will  excuse  me  if  I  should  not  produce  so 
much  exact  research.  I  came  hither  to 
discuss,  and  not  to  make  a  book."  Eck 
was  in  some  sort  taken  by  surprise,  but 
not  defeated.  Having  no  other  argu- 
ment at  hand,  he  had  recourse  to  an  odi- 
ous and  contemptible  artifice,  which,  if  it 
did  not  bear  down,  must  at  least  greatly 
embarrass  his  adversary.  If  the  suspicion 
of  being  a  Bohemian,  a  heretic,  a  Huss- 
ite, do  but  hang  over  Luther,  he  is  van- 
quished ;  for  the  Bohemians  were  detest- 
ed in  the  church.  The  doctor  of  Ingol- 
stadt  adopted  this  stratagem.  "  From 
primitive  times,"  said  he,  "it  has  been 
ever  acknowledged,  that  the  Church  of 
Rome  derives  her  primacy  from  Christ 
himself,  and  not  from  human  law.  I 
must  admit,  however,  that  the  Bohemians 
in  their  obstinate  defence  of  their  errors 
have  attacked  this  doctrine.  I  ask  the 
reverend  father's  pardon  if  I  am  opposed 
to  the  Bohemians  on  account  of  their  op- 
position to  the  Church  ;  and  if  the  present 
discussion  has  recalled  those  heretics  to 
my  recollection  ;  for  ...  .  according  to 
my  humble  judgment  ....  the  infer- 
ences the  doctor  has  drawn  are  entirely 
favourable  to  their  errors  ;  and,  it  is  said, 
they  boast  of  this."* 

Eck  had  rightly  calculated  the  effect. 
All  his  partisans  loudly  applauded  the 
artful  insinuation,  and  an  exultation  was 
manifest  in  the  auditory.  "  These  in- 
sults," said  the  Reformers  at  a  subsequent 
period,  "  pleased  their  fancy  much  more 
than  the  progress  of  the  discussion." 

Luther.  "  I  neither  love,  nor  ever  shall 
love,  a  schism.  Since  on  their  own  au- 
thority the  Bohemians  have  separated 
from  unity  with  us,  they  are  in  the  wrong: 
even  though  divine  right  should  be  in 
favour  of  the  doctrine  :  for  the  highest  di- 
vine right  is  love  and  the  unity  of  the 
Spirit."! 

*  Et,  ut  fama  est,  de  hoc  plurimum  gratulan- 
tur.— (Ibid.  250.) 

t  Nunquam  mihi  placuit,  nee  in  seternum  pla- 
cebit  quodcumque  schisma  .  .  .  Cum  supremum 
jus  divinum  sit  Charitas  et  Unitas  Spiritus. — (L. 
Opp.  lat.  i.  250.) 


214 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


It  was  on  the  5th  of  July,  in  the  morn- 
ing sitting,  that  Luther  uttered  these 
words.  The  meeting  shortly  after  broke 
up,  the  dinner  hour  having  arrived.  It 
is  likely  that  some  one  of  the  friends,  or 
perhaps  of  the  enemies  of  the  doctor,  drew 
his  thoughts  to  the  fact  that  he  had  gone 
very  far  in  thus  condemning  the  Chris- 
tians of  Bohemia.  Had  they  not  in  real- 
ity stood  for  those  doctrines  that  Luther 
was  then  maintaining  ?  Hence  it  was, 
when  the  assembly  were  again  together 
at  two  "m  the  afternoon,  Luther  broke 
silence  and  said  courageously: — "Among 
the  articles  of  John  Huss  and  the  Bohe- 
mians, there  are  some  that  are  most 
agreeable  to  Christ.  This  is  certain ;  and 
of  this  sort  is  that  article  :  '  There  is  only 
One  church  universal :'  and  again:  'That 
it  is  not  necessary  to  salvation  that  we 
should  believe  the  Roman  church  supe- 
rior to  others.' — It  matters  little  to  me 
whether  Wiclif  or  Huss  said  it.  It  is 
Truth." 

This  declaration  of  Luther  produced 
an  immense  sensation  on  the  auditory. 
Huss,  Wiclif,  names  held  in  abhorrence, 
pronounced  with  respect  by  a  monk,  in 
the  midst  of  a  Catholic  assembly !  .  .  . 
An  almost  general  murmur  ran  round 
the  hall.  Duke  George  himself  was 
alarmed.  He  foresaw  for  Saxony  the 
unfurling  of  the  standard  of  that  civil 
discord  which  had  ravaged  the  states  of 
his  maternal  ancestors.  Not  able  to  sup- 
press his  feelings,  he  broke  forth  in  a  loud 
exclamation,  in  the  hearing  of  all  the  as- 
sembly; "He  is  mad."*  Then,  shaking 
his  head,  he  rested  his  hands  on  his  sides. 
The  whole  assembly  was  in  high  excite- 
ment. Those  who  were  seated  rose  from 
their  seats,  conversing  in  groups.  The 
drowsy  were  aroused :  the  enemies  of 
Luther  exulted ;  and  his  friends  were 
greatly  perplexed.  Several  who  till  then 
had  listened  to  him  with  satisfaction,  be- 
gan to  doubt  his  orthodoxy.  The  effect 
of  this  speech  was  never  effaced  from  the 
mind  of  Duke  George  :  from  that  hour 
he  looked  with  an  evil  eye  on  the  Re- 
former, and  became  his  enemy,  f 

As  to  Luther,  he  did  not  give  way  to 
this  burst  of  murmurs.  "  Gregory  Nazi- 
anzen,"  continued  he,  with  noble  calm- 

*  Das  wait  die  Sucht ! 

t  Nam  adhuc  erat  dux  Georgius  mihi  non  ini- 
micus,  quod  sciebam  certo. — (L.  Opp.  in  prsef.) 


ness,  "  Basil  the  great,  Epiphanius, 
Chrysostom,  and  a  great  many  other 
Greek  bishops,  are  saved ;  and  yet  they 
never  believed  that  the  Church  of  Rome 
was  superior  to  other  churches.  It  does 
not  belong  to  the  Roman  pontiffs  to  add 
new  articles  of  faith.  There  is  no  au- 
thority for  the  believing  Christian  but 
the  Holy  Scripture.  It,  alone,  is  of  di- 
vine right.  I  beg  the  worthy  doctor  Eck 
to  grant  me  that  the  Roman  Pontiffs  have 
been  men,  and  not  to  speak  of  them  as  if 
they  were  Gods."* 

Eck  here  resorted  to  one  of  those 
pleasantries  which  give  an  easy  advan- 
tage, in  appearance,  to  him  who  uses 
them. 

"  The  reverend  father,  who  is  not  skil- 
ful in  his  cookery,"  said  he,  "  has  just 
made  a  very  bad  hash  of  heretics  and 
Greek  saints ;  so  that  the  odour  of  sanc- 
tity of  the  one,  hides  the  taste  of  poison 
in  the  others."! 

Lother,  interrupting  Eck  with  spirit — 
"  The  worthy  doctor  speaks  with  effront- 
ery. In  my  judgment,  Christ  can  have 
no  concord  with  Belial." 

Such  were  the  discussions  which  gave 
employment  to  the  two  doctors.  The  as- 
sembly were  attentive.  The  interest  at 
times  flagged,  however,  and  the  hearers 
were  not  displeased  when  any  incident 
occurred,  to  enliven  them  by  some  dis- 
traction. It  often  happens,  that  events 
of  the  greatest  importance  are  in  this  way 
broken  in  upon  by  comic  accidents. 
Something  of  this  sort  took  place  at 
Leipsic. 

Duke  George,  folfowing  the  custom  of 
the  age,  kept  a  court  fool.  Some  wags 
said  to  him,  "  Luther  is  contending  that 
a  court  fool  may  get  married,  Eck  main- 
tains the  contrary  opinion."  Hereupon 
the  fool  conceived  great  aversion  for  Eck, 
and  every  time  he  came  to  the  hall  in 
the  Duke's  suite,  he  eyed  the  theologian 
with  threatening  looks.  One  day,  the 
chancellor  of  Ingolstadt,  descending  to 
buffoonery  shut  one  eye,  (the  fool  was 
blind  of  one  eye)  and  with  the  other 
looked  askance  at  the  dwarf.     The  lat- 

*  Nee  potest  fidelis  Christianus  cogi  ultra  sac- 
ram  Scripturam,  quae  est  proprie  jus  divinum. — 
(L.  Opp.  lat.  i.  252.) 

t  At  Rev.  Pater  artis  coquinaria  minus  in- 
structs, commiscet  sanctos  grsecos  cum  schis- 
maticis  et  hereticis,  ut  fuco  sanctitatis  Patrum, 
hsereticoram  tueatur  perfidiam. — (Ibid.  252.) 


THE   LEIPSIC   DISCUSSION,   1519. 


215 


ter,  no  longer  able  to  control  himself, 
poured  forth  a  torrent  of  abuse  on  the 
learned  doctor.  The  whole  assembly, 
says  Peifer,  gave  way  to  laughter,  and 
this  incident  lessened  in  some  degree  the 
extreme  tenston  of  their  minds,* 

During  this  time  the  city  was  the 
scene  of  events  which  shewed  the  horror 
with  which  the  bold  assertions  of  Luther 
inspired  the  partisans  of  Rome.  The 
loudest  clamours  proceeded  from  the  con- 
vents in  the  Pope's  interest.  One  Sun- 
day the  doctor  of  Wittemberg  entered 
the  church  of  the  Dominicans  just  before 
high  mass.  There  were  present  only  a 
few  monks,  who  were  going  through  the 
earlier  masses  at  the  lower  altars.  As 
soon  as  it  was  known  in  the  clositer  that 
the  heretic  Luther  was  in  the  church,  the 
monks  ran  together  in  haste,  caught  up 
the  remonstrance^  and  taking  it  to  its  re- 
ceptacle, carefully  shut  it  up,  lest  the  holy 
sacrament  should  be  profaned  by  the  im- 
pure eyes  of  the  Augustine  of  Wittem- 
berg. While  this  was  doing,  they  who 
were  reading  mass  collected  together  the 
sacred  furniture,  quitted  the  altar,  crossed 
the  church,  and  sought  refuge  in  the  sa- 
cristy, as  if,  says  a  historian,  the  devil 
himself  had  been  behind  them. 

Everywhere  the  discussions  furnished 
subject  of  conversation.  In  the  lodging 
houses,  at  the  university,  at  the  court, 
each  one  gave  his  opinion.  Duke 
George,  with  all  his  irritation,  did  not 
pertinaciously  refuse  to  allow  himself  to 
be  convinced.  One  day,  when  Eck  and 
Luther  were  dining  with  him,  he  inter- 
rupted their  conversation,  by  the  remark  : 
"  Whether  the  Pope  be  by  divine  right, 
or  human  right,  it  is  at  any  rate  a  fact 
that  he  is  Pope."f  Luther  was  quite 
pleased  with  these  words.  "  The  prince," 
said  he,  "  would  never  have  given  utter- 
ance to  them  if  my  arguments  had  not 
impressed  him." 

The  dispute  on  the  Pope's  primacy 
had  lasted  five  days.  On  the  8th  of  July 
they  came  to  the  subject  of  Purgatory. 
The  discussion  lasted  rather  more  than 
two  days.  Luther  at  this  time  admitted 
the  existence  of  purgatory ;  but  he  denied 

*  L.  Opp.  W.  xv.  1440.— 2  Loscher,  iii.  281. 

t  Ita  ut  ipse  dux  Georgius  inter  prandendum 
ad  Eccium  et  me  dicat :  "  Sive  sit  jure  humano, 
sive  sit  jure  divine?,  papa ;  ipse  est  papa. — (L.  Opp. 
in  praef.) 


that  this  doctrine  was  taught  in  Scrip- 
ture, and  by  the  Fathers  in  the  way  the 
scholastic  divines  and  his  adversary  as- 
serted. "  Our  doctor  Eck,"  said  he,  al- 
luding to  the  superficial  character  of  his 
opponent,  "  has  to-day  run  over  Scripture 
almost  without  touching  it,  as  a  spider 
runs  upon  the  water." 

On  the  11th  of  July  the  disputants  ar- 
rived at  the  Indulgences.  "  It  was  no 
better  than  play,  a  mere  joke,"  said  Lu- 
ther. "  The  indulgences  fell  with  scarce 
the  shadow  of  defence.  Eck  agreed  with 
me  in  almost  every  thing."*  Eck  him- 
self observed,  "  If  I  had  not  met  Doctor 
Martin  on  the  question  of  the  Pope's 
primacy,  I  could  almost  come  to  agree- 
ment with  him."f 

The  discussion  afterwards  turned  on 
Repentance,  the  Priest's  absolution,  and 
Satisfactions.  Eck,  as  his  practice  was, 
quoted  the  scholastic  divines,  the  Do- 
minicans, and  the  Pope's  canons.  Lu- 
ther closed  the  discussion  by  these 
words : — 

"  The  reverend  doctor  avoids  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  as  the  devil  flees  from  before 
the  cross.  For  my  part,  saving  the  re- 
spect due  to  the  Fathers,  I  prefer  the  au- 
thority of  the  word  of  God ;  and  it  is 
that  which  I  would  press  upon  our 
judges."^ 

Thus  ended  the  dispute  between  Eck 
and  Luther.  Carlstadt  and  the  doctor 
of  Ingolstadt  continued  for  two  days  to 
discuss  the  merits  of  man  in  good  works. 
On  the  16th  of  July  the  affair  was  ter- 
minated, after  having  lasted  twenty  days, 
by  a  sermon  from  the  Superior  of  Leip- 
sic.  As  soon  as  this  was  over,  a  band  of 
music  was  heard,  and  the  solemnity  was 
closed  by  the  Te  Deum. 

But  during  this  solemn  chaunt,  men's 
minds  were  no  longer  as  they  were  when 
the  hymn  Veni  Spiritus  had  been  sung. 
Already  the  presentiments  of  some  ap- 
peared realized.  The  arguments  of  the 
two  opposing  champions  had  inflicted  an 
open  wound  on  the  Papacy. 

These  theological   discussions,  which 

*  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  246. 

t  So  wollt'  er  fast  einig  mit  mir  gewest  seyn. 
—(Ibid.) 

X  Videtur  fugere  a  facie  Scripturarum,  sicut 
diabolus  crucera.  Quare  salvis  reverentiis  Pat- 
rum,  praefero  ego  auctoritatem  Scriptural,  quod 
commendo  judicibus  futuris. — (L.  Opp.  lat.  i. 
291.) 


216 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


in  our  days  would  excite  little  attention, 
had  been  followed  and  listened  to  with 
interest  for  twenty  days,  by  laymen, 
knights,  and  princes.  Duke  Barnim  of 
Pomerania,  and  Duke  George  were  con- 
stant in  attendance.  "  But  on  the  other 
hand,"  says  an  eye-witness,  "some  Leip- 
sic  divines,  friends  of  Eck,  slept  soundly 
much  of  the  time,  and  it  was  even  neces- 
sary to  wake  them  at  the  close  of  the 
discussion,  lest  they  should  lose  their 
dinner." 

Luther  was  the  first  who  quitted  Leip- 
sie.  Carlstadt  set  out  soon  after.  Eck 
remained  a  few  days  after  their  departure. 

No  decision  was  made  known  on  the 
matters  discussed.*  Each  one  comment- 
ed on  them  as  he  pleased.  "  There  has 
been  at  Leipsic,"  said  Luther,  "  loss  of 
time,  not  search  after  truth.  For  these 
two  years  past  that  we  have  been  exam- 
ining the  doctrines  of  the  adversaries,  we 
have  counted  all  their  bones.  Eck,  on 
the  contrary,  has  hardly  grazed  the  sur- 
face,! yet  he  has  made  more  outcry  in 
one  hour,  than  we  in  two  long  years." 

Eck,  in  private  letters  to  his  friends, 
acknowledged  his  having  been  defeated 
on  many  points ;  but  he  was  at  no  loss 
for  reasons  to  account  for  it. J  "  The 
Wittemberg  divines,"  said  he  in  a  letter 
to  Hochstraten,  dated  the  24th  July, 
"  have  had  the  best  of  the  argument  on 
certain  points;  first,  because  they  brought 
with  them  their  books ;  secondly,  because 
their  friends  took  notes  of  the  discussion, 
which  they  could  examine  at  home  at 
leisure  ;  thirdly,  because  they  were  sev- 
eral in  number  ; — two  doctors  (Carlstadt 
and  Luther,)  Lange,  vicar  of  the  Augus- 
tines,  two  licentiates,  Amsdorff,  and  a 
most  arrogant  nephew  of  Reuchlin,  (Me- 
lancthon,)  three  doctors  of  law,  and  seve- 
ral masters  of  arts,  all  were  assisting  in 
the  discussion,  either  publicly  or  in  se- 
cret. As  for  myself,  I  came  forward 
alone,  having  only  right  on  my  side." — 
Eck  forgot  Emser,  the  bishop,  and  all 
the  doctors  of  Leipsic. 

*  Ad  exitum  eertaminis,  uti  solet,  nulla  prodiit 
decisio. — (Pallavicini,  i  65.) 

t  Totam  istam  concbjsionum  cohortem  multo 
acrius  et  validius  nostri  Wittembergenses  .  .  op- 
pugnaverunt  et  ita  examinaverunt  ut  ossa  eorum 
numerare  licuerit,  quas  Eccius  vix  in  facie  cutis 
leviter  perstrinxit. — (L.  Epp.  i.  291.) 

|  Verum  in  multis  me  obruerunt. — (Corpus 
Reform,  i.  83.) 


If  such  admissions  were  made  by  Eck 
in  his  confidential  correspondence,  it  was 
quite  otherwise  in  public.  The  doctor 
of  Ingolstadt  and  the  theologians  of 
Leipsic,  loudly  boasted  of  "  their  victory." 
They  spread  everywhere  false  repqrts. 
The  mouth-pieces  of  their  party  repeated 
their  self-gratulations.  "Eck,"  wrote 
Luther,  '•  boasts  in  all  companies  of  his 
victory."*  But  the  laurels  were  an  ob- 
ject of  contention  in  the  camp  of  Rome. 
"  If  we  had  not  come  in  aid  of  Eck," 
said  his  Leipsic  allies,  "the  illustrious 
doctor  would  have  been  overthrown." 
"  The  divines  of  Leipsic  are  well-mean- 
ing people,"  said  the  doctor  of  Ingolstadt, 
"  but  I  had  formed  too  high  expectations 
from  them — I  did  all  myself."  "  You 
see,"  said  Luther  to  Spalatin,  "  that  they 
are  singing  another  Iliad  and  iEneid. 
They  are  so  kind  as  to  make  me  play 
the  part  of  Hector  or  Turnus,  whilst 
Eck  is  their  Achilles  or  Eneas.  Their 
only  doubt  is,  whether  the  victory  was 
gained  by  the  forces  of  Eck  or  of  Leip- 
sic. All  I  can  say  to  throw  light  on 
the  question,  is,  that  doctor  Eck  clamour- 
ed continually,  and  the  men  of  Leipsic 
kept  continual  silence."! 

"  Eck  has  obtained  the  victory,  in  the. 
opinion  of  those  who  do  not  understand 
the  question,  and  who  have  grown  grey 
in  scholastic  studies,"  observed  the  ele- 
gant, witty,  and  judicious  Mosellanus ; 
"  but  Luther  and  Carlstadt  remain  mas- 
ters of  the  field  in  the  judgment  of  those 
who  have  learning,  intelligence,  and 
modesty.";}; 

The  dispute  was,  however,  destined 
not  to  vanish  in  mere  smoke.  Every 
work  done  in  faith  bears  fruit.  The 
words  of  Luther  had  found  their  way, 
with  irresistible  power,  to  the  minds  of 
his  hearers.  Several,  who  had  regu- 
larly attended  in  the  hall  of  the  castle, 
were  brought  under  the  truth.  It  was 
especially  in  the  very  midst  of  its  most 
active  enemies,  that  its  conquests  were 
achieved.  Poliander,  secretary  to  Eck, 
and  his  intimate  friend  and  disciple, 
was  gained  to  the  cause  of  the  Reforma- 

o 

*  Eccius  triumphat  ubique. — (L.  Epp.  i.  299.) 
+  Novam  quamdam  Iliada  et  iEneida  illos  can- 
tare  .  .— (L.  Epp.  i.  305.) 

X  Lutheri  Sieg  sey  um  so  viel  weniger  beruhmt, 
weil  der  Gelehrten,  Verstiindigen,  und  derer  die 
sich  selbst  nicht  hoch  riihmen,  wenig  scyen. — 
(Seckendorf,  207.) 


THE   LEIPSIC    DISCUSSION,   1519. 


217 


tion  ;  and  as  early  as  the  year  1522,  he 
preached  the  gospel  publicly  at  Leipsic. 
John  Cellarius,  professor  of  Hebrew,  one 
of  the  warmest  opponents  of  the  Refor- 
mation, struck  by  tbe  words  of  the 
mighty  doctor,  began  to  search  the  Scrip- 
tures more  deeply  Shortly  after,  he 
gave  up  his  place  ;  and,  full  of  humility, 
came  to  Wittemberg,  to  study  at  the  feet 
of  Luther.  He  was  subsequently  pastor 
at  Frankfort  and  at  Dresden. 

Among  those  who  sat  on  the  benches 
reserved  for  the  court,  and  who  sur- 
rounded Duke  George,  was  George  of 
Anhalt,  a  young  prince  of  twelve  years, 
descended  from  a  family  celebrated  for 
their  bravery  against  the  Saracens.  He 
was  then  prosecuting  his  studies  under  a 
private  tutor.  This  illustrious  youth 
was  early  distinguished  for  his  eager 
desire  of  knowledge  and  love  of  truth. 
Often  he  was  heard  to  repeat  the  prov- 
erb of  Solomon,  "  Lying  lips  do  not  be- 
come a  prince."  The  discussion  at 
Leipsic  awakened  in  this  child  serious 
reflections,  and  a  decided  partiality  for 
Luther.*  Shortly  after  he  was  offered  a 
bishopric.  His  brothers  and  all  his  rela- 
tions urged  him  to  accept  it ;  desiring 
to  see  him  rise  to  the  higher  dignities  of 
the  church.  He  was  immoveable  in  his 
refusal.  On  the  death  of  his  pious 
mother,  he  found  himself  in  possession 
of  all  the  Reformer's  writings.  He  put 
up  constant  and  fervent  prayers  to  God, 
beseeching  him  to  bring  his  heart  un- 
der the  power  of  the  truth;  and  often 
in  the  privacy  of  his  cabinet,  he  exclaim- 
ed with  tears,  "  Deal  with  thy  servant 
according  to  thy  mercy,  and  teach  me 
thy  statutes."!  His  prayers  were  an- 
swered. Under  strong  conviction,  and 
constrained  to  action  on  it,  he  fearlessly 
ranged  himself  on  the  side  of  the  gospel. 
In  vain  his  tutors,  and  foremost  among 
them  Duke  George,  besieged  him  with 
entreaties  and  remonstrances.  He  con- 
tinued inflexible ;  and  George,  half 
brought  over  by  the  answers  of  his 
pupil,  exclaimed,  "  I  am  not  able  to 
answer  .him :  but  I  will,  nevertheless, 
continue  in  my  church,  for  it  is  not  pos- 
sible to  break  an  old  dog."     We  shall 

*  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xv.  1440. 

t  A  Deo  petivit,  flecti  pectus  suum  ad  verita- 
tem,  ac  lacrymans  ssepe  haec  verba  repetivit  .  .  . 
— (M.  Adami,  Vita  Georgii  Anhalt,  p.  248.) 
28 


again  meet  with  this  aimable  prince ; 
who  was,  indeed,  one  of  the  noble  char- 
acters of  the  Reformation  ;  who  himself 
preached  the  word  of  life  to  his  subjects: 
and  to  whom  has  been  applied  the  say- 
ing of  Dion  Cassius  on  the  emperor 
Marcus  Antoninus,  "  In  his  whole  life  he 
was  consistent  with  himself;  a  good  man 
without  any  guile."* 

It  was  especially  among  the  students 
that  the  words  of  Luther  were  received 
with  enthusiasm.  They  felt  the  differ- 
ence between  the  spirit  and  power  of  the 
Wittemberg  doctor,  and  the  sophistical 
distinctions  and  vain  speculations  of  the 
chancellor  of  Ingolstadt.  They  saw 
Luther  relying  on  the  word  of  God. 
They  saw  doctor  Eck  taking  his  stand 
only  on  the  traditions  of  men.  The 
effect  was  instantaneous.  The  lecturing 
halls  of  the  university  of  Leipsic  were 
almost  deserted  after  the  disputation.  A 
circumstance  of  the  time  contributed  to 
this :  the  plague  shewed  itself.  But 
there  were  several  other  universities,  as 
Erfurdt  or  Ingolstadt,  to  which  the  stu- 
dents might  have  retired.  The  force  of 
truth  attracted  them  to  Wittemberg. 
There  the  number  of  students  was 
doubled.f 

Among  those  who  removed  from  the 
one  university  to  the  other,  there  was  a 
young  man  of  sixteen,  of  melancholy 
character,  silent,  and  often  lost  in  ab- 
straction in  the  very  midst  of  the  conver- 
sation and  amusements  of  his  fellow- 
stud  en  ts.|  His  parents  had  thought 
him  of  weak  intellect,  but  ere  long 
they  found  him  so  quick  in  his  learning, 
and  so  continually  occupied  in  his  stud- 
ies, that  they  conceived  great  expecta- 
tions of  him.  His  uprightness,  candour, 
diffidence,  and  piety,  made  him  an  ob- 
ject of  general  affection,  and  Mosella- 
nus  pointed  to  him  as  a  pattern  to  the 
whole  university.  His  name  was  Gas- 
perd  Cruciger,  and  he  was  a  native,  of 
Leipsic.  The  young  student  of  Wit- 
temberg was  at  a  later  period  the  friend 
of  Melancthon,  and  fellow-labourer  with 
Luther  in  the  translation  of  the  Bible. 

*  "  O//0105    Sia  -rravTwv    lycvero   ayadog    it  i)v,  kol 

ovSlv  7rooazolrjTov  c't^cv." — Vid.  Melch.  Adam.  p. 
255. 

t  Peifer  Histor.  Lipsiensis,  356 

X  Et  cogitabundus  et  sa?pe  in  midios  sodalitios 
quovisperegrinante  animo. — (Melch.  Adami,  Vita 
Crucigeri,  p.  193.) 


♦* 


218 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


The  disputation  at  Leipsic  had  yet  no- 
bler results.  It  was  there  that  the  theo- 
logian of  the  Reformation  received  his 
call  to  the  work.  Modest  and  silent, 
Melancthon  had  been  present  at  the  dis- 
cussion, taking  scarcely  any  part  in  it 
Hitherto  he  had  applied  himself  only  to 
literature.  The  conference  communica- 
ted to  him  a  new  impulse,  and  launched 
the  eloquent  professor  into  theology. 
From  that  hour  he  bowed  the  heights 
of  his  learning  before  the  word  of  God. 
He  received  the  evangelical  doctrine 
with  the  simplicity  of  a  child.  His  au- 
ditors heard  him  explain  the  way  of  sal- 
vation with  a  grace  and  clearness  which 
delighted  every  one.  He  advanced 
boldly  in  this  path  so  new  to  him, — for, 
said  he,  "  Christ  will  not  be  wanting  to 
those  who  are  his."*  From  this  period, 
the  two  friends  went  forward  together, 
contending  for  liberty  and  truth,  the  one 
with  the  energy  of  Paul,  the  other  with 
the  gentleness  of  John.  Luther  has  well 
expressed  the  difference  of  their  voca- 
tions. "  I,"  says  he,  "  was  born  for  strug- 
gling in  the  field  of  battle  with  parties 
and  devils.  Thus  it  is  that  my  writings 
breathe  war  and  tempest.  I  must  root 
up  stock  and  stem,  clear  away  thorns 
and  brambles,  and  fill  up  swamps  and 
sloughs.  I  am  like  the  sturdy  wood-cutter, 
who  must  clear  and  level  the  road.  But 
our  master  of  arts,  Philip,  goes  forward 
quietly  and  gently,  cultivating  and  plant- 
ing, sowing  and  watering  joyfully,  ac- 
cording as  God  has  dealt  to  him  so  liber- 
ally of  his  gifts."! 

If  Melancthon,  the  tranquil  sower,  was 
called  to  his  work  by  the  Leipsic  discus- 
sion, Luther,  the  sturdy  wood-cutter,  felt 
that  it  added  strength  to  his  arm,  and  his 
courage  was  proportionately  exalted.  The 
mightiest  result  of  the  discussion  was  in- 
deed that  which  was  wrought  in  Luther 
himself — "  The  scholastic  theology,"  said 
he,  "  then  crumbled  into  dust  before  me, 
under  the  boasted  presidence  of  Doctor 
Eck."  The  covering,  which  the  schools 
and  the  church  had  spread  before  the 
sanctuary,  was  rent  from  top  to  bottom. 
Driven  to  further  investigation,  he  attain- 
ed unexpected  discoveries.  With  equal 
surprise  and  indignation,  he  beheld  the 

*  Christus  suis  non  deerit. — (Corpus  Reform. 
i.  104.) 

t  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xv.  200. 


evil  in  all  its  magnitude.  Searching  into 
the  annals  of  the  Church,  he  discovered 
that  the  supremacy  of  Rome  had  its  origin 
in  the  ambition  of  one  party  and  the 
credulous  ignorance  of  another.  Silence, 
as  to  these  melancholy  discoveries,  was 
not  permitted  to  him.  The  pride  of  his 
adversaries, — the  victory  they  pretended 
to  have  gained, — their'endeavours  to  put 
out  the  light  decided  his  purpose.  He 
went  forward  in  the  way  wherein  God 
led  him,  without  disquieting  himself  as  to 
the  result  to  which  it  might  lead  him. 
Luther  has  marked  this  as  the  epoch  of 
his  enfranchisement  from  the  papal  yoke. 
''Learn  of  me,"  says  he,  "how  hard  it  is 
to  unlearn  the  errors  which  the  whole 
world  con  firms  by  its  example,*  and  which, 
by  long  use,  have  become  to  us  as  a  second 
nature.  I  had  for  seven  years  read  and 
hourly  expounded  the  Scriptures  with 
much  zeal,  so  that  I  knew  them  almost 
all  by  heart. f  I  had  also  all  the  first- 
fruits  of  the  knowledge  and  faith  of  my 
Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  that  is,  I  knew  that 
we  are  justified  and  saved,  not  by  our 
works,  but  by  faith  in  Christ ;  and  I  even 
openly  maintained  that  it  is  not  by  divine 
right  that  the  Pope  is  chief  of  the  Chris- 
tian church.  And  yet  .  .  I  could  not 
see  the  conclusion  from  all  this, namely: — 
that  of  necessity  and  beyond  doubt,  the 
Pope  is  of  the  devil.  For  what  is  not  of 
God,  must  needs  be  of  the  devil."!  Lu- 
ther adds  further  on — "  I  do  not  now  give 
free  utterance  to  my  indignation  against 
those  who  still  adhere  to  the  Pope,  since 
I,  who  had  for  so  many  years  read  the 
Holy  Scriptures  with  so  much  care,  yet 
held  to  Papacy  with  so  much  obstinacy."^ 

Such  were  the  real  results  of  the  Leip- 
sic discussion,  and  they  were  much  more 
important  than  the  discussion  itself.  They 
were  like  the  first  successes  which  disci- 
pline and  inspirit  an  army. 

Eck  gave  himself  up  to  all  the  intoxi- 
cation of  what  he  had  tried  to  represent 
as  a  victory.  He  circulated  slanders 
against  Luther.     He  heaped  one  impu- 

*  Quam  difficile  sit  eluctari  et  emergere  ex 
erroribus,  totius  orbis  exemplo  firmatis  .  .  . — 
(L.  Opp.  lat.  in  preef.) 

t  Per  septem  annos,  ita  ut  memoriter  pene 
omnia  tenerem      .  . — (Ibid.) 

t  Quod  enim  ex  Deo  non  est,  necesse  est  ex 
diabolo  esse. — (Ibid.) 

§  Cum  ego  tot  annis  sacra  legens  diligentis- 
sime,  tamen  ita  hsesi  tenaciter. — (Ibid.) 


THE   LEIPSIC   DISCUSSION,   1519. 


219 


tation  upon  another.*  He  wrote  to  Fred- 
eric. He  sought,  like  a  skilful  general, 
to  profit  by  the  confusion  which  ever  fol- 
lows a  conflict,  in  order  to  obtain  from 
the  Prince  some  important  concessions. 
Before  taking  measures  against  his  ad- 
versary in  person,  he  invoked  the  flames 
to  consume  his  writings-^— even  those 
which  he  had  not  read.  He  entreated 
the  Elector  to  convoke  the  provincial 
council — "  Let  us,"  said  the  foul-mouthed 
Doctor,  "exterminate  all  these  vermin 
before  they  have  multiplied  beyond 
bounds."! 

It  was  not  against  Luther  alone  that 
he  poured  out  his  wrath.  His  rashness 
called  Melancthon  into  the  lists.  The 
latter,  connected  by  the  tenderest  friend- 
ship with  the  worthy  (Ecolampadius, 
sent  him  an  account  of  the  discussion, 
speaking  in  terms, of  commendation  of 
Doctor  Eck4  Nevertheless,  the  pride  of 
the  chancellor  of  Ingolstadt  was  wound- 
ed. He  instantly  took  pen  in  hand 
against  "  that  grammarian  of  Wittem- 
berg,  who,  to  say  the  truth,  is  not  unac- 
quainted with  Greek  and  Latin,  but  had 
dared  to  circulate  a  letter,  wherein  he  had 
insulted  him,  Dr.  Eck."$ 

Melancthon  answered.  This  was  his 
first  theological  writing.  It  is  marked 
by  the  exquisite  urbanity  which  distin- 
guished this  excellent  man.  After  lay- 
ing down  the  principles  of  hermeneutical 
science,  he  shews  that  we  ought  not  to 
explain  the  Holy  Scripture,  by  the  Fa- 
thers, but  the  Fathers  by  the  Holy  Scrip- 
ture. "  How  often,"  says  he,  "  has  not 
Jerome  been  mistaken  ! — how  often  Au- 
gustine ! — how  often  Ambrose  !  How 
often  do  we  not  find  them  differing  in  judg- 
ment— how  often  do  we  not  hear  them  re- 
tracting their  errors  !  There  is  but  one 
Scripture  divinely  inspired  and  without 
mixture  of  error."  || 

"  Luther  does  not  adhere   to  certain 

*  Proscidit,  post  abitum  nostrum,  Martinum 
inhumanissime. — (Melancthon  Corp.  Refor.  i. 
106.) 

t  Ehe  das  Ungeziffer  uberhand  nehme. — (L. 
Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  271.) 

t  Eccius  ob  varias  et  insignes  ingenii  dotes. . . 
— (L.  Opp.  lat.  i.  337.) 

§  Ausus  est  grammaticus  Wittembergensis, 
Graece  et  Latine  sane  non  indoctus,  epistolam 
edere  .  .  .—(Ibid.  338.) 

||  Una  est  Scriptura,  coelestis  spiritus,  pura,  et 
per  omnia  verax. — (Contra  Eckium  Defensio, 
Corp.  Reform,  i.  115.) 


dubious  expositions  of  the  ancients,  say 
his  adversaries :  and  why  should  he  ad- 
here to  them  1  In  his  explanation  of  the 
passage  of  St.  Matthew,  Thou  art  Petcr7 
and  on  this  rock  will  I  build  my  churchy 
he  says  the  very  same  thing  as  Origenr 
who  in  his  account  is  a  host,  yea,  the  very 
thing  that  Augustine  writes  in  his  homi- 
ly, and  Ambrose  in  his  sixth  book  on  St. 
Luke,  not  to  mention  others.  What 
then,  you  will  say,  can  the  Fathers  con- 
tradict each  other !  And  what  is  there 
so  surprising  in  that?*  I  reverence  the 
Fathers,  because  I  believe  the  Holy 
Scripture.  The  sense  of  Scripture  is  one 
and  simple,  as  heavenly  truth  itself.  We 
enter  into  it  by  comparing  Scripture  with 
Scripture,  and  deduce  it  from  the  thread 
and  connection  of  the  whole. f  There  is 
a  philosophy  enjoined  us  with  respect  to 
the  Scriptures  given  by  God ;  it  is  to 
bring  to  them  all  the  thoughts  and  max- 
ims of  men,  as  to  the  touch-stone  by  which 
these  are  to  be  tried  "\ 

For  a  long  time  no  one  had  so  elegant- 
ly set  forth  such  powerful  truths.  The 
word  of  God  was  reinstated  in  its  proper 
place,  and  the  Fathers  in  theirs.  The 
course  by  which  the  true  sense  of  Scrip- 
ture is  obtained  was  plainly  indicated. 
The  preaching  of  the  Gospel  rose  above 
the  difficulties  and  glosses  of  the  schools. 
Melancthon  furnished  a  means,  available 
for  all  times,  of  answering  those,  who,  like 
Dr.  Eck,  would  involve  this  subject  in 
perplexities.  The  weak  "  grammarian" 
had  arisen,  and  the  broad  and  robust 
shoulders  of  the  scholastic  gladiator  had 
yielded  under  the  first  movement  of  his 
arm. 

The  more  Eck  felt  his  weakness,  the 
louder  were  his  clamours.  He  thought 
by  rhodomontade  and  accusations  to  se- 
cure the  victory  which  his  argument  had 
failed  to  achieve.  The  monks  and  all 
the  partisans  of  Rome  re-echoed  these 
clamours.  From  all  parts  of  Germany 
reproaches  were  showered  upon  Luther  ; 
but  he  remained  unmoved  by  them. 
"  The  more  reproach  is  heaped  upon  me," 
said  he  at  the  conclusion  of  some  expla- 

*  Quid  igitur  ?  Ipsi  secum  pugnant !  quid 
mirum  ? — (Contra  Eckium  Defensio,  Corp.  Re- 
form, i.  p.  115.) 

t  Quem  collatis  Scripturis  e  filo  ductuque  ora- 
ticnis  licet  assequi. — (Ibid.  114.) 

X  Ut  hominum  sententias,  decretaque  ad  ipsasy 
cou  ad  Lydium  lapidem  exigamus. — (Ibid.) 


220 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


nations  which  he  published  of  the  propo- 
sitions of  Leipsic,  "  the  more  do  I  glory 
in  it.  Truth,  that  is  to  say  Christ,  must 
increase,  while  I  must  decrease.  The 
voice  of  the  bridegroom  and  of  the  bride 
gives  me  a  joy  that  is  far  above  the  fears 
their  clamours  cause  me.  It  is  not  men 
that  are  opposing  me,  and  I  have  no  en- 
mity against  them  ;  it  is  Satan  the  prince 
of  evil,  who  is  labouring  to  intimidate  me. 
But  he  who  is  in  us  is  greater  than  he 
who  is  in  the  world.  The  opinion  of 
this  age  is  against  us, — that  of  posterity 
will  be  more  favourable."* 

If  the  discussion  of  Leipsic  multiplied 
the  enemies  of  Luther  in  Germany,  it 
augmented  the  number  of  his  friends  in 
distant  parts.  "  That  which  Huss  was 
formerly  in  Bohemia,"  wrote  the  Breth- 
ren to  him  from  that  country,  "  you  Mar- 
tin, are  now  in  Saxony ;  therefore,  con- 
tinue in  prayer,  and  be  strong  in  the 
Lord." 

About  this  time  a  rupture  took  .place 
between  Luther  and  Emser,  then  profes- 
sor at  Leipsic,  The  latter  wrote  to  Dr. 
Zack,  a  zealous  Roman  Catholic  of 
Prague,  a  letter  apparently  intended  to 
remove  from  the  Hussites  the  impression 
that  Luther  partook  of  their  views.  Lu- 
ther could  not  doubt  that  the  design  of 
the  Leipsic  professor  was.  under  the  sem- 
blance of  justifying  him,  to  cause  the  sus- 
picion to  hang  over  him  of  adhering  to 
the  Bohemian  heresy,  and  he  resolved  at 
once  to  rend  asunder  the  veil  with  which 
his  former  guest  at  Dresden  sought  to 
cover  his  enmity.  With  this  view  he 
published  a  letter  addressed  "  to  the  he- 
goat  Emser."  (The  armorial  bearing  of 
Emser  was  a  he-goat.)  He  concluded 
this  writing  with  words  which  well  ex- 
press the  writer's  character, — "  Love  for 
all  men,  but  fear  of  none !"{ 

While  new  friends  and  new  enemies 
came  forth,  some  earlier  friends  began  to 
shew  signs  of  estrangement  from  Luther. 
Staupitz,  by  whose  means  the  Reformer 
had  emerged  from  the  obscurity  of  the 
cloister  of  Erfurth,  began  to  evince  some 
coldness  towards  him.  Luther  rose  to 
an  elevation  of  views,  whither  Staupitz 
was  not  able  to  follow  him.  "  You  aban- 
don me,"  wrote  Luther  to  him ;  "  I  have 

*  Preesens  male  judicat  aetas ;  judicium  melius 
posteritatis  erit. — (L.  Opp.  Lat.  i.  310.) 
t  L.  Opp.  Lat.  i.  252. 


been  all  this  day  grieving  like  a  weaned 
child.*  I  dreamed  of  you  last  night," 
continues  the  Reformer.  "  I  thought  you 
were  taking  leave  of  me,  and  I  was 
weeping  and  sobbing  bitterly ;  but  I 
thought  you  put  out  your  hand  to  me 
and  bade  me  be  tranquil,  for  you  would 
return  to  me  again." 

The '  peace-maker,  Miltitz,  resolved  to 
make  another  effort  to  calm  the  minds  of 
the  disputants.  But  what  influence  could 
be  had  over  men  still  agitated  by  the 
feeling  of  conflict.  His  endeavours  were 
unavailing.  He  presented  the  famous 
Golden  Rose  to  the  Elector,  and  the 
prince  did  not  give  himseif  the  trouble 
even  to  receive  it  in  person. f  Frederic 
well  knew  the  artifices  of  Rome  ;  it  was 
useless,  therefore,  to  think  any  longer  of 
deceiving  him.| 

Far  from  giving  ground,  Luther  con- 
tinued to  advance.  It  was  at  this  time 
that  he  struck  one  of  his  heaviest  blows 
against  prevailing  error,  by  publishing 
his  first  Commentary  on  the  Epistle  to 
the  Galatians.^  The  second  commenta- 
ry undoubtedly  surpassed  the  first ;  but 
even  in  this  he  set  forth  with  great  pow- 
er the  doctrine  of  justification  by  faith. 
Every  word  of  the  new  apostle  was  full 
of  life,  and  God  made  use  of  him  as  an 
instrument  to  introduce  the  knowledge 
of  himself  into  the  hearts  of  the  people. 
"Christ  has  given  Himself  (ox  our  sins," 
said  Luther  to  his  contemporaries  :  ||  "  It 
is  not  silver  or  gold  that  he  has  given  for 
us  ;  it  is  not  a  man,  it  is  not  the  host  of 
angels ;  it  is  Himself,  without  whom 
nothing  is  great,  that  he  has  given.  And 
this  incomparable  treasure  he  has  given 
for  our  sins!  Where  now  are  those  who 
proudly  boast  the  power  of  our  will  1 — 
where  are  the  precepts  of  moral  philoso- 
phy? where  the  power  and  the  obliga- 
tion of  the  law  ?  Since  our  sins  are  so 
great  that  nothing  less  than  a  ransom  so 
stupendous  could  remove  them,  shall  we 
still  seek  to  attain  unto  righteousness  by 
the  strength  of  our  will,  by  the  force  of 

*  Egosuper  te,sicutablactatussupermatre  sua, 
tristissimus  hac  dio  fui. — (L.  Epp.  i.  342.)  * 

t  Rosam  quam  vocant  auream  nullo  honore 
dignatus  est ;  mo  pro  ridiculo  habuit. — (L.  Opp 
lat  in  priEf.) 

t  Intellexit  princeps  artes  Roman®  curiffi  et 
eos  (legatos)  digne  tractare  novit — (Ibid.) 

§  September,  1519. 

||  L.  Opp.  (L.)  x.  461 


THE   LEIPSIC   DISCUSSION,   1519. 


221 


law,  by  the  doctrines  of  men?  What 
use  can  we  have  of  all  these  subtleties 
and  delusions?  Alas!  they  could  but 
cover  our  iniquities  with  a  cloak  of  lies, 
and  make  us  Jiypocrites  beyond  the  reach 
of  salvation." 

But  while  Luther  proved  that  there  is 
no  salvation  for  man  but  in  Christ ;  he 
shewed,  also,  that  this  salvation  changes 
the  heart  of  man, and  makes  him  abound 
in  good  works.  He  who  has  truly  heard 
the  word  of  Christ  and  keeps  it  is  thence- 
forward clothed  with  the  spirit  of  charity. 
If  thou  lovest  him  who  hath  made  thee  a 
present  of  twenty  florins,  or  rendered  thee 
any  service,  or  testified  in  any  other  way 
his  affection  towards  you,  how  much 
more  shouldest  thou  love  Him  who  hath 
given  for  thee,  not  gold  or  silver,  but  him- 
self' ;  who  hath  received  for  thee  so  many 
wounds ;  who  hath  undergone  for  thy 
sake  an  agony  and  sweat  of  blood  ;  who 
in  thy  stead  hath  suffered  death ;  in  a 
word,  who,  in  discharge  of  thy  sins,  hath 
swallowed  up  death,  and  acquired  for 
thee  a  Father  in  heaven  full  of  love  !  If 
thou  dost  not  love  him,  thy  heart  hath 
not  entered  into  or  understood  the  things 
which  he  hath  done ;  thou  hast  not  be- 
lieved them  ;  for  faith  worketh  by  love." 
— "  This  epistle  is  my  epistle,"  said  Lu- 
ther, speaking  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Gala- 
tians  :  "  I  have  espoused  it." 

His  adversaries  did  but  hasten  his  pro- 
gress. Without  them  it  would  have 
been  more  gradual.  Eck  provoked 
against  him  at  this  period  a  new  attack 
on  the  part  of  the  Franciscans  of  Juter- 
bok.  Luther,  in  his  answer,*  not  satis- 
fied with  repeating  what  he  had  already 
taught,  attacked  some  errors  which  he 
had  recently  discovered  ;  "  I  should  be 
glad  to  be  informed,"  said  he,  "  where, 
in  the  Scripture,  the  power  of  canonizing 
saints  has  been  given  to  the  Popes ;  and 
also  what  necessity,  what  use  there  can 
be  in  canonizing,  them  ?"  "  For  aught 
it  matters,"  he  added  ironically,  "let 
them  go  on  canonizing  to  their  heart's 
content."! 

These  new  attacks  of  Luther  remained 
unanswered.  The  infatuation  of  his 
enemies  favoured  him  as  much  as  his 

*  Defensio  contra  malignum  Eccii  judicium. — 
(I.  lat.  356.) 

t  Canonizet  quisque  quantum  volet. — (Ibid. 
367.) 


own  courage.  They  contended,  with 
much  warmth  and  passion,  for  things  that 
were  at  most  but  secondary  and  subordi- 
nate opinions  ;  and  when  Luther  assailed 
the  very  foundations  of  the  Romish  doc- 
trine, they  saw  them  struck  without  ut- 
tering a  word.  They  exerted  themselves 
to  defend  some  advanced  outworks  at  the 
very  time  that  their  intrepid  adversary 
was  penetrating  into  the  citadel,  and. 
planting  there  the  standard  of  the  truth. 
Hence  they  were  afterwards  much  aston- 
ished to  see  the  fortress,  of  which  they 
■had  constituted  themselves  the  defenders, 
undermined,  on  fire,  and  sinking  in  the 
midst  of  the  flames,  while  they  thought  it 
impregnable,  and  were  braving  the  be- 
siegers. It  is  the  ordinary  course  in  such 
catastrophes. 

The  Sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
began  now  to  occupy  the  thoughts  of 
Luther.  He  sought  in  vain  to  find  this 
holy  Supper  in  the  Mass.  One  day  (it 
was  a  short  time  after  his  return  from 
Leipsic),  he  ascended  the  pulpit.  Let  us 
pay  attention  to  his  words,  for  they  are 
the  first  he  uttered  on  a  subject  which 
has  since  divided  the  Reformed  Church 
into  two  parties :  "  There  are  three 
things,"  said  he,  "  necessary  to  be  under- 
stood in  the  holy  sacrament  of  the  altar : 
the  sign,  which  must  be  external,  visible, 
and  under  a  corporeal  form ;  the  thing 
signified, -which  is  internal,  spiritual,  and 
within  the  soul  of  man ;  and  Faith, 
which  uses  both."*  If  definitions  had 
been  carried  no  further,  the  unity  of  the 
Church  would  not  have-  been  destroyed. 
Luther  continued : 

"  It  would  be  w#ll  if  the  Church,  in  a 
general  council,  would  order  the  'sacra- 
ment to  be  administered  in  '  both  kinds1 
to  all  believers  ;  not,  however,  that  one 
kind  would  not  be  sufficient,  for  Faith  of 
itself  would  suffice." 

These  bold  words  pleased  his  hearers. 
Some,  however,  were  surprised,  and  an- 
gry. "  It  is  false,"  said  they  ;  "  it  is. a 
scandal. "f     The  preacher  continued  : 

"  There  is  no  union  more  intimate, 
more  deep,  more  indivisible,  than  that 
which  takes  place  between  the  food  and 
the  body  which  the  food  nourishes. 
Christ  unites  himself  to  us  in  the  sacra- 
ment, in  such  a  manner,  that  he  acts  as 

*  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  272. 
t  L.  Opp.  (L.)  Ibid.  281. 


222 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


if  he  were  identical  with  us.  Our  sins 
assail  him  :  his  righteousness  defends 
usr 

But  Luther  was  not  satisfied  with  de- 
claring the  truth  :  he  attacked  one  of  the 
fundamental  errors  of  Rome.*  The  Ro- 
mish Church  pretends  that  the  sacrament 
operates  by  itself,  independently  of  the 
person  who  receives  it.  Nothing  can  be 
more  convenient  than  such  an  opinion. 
Hence  the  ardour  with  which  the  sacra- 
ment is  sought  for,  and  hence  come  the 
profits  of  the  Romish  clergy.  Luther 
attacked  this  doctrine,t  and  met  it  with 
its  opposite,|  which  requires  faith  and 
consent  of  heart  in  him  who  receives  it. 

This  energetic  protest  was  calculated 
to  overthrow  the  long  established  super- 
stitions. But  strange  to  say,  no  attention 
was  paid  to  it.  Rome  passed  unnoticed 
what  one  would  have  thought  would 
have  called  forth  a  shriek,  while  she  bore 
down  haughtily  on  a  remark  Luther  had 
let  fall  at  the  commencement  of  his  dis- 
course, on  "  communion  in  both  kinds." 

This  discourse  having  been  published 
in  the  month  of  December,  a  cry  of  here- 
sy arose  on  all  sides.  "It  is  the  doctrine 
of  Prague  to  all  intents  and  purposes !" 
was  the  exclamation  at  the  court  of  Dres- 
den, where  the  sermon  arrived  during 
the  festival  of  Christmas :  "  besides  the 
work  is  written  in  German,  in  order  that 
the-xommon  people  may  understand  it."§ 
The  devotion  of  the  prince  was  disturbed, 
and  en  the  third  day  of  the  festival  he 
wrote  to  his  cousin  Frederic :  "  Since  the 
publication  of  this  discourse  the  number 
of  the  Bohemians  who  receive  the  Lord's 
Supper  in  both  kinds  has  increased  six 
i  thousand.  Your  Luther,  instead  of  a 
simple  Wittemberg  professor,  will,  ere 
long,  be  Bishop  of  Prague,  and  an  arch- 
heretic." — "  He  is  a  Bohemian  by  birth," 
said  some,  "  and  of  Bohemian  parents ! 
He  was  brought  up  at  Prague,  and  in- 
structed from  the  writings  of  Wiclif !" 

Luther  thought  fit  to  contradict  these 
reports  in  a  tract,  wherein  he  formally 
gave  an  account  of  his  origin.     "I  was 

*  Si  quis  dixerit  per  ipsa  nova?  legis  sacramen- 
ta  ex  opere  operato  non  conferri  gratiam,  sed  so- 
lam  fidem  diviniE  promissionis,  ad  gratiam  con-se- 
«juendam  sufficere,  anathema  sit. — (Concil.  Tri- 
dent. Sess.  7.  can.  8.) 

t  Known  by  the  name  of  opus  operatum. 

t  That  of  opus  operantis. 

§  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  281. 


born  at  Eisleben,"  he  said,  "  and  was 
baptized  in  the  Church  of  St.  Peter.  I 
never  in  my  life  was  nearer  to  Bohemia 
than  Dresden."* 

The  letter  of  Duke  George  did  not 
estrange  the  Elector  from  Luther.  A 
few  days  afterwards,  this  prince  invited 
the  doctor  to  a  splendid  banquet,  which 
he  gave  to  the  Spanish  Ambassador,  and 
Luther  on  this  occasion  boldly  disputed 
with  the  minister  of  Charles,  f  The 
Elector,  through  the  medium  of  his  chap- 
lin,  had  begged  him  to  defend  his  cause 
with  moderation.  "  Too  much  impru- 
dence displeases  men,"  answered  Luther 
to  Spalatin,  "  but  too  much  prudence  is 
displeasing  to  God.  It  is  impossible  to 
make  a  stand  for  the  Gospel  without  cre- 
ating some  disturbance  and  offence.  The 
word  of  God  is  a  sword,  waging  war, 
overthrowing  and  destroying ;  it  is  a 
casting  down,;};  a  disturbance,  and  comes, 
as  the  prophet  Amos  says,  as  a  bear  in 
the  way,  and  as  a  lion  in  the  forest.  I 
want  nothing  from  them.  I  ask  nothing. 
There  is  One  above  who  seeks  and  re- 
quires. Whether  his  requirements  be 
disregarded  or  obeyed,  affects  not  me."§ 

Every  thing  announced  that  Luther 
would  soon  have  more  need  than  ever  of 
faith  and  courage.  Eck  was  forming 
plans  of  vengeance.  Instead  of  gather- 
ing the  laurels  which  he  had  reckoned 
upon,  the  gladiator  of  Leipsic  had  become 
the  laughing-stock  of  all  the  men  of  sense 
of  his  country.  Keen  satires  were  pub- 
lished against  him.  One  appeared  as  a 
':  letter  from  some  unlearned  Canons." 
It  was  written  by  CEcolampadius,  and 
stung  Eck  to  the  quick.  Another  was  a 
complaint  against  Eck,  probably  written 
by  the  excellent  Pirckheimer,  of  Nurem- 
berg, abounding  in  a  pungency,  and  at 
the  same  time  a  dignity  of  which  nothing 
bu\  the  Provincial  Letters  of  Pascal  can 
convey  any  idea. 

Luther  expressed  his  displeasure  at 
some  of  these  writings.     "  It  is  better," 

*  Caeteram  ego  natus  sum  in  Eisleben. — (Lutlv 
Epp.  i.  389.) 

+  Cum  quo  heri  ego  et  Philippus  certavimus, 
splendide  invitati. — (Ibid.  396.) 

t  Verbum   Dei  gladius  est,  bellum  est,  ruina 

est,  scandalum  est,  perditio  est,  venenum  est 

—(Ibid.  417.) 

§  Ego  nihil  quaero:  est,  qui  qucerat.  Stet 
ergo,  sive  cadat :  ego  nihil  lucror,  aut  amitto. — 
(Ibid.  418.) 


THE  ROMAN   BULL,  1520. 


223 


said  he, "  to  attack  openly,  than  to  wound 
from  behind  a  hedge."* 

How  was  the  Chancellor  of  Ingolstadt 
deceived  in  his  calculations !  His  coun- 
trymen abandoned  him.  He  prepared 
to  cross  the  Alps  to  invoke  foreign  assist- 
ance. Wherever  he  went,  he  breathed 
threats  against  Luther,  Melancthon,  Carl- 
stadt,  and  even  the  Elector  himself.  "Judg- 
ing by  the  haughtiness  of  his  words," 
says  the  Doctor  of  Wittemberg,  "  one 
would  say  that  he  imagines  himself  to  be 
the  Almighty. "t  Inflamed  with  anger 
and  the  thirst  of  vengeance,  Eck  took  hi6 
departure  for  Italy,  there  to  receive  the 
reward  of  his  asserted  triumphs,  and  to 
forge  in  the  capital  at  Rome  mightier 
bolts  than  those  weapons  of  scholastic 
controversy  which  had  been  broken  in 
his  hands. 

Luther  well  knew  the  dangers  which 

*  Melior  est  aperta  criminatio,  quam  iste  sub 
sepe  morsus. — (L.  Epp.  i.  426.) 

t  Deum  crederes  omnipotentem  loqui. — (lb. 
380.) 


this  journey  of  his  antagonist  was  likely 
to  draw  down  on  him,  but  he  did  not 
quail.  Spalatin,  in  alarm,  urged  him  to 
make  advances  to  an  accommodation. 
"  No,"  replied  Luther,  "  so  long  as  he 
challenges,  I  dare  not  withdraw  from  the 
contest.  I  commit  every  thing  to  God, 
and  give  up  my  bark  to  winds  and  waves. 
The  battle  is  the  Lord's.  Why  will  you 
fancy  that  it  is  by  peace  that  Christ  will 
advance  his  cause  ?  Has  not  he  himself, 
— have  not  all  the  martyrs  after  him, 
poured  forth  their  blood  in  the  conflict?"* 
Such,  at  the .  commencement  of  the 
year  1520,  was  the  position  of  the  two 
combatants  of  Leipsic.  The  one  enga- 
ged in  rousing  the  power  of  the  Papacy 
to  crush  his  rival.  The  other  awaiting 
the  contest  with  all  the  calmness  of  one 
who  seems  to  reckon  upon  peace.  The 
year  then  opening  was  destined  to  wit- 
ness the  bursting  of  the  storm. 

*  Cogor  rem  Deo  committere,  data  flatibus  et 
fluctibus  nave  ;  Bellum  Domini  est. — Ibid.  425.) 


BOOK    VI, 


THE   ROMAN  .BULL,   1520. 

Candidates  for  the  Empire — Charles — Francis  I. — The  Crown  Offered  to  Frederic — Charles 
Elected — Dangers — Frederic  to  the  Roman  Court — Luther's  Feelings — Melancthon's  Alarm — 
Schaumburg — Sickingen — Hutten — Luther's  Confidence — Faith,  the  Spring  of  Works — The 
Author  of  Faith — Attack  on  the  Papacy — The  Three  Barriers — All  Christians  Priests — Corrup- 
tions of  Rome — Germany  in  Danger — Call  for  Reform — Marriage  of  Priests — The  Empire — 
Conclusion — Success  of  the  Appeal — Rome — Policy  of  Rome — Separation — The  Swiss  Priest — 
The  Roman  Consistory — Condemnation — Melancthon — Melancthon's  Hearth — His  Studies-J- 
Melancthon's  Mother — The  Gospel  in  Italy — Luther  on  the  Mass — "  Babylonian  Captivity"  of 
the  Church — Baptism — No  other  Vows — Miltitz  at  Eisleben — Deputation  to  Luther — Conference 
at  Lichtcnberg — Luther's  Letter  to  the  Pope — Union  of  Christ  and  the  Believer — Arrival  of  the 
Bull  in  Germany— The  Students  of  Leipsic— Eck  at  Erfurth— Luther's  Feelings — The.  Pirckhei- 
mer  Family—  Luther—  UlricZwingle — Luther's  Answer — Fresh  Movements — The  Bonfire  of  Lou- 
vain — Luther's  Tranquillity — Appeal  to  a  Council — Struggle — Burning  of  the  Pope's  Bull — Lu- 
ther and  the  Academy — Luther  and  the  Pope — Melancthon  to  the  States — Luther  Encourages 
his  Friends — Melancthon  to  the  Fearful — Luther's  Vocation — The  Bible  and  the  Doctors — Re- 
tractation— Aleander  the  Nuncio — The  Nuncio  and  the  Emperor — The  Nuncio  and  the  Elec- 
tor—Duke John's  Son  Intercedes— The  Elector  Protects  Luther— The  Nuncio's  Answer — Eras- 
mus in  Cologne — Erasmus  and  the  Elector — Erasmus's  Declaration — Erasmus's  Advice — The 
Confessional — Luther  on  Confession— Antichrist — Luther's  Cause  Gains  Strength — Satires — Ul- 
ric  Von  Hutten— Carnival  at  Wittemberg— Staupitz  Alanncd— Luther's  Labours — Progress  of 
the  Reformation. 

A  new  actor  was  about  to  appear  on  I  Christendom  since  the  days  of  Charle- 
the  stage.  It  was  the  will  of  God  that  magne.  He  made  choice  of  a  prince  in 
the  monk  of  Wittemberg  should  be  the  vigour  of  youth,  to  whom  every  thing 
brought  face  to  face  with  the  most  pow-  promised  a  reign  of  long  duration,  a 
erful   monarch   who   had    appeared  in  j  prince  whose  sceptre  bore  sway  over  a 


224 


HISTORY    OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


considerable  part  of  the  old,  and  also  over 
a  new  World,  so  that,  according  to  a  cel- 
ebrated saying,  the  sun  never  set  upon 
his  vast  domains ;  and  with  this  prince 
he  confronted  the  humble  Reformation, 
that  had  had  its  beginning  in  the  secret 
cell  of  a  convent  at  Erfurlh  in  the  an- 
guish and  groans  of  a  poor  monk.  The 
history  of  this  morfarch,  and  of  his  reign, 
was  destined,  apparently,  to  read  an  im- 
portant lesson  to  the  world.  It  was  to 
show  the  nothingness  of  all  "  the  strength 
of  man,"  when  it  presumes  to  strive 
against  "  the  weakness  of  God."  Had  a 
prince,  friendly  to  Luther,  been  called  to 
the  empire,  the  success  of  the  Reforma- 
tion might  have  been  attributed  to  his  pro- 
tection. Had  an  emperor  of  feeble  char- 
acter filled  the  throne — even  though  he 
should  have  been  opposed  to  the  new 
doctrine,  the -success  that  attended  it  might 
have  admitted  of  explanation  by  the  weak- 
ness of  the  reigning  sovereign.  But  it 
was  the  haughty  conqueror  of  Pavia 
whose  pride  was  to  be  humbled  before 
the  power  of  the  divine  Word ;  and  the 
whole  world  was  called  to  witness  that 
he  to  whom  power  was  given  to  lead 
Francis  I.  to  the  dungeons  of  Madrid  was 
compelled  to  lay  down  the  sword  before 
the  son  of  a  poor  miner. 

The  Emperor  Maximilian  was  no 
more.  The  electors  were  assembled  aj 
Frankfort  to  choose  his  successor.  This 
was  a  decision  of  high  importance  to  all 
Europe  under  present  circumstances. 
All  Christendom  was  occupied  with  the 
election.  Maximilian  had  not  been  what 
is  called  a  great  prince  ;  but  his  memory 
was  dear  to  the  people.  They  were  fond 
of  calling  to  mind  his  ready  wit,  and 
good-nature.  Luther  often  mentioned 
him  in  conversation  with  his  friends,  and 
one  day  related  the  following  sally  of  the 
monarch : 

A  mendicant  was  following  him  close- 
ly, asking  alms,  and  calling  him  brother; 
"  for,"  said  he,  "  we  are  both  descended 
from  the  same  father,  Adam.  I  am 
poor,"  he  continued,  "  but  you  are  rich, 
and  therefore  ought  to  assist  me."  The 
emperor  turned  round  at  these  words,  and 
said  :  "  Here,  take  this  penny,  go  to  your 
other  brethren,  and  if  every  one  of  them 
gives  you  as  much,  you  will  soon  be 
richer  than  I  am."* 

*  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xxii.  1869. 


The  crisis  required,  for  the  Imperial 
crown,  a  prince  of  more  energy  than  the 
good-natured  Maximilian.  The  times 
were  about  to  change  ;  ambitious  poten- 
tates were  to  contest  the  throne  of 
the  Emperors  of  the  West ;  a  powerful 
hand  must  seize  the  reins  of  the  Empire, 
and  long  and  bloody  wars  must  succeed 
to  a  profound  peace. 

Three  kings  contended  at  the  diet  of 
Frankfort  for  the  crown  of  the  Caesars. 
A  young  prince,  grandson  of  the  late 
Emperor,  born  in  the  first  year  of  the 
century,  and  consequently  nineteen  years 
of  age,  was  the  first  who  presented  him- 
self. He  was  named  Charles,  and  was 
born  at  Ghent.  His  grandmother,  on 
the  father's  side,  Mary,  daughter  of 
Charles  the  Bold,  had  bequeathed  to 
him  Flanders,  and  the  rich  territories  of 
Burgundy.  His  mother,  Joanna,  daugh- 
ter of  Ferdinand  of  Arragon  and  Isabel- 
la of  Castile,  and  wife  of  Philip,  son  of 
the  Emperor  Maximilian,  had  transmit- 
ted to  him  the  united  crowns  of  Spain, 
Naples,  and  Sicily :  to  which  Christopher 
Columbus  had  added  a  new  World. 
The  death  of  his  grandfather  placed  him 
at  this  moment  in  possession  of  the  he- 
reditary dominions  of  Austria.  This 
young  prince,  endowed  with  much  intel- 
ligence, and  amiable  when  it  pleased  him 
to  be  so,  combined  with  the  taste  for 
military  exercises,  in  which  the  illustri- 
ous Dukes  of  Burgundy  had  so  long  dis- 
tinguished themselves,  the  subtlety  and 
penetration  of  the  Italians,  the  reverence 
for  existing  institutions  which  still  char- 
acterises the  house  of  Austria,  and  which 
promised  a  firm  and  zealous  defender  to 
the  Papacy,  and  a  great  knowledge  of 
public  affairs,  acquired  under  the  tutor- 
ship of  Chievres.  From  the  age  of  fif- 
teen he  had  attended  at  all  the  delibera- 
tions of  his  council.*  These  various 
qualities  were  in  some  degree  concealed 
and  veiled  by  the  reserve  and  taciturnity 
peculiar  to  the  Spanish  nation.  There 
was  something  melancholy  in  his  long 
thin  visage.  "  He  is  pious  and  silent," 
said  Luther ;  "-I  venture  to  say  that  he 
does  not  speak  so  much  in  a  year  as  I  do 
in  a  day."f  If  the  character  of  Charles 
had  been  developed  under  the  influence 
of  liberal    and   christian  principles,   he 

*  Memoires  de  Du  Bellay,  i.  45. 
t  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xxii.  1874. 


THE   ROMAN   BULL,   1520. 


225 


would  perhaps  have  been  one  of  the  most 
admirable  princes  recorded  in  history  ; 
but  political  considerations  absorbed  his 
thoughts,  and  tarnished  his  better  quali- 
ties. 

Not  contented  with  the  many  sceptres 
gathered  together  in  his  hand,  the  young 
Charles  aspired  to  the  imperial  dignity. 
"  It  is  a  sunbeam  which  sheds  splendour 
on  the  house  it  lights  upon,"  remarked 
some  ;  "  but  when  any  one  puts  forth 
the  hand  to  lay  hold  on  it,  he  grasps 
nothing."  (Jharles,  on  the  contrary,  saw 
in  it  the  summit  of  all  earthly  greatness, 
and  a  means  of  obtaining  a  sort  of  magic 
influence  over  the  minds  of  the  people. 

Francis  I.,  of  France,  was  the  second 
of  the  competitors.  The  young  paladins 
of  the  court  of  this  king,  incessantly  ur- 
ged on  him,  that  he  ought,  like  Charle- 
magne, to  be  Emperor  of  all  the  West ; 
and,  following  the  example  of  the  knights 
of  old,  lead  them  against  the  Crescent, 
which  menaced  the  Empire,  strike  the 
power  of  the  infidels  to  the  dust,  and  re- 
cover the  holy  sepulchre.  "  It  is  neces- 
sary," said  the  ambassadors  of  Francis  to 
the  Electors,  "  to  prove  to  the  dukes  of 
Austria,  that  the  imperial  crown  is  not 
hereditary.  Germany  has  need,  under 
existing  circumstances,  not  of  a  young 
man  of  nineteen,  but  of  a  prince  who 
unites,  with  experienced  judgment,  tal- 
ents already  acknowledged.  Francis 
will  combine  the  forces  of  France  and 
Lombardy,  with  those  of  Germany,  to 
make  war  upon  the  Mussulmans.  Be- 
sides this,  as  he  is  sovereign  of  the  duchy 
of  Milan,  he  is  already  a  member  of  the 
Empire."  The  French  ambassadors 
supported  these  arguments  with  400,000 
crowns,  expended  in  purchasing  suf- 
frages, and  with  entertainments,  at  which 
the  guests  were  to  be  gained  over  to  their 
party. 

Lastly,  Henry  VIII.,  king  of  England, 
jealous  of  the  power  which  the  choice  of 
the  Electors  would  give,  either  to  Fran- 
cis or  to  Charles,  also  entered  the  lists : 
but  he  soon  left  these  two  powerful  ri- 
vals to  dispute  the  crown  between  them. 

The  Electors  were  disinclined  to  the 
cause,  of  the  latter  candidates.  The  peo- 
ple of  Germany,  they  thought,  would 
see  in  the  king  of  France  a  foreign  mas- 
ter, and  this  master  might  very  likely 
deprive  themselves  of  that  independence 
29 


of  which  the  nobility  of  his  own  domin- 
ions had  lately  seen  themselves  stripped. 

As  for  Charles,  it  was  an  established 
maxim  with  the  Electors,  not  to  choose 
a  prince  already  playing  an  important 
part  in  the  Empire.  The  Pope  partook 
of  their  apprehensions  from  such  a  choice. 
He  was  for  rejecting  the  king  of  Naples, 
his  neighbour,  and  the  king  of  France, 
whose  enterprising  spirit  he  dreaded. 
"  Choose  rather  one  from  amongst  your- 
selves,'' was  the  advice  he  caused  to  be 
conveyed  to  the  Electors.  The  Elector 
of  Treves  proposed  the  nomination  of 
Frederfc  of  Saxony.  The  Imperial  crown 
was  laid  at  the  feet  of  this  friend  of  Luther. 

Such  a  choice  would  have  obtained 
the  approbation  of  all  Germany.  The 
prudence  of  Frederic,  and  his  love  for 
the  people,  were  well  known.  At  the 
time  of  the  revolt  of  Erfurth,  he  had  been 
urged  to  take  that  town  by  assault.  He 
refused,  that  he  might  spare  the  effusion 
of  blood.  And  when  it  was  urged  that 
the  assault  would  not  cost  the  lives  of  five 
men :  his  answer  had  been,  "  A  single 
life  would  be  too  much."*  It  seemed  as 
if  the  election  of  the  protector  of  the  Ref- 
ormation was  on  the  point  of  securing 
its  triumph.  Ought  not  Frederic  to  have 
regarded  the  wish  of  the  Electors  as  a 
call  from  God  himself?  Who  was  bet- 
ter able  to  preside  over  the  destinies  of 
the  Empire,  than  so  prudent  a  prince  ? 
Who  more  likely  to  withstand  the  Turks 
than  an  Emperor  abounding  in  faith  1 
It  may  be  that  the  Elector  of  Saxony's 
refusal,  so  much  lauded  by  historians, 
was  a  fault  on  the  part  of  this  prince.  It 
may  be  that  the  struggles  by  which  Ger- 
many was  afterwards  torn,  are  to  be  part- 
ly attributed  to  this  refusal.  But  it  is1 
hard  to  say,  whether  Frederic  deserves 
censure  for  want  of  faith,  or  honour  for 
his  humility.  He  judged  that  the  safety 
of  the  Empire  required  that  he  should  re- 
fuse the  crown. f  "  There  is  need  of  an 
Emperor  more  powerful  than  myself  to 
save  Germany,'1  said  this  modest  and 
disinterested  prince :  "  the  Turk  is  at  our 
gates.  The  king  of  Spain,  whose  heredi- 
tary possessions  (in  Austria)  border  on 
the  menaced  frontier,  is  its  natural  de- 
fender." 

*  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xxii.  1858. 
t  Is  vero  herolca   plane   moderationo    animi 
majrnifice  repudiavit.  .  . — (Pallavicini,  i.  79.) 


226 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


The  Legate  of  Rome,  seeing  that 
Charles  was  about  to  be  chosen,  declared 
that  the  Pope  withdrew  his  objections ; 
and  on  the  28th  of  June  the  grandson  of 
Maximilian  was  elected.  "God,"  said 
Frederic,  at  a  subsequent  period,  "has 
given  him  to  us  in  mercy  and  in  dis- 
pleasure."* The  Spanish  envoys  offered 
30,000  gold  florins  to  the  Elector  of  Sax- 
ony, as  a  mark  of  their  master's  grati- 
tude ;  but  this  prince  refused  the  gift,  and 
prohibited  his  ministers  from  accepting 
any  present.  At  the  same  time,  he  con- 
tributed to  the  security  of  the  liberties  of 
Germany,  by  a  treaty  to  which  the  en- 
voys of  Charles  swore  in  his  name.  The 
circumstances  under  which  the  latter  as- 
sumed the  Imperial  crown  seemed  to 
give  a  stronger  pledge  than  these  oaths 
in  favour  of  German  liberty  and  of  the 
continued  progress  of  the  Reformation. 
The  young  prince  felt  himself  cast  into 
shade  by  the  laurels  which  his  rival, 
Francis  I.,  had  gathered  at  Marignan. 
Their  rivalry  was  to  be  continued  in  Ita- 
ly, and  the  time  it  would  occupy  would, 
doubtless,  be  sufficient  to  strengthen  and 
confirm  the  Reformation.  Charles  quit- 
ted Spain  in  May,  1520,  and  was  crown- 
ed on  the  22nd  of  October  at  Aix-la- 
Chapelle. 

Luther  had  foreseen  that  the  cause  of 
the  Reformation  would,  ere  long,  have 
to  be  pleaded  before  the  Emperor.  He 
wrote  to  Charles,  while  this  prince  was 
still  at  Madrid.  "  If  the  cause  which  I 
defend,"  said  he  to  him,  "  is  worthy  of 
appearing  before  the  throne  of  the  Ma- 
jesty of  heaven,  it  is  surely  not  unwor- 
thy of  engaging  the  attention  of  a  prince 
of  this  world.  O  Charles!  thou  prince 
among  the  kings  of  the  earth  !  I  throw 
myself  as  a  suppliant  at  the  feet  of  your 
Most  Serene  Majesty,  and  conjure  you 
to  deign  to  receive  under  the  shadow  of 
your  wings,  not  me,  but  the  very  cause 
of  that  eternal  truth,  for  the  defence  of 
which  God  has  intrusted  you  with  the 
sword."t  The  young  king  of  Spain 
treated  this  strange  letter  from  a  Ger- 
man monk  with  neglect,  and  gave  no  an- 
swer. 

While  Luther  was  in  vain  turning  his 
eyes  towards  Madrid  the  storm  seemed 

*  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xxii.  1880. 
t  Causam  ipsam  veritatis. — (L.  Epp.  i.  392,  Jan. 
15,  1520.) 


to  increase  around  him.  The  flame  of 
fanaticism  was  kindled  in  Germany. 
Hochstraten,  never  weary  in  attempts  at 
persecution,  had  extracted  certain  theses 
from  the  writings  of  Luther.  The  uni- 
versities of  Cologne  and  of  Louvain  had, 
at  his  solicitation,  condemned  these  works. 
That  of  Erfurth,  still  retaining  an  angry 
recollection  of  Luther's  preference  of 
Wittemberg,  was  about  to  follow  their 
example ;  but  Luther,  on  learning  their 
intention,  wrote  to  Lange  in  such  strong 
terms,  that  the  theologians  of  Erfurth 
were  alarmed  and  kept  silence.  The 
condemnation,  pronounced  at  Cologne 
and  Louvain,  was  sufficient,  however, 
to  produce  great  excitement.  Add  to 
this  that  the  priests  of  Meissen,  who  had 
taken  part  with  Emser  in  his  quarrel, 
openly  declared  (according  to  the  state- 
ment of  Melancthon)  that  whosoever 
should  kill  Luther  would  be  without  sin.* 
"  The  time  is  come,"  says  Luther,  "  in 
which  men  will  think  they  do  service  to 
Jesus  Christ  in  putting  us  to  death." 
These  murderous  suggestions,  as  might 
have  been  expected,  produced  their  natu- 
ral results. 

While  Luther  was  walking  one  day 
before  the  monastery  of  the  Augustines, 
says  one  of  his  biographers,  a  stranger, 
having  a  pistol  concealed  in  his  sleeve, 
approached,  and  said  to  him  :  "  Why  do 
you  go  thus  alone  ?"  "  I  am  in  the 
hands  of  God,"  answered  Luther  ;  "  he  is 
my  strength  and  shield.  What  can  man 
do  unto  me  ?"t  Hereupon,  adds  the  his- 
torian, the  stranger  turned  pale,  and  fled 
trembling.  Serra  Longa,  the  orator  of 
the  conference  of  Augsburg,  wrote  about 
the  same  time  to  the  Elector  :  "  Let  not 
Luther  find  an  asylum  in  your  High- 
ness's  territories ;  let  him  be  every- 
where driven  and  stoned  in  open  day : 
that  will  rejoice  me  more  than  if  you 
were  to  give  me  10,000  crowns. "| 

It  was,  however,  on  the  side  of  Rome 
that  the  storm  was  chiefly  gathering. 
A  nobleman  of  Thuringia,  Valentin 
Teutleben,  vicar  of  the  'Archbishop  of 
Mentz,  and  a  zealous  partisan  of  the  Pa- 
pacy, was  the  representative  of  the  Elec- 

*  Ut  sine  peccato  esse  cum  censebant  qui  me 
interfecerit— (L.  Epp.  i.  383.) 

t  Wass  kann  mir  ein  Mensch  thun  ? — (Keith, 
L.  Umstilnde,  89.) 

t  Tenzel  Hist.  Ber.  ii.  168. 


THE   ROMAN   BULL,   1520. 


227 


tor  of  Saxony  at  Rome.  Teutleben, 
scandalised  at  the  protection  which  his 
master  granted  to  the  heretical  monk, 
saw  with  vexation  and  impatience  his 
mission  paralysed  by  this,  as  he  thought, 
imprudent  conduct.  He  imagined  that 
by  alarming  the  Elector  he  should  in- 
duce him  to  abandon  the  rebellious  the- 
ologian. "  I  can  get  no  hearing,"  wrote 
he,  "  on  account  of  the  protection  which 
you  grant  to  Luther."  But  the  Ro- 
manists were  deceived,  if  they  thought 
to  intimidate  the  prudent  Frederic.  This 
prince  knew  that  the  will  of  God  and 
the  voice  of  the  people  were  more  ir- 
resistible than  decrees  of  the  papal  court. 
He  directed  his  ambassador  to  intimate 
to  the  Pope,  that,  far  from  defending 
Luther,  he  had  always  left  him  to  defend 
himself;  that  he  had  already  requested 
him  to  quit  the  university,  and  even 
Saxony;  that  the  doctor  had  declared 
himself  ready  to  obey,  and  would  not 
have  been  then  in  the  electoral  states, 
had  not  the  Legate  himself,  Charles 
Miltitz,  begged  the  prince  to  keep  him 
near  his  own  person,  lest,  repairing  to 
other  countries,  Luther  should  act  with 
more  liberty  than  in  Saxony  itself.* 
Frederic  did  still  more :  he  wished  to 
open  the  eyes  of  Rome.  "  Germany," 
continued  he,  in  his  letter,  "  possesses  a 
great  number  of  learned  men,  well  ac- 
quainted with  languages  and  sciences ; 
the  laity  themselves  are  beginning  to  be 
enlightened,  and  to  be  fond  of  the  sacred 
writings  ;  and  if  the  reasonable  terms  of 
Dr.  Luther  are  refused,  it  is  much  to  be 
feared  that  peace  will  never  be  re-estab- 
lished. The  doctrine  of  Luther  has  ta- 
ken deep  root  in  many  hearts.  If,  in- 
stead of  refuting  it  by  the  testimony  of 
the  Bible,  attempts  are  made  to  crush 
it  by  the  thunders  of  the  Church,  great 
offence  will  be  occasioned,  and  terrible 
and  dangerous  rebellions  will  be  ex- 
cited." f 

The  Elector,  placing  confidence  in 
Luther,  caused  the  letter  of  Teutleben, 
as  well  as  another  which  he  had  received 
from  the  Cardinal  St.  George,  to  be  com- 
municated to  him.     The  Reformer  was 

*  Da  er  viel  freyer  und  sicherer  schreiben  und 
handeln  mochte  was  er  wollte.  .  .  . — (L.  Opp. 
(L.)  i.  298.) 

t  Schreckliche,  grausame,  schiidliche  und 
verderbliche  Emporungen  erregen. — (Ibid.) 


much  moved  on  reading  them.  He 
saw  at  once  all  the  dangers  that  sur- 
rounded him,  and  his  mind  was  for  an 
instant  overwhelmed.  But  it  was  at 
such  moments  that  his  faith  broke  forth, 
and  manifested  itself  in  all  its  strength. 
Often  weak  and  ready  to  fall  into  de- 
spondency, he  was  seen  to  rise  and  ap- 
pear greater  in  the  midst  of  the  storm. 
He  would  gladly  have  been  delivered 
from  so  many  trials,  but  he  knew  well 
at  what  price  peace  was  offered  to  him, 
and  he  indignantly  rejected  it.  "  Hold 
my  peace  !"  said  he  ;  "I  am  willing  to 
do  so,  if  they  will  permit  me,  that  is  to 
say,  if  they  will  silence  others.  If  any 
one  envies  me  my  appointments,  let  him 
take  them ;  if  any  one  desires  the  de- 
struction of  my  writings,  let  him  burn 
them.  I  am  ready  to  keep  silence,  pro- 
vided it  be  not  required  that  evangelical 
truth  should  stand  still*  I  ask  for  no 
cardinal's  hat,  nor  gold,  nor  any  thing 
else  that  Rome  values.  I  will  make 
any  sacrifices  ;  so  that  the  way  of  salva- 
tion is  left  open  to  Christians.!  All 
their  threats  do  not  terrify  me,  all  their 
promises  cannot  seduce  me." 

Warmed  by  these  feelings,  Luther  soon 
recovered  his  disposition  for  action,  and 
chose  the  Christian's  conflict  rather  than 
the  calm  of  the  recluse.  One  night 
sufficed  to  reproduce  in  his  mind  the 
desire  to  overthrow  the  power  of  Rome. 
"  My  resolution  is  taken,"  he  wrote  next 
morning :  "  I  despise  alike  the  rage  and 
the  favour  of  Rome.  Away  with  recon- 
ciliation !  I  desire  never  more  to  have 
any  communication  with  her.J  Let  her 
condemn — let  her  burn  my  writings ! 
In  my  turn,  I  will  condemn  and  publicly 
burn  the  canon  law,  that  nest  of  all  here- 
sies. My  moderation  hitherto  has  been 
useless  ;  and  I  renounce  it !" 

His  friends  were  very  far  from  being 
so  confident.  The  consternation  was 
great  at  Wittemberg.  "  Our  expectation 
is  on  the  stretch,"  said  Melancthon.  "  I 
would  rather  die  than  be  separated  from 

*  Semper  quiescere  paratus,  modo  veritatem 
evangelicam  non  jubeant  quiescere. — (L.  Epp.  i. 
462.) 

t  Si  salutis  viam  Christianis  permittant  esse 
liberam,  hoc  unum  peto  ab  illis,  ac  proeterea  nihil. 
—(Ibid.) 

t  Nolo  eis  reconciliari  nee  communicare  in  per- 
petuum.— (Ibid.  466.  July  10th,  1520.) 


228 


HISTORY   OF  THE    REFORMATION. 


Luther.*  If  God  does  not  send  us  help 
we  perish."  "  Our  Luther  is  still  alive," 
wrote  he  a  month  afterwards  in  his  anxi- 
ety ;  "  God  grant  that  he  may  yet  live 
long !  for  the  Romish  sycophan  tsleave 
no  stone  unturned  for  his  destruction. 
Pray  for  the  preservation  of  the  intrepid 
vindicator  of  sacred  learning."f 

These  prayers  were  heard.  The 
warnings  which  the  Elector  had  ad- 
dressed to  Rome  through  the  medium 
of  his  representative  were  not  without 
foundation.  The  preaching  of  Luther 
had  resounded  far  and  wide  ;  in  cottages, 
in  convents,  in  the  houses  of  the  citizens, 
in  the  castles  of  the  nobles,  in  the 
academies,  and  in  the  palaces  of  kings. 
"  Let  my  life,"  he  had  said  to  Duke 
John  of  Saxony,  "  be  found  to  bear  fruit 
only  in  the  conversion  of  one  man,  and 
I  shall  willingly  consent  that  all  my 
books  should  perish."|  It  was  not  a  sin- 
gle individual,  it  was  a  great  multitude, 
that  had  discovered  light  in  the  wri- 
tings of  the  humble  doctor.  Accord- 
ingly, every  where  men  were  found 
ready  to  protect  him.  The  sword,  in- 
tended for  his  destruction,  was  being 
forged  in  the  Vatican  ;  but  heroes  were 
arising  in  Germany  who  would  defend 
him  at  hazard  of  their  own  lives.  At 
the  moment  when  the  bishops  were  cha- 
fing with  anger,  when  the  princes  kept 
silence,  when  the  people  were  in  expec- 
tation, and  the  thunders  were  already 
rolling  above  the  seven  hills,  God  stirred 
up  the  German  nobility  to  form  a  bul- 
wark for  his  servant. 

Sylvester  of  Schaumburg,  one  of  the 
most  powerful  knights  of  Franconia,  at 
this  juncture  sent  his  son  to  Wittemberg 
with  a  letter  for  the  Reformer.  "  Your 
life  is  in  danger,"  wrote  Schaumburg. 
"  If  the  assistance  of  the  electors,  of  the 
princes,  or  of  the  magistrates  should  fail 
you,  beware,  I  entreat  you,  of  seeking 
refuge  in  Bohemia,  where  learned  men 
have  formerly  had  so  much  to  endure ; 
come  rather  to  me.  I  shall  soon,  God 
willing,  have  collected  above  a  hundred 
gentlemen,  and  with  their  help  I  shall  be 
able  to  preserve  you  from  all  peril."  § 

*  Emori  mallim,  quam  ab  hoc  viro  avelli. — 
(Corpus  Reform,  i.  160,  163.) 

+  Martinus  noster  spirat,  atque  utinam  diu. 
.  .  .—(Ibid.  190,  208.) 

t  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  392. 

§  Denu  Ich,  und  hundert  von  Adel,  die  Ich 


Francis  of  Sickingen,  that  hero  of  his 
age,  whose  intrepid  courage  we  have  al- 
ready seen,*  loved  the  Reformer,  both 
because  he  thought  him  worthy  to  be 
loved,  and  also  because  he  was  hated  by 
the  monks.f  "My  services,  my  pos- 
sessions, and  my  person,  in  short  every 
thing  which  I  have,"  he  wrote,  "  is  at 
your  disposal.  You  are  resolved  to  stand 
up  for  the  truth  of  the  Gospel.  I  am 
ready  to  lend  my  aid  in  that  work.";}: 
Harmuth  of  Cronberg  held  the  same 
language.  Lastly,  Ulric  of  Hiitten,  the 
poet  and  valiant  knight  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  took  every  occasion  to  speak  out 
in  favour  of  Luther.  But  what  a  con- 
trast between  these  two  men!  Hiitten 
wrote  to  the  Reformer :  "  We  want  swords, 
bows,  javelins,  and  bombs,  in  order  to  re- 
pel the  fury  of  the  devil."  Luther  on 
receiving  these  letters  exclaimed,  "  I  will 
not  resort  to  arms  and  bloodshed  for  the 
defence  of  the  Gospel.  It  is  by  the 
preaching  of  the  Word  that  the  world 
has  been  conquered ;  by  the  Word  the 
Church  has  been  saved ;  by  the  Word, 
also,  it  will  be  restored."  "  I  do  not  de- 
spise his  offer,"  said  he  again  on  receiving 
the  letter  of  Schaumburg  which  we  have 
mentioned,  "  but  I  will  depend  on  none 
but  Christ  alone. "§  Not  thus  had  Ro- 
man Pontiffs  spoken  when  they  waded 
in  the  blood  of  the  Waldenses  and  Albi- 
genses.  Hiitten  was  conscious  of  the 
difference  between  Luther's  object  and 
his  own  ;  and  accordingly  wrote  thus 
nobly  to  him  on  the  subject :  "  My 
thoughts  are  running  on  earthly  aims, 
while  you  contemning  such  things,  are 
devoted  to  the  things  of  God  alone  ;"|| 
and  forthwith  he  set  out  to  endeavour,  if 
possible,  to  gain  over  to  the  cause  of  truth 
Ferdinand  and  Charles  V."ft 

Thus  at  one  moment  the  enemies  of 
Luther  overwhelmed  him,  and  at  anoth- 
er his  friends  arise  in  his  defence.     uMy 

(ob  Gott  will)  aufbrinfiren  will,  euch  redlich  an- 
halten  .  .  .—(Ibid.  381.) 

*  "  Equitum  Germaniae  rarum  decus,"  says 
Melancthon  on  the  occasion. — (Corp.  Reform,  i. 
201.) 

t  Et  ob  id  invisus  illis.— (Ibid.  132.) 

t  Ibid. 

§  Nolo  nisi  Christo  protectore  niti. — (L.  Epp. 
i.  148.) 

||  Mea  humana  sunt :  tu  perfection  jam  totua 
ex  divinis  pendes. — (L.  Opp.  lat.  ii.  175.) 

IT  Viam  facturus  libertati  (cod.  Bavar.  veritati) 
per  maximos  principes. — (Corp.  Ref.  i.  201.) 


THE  ROMAN   BULL,   1520. 


229 


bark,"  says  he,  "  is  driven  at  the  mercy 
of  the  winds, — fear  and  hope  alternately 
prevail ;  but  what  does  it  signify  ?"* 
Nevertheless  the  testimonies  of  sympathy 
which  he  received  were  not  without 
their  effect  upon  his  mind.  "  The  Lord 
reigns,"  he  said  ;  "  I  see  His  hand  pal- 
pably present."!  Luther  felt  that  he  no 
longer  stood  alone ;  his  words  had  borne 
fruit, — and  this  thought  inspired  him 
with  fresh  courage.  The  fear  of  com- 
promising the  interest  of  the  Elector 
could  no  longer  keep  him  in  check, 
now  that  he  felt  that  he  had  other  de- 
fenders prepared  to  brave  the  anger  of 
Rome.  He  became  consequently  more 
free,  and,  if  possible,  more  resolute. 
This  is  an  important  epoch  in  the  de- 
velopment of  Luther's  character.  "  It  is 
right  that  Rome  should  understand," 
wrote  he  at  this  time  to  the  chaplain  of 
the  Elector,  "  that  although  she  should 
succeed  in  obtaining  by  her  threats  my 
expulsion  from  Wittemberg,  she  would 
only  injure  her  own  cause.  Not  in  Bo- 
hemia, but  in  the  heart  of  Germany,  are 
those  who  are  ready  to  defend  me 
against  the  thunders  of  Papacy.  If  I 
have  not  yet  brought  to  bear  upon  my 
adversaries  all  that  I  am  preparing  for 
them,  it  is  neither  to  my  moderation  nor 
to  the  weight  of  their  tyranny  that  they 
are  to  attribute  my  forbearance,  but  to 
the  name  of  the  Elector  and  to  the  in- 
terests of  the  University  of  Wittemberg, 
which  I  feared  to  compromise ;  now  that 
such  fears  are  dissipated  I  am  about  to 
redouble  my  efforts  against  Rome  and 
her  courtiers.";}: 

s  Yet  it  was  not  so  much  on  the  great 
the  Reformer  relied.  He  had  been  of- 
ten urged  to  dedicate  one  of  his  books  to 
Duke  John,  brother  of  the  Elector,  but 
had  abstained  from  doing  so.  "  I  fear," 
he  had  said,  "  lest  this  suggestion  may 
proceed  from  himself.  The  Holy  Scrip- 
tures ought  not  to  minister  to  the  glo- 
ry of  any  other  name  but  that  of  God."§ 
Luther  now  shook  off  these  fears,  and 
dedicated  to  Duke  John  his  discourse  on 

*  Ita  fluctuat  navis  mea ;  nunc  spes,  nunc 
timor  regnat. — (L.  Epp.  i.  443.) 

t  Dominus  regnat,  ut  palpare  possimus. — (Ibid. 
451.) 

X  Ssevius  in  Romaneses  grassaturus  .  .  . — (L. 
•Epp.  i.  465.) 

4  Scriptarum  sacram  nolim  alicujus  nomini 
nisi  Dei  servire. — (lb.  431.) 


Good  Works.  Of  all  his  writings,  this 
is  one  in  which  the  Reformer  most 
powerfully  opens  the  doctrine  of  justifica- 
tion by  faith,  that  great  truth,  whose 
power  he  estimates  far  above  the  sword 
of  Hutten,  the  armed  bands  of  Sickingen, 
or  the  favour  of  dukes  or  electors. 

"  The  first,  the  noblest,  and  the  great- 
est of  all  Avorks,"  says  he,  "  is  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ.*  From  this  work  all  oth- 
ers must  flow.  They  are  all  but  the  vas- 
sals of  faith,  and  receive  from  it  alone  all 
their  efficacy." 

"  If  a  man  but  feel  in  his  heart  the 
assurance  that  what  he  does  is  acceptable 
to  God,  his  action  is  good  though  he 
should  but  raise  a  straw  from  the  earth  ; 
but  if  he  has  not  this  confidence  his 
action  is  not  a  good  work,  even  though 
he  should  raise  the  dead  to  life.  A 
Heathen,  a  Jew,  a  Turk,  a  sinner,  may 
do  all  other  works  ;  but  to  put  one's  trust 
in  God,  and  have  assurance  that  we  are 
accepted  by  him,  is  what  none  but  the 
Christian  standing  in  grace  is  capable  of 
doing."  f 

"  A  Christian  who  has  faith  in  God, 
does  all  with  liberty  and  joy :  while  that 
man  who  is  not  at  one  with  God,  is  full 
of  cares  and  under  bondage  ;  he  enquires 
anxiously  what  amount  of  good  works  is 
required  of  him ;  he  turns  to  ask  of  this 
man  or  another,  finding  no  rest  for  his 
soul,  and  doing  every  thing  with  fear  and 
dissatisfaction." 

"  Therefore  it  is  that  I  have  ever  held 
up  the  necessity  of  Faith.  But  in  the 
world  around  me  it  is  otherwise.  There 
the  essential  thing  is  represented  to  be 
the  having  many  works,  works  of  high 
fame  and  of  all  degrees,  without  regard- 
ing whether  they  are  done  in  faith. 
Thus  they  build  up  their  peace,  not  on 
the  good  pleasure  of  God,  but  on  their 
own  merits,  or  in  other  words,  on  the 
sand."     (Matt.  vii.  26.) 

"  It  said  that  to  preach  faith,  is  to  dis- 
courage good  works  ;  but  though  a  man 
should  have  in  himself  the  combined 
strength  of  all  his  race,  or  even  of  all 
created  beings,  this  one  duty  of  the  life 

*  Das  erste  und  hochste,  alleredelste — gute 
Werck  ist  der  Glaube  in  Christum.  .  .  . — (L. 
Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  394.) 

t  Wenn  ein  Mensch  tausend,  oder  alle  Men- 
schen,  oder  alle  Creaturen  ware. — (L.  Opp.  (L.) 
368.) 


230 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


of  faith  would  be  a  task  too  great  to  be 
ever  performed.  If  I  say  to  a  sick  man : 
'  resume  your  health,  and  you  will  have 
the  use  of  your  limbs,'  can  it  be  said 
that  I  forbid  him  to  use  his  limbs  1 
Must  not  health  precede  labour?  It  is 
the  same  when  we  preach  faith :  faith 
must  go  before  works,  in  Older  to  good 
works." 

"  Where  then,  you  will  say,  is  this 
faith  to  be  found,  and  how  is  it  to  be  re- 
ceived 1  Truly,  this  is  what  most  con- 
cerns us  to  know.  Faith  comes  from 
Jesus  Christ  alone,  promised  and  given 
freely." 

"  O  man !  consider  Christ,  and  see  in 
him  how  God  displays  his  mercy  to- 
wards thee  without  any  worthiness  of 
thine  going  before.*  Draw  from  this 
discovery  of  His  grace  the  belief  and 
assurance  that  all  thy  sins  are  forgiven 
thee.  Works  never  could  produce  this 
faith.  It  flows  in  the  blood, — from  the 
wounds  and  death  of  Christ.  It  springs 
up,  from  that  source,  to  rejoice  our 
hearts.  Christ  is  the  rock  whence  flow 
our  milk  and  honey."     (Deut.  xxxii.) 

Not  being:  able  to  notice  all  the  works 
of  Luther,  we  here  quote  some  short  ex- 
tracts from  this  discourse  on  Good  Works, 
on  account  of  the  Reformer's  own  opin- 
ion of  it.  "  In  my  opinion,"  said  he,  "it 
is  the  best  of  my  published  writings," 
and  he  immediately  adds  this  deep  re- 
flection :  "  But  I  know  that  when  I  please 
myself  with  what  I  write,  the  infection  of 
that  bad  leaven  hinders  it  from  pleasing 
others."!  Melancthon,  in  transmitting 
this  discourse  to  a  friend,  accompanied  it 
with  these  words  :  "  No  one  among  all 
the  Greek  and  Latin  writers  has  come 
nearer  to  the  spirit  of  St.  Paul  than  Lu- 
ther."} 

But  besides  the  substitution  of  a  scheme 
of  merits  in  place  of  the  grand  truth  of 
grace  and  amnesty,  another  evil  had 
grown  up  in  the  Church.  A  haughty 
power  had  arisen  in  the  midst  of  the 

*  Siehe,  also  musst  du  Christum  in  dich  bil- 
den,  und  sehen  wie  in  Ihm  Gott — seine  Barm- 
herzigkeit  dir  fiirhalt  und  darbeut. — (L.  Opp.  (L.) 
398.) 

t  Erit,  meo  judicio,  omnium  quae  ediderim  op- 
timum :  quanquam  scio  qua?  mihi  mea  placent,  hoc 
ipso  fermento  infecta,  non  solera  aliis  placere. — 
(L.  Epp.  i.  431.) 

t  Quo  ad  Pauli  spiritum  nemo  proprius  accessit. 
—(Corp.  Ref.  i.  202.) 


humble  shepherds  of  Christ's  flock.  Lu- 
ther resolved  to  attack  this  usurped  au- 
thority. In  the  midst  of  all  his  troubles, 
he  had  privately  studied  the  rise,  prog- 
ress, and  usurpations  of  the  Papacy. 
The  discoveries  he  had  made  had  filled 
him  with  amazement.  He  no  longer 
hesitated  to  make  them  known,  and  to 
strike  the  blow  which,  like  the  rod  of 
Moses  in  old  time,  was  to  awaken  a  peo- 
ple that  had  long  slumbered  in  bondage. 
Even  before  Rome  could  find  time  to 
publish  her  formidable  bull,  he  himself 
hurled  against  her  a  declaration  of  war. 
"  The  '  time  to  be  silent'  is  past,"  he  ex- 
claims :  "  the  '  time  to  speak'  is  arrived." 
On  the  23rd  of  June,  1520,  he  published 
the  celebrated  Appeal  to  his  Imperial  Ma- 
jesty and  the  Christian  nobility  of  the 
German  nation,  concerning  the  Reforma- 
tion of  Christianity* 

"  It  is  not  rashly  and  without  consid- 
eration," said  he,  in  the  commencement 
of  this  appeal,  "  that  I,  a  man  of  the 
common  people,  take  upon  myself  to  ad- 
dress your  highnesses.  The  misery  and 
oppression  which  at  this  hour  weigh 
down  all  Christian  states,  and  more  es- 
pecially Germany,  wring  from  me  a  cry 
of  distress.  I  find  myself  compelled  to 
call  for  help ;  I  must  see  if  God  will  not 
give  his  Spirit  to  some  one  or  other  of 
our  countrymen,  and  thus  stretch  forth 
his  hand  to  save  our  wretched  nation. 
God  has  placed  over  us  a  young  and 
generous  prince  (the  Emperor  Charles 
V..f)  and  has  thus  filled  our  hearts  with 
high  hopes.  But  we  ourselves  must,  on 
our  parts,  do  all  that  is  possible  for  us 
to  do. 

"  Now,  it  is  of  the  very  first  necessity, 
that  we  do  not  at  all  rely  upon  our  own 
strength,  or  our  own  wisdom.  If  we  be- 
gin even  a  good  work  with  confidence  in 
ourselves,  God  overturns  and  destroys  it. 
Frederic  I.,  Frederic  II.,  and  many  other 
emperors  besides,  before  whom  the  world 
stood  in  awe,  have  been  trampled  under 
foot  by  the  Popes,  because  they  trusted  in 
their  own  strength  rather  than  in  God. 
Therefore  they  could  not  succeed.  It  is 
against  the  power  of  hell  that,  we  have 
to  contend  in  this  struggle.  We  must 
set  about  the  work,  hoping  nothing  from 

*  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  447*to  502. 
t  Gott  hat  uns  ein  junges  edles  Blut  zum 
Haupt  gegeben. — (Ibid.  457.) 


THE  ROMAN  BULL,   1520. 


231 


the  strength  of  our  own  arms,  and  de- 
pending humbly  on  the  Lord  ;  looking 
to  the  present  distress  of  Christians,  in- 
stead of  dwelling  on  the  acts  of  evil  doers. 
Take  but  another  course,  and  though  the 
work  may  'seem  to  prosper  for  a  while, 
all  of  a  sudden,  in  the  very  height  of  the 
struggle,  confusion  will  come  in,  evil  men 
will  cause  boundless  disasters,  and  the 
world  will  be  deluged  with  blood.  The 
greater  our  power,  the  greater  our  dan- 
ger if  we  walk  not  in  the  fear  of  the 
Lord." 

After  this  exordium,  Luther  continued 
as  follows : 

"  The  Romanists  have  raised  three  bar- 
riers against  all  reformation.  When  the 
temporal  power  has  attacked  them,  they 
have  denied  its  authority,  and  asserted 
that  the  spiritual  power  was  superior  to 
it.  When  any  one  rebuked  them  out  of 
the  Scripture,  they  have  answered  that 
no  one,  but  the  Pope,  was  able  to  inter- 
terpret  Scripture.  When  they  have  been 
threatened  with  a  council,  the  reply  has 
been,  no  one  but  the  Sovereign  Pontiff, 
has  authority  to  convoke  a  council." 

"  They  have  thus  wrested  from  our 
hands  the  three  rods  destined  to  correct 
them,  and  have  given  the  rein  to  all  evil. 
But  now,  God  help  us,  and  give  us  one 
of  those  trumpets  which  overthrew  the 
walls  of  Jericho !  With  the  breath  of  our 
lips,  let  us  throw  down  the  paper  walls, 
which  the  Romanists  have  built  around 
them,  and  lift  up  the  scourges  which  pun- 
ish the  wicked,  by  exposing  the  wiles 
and  stratagems  of  the  devil." 

Luther  then  begins  the  assault.  He 
shakes  to  its  very  foundation  that  papal 
monarchy  which  had  for  centuries  past 
banded  together  the  nations  of  the  West 
under  the  sceptre  of  the  Roman  bishop. 
That  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  priestly 
caste,  is  the  truth,  hidden  from  the  church 
even  from  its  first  ages,  which  he  power- 
fully sets  forth  at  the  outset : 

"  It  has  been  said,  that  the  pope,  the 
bishops,  the  priests,  and  those  who  dwell 
in  the  convents,  form  the  spiritual  or  ec- 
clesiastical state  ;  and  that  the  princes, 
nobles,  citizens,  and  peasants,  form  the 
secular  state  or  laity.  This  is  a  fine  sto- 
ry, truly.  Let  no  one,  however,  be 
alarmed  by  it.  All  Christians  belong  to 
the  spiritual  state ;  and  there  is  no  other 
difference  between  them,  than   that  of 


the  functions  which  they  discharge.  We 
have  all  one  baptism,  one  faith,  and  it  is 
this  which  constitutes  the  spiritual  man. 
The  unction,  the  tonsure,  ordination,  con- 
secration by  the  bishop  or  the  pope,  may 
make  an  hypocrite,  but  never  a  spir- 
itual man.  We  are  all  alike  conse- 
crated priests  by  baptism,  as  St.  Peter 
says :  '  Ye  are  priests  and  kings ;' 
although  it  does  not  belong  to  all  to  ex- 
ercise such  offices,  for  none  can  take  to 
himself  that  which  is  common  to  all, 
without  the  consent  of  the  communi- 
ty. But  if  Ave  were  without  this 
consecration  from  God,  the  Pope's  unc- 
tion could  never  constitute  a  priest. 
If  a  king  had  ten  sons  of  equal  claim, 
to  the  inheritance,  and  they  should 
choose  one  of  their  number  to  act  for 
them,  they  would  all  be  kings,  though 
only  one  of  them  would  administer  their 
common  power.  The  case  is  the  same 
with  the  Church.  If  any  pious  laymen 
were  banished  to  a  desert,  and,  having 
no  regularly  consecrated  priest  among 
them,  were  to  agree  to  choose  for  that  of- 
fice one  of  their  number,  married  or  un- 
married, this  man  would  be  as  truly  a 
priest  as  if  he  had  been  consecrated  by 
all  the  bishops  in  the  world.  Augustine, 
Ambrose,  and  Cyprian  were  chosen  in 
this  manner. 

"  Hence  it  follows  that  laity  and  priests, 
princes  and  bishops,  or,  as  they  say,  the 
clergy  and  the  laity,  have  in  reality  noth- 
ing to  distinguish  them,  but  their  func- 
tions. They  all  belong  to  the  same  es- 
tate ;  but  all  have  not  the  same  work  to 
perform. 

"  If  this  be  true,  why  should  not  the 
magistrate  chastise  the  clergy  1  the  secu- 
lar power  has  been  ordained  by  God  for 
the  punishment  of  evil-doers,  and  the 
praise  of  those  who  do  well.  And  free 
scope  should  be  allowed  for  it  to  act 
throughout  Christendom ;  let  it  touch 
whom  it  may,  pope,  bishops,  priests, 
monks,  nuns,  or  any  others.  St.  Paul 
says  to  all  Christians :  Let  every  soul* 
(consequently  the  Pope  also)  be  subject  to 
the  higher  powers,  for  they  bear  not  the 
sword  in  vainP 

Having   in   like   manner   overturned 

"the  other   barriers,"  Luther  passed  in 

review   the   corruptions   of  Rome.     He 

displayed  in  a  popular  style  of  eloquence, 

*  Hdoa  ipvxi- — Rom.  xii.  1,  4. 


232 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


the  evils  that  had  been  felt  and  acknowl- 
edged for  centuries.  Never  had  a  more 
noble  protest  been  heard.  The  great  as- 
sembly before  whom  Luther  spoke  was 
the  Church  ;  the  power  whose  corrup- 
tions he  attacked  was  that  papal  power 
which  had  for  ages  weighed  heavily 
upon  all  nations ;  and  the  reformation  he 
so  loudly  called  for  was  destined  to  exert 
its  powerful  influence  over  all  Christian 
nations  throughout  the  world,  and  to  last 
as  long  as  man  shall  exist  upon  the 
earth. 

He  commenced  with  the  Pope.  "  It 
is  monstrous,"  he  says,  "  to.  see  him  who 
is  called  the  vicar  of  Christ,  displaying 
a  magnificence  unrivalled  by  that  of  any 
Emperor.  Is  this  to  resemble  the  poor 
and  lowly  Jesus,  or  the  humble  St.  Pe- 
ter ?  The  Pope,  say  they,  is  the  lord  of 
the  world!  But  Christ,  whose  vicar  he 
boasts  himself  to  be,  said  :  My  kingdom 
is  not  of  this  world.  Ought  the  power 
of  the  vicar  to  go  beyond  that  of  his 
Lord?" 

Luther  next  proceeded  to  describe 
the  effects  of  papal  sway.  "  Do  you 
know  what  end  the  Cardinals  serve  ?  I 
will  tell  you.  Italy  and  Germany  have 
many  convents,  religious  foundations,  and 
benefices,  richly  endowed.  By  what 
machinery  can  this  wealth  be  drawn  to 
Rome  ? — Cardinals  have  been  created  ; 
to  them  these  cloisters  and  prelacies  have 
been  given ;  and  at  this  moment — Italy 
is  almost  deserted,  the  convents  are  de- 
stroyed, the  bishoprics  devoured,  the_ 
towns  falling  to  decay,  the  inhabitants" 
demoralized,  religious  worship  expiring, 
and  preaching  abolished  !  And  why  is 
all  this  ?  Because,  forsooth,  all  the  wealth 
of  the  churches  must  go  to  Rome.  The 
Turk  himself  would  never  have  so  ruined 
Italy." 

Luther  then  turned  to  his  native 
country. 

"  And  now  that  they  have  sucked  the 
blood  of  their  own  nation,  they  come  to 
Germany  ;  they  begin  softly  ;  but  let  us 
be  on  our  guard  !  or  Germany  will  soon 
be  like  Italy.  We  have  already  some 
Cardinals  here  and  there.  Before  the 
dull-minded  Germans  comprehend  our 
design,  think  they,  they  will  have  nei- 
ther bishopric,  convent,  benefice,  nor  so 
much  as  one  penny  left.  Antichrist 
must  possess  the  treasure  of  the  earth. 


Thirty  or  forty  Cardinals  will  be  created 
in  a  day  :  to  one  will  be  given  Bamberg, 
to  another  the  bishopric  of  Wurzburg ; 
to  these  will  be  attached  rich  benefices, 
until  the  churches  and  the  cities  are  left 
desolate.  And  then  the  Pope  will  say, 
I  am  the  vicar  of  Christ,  and  shepherd 
of  his  flocks.  Let  the  Germans  submit 
to  my  authority !" 

The  indignation  of  Luther  kindled  as 
he  proceeded. 

"  What !  shall  we  Germans  endure 
these  robberies  and  extortions  of  the 
Pope  ?  If  the  kingdom  of  France  has 
been  able  to  defend  itself  from  them,  why 
should  we  suffer  ourselves  to  be  thus  rid- 
iculed and  laughed  at  ?  And  oh  !  would 
that  they  robbed  us  only  of  our  goods  : 
but  they  also  lay  waste  the  churches: 
they  fleece  the  sheep  of  Christ ;  abolish 
the  worship,  and  silence  the  word  of 
God." 

Luther  exposed  the  "  Romish  practice" 
of  gradually  abstracting  the  wealth  and 
the  revenues  of  Germany.  Annats,  palls, 
commendams,  administrations,  expective 
graces,  reversions,  incorporations,  reserves, 
&c,  all  pass  before  him  ;  "let  us,"  says 
he,  "  endeavour  to  put  a  stop  to  so  much 
wretchedness  and  desolation.  If  we  want 
to  march  against  the  Turks,  let  us  begin 
with  those  Turks  who  are  the  worst  of 
all.  If  we  hang  thieves  and  cut  off  the 
heads  of  brigands,  let  us  not  suffer  the 
avarice  of  Rome  to  escape,  which  is  the 
greatest  of  all  robbers  and  thieves ;  and 
that  too  in  the  name  of  St.  Peter  and  of 
Jesus  Christ !  Who  can  tolerate  this  ? 
Who  can  keep  silence  ?  Has  not  all 
that  the  Pope  possesses  been  obtained  by 
robbery?  for  he  has  neither  purchased 
it,  nor  inherited  it  from  St.  Peter,  nor 
gained  it  by  his  labours.  Whence  then 
does  it  all  come  ? — " 

The  Reformer  proposes  remedies  for 
all  these  evils.  He  calls  energetically 
upon  the  German  nobility,  to  put  an  end 
to  these  depredations  on  the  part  of  Rome. 
Coming  then  to  the  Pope  himself,  "  Is  it 
not  ridiculous,"  he  exclaimed,  "  that  the 
Pope  should  pretend  to  be  the  lawful 
heir  of  the  Empire  ?  who  gave  it  to  him  ? 
Was  it  Christ,  when  he  said  :  '  The  kings 
of  the  Gentiles  exercise  lordship  over  them  ; 
but  it  shall  not  be  so  with  yon  V  (Luke 
xxii.  25,  26.)  How  is  it  possible  to  gov- 
ern an  empire,  and  at  the  same  time  to 


THE  ROMAN  BULL,   1520. 


233 


preach,  pray,  study,  and  have  care  for 
the  poor  1  Christ  forbade  the  twelve  to 
carry  with  them  either  gold  or  two  coats, 
because  the  duties  of  the  ministry  cannot 
be  discharged,  unless  there  is  a  freedom 
from  all  other  care  ;  and  the  Pope  would 
at  the  same  time  govern  the  Empire,  and 
remain  Pope !" 

Luther  went  on  to  strip  the  Pontiff  of 
his  spoils  :  "  Let  the  Pope  renounce  all 
pretensions  to  the  kingdom  of  Naples 
and  Sicily.  He  has  no  more  right  to  it 
than  I  have.  It  is  without  any  just 
claim,  and  inconsistent  with  the  direc- 
tions of  Christ,  that  he  holds  possession 
of  Bologna,  Imola,  Ravenna,  Romagna, 
the  Marches  of  Ancona,  &c.  l  No  man 
that  warreth]  says  St.  Paul,  '  entangleth 
himself  with  the  affairs  of  this  life.'1  (2  Tim. 
ii.  4.)  And  the  Pope,  who  claims  to  be 
chief  of  the  Church  militant,  entangles 
himself  more  with  the  things  of  this  life, 
than  any  emperor  or  king.  We  must 
relieve  him  from  all  this  burden.  Let 
the  emperor  put  into  the  hands  of  the 
Pope  the  Bible  and  mass-book,  in  order 
that  his  holiness  may  leave  government 
for  kings,  and  keep  to  preaching  and 
praying."* 

He  was  quite  as  earnest  against  the 
Pope's  ecclesiastical  authority  in  Ger- 
many, as  against  his  temporal  power  in 
Italy.  "  As  a  first  step,"  says  he,  "  it  be- 
hoves us  to  expel  from  all  the  German 
States  the  Pope's  legates,  and  the  pre- 
tended benefits  which  they  sell  us  at  their 
weight  in  gold,  and  which  are  mere  im- 
postures. They  take  our  money,  and 
for  what  ?  for  legalizing  ill-gotten  gains 
— for  dissolving  the  sacredness  of  oaths — 
for  teaching  us  to  break  faith — for  in- 
structing us  in  sin,  and  leading  us  di- 
rectly to  hell.  Hear  this — O  Pope  !  not 
'  most  holy' — but  most  sinning  !  May 
God,  from  his  throne  on  high,  hurl  thy 
throne  ere  long  to  the  bottomless  pit !" 

The  Christian  tribune  proceeded. 
Having  summoned  the  Pope  to  his  baf, 
he  cited  before  him  all  the  corruptions 
which  followed  in  the  train  of  the  Papa- 
cy, and  began  to  sweep  from  the  floor  of 
the  Church,  the  rubbish  that  encumbered 
it.     He  commenced  with  the  monks : 


*  Ihm  die  Biblien  und  Betbiicher  dafiir  anzei- 
gen — und  er  predige  und  bete. — (L.  Opp.  xvii. 

472.) 


"  Now  then  I  come  to  that  slothful 
crew  who  promise  much  but  do  little. 
Bear  with  me,  my  friends,  I  mean  you 
well ;  what  I  have  to  say  to  you  is  a 
truth  both  sweet  and  bitter — it  is  that  no 
more  cloisters  must  be  built  for  mendicant 
friars.  God  knows  we  have  enough  al- 
ready, and  would  to  heaven  they  were 
all  levelled  with  the  ground  !  Vaga- 
bonding through  a  country  never  has 
done,  and  never  can  do  good." 

The  marriage  of  ecclesiastics  comes 
next.  It  was  the  first  time  that  Luther 
had  spoken  on  that  subject : 

"  To  what  a  condition  is  the  clergy 
fallen,  and  how  many  priests  do  we  find 
burdened  with  women,  and  children,  and 
their  bitter  remorse,  while  no  one  comes 
to  their  aid  !  It  may  suit  the  Pope  and 
the  bishops  to  let  things  go  on  as  they 
list,  and  that  which  is  lost  continue  lost : 
be  it  so.  But  for  my  part,  I  will  deliver 
my  conscience.  I  will  open  my  mouth 
freely  :  let  pope,  bishop,  or  who  ever  will, 
take  offence  at  it !  I  say  then,  that  ac- 
cording to  the  appointment  of  Christ  and 
his  apostles,  every  town  should  have  a 
pastor,  or  bishop,  and  that  this  pastor  may 
have  one  wife,  as  St.  Paul  writes  to  Tim- 
othy :  '  Let  the  bishop  be  the  husband  of 
one  wife,'  (Tim.  iii.  2),  and  as  is  still  the 
practice  in  the  Greek  church.  But  the 
devil  has  persuaded  the  Pope,  as  St.  Paul 
tells  Timothy  (1  Tim.  iv.  1—3),  'to  for- 
bid' the  clergy  'to  marry.'  And  hence 
miseries  innumerable.  What  is  to  be 
done  1  What  resource  for  so  many  pas- 
tors, irreproachable  in  every  thing,  ex- 
cept, that  fhey  live  in  secret  commerce 
with  a  woman  to  whom  they  would, 
with  all  their  heart,  be  joined  in  wed- 
lock? Ah!  let  them  set  their  con- 
sciences at  rest !  let  them  take  this  wo- 
man for  their  lawful  wife,  let  them  live 
virtuously  with  her,  without  troubling 
themselves  whether  it  please  the  pope  or 
not.  The  salvation  of  the  soul  is  of  more 
consequence  than  tyrannous  and  arbitrary 
laws,  which  come  not  from  the  Lord." 

It  is  in  this  way  that  the  Reformation 
sought  to  restore  purity  of  morals  in  the 
Church.     The  Reformer  continued  : 

"  Let  festivals  be  abolished,  and  none 
observed  but  Sunday  :  or  if  it  is  wished 
to  keep  the  great  Christian  festivals,  let 
them  be  celebrated  only  in  the  morning, 
and  the  rest  of  the  day  be  regarded  as  a 


234 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


working-day.  For  since  people  do  no- 
thing on  feast-days  but  drink,  play,  run 
into  vice,  or  waste  their  time  in  idleness, 
there  is  much  more  offence  to  God  on 
these  days  than  on  others." 

He  then  turns  to  the  dedication  of 
churches,  which  he  designates  mere  tav- 
erns ;  and  next  notices  the  customary 
fasts  and  the  different  religious  fraterni- 
ties.— He  insists  not  only  against  the 
abuses  of  these  things,  but  aims  to  put 
an  end  to  schisms.  "  It  is  time,"  he  says, 
"  that  we  should  take  a  serious  interest 
in  the  affair  of  the  Bohemians;  that  we 
should  lay  aside  hatred  and  envy,  and 
unite  with  them."  He  proposes  some 
excellent  measures  of  conciliation,  and 
adds  :  "  It  is  thus  that  we  ought  to  con- 
vince heretics  by  Scripture,  following  in 
this  the  example  of  the  early  fathers,  and 
not  exterminate  them  by  fire.  According 
to  the  contrary  course,  the  executioners 
would  be  the  best  teachers  in  the  world. 
Oh !  would  to  God  that  on  both  sides 
we  would  stretch  out  the  right  hand  of 
brotherly  humility,  instead  of  erecting 
ourselves  in  the  opinion  of  our  strength 
of  argument  and  right.  Charity  is  more 
needed  than  the  Roman  Papacy.  I  have 
done  all  in  my  power.  If  the  Pope  and 
his  adherents  offer  opposition,  on  their 
own  heads  must  rest  the  responsibility. 
The  Pope  ought  to  be  willing  to  surren- 
der every  thing — authority,  wealth,  and 
honour — if  by  so  doing  he  could  save  one 
soul.  But  he  would  rather  see  the  whole 
universe  perish,  than  yield  a  hair's-breadth 
of  the  power  he  has  usurped !  I  am  clear 
of  these  things."* 

After  this,  Luther  turns  to  the  univer- 
sities and  schools : 

"  I  fear  much,"  he  says,  "  that  the  uni- 
versities will  be  found  to  be  great  gates 
leading  down  to  hell,  unless  they  take 
diligent  care  to  explain  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, and  to  engrave  them  in  the  hearts 
of  our  youth.  I  would  not  advise  any 
one  to  place  his  child  where  the  Holy 
Scriptures  are  not  regarded  as  the  rule 
of  life.  Every  institution  where  God's 
word  is  not  diligently  studied,  must  be- 
come corrupt."!    Weighty  words  !  which 

*  Nun  liess  er  ehe  die  Welt  untergehen,  ehe 
er  ein  Haar-breit  seiner  vermessenen  Gewalt 
liese  abbrechen. — (L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  483.) 

t  Es  muss  verderben,  alles  was  nicht  Gottes 
Wort  ohn  Unterlass  treibt.— (Ibid.  486.) 


governments,  fathers,  and  the  learned  in 
all  ages,  would  do  well  to  consider. 

Towards  the  close  of  his  appeal,  he 
reverts  to  the  Empire  and  the  Emperor  : 

"  The  Pope,"  he  says,  "  not  being  able 
to  manage  the  ancient  masters  of  the 
Roman  empire,  bethought  himself  of  the 
plan  of  appropriating  their  title  and  em- 
pire, and  then  giving  them  to  us  Ger- 
mans. Thus  it  has  happened  that  we 
have  become  vassals  of  the  Pope.  The 
Pope  took  possession  of  Rome,  extorting 
from  the  Emperor  an  oath  not  to  reside 
there ;  and  hence  it  is  that  the  Emperor 
is  Emperor  of  Rome,  without  Rome ! 
We  have  the  name,  and  the  Pope  the 
country  and  its  cities.  We  have  the 
title  and  arms  of  the  Empire :  the  Pope 
monopolizes  its  treasure,  power,  privi- 
leges, and  liberties.  He  devours  the 
kernel,  and  we  are  put  off  with  the  shell. 
It  is  thus  that  the  pride  and  tyranny  of 
Rome  has  at  all  times  abused  our  sim- 
plicity." 

"  But  may  God,  who  has  given  us 
such  an  empire,  now  stand  by  us  !  Let 
us  act  worthily  of  our  name,  our  title, 
and  our  arms  ;  let  us  preserve  our  liber- 
ty !  and  let  the  Romans  learn  what  it  is 
that  God  has  given  us  by  their  hands. 
They  boast  of  having  given  us  an  em- 
pire. Well,  then,  let  us  take  it,  for  it  is 
ours.  Let  the  Pope  abandon  Rome,  and 
all  he  holds  possession  of  in  the  Empire. 
Let  him  cease  his  taxes  and  extortions  ! 
Let  him  restore  to  us  our  liberty,  our 
power,  our  property,  our  honour,  our 
souls  and  bodies !  Let  the  Empire  be 
what  an  empire  ought  to  be,  and  let  the 
sword  of  princes  no  longer  be  lowered 
before  the  hypocritical  pretensions  of  a 
Pope  !" 

There  is  a  lofty  reason  in  these  words, 
besides  their  force  and  persuasion.  Did 
ever,  before,  any  orator  make  such  an 
appeal  to  the  whole  nobility  of  the  em- 
pire, and  the  Emperor  himself?  Far 
from  wondering  that  so  many  of  the 
German  States  separated  themselves  from 
Rome,  ought  we  not  rather  to  be  aston- 
ished that  all  Germany  did  not  rise  en 
masse  and  retake  from  Rome  that  impe- 
rial power  which  the  Popes  had  with  so 
much  effrontery  usurped  1 

Luther  terminates  this  bold  harangue 
with  these  words : 

"  I  car*  easily  believe  that  I  may  have 


THE  ROMAN   BULL,   1520. 


235 


held  too  high  a  tone,  that  I  may  have 
proposed  many  things  which  will  ap- 
pear impossible,  and  attacked  many  er- 
rors with  too  much  vehemence.  But 
what  can  I  do  ?  Let  the  world  be  of- 
fended rather  than  God  !  They  can  but 
take  my  life.  Again  and  again  I  have 
offered  peace  to  my  adversaries.  But 
God  has,  by  their  own  instruments,  com- 
pelled me  continually  to  uplift  a  louder 
and  a  louder  voice  against  them.  I  have 
one  indictment  in  reserve  against  Rome. 
If  their  ears  itch  to  know  what  it  is,  I 
will  utter  it  aloud.     Dost  thou  not  know, 

0  Rome  !  dost  thou  not  know  well  what 

1  mean  1  .  .  ." 

Allusion  is  probably  made  here  to  a 
tract  on  Popery  which  Luther  intended 
to  give  to  the  world,  but  which  has  not 
been  published.  The  prior  Burkhard 
wrote  at  the  time  to  Spengler ;  "  There 
is  also  a  little  book  de  execrandd  venere 
Romanorum  ;  but  it  is  kept  back."  The 
title  indicated  the  probability  that  it  would 
afford  great  occasion  of  scandal.  There 
is  reason  to  rejoice  that  Luther  had  the 
moderation  not  to  publish  this  work. 

"  If  my  cause  is  just,"  continued  he, 
"  it  will  be  its  lot  to  be  condemned  on 
earth,  and  espoused  only  by  Christ  in 
heaven.  Let  them  come  on  then,  popes, 
bishops,  priests,  monks,  and  doctors !  let 
them  bring  forth  all  their  zeal,  and  let 
loose  all  their  rage  !  Verily,  it  is  their 
part  to  persecute  the  truth,  as  every  age 
has  witnessed." 

But  where  did  this  monk  acquire  so 
clear  a  perception  of  public  affairs,  which 
the  States  of  the  Empire  themselves  often 
found  it  difficult  to  estimate  correctly? 
What  could  embolden  this  obscure  Ger- 
man to  stand  up  in  the  midst  of  his  own 
long-enslaved  nation,  and  to  strike  such 
mighty  blows  against  the  papal  authori- 
ty? What  is  this  mysterious  strength 
which  inspires  him  ?  May  we  not  an- 
swer that  he  had  heard  these  words  of 
God,  addressed  to  one  of  the  holy  men 
of  old :  "  Behold,  I  have  made  thy  face 
strong  against  their  faces;  as  an  ada- 
mant, harder  than  flint,  have  I  made  thy 
forehead  :  fear  them  not." 

Addressed  to  the  German  Nobility, 
Luther's  appeal  soon  reached  all  those 
for  whom  it  had  been  written.  It  spread 
through  Germany  with  wonderful  rapidi- 
ty.    His  friends  trembled ;  Staupitz  and 


those  who  preferred  a  moderate  course 
thought  the  blow  too  severe.  "  In  these 
days,"  answered  Luther,  "whatever  is 
quietly  mooted,  falls  into  oblivion,  and 
no  one  troubles  himself  about  it."*  At 
the  same  time,  he  evinced  perfect  sim- 
plicity and  humility.  He  had  no  con- 
ception of  the  prominent  part  he  was  to 
perform.  "  I  know  not  what  to  say  of 
myself,"  he  wrote  ;  "  perhaps  I  am  the 
precursor  of  Philip,  (Melancthon.)  and, 
like  Elias,  am  preparing  the  way  for  him 
in  spirit  and  in  power.  And  it  is  he  who 
will  one  day  trouble  Israel,  and  the  house 
of  Ahab."f 

But  there  was  no  need  to  wait  for  an- 
other than  him  who  had  already  ap- 
peared. The  house  of  Ahab  was  already 
shaken.  The  Appeal  to  the  German  No- 
bility had  appeared  on  the  26th  of  June, 
1520;  and  in  a  short  time  4000  copies 
were  sold, — an  extraordinary  number  for 
that  period.  The  astonishment  was  uni- 
versal. This  writing  produced  a  power- 
ful sensation  among  all  the  people.  The 
force,  the  spirit,  the  clearness,  and  the 
noble  daring  which  reigned  throughout 
it,  rendered  it  a  most  popular  tract.  In 
short,  it  was  felt  by  the  common  people 
as  proceeding  from  one  who  loved  them. 
The  hesitating  views  of  very  many  wise 
men  were  clearly  brought  out  and  the 
usurpations  of  Rome  were  made  evident 
to  the  minds  of  all.  No  one  at  Wittem- 
berg  any  longer  doubted  that  the  Pope 
was  Antichrist.  Even  the  Elector's 
court,  so  circumspect  and  timid,  mani- 
fested no  disapprobation,  and  seemed  to 
wait  the  result.  But  the  nobility  and  the 
people  did  not  wait.  The  whole  nation 
was  roused ;  the  voice  of  Luther  had 
deeply  moved  it ;  henceforth  it  was 
gained  over,  and  rallied  round  the  stand- 
ard that  he  raised.  Nothing  could  have 
been  more  favourable  to  the  Reformer 
than  this  publication.  In  palaces,  in  the 
castles  of  the  nobles,  in  the  citizens' 
dwellings,  and  even  in  the  cottages  of 
the  peasantry,  all  were  now  prepared, 
and  as  though  cased  in  steel,  against  the 
sentence  of  condemnation  which  was 
about  to  fall  upon  this  prophet  of  the  peo- 
ple. All  Germany  was  in  a  flame  ;  and 
whenever  the  Pope's  bull  might  come, 

*  Quae  nostro  saeculo  quiete  tractantur,  mex 
cad  ere  in  oblivionem. — (L.  Epp.  i.  479.) 
t  Ibid. 


236 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


it  would  not  avail  to  extinguish  the  con- 
flagration. 

At  Rome  every  thing  was  ready  for 
the  condemnation  of  the  defender  of  the 
Church's  liberties.  That  Church  had 
long  lived  in  profound  security.  For 
many  years  the  monks  of  Rome  had  ac- 
cused Leo  X.  of  caring  for  nothing  but 
luxury  and  pleasure,  and  wasting  time  in 
hunting,  plays,  and  music,*  while  the 
Church  was  nodding  to  its  ruin.  Now, 
at  length  aroused  by  the  clamours  of 
Eck, — who  had  come  from  Leipsic  to 
invoke  the  power  of  the  Vatican, — the 
Pope,  the  cardinals,  the  monks,  and  all 
Rome  were  awake  to  the  sense  of  dan- 
ger and  intent  on  saving  the  Papacy. 

In  fact,  Rome  was  brought  into  the 
necessity  of  having  recourse  to  measures 
of  stern  severity.  The  gauntlet  was 
thrown  down  ;  the  combat  must  be  to 
the  death. — It  was  not  the  abuses  of  the 
Pontiff's  authority  itself — that  Luther 
had  attacked.  At  his  bidding,  the  Pope 
was  required  to  descend  meekly  from  his 
throne,  and  become  again  a  simple  pastor 
or  bishop  on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber.  All 
the  dignitaries  of  the  Roman  hierarchy 
were  required  to  renounce  their  riches 
and  worldly  glory,  and  again  become 
the  elders  and  deacons  of  the  churches 
of  Italy.  All  that  splendour  and  power, 
which  had  for  centuries  dazzled  the  West, 
was  to  vanish  away  and  give  place  to  the 
humble  simplicity  of  worship  of  the  first 
Christians.  Doubtless  God  could  have 
wrought  these  changes,  and  He  will  do 
so  in  his  own  time  ;  but  they  could  not 
be  looked  for  from  man.  And  even  if  a 
people  had  been  found  so  disinterested 
and  courageous  as  to  be  willing  to  over- 
turn the  ancient  and  costly  edifice  of  the 
Roman  Church,  thousands  of  priests  and 
bishops  would  have  put  forth  their  hands 
to  save  it  from  its  fall.  The  Pope  had 
received  his  power  under  the  express 
condition  of  defending  the  dominion  con- 
fided to  him.  Rome  believed  herself  to 
be  set  by  God  for  the  government  of  the 
Church.  We  cannot,  therefore,  be  sur- 
prised that  she  stood  prepared  to  hurl  the 
most  terrible  judgments.  And  yet  for  a 
while  she  hesitated.  Many  cardinals, 
and  the  Pope  himself,  had  no  wish  to 

*  E  sopra  tutto  musico  eccellentissimo,  e  quan- 
do  el  canta  con  qualche  uno,  H  far  donar  cento  e 
pia  ducati.— (Zorsi  M.  S.  C.) 


resort  to  severe  measures.  The  states- 
manlike Leo  was  well  aware  that  a  sen- 
tence, the  execution  of  which  depended 
on  the  rather  doubtful  consent  of  the  civil 
power,  might  seriously  compromise  the 
authority  of  the  Church.  He  saw  be- 
sides that  the  violent  measures  already 
resorted  to  had  but  increased  the  evil. 
Might  not  this  Saxon  monk  be  gained 
over?  asked  the  politicians  of  Rome. 
Was  it  possible  that  the  Church's  power, 
aided  by  Italian  artifice,  should  fail  to 
accomplish  its  object?  Negociation  must 
yet  be  tried. 

Eck,  therefore,  found  many  difficulties 
to  contend  with.  He  tried  every  expe- 
dient ;  labouring  incessantly  to  prevent 
any  concessions  to  what  he  deemed  here- 
sy. In  his  daily  walks  through  Rome 
he  loudly  vaunted  his  anger,  and  called 
for  vengeance.  He  was  quickly  joined 
by  the  fanatical  party  of  the  monks. 
Emboldened  by  these  allies,  he  besieged 
the  Pope  and  the  cardinals  with  fresh 
courage.  According  to  him,  any  attempt 
at  conciliation  was  useless.  Such  efforts, 
said  he,  are  mere  fancies  and  remote  ex- 
pectations. He  knew  the  danger,  for  he 
had  wrestled  with  the  audacious  monk. 
He  saw  the  necessity  for  cutting  off  this 
gangrened  member,  lest  the  disorder 
should  spread  throughout  the  body.  The 
vehement  disputer  of  Leipsic  met  and 
removed  objection  after  objection,  and 
with  difficulty  persuaded  the  Pope.*  He 
was  resolved  to  save  Rome  in  spite  of 
herself.  He  left  no  stone  unturned.  For 
hours  together  he  continued  in  close  de- 
liberation with  the  Pontiff  f  He  excited 
the  court  and  the  convents,  the  people 
and  the  church.  "  Eck  is  moving  against 
me,"  says  Luther,  "  the  lowest  depths  of 
hell ;  he  has  set  the  forests  of  Lebanon 
in  a  blaze."|  At  length  he  carried  his 
point.  The  politic  counsellors  were 
overborne  by  the  fanatics  who  were  ad- 
mitted to  the  papal  councils.  Leo  gave 
way.  The  condemnation  of  Luther  was 
determined  on,  and  Eck  began  to  breathe 
freely.  His  pride  was  flattered  by  the 
thought  that  he  had  decided  the  ruin  of 

*  Sarpi  Hist,  du  Concile  de  Trente. 

+  Stetimus  nuper,  papa,  duo  cardinales — et 
ego  per  quinque  horas  in  deliberatione  .  .  .  (Eckii 
Epistola,  3  Maii.  L.  Opp.  lat.  ii.  48/> 

t  Impetraturus  abyssos  abyssorum — succen- 
surus  saltum  Libani. — (L.  Epp.  i.  421,  429.) 


THE  ROMAN   BULL,  1520. 


237 


his  heretical  rival,  and  thus  saved  the 
Church.  "  It  was  well,"  said  he,  "  that 
I  came  at  this  time  to  Rome,  for  the  er- 
rors of  Luther  were  but  little  known  there. 
It  will  one  day  be  known  how  much  I 
have  done  in  behalf  of  this  cause."* 

Thus  did  God  send  out  a  spirit  of  in- 
fatuation upon  the  doctors  of  Rome.  It 
had  become  necessary  that  the  separation 
between  truth  and  error  should  be  effect- 
ed, and  it  was  error  that  was  destined  to 
make  the  separation.  Had  matters  been 
brought  to  an  accommodation,  it  could 
only  have  been  at  the  expense  of  truth  ; 
but  to  take  away  from  truth  the  smallest 
portion  of  itself  is  paving  the  way  for  its 
utter  loss  and  annihilation.  In  this  re- 
spect Truth  resembles  the  insect  which 
is  said  to  die  if  deprived  of  one  of  its 
antennas.  Truth  requires  to  be  entire 
and  perfect  in  all  its  members,  in  order 
to  the  manifestation  of  that  power  by 
which  it  is  able  to  gain  wide  and,salutary 
victories,  and  extend  its  triumphs  to  fu- 
ture ages.  Blending  a  little  error  with 
truth,  is  like  casting  a  grain  of  poison  into 
a  full  dish ;  that  grain  suffices  to  change 
the  quality  of  the  food,  and  death,  slow 
but  certain,  is  the  result.  The  defenders 
of  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  against  the  at- 
tacks of  its  adversaries,  guard  its  ad- 
vanced outworks  as  jealously  as  the  cita- 
del itself;  for  the  enemy  once  in  posses- 
sion of  the  least  important  of  these  posts, 
is  not  far  removed  from  conquest.  The 
Roman  Pontiff,  at  the  period  we  are 
treating  of,  determined  upon  rending 
asunder  the  Church,  and  the  portion 
which  he  has  continued  to  hold,  though 
still  magnificent,  hides  in  vain,  under 
outward  pomp  and  ceremony,  the  princi- 
ple that  is  undermining  its  existence. 
Where  the  word  of  God  is,  there  only  is 
life.  Luther,  courageous  as  he  was, 
would  probably  have  been  silent  if  Rome 
herself  had  kept  silence,  or  shown  any 
desire  to  make  concessions.  But  God 
had  not  allowed  the  Reformation  to  be 
dependant  on  the  weakness  of  man's 
heart ;  Luther  was  in  the  hands  of  One 
whose  eye  penetrated  results.  Divine 
providence  made  use  of  the  Pope  to  break 
every  link  between  the  past  and  the 
future,  and  to  throw  the  Reformer  into  a 
course  altogether  unknown,  and  leading 

*  Bonum  fuit  me  venisse  hoc  tempore  Ro- 
mam. — (Epist.  Eckii.) 


he  knew  not  whither.  The  Papal  Bull 
was  Rome's  bill  of  divorce  addressed  to 
the  pure  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the 
person  of  one  who  was  then  standing  as 
her  humble  but  faithful  representative ; 
and  the  Church  accepted  it,  that  she 
might  thenceforward  hold  only  from  her 
Head  who  is  in  heaven. 

Whilst  at  Rome  the  condemnation  of 
Luther  was  sought  for  with  violent  ani- 
mosity, a  humble  priest,  an  inhabitant  of 
one  of  the  rude  towns  of  Switzerland, 
who  never  had  any  intercourse  with  the 
Reformer,  had  been  deeply  affected  at 
the  thought  of  the  blow  which  hung  over 
him,  and  whilst  even  the  intimates  of  the 
doctor  of  Wittemberg  were  silent  and 
trembling,  this  Swiss  mountaineer  formed 
the  resolution  to  do  his  utmost  to  arrest 
the  dreaded  bull !  His  name  was  Ulric 
Zwingle.  William  Des  Faucons,  sec- 
retary to  the  Pope's  Legate  in  Switzer- 
land, and  entrusted  by  the  Legate  with 
his  duties  during  his  absence,  was  his 
friend.  "  As  long  as  I  live,"  said  the 
Nuncio  ad  interim  only  a  few  days  be- 
fore, "  you  may  rest  assured  of  every 
thing  on  my  part  that  can  be  expected 
from  a  true  friend."  The  Swiss  priest, 
trusting  to  this  assurance,  repaired  to  the 
office  of  the  Roman  Nuncio  (so  at  least 
we  may  conclude  from  one  of  his  letters). 
It  was  not  for  himself  that  he  feared  the 
dangers  into  which  faith  brings  the  be- 
liever ;  he  knew  that  a  disciple  of  Christ 
must  be  ever  ready  to  lay  down  his  life. 
"  All  that  I  ask  of  Christ  for  myself," 
said  he  to  a  friend  to  whom  he  at  the 
time  unbosomed  his  anxiety  respecting 
Luther,  "  is  that  I  may  support  the  afflic- 
tions which  await  me  like  a  man.  I  am 
a  vessel  of  clay  in  his  hands ;  let  him 
break  me  in  shivers,  or  strengthen  me 
as  seems  good  to  him."*  But  the  Swiss 
preacher  dreaded  the  consequences  to  the 
Church  of  so  severe  a  blow  struck  at  the 
Reformer.  He  laboured  to  persuade  the 
representative  of  Rome  to  inform  the  Pope 
on  the  matter,  and  to  employ  all  the  means 
in  his  power  to  deter  him  from  excom- 
municating Luther. f     "  The  dignity  of 

*  Hoc  unum  Christum  obtestans,  ut  masculo 
omnia  pectore  ferre  donet,  et  me  figulimun  suum 
rumpat  aut  firmet,  ut  illi  placitum  sit. — (Zwinglii 
Epistolae,  curant.  Schulero  et  Schulthessio,  p. 
144.) 

t  Ut  pontificem  admoneat,  ne  excommunica- 


238 


HISTORY   OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


the  holy  see  itself  is  concerned  in  it," 
said  he  ;  "  for  if  things  come  to  such  a 
pass,  Germany,  enthusiastically  attached 
to  the  Gospel  and  its  teacher,  will  be  sure 
to  treat  the  Pope  and  his  anathemas  with 
contempt."*  The  effort  was  unavailing, 
and  it  appears  that,  even  at  the  time  it 
was  made,  the  blow  was  already  struck. 
Such  was  the  first  occasion  on  which  the 
path  of  the  Saxon  doctor  and  that  of  the 
Swiss  priest  were  so  ordered  as  to  meet 
together.  We  shall  again  find  the  latter 
in  the  course  of  this  history,  and  shall 
behold  him  developing  his  character,  and 
growing  by  degrees  to  lofty  stature  in  the 
church  of  the  Lord. 

The  condemnation  of  Luther  once  de- 
termined on,  new  difficulties  arose  in  the 
bosom  of  the  consistory.  The  divines 
proposed  to  proceed  immediately  to  ful- 
minate the  sentence ;  the  civilians,  on 
the  contrary,  desired  to  commence  by  a 
citation.  "  Was  not  Adam,"  said  they, 
appealing  to  their  colleagues,  "  cited 
before  he  was  condemned  ?  '  Adam, 
where  art  thou?'  said  the  Lord.  In  the 
instance  of  Cain  likewise  :  '  Where  is 
thy  brother  Abel?'  asked  the  Eternal." 
To  these  singular  arguments  drawn  from 
holy  Writ,  the  canonists  added  conside- 
rations derived  from  natural  law.  "  Evi- 
dence of  a  crime,"  they  said,  "  cannot 
take  from  any  criminal  the  right  of  de- 
fending himself  against  the  charge."!  It 
is  pleasing  to  trace  such  principles  of 
equity  in  a  Romish  synod.  But  these 
scruples  did  not  suit  the  theologians  of 
the  assembly,  who,  carried  away  by  pas- 
sion, thought  only  of  setting  to  work 
quickly.  It  was  finally  arranged  that 
Luther's  doctrine  should  be  condemned 
immediately,  and  that  as  to  himself  and 
his  adherents,  a  term  of  sixty  days  should 
be  granted  them ;  after  which,  if  they 
did  not  recant  their  opinions,  they  should 
be  all  ipso  facto  excommunicated.  De 
Vio,  who  had  returned  from  Germany 
sick,  had  himself  carried  on  his  couch  to 
the  assembly,  unwilling  to  miss  this  petty 
triumph,  which  afforded  him  some  con- 
solation,   Though  defeated  at  Augsburg, 

tionem  ferat. — (Zwinglii  Epistola?,  curant.  Schu- 
lero  et  Schulthessio,  p.  144.) 

*  Nam  si  feratur,  auguror  Germanos  cum  ex- 
communicatione  pontificem  quoque  contemp- 
turos. — (Ibid.) 

t  Sarpi  Hist,  du  Concile  de  Trente,  i.  12. 


he  claimed  to  take  part  at  Rome  in  con- 
demning the  unconquerable  monk,  whom 
his  learning,  acuteness,  and  authority  had 
failed  to  humble.  Luther  was  not  there 
to  answer  :  hence  the  boldness  of  De  Vio. 
On  the  15th  of  June  the  sacred  college 
agreed  on  the  condemnation,  and  gave 
their  approbation  to  the  celebrated  bull. 

"Arise,  O  Lord!"  said  the  Roman 
Pontiff,  speaking  at  this  solemn  moment 
as  Vicar  of  God  and  Head  of  the  Church, 
"  arise,  and  remember  the  reproaches 
wherewith  fools  reproach  thee  all  day 
long.  Arise,  O  Peter !  remember  thy 
holy  Roman  Church,  mother  of  all  the 
churches,  and  mistress  of  the  faith.  Arise, 
O  Paul !  for  a  new  Porphyry  is  here,  at- 
tacking thy  doctrines  and  the  holy  popes, 
our  predecessors.  Finally,  arise,  O  as- 
sembly of  all  the  saints  !  holy  Church  of 
God !  and  intercede  for  us  with  God 
Almighty."* 

The  Pope  proceeds  to  cite  as  perni- 
cious, scandalous  and  corrupt,  forty-one 
propositions  of  Luther,  in  which  the  lat- 
ter explained  the  "  sound  doctrine"  of 
the  Gospel.  The  following  are  included 
in  the  propositions  condemned  : — - 

B  To  deny  that  sin  remains  in  the  in- 
fant after  baptism  is  to  trample  under  foot 
St.  Paul  and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

"  A  new  life  is  the  best  and  highest 
penitence." 

"  To  burn  heretics  is  contrary  to  the 
will  of  the  Holy  Spirit,"  &c.  &c. 

"  As  soon  as  this  bull  shall  be  pub- 
lished," continues  the  Pope,  "  the  bishops 
are  to  search  diligently  for  the  writings 
of  Martin  Luther  in  which  these  errors 
are  contained,  and  to  burn  them  publicly 
and  solemnly  in  the  presence  of  the  clergy 
and  of  the  laity.  As  to  Martin  himself, 
what  is  there,  in  the  name  of  Heaven, 
that  we  have  not  done  1  Imitating  the 
goodness  of  God  Almighty,  we  are  ready, 
notwithstanding,  to  receive  him  again 
into  the  bosom  of  the  Church,  and  we 
allow  him  sixty  days  to  forward  to  us  his 
recantation  in  writing,  attested  by  two 
prelates ;  or  rather,  (which  would  be 
more  satisfactory)  to  present  himself  be- 
fore us  in  Rome,  that  none  may  any 
more  doubt  his  obedience.  In  the  mean 
time,  he  must  from  this  moment  cease 
preaching,  teaching,  and  writing,  and 
commit  his  works  to  the  flames.     And  if 

*  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  305,  et  Opp.  lat.  i.  32. 


THE  ROMAN  BULL,   1520. 


239 


he  do  not  recant  within  the  space  of  sixty- 
days,  we,  by  these  presents,  sentence  him- 
self and  his  adherents  as  open  and  con- 
tumacious heretics."  The  Pope  after- 
wards pronounces  a  long  train  of  excom- 
munications, maledictions,  and  interdicts 
against  Luther  and  all  his  partisans,  with 
orders  to  seize  their  persons  and  send 
them  to  Rome.*  It  is  easy  to  guess 
what  would  have  become  of  these  gener- 
ous confessors  of  the  Gospel  in  the  dun- 
geons of  the  Papacy. 

The  storm  was  thus  gathering  oveT 
the  head  of  Luther ;  the  bull  was  pub- 
lished :  and  for  centuries  Rome  had  not 
uttered  the  sentence  of  condemnation 
without  following  it  with  the  stroke  of 
death.  This  murderous  message  from 
the  seven-hilled  city  was  to  reach  the 
Saxon  monk  in  his  cloister.  The  mo- 
ment was  well  chosen.  The  new  Em- 
peror, who  had  so  many  reasons  for  cul- 
tivating friendly  relations  with  the  Pope, 
would  no  doubt  hasten  to  recommend 
himself  by  sacrificing  to  him  an  obscure 
monk.  Leo  X.,  the  cardinals,  and  all 
the  partisans  of  Rome  exulted,  fancying 
they  saw  their  enemy  at  then:  feet. 

While  the  eternal  city  was  thus  agi- 
tated, events  of  more  tranquil  character 
were  passing  at  Wittemberg.  Melanc- 
thon  was  shedding  there  a  soft,  but  bril- 
liant light.  Near  two  thousand  auditors 
from  Germany,  England,  the  Nether- 
lands, France,  Italy,  Hungary,  and 
Greece,  were  frequently  assembled 
around  him.  He  was  twenty-four  years 
of  age,  and  had  not  taken  orders.  Every 
house  in  Wittemberg  was  open  to  this 
young  professor,  so  learned,  and  at  the 
same  time  so  amiable.  Foreign  univer- 
sities, Ingolstadt  in  particular,  sought  to 
attract  him  within  their  walls.  His 
friends  at  Wittemberg  resolved  to  retain 
him  among  them,  by  inducing  him  to 
marry.  Although  he  desired  a  partner 
for  his  dear  Philip,  Luther  declared  he 
would  not  be  his  adviser  in  this  affair. 
Others  took  that  part  upon  themselves. 
The  young  doctor  was  a  frequent  visitor 
at  the  house  of  the  burgomaster  Krapp, 
who  belonged  to  an  ancient  family. 
Krapp  had  a  daughter  named  Catherine, 

*  Sub  praedictis  paenis,  prsefatum  Lutherum, 
complices  adhoerentes,  receptatores  et  fautores, 
personaliter  oapiant  et  ad  nos  mittant. — (Bulla 
Leonis,  loc.  cit.) 


of  a  mild  and  amiable  character,  and 
great  sensibility.  Melancthon's  friends 
urged  him  to  ask  her  in  marriage  ;  but 
the  young  scholar  was  buried  in  his 
books,  and  would  not  hear  of  any  thing 
else.  His  Greek  authors,  and  his  Testa- 
ment, formed  his  delight.  He  met  the 
arguments  of  his  friends  with  other  ar- 
guments. At  length  his  consent  was 
obtained.  The  necessary  steps  were 
taken  for  him  by  his  friends,  and  Cathe- 
rine was  given  to  him  for  a  wife.  He 
received  her  very  coldly,*  and  said  with 
a  sigh  :  "  God  has  then  willed  it  so  ?  I 
must  forego  my  studies  and  my  pleasures, 
in  compliance  with  the  wishes  of  my 
friends."!  Yet  he  was  not  insensible 
to  Catherine's  merits.  "  Her  character 
and  education,"  said  he,  "  are  such  as  I 
might  have  desired  of  God.  Ssfr$  b  Qcos 
T£KiiaipoiT6.+  And  truly  she  is  deserving 
of  a  better  husband."  The  match  was 
agreed  on  during  the  month  of  August ; 
the  espousals  took  place  on  the  25th  of 
September,  and  at  the  end  of  November, 
the  marriage  was  celebrated.  Old  John 
Luther,  with  his  wife  and  daughters, 
came  to  Wittemberg  on  this  occasion  ;^ 
and  many  learned  and  distinguished 
persons  attended  at  the  celebration  of 
the  wedding. 

The  young  bride  was  as  remarkable 
for  her  warmth  of  affection  as  the  young 
professor  for  his  coldness  of  manner. 
Ever  full  of  anxiety  for  her  husband, 
Catherine  was  alarmed  by  the  least  ap- 
pearance of  danger  to  the  object  of  her 
affection.  When  Melancthon  proposed 
to  take  any  step  that  might  compromise 
his  safety,  she  overwhelmed  him  with 
entreaties  to  renounce  his  intention.  "I 
was  obliged."  wrote  Melancthon,  on  one 
of  these  occasions,  "  I  was  obliged  to  yield 
to  her  weakness — it  is  our  lot."  How 
many  instances  of  unfaithfulness  in  the 
Church  may  have  a  similar  origin  !  Per- 
haps to  the  influence  of  Catherine  we 
should  attribute  the  timidity  and  fears  for 
which  her  husband  has  been  often  blamed. 
Catherine  was  no  less  tender  and  affec- 

*  Uxor  enim  datur  mihi  non  dico  quam  frigenti. 
—(Corp.  Ref.  i.  211.) 

t  Ege  meis  studiis.  mea  me  voluptate  fraudo. — 
(Ibid.  i.  265.) 

t  May  God  bring  the  affair  to  a  happy  issue ! 
—(Ibid.  i.  212.) 

\  Parentes  mei  cum  sororibus  nuptias  honora- 
runt  Philippi.— (L.  Epp.  i.  528.) 


240 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


tionate  as  a  mother  than  as  a  wife.  She 
gave  liberally  to  the  poor.  "Forsake 
me  not,  O  God-  when  I  am  old  and 
grey-headed !"  Such  was  the  ordinary 
ejaculation  of  this  pious  and  timid  soul. 
The  heart  of  Melancthon  was  soon  won 
over  by  the  affection  of  his  wife.  When 
he  had  once  tasted  the  sweets  of  domestic 
life,  he  became  fully  sensible  of  their 
value.  He  was  formed  indeed  to  relish 
them,  and  no  where  was  he  more  happy 
than  with  his  Catherine  and  his  children. 
A  French  traveller,  having  one  day  found 
the  "  master  of  Germany"  rocking  the 
cradle  of  his  child  with  one  hand  and 
holding  a  book  in  the  other,  started  with 
surprise.  But  Melancthon,  without  being 
disconcerted,  explained  to  him  with  so 
much  earnestness  the  high  value  of  chil- 
dren in  the  sight  of  God,  that  the  stran- 
ger left  the  house  wiser,  to  use  his  own 
words,  than  he  had  entered  it. 

The  marriage  of  Melancthon  added  a 
domestic  hearth  to  the  Reformation. 
There  was  thenceforward  in  Wittemberg 
one  family  whose  house  was  open  to  all 
those  who  were  breathing  the  new  life. 
The  concourse  of  strangers  was  im- 
mense.* People  came  to  Melancthon 
concerning  a  thousand  different  matters ; 
and  the  established  rule  was  to  refuse 
nothing  to  any  one.f  The  young  pro- 
fessor was  especially  disinterested  on  oc- 
casions of  doing  good.  When  his  money 
was  spent  he  would  secretly  part  with  his 
table  service  to  some  dealer,  but  little 
concerning  himself  for  the  loss  of  it,  so 
that  he  might  have  wherewithal  to  re- 
lieve the  distressed. 

Accordingly,  "  it  would  have  been  im- 
possible," says  his  friend  Camerarius, 
"  to  have  provided  his  own  wants  and 
those  of  his  family,  if  a  divine  hidden 
blessing  had  not  furnished  him  from 
time  to  time  with  the  means."  His  good- 
nature was  extreme.  He  had  some  an- 
cient gold  and  silver  medals,  remarkable 
for  their  legends  and  impressions.  One 
day  he  was  shewing  them  to  a  stranger 
who  was  on  a  visit.  "  Take  any  one 
you  would  like,"  said  Melancthon  to 
him. — "  I  would  like  them  all,"  answered 

*  Videres  in  aedibus  illis  perpetuo  accedentes 
et  introeuntes  ct  discedentes  atque  exeuntes  ali- 
quos. — (Camerar.  Vita  Melancth.  p.  40.) 

1  Ea  domus  disciplina  erat,  ut  nihil  cuiquam 
negaretur. — (Ibid.) 


the  stranger.  "  I  own,"  says  Philip,  "  I 
was  at  first  offended  at  this  unreasonable 
request;  nevertheless,  I  gave  them  to 
him."* 

There  was  in  the  writings  of  Melanc- 
thon a  delightful  odour  of  antiquity, 
which  gave  them  an  inexpressible  charm, 
while  it  did  not  prevent  the  savour  of 
Christ  from  being  at  the  same  time  ex- 
haled from  every  part  of  them.  There 
is  not  one  of  his  letters  to  his  friends,  in 
which  one  is  not  naturally  reminded  of 
the  wisdom  of  Homer,  of  Plato,  of  Cice- 
ro, and  of  Pliny — Christ  remaining  al- 
ways his  Master  and  his  God.  Spalatin 
had  desired  of  him  an  explanation  of  this 
saying  of  Jesus  Christ :  "  Without  me, 
ye  can  do  nothing."  (John  xv.  5.)  Me- 
lancthon referred  him  to  Luther  :  "  '  Cur 
agam  gestum  spectante  Roscio,'  to  use 
the  words  of  Cicero,"f  said  he.  He  then 
continues :  "  The  passage  teaches  that 
we  must  be  absorbed  by  Christ,  so  that 
we  ourselves  should  no  longer  act,  but 
that  Christ  should  live  in  us.  As  the 
divine  nature  has  been  made  one  body 
with  man  in  Christ,  so  should  man  be 
incorporated  by  faith  with  Jesus  Christ." 

This  celebrated  scholar  usually  retired 
to  rest  shortly  after  supper.  At  two  or 
three  o'clock  in  the  morning  he  was  at 
work.;}:  It  was  during  these  early  studies 
that  his  best  works  were  composed.  His 
manuscripts  were  usually  laid  on  his 
table,  exposed  in  view  of  all  who  went  in 
and  out,  so  that  he  was  robbed  of  several 
of  them.  When  he  had  invited  any 
friends  to  his  house,  he  requested  one  or 
other  of  them,  before  sitting  down  to 
table,  to  read  some  short  composition, 
either  in  prose  or  verse.  When  he  made 
a  journey,  he  always  took  with  him  some 
young  persons  as  companions.  He  con- 
versed with  them  in  a  manner  both  in- 
structive and  entertaining.  If  conversa- 
tion flagged,  each  was  required  to  recite 
in  turn  some  passages  from  the  ancient 
poets.  He  frequently  resorted  to  irony, 
tempering  it,  however,  by  much  sweet- 
ness. "  He  does  but  prick  the  skin," 
said  he,  speaking  of  himself,  "  he  never 
inflicts  a  wound." 

*  Sed  dedisse  nihilominus  illos. — (Camerar. 
Vita  Melancth.  43.) 

t  "  Why  should  I  speak  in  the  presence  of 
Eoscius?"— (Corp.  Reform.  Ep.  Apr.  13,  1520.) 

t  Surgebat  mox  aut  non  longo  intervallo  post 
mediam  noctem. — (Camerar.  p.  56.) 


THE   ROMAN   BULL,   1520. 


241 


Learning  was  his  passion.  The  great 
object  of  his  life  was  to  diffuse  a  love  of 
letters  and  general  information.  Let  us 
not  forget  that  the  literature  highest  in 
his  estimation  was  the  Holy  Scripture, 
and  only  subordinately  the  literature  of 
the  heathen.  "  I  devote  myself,"  said  he, 
"  to  one  thing  only  ;  the  defence  of  learn- 
ing. We  must  by  our  example  kindle 
the  admiration  of  youth  for  knowledge, 
and  lead  them  to  love  it  for  its  own  sake, 
not  for  the  gain  that  is  to  be  made  of  it. 
The  ruin  of  letters  brings  with  it  the  de- 
struction of  all  that  is-good  :  religion, 
morals,  the  things  of  God,  and  the  things 

of  man *     The  better  a  man  is, 

the  greater  is  his  desire  to  preserve 
knowledge ;  for  he  knows  that  of  all 
plagues  ignorance  is  the  most  pernicious." 

Some  time  after  his  marriage  Melanc- 
thon  went  to  Bretten,  in  the  Palatinate, 
in  company  with  Camerariiis  and  some 
other  friends,  on  a  visit  to  his  affectionate 
mother,  ^.s  soon  as  he  caught  a  view 
of  his  native  town,  he  alighted,  and 
kneeling  down  thanked  God,  for  having 
permitted  him  to  see  it  once  more.  Mar- 
garet, embracing  her  son,  almost  swooned 
for  joy.  She  pressed  him  to  fix  his  abode 
at  Bretten,  and  was  urgent  in  entreaties 
that  he  would  continue  in  the  faith  of 
his  fathers.  Melancthon  excused  him- 
self, but  with  much  moderation  and  re- 
serve, from  fear  of  wounding  his  mother's 
conscience.  He  grieved  at  parting  from 
her  :  and  whenever  any  traveller  brought 
him  news  from  his  native  town,  he  was 
as  merry,  he  said,  as  if  going  back  to 
childhood  itself.  Such,  in  the  touching 
privacy  of  domestic  life,  was  the  man 
who  was  one  of  the  chief  instruments  of 
the  religious  revolution  of  the  sixteenth 
century. 

The  family  peace  and  busy  studies  of 
Wittemberg  were  shortly  after  disturbed 
by  a  tumult.  The  students  quarrelled 
and  came  to  blows  with  the  citizens. 
The  rector  betrayed  great  want  of  ener- 
gy. The  grief  of  Melancthon  on  wit- 
nessing the  excesses  of  these  disciples  of 
learning  maybe  easily  imagined.  Luther 
was  indignant.  His  was  not  the  charac- 
ter that  would  conciliate  by  undue  con- 
cessions.    The  disgrace  these    disorders 

*  Religiomen,  mores,  hnmana  divinaque  omnia 
labefactat  literarum  inscitia  — (Corp.  Ref.  i.  207, 
July  22, 1520.) 

31 


brought  upon  the  University  deeply 
wounded  him.*  He  ascended  the  pul- 
pit, and  preached  with  great  force  against 
these  seditions;  calling  on  both  parties 
to  submit  themselves  to  the  magistrates.! 
His  discourse  occasioned  great  irritation. 
"  Satan,"  said  he,  "  not  being  able  to  pre- 
vail against  us  from  without,  seeks  to  in- 
jure us  from  within.  I  do  not  fear  him; 
but  I  fear  lest  the  anger  of  God  should 
fall  upon  us  for  not  having  fully  received 
his  word.  In  these  last  three  years,  1 
have  been  thrice  exposed  to  great  dan- 
ger:  in  1518  at  Augsburg,  in  1519  at 
Leipsic,  and  now  in  1520,  at  Wittemberg. 
It  is  neither  by  wisdom,  nor  by  violence, 
that  the  renovation  of  the  Church  will 
be  accomplished,  but  by  humble  prayer, 
and  a  bold  faith,  that  shall  range  Jesus 
Christ  on  our  side.|  O  my  friend,  join 
thy  prayers  to  mine,  that  the  evil  spirit 
may  not  be  permitted  to  use  this  little 
spark,  to  kindle  a  vast  conflagration." 

But  more  terrible  conflicts  awaited  Lu- 
ther.— Rome  was  brandishing  the  sword, 
with  which  she  was  about  to  strike  the 
preacher  of  the  Gospel.  The  rumour 
of  the  condemnation  which  was  about  to 
fall  upon  him,  far  from  depressing  the 
Reformer,  increased  his  courage.  He 
took  no  pains  to  parry  the  stroke  of  this 
haughty  power.  It  is  by  striking  yet 
more  terrible  blows  himself,  that  he  will 
baffle  those  of  his  adversaries.  While 
the  Transalpine  congregations  were  ful- 
minating their  anathemas  "against  him, 
he  was  planning  to  carry  the  sword  of 
the  word  into  the  midst  of  the  Italian 
states.  Letters  from  Venice  spoke  of  the 
favour  with  which  the  opinions  were 
there  received.  He  ardently  desired  to 
send  the  Gospel  beyond  the  Alps.  But 
evangelists  were  required  to  be  the  bear- 
ers of  it.  "  I  could  wish,"  said  he,  "  that 
we  had  living  books,  that  is  to  say,  preach- 
ers,^ and  that  we  could  multiply  and  pro- 
tect them  in  all  places,  that  they  might 
convey  to  the  people  the  knowledge  of 
divine  things.      The  Prince  could   not 

*  Urit  me  ista  confusio  aeademia?  nostra?. — 
(L.  Epp.  i.  467.) 

t  Commcndans  potestatem  magistratuum. — 
(Ibid.) 

t  Nee  pmdentia  nee  armis,  sed  humili 

oratione  et  forti  fide,  quibus  obtineamus  Chris- 
tum pro  nobis. — (Ibid.  p.  469.) 

§  Si  vivos  libros,  hoc  est  eoncionatores  posso- 
mus  multipltcare. — (L  Epp.  i.  491.) 


242 


HISTORY   OF  THE    REFORMATION. 


undertake  a  work  more  worthy  of  him- 
self. If  the  people  of  Italy  were  to  re- 
ceive the  truth,  our  cause  would  then  be 
unassailable."  It  does  not  appear  that 
this  project  of  Luther  was  realized.  At 
a  later  period,  it  is  true,  some  preachers 
of  the  Gospel,  Calvin  himself  among 
others,  resided' for  a  while  in  Italy:  but 
at  fthis  rime  no  steps  were  taken  to  ac- 
complish Luther's  plan.  He  had  looked 
for  help  to  one  of  the  princes  of  this  world. 
Had  lie  appealed  to  men  in  humble  sta- 
tion, but  full  of  zeal  for  the  kingdom  of 
God,  the  result  might  have  been  very 
different.  At  the  period  we  are  record- 
ing, the  idea  was  general  that  every  thing 
must  be  done  by  governments  ;  and  the 
association  of  private  individuals,  an 
agency  by  which  in  our  days  such  great 
things  are  accomplished  in  Christendom, 
was  almost  unknown. 

If  Luther  was  not  successful  in  his 
plans  for  spreading  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth  to  distant  countries,  he  was  but  the 
more  zealous  in  preaching  it  at  Jiome. 
It  was  at  this  time  that  he  delivered,  at 
Wittemberg,  his  discourse  on  the  office 
of  the  mass.*  In  this  discourse  he  de- 
claimed against  the  numerous  sects  of 
the  Romish  Church,  and  reproached  her, 
with  justice,  for  her  want  of  unity.  "  The 
multiplicity  of  laws  in  matters  of  con- 
science," he  exclaims,  "has  filled  the 
world  with  sects  and  divisions.  The  ha- 
tred thence  engendered  between  priests, 
monks,  and  laity,  is  even  greater  than 
that  which  exists  between  Christians  and 
Turks.  Nay  more  than  this  ;  priests  are 
mortal  enemies  to  priests,  and  monks  to 
monks.  Each  is  devoted  to  his  own  sect, 
and,  despises  all  others.  The  unity  and 
love  of  Christ  is  broken  up  and  destroyed." 
— He  then  attacks  the  opinion  that  the 
mass  is  a  sacrifice  and  has  any  power  in 
itself. — "  The  better  part  of  every  sacri- 
fice, and  consequently  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per," he  says,  "  is  in  the  word  and  the 
promises  of  God.  Without  faith  in  this 
word  and  in  these  promises,  the  sacra- 
ment is  but  dead  ;  it  is  a  body  without  a 
soul,  a  cup  without  wine,  a  purse  with- 
out money,  a  type  without  fulfilment,  a 
letter  without  meaning,  a  casket  without 
jewels,  a  sheath  without  a  sword." 

The  voice  of  Luther  was  not,  however, 
confined  within  the  limits  of  Wittemberg, 
*  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  490. 


and  if  he  did  not  find  missionaries  to  car- 
ry his  instructions  to  distant  parts,  God 
had  provided  a  missionary  of  a  new  kind. 
Printing  was  destined  to  supply  the  place 
of  preachers  of  the  Gospel.  The  press 
was  to  constitute  a  battery  which  should 
open  a  breach  in  the  Roman  fortress. 
The  mine  had  been  charged  by  Luther, 
and  the  explosion  shook  the  edifice  of 
Rome  to  its  foundations.  His  famous 
tract  on  the  Babylonian  Captivity  of  the 
Church  appeared  on  the  6th  of  October, 
1520.*  Never  had  any  one  evinced 
such  courage  in  circumstances  so  critical. 

In  this  work  he  begins  by  setting  forth 
with  admirable  irony,  all  the  advantages 
for  which  he  is  indebted  to  his  enemies : — 

"  Whether  I  will  or  no,"  says  he,  "  I 
learn  more  and  more  every  day,  urged 
on  as  I  am  by  so  many  celebrated  mas- 
ters. Two  years  ago  I  attacked  indul- 
gences ;  but  with  such  faltering  indeci- 
sion that  I  am  now  ashamed  of  it.  It, 
however,  is  not  to  be  wondered  at ;  for 
then  I  had  to  roll  forward  the  rock  by 
myself." 

He  then  returns  thanks  to  Prierias,  to 
Eck,  to  Emser,  and  to  his  other  adversa- 
ries. "  I  denied,"  he  continued,  "  that 
the  Papacy  was  from  God,  but  admitted 
that  it  stood  by  human  right.  But  now, 
after  having  read  all  the  subtleties  on 
which  these  worthies  set  up  their  idol,  I 
know  that  Papacy  is  nothing  but  the 
reign  of  Babylon,  and  the  violence  of  the 
mighty  hunter  Nimrod.  I  therefore  re- 
quest all  my  friends,  and  all  booksellers, 
that  they  will  burn  the  books  I  have 
before  written  on  this  subject,  and  in  their 
stead  substitute  this  single  proposition  : — 
'  The  Papacy  is  a  general  chase,  led  by 
the  Bishop  of  Rome,  and  having  for  its  ob- 
ject the  snaring  and  ruining  of  souls.'  "t 

Luther  afterwards  attacks  the  errors 
that  prevailed  with  respect  to  the  sacra- 
ments, monastic  vows,  &c.  He  reduces 
the  seven  sacraments  of  the  Church  to 
three ;  Baptism,  Penitence,  and  the 
Lord's  Supper.  He  explains  the  true  na- 
ture of  the  latter.  He  then  passes  on  to 
baptism,  and  it  is  here  especially  that  he 
establishes  the  excellence  of  Faith,  and 
makes  a  powerful  attack  upon  Rome. 
"  God,"  he  says,  "  has  preserved    to    us 

*  L.  Opp.  lat.  ii.  G3,  et  Leips.  xvii.  511. 
t  Papatus  est  robusta  venatio  Romani  episco- 
pi. — (L.  Opp.  lat.  ii.  64.) 


THE  ROMAN   BULL,   1520. 


243 


this  sacrament  alone  pure  from  human 
traditions.  God  has  said :  '  He  that  be- 
lieveth  and  is  baptized,  shall  be  saved.' 
This  promise  of  God  ought  to  be  prefer- 
red to  the  glory  of  all  works,  to  all  vows, 
satisfactions,  indulgences,  and  every  thing 
which  man  has  invented.  Now  on  this 
promise,  received  by  faith,  depends  our 
salvation.  If  we  believe,  our  heart  is 
strengthened  by  the  divine  promise;  and 
though  a  believer  should  be  bereft  of  all 
beside,  this  promise  which  he  believes" 
will  never  forsake  him.  With  this  he 
will  be  able  to  withstand  the  adversary 
who  assaults  his  soul.  It  will  be  his 
support  in  the  hour  of  death,  and  his 
plea  at  the  judgment-seat  of  God.  In 
all  his  trials  it  will  be  his  consolation 
that  he  can  say  :  God  is  faithful  to  his 
promise  :  I  have  received  the  pledge  of 
it  in  baptism :  if  God  is  for  me,  who  can 
be  against  me  1  Oh,  how  vich  is  the  bap- 
tized Christian  !  nothing  can  ruin  him, 
but  his  own  refusal  to  believe. 

"  Perhaps  the  baptism  of  little  chil- 
dren may  be  objected  to  what  I  say  as  to 
the  necessity  of  faith.  But  as  the  word 
of  God  is  mighty  to  change  the  heart  of 
an  ungodly  person,  who  is  not  less  deaf, 
nor  less  helpless  than  an  infant — so  the 
prayer  of  the  Church,  to  which  all  things 
are  possible,  changes  the  little  child,  by 
the  operation  of  the  faith  which  God 
pours  into  his  soul,  and  thus  purifies  and 
renews  it."* 

Having  explained  the  doctrine  of  bap- 
tism, Luther  makes  use  of  it  as  a  weapon 
against  the  Papacy.  If  the  Christian 
really  finds  all  his  salvation  in  renewal 
by  baptism  through  faith,  what  need  has 
he  of  the  prescriptions  of  Rome  ? 

"  For  this  reason,"  says  Luther,  "  I 
declare  that  neither  Pope,  nor  bishop, 
nor  any  other  man  livi»g,  has  authority 
to  impose  the  least  thing  upon  a  Christian 
without  his  own  consent.  Whatever  is 
done  otherwise,  is  done  by  an  arbitrary 
assumption. f    We  are  free  from  all  men. 

*  Sicut  enim  verb  urn  Dei  potcns  est  dum  so- 
nat,  etiam  impii  cor  immutare,  quod  non  minus 
surdum  et  incapax  quam  ullua  parvulus,  ita  per 
orationem  Ecclesite  offerentis  et  credentis,  par- 
vulus  fide  infusa  nmtatur,  mundatur  et  renova- 
tur. — (L.  Opp.  lat.  ii.  77.) 

t  Dico  itaque,  neque  papa,  neque  episcopus, 
ncque  ullus  hominum  habet  jus  unins  syilaba: 
constituendse  super  Christianum  hominem,  nisi 
id  fiat  ejusdem  consensu  ;  quidquid  aliter  fit,  ty- 
rannico  spiritu  fit. — (lb.  77.) 


The  vow  which  we  have  made  in  bap- 
tism is  of  itself  sufficient,  and  more  than 
we  can  ever  fulfil.*  All  other  vows,  then, 
may  be  dispensed  with.  Let  whoever 
enters  into  the  priesthood  or  joins  a  mo- 
nastic order,  be  assured  that  the  labours 
of  a  monk  or  of  a  priest,  however  ar- 
duous, differ  in  no  respect,  as  to  their  val- 
ue in  the  sight  of  God,  from  those  of  a 
peasant  working  in  his  field,  or  of  a  wo- 
man attending  to  the  duties  of  her 
house. f  God  esteems  all  things  accord- 
ing to  the  faith  whence  they  proceed. 
And  it  often  happens  that  the  simple  la- 
bour of  a  serving  man  or  woman  is  more 
acceptable  to  God  than  the  fastings  and 
works  of  a  monk,  because  in  these  last 
faith  is  wanting.  Christian  people  are 
the  true  people  of  God,  carried  captive 
to  Babylon,  and  there  stripped  of  what 
they  had  acquired  by  their  baptism." 

Such  were  the  means  by  which  the 
religious  revolution,  we  are  relating,  was  \ 
accomplished.  The  necessity  of  faith 
was  first  established,  and  then  the  Re- 
formers applied  it  to  demolish  and  bring 
to  dust  the  prevailing  superstitions.  It 
was  with  that  power,  which  is  of  God, 
and  which  can  remove  mountains,  that 
they  advanced  against  so  many  errors. 
These  words  of  Luther,  and  many  other 
similar  appeals,  circulating  far  and  wide 
through  cities,  convents,  and  country 
places,  became  the  leaven  which  leavened 
the  whole  mass. 

Luther  terminated  this  work  on  the 
Babylonian  Captivity  with  these  words : 

•'  I  hear  that  new  papal  excommunica- 
tions have  been  concocted  against  me. 
If  this  be  so,  this  book  may  be  regarded 
as  a  part  of  my  future  '  recantation.' 
The  rest  will  follow  shortly,  in  proof  of 
my  obedience,  and  the  whole  will,  by 
Christ's  help,  form  a  collection  such  as 
Rome  has  never  yet  seen  or  heard  of." 

After  this,  all  hope  of  reconciliation 
between  the  Pope  and  Luther  must  ne- 
cessarily have  vanished.  The  incom- 
patibility of  the  faith  of  the  Reformer  with 
the  Church's  teaching  could  not  but  be 

*  Generali  edicto  tollere  vota — abunde  enim 
vovimus  in  baptismo,  et  plus  quam  possimus  im- 
plere.— (lb.  78.) 

t  Opera  quantum  libet  sacra  et  ardua  religiowv 
rum  et  sacerdotum,  in  oculis  Dei  prorsus  nihil 
distare  ab  operibas  rustici  in  agro  laborantis  aut 
mulieris  in  domo  sua  curantis. — (lb.) 


244 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


evident  to  the  least  discerning.  But  at 
this  very  time  fresh  negociations  had  just 
commenced.  About  the  end  of  August, 
1520,  and  five  weeks  before  the  publica- 
tion of  the  "  Babylonian  Captivity,"  the 
chapter  of  the  Augustines  was  assembled 
at  Eisleben.  The  venerable  Staupitz 
resigned  on  this  occasion  the  office  of 
Vicar-general  of  the  order,  and  Wences- 
laus  Link,  who  had  accompanied  Luther 
to  Augsburg,  was  invested  with  that  dig- 
nity The  indefatigable  Miltitz  arrived 
suddenly  during  the  sitting  of  the  chap- 
ter.* He  was  eagerly  bent  on  reconcil- 
ing the  Pope  and  Luther.  His  self-love, 
his  avarice,  but  above  all  his  jealousy 
and  hatred  were  interested  therein.  The 
vain-glorious  boasting  of  Eck  had  thrown 
him  into  the  shade ;  he  knew  that  the 
doctor  of  Ingolstadt  had  disparaged  him 
at  Rome,  and  he  would  have  made  any 
sacrifice  to  baffle  the  plots  of  his  trouble- 
some rival  by  the  prompt  conclusion  of 
peace.  The  religious  bearing  of  the 
question  gave  him  little  or  no  concern. 
One  day,  as  he  himself  relates,  he  was  at 
table  with  the  bishop  of  Meissen  ;  and 
the  guests  had  drank  pretty  freely,  when 
a  new  work  of  Luther's  was  brought  in. 
It  was  opened  and  read ;  the  bishop 
went  into  a  passion :  the  official  swore  ; 
but  Miltitz  laughed  heartily. f  Miltitz 
dealt  with  the  Reformation  as  a  man  of 
the  world  ;  Eck  as  a  theologian. 

Stimulated  by  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Eck, 
Miltitz  addressed  to  the  chapter  of  the 
Augustines  a  discourse  delivered  with  a 
very  marked  Italian  accent,;}:  thinking  by 
this  means  to  impose  upon  his  good 
countrymen.  "  The  whole  order  of  the 
Augustines  is  compromised  in  this  af- 
fair," said  he:  "Point  out  to  me,  I  pray 
you,  some  moans  of  restraining  Luther."^ 
"  We  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  doc- 
tor," answered  the  fathers,  "  and  we 
should  not  know  what  advice  to  give 

}rou."     They  rested  their  answer,  doubt- 
ess,  on  the   fact  of  Luther  having  been 
released  by  Staupitz  at  Augsburg  from 

*  Nondum  tot  pressus  difficultatibus  animum 
desponderat  Miltitius — dignus  profecto  non  me- 
diocri  laude. — (Pallavicini,  i.  68.) 

t  Der  Bischof  entriistet,  der  Official  geflu- 
chet,  er  aber  gelachet  habe. — (Seckend.  p.  266.) 

t  Orationem  habuit  italica  pronuntiatione  ves- 
titam.— (L.  Epp.  i.  483.) 

§  Petens  consilium  super  me  compescendo. — 
(Ibid.) 


his  obligations  as  concerned  their  order. 
Miltitz  persisted.  "  Let  a  deputation  of 
this  venerable  chapter  wait  on  Luther, 
and  request  him  to  write  a  letter  to  the 
Pope,  assuring  him  that  he  has  never 
laid  any  plots  against  his  person.*  That 
will  suffice  to  terminate  the  affair."  The 
chapter  yielded  to  the  proposal  of  the 
Nuncio,  and  commissioned,  doubtless  at 
his  desire,  Staupitz  the  late  Vicar-general, 
and  Link  his  successor,  to  confer  with 
Luther.  The  deputation  set  out  imme- 
diately for  Wittemberg,  bearing  a  letter 
from  Miltitz  addressed  to  the  doctor,  and 
full  of  expressions  of  high  respect. 
"  There  was  no  time  to  lose,"  said  he, 
"  the  thunder,  already  suspended  over  the 
head  of  the  Reformer,  was  about  to  burst ; 
and  then  all  would  be  over." 

Neither  Luther,  nor  the  deputies,  who 
were  favourable  to  his  opinions,!  enter- 
tained a  hope  that  any  thing  would  be 
gained  by  writing  to  the  Pope.  But  this 
in  itself  was  a  reason  for  not  refusing 
compliance  with  the  suggestion.  The 
letter  could  but  be  a  matter  of  form 
which  would  make  still  more  apparent 
the  justice  of  Luther's  cause.  "  This 
Italian  of  Saxony  (Miltitz),"  thought 
Luther,  "  has  doubtless  his  own  private 
interest  in  view  in  making  this  request. 
Well,  be  it  so ;  I  will  write  in  strict  con- 
formity with  truth,  that  I  have  never  en- 
tertained any  design  against  the  Pope's 
person.  I  must  be  on  my  guard,  and 
not  be  too  stern  in  my  hostility  to  the 
see  of  Rome.  Yet  it  shall  be  sprinkled 
with  salt."t 

But  shortly  after  this,  the  doctor  heard 
of  the  arrival  of  the  bull  in  Germany ; 
on  the  3rd  of  October  he  declared  to 
Spalatin  that  he  would  not  write  to  the 
Pope,  and  on  the  Gth  of  the  same  month 
he  published  his  book  on  the  "  Babylo- 
nian Captivity."  Still  Miltitz  was  not 
disheartened. — His  wish  to  humble  Eck 
made  him  dream  of  impossibilities.  On 
the  2nd  of  October  he  had  written  in  full 
confidence  to  the  Elector  :  "  All  will  go 
well :  but  for  God's  sake,  do  not  any 
longer   delay   paying   me   the    pension 

*  Nihil  mc  in  personam  suam  fuisse  molitum- 
—(Ibid.  484.) 

t  Quibus  omnibus  causa  mea  non  displicet. — 
(Ibid.  486.) 

t  Aspergetur  tamen  sale  suo. — (L.  Epp.  i. 
486.) 


THE   ROMAN   BULL,   1520. 


245 


which  you  and  your  brother  have  allow- 
ed me  for  some  years  past.  I  must  have 
money  to  gain  new  friends  at  Rome. 
Write  to  the  Pope,  present  the  young 
cardinals,  his  relations,  with  gold  and 
silver  pieces  of  your  Electoral  Highness's 
coin,  and  add  some  for  me  ;  for  I  have 
been  robbed  of  what  you  had  given  me."* 

Even  after  Luther  had  heard  of  the 
bull,  the  intriguing  Miltitz  was  not  dis- 
couraged. He  requested  a  conference 
with  Luther  at  Lichtenberg.  The  Elec- 
tor ordered  the  latter  to  repair  thither. f 
But  his  friends,  and  above  all  the  affec- 
tionate Melancthon,  opposed  his  going.;}; 
"  What,"  thought  they,  "  at  the  moment 
of  the  appearance  of  the  bull  which  en- 
joins all  to  seize  Luther,  that  he  may  be 
taken  to  Rome,  shall  he  accept  a  confer- 
ence, in  a  secluded  place,  with  the  Pope's 
Nuncio  !  Is  it  not  clear  that  Dr.  Eck, 
not  being  able  to  approach  the  Reformer, 
because  he  has  made  his  hatred  too  pub- 
lic, the  crafty  chamberlain  has  under- 
taken to  snare  Luther  in  his  toils'?" 

These  fears  could  not  restrain  the  doc- 
tor of  Wittemberg.  The  Prince  had 
commanded,  and  he  resolved  to  obey. 
"I  am  setting  out  for  Lichtenberg,"  he 
wrote  on  the  1 1th  of  October  to  the  chap- 
lain :  "  Pray  for  me."  His  friends  would 
not  desert  him.  On  the  same  day,  to- 
wards evening,  Luther  entered  Lichten- 
berg on  horseback,  surrounded  by  thirty 
horsemen,  amongst  whom  was  Melanc- 
thon. About  the  same  time,  the  Pope's 
Nuncio  arrived,  attended  only  by  four 
persons. §  Might  not  this  modest  escort 
be  a  stratagem  to  inspire  Luther  and  his 
friends  with  confidence? 

Miltitz  was  urgent  in  his  solicitations; 
he  assured  Luther  that  the  blame  would 
be  thrown  on  Eck  and  his  foolish  boast- 
ings, ||  and  that  all  would  be  arranged  to 
the  satisfaction  of  both  parlies.  "  Well!" 
answered  Luther,  "  I  offer  to  keep  silence 
for  the  future,  if  my  adversaries  will  but 

*  Den  Pabst's  Nepoten,  zwei  oder  drei  Chur- 
furstliche  Gold  und  Silberstiicke,  zu  verehren. — 
(Seckeud.  p.  267.) 

t  Sicut  princeps  ordinavit. — (L.  Epp.  i.  455.) 

t  Invito  prseceptore  (Melancthon)  nescio  quan- 
ta metuente. — (Ibid.) 

§  Jener  von  mehr  als  dreissig,  dieser  aber  kaum 
mit  veir  Pferden  begleitet. — (Seckend.  p.  268.) 

||  Totum  pondus  in  Eccium  versurus. — (L. 
Epp.  i.  496.) 


do  the  same  I  will  do  all  I  can  to  main- 
tain it."* 

Miltitz  was  overjoyed.  He  accompa- 
nied Luther  as  far  as  Wittemberg.  The 
Reformer  and  the  Papal  Nuncio  entered 
the  city  side  by  side,  while  Dr.  Eck  was 
drawing  near  it,  holding,  in  menacing 
hands,  the  formidable  bull,  which,  it  was 
hoped,  would  extinguish  the  Reforma- 
tion. "  We  shall  bring  the  affair  to  a 
happy  issue,"  wrote  Miltitz  forthwith  to 
the  Elector:  "thank  the  Pope  for  his 
rose,  and  send  at  the  same  time  forty  or 
fifty  florins  to  the  cardinal  Quatuoi 
Sa>icloru?>i."\ 

m  Luther,  in  fulfilment  of  his  promise, 
was  to  write  to  the  Pope.  Before  bid- 
ding an  eternal  farewell  to  Rome,  he  re- 
solved once  more  to  address  to  her  some 
weighty  and  salutary  truths.  His  letter 
may  perhaps  be  regarded  by  some  as  a 
mere  caustic  composition,  a  bitter  and  in- 
sulting satire  ;  but  this  would  be  to  mis- 
take his  feelings.  It  was  his  conviction 
that  to  Rome  were  to  be  attributed  all 
the  ills  of  Christendom :  bearing  that  in 
view,  his  words  are,  not  insults,  but  sol- 
emn warnings.  The  more  he  loves  Leo, 
the  more  he  loves  the  church  of  Christ ; 
he  resolves  therefore  to  disclose  the  great- 
ness of  the  evil.  The  energy  of  his  af- 
fection may  be  inferred  from  the  strength 
of  his  expressions.  The  moment  is  ar- 
rived for  heavy  blows.  He  reminds  us 
of  a  prophet,  for  the  last  time,  traversing 
the  city,  reproaching  it  with  all  its  abom- 
inations, revealing  to  it  the  judgments  of 
the  Eternal,  and  crying  aloud :  "  Yet  a 
few  days!" — The  following  is  the  letter: 

"  To  the  Most  Holy  Father  in  God, 
Leo  X.,  Pope  of  Rome,  all  happiness 
and  prosperity  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord. 
Amen. 

';  From  the  midst  of  this  violent  con- 
test, which  for  these  three  years  past,  I 
have  waged  with  abandoned  men,  I  can- 
not refrain  from  sometimes  turning  my 
eyes  towards  you,  O  Leo,  Most  Holy 
Father  in  God !  And  although  the  mad- 
ness of  your  impious  parasites,  has  com- 
pelled me  to  appeal  from  your  sentence 
to  a  future  Council,  my  heart  has  never 
been  turned  away  from  your  Holiness ; 
and  I  have  never  ceased,  by  prayers  and 

*  Ut  nihil  videar  omittere  quod  in  me  ad  pacem 
quoquo  modo  facere  possit. — (L.  Epp.  i  496.) 
t  Seckend.  p.  268. 


246 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


sighs,  to  pray  to  God  for  your  prosperity, 
and  for  that  of  your  pontificate.* 

"  I  have  attacked,  it  is  true,  some  Anti- 
christian  doctrines,  and  I  have  inflicted 
some  deep  wounds  on  my  adversaries  on 
account  of  their  impiety.  I  cannot  re- 
gret this,  for  I  have  in  this  Christ  for  an 
example.  Of  what  use  is  salt  if  it  hath 
lost  its  savour  1  or  the  sword-blade,  if  it 
doth  not  cut  ?f  Cursed  is  he  who  doth 
the  Lord's  work  coldly.  O  most  excel- 
lent Leo,  far  from  having  conceived  any 
\  evil  design  against  you,  I  wish  you  the 
most  precious  blessings  for  all  eternity. 
One  thing  only  have  I  done.  I  have  de- 
fended the  word  of  truth.  I  am  ready  to 
give  way  to  every  one,  in  every  thing  ; 
but  as  regards  that  Word,  I  will  not — I 
cannot  abandon  it.|  He  who  expects 
otherwise  of  me,  mistakes  me. 

u  It  is  true  that  I  have  attacked  the 
court  of  Rome  ;  but  neither  yourself,  nor 
any  man  upon  earth  can  deny  that  the 
corruption  of  that  court  is  greater  than 
that  of  Sodom  or  Gomorrah,  and  that 
there  is  no  hope  left  of  curing  its  impie- 
ty. True,  I  have  been  filled  with  horror, 
beholding  that  in  your  name  the  poor  of 
Christ's  flock  were  deceived.  I  have  op- 
posed this,  and  will  continue  to  oppose 
it;  not  that  I  dream  of  effecting  any 
thing  in  this  Babylon  of  confusion, 
against  the  opposition  of  sycophants  ;  but 
I  am  debtor  to  my  brethren,  that,  if  pos- 
sible, some  of  them  may  escape  these  ter- 
rible scourges. 

"  You  know  that  Rome,  for  many 
years  past,  has  inundated  the  world  with 
every  thing  destructive  to  soul  and  body. 
The  Church  of  Rome,  formerly  pre- 
eminent for  sanctity,  is  become  a  den  of 
thieves,  a  scene  of  open  prostitution,  a 
kingdom  of  death  and  hell,§  so  that  Anti- 
christ himself,  if  he  were  to  appear,  could 
not  increase  its  iniquity.  All  this  is  as 
clear  as  the  light  of  day. 

"  And  you,  O  Leo,  are  all  this  while 
as  a  lamb  in  the  midst  of  wolves  ;  or  as 

*  TJt  non  totis  viribus,  sedulis  atque  quantum 
in  me  fait  gemebnndis  precibus  apud  Deum 
quaesierim. — (L.  Epp.  i.  498.) 

t  Quid  proderit  sal,  si  non  mordeat?  Quid  os 
gladii,  si  non  ca?dat? — (L.  Epp.  i.  499.) 

t  Verbum  deserere  et  negare  nee  possum,  nee 
volo. — (L.  Epp.  i.  499.) 

§  Facta  est — spelunca  latronum  licentiosissi- 
ma,  lupanar  omnium  impudentissimum  regnum, 
peccati,  mortis  et  inferni. — (Ibid.  500.) 


Daniel  in  the  den  of  lions !  Unaided, 
how  can  you  resist  these  monsters  ?  Per- 
haps there  may  be  three  or  four  cardinals 
uniting  virtue  with  learning.  But  what 
are  these  among  so  many  !  You  will 
be  taken  off  by  poison,  even  before  you 
are  able  to  apply  a  remedy.  There  is 
no  hope  for  Rome ;  the  anger  of  God 
has  gone  forth  and  will  consume  her.* 
She  hates  reproof,  and  dreads  reform ; 
she  refuses  to  restrain  the  madness  of  her 
impiety,  and  it  may  be  said  of  her  as  of 
her  mother :  '  We  would  have  healed 
Babylon  but  she  is  not  healed:  let -us 
forsake  her  !'f  Men  looked  to  you  and 
your  cardinals  to  apply  the  cure  to  all 
this  ;  but  the  patient  laughs  at  her  phy- 
sician, and  the  steed  will  not  answer  to 
the  reins. 

"  Full  of  affection  for  you,  most  excel- 
lent Leo,  I  have  ever  regretted  that, 
formed  as  you  are  for  a  better  age,  you 
have  been  raised  to  the  pontificate  at  such 
a  period  as  this.  Rome  is  not  worthy  of 
you,  or  of  any  who  resemble  you ;  she 
deserves  no  other  ruler  than  Satan  him- 
self. And  truly  it  is  he  rather  than  your- 
self who  reigns  in  that  Babylon.  Would 
to  God,  that,  laying  aside  the  glory 
which  your  enemies  extol  so  highly,  you 
could  exchange  it  for  a  simple  pastorship, 
or  subsist  on  your  paternal  inheritance  ; 
for  none  but  Judases  are  fit  for  such 
state.  What  end  then,  dear  Leo !  is 
served  by  you  in  this  court  of  Rome  ; 
unless  it  be,  that  execrable  men  should, 
under  cover  of  your  name  and  power, 
ruin  men's  fortunes,  destroy  souls,  mul- 
tiply crimes,  and  lord  it  over  the  faith, 
the  truth,  and  the  whole  Church  of  God  ? 

0  Leo!  Leo!  you  are  the  most  unfortu- 
nate of  men,  and  you  sit  on  the  most 
perilous  of  all  thrones  !  I  tell  you  the 
truth,  because  I  wish  you  well. 

"  Is  it  not  true  that  there  is  nothing 
under  heaven  more  corrupt  and  hateful 
than  the  Roman  court  ?  It  exceeds  the 
very  Turks  in  vice  and  profligacy.  Once 
as  the  gate  of  heaven,  it  is  become  the 
jaws  of  hell  itself!  distending  and  kept 
open  by  the  wrath  of  God,J  so  that  when 

1  behold  so  many  poor  creatures  throw- 

*  Actum  est  de  Romana  curia:  pervenit  in 
earn  ira  Dei  usque  in  finem. — (L.  Epp.  i.  500.) 

t  Jeremiah,  li.  9. 

t  Olim  janua  coeli,  nunc  patens  quoddam  os 
inferni  et  tale  os,  quod  urgenteira  Dei,  obstrui 
non  potest. — (L.  Epp.  i.  501.) 


THE   ROMAN   BULL,    1520. 


247 


ing  themselves  into  it,  I  must  needs  cry- 
aloud  in  the  midst  of  this  tempest  that 
some  may  be  saved  from  the  frightful 
abyss. 

"  This,  O  Leo,  my  Father,  is  the  rea- 
son why  I  have  inveighed  so  strongly 
against  a  see  which  dispenses  death  to  its 
adherents.  Far  from  conspiring  against 
3'our  person,  I  have  felt  that  I  was  labour- 
ing for  your  safety,  in  boldly  attacking 
the  prison,  or  rather  the  hell,  in  which 
you  are  confined.  To  do  the  utmost  to 
destroy  the  court  of  Rome,  is  but  to  dis- 
charge your  own  duty.  To  cover  it 
with  shame,  is  to  honour  Christ ;  in  a 
word,  to  be  a  Christian,  is  to  be  not  a 
Roman. 

"  However,  seeing  that  I  was  losing 
my  time  in  succouring  the  See  of  Rome, 
I  sent  to  her  my  letter  of  divorce,  saying  ; 
Farewell,  Rome,  '  he  that  is  unjust,  let 
him  be  unjust  still ;  and  he  who  is  filthy, 
let  him  be  filthy  still  !'*  and  then,  in  si- 
lence, and  retirement,  applied  myself  to 
the  study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Then 
it  was  that  Satan  stirred  up  his  servant 
John  Eck,  a  great  enemy  of  Jesus  Christ, 
to  challenge  me  ag-ain  to  descend  into 
the  arena.  He  sought  to  establish  his 
own  primacy,  not  the  primacy  of  Peter ! 
and  with  this  purpose,  to  conquer  Luther, 
and  leal  him  in  triumph  to  Rome,  upon 
him  must  lay  the  blame  of  the  defeat 
which  has  covered  Rome  with  shame." 

Luther  here  relates  what  had  passed 
between  himself  and  De  Vio,  Miltitz,  and 
Eck  ;  he  then  continues  : 

"  Now  then  I  come  to  you,  most  holy 
Father,  and,  prostrate  at  your  feet,  en- 
treat you  to  restrain,  if  possible,  the  enemies 
of  peace.  But  I  cannot  retract  my  doc- 
trines. I  cannot  consent  that  rules  of  in- 
terpretation should  be  imposed  on  Holy 
Scripture.  The  word  of  God,  the  source 
whence  all  liberty  flows,  must  be  left 
free.f 

"  O  Leo  !  my  Father !  do  not  listen  to 
the  flatterers  who  tell  you  that  you  are 
not  a  mere  man,  but  a  demi-god,  and 
that  you  may.  rightfully  command  what- 
ever you  please.  You  are  the  '  servant  of 
servants]  and  the  plaee  where  you  are 
seated  is  of  all  places  the  most  dangerous 

*  Revelation  of  St.  John,  xxii.  11. 

t  Leges  interpretandi  verbi  Dei  non  patior, 
cum  oporteat  verbum,  Dei  esse  non  alligatum, 
quod  libertatem  docet—  (L.  Epp.  i.  504.) 


and  the  most  miserable.  Put  no  faith  in 
those  who  exalt  you,  but  rather  in  those 
who  would  humble  you.  I  may  be  bold 
in  presuming  to  teach  so  sublime  a  Ma- 
jesty, which  ought  to  instruct  all  men. 
But  I  see  the  dangers  which  surround 
you  at  Rome  ;  I  see  you  driven  first  one 
way,  then  another,  on  the  billows  of  a 
raging  sea  ;  and  charity  obliges  me  to 
warn  you  of  your  danger,  and  urge  you 
to  provide  for  your  safety. 

"  That  I  may  not  appear' in  your  Ho- 
liness's  presence,  empty-handed,  I  present 
you  with  a  little  book  which  has  been 
dedicated  to  you,  and  which  will  apprise 
you  with  what  subjects  I  may  occupy 
myself — in  case  your  flatterers  shall  per- 
mit me.  It  is  but  a  trifle  in  appearance, 
yet  its  contents  are  important :  for  it  com- 
prises a  summary  of  the  Christian's  life. 
I  am  poor,  and  have  nothing  more  to  of- 
fer you  ;  and  indeed  is  there  any  thing 
you  have  need  of,  save  spiritual  gifts  1 
I  commend  myself  to  the  remembrance 
of  your  Holiness,  praying  that  the  Lord 
Jesus  may  ever  preserve  you  !     Amen !" 

The  little  book  which  Luther  pre- 
sented in  token  of  respect  to  the  Pope, 
was  his  discourse  of  "  the  liberty  of  the 
Christian."  The  Reformer  shows  incon- 
trovertibly  in  this  treatise,  that  the  Chris- 
tian, without  infringement  of  the  liberty 
which  faith  gives  him,  may  submit  to 
every  external  ordinance,  in  a  spirit  of 
liberty  and  love.  Two  truths  are  the 
basis  of  his  argument :  "  A  Christian  is 
free,  and  all  things  are  his.  A  Chris- 
tian is  a  servant,  and  subject  in  all  things 
unto  all.  He  is  free,  and  has  all  things 
by  faith  ;  he  is  a  subject  and  a  servant  in 
love." 

He  first  shews  the  power  of  faith  in 
rendering  the  Christian  free  :  "  Faith 
unites  the  soul  with  Christ,  as  a  spouse 
with  her  husband,"  says  Luther  to  the 
Pope.  "  Every  thing  which  Christ  has, 
becomes  the  property  of  the  believing 
soul :  every  thing  which  the  soul  has, 
becomes  the  property  of  Christ.  Christ 
possesses  all  blessings  and  eternal  life  : 
they  are  thenceforward  the  property  of 
the  soul.  The  soul  has  all  its  iniquities 
and  sins :  they  are  thenceforward  borne 
by  Christ.  A  blessed  exchange  com- 
mences: Christ  who  is  both  God  and 
man,  Christ  who  has  never  sinned,  and 
whose  holiness  is  invincible,  Christ  the 


248 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


Almighty  and  Eternal,  taking  to  himself 
by  his  nuptial  ring  of  Faith,  all  the  sins 
of  the  believer,  those  sins  are  lost  and 
abolished  in  him ;  for  no  sins  dwell  be- 
fore his  infinite  righteousness.  Thus  by 
faith  the  believer's  soul  is  delivered  from 
all  sins,  and  clothed  with  the  eternal 
righteousness  of  her  bridegroom,  Christ. 
O  happy  union  !  the  rich,  the  noble,  the 
holy  bridegroom  takes  in  marriage  his 
poor,  guilty,  and  despised  spouse,*  de- 
livers her  from  every  evil,  and  enriches 
her  with  the  most  precious  blessings — 
Christ,  a  king  and  a  priest,  shares  this 
honour  and  glory  with  all  Christians. 
The  Christian  is  a  king,  and  consequently 
possesses  all  things  ;  he  is  a  priest,  and 
consequently  possesses  God.  And  it  is 
faith,  not  works,  which  brings  him  all 
this  honour.  A  Christian  is  free  from 
all  things, — above  all  things, — faith  giv- 
ing him  richly  of  all  things  !" 

In  the  second  part  of  his  discourse, 
Lutuer  presents  the  other  side  of  the 
truth.  u  Although  the  Christian  is  thus 
made  free,  he  voluntarily  becomes  a  ser- 
vant, that  he  may  act  towards  his  breth- 
ren as  God  has  acted  towards  himself  by 
Jesus  Christ."  "I  will  serve,"  he  says, 
"freely,  joyfully,  gratuitously,  a  Father 
who  has  thus  shed  upon  me  all  the  abund- 
ance of  his  blessings  :  I  will  become  all 
things  to  my  neighbour,  as  Christ  has 
become  all  things  for  me." — "From 
Faith,"  continues  Luther,  "  flows  the 
love  of  God ;  from  love  flows  a  life  of 
liberty,  charity,  and  joy.  O  how  noble 
and  exalted  is  the  Christian's  life  !  but, 
alas !  none  know  it,  and  none  preach  it. 
By  faith  the  Christian  ascends  to  God  ; 
by  love  he  descends  to  man ;  and  yet 
abides  ever  in  God.  Such  is  true  liberty, 
a  liberty  which  as  much  surpasses  every 
other  as  the  heavens  are  high  above  the 
earth." 

This  was  the  work  with  which  Lu- 
ther accompanied  his  letter  to  Leo  X. 

While  the' Reformer  was  thus  address- 
ing himself  for  the  last  time  to  the  Ro- 
man Pontiff,  the  bull  which  excommuni- 
cated him  was  already  in  the  hands  of 
the  dignitaries  of  the  German  Church, 
and   at  the  doors  of  Luther's  dwelling. 

*  1st  nun  das  nicht  eine  frohliche  Wirthschaft, 
da  der  reiehe,  edle,  fromme  Brautigam  Christus, 
das  arme,  verachtete,  bose  Huhrlein  zur  Ehe 
nimmt. — (L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  385.) 


The  Pope  had  commissioned  two  high 
functionaries  of  his  court,  Carracioli  and 
Aleander,  to  carry  it  to  the  Archbishop 
of  Mentz,  desiring  him  to  see  to   its  ex- 
ecution.    But  Eck  himself  appeared  in 
Saxony,  as  herald  and  agent  in  the  great 
effort  of  the  Pontiff     The  doctor  of  In- 
golstadt  had  had  better  opportunities  than 
any  other  of  knowing  the  force  of  Lu- 
ther's blows  ;  he  had  seen  the  danger, 
and  had  stretched  forth  his  hand  to  sup- 
port the  tottering  power  of  Rome.     He 
imagined  himself  the  Atlas  destined  to 
bear  up  on  his  robust  shoulders  the  old 
Roman  world,  which  was  ready  to  crum- 
ble into  ruin.     Elated  with  the  success  of 
his  journey  to  Rome,  proud  of  the  com- 
mission which  he  had  received  from  the 
Sovereign   Pontiff,  and  of   the  bull   he 
bore  in  his  hands,  and  which  contained 
the  condemnation  of  his  unconquerable 
rival,  his  present  mission  was  in  his  eyos 
a  greater  triumph  than  all  the  victories 
he  had  gained  in  Hungary,  in  Bavaria, 
in    Lombardy,    and    Saxony,    and   from 
which  he  had  previously  derived  so  much 
credit.     But  all  this  pride  was  about  to 
be  humbled.     By  entrusting  to  Eck  the 
publication  of  the   bull,  the    Pope   had 
committed  an  error  which  was  destined 
to  destroy  its  impression.     So  marked  a 
distinction,  granted   to  a  man  who  did 
not  hold  any  elevated  rank  in  the  Church, 
offended  minds  that  were  susceptible  of 
offence.      The    Roman   Bishops,  accus- 
tomed to  receive  the  bulls  of  the  Pope 
direct,  took  it  amiss  that  the  present  bull 
should  be  published  in  their  dioceses  by 
this  unexpected    Nuncio.      The    nation 
which  had  ridiculed  the  pretended  victor 
in  the   conferences  at  Leipsic,  when  he 
fled  to  Italy,  saw  with  astonishment  and 
indignation  the  same  person  re-appear  on 
this  side  the  Alps,  armed  with  the  in- 
signia of  a  pontifical  Nuncio,  and  with 
power  to  crush  men  whom  it  held  in 
honour.     Luther  regarded  this  sentence, 
conveyed  to  him  by  his  implacable   ad- 
versary, as  an  act  of  personal  vindictive- 
ness.      This  condemnation   appeared  to 
him,  says  Pallavicini,  as  the  concealed 
poniard  of  a  mortal  enemy,  and  not  the 
lawful  axe  of  a  Roman  lictor.*     Accord- 
ingly this  writing  was  considered,  not  as 
the  bull  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  but  as 

*  Non  tanquam  a  securi  legitimi  lictoris,  sed 
telo  infensissimi  hostis. — (Pallavicini,  i.  74.) 


THE   ROMAN   BULL,   1530. 


249 


the  bull  of  Dr.  Eck.  Thus  the  force  of 
the  blow  was  broken  by  the  very  mo- 
tives which  had  provoked  it. 

The  chancellor  of  Ingolstadt  had  re- 
paired in  haste  to  Saxony.  It  was  there 
that  he  had  given  battle,  it  was  there 
that  he  wished  to  parade  his  victory.  He 
succeeded  in  getting  the  bull  posted  up 
at  Meissen,  at  Merseburg,  and  at  Bran- 
denburg, toward  the  end  of  September. 
But  in  the  first  of  these  towns  it  was  pla- 
carded in  a  place  where  nobody  could 
read  it,  and  the  bishops  of  these  three 
dioceses  were  in  no  haste  to  publish  it. 
His  great  protector,  Duke  George  him- 
self, forbade  the  council  of  Leipsic  to 
make  it  public  before  they  had  received 
the  order  of  the  bishop  of  Merseburg,  and 
this  order  did  not  arrive  till  the  following 
year.  "  These  difficulties  are  but  for 
form's  sake,"  thought  Eck  at  first ;  for 
in  other  respects  every  thing  seemed  to 
smile  upon  him.  Duke  George  sent  him 
a  gilt  cup  and  a  few  ducats  ;  Miltitz  him- 
self, who  had  hastened  to  Leipsic  on  hear- 
ing that  his  rival  was  arrived,  invited  him 
to  dinner.  The  two  Legates  were  fond 
of  the  luxuries  of  the  table,  and  Miltitz 
thought  that  he  could  not  have  a  better 
opportunity  of  sounding  Dr.  Eck  than 
over  their  wine.  "  When  he  had  drunk 
pretty  freely,"  says  the  Pope's  chamber- 
lain, "  he  began  to  boast  above  measure; 
he  displayed  his  bull,  and  told  how  he 
had  planned  to  bring  that  insolent  fel- 
lcw,  Martin,  to  reason."*  But  it  was 
not  long  before  the  doctor  of  Ingolstadt 
had  occasion  to  observe  that  the  wind 
was  turning.  A  great  change  had  been 
effected  at  Leipsic  within  a  year.f  On 
St.  Michael's  day,  some  students  posted, 
in  ten  different  places,  placards  wherein 
the  new  Nuncio  was  keenly  attacked. 
Taking  the  alarm,  he  sought  refuge  in 
the  convent  of  St.  Paul,  where  Tetzel 
had  already  found  an  asylum,  refused  all 
visits,  and  obtained  from  the  prior  a  pro- 
mise that  his  juvenile  opponents  should 
be  called  to  account.  But  poor  Eck 
gained  little  by  this.  The  students  com- 
posed a  ballad  upon  him,  and  sung  it  in 
the  streets.     Eck  overheard  it  from  his 

*  Nachdem  (writes  Miltitz)  er  nun  tapfer 
getrunken  hatte,  ting  er  gleich  an  trefflich  von 
seiner  Ordre  zu  prahlen,  &c. — (Seckend.  p.  238.) 

t  Longe  a'.iam  faciem  et  mentem  Lipsiae  eum 
invenire  quam  sperasset. — (L.  Epp.  i.  492.) 
32 


seclusion.  At  this  all  his  courage  van- 
ished, and  the  formidable  champion 
trembled  in  every  limb.  Threatening 
letters  poured  in  upon  him.  A  hundred 
and  fifty  students  arrived  from  Wittem- 
berg,  loudly  exclaiming  against  the  Pa- 
pal envoy.  The  poor  Nuncio  could  hold 
out  no  longer. 

"  I  do  not  wish  him  to  be  killed,"* 
said  Luther,  "  but  I  hope  his  designs  will 
be  frustrated."  Eck  quitted  his  retreat 
by  night,  retired  clandestinely  from  Leip- 
sic, and  sought  to  conceal  himself  at  Co- 
burg.  Miltitz,  who  relates  the  circum- 
stance, seemed  to  triumph  in  it  even 
more  than  the  Reformer.  But  his  tri- 
umph did  not  last  long.  The  chamber- 
lain's plans  of  conciliation  all  failed,  and 
his  end  was  deplorable,  having,  while  in 
a  state  of  intoxication,  fallen  into  the 
Rhine  at  Mentz. 

By  degrees  Eck  resumed  courage. 
He  repaired  to  Erfurth,  where  the  theo- 
logians had  shewn  more  than  one  mark 
of  their  jealousy  of  the  Wittemberg  doc- 
tor. He  required  that  this  bull  should 
be  published  in  that  city  ;  but  the  stu- 
dents seized  the  copies,  tore  them  in 
pieces,  and  threw  them  into  the  river, 
saying,  "  Since  it  is  a  bubble,  let  us  see 
it  float!"!  "Now,"  said  Luther,  on  hear- 
ing of  this,  "  the  paper  of  the  Pope  is 
truly  a  bubble  {bulla)."  Eck  did  not 
dare  to  show  himself  at  Wittemberg  :  he 
sent  the  bull  to  the  prior,  menacing  him, 
if  it  were  not  complied  with,  with  the 
ruin  of  the  university.  He  wrote  at  the 
same  time  to  Duke  John,  brother  and 
colleague  of  Frederic.  "  Do  not  take 
my  proceeding  amiss,"  said  he,  "  for  I 
am  contending  for  the  faith,  and  my  task 
costs  me  much  care  and  labour  as  well 
as  money."|  The  prior  declared,  that 
not  having  received  a  letter  from  the 
Pope  accompanying  the  bull,  he  must 
object  to  publish  it,  and  referred  the  mat- 
ter to  the  opinion  of  the  lawyers.  Such 
was  the  reception  which  the  condemna- 
tion of  the  Reformer  met  with  from  the 
learned  world. 

While  the  bull  was  producing  this  vio- 

*  Nollem  eum  occidi,  quanquam  optera  ejus 
consilia  irrita  fieri. — (L.  Epp.  i.  492.) 

t  A  studiosis  discerpta  et  in  aquam  projecta, 
dicentibus:  Bulla  est,  in  aquam  natet! — (Ibid. 
520.) 

t  Mit  viel  Miihe,  Arbeit,  und  Kosten. — (L. 
Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  317.) 


250 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


lent  agitation  in  the  minds  of  the  Ger- 
mans, a  solemn  voice  was  raised  in  an- 
other country  of  Europe.  One,  who  dis- 
cerned the  extensive  schism  the  Pope's 
bull  would  cause  in  the  Church,  stood 
forth  to  utter  a  word  of  warning  and  to 
defend  the  Reformer.  This  was  the 
same  Swiss  priest  whom  we  have  al- 
ready mentioned,  Ulric  Zwingle,  who, 
without  any  communication  or  previous 
friendship  with  Luther,  put  forth  a  tract 
replete  with  discretion  and  dignity,  and 
the  earliest  of  his  numerous  Writings.* 
A  fraternal  affection  seemed  to  attract 
him  towards  the  doctor  of  Wittemberg. 
"  The  piety  of  the  Pontiff,''  he  said,  "  re- 
quires of  him  that  he  should  joyfully 
sacrifice  his  dearest  interests  to  the  glory 
of  Christ  his  King,  and  to  the  general 
peace  of  the  Church,  Nothing  is  more 
derogatory  to  his  true  dignity  than  the 
having  recourse  only  to  rewards  and  ter- 
rors for  its  defence.  The  writings  of 
Luther  had  not  even  been  read,  before 
he  was  decried  among  the  people  as  a 
heretic,  a  schismatic,  and  even  as  Anti- 
christ himself.  None  gave  him  warning, 
no  one  refuted  him  :  he  requested  a  dis- 
cussion, and  it  was  thought  sufficient  to 
condemn  him.  The  bull  that  has  been 
issued  against  him  is  disapproved  even 
by  those  who  respect  the  Pope's  authori- 
ty ;  for  they  discern  in  every  part  of  it 
traces  of  the  impotent  hatred  of  a  few 
monies,  and  not  the  mildness  of  a  Pontiff 
who  should  be  the  vicar  of  a  Saviour  full 
of  charity.  It  is  universally  acknowl- 
edged, that  the  current  teaching  of  the 
Gospel  of  Christ  has  greatly  degenerated, 
and  that  a  visible  and  signal  restoration 
of  laws  and  public  morals  is  requisite.! 
Consult  all  men  of  learning  and  virtue, 
and  it  will  be  found  that  the  more  per- 
fect their  sincerity  and  their  attachment 
to  the  truths  of  the  Gospel,  the  less  are 
they  stumbled  by  the  books  of  Luther. 
There  is  no  one  who  does  not  confess 
that  these  books  have  made  him  a  better 
man, |  although,  perhaps,  there  may  be 

*  Consilium  cujusdum  ex  animo  cupientis  esse 
consultum  et  pontificis  dignitati,  et  Christians 
religionis  tranquillitati. — (Zwinglii  Opera,  curant. 
Schulero  et  Schulthessio,  iii.  1 — 5.) 

t  Multum  degenerasse  ab  ilia  sincera  Christi 
evangeiica  doctrina,  adeo  ut  nemo  non  fateatur 
opus  esse  publica  aliqua  et  insigni  legum  ac  mo- 
rum  instauratione. — (Ibid.  3.; 

t  Nemo  non  fatetur  se  ex  illius  libris  factum 
esse  meliorem. — (Ibid.  4.) 


some  parts  not  to  be  approved.  Let  men 
of  pure  doctrine,  and  of  acknowledged 
probity,  be  selected ;  let  three  princes 
above  all  suspicion,  the  Emperor  Charles, 
the  King  of  England,  and  the  King  of 
Hungary,  appoint  arbitrators :  and  let  the 
arbitrators  read  the  writings  of  Luther, 
let  him  be  heard  in  person,  and  let  what- 
ever  they   shall    determine  be  ratified? 

N<v/)<rdiro  >;  rav  XpioTOu  iraiSeuiKai  n\f)8na  ! 

This  suggestion  proceeding  from  Swit- 
zerland was  not  attended  to.  It  was  ne- 
cessary that  the  great  divorce  should  take 
place ;  it  was  needful  that  Clfristemlom 
should  be  reht ;  the  remedy  for  the  evils 
that  oppressed  it  was  to  be  discovered  in 
its  very  wounds. 

And,  indeed,  what  importance  could 
be  attached  to  this  resistance  on  the  part 
of  a  few  students,  priors,  and  priests?  If 
the  strong  arm  of  Charles  V.  should 
unite  with  the  power  of  the  Pope,  will 
they  not  together  suffice  to  crush  all 
these  scholars  and  grammarians  ?  Will 
any  be  able  to  withstand  the  combined 
power  of  the  Pontiff  of  Christendom  and 
of  the  Emperor  of  the  West  ?  The  blow 
is  struck,  Luther  is  excommunicated ; 
the  Gospel  seems  lost !  At  this  awful 
crisis,  the  Reformer  does  not  disguise 
from  himself  the  greatness  of  the  danger 
in  which  he  is  placed.  He  looks  for 
support  from  above,  and  prepares  to  re- 
ceive as  from  the  hand  of  the  Lord  him- 
self, the  blow  which  seems  about  to  crush 
him.  The  thoughts  of  his  soul  were 
gathered  before  the  throne  of  God. 
'I  What  is  about  to  happen,"  said  he,  "  I 
know  not,  nor  do  I  care  to  know,  assured 
as  I  am  that  He  who  sits  on  the  throne 
of  heaven,  has  from  all  eternity,  foreseen 
the  beginning,  the  progress,  and  the  end 
of  this  affair.  Let  the  blow  light  where 
it  may,  I  am  without  fear.  Not  so  much 
as  a  leaf  falls,  without  the  will  of  our  Fa- 
ther. How  much  rather  will  He  care 
for  us !  It  is  a  light  thing  to  die  for  the 
Word,  since  the  Word  which  was  made 
flesh  hath  himself  died.  If  we  die  with 
him,  we  shall  live  with  him ;  and  pass- 
ing through  that  which  he  has  passed 
through  before  us,  we  shall  be  where  he 
is  and  dwell  with  him  for  ever."f     At 

*  "  May  the  doctrine  and  truth  of  Christ  gain 
the  victory !" 

t  Parum  est  nos  pro  verbo  mori,  cum  ipsum 
incarnatum  pro  nobis  prius  mortuum  sit. — (Epp. 
i.  490.) 


THE   ROMAN   BULL,   1520, 


251 


times,  however,  Luther  was  unable  to 
repress  his  contempt  for  the  devices  of 
his  enemies,  and  we  find  in  him  a  recur- 
rence of  that  mixture  of  sublimity  and 
irony  which  characterized  his  writings. 
"  I  know  nothing  of  Eck's  movements," 
said  he,  "  except  that  he  has  arrived 
with  a  long  beard,  a  long  bull,  and  a 
long  purse  —  :  but  I  laugh  at  his  bull."* 

It  was  on  the  third  of  October  that  he 
was  made  acquainted  with  the  Papal  re- 
script. "  At  last  then  this  Roman  bull 
has  come  to  hand,"  said  he,  "  I  despise 
it ; — and  resist  it  as  impious,  false,  and  in 
every  way  worthy  of  Eck.  It  is  Christ 
himself  who  is  therein  condemned.  No 
reasons  are  given  in  it ;  I  am  cited  to 
appear,  not  that  I  may  be  heard,  but  that 
I  may  recant.  I  will  treat  it  as  a  for- 
gery, although  I  believe  it  to  be  genuine. 
Oh !  that  Charles  the  Fifth  would  act  as 
a  man  !  oh,  that  for  the  love  of  Christ  he 
would  humble  these  demons.f  I  glory 
in  the  prospect  of  suffering  for  the  best  of 
causes.  Already  I  feel  in  my  heart  more 
liberty  ;  for  I  now  know  that  the  Pope  is 
Antichrist,  and  that  his  chair  is  that  of 
Satan  himself." 

It  was  not  merely  in  Saxony  that  the 
thunders  of  Rome  had  awakened  appre- 
hension. A  private  family  in  Suabia, 
which  had  been  neutral  in  the  contest, 
found  its  peace  suddenly  disturbed.  Bili- 
bald  Pirckheimer,  of  Nuremberg,  one  of 
the  most  distinguished  men  of  his  age, 
who  had  lost  his  beloved  wife  Crescentia 
soon  after  their  union,  was  joined  in  the 
closest  bonds  of  affection  with  his  two 
young  sisters,  Charitas,  abbess  of  St. 
Claire,  and  Clara  a  nun  in  the  same 
convent.  These  two  young  ladies  served 
God  in  solitude,  and  divided  their  time 
between  study,  attendance  on  the  poor, 
and  meditation  on  eternity.  Bilibald,  en- 
gaged in  the  business  of  the  slate,  sought 
relaxation  from  public  duties  in  the  cor- 
respondence which  he  kept  up  with  them. 
They  were  learned,  read  Latin,  and 
studied  the  Fathers  of  the  Church ;  but 
nothing  was  so  dear  to  them  as  the  Holy 
Scriptures.  They  had  never  had  any 
other  instructor  than  their  brother.  The 
letters  of  Charitas  are  distinguished  by 

*  Venisse  eum  barbatum,  bullatum,  numraa- 
tum — Ridebo  et  ego  bullam  sive  ainpullam. — 
(Ep.  i.  488.) 

t  Utinam  Carolus  vir  esset,  et  pro  Christo  hos 
Satanas  aggrederetur. — (Ibid.  494.) 


delicacy  and  amiable  feelings.  Full  of 
tender  affection  for  Bilibald,  she  dreaded 
the  least  danger  that  approached  him. 
Pirckheimer,  to  re-assure  this  timid  spir- 
it, composed  a  dialogue  between  Charitas 
and  Veritas  (Charity  and  Truth,)  in 
which  Veritas  endeavours  to  strengthen 
Charitas.*  Nothing  can  be  more  touch- 
ing, or  more  fitted  to  console  an  affec- 
tionate and  anxious  heart. 

What  must  have  been  the  dismay  of 
Charitas,  when  a  rumour  was  spread 
that  the  name  of  Bilibald  was  posted  up 
immediately  under  the  Pope's  bull  in 
conjunction  with  the  name  of  Luther. 
In  fact,  Eck,  urged  on  by  blind  fury,  had 
associated  with  Luther  six  of  the  most 
distinguished  persons  in  Germany ; 
namely,  Carlstadt,  Feldkirchen,  and 
Egranus,  who  cared  very  little  for  his 
proceedings,  and  Adelman,  Pirkheimer, 
and  his  friend  Spengler,  whose  position 
as  public  functionaries  rendered  them 
peculiarly  sensitive  to  reproach.  The 
agitation  was  great  in  the  convent  of  St. 
Clair.  How  could  the  disgrace  of  Bili- 
bald be  endured  %  Nothing  is  more 
painful  to  relatives  than  such  trials. 
Pirckheimer  and  Spengler  wrote  to  the 
Pope,  affirming  that  they  adhered  to  the 
doctrines  of  Luther  only  so  far  as  they 
were  in  conformity  with  the  Christian 
faith.  Revenge  and  anger  had  been  evil 
counsellors  to  Eck.  The  reputation  of 
Bilibald  and  his  friends  brought  the  bull 
against  them  into  discredit ;  and  their 
character  and  their  numerous  connec- 
tions increased  the  general  irritation. 

Luther  at  first  pretended  to  doubt  the 
authenticity  of  the  bull.  "  I  find,"  said 
he  in  his  first  writing  he  put  forth,  "  that 
Eck  has  brought  from  Rome  another 
bull,  which  is  so  like  himself,  that  it 
might  be  named  Doctor  Eck, — so  full  is 
it  of  falsehood  and  error.  He  gives  out 
that  it  is  the  Pope's  doing  ;  whereas  it  is 
a  mere  piece  of  deception."  Having  al- 
leged reasons  for  his  doubts,  Luther  ends 
by  saying :  "  I  require  to  see  with  my 
own  eyes  the  seal,  and  strings,  the  very 
words  and  signature  of  the  bull,  in  a 
word,  every  thing  belonging  to  it ;  oth- 
erwise I  will  not  care  one  straw  for  these 
outcries."! 

*  Pickheimeri  Opp.  Francof. 
t  Oder  nicht  ein  Haarbreit  geben. — (L  Opp. 
(L.)  xvii.  323.) 


252 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


But  no  one,  not  even  Luther  himself, 
doubted  that  the  bull  was  the  Pope's. 
Germany  waited  to  see  what  the  Re- 
former would  do.  Would  he  stand  firm  1 
All  eyes  were  turned  towards  Wittem- 
berg.  Luther  did  not  keep  them  long 
in  suspense.  He  answered  by  a  tremen- 
dous discharge  of  artillery,  publishing 
on  the  4th  of  November,  1520,  his  work 
"Against  the  Bull  of  Antichrist" 

"  What  numberless  errors  and  frauds," 
said  he,  "have  crept  in  among  the  poor 
deluded  people  under  cover  of  the 
Church  and  the  pretended  infallibility 
of  the  Pope!  how  many  souls  have  thus 
been  lost !  how  much  blood  shed  !  how 
many  murders  committed !  how  many 
kingdoms  laid  waste  !" 

"  I  can  discern  all  the  difference,"  said 
he,  ironically,  "  between  skill  and  mal- 
ice, and  I  care  very  little  for  malice  so 
unskilful.  To  burn  books  is  an  act  so 
easy  that  even  children  may  perform  it ; 
how  much  more  then  the  Holy  Father 
and  his  illustrious  doctors.*  One  would 
have  looked  for  some  more  cunning 
move.  Besides,  for  aught  I  care,  let 
them  destroy  my  works !  I  desire  noth- 
ing better  ;  for  all  I  wanted  was  to  lead 
Christians  to  the  Bible,  that  they  might 
afterwards  throw  away  my  writings.! 
Great  God,  if  we  had  but  a  right  under- 
standing of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  what 
need  would  there  be  of  my  books  1  By 
God's  grace,  I  am  free,  and  bulls  can 
neither  soothe  nor  intimidate  me.  My 
strength  and  my  consolation  are  in  a 
place  where  neither  men  nor  devils  can 
ever  reach  them." 

The,  tenth  proposition  of  Luther,  con- 
demned by  the  Pope,  was  couched  in 
these  terms :  "  A  man's  sins  are  not  par- 
doned, unless  he  believes  that  they  are 
pardoned  when  the  priest  pronounces  ab- 
solution." The  Pope,  by  condemning 
this  proposition,  denied  that  faith  was 
necessary  in  the  sacrament.  "  They 
pretend,"  exclaims  Luther,  "  that  we  are 
not  to  believe  that  our  sins  are  pardoned, 
when  Ave  are  absolved  by  the  priest. 
What  then  are  we  to  do  ?  Hear  now, 
O!    Christians,   this   great    news    from 

*  So  ist  Biicher  verbrennen  so  leicht,  dass  es 
auch  Kinder  konnen,  geschweig  denn  der  heilige 
Vater  Pabst  .  .  .—(Ibid.  324.) 

t  In  Biblien  zu  fuhren,  dass  man  derselben 
Verstand-erlangte,  und  denn  meine  Biichlein 
verschwinden  liess. — (Ibid.) 


Rome.  Condemnation  is  pronounced 
against  that  article  of  which  we  profess 
when  we  say  '  I  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost, 
the  Christian  Church,  and  the  remission 
of  sins.'  If  I  knew  that  the  Pope  had 
really  issued  this  bull  at  Rome"  (which 
he  did  not  doubt),  "  and  that  it  had  not 
been  forged  by  that  arch-liar  Eck,  I 
would  proclaim  to  all  Christians  that 
they  ought  to  hold  the  Pope  as  the  very 
Antichrist  the  Scripture  speaks  of.  And 
if  he  would  not  cease  from  thus  publicly 
proscribing  the  faith  of  the  Church,  then 
.  .  .  let  the  temporal  sword  itself  be  op- 
posed to  him,  rather  than  to  the  Turk  ! 
.  .  .  .  For  the  Turk  leaves  us  free  to 
believe,  but  the  Pope  forbids  it!" 

Whilst  Luther  was  speaking  with  so 
much  energy,  new  dangers  were  gather- 
ing. The  plan  of  his  enemies  was  to 
procure  his  expulsion  from  Wittemberg. 
If  Luther  could  be  removed  from  Wit- 
temberg, Luther  and  Wittemberg  would 
both  be  ruined.  One  measure  would  rid 
Rome  of  her  heretic  doctor  and  of  the 
heretical  university.  Duke  George,  the 
bishop  of  Merseberg,  and  the  Leipsic 
theologians  were  clandestinely  labouring 
for  this  result*  Luther  on  hearing  of  it 
remarked,  "  I  leave  the  matter  in  God's 
hands."f  These  intrigues  were  not  al- 
together without  effect.  Adrian,  profes- 
sor of  Hebrew  at  Wittemberg,  suddenly 
turned  against  the  doctor.  It  required 
considerable  firmness  of  faith  to  bear  up 
against  the  weight  of  the  Pope's  bull. 
There  are  some  who  will  go  only  a  cer- 
tain length  with  truth.  Such  was  Adrian. 
Awed  by  the  Pope's  sentence  he  quitted 
Wittemberg,  and  repaired  to  Leipsic  to 
Dr.  Eck. 

The  bull  was  beginning  to  take  effect. 
The  word  of  the  Pontiff*  of  Christendom 
still  carried  force.  Fire  and  sword  had 
long  since  taught  submission.  The  stake 
was  still  fixed  and  the  faggots  piled  at 
his  bidding.  Every  thing  announced 
that  an  awful  catastrophe  was  about  to 
put  an  end  to  the  audacious  rebellion  of 
the  Augustine  monk.  The  Pope's  nun- 
cios had  made  urgent  representations  to 
the  young  emperor :  Charles  declared 
that  he  would  protect  the  ancient  reli- 
gion,! and  m  some  of  his  hereditary  states 

*  Ut  Wittemberga  pellerer. — (L.  Epp.  i.  5i9.) 
t  Id  quod  in  manum  Dei  refero. — (Ibid.  520.) 
I  A  ministris  pontificiis  mature  pneoccupatus, 


THE   ROMAN   BULL,  1520. 


253 


scaffolds  were  raised  for  the  purpose  of 
committing  the  writings  of  the  heretic  to 
the  flames.  Ecclesiastical  dignitaries  and 
counsellors  of  state  attended  at  these 
autos-da-fe.  Those  flames  will  strike 
terror  in  all  quarters,  said  the  Roman 
courtiers.  And  they  did,  indeed,  carry- 
fear  to  many  timid  and  superstitious 
minds ;  but  even  in  the  Emperor's  here- 
ditary states,  the  only  part  of  his  domin- 
ions where  the  clergy  ventured  to  carry 
the  bull  into  execution,  the  people,  and 
sometimes  the  higher  classes  often  treated 
these  pontifical  demonstrations  with  ridi- 
cule or  indignation.  "  Luther,"  said  the 
doctors  of  Louvain,  in  an  audience  with 
Margaret,  who  at  that  time  governed  the 
Low  Countries,  "  Luther  is  undermining 
the  Christian  faith." — "  Who  is  this  Lu- 
ther ?"  asked  the  princess. — "  An  igno- 
rant monk." — "  Well,"  replied  she,  "  do 
you  who  are  learned,  and  so  many,  write 
against  him.  The  world  will  surely  be- 
lieve a  company  of  learned  men  rather 
than  a  single  monk  of  no  learning." 
The  doctors  of  Louvain  preferred  an 
easier  method.  They  raised  at  some  ex- 
pense a  vast  pile  of  wood.  The  multi- 
tude flocked  to  the  place.  Students  and 
citizens  were  seen  making  their  way 
through  the  crowd  in  great  haste,  carry- 
ing under  their  arms  huge  volumes 
which  they  threw  into  the  flames.  Their 
apparent  zeal  edified  the  monks  and  doc- 
tors ;  but  the  stratagem  was  soon  after 
discovered  :  it  was  the  Sermoncs  discipuli, 
Tariarct,  and  other  scholastic  and  popish 
books,  which  had  been  thrown  into  the 
fire  instead  of  the  writings  of  Luther.* 

The  Count  of  Nassau,  viceroy  of  Hol- 
land, in  reply  to  the  solicitations  of  the 
Dominicans,  to  be  permitted  to  burn  the 
obnoxious  books,  answered  :  "  Go  preach 
the  Gospel  as  purely  as  Luther,  and  you 
will  have  no  reason  to  complain  of  any 
one."  Conversation  turning  on  the  Re- 
former at  a  banquet  at  which  the  great- 
est princes  of  the  empire  were  present, 
the  lord  of  Ravenstein  said  aloud : 
"  After  the  lapse  of  four  whole  centuries, 
a  single  Christian  man  has  stood  forth  at 
last,  and  him  the  Pope  would  put  to 
death."f 

declaravit  se  velle  veterom  fidem  tutari. — (Palla- 
vicini,  i.  80.) 

*  Seckend.  p.  289. 

t  Ea  ist  in  vierhundert  Jahren  ein  christlicher 


Luther,  conscious  of  the  strength  of  his 
cause,  preserved  his  composure  amidst  all 
the  tumult  excited  by  the  bull.*  "  Were 
it  not  for  your  exhortations,"  said  he  to 
Spalatin,  "  I  should  hold  my  peace  ;  as- 
sured as  I  am,  that  it  is  by  the  wisdom 
and  the  power  of  God  that  the  work  must 
be  accomplished."!  Here  was  the  man 
of  a  timid  spirit  urging  openness  of 
speech,  while  the  man  of  native  resolu- 
tion was  disposed  to  remain  silent.  The 
reason  was,  that  Luther  discerned  the 
operation  of  a  power  whose  agency  was 
unnoticed  by  his  friend.  "  Be  of  good 
cheer,"  continued  the  Reformer,  "  it  was 
Christ  that  began  all  this, — and  he  will 
bring  it  to  its  appointed  issue  ; — even 
though  my  lot  be  banishment  and  death. 
Jesus  Christ  is  here  present ;  and  He  that 
is  in  us,  is  mightier  than  he  that  is  in  the 
world."!: 

But  duty  now  requires  him  to  speak, 
that  the  truth  may  be  made  manifest. 
Rome  has  assailed  him  ;  it  shall  be  seen 
whether  he  shrinks  from  her  blows.  The 
Pope  has  placed  him  under  the  ban  of 
the  Church ;  he  will  place  the  Pope  un- 
der the  ban  of  Christianity.  The  sen- 
tence of  the  Pontiff  has  hitherto  been 
absolute  :  he  will  now  oppose  sentence 
to  sentence,  and  the  world  shall  perceive 
which  is  the  word  of  power.  "  For  the 
peace  of  my  own  conscience,"  said  he, 
"  I  am  resolved  that  men  shall  no  longer 
remain  ignorant  of  the  danger  they  are 
in  :"§  and  forthwith  he  took  steps  to  re- 
new his  appeal  to  a  general  Council. 
To  appeal  from  the  Pope  to  a  council 
was  in  itself  a  crime.  It  was,  therefore, 
by  a  fresh  violation  of  the  pontifical  au- 
thority, that  Luther  undertook  to  exoner- 
ate himself  from  the  offences  already  laid 
to  his  charge. 

On  the  17th  of  November,  a  notary 
and  five  witnesses,  of  whom  Cruciger 
was  one,  assembled  at  ten  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  in  one  of  the  halls  of  the  Au- 
gustine convent,  in  which  Luther  resided. 
There, — the  public  functionary,  Sarctor 
von  Eisleben,  being  in  readiness  to  take 

Mann  aufgestanden,  den  will  der  Pabst  todt  ha- 

ben. — (Seckend.  p.  288.) 

*  In  bullosis  illis  tumultibus. — (L.  Epp  i.  519.) 
t  Rem  totam  Deo  committerem. — (Ibid.  521.) 
t  Christ  us  ista  ccepit,  ista  perficiet,  etiam  me 

sive  extincte,  sive  fugato. — (Ibid.  526.) 

§  Ut  meam  conscientiam  redimam. — (L.  Epp. 

i.  522.) 


254 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


a  minute  of  his  protest, — the  Reformer 
in  a  solemn  tone  of  voice  spoke  as  foh 
lows,  in  the  presence  of  the  witnesses  : 

"  Forasmuch  as  a  general  Council  of 
the  Christian  Church  is  superior  to  the 
Pope,  especially  in  matters  of  faith  ; 

"  Forasmuch  as  the  authority  of  the 
Pope  is  not  superior,  but  inferior  to  Scrip- 
ture, and  he  has  no  right  to  slay  Christ's 
sheep,  or  cast  them  into  the  jaws  of  the 
wolf; 

"  1,  Martin  Luther,  an  Augustine,  and 
Doctor  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  at  Wittem- 
berg,  on  my  own  behalf,  and  on  behalf 
of  such  as  stand  or  shall  stand  on  my 
side,  do,  by  this  instrument,  appeal  from 
his  Holiness,  Pope  Leo,  to  a  general 
Christian  Council,  hereafter  to  be  held. 

"  I  appeal  from  the  aforesaid  Pope 
Leo  ;  first,  as  an  unjust,  hasty,  and  op- 
pressive judge,  who  condemns  me  with- 
out having  given  me  a  hearing,  and 
without  declaring  the  grounds  of  his 
judgment: — secondly,  as  a  heretic  and 
apostate,  misguided,  hardened,  and  con- 
demned by  Holy  Writ,  who  requires  me 
to  deny  the  necessity  of  Christian  faith  in 
the  use  of  the  sacraments  ;* — thirdly,  as 
an  enemy,  an  Antichrist,  an  adversary  of 
the  Scriptures,  and  an  usurper  of  their 
authority.!  who  presumes  to  set  up  his 
own  decrees  against  all  the  declarations 
of  the  word  of  God  ; — fourthly,  as  a  con- 
temner, a  calumniator,  a  blasphemer  of 
the  Holy  Christian  Church,  and  of  every 
free  Council,  who  asserts  that  a  Council 
is  nothing  in  itself.  v 

"  Wherefore,  I  most  humbly  beseech 
the  most  serene,  illustrious,  excellent, 
wise,  and  worthy  lords,  Charles  the  Ro- 
man Emperor,  the  Electors,  princes, 
counts,  barons,  knights,  gentlemen,  cities, 
and  municipalities  of  the  whole  German 
nation,  to  adhere  to  this  my  protest,  and 
unite  With  me  to  resist  the  Antichristian 
proceedings  of  the  Pope, — for  God's  glo- 
ry, in  defence  of  the  Church  and  of  the 
Christian  faith,  and  to  uphold  the  free 
"Councils  of  Christendom ;  and  Christ, 
our  Saviour,  will  richly  reward  them  by 
his  everlasting  grace.     But  if  there  be 

*  Ab  erroneo,  indurato,  per  Scripturas  sanctas 
damnato,  hoeretico  et  apostate — (L.  Opp.  lat.  ii. 
50.)  See  also,  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  332.  The 
German  copy  has  a  few  paragraphs  which  are 
not  in  the  Latin. 

f  Oppressore  totius  Sacrse  Scripturae. — (L. 
Opp.  lat.  ii.  50.)     See  also,  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  332. 


any  who  set  my  entreaties  at  naught, 
preferring  obedience  to  the  Pope,  an  im- 
pious man, — rather  than  to  obey  God,* 
I  do  hereby  disavow  all  responsibility  on 
their  account,  having  given  a  faithful 
warning  to  their  consciences  ;  and  I  leave 
them  to  the  final  judgment  of  God,  to- 
gether with  the  Pope  and  all  his  adher- 
ents." 

Such  was  Luther's  instrument  of  di- 
vorce ;  such  was  his  answer  to  the  Pon- 
tiff's bull.  It  was  a  deeply  momentous 
declaration.  The  charges  which  he 
brought  against  the  Pope  were  of  the 
gravest  character,  nor  were  they  lightly 
preferred.  The  protest  was  circulated  . 
throughout  the  whole  of  Germany,  and 
found  its  way  into  most  of  the  courts  of 
Christendom. 

Luther,  however,  though  his  recent 
act  might  have  seemed  the  very  extremi- 
ty of  daring,  had  another  and  a  still  bold- 
er measure  in  contemplation.  He  was 
determined  that  in  nothing  would  he  be 
behind  Rome.  The  monk  of  Wittem- 
berg  shall  do  all  that  the  Sovereign  Pon- 
tiff ventures  to  do.  Sentence  against  sen- 
tence he  has  already  pronounced ;  he 
will  now  kindle  pile  for  pile.  The  de- 
scendant of  the  Medici  and  the  miner's 
son  have  encountered  each  other  in  the 
lists,  breast  to  breast — and  while  that 
conflict  continues  with  which  the  world 
is  destined  to  resound,  not  a  blow  shall 
be  struck  by  the  one  combatant  that 
shall  not  be  returned  by  the  other.  On 
the  10th  of  December,  a  placard  was  af- 
fixed to  the  walls  of  the  university  of 
W'ittemberg.  It  contained  an  invita- 
tion to  the  professors  and  students  to  re- 
pair at  the  hour  of  nine  in  the  morning 
to  the  east  gate,  beside  the  Holy  Cross. 
A  great  number  of  doctors  and  youths 
assembled,  and  Luther,  putting  himself 
at  their  head,  led  the  procession  to  the 
appointed  spot.  How  many  piles  had 
Rome  kindled  during  the  ages  of  her  do- 
mination. Luther  was  now  to  make  a 
better  application  of  the  great  Romish 
principle.  It  was  only  of  some  musty 
writings  that  he  sought  to  be  rid,  and  fire 
he  thought  could  never  be  employed  to 
better  purpose.  A  scaffold  had  ahead}' 
been  erected.  One  of  the  oldest  among 
the  Masters  of  Arts  soon  set  fire  to  it. 

*  Et  papae,  impio  homini,  plus  quam  Deo  ote- 
diant— (L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  332.) 


THE  ROMAN   BULL,   1520. 


255 


As  the  flames  arose,  Luther  drew  nigh, 
and  cast  into  the  midst  of  them  the  Can- 
on Law,  the  Decretals,  the  Clementines, 
the  Extravagants  of  the  Popes,  and  a 
portion  of  the  works  of  Eck  and  of  Era- 
ser. When  these  books  had  been  redu- 
ced to  ashes,  Luther  took  the  Pope's  Bull 
in  his  hand,  held  it  up,  and  said  aloud : 
"  Since  thou  hast  afflicted  the  Lord's 
Holy  One,  may  fire  unquenchable  afflict 
and  consume  thee !"  and  thereupon  he 
threw  it  into  the  flames.  He  then  with 
much  composure  bent  his  steps  towards 
the  city,  and  the  crowd  of  docters,  profes- 
sors, and  students,  with  loud  expressions 
of  applause,  returned  to  Wittemberg  in 
his  train.  "  The  Decretals,"  said  Luther, 
"  are  like  a  body  whose  face  is  as  fair  as 
a  virgin's  ;  but  its  limbs  are  forceful  as 
those  of  the  lion,  and  its  tail  is  that  of  the 
wily  serpent.  In  all  the  papal  laws, 
there  is  not  a  single  word  to  teach  us 
what  Jesus  Christ  truly  is."* — "  My  ene- 
mies," he  said  again,  "by  burning  my 
books,  may  have  disparaged  the  truth  in 
the  minds  of  the  common  people,  and 
occasioned  the  loss  of  souls;  for  that  rea- 
son I  have  burned  their  books  in  my 
turn.  This  is  a  mighty  struggle  but  just 
began.  Hitherto  I  have  been  only  jest- 
ing with  the  Pope.  I  entered  upon  this 
work  in  the  name  of  God; — He  will 
bring  it  to  a  close  without  my  aid,  by 
his  own  power.  If  they  dare  to  burn 
my  books, — of  which  it  is  no  vain  boast 
to  say  that  they  contain  more  of  the  Gos- 
pel than  all  the  Pope's  books  put  togeth- 
er, I  may  with  far  better  reason  burn 
theirs,  which  are  wholly  worthless." 

Had  Luther  commenced  the  Reforma- 
tion by  an  act  like  this,  the  consequen- 
ces might  have  been  deplorable.  Fa- 
naticism might  have  been  awakened  by 
it,  and  the  Church  forced  into  a  career  of 
disorder  and  violence.  But  in  the  first 
stages  of  his  task,  the  Reformer  had  been 
satisfied  with  calmly  expounding  the 
doctrines  of  Scripture.  The  foundations 
of  the  edifice  had  been  cautiously  and  se- 
curely laid.  In  the  present  posture  of 
affairs,  a  vigorous  blow,  such  as  he  had 
just  struck,  might  not  merely  be  produc- 
tive of  no  ill  effect ;  it  might  probably 
hasten  the  moment  when  Christianity 
should  rejoice  over  the  downfall  of  the 

*  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xxii.  1493—4495. 


power  by  which  the  Christian  world  had 
so  long  been  held  in  thraldom. 

Luther  by  this  act  distinctly  announ 
ced  his  separation  from  the  Pope  and  the 
Papal  Church.  After  his  letter  to  Leo, 
such  an  announcement  might  in  his  es- 
timation be  necessary.  He  now  accept- 
ed the  excommunication  which  Rome 
had  pronounced.  He  proclaimed  in  the 
face  of  Christendom  that  between  him 
and  the  Pope  there  was  war  even  to  the 
death.  Like  the  Roman  who  burned 
the  vessels  that  had  conveyed  him  to  the 
enemy's  shore,  he  left  himself  no  re- 
source, but  to  advance  and  offer  battle. " 

We  have  seen  how  he  re-entered  Wit- 
temberg. On  the  following  morning, 
the  hall  of  the  academy  was  more  than 
usually  crowded.  The  minds  of  those 
that  composed  the  assembly  had  been 
excited,  a  deep  solemnity  prevailed,  the 
address  which  the  doctor  was  to  deliver 
was  the  subject  of  earnest  expectation. 
He  proceeded  with  a  portion  of  his  com- 
mentary upon  the  Psalms,  which  he  had 
begun  in  the  month  of  March  of  the  pre- 
ceding year.  Having  finished  his  lec- 
ture, he  paused  for  a  few  moments,  and 
then  he  said  with  great  vivacity :  "  Be 
on  your  guard  against  the  laws  and  stat- 
utes of  the  Pope.  I  have  burned  the  De- 
cretals, but  that  is  mere  child's  play.  It 
is  time,  and  more  than  time,  that  the 
Pope  himself  were  burned, — I  mean," 
he  immediately  subjoined — "the  papal 
chair,  with  all  its  false  doctrines,  and  all 
its  abominations."  Assuming  then  a 
more  solemn  tone  :  "  If  you  do  not  with 
your  whole  hearts  resist  the  impious 
usurpation  of  the  Pope,  you  cannot  be 
saved.  Whosoever  takes  pleasure  in  the 
Popish  doctrine  and  worship  will  be  lost 
to  all  eternity  in  the  world  to  come."* 

"  True,"  added  he,  "  if  we  reject  that 
false  creed,  we  must  expect  no  less  than 
to  encounter  every  kind  of  danger — even 
to  the  loss  of  life.  But  far  better  it  is  to 
expose  ourselves  to  all  the  perils  that 
this  present  world  can  assail  us  with, 
than  to  hold  our  peace  !  So  long  as  my 
life  shall  last,  I,  for  my  part,  will  never 
cease  to  warn  my  brethren  of  the  wound 
and  plague  of  Babylon,  lest  any  of  those 
who  now  walk  with  us  should  slide  back 
like  the  rest  into  the  pit  of  hell." 

*  Muss  ewig  in  jenem  Leben  verlohren  seyn. 
— (L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  333.) 


256 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


It  is  difficult  to  conceive  the  effect 
which  was  produced  upon  the  auditory 
by  this  discourse,  with  the  energy  of 
which  we  ourselves  cannot  fail  to  be 
struck.  "  Not  a  man  among  us,"  adds 
the  candid  student  to  whom  we  are  in- 
debted for  its  preservation,  "  unless  he  be 
a  senseless  block  (as  all  the  Papists  are," 
he  remarks  in  a  parenthesis) — "  not  a 
man  among  us  doubts  that  this  is  the 
very  truth.  It  is  evident  to  all  the  faith- 
ful, that  Doctor  Luther  is  an  angel  of  the 
living  God,*  commissioned  to  lead  back 
the  sheep  of  Christ's  flock  to  the  whole- 
some pastures  from  which  we  have  wan- 
dered." 

This  discourse,  and  the  act  which  pre- 
ceded it,  mark  an  important  epoch  in  the 
Reformation.  In  his  heart,  Luther  had 
been  alienated  from  the  Pope  by  the 
controversy  at  Leipsic.  But  at  the  mo- 
ment when  he  burned  the  bull,  he  de- 
clared in  the  most  explicit  manner  his 
separation  from  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  and 
the  Roman  Church,  and  his  adherence 
to  the  Church  universal,  as  founded  by 
the  apostles  of  Jesus  Christ.  At  the  east 
gate  of  Wittemberg  he  kindled  a  flame 
which  three  hundred  years  have  not  yet 
extinguished. 

"  The  Pope,"  said  he,  "  has  three 
crowns: — I  will  shew  you  why; — the 
first  is  against  God,  for  he  abrogates  re- 
ligion ; — the  second  against  the  Emperor, 
for  he  abrogates  the  secular  power; — the 
third  against  society  at  large,  for  he  ab- 
rogates marriage."!  When  he  was  ac- 
cused of  too  much  violence  in  his  oppo- 
sition to  Popery  : — "  Oh  !"  he  replied, 
"  were  it  mine  to  choose,  my  testimony 
against  it  should  be  no  other  than  the 
voice  of  thunder,  and  every  word  should 
fall  like  the  fiery  bolt."| 

This  undaunted  spirit  was  rapidly 
communicated  to  Luther's  friends  and 
fellow-countrymen.  The  nation  rallied 
round  him.  Melancthon,  about  this 
time,  addressed  to  the  States  of  the  Em- 
pire a  discourse  which  for  elegance  of 
style,  and  strength  of  reasoning,  is  wor- 
thy of  its  amiable  author.  It  was  an 
answer  to  a  book  attributed  to  Emser, 

*  Lutherum  esse  Dei  viventis  angelum  qui 
palabundas  Cliristi  oves  paseat. — (L.  Opp.  lat.  ii. 
123.) 

t  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xxii.  1313. 

+  Und  ein  jeglich  Wort  eiiie  Donneraxt  wiire. 
—(Ibid.  1350.) 


but  published  under  the  name  of  the 
Roman  theologian  Rhadinus.  Never 
had  Luther  himself  spoken  with  greater 
energy ;  and  yet  in  Melancthon' s  com- 
position there  is  a  grace  superadded, 
which  wins  its  way  to  the  heart. 

After  proving,  by  texts  quoted  from 
Scripture,  that  the  Pope  is  not  superior 
to  other  bishops  ; — "  What  hinders  us," 
he  asks  of  the  States, "  from  depriving  the 
Pope  of  the  authority  with  which  we 
have  invested  him?*  It  is  a  matter  of 
small  concern  to  Luther  that  our  wealth 
— the  treasure  of  Europe — is  sent  to 
Rome.  What  grieves  him,  and  grieves 
us  also,  is,  that  the  Papal  laws  and  Pon- 
tifical dominion  entail  upon  the  souls  of 
men,  not  jeopardy  merely,  but  absolute 
ruin.  Every  man  may  judge  for  him- 
self, whether  or  not  it  behoves  him  to  de- 
dicate his  money  to  the  maintenance  of 
Romish  luxury  ;  but  to  form  a  judgment 
on  matters  of  religion  and  the  holy  mys- 
teries is  beyond  the  capacity  of  the  mul- 
titude. On  this  ground  does  Luther  ap- 
peal to  your  faith  and  to  your  zeal ;  and 
every  pious  man,  if  not  openly,  at  least 
by  secret  groans  and  sighs,  joins  in  the 
same  invocation.  Recollect  that  you  are 
Christians,  princes  of  a  Christian  nation, 
and  hasten  to  rescue  the  piteous  wreck 
of  Christianity  from  the  tyrannous  hand 
of  Antichrist.  They  who  would  per- 
suade you  that  you  have  no  jurisdiction 
over  these  priests  are  deceiving  you 
orossly.  Let  the  same  spirit  that  ani- 
mated Jehu  against  the  priests  of  Baal, 
urge  you  by  that  memorable  example  to 
crush  the  Romish  superstition  ;  a  super- 
stition more  detestable  by  far  than  the 
idolatry  of  Baal  itself"!  Such  was  the 
language  in  which  the  mild  Melancthon 
addressed  the  princes  of  Germany. 

Here  and  there  a  cry  of  alarm  was 
raised  among  the  friends  of  the  Refor- 
mation. Men  of  feeble  character,  ever 
inclined  to  concession  and  compromise, 
and  Staupitz,  the  foremost  of  this  class, 
gave  utterance  to  sentiments  of  deep 
concern.  "All  that  has  been  done  hi- 
therto," said  Luther  to  him,  "  has  been 
mere  play.  Remember  what  you  your- 
self said ; — if  God  were  not  the  author  of 

*  Quid  obstat  quominus  papa?  quod  dedimus  jus 
adimamus? — fCorp.  Reform,  i.  337.) 

t  Ut  extinguaris  illam  multo  tetriorem  Baalis 
idololatria  Romanam  superstitionem.— (Corp. 
Ref.  i.  337.) 


THE   ROMAN   BULL,   1520: 


257 


all  this,  it  never  could  have  taken  place. 
The  tumult  is  continually  growing  more 
and  more  tumultuous;  nor  do  I  think  that  it 
Avill  ever  be  appeased  until  the  last  day."* 
This  was  Luther's  method  of  encourag- 
ing the  timorous.  Three  centuries  have 
passed  away,  and  the  tumult  is  not  ap- 
peased yet. 

"  The  Papacy,"  continued  he,  "  has 
ceased  to  be  what  it  was  yesterday  and 
the  day  before.  Excommunicate  ane, 
and  burn  my  writings  it  may, — aye,  and 
put  me  to  death  ! — but  that  which  is 
now  going  forward  it  can  never  stop. 
We  stand  on  the  very  threshold  of  some 
wonderful  dispensation,  f  When  I  burn- 
ed the  bull,  it  was  with  inward  fear  and 
trembling;  but  I  look  back  upon  that 
act  with  more  pleasure  than  upon  any 
passage  of  my  life."! 

Here  we  cannot  but  pause,  delighted 
to  trace  the  image  of  the  future'  so  viv- 
idly impressed  on  the  mighty  mind  of  the 
Reformer.  "O  my  father,"  says  he  to 
Staupitz  in  the  conclusion  of  his  letter, 
"  pray  for  the  word  of  God  and  for  me  : 
I  am  hurried  along  by  these  billows  and 
well  nigh  overwhelmed."^ 

On  every  side,  then,  the  battle  is  now 
begun.  The  combatants  have  flung 
away  their  scabbards.  The  Word  of 
God  has  reclaimed  its  rightful  authority, 
and  the  sentence  of  deposition  has  gone 
forth  against  him  who  had  usurped  the 
place  of  God.  The  agitation  pervades 
every  class  of  the  community.  In  no 
age  has  there  been  a  lack  of  selfish  men, 
who  would  gladly  allow  mankind  to 
slumber  on  in  error  and  corruption  ;  but 
those  whose  hearts  are  enlarged,  however 
timid  by  naturnl  constitution,  think  far 
differently.  "  We  are  well  aware,"  says 
the  mild  and  moderate  Melancthon,  "that 
statesmen  are  averse  from  all  innovation  ; 
and  it  must  be  confessed  that  in  this 
scene  of  mournful  confusion,  which  we 
call  human  life, — controversies,  however 
just  the  grounds  from  which  they  spring, 
are  always  chargeable  with  some   mea- 

*  Tnmultus  egregie  tiimultuatur,  ut  nisi  ex- 
tremo  die  sedari  mini  posse  non  videatur. — (L. 
Epp.  i.  541.) 

t  Omninb  aliquid  portenti  prce  foribus  est. — (L. 
Epp.  i.  543.)  What  a  presentiment  of  the  fu- 
ture! 

X  .  .  .  primum  trepidus  et  orans,  sed  nunc  la?- 
tior  quam  ullo  totius  vita?  mem  facto. — (Ibid.) 

§  Ego  fluctibus  his  rapior  et  volvor. — (Ibid.) 
33 


sure  of  evil.  Nevertheless,  it  is  neces- 
sary that  God's  word  and  his  command- 
ments should  have  preference  in  the 
Church,  over  every  earthly  interest.* 
The  everlasting  anger  of  God  is  de- 
nounced against  such  as  endeavour  to 
suppress  the  truth.  It  was  Luther's  duty, 
therefore, — a  Ciiristian  duty  from  which 
he  could  in  no  way  escape,  more  especi- 
ally as  he  held  the  office  of  a  teacher  in 
the  Church, — to  reprove  those  pernicious 
errors  which  unprincipled  men  were  so 
shamefully  engaged  in  diffusing.  "  If 
these  disputes  engender  many  evils,  as, 
to  my  great  grief,"  he  adds,  "  I  perceive 
that  they  do,  the  fault  rests  with  those 
who  first  propagated  error,  and  with  those 
who  now,  with  diabolical  malignity,  at- 
tempt to  uphold  it." 

But  this  was  not  the  opinion  enter- 
tained by  all.  Luther  was  overwhelmed 
with  reproaches, — the  storm  burst  upon 
him  from  every  quarter. — "He  stands 
alone!"  said  some. — "He  teaches  new 
doctrines !"  said  others.. 

"  Who  knows,"  replied  Luther,  deeply 
conscious  of  the  vocation  he  had  received 
from  on  high, — "  who  knows  whether 
God  has  not  called  and  chosen  me  for 
this  very  purpose,!  and  whether  they 
who  despise  me  have  not  reason  to  fear 
lest  they  be  found  despisers  of  God  him- 
self. Moses  was  alone  when  the  Israel- 
ites were  led  out  of  Egypt ;  Elijah  was 
alone  in  the  time  of  King  Ahab;  Eze- 
kiel  was  alone  at  Babylon.  God  has 
never  chosen  for  his  prophet  either  the 
high-priest  or  any  other  person  of  ex- 
alted rank  ;  he  has  generally  chosen  men 
of  a  mean  and  low  condition, — in  the  in- 
stance of  Amos,  even  a  simple  shepherd. 
The  saints  in  every  age  have  been  called 
upon  to  rebuke  the  great  of  this  world — 
Kings  and  princes — priests  and  scholars 
— and  to  fulfil  their  office  at  the  peril  of 
their  lives.  Has  it  not  been  thus  under 
the  New  Testament  dispensation  1  Am- 
brose, in  his  time,  stood  alone  ;  after  him, 
Jerome  was  alone  ;— later  still  Augustine 
was  alone.  I  say  not  that  I  am  a  pro- 
phet ]\  but  I  say  that  they  have  the  more 

*  Sed  tamen  in  Ecclesia  necesse  est  anteferri 
mandatum  Dei  omnibus  rebus  humanis. — (Me- 
lancth.  vit.  Lutheri.) 

t  Wer  weiss  ob  mich  Gott  dazu  berufen  und 
erwaehlt  hat. — (L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  338.) 

X  Ich  sage  nicht  dass  Ich  ein  Prophet  sey- — 
(Ibid.) 


258 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


reason  to  fear,  because  I  am  alone  and 
they  are  many.  Of  this  I  am  sure,  that 
the  Word  of  God  is  with  me,  and  that  it 
is  not  with  them." 

"  It  is  asserted  also,' '  continues  he,  •*'  that 
I  am  bringing  forward  novelties,  and 
that  it  is  impossible  to  believe  that  all 
other  teachers  for  so  long  a  time  have 
been  in  error. 

'■  No — these  are  not  novelties  that  I 
preach  ! — But  I  affirm  that  the  doctrines 
of  Christianity  have  been  lost  sight  of  by 
those  whose  special  duty  it  was  to  pre- 
serve them — by  the  learned — by  the 
bishops.  I  doubt  not,  indeed,  that  the 
truth  has  still  found  an  abode  in  some 
few  hearts,  were  it  only  with  infants  in 
the  cradle.*  Poor  husbandmen,  and  sim- 
ple children,  in  these  days,  understand 
more  of  Jesus  Christ  than  the  Pope,  the 
bishops,  or  the  doctors. 

"I  am  accused  of  rejecting  the  holy 
doctors  of  the  Church.  I  reject  them  not, 
but  since  those  doctors  all  labour  to  prove 
what  they  write  by  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
it  follows  that  the  Scriptures  must  be 
clearer  and  more  conclusive  than  their 
writings.  Who  would  ever  think  of 
proving  what  is  in  itself  obscure  by  the 
help  of  something  obscurer  still  %  Ne- 
cessity therefore  obliges  us  to  have  re- 
course to  the  Bible,  as  all  the  doctors 
have  done  ;  and  to  test  their  writings  by 
it, — for  the  Bible  is  our  only  rule  and 
standard. 

u  But  it  is  further  objected  that  men 
high  in  station  pursue  me  with  their 
censures.  What  then! — do  not  the 
Scriptures  clearly  show  that  they  who 
persecute  are  generally  in  the  wrong, 
and  they  who  suffer  persecution  in  the 
right, — that  the  majority  has  always  been 
on  the  side  of  falsehood,  and  the  minori- 
ty only  on  the  side  of  truth  ?  It  is  the 
fate  of  truth  to  occasion  an  outcry"f 

Luther  then  passes  under  review  the 
various  propositions  which  had  been  con- 
demned by  the  bull  as  heretical ;  and 
demonstrates  their  truth  by  arguments 
drawn  from  Holy  Scripture.  With  how 
much  force,  in  particular,  does  he  main- 
tain the  doctrine  of  grace  ! 

"What !"  says  he,  "  shall  we  say,  that 
nature  antecedently  to,  and  unassisted  by, 

*  Und  sollten's  eitel  Kinder  in  der  Wiege  seyn. 
— (L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  339.) 
t  Wahrheit  hat  allezeit  rumort.— (Ibid.  340.) 


grace,  can  hate  sin,  flee  from  sin,  and  re- 
pent of  it,  while  yet,  after  grace  vouch- 
safed, that  same  nature  loves  sin,  seeks 
it,  yearns  after  it,  and  never  ceases  to 
strive  agajnst  grace  and  oppose  it, — this 
being  the  burden  under  which  the  saints 
are  continually  groaning.  It  is  as  though 
you  were  to  tell  me  that  some  sturdy 
tree,  which  my  utmost  efforts  could  nev- 
er bend,  would  bend  of  its  own  accord 
were  it  left  alone,  or  that  some  torrent 
which  dikes  and  dams  were  ineffectual 
to  restrain  would  check  its  own  course 
if  all  these  impediments  were  removed. 
NO !  never  shall  we  attain  to  repent- 
ance by  considering  sin  or  its  conse- 
quences, but  only  by  fixing  our  contem- 
plation on  the  wounded  Saviour,  and  on 
the  love  of  which  his  wounds  are  the  to- 
ken.* The  knowledge  of  sin  must  pro- 
ceed from  repentance, — not  repentance 
from  the  knowledge  of  sin.  That  knowl- 
edge is  the  fruit, — repentance  the  tree. 
In  our  country  the  fruit  grows  on  the 
tree,  but  in  the  domain  of  his  Holiness 
it  would  seem  that  the  tree  grows  on 
the  fruit!" 

The  intrepid  teacher,  though  protest- 
ing, yet  retracts  some  of  his  propositions. 
Notwithstanding  all  his  protestations,  Lu- 
ther retracts.  But  our  surprise  will  cease, 
when  we  learn  the  manner  of  his  doing 
this.  After  citing  the  four  propositions 
regarding  indulgences  which  had  been 
condemned  by  the  bull,f  he  simply 
adds: 

"  In  deference  to  the  holy  and  learned 
bull,  I  retract  all  that  I  have  ever  ad- 
vanced on  the  subject  of  Indulgences. 
If  my  books  deserved  to  be  burned,  it 
was  because  they  contained  certain  con- 
cessions to  the  Pope  in  respect  to  that 
doctrine  of  indulgences  ;  on  which  ac- 
count I  myself  now  condemn  them  to 
the  flames." 

Then  follows  another  retractation  in  re- 
spect to  John  Huss :  "  I  now  say,  not  that 
some  of  the  articles  but  that  ail  the  arti- 
cles propounded  by  John  Huss  are  alto- 
gether orthodox.  The  Pope  in  condemn- 
ing Huss  has  condemned  the  Gospel.  I 
have  gone  five  times  as  far  as  he,  and 
yet  I  greatly  fear  I  have  not  gone  far 

*  Man  soil  zuvor  Christum  in  seine  Wimden 
sehen,  und  aus  denselben  seine  Liebe  gegen  uns. 
— (L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  351.) 

t  The  19th  to  the  22nd.— (Ibid.  363.) 


THE   ROMAN   BULL,    1520. 


259 


enough.  Huss  only  says  that  a  wicked 
Pope  is  not  a  member  of  the  Christian 
Church ; — I,  on  the  other  hand,  were  I 
now  to  see  St.  Peter  himself  seated  in 
the  Roman  chair,  would  deny  that  he 
was  Pope  by  God's  appointment." 

The  powerful  language  of  the  Re- 
former sunk  deep  into  men's  minds,  and 
prepared  them  for  enfranchisement. 
Every  word  was  a  living  spark  help- 
ing" to  spread  the  flame  through  the 
whole  nation.  But  an  important  ques- 
tion was  yet  to  be  decided.  Would  the 
Prince,  whose  territory  Luther  inhabit- 
ed, concur  in  the  execution  of  the  bull, 
or  would  he  oppose  it  1  This  question 
was  not  easily  answered.  The  Elector, 
as  well  as  the  other  princes  of  the  Em- 
pire, was  then  at  Aix-la-Chapelle.  It 
was  there  that  the  crown  of  Charle- 
magne was  placed  on  the  head  of  the 
youngest,  and  yet  the  most  powerful 
monarch  of  Christendom.  The  pomp 
and  magnificence"  displayed  on  that  oc- 
casion surpassed  all  previous  example. 
After  the  ceremony,  Charles  the  Fifth, 
attended  by  Frederic  and  the  other 
princes,  by  the  ministers  and  ambassa- 
dors, immediately  repaired  to  Cologne. 
Aix-la-Chapelle,  which  had  been  visited 
by  the  plague,  seemed  to  discharge  its 
entire  population  into  that  ancient  city 
of  the  Rhine. 

Among  the  crowd  of  strangers  who 
were  then  received  within  its  walls,  were 
the  Pope's  two  nuncios,  Marina  Carraci- 
oli  and  Hieronymus  Aleander.  Carraci- 
oli,  who  had  been  employed  on  a  previ- 
ous embassy  to  Maximilian,  was  authoris- 
ed to  congratulate  the  new  Emperor,  and 
to  treat  with  him  on  affairs  of  state.  But 
Rome  had  perceived  that  in  order  to 
bring  her  measures  for  the  extinction  of 
the  Reformation  to  a  successful  issue,  she 
must  send  to  Germany  a  nuncio  special- 
ly charged  with  that  service,  and  fitted 
by  a  peculiar  cast  of  mind,  and  by  a 
union  of  dexterity  with  activity,  for  its 
accomplishment.  With  this  view  Ale- 
ander had  been  selected.*  This  indi- 
vidual, who  at  a  later  period  was  invest- 
ed with  the  cardinal's  purple,  was  de- 
scended, it  would  appear,  from  a  family 
of  considerable  antiquity,  and  not,  as  some 

*  Studium  flagrantissimum  religionis,  ardor 
idolis  .  .  incredible  quanta  solertia. — (Pallavicini, 
i.  84.) 


have  reported,  from  a  Jewish  stock.  The 
licentious  Borgia  sent  for  him  to  Rome 
to  make  him  secretary  to  that  son  Caesar, 
at  whose  very  name  all  Rome  trem- 
bled.* ■  "  The  master  and  the  servant 
were  well  matched,"  says  a  contempora- 
ry writer,  thus  intimating  similarity  of 
character  between  Aleander  and  Alex- 
ander the  Sixth.  The  verdict  seems  too 
severe.  After  the  death  of  Borgia,  Al- 
eander gave  himself  up  to  study  with 
renewed  ardour.  His  proficiency  in 
Greek,  Hebrew,  Chaldee,  and  Arabic, 
gained  him  the  credit  of  being  the  most 
learned  man  of  his  age.  Whatsoever 
pursuit  he  engaged  in,  he  devoted  him- 
self to  it  with  his  whole  heart.  The  zeal 
with  which  he  applied  himself  to  the  ac- 
quisition of  languages  was  no  less  in- 
tense than  that  which  he  afterwards  dis- 
played in  persecuting  the  Reformation. 
His  services  were  next  engaged  by  Leo 
the  Tenth.  Protestant  historians  speak 
of  his  epicurean  morals  ;  Romish  histo- 
rians celebrate  his  blameless  life,  f  It 
appears  that  he  was  addicted  to  luxury, 
to  dramatic  entertainments,  and  public 
shows.  "  Aleander  lives  at  Venice  the 
life  of  a  grovelling  epicurean  in  high  es- 
tate," said  his  old  friend  Erasmus.  All 
reports  agree  that  he  was  a  man  of  im- 
perious character,  prompt  in  his  actions, 
ardent,  indefatigable,  imperious,  and  de- 
voted to  the  Pope.  Eck  was  the  fiery 
and  intrepid  champion  of  the  schools : 
Aleander,  the  haughty  envoy  of  the 
domineering  Vatican.  He  seemed  born 
to  be  a  Nuncio. 

Rome  had  every  thing  in  readiness  for 
the  destruction  of  the  monk  of  Wittem- 
berg.  The  part  which  Aleander  had  to 
perform  as  the  Pope's  representative  in 
the  coronation  of  the  Emperor,  he  re- 
garded as  only  a  subordinate  commission, 
adapted,  however,  to  promote  his  main 
design,  by  the  personal  consideration 
which  it  necessarily  secured  for  him. 
But  his  real  office  was  to  persuade 
Charles  to  crush  the  Reformation  in  its . 

*  It  was  of  this  son  (Caesar)  that  Capello,  the 
Venitian  ambassador  at  Rome  in  the  year  1500, 
said :  Tutta  Roma  trema  di  esso  dncha  non  li 
faza  amazzar.  .  . — (Extract  by  Ranke  from  a 
manuscript  letter  in  the  archives  of  Vienna.) 

t  Er  wird  iibel  als  ein  gebohrner  Jude  und 
schiindlicher  Epicurer  beschrieben. — (Seckend. 
288.)  Integritas  vitas  quo.  prasnoscebatur. — (Pal- 
lavicini, i.  84.) 


260 


HISTORY   OF   THE   REFORMATION. 


birth.*  "  The  Pope,"  said  the  Nuncio, 
as  he  gave  the  bull  into  the  Emperor's 
hands,  "  the  Pope,  who  has  measured  his 
strength  with  so  many  mighty  princes, 
will  find  little  difficulty  in  dealing  with 
these  grammarians."  Under  that  con- 
temptuous designation  he  included  Lu- 
ther, Melancthon,  and  Erasmus.  Eras- 
mus himself  was  present  at  the  audi- 
ence. 

Immediately  after  his  arrival  at  Co- 
logne, Aleander,  acting  in  concert  with 
Carracioli,  made  it  the  object  of  his  most 
strenuous  efforts  that  the  heretical  writ- 
ings of  Luther  should  be  publicly  burned 
in  every  part  of  the  empire,  but  more 
particularly  under  the  eyes  of  the  Ger- 
man princes  assembled  in  that  city. 
Charles  the  Fifth  had  already  given  his 
consent,  so  far  as  concerned  his  heredit- 
ary dominions.  The  agitation  of  men's 
minds  in  this  juncture  was  extreme. 
The  ministers  of  Charles  and  the  Nun- 
cios themselves  Were  solemnly  warned 
that  measures  like  these,  instead  of  heal- 
ing the  wound,  would  inflame  it.  "  Do 
you  imagine,"  they  were  asked,  "  that 
the  doctrine  taught  by  Luther  exists  only 
in  those  books  which  you  are  now  con- 
demning to  the  flames  ?  It  is  deeply  en- 
graven where  you  cannot  obliterate  it — 
in  the  hearts  of  the  German  nation,  f  If 
you  mean  to  employ  force,  you  must 
give  the  word  for  myriads  of  swords  to 
be  unsheathed,  and  a  countless  multitude 
of  victims  to  be  slaughtered.  Piling  a 
few  faggots  together  to  burn  a  few  sheets 
of  paper  will  be  of  no  avail ;  nor  does  it 
beseem  the  dignity  of  the  Emperor,  or 
that  of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  to  employ 
such  weapons."^  The  Nuncio  clung  to 
his  faggots  notwithstanding.  "  These 
flames  that  we  shall  kindle,"  said  he, 
"  are  a  sentence  of  condemnation  written 
in  giant  characters,  conspicuous  far  and 
wide — to  the  learned  and  the  unlearned 
— legible  even  to  such  as  can  read  no 
others." 

But  after  all,  the  Nuncio  cared  little 
about  books  or  papers ;  Luther  himself 
was  the  mark  he  aimed  at.  , "  These 
fires,"  he  remarked  again,  "  are  not  suffi- 

*  Cui  tota  sollicitudo  insisteret  nascentis  hsere- 
sis  evellendse. — (Pallavicini,  i.  83.) 

t  Altiusque  insculptam  in  mentibu's  universal 
fere  Germanise. — (Pallavicini,  i.  88.) 

X  In  vi  innumerabilium  gladiorum  qui  infini- 
tum populum  trucidarent . . — (Ibid.) 


cient  to  purify  the  pestilential  atmosphere 
of  Germany.*  Though  they  may 
strike  terror  into  the  simple-minded,  they 
leave  the  authors  of  the  mischief  unpun- 
ished. We  must  have  an  imperial  edict 
sentencing  Luther  to  death." f 

Aleander  found  the  Emperor  less  com- 
pliant when  the  Reformer's  life  was  de- 
manded, than  he  had  shown  himself  be- 
fore, when  his  books  alone  were  attacked. 

"  Raised  as  I  have  been  so  recently  to 
the  throne,  I  cannot,"  said  Charles,  "with- 
out the  advice  of  my  counsellors,  and 
the  consent  of  the  Princes  of  the  Em- 
pire, strike  such  a  blow  as  this  against  a 
faction  so  numerous  and  so  powerfully 
protected.  Let  us  first  ascertain  .what 
our  father,  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  thinks 
of  the  matter;  we  shall  then  be  prepared 
to  give  our  answer  to  the  Pope. "J  On 
the  Elector,  therefore,  must  the  Nuncios 
now  exercise  their  artifices  and  the  power 
of  their  rhetoric. 

On  the  first  Sunday  of  November,  af- 
ter Frederic  had  attended  mass  in  the 
convent  of  the  Cordeliers,  Carracioli  and 
Aleander  demanded  an  audience  of  him. 
He  received  them  in  the  presence  of  the 
Bishop  of  Trent  and  of  several  of  his 
counsellors.  Carracioli  opened  the  in- 
terview by  presenting  to  the  Elector  the 
Pope's  brief.  Of  a  milder  character  than 
Aleander,  he  thought  it  expedient  to 
gain  the  Prince  over,  if  possible,  by  fair 
speeches,  and  accordingly  began  by  com- 
plimenting him  and  his  ancestors.  "  In 
your  Highness,"  said  he,  "  are  reposed  all 
our  hopes  for  the  salvation  of  the  Church 
and  the  Holy  Roman  Empire." 

But  the  impetuous  Aleander,  resolved 
to  come  at  once  to  the  point,  stepped 
abruptly  forward  and  interrupted  his  col- 
league, who  modestly  gave  way  to  him.§ 
"  It  is  to  myself  and  to  Eck,"  said  he, 
"that  the  affair  of  friar  Martin  has  been 
entrusted.  Consider  the  infinite  peril  into 
which  this  man  is  plunging  the  Christian 
commonwealth.  Unless  a  remedy  be 
speedily  applied,  the  fate  of  the  Empire 
is  sealed.     Why  has  the  empire  of  the 

*  Non  satis  ad  expurgandum  aerem  Germanise 
jam  tabificum. — (Pallavicini,  i.  89.) 

t  Csesaris  edictum  in  caput  .  .  .  Lutheri. — 
(Ibid.) 

t  Audiamus  antea  hac  in  re  patrem  nostrum 
Fredericum. — (L.  Opp.  lat.  ii.  117.) 

§  Cui  ita  loquenti  de  improvise-  sese  addit  Ale- 
ander .  .  . — (Ibid.) 


THE  ROMAN   BULL,   1520. 


261 


Greeks  been  destroyed,  but  because  they 
fell  away  from  the  Pope  1  You  cannot 
join  yourself  to  Luther  without  being 
dissevered  from  Christ.*  In  the  name 
of  his  Holiness,  I  require  of  you  two 
things :  first,  that  you  cause  Luther's 
writings  to  be  burned ;  secondly,  that  you 
inflict  upon  the  heretic  himself  the  pun- 
ishment he  deserves,  or  else  that  you  de- 
liver him  up  a  prisoner  to  the  Pope.f 
The  Emperor  and  all  the  Princes  of  the 
Empire  have  signified  their  willingness 
to  accede  to  our  demands ; — you  alone 
demur." 

Frederic  replied  by  the  mouth  of  the 
Bishop  of  Trent :  "  This  is  a  matter  of 
too  much  importance  to  be  decided  in- 
stantly. Our  determination  in  regard  to 
it  shall  be  duly  communicated  to  you." 

The  position  in  which  the  Elector  was 
placed  was  a  difficult  one.  To  which 
side  shall  he  incline  ?'  On  the  one  side  are 
arrayed  the  Emperor,  the  Princes  of  the 
Empire,  and  the  Sovereign  Pontiff, 
whose  authority  Frederic,  at  this'  time, 
has  no  thought  of  shaking  off;  on  the 
other  stands  a  monk,  a  poor  monk,  for 
against  Luther  alone  is  this  assault  lev- 
elled. The  reign  of  Charles  has  but  just 
begun.  Shall  Frederic,  the  oldest,  the 
wisest  of  the  sovereign  princes  of  Ger- 
many, be  the  first  to  kindle  discord  in 
the  Empire?  And,  besides,  how  shall 
he  forfeit  the  praise  of  that  devotion 
which  led  him  in  earlier  days  on  his 
long  pilgrimage  to  the  sepulchre  of 
Christ  % 

But  there  were  voices  raised  to  plead 
on  the  opposite  part  also.  A  youthful 
Prince,  who  afterwards  wore  the  electoral 
diadem,  and  whose  reign  was  signalized 
by  great  calamities — John  Frederic,  the 
son  of  Duke  John,  and  nephew  of  the 
Elector,  having  been  educated  by  Spal- 
atin,  and  having  now  attained  the  age  of 
seventeen,  had  had  his  heart  deeply  im- 
bued with  a  love  of  the  truth,  and  was 
ardently  attached  to  Luther.J  When 
he  saw  him  pursued  by  the  anathemas 
of  Rome,  he  embraced  his  cause  with  the 

*  Non  posse  cum  Luthero  conjungi  quinsejun- 
geretur  a  Christo. — (Pallavicini,  i.  86.) 

t  Ut  de  eo  supplicium  sumeret,  val  captum 
pontifici  transmitteret. — (L.  Opp.  lat.  ii.  117.) 

X  Sonderliche  Gunst  und  Gnade  zu  mir  un- 
wiirdiglich  und  den  grossen  Willen  und  Lust  zu 
der  heiligen  gottlichen  Wahrheit  .  .  . — (L.  Epp. 
548,  to  John  Frederic,  30th  October,  1520. 


fervour  of  a  young  Christian,  and  the 
spirit  of  a  young  Prince.  He  wrote  to 
the  Reformer,  and  also  to  his  uncle,  and 
with  dignified  earnestness  besought  the 
latter  to  protect  Luther  against  his  ene- 
mies. On  the  other  hand,  Spalatin, — 
often,  it  must  be  confessed,  in  too  timid  a 
strain, — as  well  as  Pontanus,  and  the 
other  counsellors  who  were  with  the 
Elector  at  Cologne,  represented  to  the 
Prince  that  he  could  not  abandon  the 
Reformer.* 

Amidst  this  general  agitation  one  man 
remained  unmoved  :  it  was  Luther  him- 
self. While  his  friends  were  invoking 
the  assistance  of  the  great  to  save  him 
from  destruction,  the  monk,  in  his  cloister 
at  Wittemberg,  had  come  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  it  was  his  part,  rather,  to  rescue 
the  great  of  this  world  from  their  immi- 
nent peril.  "  If  the  Gospel,"  he  wrote 
to  Spalatin,  "  were  of  such  a  nature  that 
it  must  be  propagated  or  supported  by 
earthly  potentates,  God  would  not  have 
committed  it  to  the  hands  of  a  few  fisher- 
men, f  It  is  not  to  princes  or  to  Pontiffs 
that  the  task  is  assigned  of  defending 
God's  word.  Enough  for  them,  if  they 
can  themselves  escape  the  judgments  of 
the  Lord  and  his  Anointed.  I  speak 
thus  boldly  that  they  may  be  led  to  ac- 
quaint themselves  with  the  divine  Word, 
and  may  find  salvation  there." 

What  Luther  desired  was  about  to  be 
accomplished.  The  same  faith,  that 
worked  unseen  in  the  convent  of  Wit- 
temberg, was  to  display  its  power  in  the 
princely  halls  of  Cologne.  Frederic's 
courage,  which  for  a  while,  perhaps,  had 
faltered,  soon  rose  again  to  its  wonted 
pitch.  He  shuddered  at  the  thought  of 
delivering  an  honest  man  into  the  hands 
of  his  implacable  enemies.  "  Justice 
must  have  precedence  even  of  the  Pope  :" 
by  this  principle  would  he  regulate  his 
conduct. 

On  the  4th  of  November,  his  counsel- 
lors intimated  in  his  name,  to  the  papal 
Nuncios,  who  had  again  met  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Bishop  of  Trent  in  the  Elec- 
tor's palace,  that  his  highness  had  seen 
with  great  concern,  the  advantage  which 

*  Assiduo  flabello  ministrorum  ill i  jugiter  sua- 
dentium  ne  Lutherum  desereret. — (Pallavicini,  i. 
86.) 

t  Evangelium  si  tale  esset  quod  potentatibus 
mundi  aut  propagaretur  aut  servaretur,  non  illud 
piscatoribus  Deus  demandasset. — (L.  Epp.  i.  521.) 


262 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


Doctor  Eck  had  taken  of  his  absence,  to 
involve  many  persons  in  the  sentence  of 
condemnation,  who  were  not  particular- 
ized in  the  bull ;  that  since  his  departure 
from  Saxony,  multitudes,  very  probably, 
of  every  class,,  the  learned  as  well  as  the 
unlearned,  the  clergy  asAvell  as  the  laity, 
had  joined  themselves  to  Luther,  and  be- 
come parties  to  his  appeal  ;*  that  neither 
his  Imperial  Majesty,  nor  any  one  else, 
had  yet  made  it  appear  to  him  that  Lu- 
ther's writings  had  been  refuted,  or  dem- 
onstrated to  be  fit  only  for  the  flames ; 
that  he  demanded  therefore,  that  Doctor 
Luther  should  be  furnished  with  a  safe- 
conduct,  and  permitted  to  answer  for  him- 
self before  a  tribunal,  composed  of  learn- 
ed, pious,  and  impartial  judges. 

After  this  announcement,  Aleander, 
Carracioli,  and  their  followers  withdrew 
for  a  while,  to  hold  a  consultation.!  This 
was  the  first  occasion  on  which  the  Elec- 
tor had  publicly  declared  his  intentions 
in  regard  to  the  Reformer.  The  Nun- 
cios had  expected  him  to  adopt  a  very 
different  course.  The  affair  having  been 
brought  to  that  stage  in  which  his  con- 
tinued neutrality  would  expose  him  to 
dangers,  the  full  extent  of  which  no  fore- 
sight could  measure, — they  thought  that 
he  would  no  longer  hesitate  to  give  up 
the  obnoxious  monk.  So  Rome  had 
reasoned.  But  her  machinations  were 
now  to  be  baffled  by  a  power  which  her 
calculations  had  left  wholly  out  of  view  ; 
— the  love  of  justice  and  truth. 

On  the  re-admission  of  the  Nuncios 
into  the  audience  chamber,  "  I  should 
like  to  know,"  said  the  arrogant  Alean- 
der, "  what  would  the  Elector  think,  if 
one  of  his  subjects  were  to  appeal  from 
his  judgment  to  that  of  the  king  of 
France,  or  some  other  foreign  sovereign." 
But  perceiving  at  last,  that  the  Saxon 
counsellors  were  not  to  be  wrought  upon: 
"  We  will  execute  the  bull,"  said  he,  "  we 
will  pursue  and  burn  the  writings  of  Lu- 
ther. As  for  his  person,"  he  added,  af- 
fecting a  tone  of  disdainful  indifference, 
"  the  Pope  has  little  inclination  to  imbrue 
his  hands  in  the  blood  of  the  unhappy 
wretch." 

*  Ut  ingens  vis  populi  doctorum  et  rudium, 
sacrorum  et  profanorum,  sese  conjunxerint  .  . . — 
(L.  Opp.  lat.  ii.  116.) 

t  Quo  audito  Marinus  et  Aleander  seorsim 
cum  suis  locuti  sunt. — (lb.  117.) 


When  the  tidings  reached  Wittemberg. 
of  the  reply  given  by  the  Elector  of  the 
Nuncios,  Luther's  friends  were  transport- 
ed with  joy.  Melancthon  and  Amsdorff, 
in  particular,  conceived  the  most  sanguine 
hopes  of  the  future.  "  The  German  no- 
bles," said  Melancthon,  "  will  follow  the 
guidance  of  the  Prince  whom  they  re- 
vere as  their  Nestor.  If  Homer  styled 
his  aged  hero  the  bulwark  of  the  Greeks, 
why  may  not  our  Frederic  be  surnamed 
the  bulwark  of  Germany  V* 

Erasmus,  the  oracle  of  courts,  the  ar- 
biter of  schools,  the  luminary  of  the  age, 
was  then  at  Cologne.  He  had  been 
summoned  thither  by  several  princes,  de- 
sirous to  profit  by  his  counsels.  Erasmus, 
at  the  epoch  of  the  Reformation,  was  the 
leader  of  that  party  which  held  the  just 
mean  between  the  other  two ;  such  at 
least  was  his  own  persuasion, — a  mis- 
taken one,  however, — for  when  truth 
and  error  stand  in  hostile  opposition,  jus- 
tice halts  not  on  the  middle  ground.  He 
was  the  chief  of  that  philosophical  and  aca- 
demic party,  which,  for  centuries,  had 
been  attempting  to  correct  the  abuses  of 
the  Romish  Church,  but  still  without 
success.  He  was  the  representative  of 
human  wisdom, — a  wisdom  far  too  weak 
to  chastise  the  pride  of  Popery.  The 
task  could  be  achieved  only  by  the  wis- 
dom of  God,  which  men  often  deem  fool- 
ishness, but  at  the  voice  of  which  the 
mountains  crumble  into  dust.  Erasmus 
would  neither  throw  himself  into  the 
arms  of  Luther,  nor  yet  would  he  crouch 
at  the  footstool  of  the  Pope.  He  wavered, 
and  sometimes  lost  his  balance  between 
the  two  opposing  influences  ;  ever  and 
anon  attracted  towards  the  Reformer,  and 
then  again  suddenly  drawn  back  into  the 
sphere  of  Romish  delusion.  In  a  letter 
addressed  to  Albert,  the  Archbishop  of 
Mentz,  he  had  declared  himself  in  Lu- 
ther's favour.  "It  seems,"  said  he,  "  as 
though  the  last  spark  of  Christian  piety 
were  about  to  be  extinguished  \  and  this 
it  is  that  has  stirred  up  the  heart  of  Lu- 
ther ; — his  aim  is  not  distinction,  nor  is 
he   seeking  wealth."!     But  this   letter, 

*  Homerica  appellatione  murum  Germanis. — 
(Corp.  Ref.  i.  272.) 

t  Et  futurum  erat  .  .  .  ut  tandem  prorsus  ex- 
tingueretur  ilia  scintilla  Christianas  pietatis  ;  haee 
moverunt  animum  Lutheri  ...  qui  nee  hono- 
res  ambit  nee  pecuniam  cupit. — (Erasm.  Epp*. 
Lond.  1642,  p.  586.) 


THE   ROMAN   BULL,   1520. 


263 


which  Ulrich  Von  Hiitten  imprudently- 
published,  was  the  cause  of  so  much  an- 
noyance to  Erasmus,  that  he  determined 
to  observe  more  caution  for  the  future. 
Moreover,  though  he  lay  under  the 
charge,  of  connivance  with  Luther,  the 
unmeasured  language  employed  by  the 
latter  gave  him  serious  umbrage  :  "  Al- 
most all  good  people  lean  towards  Lu- 
ther,"* he  observed,  "  but  I  perceive  that 
the  affair  will  end  in  rebellion  ....  I 
do  not  wish  my  name  to  be  coupled  with 
his.  f  It  injures  me  and  does  him  no 
service."^  "  Be  it  so,"  replied  Luther, 
"  if  that  displeases  you,  I  promise  you 
that  I  will  never  make  mention  of  you, 
or  any  of  your  friends."  Such  was  the 
man  to  whom  the  favourers  and  the  ene- 
mies of  the  Reformer,  alike  addressed 
themselves. 

The  Elector,  knowing  that  the  opinion 
of  a  man  so  highly  respected  as  Erasmus 
would  carry  great  weight  with  it,  re- 
quested a  visit  from  the  illustrious  Hol- 
lander. Erasmus  obeyed  the  invitation 
on  the  5th  of  December.  The  friends  of 
Luther  regarded  the  interview  with  some 
measure  of  secret  alarm.  The  Elector 
was  standing  before  the  fire,  with  Spala- 
tin  by  his  side,  when  Erasmus  was 
ushered  into  the  chamber.  "  What  think 
you  of  Luther  V  asked  Frederic  imme- 
diately. The  prudent  Erasmus,  sur- 
prised by  the  question  so  suddenly  put  to 
him,  endeavoured  at  first  to  evade  a  re- 
ply. He  screwed  up  his  mouth,  bit  his 
lips,  and  remained  silent.  Hereupon  the 
Elector  raised  his  eye-brows,^  (as  was  his 
custom,  Spalatin  tells  us,  when  he  meant 
to  force  an  explicit  answer  from  the  per- 
son with  whom  he  was  conversing,)  and 
looked  Erasmus  steadfastly  in  the  face. 
The  latter,  at  a  loss  how  to  extricate  him- 
self from  the  difficulty,  replied  at  last,  in 
a  half-jocular  tone  ;  "  Luther  has  com- 
mitted two  grievous  sins  ;  he  has  attack- 
ed the  Pope's  crown  and  the  monks'  bel- 
lies." ||      The  Elector  smiled,   but   inti- 

*  Favent  vero  ferme  boni  omnes. — (Corp.  Ref. 
i.  205.) 

t  Er  will  von  mir  ungenennt  seyn. — (L.  Epp. 
i.  255.) 

t  Nam  ea  res  me  gravat  et  Lutherum  non  sub- 
levat.— (Corp.  Ref.  i.  206.) 

§  Da  sperret  accep  wahrlich  mein  gnadigst 
Herr  seine  Augen  nur  wohl  auf  .  .  . — (Spalatin 
Hist.  MS.  in  Seckendorf,  p.  291.) 

||  Lutherus  peccavit  in  duobus,  nempe  quod 


mated  to  his  visitor  that  he  was  in  earn- 
est. Erasmus  then,  casting  off  his  reserve, 
replied  as  follows :  "  The  origin  of  all 
these  dissensions  is  the  hatred  the  monks 
bear  to  learning,  and  the  fear  that  besets 
them  of  seeing  their  tyranny  brought  to 
an  end.  What  are  the  weapons  of  their 
warfare  against  Luther  1  clamour,  cabal, 
malice,  and  slander.  The  more  virtuous 
a  man  is,  and  the  more  strongly  attached 
to  the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  the  less 
does  he  find  to  censure  in  Luther's  pro- 
ceedings.* The  severity  of  the  bull  has 
roused  the  indignation  of  all  good  men ; 
for  they  find  in  it  none  of  the  gentleness 
that  befits  the  Vicar  of  Christ,  t  Two 
universities  only,  out  of  the  whole  num- 
ber, have  condemned  Luther  ;  and  even 
they  have  condemned  without  having 
convicted  him.  Let  them  not  deceive 
themselves ;  the  danger  is  greater  than 
some  persons  imagine.  There  are  diffi- 
culties in  their  way  which  will  not  easily 
be  surmounted.^  To  begin  the  reign  of 
Charles  by  so  unpopular  an  act  as  Lu- 
ther's imprisonment,  would  be  an  evil 
omen  for  the  future.  The  world  is 
thirsting  for  gospel  truth  ;§  let  us  beware  j 
how  we  resist  so  holy  a  desire.  Let  the 
whole  question  be  examined  by  dispas- 
sionate and  competent  judges  ;  it  is  the 
only  course  that  can  be  followed,  con- 
sistently with  the  dignity  of  the  Pope 
himself." 

Such  was  the  language  of  Erasmus  to 
the  Elector.  Its  frankness  may  perhaps 
astonish  us  ;  but  Erasmus  well  knew  to 
whom  he  was  speaking.  Spalatin  listen- 
ed to  it  with  delight.  When  Erasmus 
took  his  leave,  he  accompanied  him  the 
whole  way  to  the  house  of  Count  von 
Nuenar,  the  provost  of  Cologne,  where 
the  illustrious  scholar  resided.  The  lat- 
ter, obeying  the  impulse  of  the  moment, 
when  he  found  himself  at  home,  sat 
down,  committed  to  writing  the  substance 
of  what  he  had  said  to  the.  Elector,  and 
gave  the  paper  into  Spalatin's  hands. 
The  fear  of  Aleander,  however,  soon  took 

etigit  coronam  pontificis  et  ventres  monachorum. 
— (See  previous  part  of  the  volume.) 

*  Cum  optimus  quisque  et  evangelical  doctrinaB 
proximus  dicatur  minime  offensus  Luthero. — 
(Axiomata  Erasmi  in  L.  Opp.  lat.  ii.  115.) 

t  Bulte  sevitia  probos  omnes  ofFendit  ut  indig- 
na  mitissimo  Christi  vicario. — (Ibid.) 

t  Urgent  ardua  negotia. 

§  Mundus  sitit  veritatem  evangelicam. — (Ibid.) 


264 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


possession  of  his  mind ;  the  courage  he 
had  felt  in  the  presence  of  the  Elector 
and  his  chaplain  forsook  him,  and  he  en- 
treated Spalatin  to  let  him  have  that  un- 
guarded paper  back  again,  lest  it  should 
fall  into  the  hands  of  the  terrible  Nuncio. 
But  it  was  already  too  late. 

The  Elector,  feeling  himself  strength- 
ened by  the  opinion  of  Erasmus,  assumed 
a  more  decided  tone  in  his  communica- 
tions with  the  Emperor.'  Erasmus  him- 
self, in  several  conferences,  which  (like 
those  granted  to  Nicodemus  of  old,)  were 
held  at  night,*  laboured  hard  to  persuade 
the  Imperial  counsellors  that  the  whole 
affair  might  be  referred  to  the  judgment 
of  an  impartial  tribunal.  He  probably 
hoped  that  he  himself  might  be  chosen 
to  decide  the  controversy  which  threat- 
ened to  divide  the  Christian  world.  His 
vanity  would  have  found  ample  gratifi- 
cation in  such  an  office.  But  at  the  same 
time,  that  he  might  not  lose  his  credit  at 
Rome,  he  wrote  to  Leo  the  Tenth,  in  the 
most  submissive  terms,  and  Leo  answer- 
ed his  letters  graciously  ;  a  circumstance 
which  was  the  source  of  deep  mortifica- 
tion to  Aleander.f  In  his  devotion  to  the 
Pope's  cause,  the  Nuncio  would  willing- 
ly have  administered  a  severe  reproof  to 
the  Pope  himself;  for  Erasmus  gave 
publicity  to  the  Pontiff's  letters,  and 
made  them  subservient  to  the  confirma- 
tion of  his  own  credit.  Aleander  for- 
warded a  remonstrance  on  this  head  to 
the  Vatican.  The  reply  he  received  was 
to  this  effect :  "  Do  not  appear  to  per- 
ceive the  evil  intentions  of  the  man. 
Prudence  forbids  it.  We  must  not  close 
the  door  of  repentance  against  him. "J 

Charles  himself  adopted  a  system  of 
equipoise,  which  consisted  in  flattering 
both  the  Pope  and  the  Elector,  and  mani- 
festing a  disposition  to  lean  alternately  to 
the  one  side  or  the  other,  according  to 
the  shifting  exigency  of  the  moment. 
His  ministers  obscurely  intimated  to  Ale- 
ander the  plan  which  their  master  was 
inclined  to  follow.  "  The  Emperor," 
said  they,  "  will  be  regulated  in  his  con- 
duct towards  the  Pope,  by  the  tenor  of 
the  Pope's  conduct  towards  himself:  he 

*  Sollicitatis  per  nocturnosicongressus  .  .  . — 

(Pallavicini,  p.  87.) 

t  Quce  male  torquebant.  Aleandrum. — (Ibid.) 
X  Prudentis  erat   consilii  hominis  pravitatem 

dissimulare. — (Pallavicini,  p.  88.) 


does  not  choose  to  increase  the  power  of 
his  rivals,  particularly  that  of  the  king  of 
France."*  At  these  words,  the  arrogant 
Nuncio  gave  vent  to  his  indignation " 
"  What,"  he  replied,  "  even  though  the 
Pope  should  relinquish  his  alliance  with 
the  Emperor,  must  the  Emperor  on  that 
account  relinquish  his  creed  t  If  that  be 
the  way  in  which  he  means  to  avenge 
himself,  bid  him  tremble, — his  faithless- 
ness will  be  visited  on  his  own  head!" 
But  the  Imperial  diplomatists  were  not  to 
be  intimidated  by  the  Nuncio's  threats. 

Yet  though  the  Roman  legates  had 
failed  to  bend  the  great  ones  of  this  world 
to  their  will,  the  inferior  agents  of  the 
Papacy  succeeded  in  making  some  im- 
pression on  the  lower  ranks  of  men. 
The  myrmidons  of  Rome  had  heard  the 
command  given  by  their  chief.  Many 
fanatical  priests  gladly  took  advantage 
of  the  bull  to  alarm  the  consciences  of 
their  hearers,  and  many  well-meaning 
but  ill-instructed  ecclesiastics  deemed  it  a 
sacred  duty  to  obey  the  injunctions  of 
the  Pope.  It  was  in  the  confessional 
that  the  struggle  against  Rome  had  been 
begun  by  Luther  ;f  it  was  in  the  con- 
fessional that  Rome  now  put  forth  her 
strength  against  the  adherents  of  the  Re- 
former. Denied  all  public  recognition 
of  its -validity,  the  bull,  nevertheless,  be- 
came powerfully  operative  in  these  soli- 
tary tribunals.  "  Have  you  read  the 
writings  of  Luther  ?"  was  the  question 
put  by  the  confessor  : — ';  have  you  them 
in  your  possession  ? — do  you  regard  them 
as  true  or  heretical?"  And  if  the  peni- 
tent hesitated  to  pronounce  the  prescribed 
anathema,  the  priest  refused  him  absolu- 
tion. The  consciences  of  many  were 
disturbed.  Great  agitation  prevailed 
amongst  the  people.  This  dexterous  ex- 
pedient prolnised  fair  to  bring  multitudes 
once  more  under  the  papal  yoke,  who 
had  but  now  been  won  over  to  the  gos- 
pel Well  might  Rome  rejoice  that  six 
centuries  before^  she  had  created  a  tribu- 
nal so  admirably  adapted  to  secure  to  the 
priesthood  a  despotic  sway  over  the  con- 
science of  every  Christian.     So  long  as 

*  Csesarem  ita  se  gesturum  erga  Pontificem 
uti  se  Pontifex  erga  Csesarem  gereret .  .  . — (Ibid. 
91.) 

t  See  p.  142. 

X  In  1215,  by  the  fourth  Lateran  Council,  un- 
der Innocent  the  Third. 


THE   ROMAN   BULL,   1520. 


2G5 


that  tribunal  stands  her  empire  shall  not 
be  overthrown. 

Luther  was  speedily  informed  of  what 
was  going  on.  With  none  to  aid  him  in 
baffling  this  device,  how  shall  he  act  ? 
The  Word,  the  testimony  of  Holy  Writ, 
loudly  and  fearlessly  proclaimed — this 
shall  be  his  weapon  of  defence.  The 
Word  shall  find  access  to  those  troubled 
consciences,  those  dismayed  hearts, — and 
they  shall  be  strengthened.  A  powerful 
impulse  was  needed,  and  powerfully  was 
the  voice  of  Luther  lifted  up.  He  ad- 
dressed the  penitents  in  a  tone  of  intrepid 
dignity  and  high-minded  contempt  for 
all  secondary  considerations.  "  When 
you  are  asked,"  said  he,  "whether  or 
not  you  approve  of  my  books,  let  your 
answer  be — '  You  are  a  confessor,  not  an 
inquisitor  nor  a  gaoler.  It  is  my  duty 
to  confess  whatsoever  my  conscience 
prompts  me  to  disclose,  it  is  yours  to  ab- 
stain from  prying  into  the  secrets  of  my 
heart.  Give  me  absolution  first,  and 
then  dispute  with  Luther — with  the 
Pope — with  whomsoever  you  please  ; 
but  beware  of  turning  the  sacrament  of 
penance  into  an  instrument  of  strife  and 
debate.'  And  if  the  confessor  should  re- 
fuse to  yield,"  said  Luther,  "I  would  dis- 
pense with  his  absolution.  Be  not  dis- 
quieted ;  if  man  absolves  you  not,  God 
will  absolve  you.  Rejoice,  therefore, 
that  you  are  absolved  of  God  himself, 
and  come  forward  fearlessly  to  the  sacra- 
ment of  the  altar.  The  priest  will  have 
to  answer  at  the  last  day  for  the  absolu- 
tion he  has  withheld.  They  may  deny 
us  the  sacrament,  but  they  cannot  de- 
prive us  of  the  strength  and  grace  which 
God  has  attached  to  it.  It  is  not  their 
will,  nor  any  power  of  theirs,  but  our 
own  faith  that  the  Lord  has  made  essen- 
tial to  our  salvation.  The  sacrament, — 
the  altar, — the  priest, — the  church — we 
may  pass  them  all  by  ;  that  word  of  God 
which  the  bull  condemned  is  more  than 
all  these  things!  The  soul  may  dis- 
pense with  the  sacrament,  but  it  cannot 
live  without  the  Word.  Christ,  the  true 
bishop,  will  himself  supply  your  spiritual 
feast."* 

Such  was  the  strain  of  Luther's  exhor- 
tation. That  animating  voice  pierced 
the  recesses  of  every  dwelling, — of  every 

*  Und  wird  dich  der  reehte  Bisehopp  Christus 
seiber  speisen. — (L.  Opp.  lxvii.  563.) 
34 


troubled  bosom, — and  courage  and  faith 
were  everywhere!  awakened  by  its  echoes. 
But  it  was  not  enough  for  him  to  stand 
on  the  defensive, — he  felt  that  he  must 
become  the  assailant,  and  return  blow  for 
blow.  A  book  had  been  written  against 
him  by  a  Roman  theologian,  named 
Ambrosius  Catharinus.  "  I  will  rouse 
the  choler  of  that  Italian  beast,"*  said 
Luther.  He  kept  his  word.  In  his  an- 
swer, he  proved  by  the  revelations  of 
Daniel  and  St.  John,  by  the  Epistlea  of 
St.  Paul,  St.  Peter,  and  St.  Jude,  that  the 
kingdom  of  Antichrist,  predicted  and  de- 
scribed in  the  Bible,  was  no  other  than 
the  Papacy.  "  I  know  for  certain,"  said 
he,  in  conclusion,  "  that  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  liveth  and  reigneth.  In  the 
strength  of  that  assurance  I  could  face 
ten  thousand  Popes,  and  never  shrink. 
May  God  visit  us  at  length  according  to 
his  infinite  power,  and  hasten  the  day 
of  the  glorious  coming  of  his  Son,  in 
which  he  shall  destroy  that  man  of  sin. 
And  let  all  the  people  say,  Amen."t 

And  all  the  people  did  say,  Amen  !  A 
sacred  dread  took  possession  of  every 
mind.  The  image  of  Antichrist  seated 
on  the  Pontificial  throne  was  present  to 
every  imagination.  This  new  idea,  so 
startlingly  displayed  by  Luther  to  his 
contemporaries  in  the  glowing  colours  of 
prophetic  delineation,  gave  a  fearful  sliock 
to  the  power  of  Rome.  Faith  in  the  di- 
vine Word  succeeded  to  that  unqualified 
submission  which  had  hitherto  been  ren- 
dered to  the  Church,  and  the  Pope's  au- 
thority, so  long  regarded  with  the  deep- 
est reverence,  was  now  the  object  of  gen- 
eral detestation  and  terror. 

Germany  replied  to  the  Papal  bull  by 
saluting  Luther  with  redoubled  acclama- 
tions. The  plague  had  made  its  appear- 
ance in  Wittemberg,  yet  new  students 
were  continually  flocking  to  the  univer- 
sity, and  from  five  to  six  hundred  disci- 
ples were  statedly  assembled  to  listen  to 
the  lectures  of  Luther  and  Melanc- 
thon.  The  convent  chapel  and  the 
city  church  were  both  too  small  for  the 
eager  crowd  that  hung  on  the  lips  of  the 
Reformer.  The  prior  of  the  Augustines 
was  in  constant  alarm,  lest  the  buildings 

*  Italicee  best'aj  bilem  movebo. — (L.  Epp.  i. 
570.) 

t  Ostendat  ilium  diem  adventus  gloriae  Filii 
sui  quo  destruatur  iniquus  ist. — (L.  Opp.  lat.  ii. 
162.) 


266 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


should  give  way  under  the  weight  of  the 
throngs  that  filled  them.*  Nor  was  this 
excitement  confined  within  the  walls  of 
Wittemberg — all  Germany  partook  of  it. 
From  princes,  nobles,  and  scholars,  in 
every  quarter, — Luther  received  letters 
that  spoke  the  language  of  encourage- 
ment and  of  faith.  More  than  thirty 
such  letters  were  shown  by  him  to  Spal- 
atin.f 

On  one  occasion  the  Margrave  of 
Brandenburg,  accompanied  by  several 
other  princes,  came  to  Wittemberg  to  pay 
Luther  a  visit.  "  They  wanted  to  see 
the  Man,"!  as  he  himself  expresses  it. 
And  of  a  truth  all  wanted  to  see  the  man 
whose  voice  stirred  the  nations  and 
caused  the  Pontiff  of  the  West  to  totter 
on  his  throne. 

The  enthusiasm  of  Luther's  friends 
grew  stronger  every  day.  "  O  the  un- 
heard-of folly  of  Emser  !"  cried  Melanc- 
thon,  "  that  he  should  presume  to  mea- 
sure his  strength  with  our  Hercules,  over- 
looking the  finger  of  God  in  what  has 
been  done  by  Luther,^  even  as  the  king 
of  Egypt  overlooked  it  in  the  acts  of 
Moses."  The  mild  Melancthon  em- 
ployed 'the  most  energetic  language  to 
urge  forward  such  as  appeared  to  him  to 
be  falling  back,  or  pausing  in  their 
course.  "  Luther  has  arisen  to  defend 
the  truth,"  said  he,  addressing  John 
Hesse,  "  and  dost  thou  keep  silence  ? 
He  breathes  still — aye  and  prospers, — in 
spite  of  all  the  wrath  and  fury  of  Pope 
Leo.  Remember  that  it  is  impossible  for 
Romish  impiety  to  give  a  sanction  to  the 
Gospel.  ||  In  this  unhappy  age  how  can 
we  hope  that  a  Judas  or  a  Caiaphas, — a 
Pilate  or  a  Herod  will  ever  be  wanting 
to  uphold  the  evil  cause.  Stand  forth 
then  to  resist  such  adversaries,  in  the 
might  of  God's  holy  word." 

Besides  this,  caustic  satires  against  the 
most  conspicuous  among  the  Italian 
agents    of    the    Pope   were     circulated 

*  Es  mochte  noch  gar  die  Kirche  und  Capelle 
um  der  Men  go  willen  einfallen. — (Spalatin  in 
Seckend.  p.  295.) 

t  Mehr  als  dreyssig  Briefe  von  Fiirsten. — 
(Ibid.) 

t  Videre  enim  hominem  voluerunt. — (L.  Epp. 
i.  544.     16  Jan.  1521.) 

§  .  .  Dei  digitum  esse  qua?  a  Martino  fiant. — 
(Corp.  Ref.  i.  282.) 

||  Non  posse  Evangelium  Romanae  impietati 
probari.— (Corp.  Ref.  i.  280.) 


through  all  the  provinces  of  the  empire. 
Ulric  Von  Hiitten  was  indefatigable  in 
his  exertions.  He  addressed  letters  to 
Luther,  to  the  Legates,  to  all  the  most 
considerable  personages  of  Germany.  "  I 
tell  thee — once  and  again  I  tell  thee,  O 
Marinus !"  said  he  in  an  epistle  to  the 
Legate  Carracioli,  "  that  those  deceitful 
mists  with  which  you  blinded  our  eyes 
are  scattered  for  ever :  the  Gospel  is 
preached,  the  truth  is  made  known,  the 
absurdities  of  Rome  are  given  up  to  con- 
tempt—your decrees  are  unheeded  and 
null, — our  deliverance  is  at  hand."* 

Not  content  with  the  use  of  prose, 
Hiitten  had  recourse  also  to  verse.  He 
published  his  "  Outcry  on  the  Fire  raised 
by  Luther y]  Appealing  in  his  poem  to 
Christ  himself,  he  besought  him  to  re- 
buke in  his  fiery  displeasure  all  who 
dared  to  deny  his  authority.  Hiitten 
was  not  inclined  to  stop  at  words ; — he 
was  eager  to  draw  his  sword  in  the  strug- 
gle. Luther  reproved  his  rash  designs. 
"  I  would  not  have  the  Gospel  supported 
by  violence  and  carnage,"  said  he :  "  I 
have  written  to  Hiitten  to  tell  him  so. "J 

The  celebrated  painter  Lucas  Cranach 
published  a  set  of  prints  under  the  title 
of  Christ' 's  Passion  and  Antichrist :  re- 
presenting on  one  side  the  glory  and 
magnificence  of  the  Pope  ;  on  the  other 
the  humdiation  and  sufferings  of  the 
Redeemer.  Luther  composed  the  in- 
scriptions for  these  prints.  They  pro- 
duced an  unexampled  effect.  The  peo- 
ple renounced  their  attachment  to  a 
church  which  appeared  in  every  partic- 
ular so  directly  opposed  to  the  example 

*  Ablata  ilia  est  a  vobis  inducta  olim  nostris 
oculis  caligo  .  .  .  praedicatur  Evangelium  .  .  . 
spes  est  libertatis. — (Ulric  ab  Hiitten  Eques.  Mar. 
Carrac.  M.  Opp.  lat.  ii.  176.) 

t     ...  Quo  tu  oculos,  pie  Cbriste,  tuos,  fron- 
tisque  severa? 
Tende  supercilium,  teque  esse  ostende  ne- 

ganti. 
Qui  te  contemnunt  igitur  mediumque  to- 

nanti 
Ostendunt  dignitum,  tandem  iis  te  ostende 

potentem 
Te  videat  ferns  ille  Leo,  te  tota  malorum 
Sentiat  illuvies,  scelerataque  Roma  tremis- 

cat 
Ultorem  scelerum  discant  te  vhrere  saltern 
Qui  regnare  negant. 

(In  Incendium  Lutberanum  Exclama- 
tio  Ulrichi  Hiitten  Equitis,  Ibid.) 
t  Nollem  vi  et  ccede  pro  Evangelio  certari ; 
ita  scripsi  ad  hominum. — (L.  Epp.  i.  243.) 


THE  ROMAN  BULL,  1520. 


267 


of  its  founder.  "It  is  an  excellent  work," 
said  Luther,  "for  the  laity."* 

In  some  instances  those  who  attacked 
the  Papacy  employed  weapons  ill  suited 
to  the  sanctity  of  the  Christian  character. 
Emser  had  answered  Luther's  work,  ad- 
dressed "  To  the  Goat  of  Leipsic ;"  hy 
another  inscribed,  "  To  the  Bull  of  Wit- 
temberg ;"  the  appellation  was  not  ill 
chosen.  But  at  Magdeburg  Emser' s 
book  was  hung  to  the  gallows,  with  this 
inscription,  "  The  book  is  worthy  of  its 
place,"  and  a  rod  was  hung  under  it  to 
denote  the  punishment  due  to  the  author,  f 
At  Doeblin  there  was  written  under  the 
Pope's  bull,  in, derision  of  its  impotent 
fury,  "  The  nest  is  here,  but  the  birds  are 
flown. "+ 

The  students  of  Wittemberg,  taking 
advantage  of  the  carnival,  dressed  up 
one  of  their  own  number  in  garments  re- 
sembling those  worn  by  the  Pope,  and 
carried  him  in  pompous  procession, 
though  in  a  manner  somewhat  too  ludi- 
crous, as  Luther  remarks,^*  through  the 
streets  of  the  city.  When  they  reached 
the  great  square  beside  the  river,  some  of 
them,  feigning  a  mutiny,  made  a  sudden 
attempt  to  throw  the  Pope  into  the  wa- 
ter. His  Holiness,  unwilling  to  submit 
to  the  immersion,  took  to  his  heels  ;  his 
cardinals,  his  bishops,  and  familiars  of 
every  degree  did  the  same ;  the  students 
chased  them  from  street  to  street,  and 
every  corner  of  Wittemberg  enjoyed  the 
spectacle  of  some  Romish  dignitary  pur- 
sued by  the  jeers  and  shouts  of  the  ex- 
cited populace.  ||  "  The  enemy  of  Christ," 
says  Luther,  "  who  mocks  at  kings,  and 
at  Christ  himself,  meets  but  a  just  re- 
quital, when  he  also  is  turned  into  mock- 
ery." Here,  in  our  judgment,  he  errs; 
the  spotless  dignity  of  truth  ought  not  to 
be  so  profaned.  In  the  conflicts  she  is 
called  upon  to  wage  she  needs  not  such 
auxiliaries  as  songs,  or  the  caricatures,  or 
mummeries  of  a  carnival.     It  may  be, 

*  Bonus  et  pro  laicis  liber. — (Ibid.  571.) 

t  In  publico  infamise  loco  affixus. — (Ibid.  560.) 

t  Das  Nest  is  hie  ;  die  Vogel  sind  ausgeflogen. 

—(Ibid.  570.) 

§  Nimis  ludicre   Papam  personatum  circum- 

venerunt  sublimem  et  pompaticum.  .  .  . — (Ibid. 

561.) 

||  .  .  .  Fugitivum  cum  Cardinalibus,  Episcopis, 

famulisque  suis  in  diversas  partes  oppidi  disper- 

serunt  et  insecuti  sunt. — (L.  Epp.  i.  561.    17  Feb. 

1521.) 


indeed,  that  without  these  popular  de- 
monstrations, her  success  would  be  less 
apparent :  but  it  would  be  purer  and  con- 
sequently more  durable. 

It  was  not  all  exultation  and  defiance, 
however,  with  the  Reformer.  Behind 
his  triumphal  chariot,  drawn  joyously 
along  by  enthusiastic  and  devoted  ad- 
herents, there  stood  the  slave  to  remind 
him  of  impending  evil-  Some  of  his 
friends,  at  this  time,  seemed  disposed  to 
retrace  their. steps.  Staupitz,  whom  he 
called  his  father,  appeared  to  be  wavering. 
The  Pope  had  accused  him,  and  Staupiz 
had  declared  himself  ready  to  submit  to 
the  judgment  of  His  Holiness.  "  I  fear," 
said  Luther,  "  that  by  accepting  the  Pops 
as  your  judge,  you  will  seem  to  renounce 
me  and  the  doctrines  which  I  have 
maintained.  If  Christ  loves  you,  he  will 
constrain  you  to  retract  your  letter. 
Christ  is  rejected,  stripped,  blasphemed: 
this  is  not  the  time  to  shrink  back,  but 
to  sound  the  onset.*  You  exhort  me  to 
be  humble :  I,  on  the  other  hand,  exhort 
you  to  be  firm  ;  for  you  have  too  much 
humility,  as  I  have  too  much  pride.  I 
shall  be  called  a  proud  man, — I  know  ; — 
a  covetous  man,  an  adulterer,  a  homicide, 
an  anti-pope,  a  wretch  guilty  of  every 
crime.  It  matters  little, — so  that  no  one 
can  charge  me  with  having  impiously 
kept  silence  while  the  Lord  was  com- 
plaining ; '  /  looked  on  my  right  hand  and 
beheld  ;  but  there  was  no  man  that  would 
know  me.'  The  word  of  Christ  is  a 
word,  not  of  peace,  but  of  the  sword. 
If  you  will  not  follow  Christ,  let  me  ad- 
vance alone.  I  will  press  forward,  and 
the  prize  of  the  high  calling  shall  be 
mine."f 

Luther  thus,  like  a  consummate  gen- 
eral, kept  a  watchful  eye  on  the  face  of 
the  battle  ;  and  while  fresh  combatants 
were  continually  rushing  forward  at  his 
bidding  into  the  thickest  of  the  fight,  he 
failed  not  to  mark  where  any  of  his  fol- 
lowers were  beginning  to  give  ground  ; 
nor  was  he  slow  to  rally  them  again  be- 
neath their  adopted  standard.  His  warn- 
ing voice  resounded  far  and  wide.  Let- 
ter followed  letter  in  rapid  succession. 
Three  printing  presses  were  incessantly 

*  Non  enim  hie  tempus  timendi  sed  clamandi, 
—(Ibid.  557.) 

t  Quod  si  tu  non  vis  sequi,  sine  me  ire  et  rapi. 
— (L.  Epp.  i.  558.) 


268 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


employed  in.  multiplying  the  copies  of  his 
various  writings.*  His  discourses  passed 
from  hand  to  hand  through  the  whole 
nation  ; — supporting  the  agitated  penitent 
in  the  confessional, — giving  courage  to 
the  faltering  convert  in  the  cloister, — and 
asserting  the  claims  of  evangelic  truth, 
even  in  the  abodes  of  princes. 

"  Amid  the  storms  that  assailed  me," 
he  wrote  to  the  Elector,  "  I  always  hoped 
that  I  should  be  permitted  to  enjoy  re- 
pose at  last.  But  I  now  see.  that  this  was 
one  of  the  thoughts  of  man.  Day  after 
day  the  waves  are  rolling  higher,  and  on 
every  side  the  ocean  hems  me  in.  Fierce- 
ly indeed  is  the  tempest  raging,f  yet  I 
still  grasp  the  sword  with  one  hand, 
while  with  the  other  I  build  up  the  walls 
of  Sion."J  His  former  ties  are  now 
broken  ;  the  arm  that  levelled  the  thun- 
ders of  excommunication  against  him, 
has  severed  them  for  ever.  "  Being  ex- 
communicated by  the  bull,"  said  he,  "  I 
am  released  from  the  authority  of  the 
Pope,  and  the  monastic  laws.  I  embrace 
my  deliverance  with  joy.  Yet  I  relin- 
quish not  the  habit  of  my  order  ;  nor  do 
I  leave  the  convent."^  And  still,  in  the 
midst  of  all  this  commotion,  he  recalls  to 
mind  the  dangers  to  which  his  own  soul 
is  exposed  in  the  struggle.  He  feels 
the  necessity  of  watching  over  himself. 
"  Thou  dost  well  to  pray  for  me,"  he 
wrote  to  Pelliean,  who  was  residing  at 
Basle  ;  "  I  cannot  give  myself  up  as  I 
ought  to  holy  exercises  ;  life  is  a  Cross  to 
me.  Thou  dost  well  in  exhorting  me  to 
moderation  ;  I  feel  the  need  of  it ;  but  I 
am  not  master  of  myself:  an  impulse,  of 
I  know  not  what  nature,  hurries  me  away. 
I  bear  enmity  to  no  man  ;  ||  but  I  am  so 
beset  with  enemies  myself,  that  I  cannot 
be  sufficiently  on  my  guard  against  the 
seductions  of  Satan.  Pray  for  me 
then  .  .  ." 

Thus  it  was  that  both  the  Reformer 
and  the  Reformation  were  led  forward 
on  the  way  which  God  had  marked  out 

*  Cum  tria  prcelia  solus  ego  occupare  cogar. — 
(L.  Epp.  i.  558.) 

t  Videns  rem  tumultuosissimo  tumult  u  tumul- 
tuante.m. — (Ibid.  546.) 

t  Unna  manii  gladium  apprehendens  et  altera 
murum  sedificatiirus. — (lb.  565.) 

§  Ab  ordinis  et  Papse  legibus  solutus  .  .  .  quod 
gaudeo  et  amplector. — (L.  Epp.  i.  568.) 

||  .  .  .  Compos  mei  non  sum,  rapior  nescio  quo 
Bpiritu,  eum  nemiui  me  male  veile  conscius  sim. 
—(Ibid.  555.) 


for  them.  The  agitation  was  still  spread- 
ing more  widely.  Persons  who  might 
have  been  expected  to  prove  the  staunch- 
est  adherents  of  the.  hierarchy,  began 
now  to  share  in  the  general  movement. 
"  Those  even,:'  says  Eck,  with  consider- 
able candour,  "  on  whom  the  Pope  has 
conferred  the  best  benefices  and  the  rich- 
est prebends,  are  as  mute  as  so  many 
senseless  stocks.  There  are  many  of 
them  even,  who  extol  Luther  as  a  man 
filled  with  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  call  the 
defenders  of  the  Pope  sophists  and  flat- 
terers."* The  church,  apparently  in  full 
vigour,  supported  by  the  treasures,  the 
power,  the  armed  array  of  the  world, — 
but  in  reality  exhausted,  enfeebled,  des- 
titute of  the  love  of  God,  of  Christian 
vitality,  of  devotion  to  the  truth, — found 
herself,  in  this  condition,  opposed  to  a 
company  of  simple-minded  but  courage- 
ous men,  who  had  learned  that  God  is 
with  them  who  contend  for  his  Word, 
and  therefore  never  doubted  of  their  vic- 
tory. In  all  ages  it  has  been  seen  how 
great  is  the  power  of  any  predominant 
idea  to  work  upon  the  inert  mass  of  man- 
kind, to  rouse  the  spirit  of  a  nation,  and 
to  urge  its  votaries  by  thousands,  if  need 
be,  into  the  field  of  battle  and  the  very 
jaws  of  death.  But  if  an  idea  whose 
origin  is  earthly  has  a  potency  so  great, 
— what  limit  shall  we  set  to  the  power 
of  one  communicated  from  above,  wThen 
God  himself  has  opened  men's  hearts  to 
receive  it?  Not  often,  indeed,  in  the 
world's  history  has  such  a  power  been 
exerted  ;  it  was  displayed,  however,  in 
the  infancy  of  Christianity, — at  the  period 
of  the  Reformation  it  was  exhibited  again, 
— and  it  shall  be  witnessed  once  more  in 
the  latter  days.  Men  who  despised  the 
riches  and  the  grandeur  of  the  world, 
and  were  content  to  lead  a  life  of  poverty 
and  privation,  began  now  to  bestir  them- 
selves for  the  sake  of  that  most  precious 
of  all  treasures,  the  doctrine  of  truth  and 
grace.  Alt  the  elements  of  religious  feel- 
ings were  fermenting  in  the  agitated  bo- 
som of  society,  and  a  glowing  enthusiasm 
was  kindled  in  men's  souls,  which  forced 
them  by  an  irresistible  impulse,  into  that 
glorious  career  opened  by  the  providence 
of  God  for  the  moral  renovation  of  their 


*  Reynald,  Epist.  J.  Eekii  ad  Cardinal  Con- 
tareuum. 


THE   DIET   OF   WORMS,  1531. 


2&9 


BOOK   VII. 


THE   DIET   OP   WORMS.     1521.    JANUARY   TO   MAY. 


Difficulties — Luther  Summoned  to  Worms — Public  Opinion — Efforts  of  Aleander — Fresh  Chargei 
Against  Luther — Aleander  Rouses  Rome — The  Bull  Fulminated — Luther's  Motives — Political 
Councils — The  Confessor — And  the  Chancellor — Unavailing  Manoeuvres — Erasmus's  Decla- 
ration— The  Briefs — The  Threats — The  Audience — Speech  of  Aleander — Rome's  Defence — 
— Appeal  to  Charles — Effects  of  the  Nuncio's  Speech — Feelings  of  the  Princes — Duke  George's 
Speech — Character  of  the  Reformation — 'Charles  Gives  Way — Public  Opinion — Luther's  Seren- 
ity— Death  and  no  Retractation — Summons — Safe-Conduct — Fears  of  the  Elector — Holy- 
Thursday  at  Rome — The  Pope  and  Luther — Luther's  Courage — Bugenhagen — Persecution  in 
Pomerania — Amsdorff — Schurff — Hutten  to  Charles  V. — Luther's  Farewell — Luther  at  Weimar 
— Cavalcade  of  Erfurth — Justus  Jonas — Preaches  at  Erfnrth — Faith  and  Works — The  People  and 
Luther — Luther  to  Spalatin — A  Stratagem — Luther's  Resolution — Enters  Worms — Death  Song 
— Capito  and  the  Temporisers — Citation — His  Prayer — The  Strength  of  the  Reformation — Lu- 
ther Repairs  to  the  Diet — The  Diet — Luther  is  Encouraged — Luther's  Answer — Luther's  Pru- 
dence— The  Spaniards — Luther's  Vow — Luther  Again  Before  the  Diet — Luther's  Speech — 
Requires  Proof  of  Error — A  Warning  Voice — Repeats  his  Speech  in  Latin — New  Attempt — 
Calm  in  the  Midst  of  Tumult — Duke  Eric's  Offering — The  Elector  and  Spalatin — The  Em- 
peror's Message — The  Safe-Conduct  in  Danger — Enthusiasm  for  Luther — Conciliation — Con- 
course to  Luther — Philip-  of  Hesse — Conference  at  Abp.  of  Treves — Wehe's  Exhortation — Pri- 
vate Conversation — Cochlteus's  Proposal — Bursting  of  the  Wine  Glass — Conference  at  the  Ho- 
tel— Final  Conference  with  the  Archbishop — End  of  the  Negociations — Luther  Ordered  to  Quit 
Worms — Luther's  Departure  from  Worms — His  Letter  to  Cranach — Luther's  Letter  to  Charles 
V. — The  Curate  of  Eisenach — Charles  Signs  the  Decree  Against  Luther — The  Edict  of  Worms 
— Luther  Among  his  Relations — The  Ways  of  God — The  Wartburg — The  Reformation  Under  a 
Cloud. 


The  Reformation  engendered  by  the 
solitary  struggles  of  a  broken  and  con- 
trite spirit,  in  a  cell  of  the  convent  at  Er- 
furth, had  been  gaining  strength  from 
the  moment  of  its  birth.  A  man  of  hum- 
ble station,  holding  in  his  hand  the  Word 
of  life,  had  stood  erect  in  the  presence  of 
earthly  dignities,  and  they  had  quailed 
before  him.  Armed  with  that  Word 
alone,  he  had  encountered  first  Tetzel 
and  his  numerous  host,  and  after  brief 
resistance  those  greedy  traffickers  had 
been  driven  from  the  field ; — then  the 
Roman  Legate  at  Augsburg,  and  the 
Legate,  in  confusion,  had  suffered  his 
prey  to  escape ; — then  again  the  learned 
divines,  in  the  halls  of  Leipsic,  and  the 
astonished  theologians  had  seen  the 
weapons  of  their  scholastic  logic  shivered 
in  their  hands ; — lastly,  when  the  Pope 
himself  had  started  from  his  slumbers  to 
launch  his  fiercest  lightnings  at  the  head 
of  the  offending  monk — that  same  Word 
had  again  been  the  safeguard  of  him 
who  trusted  in  it,  and  the  arm  of  the 
spiritual  despot  had  been  stricken  with 
palsy.  One  struggle  more  was  yet  to  be 
endured ;  for  the  Word  was  destined  to 


triumph  over  the  Emperor  of  the  West, 
over  the  kings  and  princes  of  many  lands, 
and  at  length,  having  humbled  all  earthly 
opposition,  to  be  exalted  in  the  church, 
and  there  to  reign  supreme  as  the  very 
Word  of  the  living  God. 

A  solemn  diet  was  about  to  be  con- 
vened,— the  first  assembly  of  the  German 
States  since  the  accession  of  Charles. 
Nuremberg,  the  city  in  which,  by  virtue 
of  the  Golden  Bull,  it  ought  to  have  been 
held,  was  at  this  time  afflicted  by  the 
plague ;  it  was  therefore  summoned  to 
meet  at  Worms,  on  the  6th  of  January, 
1521.*  Never  before  had  so  many 
princes  been  present  at  the  Diet ;  on  this 
occasion  all  were  desirous  of  taking  a 
part  in  the  first  act  of  the  young  Empe- 
ror's government ;  all  were  ambitious  of 
displaying  their  own  grandeur.  Among 
the  rest  the  young  Landgrave  Philip 
of  Hesse,  who  was  afterwards  to  play  so 
important  a  part  in  the  Reformation, 
arrived  at  Worms  about  the  middle  of 
January,  with  a  train  of  six  hundred  cav- 
aliers, many  of  them  highly  distinguished 
for  their  military  prowess. 

*  Sleidan,  vol.  i.  80. 


270 


HISTORY   OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


A  more  powerful  motive,  however, 
had  actuated  the  electors,  the  dukes,  the 
archbishops,  the  landgraves,  the  mar- 
graves, the  counts,  the  bishops,  the  bar- 
ons and  lords  of  the  Empire,  as  well  as 
the  deputies  of  the  free  cities  and  the  am- 
bassadors of  the  various  foreign  sover- 
eigns, whose  gorgeous  retinues  were  now 
pouring  from  every  quarter  into  the  city 
of  Worms.  Intimation  had  been  given 
that  the  Diet  would  be  occupied  with  the 
nomination  of  a  Council  of  Regency  to 
administer  the  government  in  the  Empe- 
ror's absence,  with  the  question  regarding 
the  j  urisdiction  of  the  Imperial  Chamber, 
and  with  other  weighty  matters  ;  but  the 
public  attention  was  chiefly  fixed  upon  a 
subject  distinct  from  all  these,  but  which 
the  Emperor  had  also  mentioned  in  his 
letters  of  convocation, — namely,  the  Ref- 
ormation. The  great  political  interests 
of  state  faded  into  insignificance  when 
contrasted  with  the  cause  of  the  monk  of 
Wittemberg.  This  was  the  main  topic 
of  discourse  among  the  dignified  person- 
ages who  were  assembled  in  Worms. 

Every  thing  indicated  that  the  Diet 
would  be  a  difficult  and  boisterous  one. 
Charles,  at  this  early  period,  had  not  yet 
adopted  a  decided  line  of  policy,  his  tutor 
and  first  minister  died  while  the  assembly 
was  sitting, — many  ambitious  designs 
were  on  foot, — many  conflicting  passions 
at  work, — the  Spaniards  and  the  Flem- 
ings were  striving  hard  to  exclude  each 
other  from  the  confidence  of  their  youth- 
ful Sovereign, — the  Nuncios  were  busily 
pursuing  their  artful  schemes, — the  Ger- 
man Princes  had  assumed  a  tone  of  in- 
dependence. It  was  easy  to  foresee  that 
a  struggle  was  at  hand  in  which  all  the 
subtleties  of  party  intrigue  would  find 
ample  exercise.* 

How  was  Charles  to  act,  between  the 
Papal  Nuncio  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
Elector  to  whom  he  was  indebted  for  his 
crown  on  the  other  ?  How  avoid  giving 
offence  either  to  Aleander  or  to  Freder- 
ic 1  The  former  was  continually  urging 
the  Emperor  to  execute  the  Pope's  bull ; 
the  latter  as  perseveringly  entreated  him 
to  take  no  steps  against  the  monk  until 
he  should  have  allowed  him  a  hearing. 
Desirous  of  satisfying  both  these  con- 
tending parties,  the  young  Prince,  during 

*  Es  gieng  aber  auf  diesem    Reichstag  gar, 
schlupferig  zu. — (Seckend.  p.  326.) 


a  temporary  residence  at  Oppenheim,  had 
written  to  the  Elector  to  bring  Luther  to 
the  Diet,  on  the  assurance  that  no  injus- 
tice should  be  practised  against  him,  that 
he  should  be  protected  from  all  violence, 
and  that  a  free  conference  should  be.  al- 
lowed him  with  men  qualified  to  discuss 
the  disputed  point. 

This  letter  from  Charles,  which  was 
accompanied  by  others  from  his  minister 
Chievres  and  the  Count  of  Nassau,  threw 
the  Elector  into  great  perplexity.  He 
well  knew  that  at  any  moment  an  alli- 
ance with  the  Pope  might  become  neces- 
sary to  the  young  and  ambitious  Empe- 
ror, and  that  Luther,  in  that  case,  would 
be  lost.  If  he  carried  the  Reformer  to 
Worms,  he  might  probably  be  conduct- 
ing him  to  the  scaffold.  And  yet  the 
Emperor's  orders  were  peremptory.  The 
Elector  desired  Spalatin  to  inform  Lu- 
ther of  the  directions  he  had  received. 
"  Our  enemies,"  observed  the  chaplain, 
"  are  straining  every  nerve  to  accomplish 
their  design."* 

The  friends  of  Luther  trembled,  but 
he  himself  partook  not  of  their  fears. 
His  health  at  that  time  was  very  weak ; 
but  this  he  heeded  not.  "  If  I  cannot 
perform  the  journey  to  Worms  as  a  man 
in  good  health,"  said  he  in  his  answer  to 
the  Elector,  "  I  will  be  carried  thither  in  a 
litter.  For  since  the  Emperor  has  sum- 
moned me,  I  can  regard  it  only  as  the 
call  of  God.  If  they  intend  to  use  vio- 
lence against  me,  as  they  probably  do,  for 
assuredly  it  is  with  no  view  of  gaining 
information  that  they  require  me  to  ap- 
pear before  them ;  I  commit  the  matter 
into  the  hands  of  God.  He  still  lives 
and  reigns  who  preserved  the  three  Is- 
raelites in  the  fiery  furnace.  If  it  be  not 
His  will  to  save  me,  my  life  is  little 
worth.  Let  us  only  take  care  that  the 
Gospel  be  not  exposed  to  the  insults  of 
the  ungodly,  and  let  us  shed  our  blood  in 
its  defence  rather  than  allow  them  to 
triumph.  Who  shall  say  whether  my 
life  or  my  death  would  contribute  most 
to  the  salvation  of  my  brethren  ?  It  is 
not  for  us  to  decide.  Let  us  only  pray 
God  that  our  young  Empeior  may  not 
begin  his  reign  by  imbruing  his  hands 
in  my  blood.  I  would  rather  perish  by 
the  sword  of  Rome.     You  remember  the 

*  Adversaries  omnia  moliri  ad  maturandum  id 
negotii. — (L.  Epp.  i.  534.) 


THE   DIET   OF  WORMS,   1521. 


271 


judgments  with  which  the  Emperor  Sig- 
ismund  was  visited  after  the  murder  of 
John  Huss.  Expect  any  thing  from  me 
but  flight  or  recantation.*  Fly  I  cannot, 
still  less  can  I  recant." 

Before  Luther's  letter  reached  him,  the 
Elector  had  formed  his  resolution.  This 
Prince,  whose  acquaintance  with  the 
Gospel  was  daily  increasing,  began  now 
to  adopt  a  more  decided  course.  He  was 
sensible  that  the  conference  at  Worms 
could  lead  to  no  advantageous  result. 
"  It  seems  to  me,"  he  wrote  to  the  Em- 
peror, "  that  to  bring  Luther  with  me  to 
Worms,  would  be  an  undertaking  of 
much  difficulty.  I  beg  to  be  relieved 
from  it.  Moreover,  it  has  never  been 
.my  desire  to  favour  his  doctrines,  but 
only  to  prevent  him  from  being  con- 
demned unheard.  The  Legates,  with- 
out waiting  for  your  sanction,  took  meas- 
ures which  were  injurious  both  to  Lu- 
ther's honour  and  to  mine  ;  and  I  have 
reason  to  fear  that  he  has  been  provoked 
to  an  act  of  imprudent  retaliation,  which, 
in  the  event  of  his  appearance  at  Worms, 
might  place  him  in  extreme  jeopardy." 
The  Elector  alluded  to  the  burning  of 
the  Pope's  bull. 

But  the  report  of  Luther's  intended  ap- 
pearance had  already  been  circulated  at 
Worms.  The  seekers  after  novelty 
heard  it  with  joy, — the  Imperial  court- 
iers with  alarm, — but  by  none  was  it  re- 
ceived with  so  indignant  a  feeling  as  by 
the  Papal  Legate.  Aleander,  on  his  way 
to  the  Diet,  had  had  opportunities  of  see- 
ing to  what  extent  the  Gospel  proclaim- 
ed by  Luther  had  found  acceptance  in 
every  class  of  society.  Academicians, 
lawyers,  nobles,  the  inferior  clergy,  many 
even  of  the  monks,  and  vast  numbers  of 
the  common  people,  had  embraced  the 
Reformation.!  The  adherents  of  the 
new  doctrines  showed  a  fearless  front, 
their  language  was  frank  and  firm, — 
and,  on  the  contrary,  an  unconquerable 
terror  paralysed  the  partisans  of  Rome. 
The  Papacy  was  standing  yet,  but  those 
who  were  regarded  as  its  pillars  began 
to  stagger,  for  their  ears  had  already 
caught  the  presages  of  approaching  ru- 

*  Omnia  de  me  prssumas  prater  fugam  et 
palinodiam.— (L.  Epp.  i.  536.) 

t  Multitudo  .  .  .  turba  pauperum  nobilium  .  .  . 

grammatici causidici  .  .  .  inferiores  ecclesi- 

astici  . .  .  factio  multorum  regularium  . .  .— (Pal- 
lavicini,  i.  93.) 


in  ; — presages  resembling  that  faint  and 
dubious  sound  which  alone  gives  brief 
warning  when  a  mountain  totters  to  its 
fall.*  Aleander,  in  the  course  of  his 
journey  to  Worms,  was  often  subjected 
to  the  severest  mortification.  When  he 
had  occasion  to  halt  in  any  spot  for  re- 
freshment or  repose,  neither  collegians, 
nor  nobles,  nor  priests,  even  among  those 
believed  to  be  favourable  to  the  Pope's 
cause,  would  venture  to  receive  him,  and 
the  haughty  Nuncio  was  obliged  to  seek 
shelter  in  the  meanest  inns.f  Alarmed 
by  these  symptoms,  Aleander  concluded 
that  his  life  was  in  danger.  He  arrived 
at  Worms,  with  that  idea  uppermost  in 
his  mind,  and  his  Roman  fanaticism  as- 
sumed additional  bitterness  from  the  sense 
of  personal  injury.  He  had  immediate 
recourse  to  every  means  within  his  reach 
to  prevent  the  audacious  appearance  of 
the  formidable  Luther.  "  Would  it  not 
be  a  scandal,"  said  he,  "  to  see  laymen 
instituting  a  fresh  enquiry  into  a  cause  in 
which  the  Pope  has  already  pronounced 
a  sentence  of  condemnation  ?"  To  a  Ro- 
man courtier  nothing  could  be  so  unwel- 
come as  an  enquiry, — and,  moreover,  this 
was  to  have  taken  place  in  Germany,  not 
at  Rome,  a  circumstance  in  itself  deeply 
affronting,  even  on  the  supposition  of  Lu- 
ther, being  eventually  condemned  with- 
out a  dissentient  voice  ;  but  such  result 
of  the  trial  was  uncertain.  Might  it  not 
be  feared  that  the  man  whose  powerful 
eloquence  had  already  done  such  deadly 
mischief  might  draw  aside  many  of  the 
princes  and  lords  into  the  path  of  perdi- 
tion ?  Aleander's  remonstrances  with 
Charles  were  of  the  most  urgent  char- 
acter, he  entreated,  he  threatened,  he 
spoke  in  the  lofty  tone  of  one  who  repre- 
sented the  Head  of  the  Church. £  Charles 
gave  way  and  wrote  to  the  Elector  that 
inasmuch  as  the  time  allowed  to  Luther 
had  expired,  he  was  now  in  the  condition 
of  a  man  actually  excommunicated  by 
the  Pope,  and  consequently,  if  he  would 
not  retract  what  he  had  written,  Frede- 
ric must  leave  him  at  Wittemberg.  But 
that  prince  had  already  commenced  his 
journey   without   him.     "  I  beseech  the 

*  Hce  omnes  conditiones  petulanter  grassanti- 
um  .  .  ■  metum  cuilibet  incutiebant. — (Ibid.) 

t  Neminem  nactus  qui  auderet  ipsum  excipere 
ad  vilia  sordidaque  hospitia  segre  divertit.— (Ibid.) 

t  Legati   Romani   nolunt   ut   audiatur   homo 
heereticus.   Minantur  multa.—  (Zw.  Epp.  p.  157.) 


272 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


Lord,"  said  Melancthon,  when  the  Elec- 
tor took  his  departure,  "  to  deal  gracious- 
ly with  our  sovereign.  On  him  rest  all 
our  hopes  for  the  revival  of  Christianity. 
His   enemies  will   stop    at   nothing,  km. 

vavra  \1B0v  Kivrjzopivoi*  but    God    will    bring 

to  nought  the  devices  of  Ahithophel.  As 
for  us,  let  us  perform  our  part  in  the  con- 
flict by  our  teachings  and  our  prayers." 
Luther  was  much  grieved  that  he  was 
forbiddden  to  appear  at  Worms. f 

It  was  not  enough  for  Aleander,  how- 
ever, that  Luther  was  prevented  from 
making  his  appearance  at  the  Diet, — he 
was  bent  on  obtaining  his  condemnation. 
He  returned  incessantly  to  the  charge 
with  the  princes,  prelates,  and  other 
members  oi  the  assembly ;  he  charged 
the  Augustine  not  only  with  disobedience 
and  heresy,  but  also  with  sedition,  rebel- 
lion, impiety,  and  blasphemy.  But  the 
very  tones  of  his  voice  betrayed  the  pas- 
sions by  which  he  was  actuated.  "  Ha- 
tred and  the  thirst  of  vengeance,"  an  ob- 
server remarked,  "are  his  motives,  ra- 
ther than  any  true  zeal  for  religion  ;"|  and 
in  spite  of  the  frequency  and  the  vehe- 
mence of  his  harangues  he  persuaded  no 
one.§  Some  reminded  him  that  the 
Pope's  bull  had  only  condemned  Luther 
conditionally ;  others  allowed  indications 
to  escape  them  of  the  joy  they  felt  at 
seeing  the  pride  of  Rome  brought  down. 
The  Emperor's  ministers  on  the  one 
hand,  and  the  ecclesiastical  Electors  on 
the  other  affected  extreme  coldness, — the 
former,  in  order  that  the  Pope  might  per- 
ceive the  necessity  of  contracting  an  alli- 
ance with  their  master,  the  latter  that  he 
might  be  compelled  to  purchase  their 
co-operation  at  a  higher  price.  A  con- 
viction of  Luther's  innocence  was  the 
prevailing  sentiments  in  the  assembly, 
and  Aleander  could  not  restrain  his  in- 
dignation. 

But  the  coldness  of  the  Diet  he  couldbet- 
ter  have  brooked  than  the  coldness  which 


*  They  will  not  leave  a  stone  unturned. — 
(Corp.  Ref.  i.  279.    24  Jan.) 

t  Cum  doiore  legi  novissimas  Caroli  litteras. — 
(L.  Epp.  i.  542.) 

t  Magis  invidia  et  vindictae  libidine  quam  zelo 
pietatis. — (Hist.  Joh.  Cochlsei  de  actis  et  scriptis 
Martini  Lutheri. — Par.  1556.^).  27.  verso. — Cocb- 
laeus  was  one  of  Luther's  greatest  enemies.  We 
shall  shortly  have  to  speak  of  him.) 

§  Vehementibus  suis  orationibus  parum  pro- 
movij. — (Cochlseua.) 


was  now  manifested  by  Rome.  Rome, 
when  at  length,  with  much  difficulty,  she 
had  been  induced  to  treat  the  attack  of 
the  "  drunken  German"  as  a  serious  mat- 
ter, never  imagined  that  a  bull  emanat- 
ing from  the  Sovereign  Pontiff  could  fail 
to  reduce  him  at  once  to  complete  and 
abject  submission. — She  had  relapsed  into 
her  former  security,*  and  neither  bull 
nor  coin  did  she  now  forward  to  Ger- 
many. Now,  without  money,  how  was 
it  possible  to  manage  an  affair  like  this?f 
Rome  must  be  roused,  and  Aleander  ac- 
cordingly sounds  the  alarm.  "  Ger- 
many," he  wrote  to  the  Cardinal  de 
Medicis,  "  is  falling  away  from  Rome ; 
— the  princes,  I  say,  are  falling  away 
from  the  Pope.  A  little  more  delay — a 
little  more  compromise — and  the  case  be- 
comes hopeless  ! — Money  !  Money  !  or 
Germany  is  lost!"J 

At  this  cry  Rome  awakes  ;  the  retain- 
ers of  the  Papacy  assembled  in  the  Vat- 
ican, cast  aside  their  torpor,  and  hasten 
to  forge  fresh  thunders  of  direful  potency. 
The  Pope  issues  a  new  bull,§  and  that 
excommunication,  with  which  hitherto 
the  heretical  doctor  had  only  been  threat- 
ened, is  now  decidedly  pronounced 
against  him  and  against  all  his  adherents. 
Rome,  by  thus  wilfully  snapping  asun- 
der the  last  thread  that  yet  held  him  to  her 
church,  gave  Luther  more  liberty,  and 
consequently  more  power.  Assailed  by 
the  papal  thunders,  he  cast  himself,  with 
a  more  ardent  love,  into  the  arms  of 
Christ.  Driven  from  the  outward  tem- 
ple, he  felt  more  deeply  that  he  was  a  tem- 
ple himself,  inhabited  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 

"  It  is  a  glorious  thing  to  think  of," 
said  he,  "  that  we  sinners,  believing  in 
Christ  and  feeding  on  his  flesh,  should 
have  him  dwelling  in  us, — in  all  his 
power,  his  wisdom,  and  his  righteous- 
ness,— for  it  is  written,  Whosoever  be- 
lieveth  in  me,  in  him  I  abide.  O  wonder- 
ful abode  !  marvellous  tabernacle,  how  far 
excelling  that  which  was  set  up  by  Moses  ! 
within,  how  magnificently  adorned,  with 
costly  hangings  and  purple  veils  and  im- 

*  Negligens  quaadam  securitas  Romam  perva- 
serat— (Pallavicini,  i.  94.) 

t  Nee  pecunia  ad  varios  pro  eadem  sumptus. — 
(Ibid.) 

t  Periculum  denique  amittend®  Germania?  ex 
parsimonia  monetae  cujusdam. — (Ibid.) 

§  Decet  Romanum  pontificem,  &c. — (Roman. 
Bullarium.) 


THE    DIET  OF  WORMS,    1521. 


273 


f dements  of  gold !  and  yet  without,  even 
ike  that  other  tabernacle  which  God 
commanded  to  be  erected  in  the  wilder- 
ness of  Sinai  there  is  nothing  to  be  seen 
but  the  coarse  covering  of  ram's  skins 
and  goat's  hair.*  Often  does  the  Chris- 
tian stumble,  and  in  his  outward  aspect 
all  is  weakness  and  reproach.  But 
what  matters  it  ? — beneath  that  infirmity 
and  foolishness  of  his,  a  power  lies  hid 
which  the  world  cannot  know,  and  which 
yet  must  overcome  the  world ;  for 
Christ  abideth  in  him.  I  have  some- 
times seen  Christians  halting  in  their 
walk,  and  ready  to  fall,  but  when  the 
hour  came  that  they  must  wrestle  with 
the  enemy,  or  plead  their  Master's  cause 
before  the  world,  Christ  on  a  sudden 
stirred  within  them,  and  so  strong  and  val- 
iant did  they  then  become  that  Satan  was 
dismayed  and  fled  from  their  presence."! 
Such  an  hour  as  he  spoke  of  was  soon 
to  come  upon  himself;  and  Christ,  who 
"abode"  with  him,  was  then  to  be  his 
present  help.  Rome  in  the  meantime 
cast  him  off  in  scorn.  The  Reformer 
and  all  who  took  part  with  him,  of  what- 
soever rank  or  degree,  were  anathema- 
tized, and  were  declared  to  have  forfeit- 
ed for  themselves  and  their  descendants, 
all  their  honours  and  their  worldly  goods. 
Every  faithful  Christian  was  enjoined,  as 
he  valued  his  own  soul,  to  shun  all  inter- 
course with  that  accursed  crew  ;  in  every 
place  where  the  heresy  hid  gained  a 
footing,  it  was  the  duty  of  the  priests  on 
Sundays  and  holidays,  at  the  hour  of 
high  mass,  solemnly  to  publish  the  sen- 
tence of  excommunication.  The  sacred 
vessels  and  omamenls  were  to  be  re- 
moved from  the  altar, — the  cross  to  be 
laid  on  the  ground, — twelve  priests,  hold- 
ing torches  in  their  hands,  were  to  light 
them  first,  and  immediately  to  dash  them 
down,  and  extinguish  them  by  trampling 
them  under  foot :  the  bishop  was  then  to 
proclaim  the  condemnation  of  those  un- 
godly men  ;  the  bells  were  to  be  tolled; 
the  bishop  and  the  priests  in  concert  were 
to  chant  anathemas  and  maledictions ; 
and  the  service  was  to  be  concluded  by  a 
discourse  of  unsparing  severity  against 
Luther  and  his  adherents. 

*  Exodus,  xxvi.  7,  14. 

t  So  renrete  sich  der  Christus,  dass  sie  so  fest 
wurden  dass  der  Tufel  flichen  inusste. — (L.  Opp. 
ix.  613,  on  John  vi.  56.) 
35 


Twenty-two  days  had  elapsed  since 
the  publication  of  the  sentence  at  Rome, 
though  it  probably  had  not  yet  transpired 
in  Germany,  when  Luther,  having  heard 
that  it  was  again  in  contemplation  to 
summon  him  to  Worms,  addressed  a  let- 
ter to  the  Elector,  couched  in  such  terms 
as  to  give  that  Prince  the  option  of  com- 
municating it  to  the  Diet.  Luther  was 
anxious  to  correct  the  erroneous  notions 
entertained  by  the  Princes  who  composed 
that  august  assembly. — and  candidly  to 
explain  to  them  the  true  merits  of  a 
cause  so  little  understood.  "  1  rejoice 
with  all  my  heart,  most  serene  Prince," 
said  he.  "  that  his  Imperial  Majesty  is 
disposed  to  have  this  affair  brought  be- 
fore him.  I  call  Christ  to  witness  that  it 
is  the  cause  of  the  German  nation,  of  the 
Catholic  church,  of  the  Christian  world, 
— of  God  himself, — not  the  cause  of  a 
solitary,  humble  individual.*  i  am 
ready  to  repair  to  Worms,  provided  only 
that  a  safe-conduct,  and  learned,  pious, 
and  impartial  judges  be  allowed  me.  I 
am  ready  to  answer  for  myself, — for  it  is 
not  in  the  spirit  of  recklessness,  nor  for 
the  sake  of  worldly  profit,  that  I  have 
taught  the  doctrine  which  is  laid  to  my 
charge  ; — I  have  taught  it  in  obedience 
to  my  conscience  and  to  my  oath  as  a 
doctor  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  ; — for  (Jod's 
glory  have  I  taught  it, — for  the  salva- 
tion of  the  Christian  Church, — for  the 
good  of  the  German  people, — for  the 
rooang  out  of  gross  superstition  and 
grievous  abuses, — the  cure  of  innumer- 
able evils, — the  wiping  away  of  foul  dis- 
grace,— the  overthrow  of  tyranny,  blas- 
phemy, and  impiety  in  countless  forms/1 

Tins  declaration,  made  at  so  critical  a 
moment  of  Luther's  life,  deserves  to  be 
regarded  with  deep  attention.  Here  we 
see  the  motives  by  which  he  was  actua- 
ted, here  are  the  secret  springs  which 
gave  the  first  impulse  of  revival  to  the 
Curistian  community.  We  find  no  traces 
here  of  monkish  emulation,  or  a  desire  to 
break  loose  from  the  restraint  of  monastic 
vows. 

But  all  this  was  of  little  moment  to 
mere  politicians.  An  alliance  with  the 
Pope    was   every   day   becoming   more 

*  Causam  qua!,  Christo  teste,  Dei,  christian! 
orbis,  ecclesice  catholics?  et  tot.us  Germanics  na- 
tionis.  et  uon  uiiius  et  privati  est  hominis. — (L. 
Epp.  i.  511.) 


274 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


necessary  to  the  success  of  Charles's  de- 
signs. Situated  as  he  was  between  the 
Pope  and  the  Elector,  he  could  have 
wished  either  to  separate  Frederic  from 
Luther,  or  to  satisfy  the  Pope  without 
offending  Frederic.  But  how  was  this 
to  be  accomplished  ?  Many  of  his  cour- 
tiers treated  the  whole  affair  of  the  Au- 
gustine monk  with  that  contemptuous 
indifference  which  politicians  generally 
affect  when  the  interests  of  religion  are 
discussed.  "  Let  us  avoid  all  extreme 
measures,"  said  they.  "  Let  us  entangle 
Luther  in  negociations,  and  silence  him 
by  the  help  of  some  partial  concessions. 
To  stifle  the  flame,  not  fan  it, — is  the 
course  of  true  policy.  If  the  monk  fall 
into  the  trap,  we  have  gained  our  object. 
By  accepting  a  compromise,  he  will  fix  a 
gag  on  his  own  mouth  and  ruin  his  cause. 
To  save  appearances,  a  few  external  re- 
forms must  be  granted,  —  the  Elector 
will  be  satisfied,  the  Pope  will  be  con- 
ciliated, and  things  will  go  on  once  more 
in  the  ordinary  track." 

Such  was  the  plan  devised  by  the  con- 
fidants of  the  Emperor. 

The  doctors  of  Wittemberg  appear  to 
have  discovered  this  new  artifice.  "  They 
are  trying  to  gain  men  over  secretly," 
said  Melancthon,  "  and  mining  in  the 
dark."*  John  Glapio,  the  Emperor's 
confessor,  a  man  in  high  repute,  an  adroit 
courtier,  and  a  wily  monk,  was  charged 
with  the  execution  of  the  scheme.  Gla- 
pio possessed  the  full  confidence  of 
Charles,  who,  adopting  in  this  particular 
the  Spanish  custom,  abandoned  to  him 
almost  entirely  the  care  of  all  matters  re- 
lating to  religion.  Charles  had  no  soon- 
er been  elevated  to  the  imperial  throne, 
than  Leo  hastened  to  gain  the  good  will 
of  Glapio  by  marks  of  favour  which  the 
confessor  warmly  acknowledged.!  He 
could  not  better  discharge  his  debt  of 
gratitude  to  the  Pontiff  than  by  silencing 
the  new-born  heresy,  and  accordingly 
applied  himself  to  the  work. I 

Among  the  counsellors  of  the  Elector 
of  Saxony,  one  who  held  a  conspicuous 
place  was  Gregory  Brack,  or  Pontanus, 
a  man  distinguished  for  intelligence,  de- 

*  Blanculum  tentent  et  experiantur  . . . — (Corp- 
Reform,  i.  281,  3.  Feb.) 

t  Benignis  officiis  recens  a  Pontifice  delinitus 
(  .  .  .— (Pallavicini,  i.  90.) 

t  Et  sane  in  eo  toto  negotio  slngulare  probitatis 
ardorisque  specimen  debit. — (Ibid.; 


cision,  and  courage,  whose  skill  in  divini- 
ty might  have  shamed  all  the  doctors ; 
while  his  wisdom  was  adequate  to  baffle 
the  united  craft  of  all  the  monks  in  the 
court  of  Charles  the  Fifth.  Glapio, 
knowing  the  influence  which  the  chan- 
cellor possessed,  requested  an  interview 
with  him,  and  introducing  himself,  as 
though  he  had  been  a  friend  of  the  Re- 
former :  "  I  was  filled  with  joy,"  said  he, 
in  a  kindly  tone,  "  when  I  read  the  first 
writings  of  Luther ;  I  looked  upon  him 
as  a  vigorous  tree  that  had  shot  forth 
goodly  branches  and  gave  promise  to  the 
Church  of  the  most  precious  fruit.  Many 
others,  it  is  true,  had  entertained  the  same 
views  as  he  :  but  none  had  so  nobly  and 
undauntedly  proclaimed  the  truth.  But 
when  I  read  his  book  on  the  Babylonian 
Captivity,  I  felt  like  a  man  stunned  and 
overwhelmed  by  a  shower  of  blows  from 
head  to  foot.  I  cannot  believe,"  added 
the  monk,  "that  brother  Martin  will 
avow  himself  the  author  of  it ;  it  is  mark- 
ed neither  by  his  peculiar  style,  nor  by 
the  learning  he  elsewhere  evinces."  Af- 
ter some  discussion  the  Confessor  con- 
tinued :  "  Conduct  me  to  the  Elector,  and 
in  your  presence  I  will  show  him  where 
Luther  has  erred." 

The  Chancellor  replied  that  the  busi- 
ness of  the  Diet  left  his  Highness  no  lei- 
sure, and  moreover,  that  he  took  no  part 
in  that  affair.  The  monk,  to  his  great 
vexation,  found  his  request  eluded. 
"Nevertheless,"  said  the  Chancellor, 
"  since  you  say  there  is  no  evil  with- 
out a  remedy,  be  pleased  to  explain 
yourself." 

Assuming  a  confidential  air,  the  Con- 
fessor answered :  "  The  Emperor  ear- 
nestly desires  to  see  a  man  like  Luther 
reconciled  to  the  Church ;  for  his  books 
(before  the  publication  of  the  treatise  on 
the  Babylonian  CajJtivitt/)  were  by  no 
means  disagreeable  to  his  Majesty.* 
That  last  work  of  Luther's  was,  doubt- 
less, written  under  the  irritation  of  feel- 
ing excited  by  the  bull.  Let  him  but 
declare  that  he  had  no  intention  to  dis- 
turb the  peace  of  the  Church,  and  the 
learned  of  every  nation  will  join  hands 
with  him.  Procure  me  an  audience  of 
his  Highness." 

*  Es  haben  dessen  Biicher  Ihro  Majestiit  .  .  . 
um  et  was  gefallen. — (Archives  of  Weimar. — 
Seckend.  p.  315.) 


THE   DIET   OF  WORMS,   1521. 


275 


The  Chancellor  waited  on  the  Elec- 
tor again.  Frederic  well  knew  that  any 
retraction  whatsoever  was  impossible. 
«  Tell  the  Confessor,"  said  he,  "  that  I 
cannot  comply  with  his  wish,  but  con- 
tinue your  conference  with  him." 

Glapio  received  this  message  with 
many  demonstrations  of  respect,  and  shift- 
ing his  ground  he  said :  "  Let  the  Elector 
name  some  persons  in  whom  he  places 
confidence  to  deliberate  on  this  affair." 

The  Chancellor.  "  The  Elector  does 
not  profess  to  be  Luther's  advocate."* 

The  Confessor.  "  Well,  then,  you 
and  I,  at  least,  can  take  the  matter  up. 
Christ  is  my  witness  that  I  urge  this  from 
love  to  the  Church,  and  to  Luther  him- 
self, who  has  opened  so  many  hearts  to 
the  truth." 

The  Chancellor  having  refused  to  un- 
dertake a  task  which  properly  belonged 
to  the  Reformer  himself,  was  about  to 
withdraw. 

"  Stay  !"  said  the  monk. 

The  Chancellor.  "What  is  your 
wish?" 

The  Confessor.  "  Let  Luther  deny 
that  he  is  the  author  of  the  Babylonian 
Captivity." 

The  Chancellor.  "  But  the  Pope's 
bull  condemns  all  his  other  works." 

The  Confessor.  "  That  was  be- 
cause of  his  obstinacy.  If  he  disclaims 
that  book,  the  Pope,  in  virtue  of  his  ple- 
nary authority,  can  easily  reverse  the  sen- 
tence of  excommunication.  What  may 
we  not  hope  for,  now  that  we  have  so  ex- 
cellent an  Emperor  ?" 

Perceiving  that  these  words  had  made 
some  impression  on  the  Chancellor,  the 
monk  followed  them  up  by  observing: 
"  Luther  always  wants  to  argue  from  the 
Bible.  The  Bible — it  is  like  wax,  you 
may  stretch  and  mould  it  any  way  that 
you  please.  I  would  undertake  to  find 
authority  in  the  Bible  for  doctrines  more 
extravagant  even  than  Luther's.  He 
runs  into  error  by  interpreting  every 
word  of  Christ  as  a  command."  Wish- 
ing next  to  act  upon  the  other's  fears,  he 
added,  ':  What  would  the  issue  be,  if  to- 
morrow or  the  next  day,  the  Emperor 
were  to  have  recourse  to  arms  1  .  .  Think 
of  that." 

The  Confessor's  artifices  were  not  yet 

*  Dcr  andern  das  Hertz  zu  vielem  Guten 
eroffiiet .  .—(Ibid.) 


exhausted.  "  A  man  might  have  lived  ten 
years  in  his  company,"  says  Erasmus, 
"  without  having  fathomed  him  at  last." 

"  What  an  excellent  book,"  said  he  to 
the  Chancellor  on  his  next  visit  a  few 
days  afterwards,  "  is  that  work  of  Lu- 
ther's on  Christian  liberty !  What  wis- 
dom, what  learning,  what  wit  does  it  dis- 
play ;  it  is  the  production  of  a  scholar, 
indeed !  .  .  .  .  Let  men  of  irreproacha- 
ble character  be  chosen  on  both  sides, 
and  let  the  Pope  and  Luther  agree  to 
abide  by  their  judgment.  In  many  ar- 
ticles it  is  past  a  doubt  that  a  decision 
would  be  in  Luther's  favour.*  ....  I 
will  speak  to  the  Emperor  about  it  my- 
self. Believe  me,  I  am  not  without 
grounds  for  what  I  say  to  you.  I  have 
told  the  Emperor  that  the  chastisements 
of  God  would  fall  upon  him  and  the 
Princes  also,  unless  the  Church,  the 
spouse  of  Christ,  were  cleansed  from  all 
those  stains  which  now  defile  her.  I 
told  him  too,  that  God  had  raised  up  Lu- 
ther, and  given  him  a  commission  to  re- 
prove men  for  their  sins,  using  him  as  a 
rod  to  punish  the  offences  of  the  world. "f 

These  words  we  may  receive  as  the 
echo  of  the  popular  voice  at  that  period, 
and  as  testifying  the  opinion  which  was 
then  entertained  of  Luther,  even  by  his 
enemies.  The  Chancellor,  roused  by 
what  the  monk  had  just  said,  could  not 
help  expressing  his  surprise  that  his  mas- 
ter should  be  treated  with  so  little  defer-; 
ence.  "  The  Emperor  holds  daily  con- 
sultations on  this  affair,"  said  he,  "  and 
the  Elector  is  invited  to  none  of  them. 
He  thinks  it  strange  that  the  Emperor, 
to  whom  he  has  rendered  some  service, 
should  exclude  him  from  his  councils." 

The  Confessor.  "  I  was  never  pre- 
sent at  any  of  those  deliberations  but 
once,  and  on  that  occasion  I  heard  the 
Emperor  resist  the  importunities  of  the 
Legates.  Five  years  hence  it  will  be 
seen  what  Charles  has  done  for  the  Ref- 
ormation of  the  Church." 

"The  Elector,"  replied  Pontanus, 
"  knows  nothing  of  Luther's  intentions. 
Let  him  be  summoned  hither  to  speak  for 
himself." 

*  Es  sey  nicht  zu  zweifcln  dass  Lutherus  in 
vielen  Artickeln  werde  den  Sieg  davon  tragen 
.  .  .— (Seckend.  p.  319.) 

t  Dass  Gott  dieseu  Mann  gesandt,  .  . .  dass  er 
eine  Geissel  seye  urn  der  Siinden  willen. — (Wei- 
|  mar  Archiv. — Seek.  p.  320.) 


276 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


The  Confessor  replied,  with  a  deep 
sigh  :*  "  I  call  God  to  witness  how  ar- 
dently I  desire  to  see  the  Reformation  of 
Christendom  accomplished." 

To  slacken  the  course  of  the  affair,  to 
keep  Luther's  mouth  closed  in  the  mean 
time  ;  this  was  the  sum  of  what  Glapio 
aimed  at.  At  all  events,  to  prevent  Lu- 
ther from  coming  to  Worms.  To  the 
nuncios,  the  monks,  and  the  rest  of  the 
papal  phalanx,  a  dead  man  returning  from 
the  other  world,  and  appearing  in  the 
midst  of  the  Diet,  would  not  have  been  so 
fearful  a  spectacle  as  the  bodily  presence 
of  the  Doctor  of  Wittemberg. 

"  How  many  days  does  it  take  to  tra- 
vel from  Wittemberg  to  Worms  ?"  in- 
quired the  Confessor  in  a  tone  of  affected 
indifference,  and  immediately  departed, 
having  first  intreated  Pontanus  to  pre- 
sent his  very  respectful  salutations  to  the 
Elector. 

Such  were  the  stratagems  practised  by 
the  courtiers.  The  firmness  of  Pontanus 
disconcerted  them  all.  That  upright  man 
was  unmoved  as  a  rock  throughout  the 
whole  course  of  these  proceedings.  And 
in  the  end  the  monks  themselves  fell  into 
the  snare  which  they  had  laid  for  their 
enemies.  "  The  Christian,"  said  Luther, 
in  his  figurative  language,  "  is  like  the 
bird  tethered  beside  a  trap.  Wolves  and 
foxes  prowl  around  it,  and  at  length 
spring  upon  their  prey  ;  but  they  fall  into 
the  pit.  and  perish  there,  while  that  tim- 
orous bird  remains  unharmed.  Thus  it 
is  that  we  are  preserved  by  the  holy  An- 
gels, and  those  devouring  wolves,  the 
hypocrites  and  persecutors,  are  restrained 
from  doing  us  any  hurt."f  Not  only 
were  the  artifices  of  the  Confessor  un- 
availing, but  the  admissions  he  had  made 
confirmed  Frederic  in  his  opinion  that 
Luther  was  in  the  right,  and  that  it  was 
his  duty  to  protect  him. 

The  hearts  of  men  were  still  inclining 
more  strongly  towards  the  Gospel.  A 
Dominician  prior  proposed  that  the  Em- 
peror, the  kings  of  France,  Spain,  Eng- 
land, Portugal,  Hungary  and  Poland,  the 
Pope  and  the  Electors,  should  name  re- 
presentatives, to  whom  the  determina- 
tion of  the  controversy  should  be  com- 
mitted.   "  A  case  like  this,"  it  was  urged, 

*  Glapio  that  hierauf  einen  tiefen  Seufzer,  und 
tufte  Gott  zum  Zeugen.  .  . — (.Seek.  p.  221.) 
t  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xxii.  1655. 


"  has  never  been  decided  by  the  Pope 
alone."*  Such  was  the  spirit  now  every 
where  prevalent,  that  it  seemed  impossi- 
ble to  condemn  Luther  without  having 
heard  and  convicted  him.f 

Aleander,  in  the  hight  of  his  alarm, 
displayed  unwonted  energy.  It  was  no 
longer  against  the  Elector  and  Luther 
alone  that  he  had  to  contend.  The  se- 
cret negociations  of  the  Confessor,  the 
plan  of  accommodation  proposed  by  the 
Dominican,  the  acquiesence  of  Charles's 
ministers,  the  coldness  of  Romish  piety 
even  among  the  most  devoted  friends  of 
the  Pontiff, — a  coldness  which  Pallavi- 
cini  likens  to  that  produced  by  the  gush 
of  some  icy  stream,! — all  these  circum- 
stances Aleander  viewed  with  a  forebod- 
ing eyfi.  He  had  at  length  received 
from  Rome  the  money  he  had  applied 
for ;  he  had  in  his  possession  briefs 
couched  in  the  strongest  language,  and 
addressed  to  the  highest  authorities  in 
the  Empire.^  Fearful  lest  his  victim 
should  escape  him,  he  conceived  that 
now  was  the  time  to  strike  the  decisive 
blow.  He  forwarded  the  briefs  to  the 
several  parties  to  whom  they  were  di- 
rected, he  scattered  silver  and  gold  with 
an  unsparing  hand,  he  lavished  the  most 
alluring  promises,  "  and  aided  by  his 
three-fold  machinery,"  says  the  Cardinal, 
whose  narrative  we  follow, "  made  a  fresh 
effort  to  draw  the  wavering  assembly  to 
the  Pope's  side."  ||  For  the  Emperor  he 
planted  his  snares  with  special  diligence. 
He  took  advantage  of  the  dissensions  be- 
tween the  Flemish  and  Spanish  minis- 
ters. He  laid  incessant  siege  to  the  Sov- 
ereign's ear.  The  friends  of  Rome, 
waking  at  his  call  from  their  torpor, 
pressed  the  youthful  Charles  with  their 
united  solicitations.  "  Not  a  day  passes," 
wrote  the  Elector  to  his  brother  John, 
"  but  measures  hostile  to  Luther  are 
brought  forward !  his  enemies  now  de- 
mand that  he  should  be  placed  under  the 
ban  of  the  Pope  and  the  Emperor  jointly . 

*  Und  niemals  dem  Papst  allein  geglaubt. — 
(Seek.  p.  323.) 

t  Spalatinus  scribit  tantum  favoris  Evangelio 
esse  istic  ut  me.  inaiiditum  et  inconvictum  dam- 
nari  non  sperct. — (L.  Epp.  i  556.  9  Feb.) 

t  Hinc  aqua  manabat,  quce  succensas  pietatis 
sestum  resti'nguebat. — (Pallavicini,  i.  96.) 

§  Mandata,  pecuniae  et  diplomata. — (Ibid.  95.) 

||  Triplici  hac  industria  nunc  Aleander  .  . . — 
(Ibid.) 


THE   DIET   OF  WORMS,   1521. 


277 


to  injure  him  by  every  possible  method 
is  their  single  aim.  The  men  who  pa- 
rade their  red  hats  before  us, — the  Ro- 
mans and  their  followers,  pursue  this  work 
with  an  unwearied  zeal."* 

Aleander  did,  in  reality,  urge  the  con- 
demnation of  the  Reformer  with  an  im- 
petuosity which  Luther  himself  desig- 
nates as  "  incredible  fury."f  The  Apos- 
tate Nuncio.J  as  Luther  calls  him,  was  on 
one  occasion  transported  by  his  anger  so 
far  beyond  the  bounds  of  caution,  that 
he  cried  aloud,  "  If  ye  seek  to  shake 
off  your  allegiance  to  Rome,  ye  Ger- 
mans !  we  will  bring  things  to  such  a 
pass,  that  ye  shall  unsheath  the  sword  of 
extermination  against  each  other,  and 
perish  in  your  own  blood."^  "It  is  in 
this  way  that  the  Pope  feeds  Christ's 
sheep,"  observes  the  Reformer. 

But  much  unlike  this  was  the  language 
he  used  himself.  For  his  own  sake  he 
asked  nothing.  "  Luther,"  said  Melanc- 
thon,  "  is  ready  to  purchase  the  glory  and 
advancement  of  the  Gospel  at  the  cost  of 
his  own  life." ||  But  he  trembled  when  he 
thought  of  the  calamities  of  which  his 
death  might  be  the  signal.  He  saw  a 
misguided  people  avenging  his  martyr- 
dom, probably  by  shedding  the  blood  of 
his  adversaries,  and  especially  that  of  the 
priests.  He  deprecated  so  terrible  a  re- 
sponsibility. "  God,"  said  he,  "  is  re- 
straining the  fury  of  his  enemies ;  but  if 
it  break  loose  .  .  .  then  shall  we  see  a 
storm  bursting  on  the  heads  of  the  priests 
like  that  which  formerly  swept  over  Bo- 
hemia and  laid  it  waste.  I  shall  not 
have  to  answer  for  this,  for  I  have  made 
it  my  earnest  prayer  that  the  German 
Princes  would  oppose  the  Romans  by  the 
wisdom  of  their  council,  not  by  the 
sioord.%  To  war  against  priests  a  timid 
and  helpless  tribe,  is  to  war  against  wo- 
men and  children." 

Charles  the  Fifth  did  not  long  hold 
out  against  the  solicitations  of  the  Nun- 

*  Das  thun  die  in  rothen  Hiitten  prangen.^ — 
(Seek.  364.) 

t  Miro  furore  Papistic  moliunter  mihi  mala. — 
(L.  Epp.  i.  556.) 

X  Nuntius  apostaticus  ^playing  on  the  word 
"  apostolical,")  agit  summis  viribus. — (Ibid.  569.) 

§  Ut  mutuis  credibus  absumpti  vestro  cruore 
pereatis. — (Ibid.  556.) 

||  Libenter  etiam  morte  sua  Evangelii  gloriam 
et  profectura  emerit. — (Corp.  Ref.  i.  285.) 

^  Non  ferro,  sed  consiliis  et  edictis. — (L.  Epp. 
i.  56.) 


cio.  The  bigotry  he  inherited  from  his 
Flemish  and  Spanish  ancestors  had  been, 
successfully  fostered  by  his  preceptor 
Adrian,  who  at  a  later  period  ascended 
the  Pontifical  throne.  But  it  was  neces- 
sary to  obtain  the  concurrence  of  the 
State.  "  Convince  the  Diet,"  said  the 
youthful  Monarch.  This  was  exactly 
what  Aleander  desired ;  it  was  agreed 
that  he  should  be  introduced  to  the  as- 
sembly on  the  13th  of  February. 

The  Nuncio  duly  prepared  himself  for 
that  solemn  audience.  It  was  a  weighty 
task  that  had  been  imposed  upon  him  J 
but  Aleander  was  worthy  to  sustain  it. 
He  was  not  merely  the  Legate  and  rep- 
resentative of  the  Sovereign  Pontiff,  in- 
vested with  all  the  outward  dignity  befit- 
ting his  exalted  functions, — he  was  also 
one  of  the  most  eloquent  men  of  his  age. 
The  friends  of  the  Reformation  waited 
the  result  in  some  anxiety.  The  Elec- 
tor, under  the  pretext  of  indisposition,  ab- 
sented himself  from  the  sitting ;  but  he 
instructed  some  of  his  counsellors  to  at- 
tend and  to  take  notes  of  the  Nuncio's 
discourse. 

On  the  appointed  day,  Aleander  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Imperial  Assembly.  The 
feelings  -of  the  people  were  strongly  ex- 
cited, many  called  to  mind  how  Annas 
and  Caiaphas  had  gone  to  the  judgment 
hall  of  Pilate  to  demand  the  death  of 
him  "  who  perverted  the  nation.'1'1*  At 
the  moment  when  the  Nuncio  had  his 
foot  upon  the  threshold,  the  usher  of  the 
Diet,  says  Pallavicini,  rudely  stepping 
up  to  him,  set  his  clenched  fist  against 
his  breast  and  thrust  him  back.f  "He 
was  a  Lutheran  in  his  heart,"  adds  the 
Romish  historian.  If  this  anecdote  is 
true,  it  certainly  shows  an  unseemly  ex- 
cess of  passion  in  the  individual,  but  it 
also  enables  us  to  judge  how  powerful 
an  effect  had  been  produced  by  Luther's 
teaching,  even  among  those  who  kept 
the  doors  of  the  Germanic  Council.  The 
high-spirited  Aleander,  repressing  the  of- 
ficer's insolence  by  his  dignified  demean- 
our, walked  forward  and  entered  the 
hall.  Never  had  Rome  been  summoned 
to  plead  her  cause  before  so  august  an 
assembly.  The  Nuncio  placed  before 
him  such  documents  as  he  thought  ne- 

*  Luke  xxiii.  2. 

t .  .  .  Pugnis  ejus  pectori  admotis  repulerit. — 
(Pallavicini,  i.  112.) 


278 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


cessary  to  certify  the  sentence  of  con- 
demnation, together  with  the  writings  of 
Luther  and  the  Papal  bulls,  and  then  si- 
lence having  been  proclaimed  in  the 
Diet,  he  spoke  as  follows : — 

"  Most  august  Emperor !  most  potent 
Princes !  most  excellent  Deputies  !  I  ap- 
pear before  you  to  advocate  the  cause 
which  engages  the  warmest  affections 
of  my  heart.  My  office  is  to  guard  the 
ever-hallowed  tiara  that  rests  on  the 
brows  of  my  master,  to  uphold  that  Pon- 
tifical throne  in  whose  defence  I  would 
gladly  deliver  my  body  to  the  flames, 
were  I  only  assured  that  the  newly- 
spawned  heresy  which  I  stand  forth  to 
denounce  would  perish  along  with  me.* 

"  I  deny  the  assertion  that  the  contro- 
versy between  Luther  and  Rome  is  one 
in  which  the  Pope  alone  is  interested.  I 
have  Luther's  writings  here  before  me, 
and  any  man  who  has  his  eyesight  may 
see  that  they  attack  the  holy  doctrines  of 
the  Church.  He  teaches  that  those 
alone  are  worthy  communicants  whose 
consciences  are  filled  with  sorrow  and 
confusion  on  account  of  their  sins,  and 
that  baptism  justifies  no  one  unless  he 
hath  faith  in  that  word  of  promise  of 
which  baptism  is  the  pledge,  f  He  de- 
nies the  necessity  of  good  works  to  quali- 
fy us  for  everlasting  glory.  He  denies 
that  Ave  have  liberty  and  power  to  obey 
the  law  of  nature  and  the  law  of  God. 
He  affirms  that  we  sin  of  necessity  in  all 
our  actions.  Have  weapons  better  fitted 
than  these  to  sever  all  the  ties  of  morali- 
ty ever  been  drawn  from  the  arsenal  of 
hell? 

"  He  contends  for  the  abrogation  of  re- 
ligious vows.  What  miserable  disorder 
would  the  world  behold,  if  those    who 

*  Dummodo  mecum  una  monstrum  nascentis 
haeresis  arderet. — (Pallavicini,  i.  97.)  Secken- 
dorf,  and  after  him  other  Protestant  historians, 
have  asserted  that  Pallavicini  himself  is  the  au- 
thor of  the  speech  which  he  puts  into  the  mouth 
of  Aleander.  It  is  true  that  the  Cardinal  admits 
having  moulded  it  into  the  shape  in  which  he 
presents  it  to  his  readers ;  but  he  specifies  the 
materials  he  has  used,  and  among  these  Alean- 
der's  letters  deposited  in  the  archives  of  the  Vati- 
can.—(Acta  Wormatia:,  fol.  66  and  99.)  I 
think,  therefore,  that  to  reject  it  altogether  would 
be  injudicious.  I  have  collected  some  additional 
passages  of  the  speech  from  other  sources,  Pro- 
testant and  Romish. 

t  Baptismum  neminem  justificare,  sed  fidem 
in  verbum  promissionis  cui  additur  Baptismus. — 
(Cochlaeus,  Act.  Luth.  28.) 


were  designed  to  be  the  leaven  of  their 
race  were  to  cast  aside  their  sacred  vest- 
ments, forsake  the  temples  that  once  re- 
sounded with  their  holy  songs,  and  plunge 
at  once  into  adultery,  incest,  and  licen- 
tiousness. 

"  Why  should  I  enumerate  all  the 
crimes  of  this  audacious  monk  ?  He  sins 
against  the  dead,  for  he  denies  the  exist- 
ence of  purgatory  ;  he  sins  against  heav- 
en, for  he  says  that  he  would  not  believe 
an  angel  sent  from  heaven  ;  he  sins 
against  the  church,  for  he  maintains  that 
all  Christians  are  priests  :  he  sins  against 
the  saints,  for  he  treats  their  venerable 
writings  with  contempt :  he  sins  against 
Councils,  for  he  calls  the  Council  of 
Constance  an  assembly  of  devils  ;  he  sins 
against  the  secular  power,  for  he  forbids 
the  punishment  of  death  to  be  inflicted 
on  any  one  who  has  not  committed  a 
mortal  sin.*  There  are  people  who  tell 
Us  he  is  a  man  of  piety.  I  will  not  im- 
pugn his  private  character  ;  I  will  only 
remind  this  assembly  that  it  is  a  common 
thing  for  the  devil  to  deceive  men  under 
the  appearance  of  sanctity." 

Aleander  next  adverted  to  the  decree 
of  the  Council  of  Florence,  condemning 
the  doctrine  of  purgatory,  and  laid  the 
Pope's  bull  regarding  that  council  at  the 
Emperor's  feet.  The  Archbishop  of 
Mentz  took  up  the  bull  and  gave  it  into 
the  hands  of  the  Archbishops  of  Cologne 
and  Treves,  who  received  it  reverently, 
and  handed  it  to  the  other  Princes.  The 
Nuncio  having  thus  preferred  his  charge 
against  Luther,  proceeded  in  his  second 
object,  the  justification  of  Rome. 

"  Luther  tells  us  that  at  Rome  the  lips 
profess  what  the  life  belies.  If  this  be 
true,  must  not  the  inference  we  draw 
from  it  be  exactly  the  opposite  of  his? 
If  the  ministers  of  any  religion  live  in 
accordance  with  its  precepts,  that  very  to-, 
ken  proves  the  religion  to  be  false.  Such 
was  the  religion  of  the  ancient  Romans. 
Such  is  that  of  Mahomet,  and  that  of 
Luther  himself;  but  such  is  not  the  reli- 
gion taught  us  by  the  Roman  Pontiffs. 
No  !  the  doctrine  they  profess  condemns 
them  all  as  having  failed  in  their  duty, 
many  of  them  as  highly  blameworthy, 
some  I  frankly  confess  it,  as  deeply  crim- 

*  Weil  er  verbiete  jemand  mit  Todes  Strafe 
zu  belegen  der  nicht  eine  Todsiinde  begangen. — 
(Seckend.  p.  333.) 


THE   DIET  OF  WORMS,   1521. 


279 


inal.*  ....  By  that  doctrine  their  ac- 
tions are  delivered  over  to  the  censure  of 
men's  tongues  while  they  live,  to  the  ex- 
ecration of  history  after  their  death,  f 
Now  what  pleasure,  or  what  profit,  I 
ask,  can  the  Pontiffs  have  proposed  to 
themselves  in  inventing  a  religion  like 
this? 

''  The  Church,  we  shall  be  told,  in 
the  early  ages  was  not  governed  by  the 
Roman  pontiffs  ....  and  what  is  the 
inference  here  ?  If  an  argument  like 
this  is  to  have  any  weight,  we  may  next 
exhort  men  to  feed  upon  acorns,  or 
princesses  of  royal  blood  to  go  forth  and 
wash  their  garments  by  the  river  side." 

But  the  Nuncio's  main  attack  was  di- 
rected personally  against  his  antagonist 
the  Reformer.  Adverting  indignantly 
to  the  opinion  expressed  by  some,  that 
Luther  ought  to  be  heard :  "  Luther," 
cried  he,  "  will  allow  himself  to  be  set 
right  by  no  one.  Long  ago  the  Pope 
summoned  him  to  Rome,  but  he  obeyed 
not  the  call.  The  Pope  then  required 
him  to  appear  before  his  Legate  at  Augs- 
burg, and  he  did  appear  there,  when  he 
had  obtained  a  safe-conduct  from  the 
Emperor, — that  is  to  say,  when  the  Le- 
gate's hands  were  tied,  and  the  use  of  his 
tongue  alone  allowed  him.  J  ....  Oh," 
said  Aleander,  turning  towards  Charles, 
"  I  beseech  your  Imperial  Majesty  not  to 
do  that  which  could  only  reflect  dishon- 
our upon  your  name.  Meddle  not  with 
an  affair  in  which  the  laity  have  no  right 
to  interpose.  Discharge  the  duty  that 
properly  devolves  upon  you.  Let  Lu- 
ther's doctrines  be  proscribed  by  your 
authority  throughout  the  Empire, — let 
his  writings  be  every  where  committed 
to  the  flames.  Shrink  not  from  the  path 
of  justice.  There  is  enough  in  the  er- 
rors of  Luther  to  warrant  the  burning  of 
a  hundred  thousand  heretics. §  And 
whom  have  we  to  fear  ?  The  multitude  ? 
Their  insolence  makes  them  formidable 
while  the  battle  is  delayed,  but  when  it 
comes  their  cowardice  will  render  them 

*  . .  .  .  Multos  ut  quadantenus  reos,  nonnullos 
(dicam  ingenue)  ut  scelestos. — (Pallavicini,  i. 
101.) 

t  I^nguarum  vituperationi  dura  vivunt,  histo- 
riarum  infamise  post  mortem. — (Ibid.; 

%  Quod  idem  erat  ac  revinctis  legati  brachiis  et 
lingua  solum  soluta. — (Ibid.  109.) 

§  Dass  100,000  Ketzer  ihrenthalben  verbrannt 
werden. — (Seek.  p.  332.) 


contemptible.  Foreign  princes?  Nay! 
the  King  of  France  has  issued  an  edict 
to  prevent  Luther's  doctrine  from  gaining 
an  entrance  into  his  dominions :  the 
King  of  England  is  preparing  to  combat 
him  with  his  own  royal  pen.  The  opin- 
ion of  Hungary,  Italy,  and  Spain,  it  is 
for  yourself  to  declare,  and  there  is  not 
one  of  your  neighbours,  how  great  soev- 
er their  hatred  against  you,  who  would 
wish  you  so  much  mischief  as  this  here- 
sy must  entail  upon  you.  For  if  our 
enemy  dwells  close  beside  us,  we  may, 
perhaps,  desire  that  the  ague  should  en- 
ter his  house,  but  not  the  plague.  What 
are  all  these  Lutherans?  A  motley  rab- 
ble of  insolent  grammarians,  licentious 
priests,  disorderly  monks,  ignorant  advo- 
cates, degraded  nobles,  misled  and  per- 
verted plebeians.  How  greatly  superior 
is  the  Catholic  party  in  numbers,  in  in- 
telligence, in  power?  An  unanimous 
decree  of  this  illustrious  assembly  will 
open  the  eyes  of  the  simple,  show  the 
unwary  their  danger,  determine  the  wa- 
vering, and  strengthen  the  weak-hearted. 
But  if  the  axe  be  not  laid  to  the  root  of 
this  venomous  plant, — if  the  death-blow 
be  not  dealt  against  it, — then  I  behold  it 
covering  Christ's  heritage  with  its 
branches,  changing  the  vineyard  of  the 
Lord  into  a  howling  wilderness,  convert- 
ing God's  kingdom  into  a  haunt  of  wild 
beasts  ;  plunging  Germany  into  the  same 
wretched  condition  of  barbarism  and  deso- 
lation to  which  Asia  has  been  reduced 
by  the  superstition  of  Mahomet." 

The  Nuncio  concluded  his  address. 
He  had  spoken  for  three  hours.  His 
impetuous  eloquence  had  produced  a 
strong  sensation  in  the  assembly.  The 
Princes  looked  at  each  other,  Cochlceus 
tells  us,  with  countenances  that  betrayed 
excitement  and  alarm,  and  murmurs  were 
soon  heard  to  arise  from  various  quarters 
against  Luther  and  those  who  supported 
him.*  If  the  energetic  Luther  had  been 
present  to  reply  to  this  address ;— if, 
takino-  advantage  of  those  admissions 
which  the  remembrance  of  the  infamous 
Borgia,  his  former  master,  had  wrung 
from  the  Roman  orator,  he  had  shewn 
that  the  very  arguments  by  which  the 
Nuncio  attempted  to  defend  Rome  were 

*  Vehementer  exterriti  atque  commoti  alter 
alterum  intuebantur  atque  in  Lutherum  ejusque 
fautores  murmurare  pergunt. — (Cochlasus,  p.  28.) 


280 


HISTORY  OF   THE   REFORMATION. 


sufficient  to  condemn  her  ;  if  he  had  dem- 
onstrated that  the  doctrine  which  bore 
witness  to  her  iniquity  was  not  that  in- 
vented by  her,  as  the  orator  had  said,  but 
was  that  pure  religion  which  Christ  had 
given  to  the  world,  and  which  it  was  the 
aim  of  the  Reformation  to  re-establish  in 
its  primitive  lustre  ;  if  he  had  drawn  a 
faithful  and  vivid  picture  of  the  errors 
and  abuses  of  the  Papacy,  and  pointed 
out  how  it  converted  the  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ  into  an  engine  of  self-aggrandise- 
ment and  spoliation ;  the  effect  of  the 
Nuncio's  harangue  would  have  been 
utterly  and  at  once  destroyed  ; — but  no 
one  rose  to  speak.  The  assembly  con- 
tinued under  the  influence  of  the  address, 
and.  in  the  first  moments  of  agitation  and 
excitement,  it  manifested  a  strong  desire 
to  root  out  the  Lutheran  heresy  from  the 
soil  of  the  Empire.* 

Nevertheless  this  victory  was  won  in 
appearance  only.  It  was  the  will  of  God 
that  Rome  should  have  an  opportunity 
of  displaying  the  utmost  strength  of  her 
cause  with  her  utmost  skill.  The  great- 
est of  her  orators  had  spoken  in  this  as- 
sembly of  Princes ;  he  had  said  all  that 
Rome  had  to  say  in  her  own  behalf:  but 
to  many  of  those  who  heard  him,  this 
last  effort  of  the  Papacy  was  destined  to 
serve  as  a  sign  of  its  abasement.  If  the 
open  confession  of  truth  be  required  to 
secure  its  triumph,  so  also  the  unreserved 
exhibition  of  error  is  the  necessary  pre- 
lude of  its  overthrow.  Neither  of  them 
can  accomplish  its  course  in  secret.  The 
light  brings  all  things  to  the  test. 

A  few  days  were  sufficient  to  efface 
the  impression  produced  by  the  speech, — 
as  is  always  the  case  when  an  orator  has 
recourse  to  high-sounding  words  to  cover 
the  hollowness  of  his  reasoning.  The 
majority  of  the  Princes  were  ready  to 
sacrifice  Luther,  but  none  were  disposed 
to  abandon  the  rights  of  the  Empire,  or 
to  suppress  the  grievances  of  the  Ger- 
manic nation.  They  were  willing  enough 
to  give  up  the  insolent  monk  who  had 
dared  to  speak  out  so  plainly  ;  but  their 
compliance  in  this  particular  entitled 
them,  as  they  thought,  to  represent  to  the 
Pope  more  urgently  the  justice  of  a  re- 
form, demanded  by  the  concurrent  voice 

*  Lmthernam  hseresin  esse  funditus  evellendam. 
— (Pallavicini ;  also  Roscoe's  Life  of  Leo  X.  vol. 
iv.) 


of  the  chiefs  of  the  nation.  And  ac- 
cordingly it  was  the  most  determined  of 
Luther's  personal  enemies,  Duke  George 
of  Saxony,  who  spoke  with  the  greatest 
earnestness  against  the  encroachments  of 
Rome.  This  Prince,  the  grandson  of 
Podiebrad  king  of  Bohemia,  though  of- 
fended by  the  doctrine  of  grace  taught 
by  the  Reformer,  still  looked  forward 
with  hope  to  a  Reformation,  moral  and 
ecclesiastical.  The  chief  cause  of  his 
irritation  against  the  monk  of  Wittem- 
berg  was,  that,  by  those  obnoxious  doc- 
trines of  his,  he  was  spoiling  the  whole 
affair.  But  now,  when  he  found  the 
Nuncio  studiously  involving  Luther  and 
the  Reformation  of  the  Church  in  one 
and  the  same  sentence  of  condemnation, 
Duke  George  suddenly  stood  up  to  speak 
in  the  assembly  of  the  Princes,  to  the 
great  astonishment  of  those  who  knew 
his  hostility  to  the  Reformer.  "  The 
Diet,"  said  he,  "  must  not  lose  sight  of 
the  grievances  of  which  it  has  to  claim 
redress  from  the  Court  of  Rome.  How 
numerous  are  the  abuses  that  have  crept 
into  our  dominions  !  The  annats,  which 
the  Emperor  granted  of  his  free  will  for 
the  good  of  religion,  now  exacted  as  a 
due ;  the  Roman  courtiers  daily  invent- 
ing new  regulations  to  favour  the  mo- 
nopoly, the  sale,  the  leasing  out  of  eccle- 
siastical benefices ;'  a  multitude  of  offen- 
ces connived  at ;  a  scandalous  toleration 
granted  to  rich  offenders,  while  those 
who  have  not  wherewithal  to  purchase 
impunity  are  severely  punished ;  the 
Popes  continually  bestowing  reversions 
and  rent  charges  on  the  officers  of  their 
palace  to  the  prejudice  of  those  to 'whom 
the  benefices  rightfully  belong  ;  the  ab- 
beys and  convents  of  Rome  given  in 
commendam  to  cardinals,  bishops,  and  pre- 
lates, who  apply  their  revenues  to  their 
own  use, — so  that  in  many  convents 
where  there  ought  to  be  twenty  or  thirty 
monks,  not  one  is  to  be  found : — stations 
multiplied  to  excess ; — shops  for  indul- 
gences opened  in  every  street  and  square 
of  our  cities, — shops  of  Saint  Anthony, 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  of  Saint  Hubert,  of 
Saint  Vincent,  and  I  know  not  how 
many  more  ; — societies  contracting  at 
Rome  for  the  privilege  of  setting  up  this 
trade, — then  purchasing  from  their  bishop 
the  right  of  exposing  their  merchandise 
to  sale  :  and  finally  to  meet  all  this  out- 


THE   DIET   OF   WORMS,  1521. 


281 


lay  of  money,  squeezing  and  draining 
the  last  coin  out  of  the  poor  man's  purse ; 
— indulgences  which  ought  to  be  granted 
only  with  a  view  to  the  salvation  of  souls, 
and  procured  only  by  prayer  and  fasting 
and  works  of  charity, — sold  for  a  price  ; 
— the  officials  of  the  bishops  oppressing 
men  of  low  degree  with  penances  for 
blasphemy,  or  adultery,  or  drunkenness, 
or  profanation  of  this  or  that  festival, — 
but  never  addressing  so  much  as  a  re- 
buke to  ecclesiastics  who  are  guilty  of 
the  same  crimes, — penances  so  devised  as 
to  betray  the  penitent  into  a  repetition  of 
his  offence,  in  order  that  more  money 
may  be  exacted  from  him  :* — these  are 
but  a  few  of  the  abuses  which  cry  out 
on  Rome  for  redress.  All  shame  is  laid 
aside,  and  one  object  alone  incessantly 
pursued, — money  !  evermore  money  ! — 
so  that  the  very  men  whose  duty  it  is  to 
disseminate  the  truth  are  engaged  in 
nothing  but  the  propagation  of  falsehood, 
and  yet  they  are  not  merely  tolerated  but 
rewarded  ; — because  the  more  they  lie 
the  larger  are  their  gains.  This  is  the 
foul  source  from  which  so  many  cor- 
rupted streams  flow  out  on  every  side. 
Profligacy  and  avarice  go  hand  in  hand. 
The  officials  summon  women  to  their 
houses  on  various  pretences,  and  endea- 
vour, either  by  threats  or  by  presents,  to 
seduce  them, — and  if  the  attempt  fails, 
they  ruin  their  reputation.!  Oh!  it  is 
the  scandal  occasioned  by  the  clergy 
♦hat  plunges  so  many  poor  souls  into 
everlasting  perdition.  A  thorough  re- 
form mUst  be  effected.  To  accomplish 
that  reform  a  General  Council  must  be 
assembled.  Wherefore,  most  excellent 
Princes  and  Lords,  I  respectfully  beseech 
you  to  give  this  matter  your  immediate 
attention."  Duke  George  then  presented 
a  written  catalogue  of  the  grievances  he 
had  enumerated.  This  happened  a  few 
days  after  Aleander's  address.  The  im- 
portant document  has  been  preserved  in 
the  archives  of  Weimar. 

Luther  himself  had  not  spoken  with 
greater   energy    against    the   abuses  of 

*  Sondern  dass  er  es  bald  wieder  begehe  nnd 
mehr  Geld  erlegen  miisse. — (Archives  of  Wei- 
mar.— Seckend.  p.  328.) 

t  Das  sie  Weibesbilder  unter  mancherley 
Scheiu  beschiken,  selbige  sodann  mit  Drohungen 
und  Geschenken  zu  fallen  suchen,  oder  in  einen 
bosen  Verdacht  bringen. — (Weimar  Archiv. — 
Seek,  p  330.) 

36 


Rome,  but  he  had  done  something  more. 
The  Duke  pointed  out  the  evil, — Luther 
along  with  the  evil  had  pointed  out  also 
its  cause  and  its  cure.  He  had  shewn 
that  the  sinner  receives  the  true  indul- 
gence,— that  remission  of  sins  which 
comes  from  God, — solely  by  faith  in  the 
grace  and  merits  of  Christ ; — and  by  this 
simple  yet  powerful  truth  he  had  over- 
thrown all  the  traffic  which  had  been  es- 
tablished by  the  priests.  "  How  shall  a 
man  become  holy?"  said  he  one  day. 
"  A  cordelier  will  reply  :  Put  on  a  grey 
hood  and  tie  a  cord  round  your  middle. 
A  Roman  will  answer,  Hear  mass  and 
fast.  But  a  Christian  will  say  :  Faith  in 
Christ — and  that  alone — justifies  and 
saves.  We  must  have  eternal  life  before 
good  works.  But  when  we  are  born 
anew  and  made  children  of  God  by  the 
word  of  grace, — then  we  perform  good 
works."* 

The  Duke's  language  was  that  of  a 
secular  prince  ;  Luther's  that  of  a  true 
Reformer.  The  great  sin  of  the  Church 
was  that  she  had.  thrown  down  the  bar- 
riers that  separated  her  from  the  world, — 
that  she  had  converted  all  her  operations 
and  all  her  benefits  into  external  and  ma- 
terial things,  in  the  last  stage  of  her 
contamination,  she  had  embraced  the 
scheme  of  indulgences,  and  the  most 
spiritual  blessing  that  belongs  to  Chris- 
tianity,— pardon, — was  now  to  be  bought 
at  a  stall  like  food  or  drink !  Luther's 
great  achievement  consisted  in  this, — 
that  he  took  advantage  of  that  extremity 
of  degradation  into  which  Christianity 
had  sunk,  to  lead  back  individuals  and 
the  Church  to  the  original  fountain  of 
life, — and  to  re-establish  the  supremacy 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  sanctuary  of 
the  believer's  heart.  The  remedy  in 
this  case,  as  in  many  others,  arose  out  of 
the  evil  itself,  and  the  two  extremes 
touched  each  other.  Henceforward  the 
Church,  which  for  so  many  ages  had 
been  content  with  an  external  manifesta- 
tion by  ceremonies  and  observances  and 
practices  of  human  authority,  began 
once  more  to  seek  her  developement 
within,  in  faith,  hope,  and  charity. 

The  Duke's  speech  produced  the 
greater  effect,  on  account  of  his  well- 
known  opposition  to  Luther.  Other 
members  of  the  Diet  brought  forward 
*  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xxii.  748.  752. 


382 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


other  grievances.  Even  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal princes  supported  these  complaints.* 
"  We  have  a  Pontiff,"  said  they,  "  who  is 
occupied  only  with  pleasure  and  the 
chase  ;  the  church  preferment  of  Ger- 
many is  bestowed  at  Rome  on  gunners, 
falconers,  valets,  ass-drivers,  grooms, 
guardsmen,  and  other  people  of  the  same 
stamp,  ignorant,  inexperienced,  and 
strangers  to  our  nation. "f 

The  Diet  nominated  a  Committee  to 
draw  up  a  list  of  grievances ;  the  enu- 
meration extended  to  a  hundred  and  one. 
A  deputation  composed  of  secular  and 
ecclesiastical  princes  presented  this  report 
to  the  Emperor,  with  an  earnest  request 
that  he  would  do  them  right  in  the  mat- 
ter,— conformably  to  the  engagement  he 
had  contracted  on  his  elevation  to  the 
throne.  "  What  a  loss  of  Christian 
souls,"  said  they  to  Charles,  "  what  injus- 
tice, what  extortion  are  the  daily  fruits  of 
those  scandalous  practices  to  which  the 
spiritual  head  of  Christendom  affords  his 
countenance.  The  ruin  and  dishonour  of 
our  nation  must  be  averted.  We  there- 
fore very  humbly,  but  bery  urgently,  be- 
seech you  to  sanction  a  general  Reforma- 
tion, to  undertake  the  work,  and  to  carry 
it  through. "J  The  Christian  commu- 
nity at  this  period  was  operated  upon  by 
an  unknown  power,  which  descended 
alike  on  princes  and  people, — a  wisdom 
from  above  which  exerted  its  influence 
even  on  the  adversaries  of  reform,  and 
prepared  the  way  for  that  great  deliver- 
ance whose  appointed  hour  was  now  at 
hand. 

Charles  could  not  be  insensible  to  the 
remonstrances  of  the  Imperial  Diet. 
Neither  the  Nuncio  nor  the  Emperor  had 
anticipated  them.  The  latter  immedi- 
ately withdrew  the  edict  which  com- 
manded Luther's  writings  to  be  commit- 
ted to  the  flames  in  every  part  of  the 
Empire,  and  issued  in  its  stead  a  provis- 
ional order  that  all  copies  of  those  wri- 
tings should  be  delivered  into  the  hands 
of  the  magistrates. 

This  did  not  satisfy  the  assembly ;  it 
demanded  Luther's   appearance.      It  is 

*  Seckend.     Vorrede  von  Frick. 

t  Buchsenmeistern,  Falknem,  Pfistern,  Esel- 
treibern,  Stallknechsen,  Trabanten  .  .  .  Kapps 
Nachlese  niitzl.— (Ref.  Urkunden,  iii.  262.) 

t  Dass  eine  Besserung  und  gemeine  Reforma- 
tion geschehe. — (Ibid.  275.) 


unjust,  said  his  friends,  to  condemn  Lu- 
ther without  having  heard  him,  and  with- 
out having  ascertained  from  his  own  lips 
that  he  is  the  author  of  those  books 
which  it  is  proposed  to  burn.  His  doc- 
trine, said  his  adversaries,  has  taken  so 
fast  a  hold  on  men's  minds,  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  check  its  progress,  unless  we 
allow  him  a  hearing.  There  shall  be  no 
disputing  with  him  ;  and  in  the  event  of 
his  acknowledging  his  writings,  and  re- 
fusing to  retract  them,  we  will  all  with 
one  accord,  Electors,  Princes,  and  States 
of  the  holy  Empire,  in  firm  adherence  to 
the  faith  of  our  ancestors,  give  your  Ma- 
jesty our  unsparing  aid  to  carry  your  de- 
crees into  full  effect.* 

Aleander,  disturbed  by  this  proposal, 
and  dreading  every  thing  from  Luther's 
intrepidity  and  the  ignorance  of  the 
Princes  before  whom  he  would  have  to 
plead,  made  strenuous  efforts  to  prevent 
his  being  summoned.  After  conferring 
with  Charles's  ministers,  he  went  to 
those  Princes  who  were  best  disposed 
towards  the  Pope,  and  from  them  to  the 
Emperor  himself. f  "It  is  not  permit- 
ted," said  he,  "  to  question  what  the  Sov- 
ereign Pontiff  has  decreed.  There  shall 
be  no  disputing  with  Luther,  you  say ; 
but  how  can  we  be  sure,"  he  continued, 
"  that  the  genius  of  this  audacious  man, 
the  fire  that  flashes  from  his  eyes,  the 
eloquence  of  his  speech,  the  mysterious 
spirit  that  animates  him,  will  not  suffice 
to  excite  a  tumult.  J  Already  there  are 
many  who  revere  him  as  a  saint,  and  his 
image  is  every  where  to  be  seen  encircled 
with  rays  of  glory,  like  those  which  sur- 
round the  heads  of  the  blessed.  If  he 
must  needs  be  cited  to  appear,  beware,  at 
all  events,  of  pledging  the  public  faith 
for  his  safety."^  These  last  words  were 
calculated  to  intimidate  Luther,  or  to 
pave  the  way  for  his  destruction. 

The  Nuncio  found  it  easy  to  influence 
the  grandees  of  Spain.  In  the  intensity 
of  their  fanatic  zeal,  they  panted  for  the 
annihilation  of  the  new  heresy.  Fred- 
eric, Duke  of  Alva,  in  particular,  was 
thrown  into  a  fit  of  rage,  as  often  as  the 

*  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xxii.  567. 

t  Quam  ob  rem  sedul6  contestatus  est  apud 
CaBsaris  administros. — (Pallav.  i.  113.) 

X  Lingua  promptus,  adore  vultus  et  oris  spiritu 
ad  concitandum  seditionem. — (Ibid.) 

§  Haud  certe  fidem  publicam  illi  prffibendam 
— (Pallavicini,  i  113.) 


THE   DIET   OF  WORMS,   1521. 


283 


Reformation  was  mentioned.*  It  would 
have  delighted  him  to  wade  knee-deep 
in  the  blood  of  its  proselytes.  The  sum- 
mons for  Luther's  appearance  was  yet 
suspended,  but  his  name  had  become  a 
watchword  of  startling  interest  in  the 
ears  of  all  the  magnates  in  Christendom 
then  assembled  at  Worms. 

The  man  by  whom  the  powers  of  the 
earth  were  thus  shaken  seemed  alone  to 
enjoy  peace.  The  tidings  from  Worms 
were  alarming ;  even  Luther's  friends 
were  dismayed.  "  Nothing  is  left  to  us 
but  your  good  will  and  your  prayers," 
wrote  Melancthon  to  Spalatin.  "Oh 
that  God  would  vouchsafe  to  make  our 
blood  the  price  of  the  Christian  world's 
deliverance  !"t  But  Luther,  a  stranger  to 
all  fear,  shutting  himself  up  in  his  quiet 
cell,  fixed  his  meditations,  with  an  im- 
mediate reference  to  his  own  case,  on 
these  ecstatic  words  of  Mary,  the  mother 
of  Jesus :  "  My  soul  doth  magnify  the 
Lord,  and  my  Spirit  hath  rejoiced,  in  God 
my  Saviour.  .  .  For  he  that  is  mighty 
hath  done  to  me  great  things  ;  and  holy 
is  his  name.  .  .  He  hath  showed  strength 
with  his  arm.  .  .  .  He  hath  put  down  the 
mighty  from  their  seats,  and  exalted  them 
of  low  degree."  \  Let  us  review  some  of 
the  thoughts  which  passed  through  Lu- 
ther's heart.  ''  He  that  is  mighty  .  .  . 
saith  Mary.  Oh  what  boldness  of  speech 
in  this  young  virgin !  By  a  single  word 
she  brands  all  the  strong  with  weakness 
— all  the  mighty  with  faintness — all  the 
wise  with  folly — and  all  those  whose 
name  is  glorious  on  the  earth  with  dis- 
grace ; — and  casts  all  strength,  all  might, 
all  wisdom,  all  glory,  at  the  feet  of  God 
alone.  §  .  .  .  His  arm,  she  says  again, — 
signifying  the  power  by  which  he  acts 
of  himself,  without  the  aid  of  any  of  his 
creatures, — that  mysterious  power  which 
operates  in  secret  and  in  silence  until  it 
has  accomplished  all  his  will  .  .  .  De- 
struction comes  when  none  has  marked 
its  approach — deliverance  comes  when 
none  has  dared  to  look  for  it.  He 
leaves  his  children  in  oppression  and 
misery,  so  that  every  one   says  within 

*  Albse  dux  videbatur  aliquando  furentibus  mo- 
llis agitari. — (Ibid.) 

t  Utinam  Deus  redimat  nostro  sanguine  salu- 
tem  Christian!  populi.— (Corp.  Ref.  i.  362.) 

t  Luke  i.  46—55. 

§  Magnificat— (L.  Opp.  Wittemb.  Deutsch. 
Ausg.  iii.  11,  &c.) 


himself,  They  are  past  all  hope !  But 
even  then  is  He  strongest ;  for  when 
man's  strength  ends,  God's  strength  be- 
gins. Only  let  faith  wait  upon  him  .  .  . 
And  at  another  time  he  sutlers  his  ene- 
mies to  exalt  themselves  in  their  pomp 
and  vain-glory.  He  withdraws  from 
them  the  succour  of  his  strength,  and 
leaves  them  to  be  puffed  up  with  their 
own.*  He  empties  them  of  his  eternal 
wisdom,  and  permits  them  to  be  inflated 
with  their  own  wisdom,  which  is  but  for 
a  day ;  and  then,  when  the  eyes  of  their 
fellow  men  a»e  dazzled  with  their  great- 
ness, God's  arm  is  lifted  up,  and  lo  !  the 
fabric  they  have  been  rearing  disappears 
in  a  moment,  like  a  bubble  bursting  in 
the  air !" 

It  was  on  the  10th  of  March,  while 
the  imperial  city  was  trembling  at  his 
name,  that  Luther  concluded  his  com- 
mentary on  the  Magnificat. 

He  was  not  long  to  be  left  undisturbed 
in  his  retreat.  Spalatin,  in  obedience  to 
the  orders  of  the  Elector,  sent  him  a 
note  of  the  articles  which  he  would  be 
called  on  to  retract.  A  retractation  after 
his  refusal  at  Augsburg  !  "  Never  fear," 
he  wrote  to  Spalatin,  "  that  I  will  retract 
a  single  syllable,  since  the  only  argu- 
ment they  have  to  urge  against  me  is 
that  my  writings  are  at  variance  with  the 
observances  of  what  they  call  the  Church. 
If  our  Emperor  Charles  sends  for  me 
only  to  retract,  my  answer  shall  be  that  I 
will  remain  here,  and  it  will  be  all  the 
same  •  as  though  I  had  been  at  Worms 
and  returned  again.  But  if  the  Empe- 
ror chooses  then  to  send  for  me  to  put 
me  to  death  as  an  enemy  to  the  Empire, 
I  shall  be  ready  to  obey  his  summons  ;f 
for,  by  Christ's  help,  I  will  never  aban- 
don his  word  in  the  hour  of  battle.  I 
know  that  these  blood-thirsty  men  will 
never  rest  till  they  have  taken  my  life. 
God  grant  that  my  death  may  be  laid  to 
the  charge  of  the  Papists  alone  !" 

The  Emperor  at  length  had  formed  his 
resolution.  Luther's  appearance  before 
the  Diet  seemed  the  only  probable  meth- 
od of  settling  the  affair  which  engross- 
ed the  attention  of  the  Empire.  Charles 
accordingly    resolved    to     cite   him    to 

*  Er  zieht  seine  Kraft  heraus  und  Iasst  sie  von 
eigener  Kraft  sich  auf  blasen. — (Ibid.) 

t  Si  ad  me  occidendum  deinceps  vocare  velit 
. .  .  offeram  me  venturum. — (L.  Epp.  i.  574.) 


284 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


Worms,  but  without  giving  him  a  safe- 
conduct.  It  now  became  necessary  for 
Frederic  once  more  to  assume  the  part  of 
his  protector.  The  danger  which  threat- 
ened the  Reformer  was  obvious  to  every 
one.  The  friends  of  Luther,  Cochlaeus 
remarks,  were  afraid  that  he  would  be 
delivered  up  to  the  Pope,  or  that  the  Em- 
peror would  himself  cause  him  to  be  put 
to  death  as  an  obstinate  heretic,  who  had 
forfeited  every  claim  to  be  treated  with 
good  faith.*  There  was  a  long  and  ear- 
nest debate  on  this  point  in  the  Diet.f 
Overawed,  at  last,  by  the  "agitation  that 
prevailed  m  almost  every  part  of  Ger- 
many, and  fearing  lest  some  sudden  tu- 
mult, or  some  dangerous  insurrection^ 
(in  favour  of  the  Reformer,  doubtless,) 
should  break  out  in  the  course  of  Luther's 
journey,  the  Princes  decided  that  it  was 
expedient  to  quiet  men's  minds  in  regard 
to  his  personal  safety,  and  not  only  the 
Emperor,  but  also  the  Elector  of  Saxony, 
Duke  George,  and  the  Landgrave  of 
Hesse,  through  whose  territories  he  had 
to  pass,  gave  him  severally  a  safe-con- 
duct. / 

On  the  6th  of  March,  1521,  Charles 
the  Fifth  affixed  his  signature  to  the  fol- 
lowing summons  addressed  to  Luther  : — 

"  Charles,  by  the  grace  of  God,  Em- 
peror elect  of  the  Romans,  always  Au- 
gust, &c.  &c. 

"  Worshipful,  well-beloved,  and  godly ! 
Whereas  we  and  the  States  of  the  holy 
Empire  here  assembled,  have  resolved 
to  institute  an  inquiry  touching  the  doc- 
trine and  writings  which  thou  hast 
lately  put  forth,  we  have  on  our  own  be- 
half and  on  behalf  of  the  Empire,  issued 
our  safe-conduct,  hereunto  annexed,  for 
thy  journey  hither  and  return  to  a  place 
of  security.  Our  hearty  desire  is  that 
thou  shouldest  prepare  thyself  to  set  out 
immediately,  so  that  within  the  space  of 
twenty-one  days  fixed  by  our  safe-con- 
duct thou  mayest  without  fail  present 
thyself  before  us.  Fear  no  injustice  or 
violence.  We  Avill  steadily  abide  by 
our  safe-conduct  aforesaid,  and  we  ex- 
pect  that   thou   wilt   pay   obedience    to 

*  Tanquam  perfido  hceretico  nulla  sit  servanda 
fides.— (Cochlaeus,  p.  28.) 

t  Longa  consultatio  difficilisque  disceptatlo. — 
(Ibid.) 

t  Cum  autem  grandis  ubique  per  Germaniam 
fere  totam  excitata  esset  .  .  .  animorum  commo- 
tio— (Ibid.) 


our  summons.     Such  is  our  earnest  in- 
junction. 

"  Given  in  our  imperial  city  of  Worms, 
this  6th  day  of  the  month  of  March,  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  1521,  and  the  sec- 
ond of  our  reign, 

"  Charles. 

"  By  order  of  my  Lord  the  Emperor, 
under  his  sign  manual,  Albert,  Cardi- 
nal of  Mentz,  Arch-Chancellor. 

"  Nicolas  ZwylP 

The  safe-conduct  enclosed  in  this  writ 
was  directed  a  To  the  worshipful  our 
well-beloved  and  godly  Doctor  Martin 
Luther,  of  the  order  of  the  Augustines." 

It  began  thus : 

"  We,  Charles,  the  fifth  of  that  name, 
by  the  grace  of  God,  Emperor  elect  of 
the  Romans,  always  August,  King  of 
Spain,  of  the  Two  Sicilies,  of  Jerusalem, 
of  Hungary,  of  Dalmatia,  of  Croatia,  &c. 
Archduke  of  Austria,  Duke  of  Burgundy, 
Count  of  Hapsburg,  of  Flanders,  of  the 
Tyrol,"  &c.  &c. 

And  then  this  sovereign  of  so  many 
states  intimating  that  he  has  cited  a  cer- 
tain Augustine  monk,  named  Luther,  to 
appear  in  his  presence,  requires  all 
princes,  lords,  magistrates,  and  others,  to 
respect  the  safe-conduct  which  he  has 
granted  to  him,  under  pain  of  being 
dealt  with  as  offenders  against  the  Em- 
peror and  the  Empire.* 

Thus  did  the  Emperor  bestow  the  ap- 
pellations of  "  well-beloved,  worshipful, 
and  godly,"  on  a  man  whom  the  head 
of  the  Church  had  visited  with  excom- 
munication. The  phraseology  of  the 
instrument  was  designed  to  remove  all 
mistrust  from  the  mind  of  Luther  and 
his  friends.  Gaspar  Sturm  was  ap- 
pointed to  deliver  this  missive  to  the  Re- 
former, and  to  escort  him  to  Worms. 
The  Elector,  fearing  some  outbreak  of 
popular  feeling,  wrote  on  the  12th  of 
March  to  the  magistrates  of  Wittembergr 
desiring  them  to  adopt  measures  for  the 
safety  of  the  Emperor's  officer,  and,  if 
necessary,  to  furnish  him  with  a  guard. 
The  herald  took  his  departure. 

Thus  was  the  purpose  of  God  fulfilled'. 
It  was  his  will  that  this  light,  which  he  had 
kindled  in  the  world,  should  be  set  upon 

*  Lucas  Cranachs  Stammbuch,  &c.  heraasge- 
gebenv.  Chr.  v.  Mecheln.  p.  12. 


THE   DIET   OF  WORMS,    1521. 


285 


a  hill ;  and  emperor,  kings  and  princes, 
were  all  busily  employed — though  they 
knew  it  not — in  executing  what  He  had 
appointed.  It  is  an  easy  thing  with  Him 
to  raise  the  meanest  to  dignity.  An  act 
of  His  power,  operating  through  succes- 
sive years,  suffices  to  lead  the  offspring 
of  a  Saxon  peasant  from  the  lowly  cot- 
tage of  his  childhood  to  that  imperial 
hall  in  which  assembled  sovereigns 
awaited  his  coming.  In  His  presence 
none  are  either  small  or  great,  and  when 
He  wills  it,  Charles  and  Luther  meet  on 
the  same  level. 

But  will  Luther  obey  the  summons? 
His  best  friends  write  in  uncertainty  on 
this  point.  "Dr.  Martin,"  wrote  the 
Elector  to  his  brother  on  the  21st  of 
March,  "  is  cited  to  appear  here ;  but  I 
know  not  whether  he  will  come.  I  au- 
gur nothing  but  mischief."  Three  weeks 
later,  on  the  16th  of  April,  this  excellent 
prince,  perceiving  that  the  danger  was 
increasing,  wrote  again  to  Duke  John  as 
follows  : — "  A  proclamation  has  been  is- 
sued against  Luther.  The  cardinals  and 
the  bishops  are  very  hard  upon  him.* 
God  grant  that  this  may  end  well ! 
Would  to  Gftd  that  I  could  ensure  him 
a  favourable  hearing !" 

While  these  things  were  passing  at 
Worms  and  Wittemberg,  the  papacy  was 
renewing  its  assaults.  On  the  28th  of 
March,  which  was  the  Thursday  before 
Easter,  all  Rome  resounded  with  a  sol- 
emn sentence  of  excommunication.  It  is 
the  custom  at  this  season  to  publish  the 
terrible  bull  in  coma  Domini,  which  is 
nothing  but  a  long  string  of  imprecations. 
On  the  day  of  which  we  speak,  the  ap: 
proaches  to  the  church  in  which  the  Sov- 
ereigo  Pontiff  was  to  officiate  in  person, 
were  filled  at  an  early  hour  by  the  Papal 
guard,  and  by  a  vast  multitude  that  had 
Hocked  together  from  all  parts  of  Italy  to 
receive  the  benediction  of  the  Holy  Fa- 
ther. The  square  before  the  Basilica 
was  decorated  with  laurel  and  myrtle, 
wax  candles  were  burning  on  the  balco- 
ny of  the  church,  and  beside  them  was 
elevated  the  sacred  receptacle  of  the 
host.  On  a  sudden  the  deep  sound  of 
bells  reverberates  through  the  air  ; — the 
Pope,  arrayed  in  his  pontifical  robes,  and 
borne  in  an  arm-chair,  makes  his  appear- 

*  Die  Cardinale  und  Bischofe  sind  ihra  hart 
zuwider. — (Seckend.  p.  365.) 


ance  on  the  balcony  ;  the  people  fall  on 
their  knees ;  all  heads  are  uncovered ; 
the  flags  that  were  waving  in  tl^e  wind- 
are  lowered ;  the  troops  ground  their 
arms ;  and  a  solemn  silence  ensues.  Af- 
ter a  pause  of  some  moments,  the  Pope 
slowly  stretches  out  his  hands,  lifts  them 
up  towards  heaven,  and  then,  making 
the  sign  of  the  cross,  lets  them  gradually* 
fall  towards  the  earth.  He  repeats  these 
gestures  three  times.  And  now  again  the 
pealing  bells  are  heard,  giving  notice,  far 
and  wide,  of  the  Pontiff's  benediction ; 
and  next  a  train  of  priests  is  seen  advan- 
cing, each  with  a  lighted  torch  in  his 
hand  ;  as  they  rush  hurriedly  along,  they 
swing  their  torches  downwards,  they 
brandish  them  aloft,  they  toss  them  wild- 
ly to  and  fro,  like  so  many  fires  of  hell ; 
the  multitude  are  thrilled  with  awe  and 
terror  ;  and  the  words  of  malediction  roll 
heavily  above  their  heads.* 

When  Luther  was  apprised  of  this  ex- 
communication, he  published  the  form 
of  it,  with  some  remarks  in  that  caustic  ' 
style  which  he  knew  so  well  how  to  as- 
sume. Although  this  publication  did 
not  appear  till  some  time  afterwards,  we 
shall  present  some  extracts  from  it  here. 
Let  us  listen  to  the  high-priest  of  Chris- 
tendom, as  he  speaks  from  the  balcony 
of  his  Basilica, — and  to  the  monk  of 
Wittemberg,  who  answers  him  out  of  the 
heart  of  Germany.! 

There  is  something  characteristic  in 
the  contrast  of  the  two  voices. 

The  Pope.  "  Leo,  bishop." 

Luther.  "  Bishop  !  as  much  as  a  wolf 
is  a  shepherd ;  for  a  bishop's  duly  is  to 
give  godly  exhortations,  not  to  vomit 
forth  imprecations  and  curses." 

The  Pope.  "  Servant  of  all  the  ser- 
vants of  God.   ..." 

Luther.  "  In  the  evening  when  we 
are  drunk  ;  but  next  morning  we  call 
ourselves  Leo,  lord  of  all  lords." 

The  Pope.  "  The  bishops  of  Rome, 
our  predecessors,  have  been  wont  on. 
this  festival  to  employ  the  arms  of  jus- 
tice. .  .  ." 

*  This  ceremony  is  described  in  several  works, 
and  amongst  others  in  the  "  Tagebuch  einer 
Reise  durch  Deutschland  mid  Italien."  (Berlin, 
1817,  iv.  94.)  Its  principal  features  are  of  a  high- 
er antiquity  than  the  times  of  which  we  treat. 

t  See,  for  the  Pope's  bull  and  Luther's  com- 
mentary, "  Die  Bulla  vom  Abendfresscn." — (L. 
Opp.  (L.)  xviii.  1.) 


286 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


Luther.  "  Which,  according  to  your 
account,  are  excommunication  and  anath- 
ema: but  according  to  St.  Paul,  long- 
suffering,  kindness,  love  unfeigned." — 
(2  Cor.  vi.  6,  7.) 

The  Pope.  "According  to  the  duty 
of  the  Apostolic  charge,  and  to  maintain 
the  purity  of  the  Christian  faith.  .  .  ." 

Luther.  "  That  is  to  say,  the  tempo- 
ral possessions  of  the  Pope." 

The  Pope.  "  And  the  unity  thereof, 
which  consists  in  the  union  of  the  mem- 
bers with  Christ  their  head,  .  .  .  .and 
with  his  Vicar.  .  .  ." 

Luther.  "  For  Christ  is  not  sufficient, 
we  must  have  another  besides." 

The  Pope.  "  To  preserve  the  holy 
communion  of  the  faithful,  we  follow  the 
ancient  rule,  and  accordingly  do  excom- 
municate and  curse,  in  the  name  of  God 
Almighty,  the  Father.  ..." 

Luther.  "  Of  whom  it  is  said :  '  God 
sent  not  his  Son  into  the  world  to  condemn 
the  world?  " — (John  iii.  17.) 

The  Pope.  « The  Son  and  the  Holy 
Ghost, — and  by  the  authority  of  the 
Apostles,  Peter  and  Paul,  ....  and  by 
our  own.  .  .  ." 

Luther.  "  Our  own,  sa3's  the  raven- 
ous wolf,  as  though  God's  might  were 
too  weak  without  him." 

The  Pope.  "  We  curse  all  heretics — 
the  Garasi,*  the  Patarini,  '  the  poor  men' 
of  Lyons,  the  Arnoldists,  the  Speronists, 
the  Passageni,  the  Wicklefites,  the  Huss- 
ites, the  Fraticelli.  .  .  ." 

Luther.  "  Because  they  have  sought 
to  possess  themselves  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, and  admonished  the  Pope  to  be 
modest,  and  preach  the  Word  of  God." 

The  Pope.  "  And  Martin  Luther,  re- 
cently condemned  by  us  for  a  like  here- 
sy, together  with  all  his  adherents,  and 
all  persons,  whosoever  they  may  be,  who 
aid  or  abet  him." 

Luther.  u  I  thank  thee,  most  gracious 
Pontiff,  that  thou  hast  proclaimed  me  in 
company  with  all  these  Christians.  It  is 
an  honour  for  me  to  have  my  name  pro- 
claimed at  Rome  at  the  time  of  the  fes- 
tival, in  so  glorious  a  manner,  and  to 
have  it  circulated  throughout  the  world 
with  the  names  of  all  those  humble  con- 
fessors of  Christ." 

The  Pope.  "  In  like  manner,  we  ex- 

*  This  is  a  corrupt  orthography :  read  Gazari 
or  Cathari. 


communicate  and  curse  all  pirates  and 

corsairs.  .  .  ." 

Luther.  "  And  who  is  the  greatest  of 
all  pirates  and  corsairs,  if  it  be  not  he 
who  takes  souls  captive,  and  binds  them 
in  chains,  and  delivers  them  to  deafn?" 

The  Pope.  "...  especially  such  as 
infest  our  seas.  ..." 

Luther.  "  Our  seas !  St.  Peter,  our 
predecessor,  said  :  'Silver  and  gold  have  1 
none]  (Acts  iii.  6.)  Jesus  Christ  said, 
'  The  kings  of  the  Gentiles  exercise  lord- 
ship over  them ;  but  ye  shall  not  be  so.' 
(Luke  xxii.  25.)  But  if  a  waggon  laden 
with  hay  must  give  way  to  a  drunken 
man,  how  much  more  fitting  is  it  that 
St.  Peter  and  Christ  himself  should  give 
way  to  the  Pope  !" 

The  Pope.  "  In  like  manner  we  ex- 
communicate and  curse  all  those  who 
falsify  our  bulls  and  letters  apostoli- 
cal. .  .  ." 

Luther.  "  But  God's  letters, — God's 
Holy  Scriptures, — any  one  may  condemn 
and  burn  them." 

The  Pope.  "  In  like  manner  we  ex- 
communicate and  curse  all  those  who  in- 
tercept any  provisions  on  their  passage  to 
our  city  of  Rome  .  .  .  ." 

Luther.  "  He  snarls  and  bites  like  a 
dog  that  is  battling  for  his  bone."* 

The  Pope.  "  In  like  manner  we  con- 
demn, and  we  curse  all  those  who  with- 
hold any  privileges,  dues,  tithes)  or  reve- 
nues belonging  to  the  clergy." 

Luther.  "  Forasmuch  as  Christ  hath 
said,  '  If  any  man  will  sue  thee  at  the  law 
and  take  away  thy  coat,  let  him  have  thy 
cloak  also ;'  (Matt.  v.  40.)  and  ye  have 
now  heard  Our  commentary  thereon  .  ." 

The  Pope.  "  Whatever  be  their  sta- 
tion, dignity,  order,  authority,  or  rank, 
be  they  even  bishops  or  kings." 

Luther.  " '  For  there  shall  be  false, 
teachers  among  you,  who  shall  despise  do 
minion,  and  speak  evil  of  dignities]  saith 
the  Scripture."  (Jude  8.) 

The  Pope.  "  In  like  manner  we  con- 
demn and  curse  all  who  in  any  manner 
whatsoever  shall  molest  the  city  of  Rome, 
the  kingdom  of  Sicily,  the  islands  of  Sar- 
dinia and  Corsica,  the  patrimony  of  St. 
Peter  in  Tuscany,  the  duchy  of  Spoleto, 
the  marquisate  of  Ancona,the  Campagna. 
the  cities  of  Ferrara  and  Benevento.  or 

*  Gleichwie  ein  Hund  urns  Beines  willea. — 
(L.  Opp.  (L.)  xviii.  12.) 


THE   DIET   OF  WORMS,   1521. 


287 


any  other  city  or  territory  belonging  to 
the  Church  of  Rome.'' 

Luther.  "  O,  Peter,  thou  poor  fisher- 
man !  how  hast  thou  become  master  of 
Rome  and  so  many  kingdoms  besides? 
I  bid  thee  all  hail !  Peter!  king  of  Sicily ! 
....  and  fisherman  of  Bethsaida." 

The  Pope.  "  We  excommunicate  and 
curse  all  chancellors,  counsellors,  parlia- 
ments, procurators,  governors,  officials, 
bishops  and  others  who  shall  resist  any 
of  our  letters  admonitory,  permissive,  pro- 
hibitory, mediatory,  or  executive." 

Luther.  "  For  the  Holy  See  seeks 
only  to  live  in  idleness,  pomp  and  de- 
bauchery,— to  rule  and  intimidate, — to 
lie  and  deceive, — to  dishonour  and  se- 
duce, and  commit  all  kinds  of  evil  in 
peace  and  security  .  .  .  ." 

"  O  Lord,  arise  !  it  is  not  so  with  us  as 
the  Papists  pretend  ;  thou  hast  not  for- 
saken us,  neither  are  thine  eyes  turned 
away  from  us." 

Such  was  the  dialogue  between  Leo 
the  Tenth  at  Rome,  and  Martin  Luther 
at  Wittemberg. 

The  Pontiff  having  concluded  his 
anathemas,  the  parchment  on  which  they 
were  written  was  torn  up  and  its  frag- 
ments scattered  among  the  people.  The 
crowd  was  instantly  thrown  into  violent 
commotion,  every  one  rushed  forward 
eager  to  seize  a  scrap  of  the  terrible 
bull.  These  were  the  holy  relics  that 
the  Papacy  offered  to  its  followers  on  the 
eve  of  the  great  day  of  grace  and  expia- 
tion. The  multitude  soon  dispersed,  and 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  Basilica  re- 
sumed its  accustomed  stillness.  Let  us 
return  to  Wittemberg. 

It  was  now  on  the  24th  of  March, 
Gaspar  Sturm,  the  Imperial  Herald,  had 
passed  through  the  gates  of  the  city  in 
which  Luther  resided.  He  presented 
himself  before  the  Doctor,  and  delivered 
into  his  hands  the  Emperor's  writ  of 
summons.  It  was  an  anxious  and  solemn 
moment  for  the  Reformer.  His  friends 
Avere  all  panic  struck.  Hitherto  not  one 
of  the  princes,  not  even  Frederic  the 
Wise,  had  openly  espoused  his  cause. 
The  knights,  it  is  true,  had  begun  to  use 
threatening  language  ;  but  Charles  in  the 
plenitude  of  his  power  paid  small  regard 
to  it.  Luther,  however,  preserved  his 
composure.  "  The  Papists,"  said  he,  ob- 
serving the  distress  of  his  friends,  "  have 


little  desire  to  see  me  at  Worms,  but  they 
long  for  my  condemnation  and  death!* 
No  matter !  Pray,  not  for  me,  but  foi 
the  word  of  God.  My  blood  will  scarce- 
ly be  cold  before  thousands  and  tens  of 
thousands  in  every  land  will  be  made  to 
answer  for  the  shedding  of  it.  The 
'  Most  Holy'  adversary  of  Christ,  the  fa- 
ther and  master  and  chief  of  man-slay- 
ers, is  resolved  that  it  shall  be  spilt. 
Amen !  The  will  of  God  be  done  ! 
Christ  will  give  me  his  Spirit  to  over- 
come these  ministers  of  Satan.  I  de- 
spise them  while  I  live  ;  I  will  triumph 
over  them  in  death. f  They  are  striving 
hard  at  Worms  to  force  me  to  recant. 
My  recantation  shall  be  this :  I  said  for- 
merly that  the  Pope  was  Christ's  vicar  ; 
now  I  say  that  he  is  the  adversary  of  the 
Lord  and  the  Apostle  of  the  devil." 
And  when  he  was  told  that  all  the  pul- 
pits of  the  Franciscans  and  Dominicans 
were  ringing  with  imprecations  and  mal- 
edictions against  him  :\  "  Oh,  how  it  de- 
lights me  to  hear  it,"  exclaimed  he. 
He  knew  that  he  had  obeyed  the  will  of 
God,  and  that  God  was  with  him  : — why 
then  should  he  fear  to  set  out  1  Purity 
of  intention  and  a  conscience  void  of  of- 
fence impart  to  the  servant  of  God  a 
hidden  yet  incalculable  strength  which 
never  fails  him, — a  strength  in  which  he 
goes  forth  against  his  enemies  with  that 
assurance  of  victory  which  no  adaman- 
tine breast-plate,  no  phalanx  of  trusty 
spears  can  ever  afford. 

Luther  was  at  this  time  unexpectedly 
called  on  to  welcome  a  man  who,  like 
Melancthon,  was  destined  to  be  his 
friend  through  life,  as  well  as  to  ^ive 
him  present  comfort  in  the  hour  of  his 
departure.  §  This  was  a  priest  named 
Bugenhagen,  in  the  thirty-sixth  year  of 
his  age,  who  had  fled  from  the  rigorous 
persecution  exercised  by  the  Bishop  of 
Camin,  and  Prince  Bogislas,  of  Pomc- 
rania,  against  all,,  whether  ecclesiastics, 
citizens,  or  scholars,  who  embraced  the 
Gospel.  ||     Born  at  Wollin,  in  Pomera- 

*  Damnatum  et  perditum. — (L.  Epp.  i.  556.) 
t  .  .  .  ut  hos  Satanae  ministros  et  contemnam 

vivens  et  vicam  moriens. — (I*.  Epp.  i.  597.) 
\  .  .  .  Quod  mire  quam  gaudeam. — (Ibid.  567.) 
§  Venit  Wittembergam  pauld  ante  iter  Lu- 

theri    ad  comitia  Wormatife  indicta. — (Melch. 

Adam,  vita  Bugenhagii,  p.  314.) 

||  Saeerdotes  cives   et  scholasticos  in  vincula 

conjecit. — (Ibid.  p.  313.) 


288 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


nia  (whence  he  is  commonly  called  Po- 
meranus),  of  a  family  holding  senatorial 
rank,  Bugenhagen,  from  the  age  of 
twenty,  had  been  teaching  at  Treptow. 
The  young  listened  eagerly  to  his  instruc- 
tions ;  the  noble  and  the  learned  vied 
with  each  other  in  courting  his  society. 
He  was  a  diligent  student  in  the  sacred 
literature,  and  one  who  prayed  to  God 
to  enlighten  and  direct  him.*  One 
•evening  (it  was  towards  the  end  of  De- 
cember, 1520,)  as  he  sat  at  supper  with 
some,  friends,,  a  copy  of  Luther's  book 
on  the  Babylonian  Captivity  was  put  into 
his  hands.  "  Since  Christ's  death,"  said 
lie,  after  having  glanced  it  over,  "  there 
have  been  many  heretics  to  vex  the 
Church  ;  but  never  yet  has  there  risen 
up  such  a  pest  as  the  author  of  this  book." 
Having  taken  the  book  home  with  him, 
however,  and  read  it  once  and  again,  his 
thoughts  underwent  a  total  change ; 
truths  of  which  he  had  never  dreamed 
became  palpable  to  his  mind;  and  re- 
turning a  few  days  afterwards  to  his  com- 
panions, he  said  :  "  The  whole  world  has 
been  lying  in  thick  darkness.  This 
man-^— and  none  but  he — has  discerned  the 
truth."f  Several  priests,  a  deacon,  and 
even  the  abbot  himself,  received  the 
pure  doctrine  of  salvation,  and  in  a  short 
time,  by  their  powerful  preaching,  they 
turned  their  hearers,  says  an  historian, 
from  human  superstitions,  to  put  their 
sole  trust  in  the  availing  righteousness  of 
Jesus  Christ.;}:  Then  burst  forth  the  per- 
secution. Many  were  already  groaning 
in  dungeons.  Bugenhagen  escaped 
from  his  enemies,  and  arrived,  as  we 
have  seem  at  Wittemberg.  "  He  is  suf- 
fering for  the  Gospel's  sake,"  observed 
Melancthon,  writing,  on  this  occasion,  to 
the  Elector's  chaplain,  "  where  could  he 
seek  refuge,  but  in  this  asylum  of  ours 
under  the  protection  of  our  Prince  ?"§ 

But  by  none  was  Bugenhagen  re- 
ceived so  joyfully  as  by  Luther.  It  was 
agreed  between  them,  that  immediately 
after  the  Reformer's  departure,  Bugen- 
hagen   should    begin    to    expound   the 

*  Precesqueadjimxit  quibus  divinitusse  re  hac 
doceri  petivit. — (Melch.  Adam,  vita  Bugenhagii, 
p.  312.) 

t  In  Cimmeriis  tenebris  versatur :  hie  vir  unus 
et  solus  verum  videt. — (Ibid.  313.) 

X  A  superstitionibus  ad  unicum  Christi  meri- 
tum  traducere. — (Ibid.) 

ij  Corp.  Ref.  i.  361 


Psalms.  Thus  did  Providence  raise  up 
that  gifted  man  to  supply,  in  part  at 
least,  the  loss  of  him  whom  Wittemberg 
was  about  to  lose.  A  year  later,  Bugen- 
hagen was  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
Church  of  that  city,  and  he  continued 
to  preside  over  it  for  six  and  thirty  years. 
Luther  bestowed  upon  him  the  emphatic 
appellation  of  the  Pastor. 

Luther  was  now  ready  to  set  out.  His 
dejected  friends  believed  that,  unless  God 
should  interpose  by  a  miracle,  he  was 
going  to  meet  his  death.  Melancthon, 
far  removed  from  his  native  soil,  had  at- 
tached himself  to  Luther  with  the  strong 
affection  of  an  ardent  mind.  "  Luther," 
said  he,  "  makes  up  to  me  for  the  loss  of 
all  my  friends.  He  is,  in  my  estima- 
tion, greater  and  more  wonderful  than  I 
know  how  to  express.  You  remember 
how  Socrates  was  revered  by  Alcibiades  ;* 
— but  my  admiration  of  Luther  is  of  a 
higher  kind,  for  it  is  a  Christian  feeling." 
And  he  adds  the  beautiful  though  sim- 
ple phrase  :  "  As  often  as  I  contemplate 
him,  he  seems  to  me  every  time  to  have 
grown  greater  than  himselff  Melanc- 
thon wished  to  bear  Luther  company  in 
his  perils.  But  their  common  friends, — 
and,  doubtless,  the  Reformer  himself, — 
opposed  his  desire.  Was  not  Philip  to 
fill  his  friend's  place  ? — and  if  the  latter 
should  never  return,  who  would  then 
carry  on  the  work  of  reformation  % 
"Would  to  God,"  said  Melancthon,  as 
he  reluctantly  submitted,  "  I  were  allow- 
ed to  set  out  with  him."| 

The  vehement  Amsdorff  at  once,  de- 
clared his  intention  to  accompany  the  Doc- 
tor. His  bold  heart  delighted  in  danger 
— and  his  lofty  spirit  did  not  shrink  from 
appearing  before  an  assembly  of  kings. 
The  elector  had  invited  to  Wittemberg  a 
professor  of  law,  the  celebrated  John 
Schurff,  son  of  a  physician  at  St.  Gall,  a 
man  of  a  remarkably  mild  disposition 
who  lived  in  intimacy  with  Luther.  "  He 
could  never  find  the  heart  to  pass  sen- 
tence of  death  upon  any  criminal,"^  said 

*  Alcibiades  was  persuaded  that  the  society 
of  Socrates  was  granted  him  by  the  special  fa- 
vour of  the  Gods,  for  his  guidance  and  protection. 
—(Plutarch,  in  his  life  of  Alcibiades.) 

t  Quem  quoties  contemplor,  se  ipso  subindo 
majorem  judico. — (Corp.  Ref.  i.  264.) 

X  Utinam  licuisset  mini  una  proficisci. — (Ibid. 
365.) 

§  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xxii.  2067.  1819. 


THE   DIET   OF  WORMS,   1521. 


289 


Luther,  speaking  of  Schurff!  Yet  this 
timid  man  desired  to  be  present  with  the 
Doctor  as  his  adviser,  in  the  course  of  his 
hazardous  journey.  Peter  Suaven,  a 
young  Danish  student,  who  lodged  in 
Melancthon's  house,  and  was  afterwards 
famous  for  his  preaching  of  the  Gospel 
in  Pomerania  and  Denmark,  also  an- 
nounced that  he  would  accompany  his 
1  father.'  It  was  fit  that  the  youth  of  the 
schools  should  have  some  one  to  repre- 
sent it,  at  the  side  of  the  champion  of 
truth. 

All  Germany  was  moved  at  the 
thought  of  the  dangers  which  threatened 
one  who  was  the  people's  representative. 
She  found  a  voice  that  was  worthy  of 
her  to  express  her  alarms.  Ulric  Hutten, 
trembling  at  the  thought  of  the  blow  the 
country  was  on  the  eve  of  sustaining, 
wrote  on  the  1st  of  April  to  Charles  V. 
himself:  "  Most  excellent  Emperor,  you 
are  about  to  involve  yourself  and  us  in 
one  common  ruin.  What  is  the  object 
of  this  procedure  against  Luther,  unless 
it  be  the  destruction  of  our  liberty  and 
the  downfall  of  your  power.  Through- 
out the  empire  there  is  no  man  but  takes 
a  lively  interest  in  this  matter.*  The 
priests  alone  are  opposed  to  Luther,  be- 
cause he  has  stood  forth  against  their 
overgrown  power,  shameful  luxury,  and 
depraved  conduct,  and  pleaded  for  the 
Christian  doctrine,  the  national  liberties, 
and  purity  of  morals. 

"  O  Emperor,  no  longer  countenance 
those  Roman  advocates,  those  bishops 
and  cardinals  who  would  hinder  all  ref- 
ormation. Have  you  not  noticed  the 
sadness  of  the  people  when  they  beheld 
your  arrival,  approaching  the  Rhine  sur- 
rounded with  those  red  hats, — a  troop  of 
priests,  instead  of  a  cohort  of  valiant 
warriors  1 

"  Give  not  up  your  sovereign  majesty 
to  those  who  would  trample  it  under 
their  feet.  Take  pity  on  us,  and  do  not 
involve  the  whole  nation  in  your  own 
ruin.  Lead  us  into  the  midst  of  dangers 
— against  sword  and  cannonf — let  all 
nations  conspire,  and  their  armies  come 
against  us,  so  that  we  may  prove  our 
courage  in  the  face  of  day,  and  not  be 

*  Neque  enim  quam  lata  est  Germania,  ulli 
boni  sunt  .  . . — (L.  Opp.  lat.  ii.  182.) 

t  Due  nos  in  manifestum  potius  periculum, 
due  in  ferrum,  due  in  ignes. — (Ibid.  183.) 
37 


conquered  and  enslaved,  darkly  and  se- 
cretly, as  if  we  were  women  unarmed 
and  unresisting  .  .  .  .„  Alas,  we  hoped 
that  you  would  deliver  us  from  the  Ro- 
man yoke,and  dethrone  the  Pontiff's  tyr- 
anny. God  grant  that  the  future  may 
be  happier  than  these  beginnings. 
_  "AH  Germany  is  at  your  feet,*  implo- 
ring your  help,  your  compassion,  your 
fidelity ;  appealing  to  those  German  he- 
roes, who  stood  erect  before  the  proud 
city,  when  the  whole  world  besides  were 
its  subjects,  and  conjuring  you  to  save 
her, — to  restore  her  to  what  she  once 
was — to  deliver  her  from  slavery,  and 
avenge  her  on  her  tyrants." 

Thus  spake  the  German  nation  to 
Charles  the  Fifth,  by  the  mouth  of  Ulric 
Hutten.  The  Emperor  paid  no  attention 
to  this  appeal,  and  it  is  probable,  threw 
the  letter  contemptuously  to  one  of  his 
secretaries.  He  was  a  Fleming,  not  a 
German.  His  personal  power,  and  not 
the  liberty  or  glory  of  the  Empire,  was 
the  object  of  his  desire. 

It  was  the  2nd  of  April.  Luther  was 
to  take  leave  of  his  friends.  After  hav- 
ing apprized  Lange  by  letter,  that  he 
would  spend  the  Thursday  or  Friday 
following  at  Erfurth,f  he  bade  adieu  to 
his  colleagues.  Turning  to  Melancthon 
he  saidj  with  deep  emotion : — "  If  I  never 
return,  and  my  enemies  should  take  my 
life,  cease  not,  dear  brother,  to  teach  and 
stand  fast  in  the  truth.  Labour  in  my 
stead,  since  I  can  no  longer  work.  If 
thy  life  be  spared,  my  death  will  matter 
little."  Then  committing  his  soul  to 
Him  who  is  faithful,  Luther  stepped  into 
the  waggon  and  quitted  Wittemberg. 
The  town-council  had  furnished  him 
with  a  plain  carriage,  covered  with  an 
awning,  which  the  travellers  might 
throw  back  or  draw  over  them  at  plea- 
sure. The  Imperial  herald  in  full  cos- 
tume, and  wearing  the  imperial  eagle, 
went  before  on  horseback,  and  was  fol- 
lowed by  his  servant.  Then  came  Lu- 
ther, Schurff,  Amsdorfff  and  Suaven,  in 
their  open  waggon.  The  burghers  of 
Wittemberg,  to  whom  the  Gospel  was 
precious,  sorrowing  and  in  tears,  invoked 
the  blessing  of  God  upon  his  journey. 
Luther  set  forth. 

*  Omnen  nunc  Gerraaniam  quasi  ad  genua 
provolutam  tibi  .  . . — (L.  Opp.  lat.  ii.  584.) 
t  L.  Epp.  i.  580. 


290 


HISTORY   OF   THE   REFORMATION. 


He  soon  had  occasion  to  observe  that 
gloomy  presentiments  filled  the  hearts  of 
those  he  met.  At  Leipsic  no  honours 
were  paid  him,  beyond  the  customary 
offering  of  wine.  At  Naumburg  he 
met  a  priest,  probably  J.  Langer,  a  man 
of  stern  zeal,  who  kept  hung  up  in  his 
study  a  portrait  of  the  celebrated  Jerome 
Savonarola,  of  Ferrara,  who  perished  in 
the  flames  at  Florence  in  the  year  1498, 
by  order  of  Pope  Alexander  the  Sixth, — 
a  martyr  to  liberty  and  morals,  rather 
than  a  confessor  of  the  Gospel.  Taking 
down  the  portrait  of  the  Italian  martyr, 
the  priest  held  it  forth  in  silence  as  he 
approached  Luther.  The  latter  well  un- 
derstood the  import  of  this  silent  action, 
but  his  intrepid  spirit  was  unmoved.  "  It 
is  Satan,"  he  remarked,  "  who  seeks  by 
these  terrors  to  hinder  the  confession  of 
the  truth  in  the  assembly  of  the  princes, 
for  he  foresees  the  effect  it  will  have  on 
his  kingdom."*  "  Stand  fast  in  the  truth 
thou  hast  professed,"  replied  the  priest 
gravely,  "  and  thy  God  will  never  for- 
sake thee."f 

Having  passed  one  night  at  Naum- 
burg, where  the  burgomaster  had  re- 
ceived him  hospitably,  Luther  arrived  on 
the  following  evening  at  Weimar.  He 
had  scarcely  alighted,  when  he  heard 
the  voices  of  the  criers  on  all  sides.  They 
were  proclaiming  his  sentence.  "  Look 
there,"  said  the  herald.  He  turned  his 
eyes,  and  beheld  with  astonishment  the 
Emperor's  messengers  passing  from 
street  to  street,  everywhere  placarding 
the  imperial  edict,  enjoining  all  men  to 
bring  in  his  writings  to  the  magistrates. 
Luther  saw  clearly  that  these  vigorous 
proceedings  were  designed  to  stay  his 
further  progress, — by  working  upon  his 
apprehensions, — and  after  that  to  con- 
demn him  as  having  refused  to  appear. 
"  Well,  Doctor,  will  you  go  any  further  ?" 
asked  the  herald,  in  alarm.  "  Yes,"  re- 
plied Luther,  "  though  I  should  be  put 
under  interdict  in  every  town,  I  will  go 
on.  I  rely  on  the  Emperor's  safe-con- 
duct." 

At  Weimar,  Luther  had  an  audience 
of  Duke  John,  brother  to  the  Elector  of 

*  Terrorem  hunc  a  Sathana  sibi  dixit  adferri 
.  . .— (Melch.  Adam.  p.  117.) 

t  Er  wolle  bey  der  erkandten  Wabrheyt  mit 
breytem  Fuss  aushalten  .  < — (Mathesius,  p.  23 
— first  edition,  1566.) 


Saxony,  who  was  then  residing  in  that 
city.  The  prince  requested  him  to 
preach,  and  he  consented.  Words  of 
life-giving  power  flowed  forth  from  his 
swelling  heart.  A  Franciscan  monk, 
John  Voit,  a  friend  of  Frederic  Myconius, 
was  on  that  occasion  converted  to  the 
Gospel.  Two  years  afterwards  he  left 
the  convent,  and  became  subsequently 
professor  of  theology  at  Wittemberg. 
The  Duke  assisted  Luther  with  money 
for  his  journey. 

From  Weimar  the  Reformer  repaired 
to  Erfurth.  It  was  the  town  in  which 
his  youth  had  been  passed.  He  ex- 
pected to  find  there  his  friend  Lange ;  if, 
as  he  had  written  word,  there  was  no 
risk  incurred  by  entering  the  town.*  As 
he  came  within  three  or  four  leagues  of 
the  place,  nigh  the  village  of  Nora,  he 
saw  at  a  dfstance  a  troop  of  horsemen. 
Were  they  friends  or  foes?  Rapidly 
Crotus,  rector  of  the  University,  Eobanus 
Hesse,  the  friend  of  Melancthon,  (styled 
by  Luther  the  prince  of  poets,)  Euricius 
Cordus,  John  Draco,  and  others,  to  the 
number  of  forty,  senators,  students,  and 
burghers,  welcomed  him  with  joyful  ac- 
clamations. A  crowd  of  the  population 
of  Erfurth  met  him  in  the  road  and 
cheered  him  as  he  drew  nigh,  eager  to 
behold  the  mighty  monk  who  had  dared 
to  give  battle  to  the  Pope. 

A  young  man  of  twenty-eight  years 
of  age,  named  Justus  Jonas,  preceded  the 
party,  f  Jonas,  after  studying  the  law  at 
Erfurth,  had  been  elected  rector  of  the 
University  in  1519.  Receiving  the 
light  of  the  Gospel,  which  was  then 
beaming  forth  in  all  directions,  he  had 
conceived  the  wish  to  devote  himself  to 
sacred  learning.  u  I  think,"  said  Eras- 
mus, in  writing  to  him,  "  that  God  has 
chosen  you  as  his  instrument  to  make 
known  to  others  the  glory  of  his  Son 
Jesus."|  The  thoughts  of  Jonas  Avere 
all  turned  toward  Luther  at  Wittemberg. 
Some  years  before,  when  he  was  yet  a 
student  of  law,  his  enterprising  spirit  had 

*  Nisi  periculum  sit  Erfordiam  ingredi. — (L. 
Epp.  i.  580.) 

t  Hos  inter,  qui  nos  prasvenerant,  ibat  Jonas, 
Hie  decus  nostri,  primaque  fama  Chori. 

Eob.  Hessi.  Elcgia  secunda. 
t  Velut  organum  quoddam  electum  ad  illus- 
trandam  filii  sui  Jesu  gloriam. — (Erasmi  Epp.  v. 
27.) 


THE   DIET   OF  WORMS,   1521. 


291 


led  him  in  company  with  a  few  friends, 
to  make  a  journey  on  foot  through  forests 
infested  by  thieves,  and  across  a  country 
ravaged  by  the  plague,  in  order  to  visit 
Erasmus,  who  was  then  at  Brussels. 
And  shall  he  not  brave  dangers  of  ano- 
ther kind  to  accompany  the  Reformer  to 
Worms  ?  He.  entreated  Luther  to  allow 
him  to  join  him,  and  Luther  consented. 
This  was  the  first  meeting  of  the  two 
doctors,  who  were  destined  to  pass  their 
whole  lives  in  labouring  together  for  the 
revival  of  the  Church.  Divine  Provi- 
dence was  assembling  around  Luther 
men  who  were  destined  to  be  the  lights 
of  Germany :  Melancthon,  Amsdorff, 
Bugenhagen,  Jonas.  After  his  return 
from  Worms,  Jonas  was  elected  provost 
of  the  church  of  Wittemberg,  and  doctor 
of  divinity.  "  Jonas,"  continued  Luther, 
"  is  a  man  whose  continued  life  on  this 
earth  is  worth  any  purchase."*  No 
preacher  had  more  power  of  captivating 
his  hearers.  "  Pomeranus  is  exegetical," 
said  Melancthon  ;  "  I  am  a  logician, — 
Jonas  is  the  preacher.  Words  flow  beau- 
tifully from  his  lips,  and  his  eloquence  is 
full  of  energy.  But  Luther  excels  in 
all."f  It  appears  that  about  this  time  a 
friend  of  Luther's  childhood,  and  also 
one  of  his  brothers,  joined  him  in  his 
route. 

The  deputation  from  Erfurth  had 
turned  their  horses'  heads.  They  enter- 
ed its  walls,  on  horseback  and  on  foot, 
surrounding  Luther's  waggon.  At  the 
city  gate — in  the  public  squares — and  in 
those  streets  where  the  poor  monk  had 
so  often  begged  a  morsel  of  bread,  a 
crowd  of  spectators  was  assembled  ;  Lu- 
ther alighted  at  the  convent  of  the  Au- 
gustines.  Lange  welcomed  him  with 
joy.  Usingen  and  some  of  the  more 
aged  friars  manifested  considerable  cool- 
ness. He  was  requested  to  preach  : — 
preaching  had  been  forbidden  him  ;  but 
the  herald  himself,  carried  away  by  the 
feelings  of  those  about  him,  gave  his 
consent. ' 

On  the  Sunday  after  Easter  the  church 
of  the  Augustines.  of  Erfurth,  was  crowd- 

*  Vir  est  quem  opportuit  multo  pretio  emp- 
tum  et  servatum  in  terra. — (Weismann.  i.  1436.) 

f  Pomeranus  est  grammatieus,  ego  sum  dialec- 
ticus,  Jonas  est  orator  .  .  . — Lutherus  vero  nobit 
omnibus  antecillit. — (Knapp  Narrat.  de  J.  Jona. 
p.  581.) 


ed  to  excess.  The  brother  whose  duty 
it  once  was  to  unclose  the  gates,  and 
sweep  out  the  aisles,  ascended  the  pulpit, 
and  opening  the  Bible,  read  these  words : 
— "  Peace  be  unto  you :  and  when  Jesus 
had  so  said,  he  shewed  unto  them  his  hands 
and  his  side,"  John  xx.  19,  20.  "  Philos- 
ophers, learned  doctors,  and  writers," 
said  he,  "  have  all  laboured  to  show  how 
man  can  attain  to  eternal  life,  and  they 
have  all  failed.  I  am  now  to  tell  you 
the  way." 

In  every  age  this  has  been  the  great 
question  ;  accordingly  his  hearers  were 
all  attention. 

"  There  are  two  kinds  of  works,"  con- 
tinued the  Reformer  :  "  works  not  of 
ourselves,  and  these  are  good  works ; 
and  our  own  works,  and  they  are  but 
little  worth.  One  builds  a  church, — an- 
other goes  a  pilgrimage  to  St.  James's 
or  St.  Peter's, — a  third  fasts,  prays,  as- 
sumes the  cowl,  and  goes  barefoot, — an- 
other does  something  else.  All  these 
are  of  no  value,  and  will  pass  away ;  for 
our  own  works  are  powerless.  But  I 
am  about  to  declare  to  you  what  is  work 
indeed.  God  has  raised  up  a  Man,  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  He  might  destroy 
death, — finish  transgression,  and  close 
the  gates  of  hell.  This  is  the  work  of 
Salvation.  The  devil  thought  he  had 
the  Lord  in  his  grasp,  when  he  saw  him 
between  two  thieves  suffering  a  shame- 
ful death,  under  the  curse  of  God  and 
men.  But  the  Godhead  displayed  its 
power,  destroying  Death,  Sin,  and 
Hell " 

"  Christ  has  overcome ! — this  is  the 
great  news ! — and  we  are  saved  by  his 
work,  not  by  our  own.  The  Pope 
teaches  a  different  doctrine.  But  I  af- 
firm that  even  the  holy  mother  of  God 
is  saved  neither  by  her  virginity,  nor  by 
her  maternity,  nor  yet  by  her  purity,  or 
her  works, — but  solely  by  means  of  faith, 
and  by  the  operation  of  God.  .  ." 

While  Luther  was  preaching,  a  noise 
was  suddenly  heard  in  one  of  the  gal- 
leries, and  it  was  thought  it  was  giving 
way  from  the  weight  of  the  crowd.  This 
caused  much  confusion  in  the  auditory. 
Some  rushed  from  their  places, — others 
were  motionless  from  fear.  The  preach- 
er stopped  for  a  moment, — then  stretch- 
ing forth  his  hand  he  exclaimed  aloud, 
"  Fear   not — there    is   no    danger — the 


292 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


devil  is  seeking  Jo  throw  hinderances  in 
the  way  of  my  preaching  the  gospel — 
but  he  shall  not  gain  his  point."*  At 
his  bidding,  those  that  were  leaving  the 
place  stopped,  astonished  and  constrain- 
ed ;  the  assembly  resumed  its  calmness, 
and  Luther  proceeded,  not  regarding  the 
temptations  of  the  devil.  "  Some  per- 
haps will  say,  You  talk  to  us  much  about 
Faith,  teach  us  then  how  to  obtain  it. 
Well,  agreed !  I  will  show  you  how. 
Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  said,  '  Peace  be 
unto  you.  Behold  my  hands  V  That  is 
to  say,  Look,  O  man,  it  is  I,  I  alone,  who 
have  taken  away  thy  sin  and  redeemed 
thee,  and  now  thou  hast  peace,  saith  the 
Lord. 

"  I,"  continued  Luther,  "  ate  not  the 
fruit  of  the  tree — no  more  did  you  ;  but 
we  have  received  the  sin  transmitted  to 
us  by  Adam,  and  we  have  sinned.  In 
like  manner  I  suffered  not  on  the  cross 
— no  more  did  you  ;  but  Christ  suffered 
for  us ;  we  are  justified  by  the  work  of 
God,  and  not  by  our  own ;  1  myself, 
saith  the  Lord,  am  thy  righteousness  and 
thy  Redeemer." 

"  Believe  the  Gospel — believe  St.  Paul 
— and  not  the  letters  and  decretals  of  the 
Popes." 

Luther,  after  preaching  Faith  as  justi- 
fying the  sinner,  proceeds  to  preach 
Works  as  the  fruits  and  evidence  of  our 
being  saved. 

"  Since  God  has  saved  us, — let  us  so 
order  our  works  that  he  may  take  plea- 
sure in  them.  Art  thou  rich  ? — let  thy 
riches  be  the  supply  of  other  men's  pov- 
erty. Art  thou  poor? — let  thy  service 
minister  to  the  rich.  If  thy  labour  is  for 
thyself  alone, — the  service  thou  offerest 
to  God  is  a  mere  pretence.'' f 

Not  a  word  concerning  himself  did 
Luther  find  place  for  in  this  sermon,  nor 
yet  for  any  allusion  to  the  circumstances 
in  which  he  stood  ; — not  a  word  concern- 
ing Worms,  the  Emperor,  or  the  Nun- 
cios :  he  preached  Christ,  and  Him 
alone.  In  a  moment,  when  the  eyes  of 
all  the  world  were  turned  on  him,  he  had 
no  thought  uppermost  for  himself ; — it  is 
a  mark  of  the  faithful  servant  of  God. 

Luther  took  his  departure  from  Er- 
furth  and  passed  through  Gotha,  where 

*  Agnosco  insidias,  hostis  acerbe,  tuas. — (Hes- 
si  Eleg.  tertia.) 

tL.  Opp.  (L)  xii.  485. 


he  again  preached.  Myconius  adds, 
that  after  the  sermon,  when  the  congre- 
gation were  leaving,  the  devil  detached 
from  the  pediment  of  the  church  some 
stones  that  had  not  moved  for  two 
hundred  years.  The  Doctor  took  a 
night's  rest  in  the  convent  of  the  Bene- 
dictines at  Reinhardsbrunn,  and  proceed- 
ed from  thence  to  Eisenach,  where  he 
was  suddenly  taken  ill.  Amsdorff,  Jo- 
nas, Schurff,  and  all  his  friends,  were 
alarmed.  They  bled  him  and  were  un- 
remitting in  their  attentions.  The  Schul- 
thess  of  the  town,  John  Oswald,  brought 
him  a  cordial.  Luther  having  taken  it, 
had  some  sleep,  and  refreshed  by  rest, 
was  enabled  to  resume  his  journey  on  the 
following  morning. 

Every  where  as  he  passed,  the  people 
of  the  country  flocked  round  him.*  His 
progress  resembled  a  triumph.  Men  con- 
templated with  interest  the  bold  man 
who  was  going  to  present  himself  bare- 
headed before  the  Emperor  and  the  Em- 
pire, f  A  dense  crowd  accompanied  his 
steps,  discoursing  with  him.  "  Ah," 
said  some,  "  there  are  plenty  of  cardinals 
and  bishops  at  Worms  !  .  .  .  .  You  will 
be  burnt  alive,  and  your  body  reduced  to 
ashes,  as  they  did  with  John  Huss." 
But  nothing  daunted  the  monk. 
"  Though  they  should  kindle  a  fire, 
whose  flame  should  reach  from  Worms 
to  Wittemberg,  and  rise  up  to  heaven,  I 
would  go  through  it  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  and  stand  before  them, — >I  would 
enter  the  jaws  of  the  behemoth,  break 
his  teeth,  and  confess  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."!: 

One  day  when  he  had  entered  into  an. 
inn,  and  the  crowd  was  as  usual  pressing 
about  him,  an  officer  made  his  way 
through,  and  thus  addressed  him: — "  Are 
you  the  man  who  has  taken  in  hand  to 
reform  the  Papacy  ?  .  .  .  How  can  you 
expect  to  succeed  ?"  "  Yes,"  answered 
Luther,  "  I  am  the  man.  I  place  my 
depenelance  upon  that  Almighty  God 
whose  word  and  commandment  is  before 
me."  The  officer,  deeply  affected,  gazed 
on  him  with  a  mild  expression,  and  said, 

*  Iter  facienti  occurrebant  populi. — (Pallavici- 
ni.Hist.  C.  Tr.  i.  114.) 

t  Quacunque  iter  faciebant,  frequens  erat 
concursus  hominum,  videndi  Lutheri  studio. — 
(CochliBiis,  p.  29.) 

t  Ein  Feuer  das  bis  an  den  Hiinmel  reichte 
. .  .— (Keil.  i.  90.) 


THE   DIET   OF  WORMS,   1521. 


293 


"  Dear  friend,  there  is  much  in  what 
you  say ;  I  am  a  servant  of  Charles,  but 
your  Master  is  greater  than  mine.  He 
will  help  and  protect  you."*  Such  was 
the  impression  that  Luther  produced. 
Even  his  enemies  were  awed  by  the 
sight  of  the  crowd  that  surrounded  him : 
but  they  have  depicted  his  progress  in 
very  different  colours,  f  At  length  the 
Doctor  reached  Frankfort  on  Sunday,  the 
14th  of  April. 

Accounts  of  Luther's  progress  had  be- 
fore this  reached  Worms.  The  Pope's 
partisans  had  not  expected  that  he  would 
obey  the  Emperor's  summons.  Albert, 
cardinal-archbishop  of  Mentz,  would 
have  given  the  world  to  stop  him  on  his 
journey  ;  new  expedients  were  resorted 
to  for  this  purpose. 

Luther  rested  a  short  time  at  Frank- 
fort ;  from  thence  he  wrote  to  Spalatin, 
who  was  then  with  the  Elector  at 
Worms  announcing  his  approach.  It  is 
the  only  letter  he  wrote  during  the  jour- 
ney. "  I  am  arrived  here,"  said  he,  "  al- 
though Satan  has  sought  to  stop  me  in 
my  way  by  sickness.  From  Eisenach 
to  this  place  I  have  been  suffering,  and  I 
am  at  this  moment  in  worse  condition 
than  ever.  I  find  that  Charles  has  is- 
sued an  edict  to  terrify  me  ;  but  Christ 
lives,  and  we  shall  enter  Worms  in  spite 
of  all  the  councils  of  hell,  and  all  the 
powers  of  the  air.|  Therefore  engage  a 
lodging  for  me." 

Next  day  Luther  visited  the  learned 
school  of  William  Nesse,  the  celebrated 
geographer  of  that  age.  "  Apply  your- 
selves," said  he,  ''•  to  the  reading  of  the 
Bible,  and  the  investigation  of  truth." 
Then  laying  his  right  hand  on  one,  and 
his  left  on  another,  he  pronounced  his 
blessing  on  all  the  scholars. 

If  Luther  was  thus  engaged  in  bless- 
ing children,  he  was  not  less  the  hope 
of  aged  Christians.  A  widow  of  great 
age,  who  served  God  with  her  heart, 
Catherine  of  Holzhausen,  came  to  him 

*  Nun  habt  Ihr  einen  grossern  Herm,  denn 
Ich.— (Keil,  i.  90.) 

t  In  diversoriis  multa  propinatio,  laeta  compo- 
tatio,  musices  quoque  gaudia :  adeo  ut  Lutherus 
ipse  alicubi  sonora  testudine  ludens,  omnium  in 
se  oculos  eonverteret,  velut  Orpheus  quidem,  sed 
rasus  adhuc  et  cuculatus  eoque  mirabilior. — 
(Cochlaeus,  p.  29.) 

t  Intrabimus  Wormatiam,  invitis  omnibus  por- 
tls  inferni  et  potentatibus  seris. — (L.  Epp.  i.  987  ) 


with  these  words  :  "  My  father  and  mo- 
ther predicted  to  me  that  God  would  one 
day  raise  up  a  man  who  should  oppose 
the  vanities  of  the  Pope,  and  rescue  the 
word  of  God.  I  hope  you  are  that  man  ; 
and  I  wish  you  the  grace  and  Holy 
Spirit  of  God  for  your  help."* 

These  feelings  were  very  far  from 
being  general  at  Frankfort.  John  Coch- 
laeus, dean  of  the  Church  of  our  Lady, 
was  a  devoted  adherent  of  the  Roman 
Church.  He  could  not  repress  his  fears 
at  sight  of  Luther  in  his  passage  through 
Frankfort  on  his  way  to  Worms.  He 
felt  that  the  Church  had  need  of  zealous 
defenders.  It  mattered  little  that  he  had 
not  been  called  upon.  Scarcely  had  Lu- 
ther left  the  city  when  Cochlaeus  set  out 
after  him,  ready,  as  he  said,  to  lay  down 
his  life  in  defence  of  the  honour  of  his 
Church.  | 

The  panic  was  great  among  the  par- 
tisans of  the  Pope.  The  heresiarch  was 
approaching; — every  day,  every  hour, 
brought  him  nearer.  Once  at  Worms, 
and  all  might  be  ruined.  The  Arch- 
bishop Albert,  the  Confessor  Glapio,  and 
all  the  political  advisers  of  the  Emperor, 
were  in  dismay.  How  to  stop  the  monk 
was  the  question.  To  seize  and  carry 
him  off  was  not  to  be  thought  of,  for  he 
was  furnished  with  Charles's  safe-con- 
duct; artifice  alone  could  compass  the 
end.  Instantly  they  devise  the  follow- 
ing plan.  The  Emperor's  confessor  and 
his  grand-chamberlain,  Paul  of  Ams- 
dorff,  set  out  in  haste  from  Worms. ;{: 
They  direct  their  course  toward  the  cha- 
teau of  Ebernburg,  distant  about  ten 
leagues,  and  the  residence  of  Francis 
Sickengen,  the  knight  who  had  offered 
Luther  an  asylum.  Bucer,  a  young 
Dominican,  and  chaplain  to  the  Elector 
Palatine,  converted  to  the  Gospel  at  the 
period  of  the  conference  at  Heidelberg, 
had  sought  refuge  and  was  then  residing 
in  this  "  abode  of  the  righteous."  The 
knight,  who  was  well  versed  in  matters 
of  religion,  was  easily  imposed  upon ; 
and  the  character  of  the  former  chaplain 

*  Ich  hofFe  dass  du  der  Verheissene  .  .  . — 
(Cypt.  Hilar.  Ev.  p.  608.) 

t  Lutherum  iliac  transeuntem  subsequutus,  ut 
pro  honore  ecclesiae  vitam  suam  .  .  .  exponeret. — 
(\  'ochlseus,  p.  36.) 

t  Dass  der  Keyser  seinen  Beichtvater  und 
Hirer  Majest.  Ober-Kammerling,  zu  Sickengen 
schickt. — (L.  Opp.  xvii.  587.) 


294 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


to  the  Palatine  favoured  the  views  of  the 
confessor.  In  fact  Bucer  was  disposed 
for  peace.  Distinguishing  fundamental 
from  secondary  truths,  he  thought  he 
might  sacrifice  the  latter  for  the  sake  of 
peace  and  unity.* 

The  chamberlain  and  Charles's  con- 
fessor opened  the  business.  They  gave 
Sickengen  and  Bucer  to  understand  that 
if  Luther  was  once  in  Worms,  it  would 
be  all  over  with  him.  They  declared 
that  the  Emperor  was  ready  to  send  cer- 
tain learned  men  to  Ebemburg,  there  to 
talk  over  matters  with  the  Doctor. 
"  Both  parties,"  said  they  to  the  knight, 
"  will  put  themselves  under  your  protec- 
tion." And  to  Bucer  they  said,  "  We 
agree  with  Luther  on  all  essential  things, 
— the  only  questions  between  us  relate 
to  some  secondary  points.  You  will  act 
as  mediator  between  us."  The  knight 
and  the  doctor  were  shaken.  The  con- 
fessor and  the  chamberlain  continued — 
"  The  invitation  must  come  from  you," 
said  they  to  Sickengen,  "  and  Bucer 
must  be  the  bearer  of  it."f  The  whole 
project  was  agreed  to,  according  to  their 
wish.  Only  let  Luther  credulously  obey 
their  invitation  to  Ebemburg,  and  the 
term  of  his  safe-conduct  will  soon  ex- 
pire : — then  who  can  protect  him  % 

Luther  had  reached  Oppenheim.  In 
three  days  his  safe-conduct  would  be 
void.  A  troop  of  horsemen  were  seen 
approaching,  and  soon  he  recognized  the 
same  Bucer  with  whom  he v  had  held 
such  intimate  conversations  at  Heidel- 
berg. |  "  These  horsemen  belong  to 
Francis  Sickengen,"  said  Bucer,  after 
the  first  greetings.  "  He  has  sent  me  to 
conduct  you  to  his  fortress.  §  The  Em- 
peror's confessor  desires  a  conference 
with  you.  His  influence  with  Charles 
is  unbounded  ; — everything  may  yet  be 
arranged ;  but  have  nothing  to  do  with 
Aleander!"  Jonas,  Amsdorff,  Schurff, 
knew  not  what  to  think.  Bucer  urged 
him  : — but  Luther  never  faltered.  "  I 
shall  go  on,"  answered  he,  "  and  if  the 

*  Condoce  faciebat  ra  avayxaia  a  probabilius 
distinguere,  ut  scirent  qua?  retinenda  .  .  . — (M. 
Adam.  Vit.  Buoeri,  p.  223.) 

t  Dass  er  sollt.e  den  Luther  zu  sich  fodern. — 
(L.  Opp.  xvii.  587.) 

X  Da  kam  Bucer  zu,  mit  etlichen  Reutern. — 
(Ibid.) 

§  Und  wollte  mir  uberrcden  zu  Sickengen  gen 
Ebemburg  zu  kommen. — (L.  Opp.  xvii.  587.) 


Emperor's  confessor  has  anything  to  say 
to  me,  he  will  find  me  at  Worms.  I  re- 
pair to  the  place  of  summons.'1 

In  the  meanwhile  Spalatin  himself  be- 
gan to  be  disturbed  with  apprehensions. 
Situate  in  the  midst  of  enemies  of  the 
Reformation,  he  heard  it  said  on  all  sides 
that  the  heretic's  safe-conduct  would  be 
disregarded.  His  friendship  took  the 
alarm.  At  the  moment  when  Luther 
was  approaching  the  city,  a  servant  met 
him  and  delivered  him  a  message  from 
the  chaplain :  "  Abstain  from  entering 
Worms."  And  this  from  Spalatin  him- 
self, the  Elector's  confidential  adviser! 
Luther,  still  unshaken,  turned  his  eyes 
on  the  messenger,  and  answered,  "  Go 
tell  your  master,  that  though  there  should 
be  as  many  devils  at  Worms,  as  there  are 
tiles  on,  its  roofs,  I  would  enter  it."*  At 
no  time  had  the  grandeur  of  Luther's 
spirit  been  more  evidenced.  The  mes- 
senger re-entered  Worms,  and  delivered 
the  astounding  declaration.  "I  was  then 
intrepid,"  said  Luther,  (a  few  days  be- 
fore his  death),  "I  feared  nothing.  God 
can  give  this  boldness  to  man.  I  know 
not  whether  now  I  should  have  so  much 
liberty  and  joy."  "  When  our  cause  is 
good,"  adds  his  disciple  Mathesius,  "  the 
heart  expands  and  gives  courage  and 
energy  to  the  evangelist  and  the  soldier."f 

At  last,  on  the  morning  of  the  16th 
April,  Luther  discovered  the  walls  of  the 
ancient  city.  All  were  expecting  him. 
But  one  subject  occupied  the  thoughts 
of  the  citizens.  Some  young  nobles, 
Bernard  of  Kirschfeld,  Albert  Lindenau, 
with  six  mounted  cavaliers,  and  other 
gentlemen  of  the  prince's  retinue,  to  the 
number  in  all  of  a  hundred,  (according 
to  Pallavicini,)  in  their  impatience,  rode 
out  of  the  city  to  meet  him,  and  sur- 
rounding his  travelling  car,  escorted  him 
to  the  gates.  He  went  forward.  The 
Imperial  herald  galloped  before,  attired 
in  the  vestments  of  his  office.  Luther 
came  next,  in  his  modest  vehicle.  Jonas 
followed  on  horseback,  and  the  party  of 
horsemen  surrounded  him.  A  vast 
crowd  was  awaiting  his  arrival  at  the 
gates.     At  ten  o'clock  he  entered  within 

*  Wenn  so  viel  Teufel  zu  Worms  w'aren,  als 
Ziegel  auf  den  Dilchern  noch  wollt  Ich  hinein ! — 
(L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  587.) 

t  So  wachstdas  Herz  in  Leibe  . .  . — (Math.  p. 
24.) 


THE   DIET   OF   WORMS,   1521. 


295 


those  walls,  whence  so  many  had  pre- 
dicted to  him  that  he  would  never  again 
depart.     Behold  him  in  Worms  ! 

Two  thousand  persons  accompanied 
the  famed  monk  of  Wittemberg  through 
the  streets  of  the  city.  People  ran  to 
their  doors  to  see  him.  The  crowd  was 
increasing  every  moment, — and  was  even 
greater  than  at  the  public  entry  of  the 
Emperor  himself.  Of  a  sudden,  says  an 
historian,  a  man  clothed  in  grotesque 
habiliments,  and  bearing  before  him  a 
lofty  cross,  as  is  customary  at  funerals, 
penetrated  through  the  crowd,  and  ad- 
vanced towards  Luther  : — then  with  the 
shrill  and  plaintive  cadence,  in  which  the 
priests  perform  masses  for  the  repose  of 
the  dead,  he  chaunted  these  words,  as  if 
he  were  uttering  them  from  the  abode  of 
departed  spirits — 

Advenisti,  O  desiderabilis ! 
Quem  expectabamus  in  tenebris  !* 

Thus  was  Luther's  arrival  celebrated 
by  a  requiem.  It  was  the  court  fool  of 
one  of  the  Dukes  of  Bavaria,  who  (if  the 
account  may  be  depended  upon)  thus 
gave  to  Luther  one  of  those  warnings,  re- 
plete at  once  with  solemn  instruction  and 
irony,  of  which  so  many  instances  are 
on  record.  But  the  shouts  of  the  crowd 
soon  drowned  the  de  profundis  of  the 
cross-bearer.  The  procession  made  its 
way  with  difficulty  through  the  people. 
At  last  the  herald  of  the  Empire  stopped  be- 
fore the  hotel  of  the  Knights  of  Rhodes. 
It  was  there  that  Frederic  of  Thun,  and 
Philip  Feilitsch,  two  counsellors  of  the 
Elector,  and  U Iric  Pappenheim,  the  Mar- 
shal of  the  Empire,  had  taken  up  their 
abode.  Luther  alighted  from  his  wag- 
gon, and  as  he  set  foot  on  the  ground, 
exclaimed,  "  God  will  be  my  defence."! 
"  I  entered  Worms,"  said  he,  at  a  later 
period,  "  in  an  open  cart  and  in  a  monk's 
frock.  And  every  one  came  out  into  the 
streets,  desiring  to  see  friar  Martin."| 

The  intelligence  of  his  arrival  was  re- 
ceived with  alarm  by  the  Elector  of  Sax- 
ony and  Aleander.  Albert,  the  young 
and  accomplished  Archbishop,  whose 
mind  was  in  a  middle  position,  was  dis- 
mayed at  this  daring  step.  "  If  I  had  no 
more  courage  than  the  Archbishop,"  said 

*  Thou  art  come  whom  we  desired — whom 
we  waited  for  in  the  regions  of  darkness  ! 
t  Deus  stabit  pro  me. — (Pallavicini,  i.  1 14.) 
t  L.  Opp.  xvii.  587. 


Luther,  "  true  it  is  they  would  never  have 
seen  me  at  Worms." 

Charles  V.  instantly  convoked  his 
council.  The  confidential  adviser  of  the 
Emperor  repaired  in  haste  to  the  palace 
— for  the  fear  had  communicated  lo  them. 
'•  Luther  is  come,"  said  Charles,  "  what 
must  be  done  ?" 

Modo,  Bishop  of  Palermo  and  Chan- 
cellor of  Flanders,  answered,  according 
to  the  testimony  of  Luther  : — "  We  have 
long  thought  of  this  matter.  Let  your 
Majesty  rid  yourself  at  once  of  this  man. 
Did  not  Sigismund  bring  John  Huss  to 
the  stake  ?  One  is  under  no  obligation 
either  to  give  or  to  observe  a  safe-conduct 
in  the  case  of  heretics."*  "  Not  so,"  said 
Charles,  "  what  we  promise  we  should  ob- 
serve and  keep."  It  was,  therefore,  agreed 
that  the  Reformer  should  be  heard. 

Whilst  the  great  were  thus  planning 
how  to  deal  with  Luther,  there  were  not 
a  Hew  in  Worms  rejoicing  in  the  oppor- 
tunity of  at  last  beholding  this  distin- 
guished servant  of  God.  Capito,  chap- 
lain and  counsellor  of  the  Archbishop  of 
Mentz,  was  of  their  number.  This  re- 
markable man,  who  a  little  while  before 
had  preached  the  gospel  in  Switzerland 
with  much  liberty! — though  he  then 
owed  it  to  the  station  he  filled,  to  pursue  a 
course  which  exposed  him  to  the  charge 
of  cowardice  from  the  Evangelical 
preachers,  and  of  dissimulation  from  the 
Romanists.^  Yet  at  Mentz  he  had 
preached  the  doctrine  of  faith  with  great 
clearness.  When  he  was  leaving  that 
city  he  had  arranged  for  his  place  being 
supplied  by  a  young  and  zealous  preacher 
named  Hedion.  The  word  of  God  was  not 
bound  in  that  ancient  seat  of  the  German 
primacy.  The  Gospel  was  eagerly  list- 
ened to  ;  in  vain  did  the  monks  attempt 
to  preach  from  the  Scriptures  after  their 
manner  ; — in  vain  did  they  make  every 
effort  to  arrest  the  impulsion  given  to 
men's  minds.  Their  failure  was  com- 
plete. §     But  whilst  preaching  the  new 

*  .  .  .  Dass  Ihre  Majestat  den  Luther  aufs 
erste  beyseit  tliate  und  umbringen  Iiess.  .  . — 
(Ibid.) 

t  Book  VIII. 

X  Astutia  plusquam  vulpina  vehementer  calli- 
dum  ....  Lutherum  versutissime  dissimulabut. — 
(Cochksus,  p.  3G.) 

§  Evangelium  audiunt  avidissime,  verbum  Dei 
alligatum  lion  est . . . — (Caspar  Hedio  Zw.  Epp. 
p.  157.) 


296 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


doctrine,  Capito  sought  to  maintain 
friendly  relations  with  its  persecutors  ; — 
with  a  few  of  the  same  opinions  he  flat- 
tered himself  that  he  might  in  this  way 
render  great  service  to  the  Church.  To 
hear  them  talk  one  might  have  thought 
that  if  Luther  was  not  burnt  and  his  fol- 
lowers excommunicated,  it  was  only  ow- 
ing to  the  influence  that  Capito  possessed 
with  the  Archbishop.*  Cochlseus,  dean  of 
Frankfort,  arriving  at  Worms  at  the  same 
time  as  Luther,  repaired  direct  to  Capito's 
residence.  The  latter,  who  at  least  was 
outwardly  on  very  friendly  terms  with 
Aleander,  introduced  Cochlseus  to  him, 
becoming  thus  a  connecting  link  between 
the  Reformer's  two  great  enemies.f 
Doubtless  Capito  imagined  that  he  did 
service  to  the  cause  of  Christ,  by  keeping 
up  these  appearances ;  but  it  would  be 
impossible  to  show  any  good  effect  flow- 
ing from  them.  The  event  almost  al- 
ways disconcerts  such  calculations  of  hu- 
man policy,  proving  that  a  decided  course, 
while  it  is  the  most  frank,  is  also  most 
wise. 

Meanwhile  crowds  continued  to  gather 
outside  the  hotel  of  Rhodes  where  Luther 
had  alighted.  Some  had  conceived  an 
idea  of  him  as  a  prodigy  of  wisdom  ; 
others  as  a  monster  of  iniquity.  Every 
one  desired  to  see  him.|  They  left  him, 
however,  a  few  hours  to  recruit  himself 
after  his  journey,  and  discourse  with  his 
most  intimate  friends.  But  as  soon  as 
the  evening  closed  in,  counts,  barons, 
knights,  gentlemen,  ecclesiastics,  and  citi- 
zens, flocked  about  him.  All,  even 
those  most  opposed  to  him,  were  struck 
with  his  courageous  bearing — the  joy 
that  beamed  in  his  countenance — the 
power  of  his  eloquence,  and  the  solemn 
elevation  and  enthusiasm  which  gave  to 
the  words  of  a  single  monk  a  sort  of  ir- 
resistible authority.  But  some  ascribed 
this  grandeur  to  a  something  divine  ; 
whilst  the  partisans  of  the  Pope  loudly 
exclaimed  that  he  was  possessed  by  a 
devil.  §     Visitors  poured  in,  and  the  suc- 

*  Lutherus  in  hoc  districtu  dudum  esset  com- 
bustus,  Lutherani  dn-oo-OTay  wyot,  nisi  Capito  aliter 
persuasisset  principi. — (Ibid.  148.) 

t  Hie  (Capito)  ilium  (Cochlaeum)  insinuavit 
Hieronymo  Aleandro,  nuncio  Leonis  X. — (Coch- 
lseus, p.  36.) 

t  Eadem  die  tota  civitas  solicito  confluxit  .  .  . 
— (Pallavicini,  i.  114.) 

§  Nescio  quid  divinum  suspicabantur ;  ex  ad- 


cession  of  the  curious  kept  Luther  from 
his  bed  till  a  late  hour. 

On  the  next  morning,  17th  of  April, 
the  hereditary  Marshal  of  the  Empire, 
Ulric  Pappenheim,  cited  him  to  appear 
at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  in  pres- 
ence of  his  Imperial  Majesty  and  of  the 
States  of  the  Empire.  Luther  received 
the  message  with  profound  respect. 

Thus  all  things  were  ready.  He  was 
about  to  appear  for  Jesus  Christ  before 
the  most  august  of  all  assemblies.  En- 
couragements were  not  wanting.  The 
bold  knight,  Ulric  Hutten,  was  then  in 
the  castle  of  Ebernburg.  Prevented 
coming  to  Worms,  (for  Leo  the  Tenth 
had  desired  Charles  to  send  him  bound 
hand  and  foot  to  Rome,)  he  resolved  at 
least  to  stretch  out  the  hand  of  friendship 
to  Luther,  and  on  the  same  day,  17th  of 
April,  he  wrote  to  him,  adopting  the 
words  of  the  king  of  Israel : — "  The  Lord 
hear  thee  in  the  day  of  trouble  :  the  name 
of  the  God  of  Jacob  defend  thee  :  send  thee 
help  out  of  Zion  :  grant  thee  according  to 
thine  own  heart,  and  fulfil  all  thy  counsel* 
O  beloved  Luther,  my  venerated  father  ! 
.  .  .  .  fear  not  and  stand  firm.  The  coun- 
sels of  the  wicked  have  laid  wait  for  you, 
they  have  opened  their  mouths  against 
you — like  roaring  lions.  But  the  Lord 
will  arise  against  them  and  put  them  to 
flight.  Fight,  therefore,  valiantly  the 
battle  of  Christ.  For  my  part  I  too  will 
fight  boldly.  Would  to  God  I  might  be 
allowed  to  face  their  frowns.  But  the 
Lord  will  deliver  his  Vine,  that  the  wild 
boar  of  the  forest  has  laid  waste  .... 
Christ  preserve  you  !"f  .  .  .  .  Bucer  did 
what  Hutten  was  prevented  doing,  he 
made  the  journey  from  Ebernburg  to 
Worms,  and  never  left  his  friend  during 
his  stay  there.  \ 

But  Luther  looked  not  to  men  for  his 
strength.  "He  who,  attacked  by  the 
enemy,  holds  up  the  buckler  of  Faith," 
said  he  one  day,  "  is  like  Perseus  pre- 
senting the  head  of  the  Gorgon.  Who- 
ever looks  upon  it  is  struck  dead.  It  is 
thus  that  we  should  hold  up  the  Son  of 
God  against  the  snares  of  the  devil.  "§. 

verso  alii  malo  dumone  obsessum  existimabant. — 

(Ibid.)  *  Ps.  xx. 

+  Servet  te  Christus.— (L.  Opp.  ii.  175.) 
t  Bucerus  eodem  venit. — (M.  Adam.  Vit.  Bu- 

ceri,  p.  212.) 

§  Also  sollen  wir  den  Sohn  Gottes  als  Gorgo- 

nis  Haupt  . .  .— (L.  Opp.  (W.)  xxii.  1659.) 


THE   DIET  OF  WORMS,   1521. 


297 


On  the  morning-  of  this  17th  April,  he 
was  for  a  few  minutes  in  deep  exercise 
of  mind.  God's  face  seemed  to  be  veiled, 
and — his  faith  forsook  him  : — his  ene- 
mies seemed  to  multiply  before  him,  and 
his  imagination  was  overcome  by  the 
aspect  of  his  dangers.  His  soul  was  like 
a  ship  driven  by  a  violent  tempest,  rock- 
ed from  side  to  side, — one  moment  plun- 
ged in  the  abyss,  and  the  next  carried 
up  to  heaven.  In  that  hour  of  bitter 
trial — when  he  drank  of  the  cup  of 
Christ — an  hour  which  to  him  was  as 
the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  he  threw 
himself  with  his  face  upon  the  earth, 
and  uttered  those  broken  cries,  which 
we  cannot  understand,  without  entering, 
in  thought,  into  the  anguish  of  those 
deeps  from  whence  they  rose  to  God.* 
"  Oh  God,  Almighty  God  everlasting ! 
how  dreadful  is  the  world  !  behold  how 
its  mouth  opens  to  swallow  me  up,  and 
how  small  is  my  faith  in  Thee  !  .  .  .  Oh  ! 
the  weakness  of  the  flesh  and  the  power 
of  Satan !  If  I  am  to  depend  upon  any 
strength  of  this  world — all  is  over.  .  .  . 
The  knell  is  struck.  .  .  .  Sentence  is  gone 
forth.  .  .  .  O  God !  O  God  !  O  thou  my 
God  !  help  me  against  all  the  wisdom  of 
this  world.  Do  this,  I  beseech  thee  ; 
thou  shouldst  do  this  ....  by  thy  own 
mighty  power.  .  .  .  The  work  is  not  mine, 
but  Thine.  I  have  no  business  here.  .  .  . 
I  have  nothing  to  contend  for  with  these 
great  men  of  the  world  !  I  would  gladly 
pass  my  days  in  happiness  and  peace. 
But  the  cause  is  Thine,  ....  and  it  is 
righteous  and  everlasting  !  O  Lord  ! 
help  me  !  O  faithful  and  unchangeable 
God  !  I  lean  not  upon  man.  It  were 
vain  !  Whatever  is  of  man  is  tottering, 
whatever  proceeds  from  him  must  fail. 
My  God  !  my  God  !  dost  thou  not  hear  ? 
My  God  !  art  thou  no  longer  living  ? 
Nay,  thou  canst  not  die  !  Thou  dost  but 
hide  Thyself.  Thou  hast  chosen  me  for 
this  work.  I  know  it!  .  .  .  Therefore, 
O  God,  accomplish  thine  own  will !  For- 
sake me  not,  for  the  sake  of  thy  well-be- 
loved Son,  Jesus  Christ,  my  defence,  my 
buckler,  and  my  strong  hold."t 

After  a  moment  of  silent  struggle,  he 
continued,  "  Lord — where  art  thou  ?  .  .  . 
My  God,  where  art  thou  1  .  .  .  Come,  I 
pray  thee,  I  am  ready.  .  .  .  Behold  me 

*  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  598. 

t  Die  Glocke  ist  schon  gegossen. — (L.  Opp. 
(L.)  xvii.  589.) 

38 


prepared  to  lay  down  my  life  for  thy 
truth  .  .  .  suffering  like  a  lamb.  For  the 
cause  is  holy.  It  is  thine  own  !  .  .  .  I 
will  not  let  thee  go,  no,  nor  yet  for  all  eter- 
nity !  And  though  the  world  should  be 
thronged  with  devils — and  this  body 
which  is  the  work  of  thine  hands,  should 
be  cast  forth,  trodden  under  foot,  cut  in 
pieces,  ....  consumed  to  ashes,  ....  ?«?/ 
soul  is  thine.  Yes,  I  have  thine  own 
word  to  assure  me  of  it.  My  soul  be- 
longs to  thee,  and  will  abide  with  thee 
for  ever  !  Amen  !  O  God  send  help  ! 
.  .  .  Amen  !"* 

This  prayer  discloses  to  us  Luther  and 
the  Reformation.  History  here  lifts  the 
veil  of  the  sanctuary,  and  discovers  the 
secret  source  whence  strength  and  cour- 
age descended  to  the  humble  and  despi- 
sed man,  who  was  God's  instrument,  to 
set  at  liberty  the  soul  and  thought  of 
man  and  open  a  new  age.  Luther  and 
the  Reformation  lie  open  before  us.  We 
discern  their  inmost  springs.  We  see 
where  their  power  lay.  This  effusion 
of  a  soul  offering  itself  up  in  the  cause 
of  truth  is  found  in  the  collection  of  doc- 
uments relative  to  the  citation  of  Luther 
to  Worms,  under  number  16,  of  the  safe- 
conducts  and  other  papers  of  that  nature. 
One  of  his  friends  doubtless  overheard 
and  preserved  it.  In  our  judgment  it  is 
one  of  the  noblest  of  historical  documents. 

Four  o'clock  arrived.  The  Marshal 
of  the  Empire  appeared.  Luther  prepa- 
red to  set  out.  God  had  heard  his  pray- 
ers ;  he  was  calm  when  he  quitted  the 
hotel.  The  herald  walked  first.  Next 
came  the  Marshal  of  the  Empire,  follow- 
ed by  the  Reformer.  The  crowd  that 
thronged  the  streets  was  yet  more  dense 
than  on  the  preceding  evening.  It  was 
not  possible  to  advance — it  was  in  vain 
that  orders  were  given  to  make  way ; — 
the  crowd  was  increasing.  At  last  the 
herald,  seeing  the  impossibility  of  reach- 
ing the  Town  Hall,  demanded  admission 
into  some  private  houses,  and  conducted 
Luther  through  the  gardens  and  back 
ways  to  the  place  where  the  Diet  was  as- 
sembled, f  The  people  who  witnessed  this, 
rushed  into  the  houses  after  the  monk  of 
Wittemberg,  stationing  themselves  at  the 
windows  overlooking  the  gardens,  and 
many  of  them  taking  their  stand  on  the 

*  Die  Seele  ist  dein. — (Ibid.) 

t  Und  ward  also  durch  heimliche  Gangs  ge» 
fuhrt. — (L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  544.). 


298 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


tops  of  the  houses.  The  roofs  and  the 
pavements,  above  and  beneath,  all  around 
him,  were  covered  with  spectators.* 

Arriving  at  last  at  the  Town  Hall, 
Luther  and  his  companions  were  again 
at  a  loss  how  to  pass  the  gateway,  which 
was  thronged  by  the  multitude.  Make 
room  !  was  the  cry ;  but  no  one  stirred. 
The  Imperial  soldiers  then  cleared  a 
passage.  The  people  hurrying  forward 
to  enter  together  with  the  Reformer,  the 
soldiers  drove  them  back  with  their  hal- 
berds. Luther  entered  the  interior  of 
the  hall,  and  there  again  he  beheld  the 
enclosure  crowded.  In  the  ante-cham- 
bers and  window  recesses,  there  were 
more  than  five  thousand  spectators — 
German,  Italian,  Spanish,  and  of  other 
nations.  Luther  advanced  with  difficulty. 
As  he  drew  near  the  door  which  was  to 
admit  him  to  the  presence  of  his  judges, 
he  was  met  by  a  valiant  knight,  George 
Freundsberg,  who,  four  years  afterwards, 
attended  by  his  followers,  couched  his 
lance  at  the  battle  of  Pavia,  and  bearing 
down  the  left  of  the  French  army,  drove 
it  into  the  Tessino,  and  decided  the  cap- 
tivity of  the  King  of  France.  This  old 
general,  seeing  Luther  pass,  touched  him 
on  the  shoulder,  and  shaking  his  head, 
blanched  in  many  battles,  said  kindly, 
"  My  poor  monk,  my  poor  monk,  thou 
hast  a  march  and  a  struggle  to  go 
through,  such  as  neither  I  nor  many  other 
captains  have  seen  the  like  in  our  most 
bloody  battles.  But  if  thy  cause  be  just, 
and  thou  art  sure  of  it,  go  forward  in 
God's  name,  and  fear  nothing !  He  will 
not  forsake  thee  !"f  A  noble  tribute 
rendered  by  martial  spirit  to  the  courage 
of  the  soul.  "He  that  ruleth  his. spirit 
is  greater  than  he  that  taketh  a  city," 
was  the  word  of  a  king.| 

And  now  the  doors  of  the  hall  were 
thrown  open, — Luther  entered,  and 
many  who  formed  no  part  of  the  Diet 
gained  admission  with  him.  Never  had 
any  man  appeared  before  so  august  an 
assembly.  The  Emperor  Charles  V., 
whose    kingdom   extended   across   both 

*  Doch  lief  das  Volk  haufig  zu,  und  stieg  sogar 
auf  Diicher.— (Seek.  348.) 

t  Monchlein,  Monchlein,  du  gehest  jetzt  einen 
Gang,  einen  solchen  Stand  zu  thun,  dergleichen 
Ich  und  mancher  Obrister,  auch  in  unser  aller- 
ernestesten  Schlacht-Ordnung  nicht  gethan  ha- 
ben  . .  —(Seek.  p.  348.) 

}  Proverbs,  xvi.  32. 


hemispheres, — his  brother  the  Archduke 
Ferdinand, — six  Electors  of  the  Empire, 
most  of  whose  successors  are  now  crown- 
ed heads, — twenty-four  dukes,  many  of 
them  territorial  sovereigns,  and  among 
whom  were  some  who  bore  a  name  in 
after  times  held  in  fear  and  horror  by  the 
nations  who  accepted  the  Reformation — 
(the  Duke  of  Alva  and  his  two  sons) — 
eight  margraves, — thirty  archbishops, 
bishops,  and  prelates, — seven  ambassa- 
dors, including  those  of  France  and  Eng- 
land,— the  deputies  of  ten  free  cities, — 
a  number  of  princes,  counts,  and  barons 
of  rank, — the  Pope's  Nuncios, — in  all 
two  hundred  persons.  Such  was  the 
imposing  assemblage  before  which  stood 
Martin  Luther. 

His  appearance  there  was  of  itself  a 
signal  victory  over  the  Papacy.  The 
man  whom  the  Pope  had  condemned 
stood  before  a  tribunal  raised  by  that 
very  fact  above  the  Pope's  authority. 
Placed  under  interdict,  and  struck  out 
from  human  fellowship  by  the  Pope, — 
he  was  cited  in  respectful  terms,  and  re- 
ceived before  the  noblest  of  human  au- 
ditories. The  Pope  had  decreed  that 
his  lips  should  be  closed  for  ever, — and  he 
was  about  to  unclose  them  in  presence 
of  thousands  assembled  from  the  remotest 
countries  of  Christendom.  Thus  had  an 
immense  revolution  been  effected  by  his 
means ;  Rome  was  brought  down  from 
her  seat,  and  the  power  that  thus  hum- 
bled her  was  the  word  of  a  monk ! 

Some  Princes  who  were  near  him,  ob- 
serving the  humble  son  of  the  miner  of 
Mansfeld  awed  and  affected  in  this  as- 
sembly of  sovereigns,  approached  him 
kindly.  One  of  them  whispered,  "  Fear 
not  them  who  are  able  to  kill  the  body, 
and  cannot  destroy  the  soul."  Another 
whispered  to  him,  "  When  you  are 
brought  before  kings  it  shall  be  given  to 
you  by  the  Spirit  of  your  Father  what 
you  shall  say."*  Thus  was  the  monk 
strengthened  with  his  Master's  words  by 
the  great  ones  of  this  world. 

Meanwhile  the  guards  made  way  for 
Luther.  He  stepped  forward,  and  found 
himself  in  front  of  the  throne  of  Charles 
V.  All  eyes  were  turned  upon  him. 
The  confusion  was  stilled,  and  there  was 

*  Einige  aus  denen  Reichs-Gliedern  sprachen 
Ihm  einen  Muth,  mit  Christi  Worten,  ein  .  . . — 
CMatt.  x.  20,  28.     Seckendorf,  p.  348.) 


THE   DIET   OF  WORMS,  1521. 


299 


a  profound  silence.  "  Say  nothing  until 
a  question  is  put  to  you."  said  the  Mar- 
shal of  the  Empire  as  he  quitted  him. 

After  a  moment's  solemn  pause,  John 
Eck,  the  Chancellor  of  the  Archbishop 
of  Treves,  and  the  friend  of  Aleander, 
whom  we  must  not  confound  with  the 
theologian  of  that  name,  rose,  and  in  a 
clear  and  sonorous  accent,  first  in  Latin 
and  then  in  German,  said  : 

"  Martin  Luther,  his  sacred  and  in- 
vincible Majesty  has  cited  you  before 
his  throne,  acting  on  the  opinion  and  ad- 
vice of  the  States  of  the  Holy  Roman 
Empire,  to  require  you  to  answer  to  these 
questions.  First :  Do  you  acknowledge 
these  writings  to  have  been  composed  by 
you?"  At  the  same  time  the  speaker 
pointed  with  his  finger  to  about  twenty 
volumes  placed  on  a  table  in  the  centre 
of  the  hall,  immediately  before  Luther. 
"  I  could  not  guess  where  they  had  ob- 
tained them,"  said  Luther,  relating  the 
fact ;  it  was  Aleander  who  had  taken 
the  trouble  to  collect  them.  "Secondly," 
continued  the  Chancellor,  "  Are  you  pre- 
pared to  retract  these  works,  and  the 
propositions  contained  therein,  or  do  you 
persist  in  what  you  have  therein  ad- 
vanced?" 

Luther,  without  faltering,  was  about 
to  answer  the  first  question  in  the  affir- 
mative, when  Jerome  SchurfF,  hastily  in- 
terrupting him,  exclaimed  aloud,  "  Let 
their  titles  be  read."* 

The  Chancellor  advancing  to  the  table 
read  the  titles.  There  were  in  the  num- 
ber several  works  of  a  devotional  char- 
acter, and  altogether  unconnected  with 
the  controverted  points. 

The  enumeration  being  gone  through, 
Luther  spoke  as  follows,  first  in  Latin, 
then  in  German  : — 

"  Most  gracious  Emperor,  Princes,  and 
Lords ! 

"  His  Imperial  Majesty  puts  to  me  two 
questions. 

"  As  to  the  first,  I  acknowledge  the 
books,  the  names  of  which  have  been 
read,  to  be  of  my  writing  ;  I  cannot  deny 
them. 

"  As  to  the  second,  seeing  that  it  is  a 
question  which  has  reference  to  faith,  and 
the  salvation  of  souls, — a  question  which 
concerns  the  word  of  God,  the  greatest 

*  Legantur  tituli  librorum. — (L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii. 

588. 


and  most  precious  treasure  of  heaven  or 
earth,* — I  should  act  rashly  if  I  were  to 
answer  without  reflection.  I  might  say 
less  than  the  circumstance  demands,  or 
more  than  truth  requires,  and  so  sin 
against  that  word  of  Christ, —  Whosoever 
shall  deny  me  before  men,  him  will  I  deny 
before  my  Father  who  is  in  heaven.  There- 
fore it  is  that  I  most  humbly  desire  his 
Imperial  Majesty  to  allow  me  time,  that 
I  may  answer  without  offending  against 
the  word  of  God." 

This  reply,  far  from  countenancing  the 
supposition  of  indecision  in  Luther,  was 
worthy  of  the  Reformer  and  of  the  as- 
sembly. It  was  fit  that  he  should  act 
calmly  and  circumspectly  in  a  question 
of  such  grave  importance,  that  this  sol- 
emn moment  of  his  life  might  be  clear 
from  the  suspicion  of  passion  or  precip- 
itancy. Besides,  by  taking  reasonable 
time  the  deliberate  firmness  of  his  res- 
olution would  be  the  more  strikingly 
apparent.  Many  men  in  the  history  of 
the  world  have  brought  great  evils  on 
themselves  and  their  contemporaries  by 
a  hasty  word.  Luther  restrained  his 
own  naturally  impetuous  temper  : — he 
suppressed  the  words  that  were  on  his 
tongue  and  kept  silence,  when  all  the 
feelings  that  inspired  him  struggled  to 
find  utterance.  This  self-command  and 
calmness,  so  unusual  in  such  a  man,  in- 
creased his  power  a  hundred-fold,  and 
enabled  him  afterwards  to  answer  with 
a  prudence,  a  force,  and  a  dignity,  which 
baulked  the  expectations  of  his  enemies, 
and  confounded  their  pride  and  malice. 

Nevertheless,  as  his  tone  had  been  re- 
spectful many  thought  he  was  wavering. 
A  ray  of  hope  appeared  for  the  Roman 
courtiers.  Charles,  eager  to  know  more 
of  a  man  whose  teaching  disturbed  the 
Empire,  had  observed  him  narrowly. 
Turning  to  one  of  his  courtiers,  he  re- 
marked contemptuously,  "  Certainly  that 
man  will  never  induce  me  to  turn  her- 
etic"! Then  rising  from  his  seat,  the 
young  Emperor,  attended  by  his  minis- 
ters, withdrew  to  the  council  chamber  ; — 
the  Electors  assembled  in  another  apart- 
ment together  with  the  Princes ;  the  de- 

*  Weil  dies  eine  Frage  vom  Glauben  und 
der  Seelen  Seiigkeit  ist  und  Gottes  Wort  be- 
langet  .  .  .—(Ibid.  573.) 

t  Hie  certe  nunquam  efficeret  ut  haereticus 
evaderem. — (Pallavicini,  i.  115.) 


300 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION, 


puties  of  the  free  cities  in  a  third.  The 
Diet  on  re-assembling  agreed  to  grant 
the  request.  It  was  a  notable  blunder  in 
men  actuated  by  passion  and  prejudice. 

"  Martin  Luther,"  said  the  Chancellor 
of  Treves,  "  his  Imperial  Majesty,  acting 
in  the  goodness  of  his  nature,  consents  to 
allow  you  one  day's  delay  ;  but  on  con- 
dition that  you  make  answer  by  word  of 
mouth,  and  not  in  writing." 

Immediately  the  Imperial  herald  came 
forward  and  conducted  Luther  back  to 
the  hotel.  Threats  and  shouts  accom- 
panied him  through  the  crowd  ; — alarm- 
ing reports  reached  his  friends.  "  The 
Diet  is  displeased,"  it  was  said :  "  the 
Pope's  envoys  triumph  ; — the  Reformer 
will  fall  a  victim."  Men's  passions  were 
roused.  Some  gentlemen  repaired  in 
haste  to  Luther.  "  Doctor,"  said  they  in 
agitation,  "  what  is  all  this  %  They  say 
they  are  resolved  to  bring  you  to   the 

stake *     If  they  dare  attempt  it," 

they  added,  "  it  shall  be  at  the  peril  of 
their  lives."  "  And  it  would  have  been 
so,"  said  Luther,  repeating  their  words  at 
Eisleben  twenty  years  later. 

On  the  other  hand,  Luther's  enemies 
were  all  confidence.  "  He  has  begged 
for  time,"  said  they  ;  "  he  is  going  to  re- 
tract. At  a  distance  his  speech  was  ar- 
rogant;— but  now  his  courage  forsakes 
him.  .  .  He  is  conquered." 

Luther  was  perhaps  the  only  person 
at  Worms  perfectly  undisturbed.  A  few 
minutes  after  his  return  from  the  Diet  he 
wrote, to  the  counsellor  Cuspianus  :  "  I 
am  writing  to  you  from  the  very  midst 
of  a  tempest  (perhaps  he  alluded  to  the 
noise  of  the  crowd  outside  his  hotel). 
An  hour  ago  I  appeared  before  the  Em- 
peror and  his  brother.!  •  •  ■  I  avowed 
myself  the  author  of  my  books,  and  I 
have  promised  to  give  my  answer  to- 
morrow, as  to  recantation.  By  the  help 
of  Jesus  Christ,  I  will  not  retract  a  sin- 
gle letter  of  my  writings."  % 

The  commotion  among  the  people  and 
the  soldiers  of  the  states  was  increasing 
every  hour.  Whilst  the  two  parties 
were  repairing  calmly  to  the  Diet, — the 

*  Wie  geht's  ?  man  sagt  sie  wollen  euch  ver- 
brennen  .  .  . — (L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  588.) 

t  Hac  bora  coram  Ca?sare  et  fratre  Romano 
constiti.— (L.  Epp.  i.  587.) 

X  Verum  ego  ne  apicem  quidem  revocabo. — 
(Ibid.) 


people  and  the  soldiers  came  to  blows  in 
the  streets.  The  Spanish  troops,  proud 
and  stern,  gave  great  offence  by  their  in- 
solence to  the  burghers  of  the  city.  One 
of  these  satellites  of  Charles,  finding  in 
a  bookseller's  shop  the  Pope's  Bull,  pub- 
lished with  a  commentary  written  by  the 
knight  Hiitten,  laid  hands  upon  it,  tore  it 
in  pieces,  and  trampled  it  under  foot. 
Others  having  discovered  several  copies 
of  Luther's  tract  on  the  Captivity  of 
Babylon,  carried  them  off  and  tore  them 
up.  The  common  people,  roused  to  re- 
sistance, fell  upon  the  soldiers  and  com- 
pelled them  to  retire.  Another  time  a 
mounted  Spaniard  pursued,  sword  in 
hand,  through  the  public  streets  of 
Worms,  a  German,  who  fled  from  him, 
— and  the  people  in  their  fright  made  no 
attempt  to  stop  the  pursuer.* 

Some  politic  persons  thought  they  had 
hit  upon  an  expedient  to  rescue  Luther. 
"  Retract,"  said  they,  "  your  errors  in 
doctrine,  but  adhere  to  all  you  have  said 
concerning  the  Pope  and  his  court,  and 
you  will  be  safe."  Aleander  trembled 
at  the  suggestion.  But  Luther,  not  to  be 
moved  from  his  purpose,  declared  that 
he  cared  little  for  a  political  reformation 
if  it  were  not  based  upon  faith. 

On  the  18th  of  April,  Father  Glapio, 
the  Chancellor  Eck,  and  Aleander  met 
early  in  the  morning  agreeably  to  orders 
from  Charles  V.  to  settle  the  course  of 
proceeding  with  Luther. 

Luther  composed  his  thoughts.  He 
felt  that  tranquillity  of  soul  without 
which  man  can  do  nothing  truly  great. 
He  prayed  ; — he  read  the  Word  of  God  ; 
■ — he  glanced  over  his  own  writings,  and 
endeavoured  to  give  a  suitable  form  to 
his  answer.  The  thought  that  he  was 
about  to  bear  testimony  for  Jesus  Christ 
and  his  word  in  the  face  of  the  Emperor 
and  of  the  whole  Empire  dilated  his 
heart  with  joy  !  The  moment  when  he 
was  to  make  his  appearance  was  ap- 
proaching. He  drew  near  the  table  on 
which  the  volume  of  the  Holy  Scriptures 
lay  open,  placed  his  left  hand  upon  it, 
and  raising  the  other  towards  heaven,  he 
vowed  to  adhere  constantly  to  the  Gos- 
pel, and  to  confess  his  faith  freely,  even 
though  he  should  be  called  to  seal  his 
confession  with  his  blood.  This  done, 
he  felt  the  peace  of  his  soul  increased. 
*  Happens  Ref.  Urkunden,  ii.  448. 


THE   DIET   OF   WORMS,   1521. 


301 


At  four  o'clock  the  herald  presented 
himself,  and  conducted  Luther  to  the 
hall  of  the  Diet.  The  general  curiosity 
was  extreme,  for  the  answer  was  to  be 
decisive.  The  Diet  being  engaged  in 
deliberation,  Luther  was  obliged  to  wait 
in  the  court,  surrounded  by  a  dense 
crowd,  eagerly  moving  to  and  fro,  and 
resembling  a  sea  of  heads.  For  two 
hours,  the  Reformer  was  hemmed  in  by 
the  multitude  pressing  to  see  him.  "  I 
was  not  used,"  said  he,  "  to  such  ways 
and  noises."*  To  an  ordinary  man  this 
would  have  been  a  grievous  hindrance 
to  preparedness  of  mind.  But  Luther 
Avas  walking  with  God.  His  look 'was 
serene ;  his  features  unruffled.  The 
Eternal  was  placing  him  on  a  rock. 
Evening  began  to  close  in,  and  the 
torches  were  lighted  in  the  hall.  Their 
light  gleamed  through  the  ancient  paint- 
ed glass  to  the  court  beyond,  and  the 
whole  scene  wore  an  aspect  of  more  than 
common  solemnity.  At  length  the  Doc- 
tor was  admitted.  Many  persons  ob- 
tained admission  with  him,  for  every  one 
was  desirous  to  hear  his  answer.  The 
Princes  having  taken  their  seats,  and 
Luther  being  again  in  presence  of  Charles 
V. — the  Chancellor  of  the  Elector  of 
Treves  broke  silence,  and  said  : 

'■  Martin  Luther,  you  requested  yester- 
day a  delay  which  is  now  expired.  Cer- 
tainly the  Diet  was  not  bound  in  justice 
to  accede  to  your  desire,  since  every  man 
should  be  so  grounded  in  his  faith  as  to 
be  able  at  all  times  to  give  an  answer  to 
those  who  ask  him  ;  much  more  one 
who  is  an  eminent  and  learned  doctor  in 
the  Scriptures.  .  .  .  Now,  therefore,  an- 
swer the  enquiry  of  his  Majesty,  who 
has  manifested  so  much  indulgence. 
Are  you  prepared  to  defend  all  that  your 
writings  contain,  or  do  you  wish  to  re- 
tract any  part  of  them  ?" 

After  having  spoken  these  words,  the 
Chancellor  repeated  them  in  German. 

"Hereupon,"  say  the  Acts  of  Worms, 
"  Doctor  Martin  Luther  made  answer  in 
a  low  and  humble  tone,  without  any 
vehemence  or  violence,  but  with  gentle- 
ness and  mildness,  and  in  a  manner  full 
of  respect  and  diffidence,  yet  with  much 
joy  and  Christian  firmness." f 

*  Des  Gctiimmels  und  Wesens  war  Ich  gar 
nicht  gewohnt. — (L.  Opp.  xvii.  588,  535.) 

t  Schreyt  nicht  sehr  nocli  heftig,  sondern  re- 


"  Most  Serene  Emperor,  and  you  illus- 
trious Princes  and  gracious  Lords,"  said 
Luther,  turning  towards  Charles,  and 
looking  round  the  assembly,  "  I  this  day 
appear  before  you  in  all  humility,  accord- 
ing to  your  command,  and  I  implore 
your  Majesty  and  your  august  High- 
nesses, by  the  mercies  of  God,  to  listen 
with  favour  to  the  defence  of  a  cause 
which  I  am  well  assured  is  just  and 
right.  I  ask  pardon,  if  by  reason  of  my 
ignorance,  I  am  wanting  in  the  manners 
that  befit  a  court ;  for  I  have  not  been 
brought  up  in  king's  palaces, — but  in  the 
seclusion  of  a  cloister. 

"  Two  questions  were  yesterday  put 
to  me  by  his  Imperial  Majesty ;  the  first, 
whether  I  was  the  author  of  the  books 
whose  titles  were  read :  the  second,  whe- 
ther I  wished  to  'revoke  or  defend  the 
doctrine  I  have  taught.  I  answered  the 
first,  and  I  adhere  to  that  answer. 

"  As  to  the  second,  I  have  composed 
writings  on  very  different  subjects.  In 
some  I  have  discussed  Faith  and  Good 
Works,  in  a  spirit  at  once  so  pure,  clear, 
and  Christian,  that  even  my  adversaries 
themselves,  far  from  finding  anything  to 
censure,  confess  that  these  writings  are 
profitable,  and  deserve  to  be  perused  by 
devout  persons.  The  Pope's  bull,  vio- 
lent as  it  is — acknowledges  this.  What 
then  should  I  be  doing  if  I  were  now  to 
retract  these  writings  'I  Wretched  man  ! 
I  alone,  of  all  men  living,  should  be 
abandoning  truths  approved  by  the  unan- 
imous voice  of  friends  and  enemies,  and 
opposing  doctrines  that  the  whole  world 
glories  in  confessing. 

"  I  have  composed,  secondly,  certain 
works  against  Popery,  wherein  I  have 
attacked  such  as  by  false  doctrine,  irregu- 
lar lives,  and  scandalous  examples,  aiilict 
the  Christian  world,  and  ruin  the  bodies 
and  souls  of  men.  And  is  not  this  con- 
firmed by  the  grief  of  all  who  fear  God  % 
Is  it  not  manifest  that  the  laws  and  hu- 
man doctrines  of  the  Popes  entangle, 
vex,  and  distress  the  consciences  of  the 
faithful,  whilst  the  crying  and  endless 
extortions  of  Rome  engulf  the  property 
and  wealth  of  Christendom,  and  more 
particularly  of  this  illustrious  nation  1 

"  If  I  were  to  revoke  what  I  have 
written  on  that  subject,  what  should  I  do 

det  fein,  sktich,  ziichtig  und  bescheiden  .  .    — 
(L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  576.) 


302 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


.  .  .  but  strengthen  this  tyranny,  and 
open  a  wider  door  to  so  many  and  fla- 
grant impieties  1*  Bearing  down  all  re- 
sistance with  fresh  fury,  we  should  be- 
hold these  proud  men  swell,  foam,  and 
rage  more  than  ever !  And  not  merely 
would  the  yoke  which  now  weighs  down 
Christians  be  made  more  grinding  by  my 
retractation, — it  would  thereby  become, 
so  to  speak,  lawful, — for,  by  my  retrac- 
tation, it  would  receive  confirmation  from 
your  most  Serene  Majesty,  and  all  the 
States  of  the  Empire.  Great  God!  I 
should  thus  be  like  to  an  infamous  cloak, 
used  to  hide  and  cover  over  every  kind 
of  malice  and  tyranny. 

"  In  the  third  and  last  place, — I  have 
written  some  books  against  private  indi- 
viduals, who  had  undertaken  to  defend 
the  tyranny  of  Rome  by  destroying  the 
faith.  I  freely  confess  that  I  may  have 
attacked  such  persons  with  more  violence 
than  was  consistent  with  rny  profession 
as  an  ecclesiastic :  I  do  not  think  of  my- 
self as  a  saint ; — but  neither  can  I  re- 
tract these  books,  because  I  should,  by  so 
doing,  sanction  the  impieties  of  my  oppo- 
nents ;  and  they  would  thence  take  occa- 
sion to  crash  God's  people  with  still  more 
cruelty. 

"  Yet,  as  I.  am  a  mere  man,  and  not 
God,  I  will  defend  myself  after  the  ex- 
ample of  Jesus  Christ,  who  said  :  '  If  I 
have  spoken  evil,  bear  -witness  against  me? 
(John  xviii.  23.)  How  much  more 
should  I,  who  am  but  dust  and  ashes, 
and  so  prone  to  error,  desire  that  every 
one  should  bring  forward  what  he  can 
against  my  doctrine, 

"  Therefore,  most  Serene  Emperor, 
and  you  illustrious  Princes,  and  all,  whe- 
ther high  or  low,  who  hear  me,  I  im- 
plore you  by  the  mercies  of  God  to  prove 
to  me  by  the  writings  of  the  prophets 
and  apostles  that  I  am  in  error.  As  soon 
as  I  shall  be  convinced,  I  will  instantly 
retract  all  my  errors,  and  will  myself  be 
the  first  to  seize  my  writings,  and  commit 
them  to  the  flames. 

':  What  I  have  just  said  I  think'will 
clearly  show,  that  I  have  well  considered 
and  weighed  the  dangers  to  which  I  am 
exposing  myself;  but  far  from  being  dis- 
mayed by  them,  I  rejoice  exceedingly  to 
see  the  Gospel  this  day,  as  of  old,  a  cause 

*  Nicht  allein  die  Fenster  sondern  auch  Thiir 
und  Thor  aufthiite. — (L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  573.) 


of  disturbance  and  disagreement.  It  is 
the  character  and  destiny  of  God's  word. 
'  I  came  not  to  send  peace  unto  the  earth, 
but  a  sword,'  said  Jesus  Christ.  God  is 
wonderful  and  awful  in  his  counsels. 
Let  us  have  a  care,  lest  in  our  endeavours 
to  arrest  discords,  we  be  found  to  fight 
against  the  holy  word  of  God  and  bring 
down  upon  our  heads  a  frightful  deluge 
of  inextricable  dangers,  present  disaster, 
and  everlasting  desolations  .....  Let  us 
have  a  care  lest  the  reign  of  the  young 
and  noble  Prince,  the  Emperor  Charles, 
on  whom,  next  to  God,  we  build  so  many 
hopes,  should  not  only  commence,  but 
continue  and  terminate  its  course  under 
the  most  fatal  auspices.  I  might  cite  ex- 
amples drawn  from  the  oracles  of  God," 
continued  Luther,  speaking  with  noble 
courage  in  the  presence  of  the  mightiest 
monarch  of  the  world.  "  I  might  speak 
of  Pharaohs, — of  kings  of  Babylon,  or 
of  Israel,  who  were  never  more  contrib- 
uting to  their  own  ruin,  than  when,  by 
measures  in  appearance  most  prudent, 
they  thought  to  establish  their  authority  ! 
God  removeth  the  mountains  and  they 
know  not.     (Job  ix.  5.) 

"  In  speaking  thus,  I  do  not  suppose 
that  such  noble  Princes  have  need  of  my 
poor  judgment  ;  but  I  wish  to  acquit 
myself  of  a  duty  that  Germany  has  a 
right  to  expect  from  her  children.  And 
so  commending  myself  to  your  August 
Majesty,  and  your  most  Serene  High- 
nesses, 1  beseech  you  in  all  humility,  not 
to  permit  the  hatred  of  my  enemies  to 
rain  upon  me  an  indignation  I  have  not 
deserved."* 

Luther  had  pronounced  these  words 
in  German,  with  modesty,  and  yet  with 
much  earnestness  and  resolution  ;t  he 
was  desired  to  repeat  them  in  Latin  : 
(the  Emperor  was  not  fond  of  German.) 
The  splendid  assembly  which  surround- 
ed the  Reformer,  its  noise  and  excitement 
had  exhausted  him.  "  I  was  bathed  in 
sweat,"  said  he,  "  and  standing  in  the 
centre  of  the  Princes."  Frederic  of 
Thun,  confidential  counsellor  of  the 
Elector  of  Saxony,  who  by  his  master's 
orders  had  taken  his  stand  at  the  Re- 

*  This  speech  as  well  as  most  of  the  docu- 
ments we  cite  are  taken  word  for  word  from  au- 
thentic documents. — (Sec  L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  776 
—780.) 

t  Non  clamose  at  modeste,  non  tamen  sine 
Christiana  animositate  et  constantia. — (Ibid.  165.) 


THE   DIET  OF  WORMS,   1521. 


503 


former's  side,  to  guard  him  against  sur- 
prise or  violence,  seeing  the  exhaustion 
of  the  poor  monk,  said,  "  If  you  are  not 
equal  to  the  exertion  of  repeating  your 
speech,  what  you  have  said  will  suffice.'' 
But  Luther,  having  taken  a  moment's 
breathing  time,  began  again,  and  repeat- 
ed his  address  in  Latin  with  undiminish- 
ed power.* 

"  The  Elector  was  quite  pleased  with 
that,"  said  the  Reformer,  when  relating 
the  circumstance. 

As  soon  as  he  stopped  speaking,  the 
Chancellor  of  Treves,  spokesman  of  the 
Diet,  said  angrily  : — 

"  You  have  not  given  any  answer  to 
the  enquiry  put  to  you.  You  are  not  to 
question  the  decisions  of  the  Councils, — 
you  are  required  to  return  a  clear  and 
distinct  answer.  Will  you,  or  will  you 
not  retract  V  Luther  then  answered 
unhesitatingly  : — "  Since  your  most  Se- 
rene Majesty  and  your  High  Mightiness- 
es require  of  me  a  simple,  clear,  and  di- 
rect answer,  I  will  give  one,f  and  it  is 
this  : — I  cannot  submit  my  faith  either 
to  the  Pope  or  to  the  Councils, — because 
it  is  as  clear  as  noon-day  that  they  have 
often  fallen  into  error,  and  even  into 
glaring  inconsistency  with  themselves. 
If  then  I  am  not  convinced  by  proof  from 
Holy  Scripture  or  by  cogent  reasons  ;  if 
I  am  not  satisfied  by  the  very  texts  that  I 
have  cited ;  and  if  my  judgment  is  not 
in  this  way  brought  into  subjection  to 
God's  word,  I  neither  can  nor  will  re- 
tract any  thing :  for  it  cannot  be  right  for 
a  Christian  to  speak  against  his  con- 
science." Then  turning  a  look  on  that 
i  assembly  before  whom  he  stood,  and 
which  held  in  its  hands  his  life  or  death  : 
"  I  stand  here,  and  can  say  no  more  : — 
God  help  me.     Amen."! 

Thus  did  Luther,  constrained  to  act 
upon  his  Faith,  led  by  his  conscience  to 
the  surrender  of  his  life,  bound  by  the 
noblest  of  all  necessity, — the  servant  of  the 
truth  he  believed,  and  in  that  service 
most  free  ;  like  a  vessel  freighted  with  trea- 
sure more  precious  than  itself  that  the 
pilot  runs  upon  the  rocks ; — pronounce 
the  sublime  words  that  at  the  distance  of 

*  See  L.  Opp.  lat.  ii.  165—167. 

t  Dabo  illud  neque  dentatum,  neque  comutum. 
—(Ibid.  166.) 

I  Hier  stehe  ich :  Ich  kan  nicht  anders  ;  Gott 
helfe  mir !     Amen. — (L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  580. 


three  centuries  still  make  our  hearts 
bound  within  us.  Thus  spake,  in  pres- 
ence of  the  Emperor  and  the  chiefs  of 
the  nation,  a  single  monk !  and  that 
weak  and  poor  man  standing  alone,  but 
depending  on  the  grace  of  the  Most 
High,  shone  forth  grander  and  mightier 
than  them  all.  His  words  came  with  a 
power  against  which  the  great  of  this 
world  could  do  nothing.  This  is  that 
weakness  of  God  which  is  stronger  than 
men.  The  Empire  and  the  Church  on 
the  one  hand, — an  obscure  individual  on 
the  other,  have  looked  upon  each  other ! 
God  had  gathered  together  these  kings 
and  prelates,  to  bring  publicly  to  naught 
their  wisdom.  The  battle  is  lost ;  and 
the  consequences  of  this  defeat  of  the 
powers  of  this  world  will  be  felt  among 
all  nations,  and  in  all  ages  to  come. 

The  assembly  was  motionless  with 
astonishment.  Several  of  the  Princes 
present  could  scarcely  conceal  their  ad- 
miration. The  Emperor,  recovering 
from  first  impressions,  exclaimed,  "  The 
monk  speaks  with  an  intrepid  heart  and 
unshaken  courage.'1*  The  Spaniards 
and  Italians  alone  were  confounded,  and 
soon  began  to  ridicule  a  moral  grandeur 
which  they  could  not  comprehend. 

"  If  you  do  not  retract,"  resumed  the 
Chancellor,  as  soon  as  the  assembly  had 
recovered  from  the  impression  produced 
by  Luther's  speech,— "  the  Emperor  and 
the  States  of  the  Empire  will  proceed  to 
consider  how  to  deal  with  an  obstinate 
heretic."  At  these  words  Luther'.-, 
friends  trembled  ; — but  the  monk  repeat- 
ed :  "  May  God  be  my  helper  f  for  I  can 
retract  nothing."! 

This  said,  Luther  withdrew,  and  the 
Princes  deliberated.  Every  one  saw 
clearly  that  the  moment  was  critical  for 
Christendom.  On  the  yea  or  nay  of  this 
monk,  perhaps,  depended  the  repose  of 
the  Church  and  of  the  world  for  ages  to 
come.  In  the  desire  to  over-awe  him,  ho 
had  been  raised  on  a  platform  in  sight  of 
a  whole  nation :  the  attempt  to  give 
publicity  to  his  defeat  had  only  served 
to  enhance  his  victory  over  his  enemies. 
The  partisans  of  Rome  could  not  patient- 
ly submit  to  this  humiliation.  Luther 
was  again  called  in,  and  the  speaker  thus 

*  Der  Monch  redet.  unerschrocken,  mit  ge- 
trostem  Muth  ! — Seckendorf,  p.  350.) 
t  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xv.  2235. 


304 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


addressed  him  : — "  Martin,  you  have  not 
spoken  with  that  humility  which  befits 
your  condition.  The  distinction  you 
nave  drawn  as  to  your  works  was  need- 
less, for  if  you  retracted  such  as  contain 
errors,  the  Emperor  would  not  allow  the 
rest  to  he  burned.  It  is  absurd  to  require 
to  be  refuted  by  Scripture,  when  you  are 
reviving  heresies  condemned  by  the  gen- 
eral Council  of  Constance.  The  Empe- 
ror therefore  commands  you  to  say  sim- 
ply, yes  or  no,  whether  you  mean  to  af- 
firm what  you  have  advanced,  or  wheth- 
er you  desire  to  retract  any  part  thereof." 
— "  I  have  n'o  other  answer  to  give  than 
that  I  have  already  given,"  said  Luther 
quietly.  They  understood  him. — Firm 
as  a  rock, — the  billows  of  the  powers  of 
the  world  had  broken  harmlessly  at  his 
feet  The  simple  energy  of  his  words, 
his  erect  countenance,  the  glance  of  his 
eye,  the  inflexible  firmness  that  might 
be  traced  in  his  rude  German  features, 
had  indeed  left  a  deep  impression  on  the 
assembly.  All  hope  of  quelling  his  spirit 
had  vanished.  The  Spaniards,  the  Belgi- 
ans, and  even  the  Italians  were  silent. 
The  monk  had  triumphed  over  these 
powers  of  this  world.  He  had  said  No 
to  the  Church  and  to  the  Empire.  Charles 
the  Fifth  arose  from  his  seat  and  the 
whole  assembly  rose  at  the  same  instant. 
"  The  Diet  will  meet  again  to-morrow 
morning  to  hear  the  Emperor's  decision," 
said  the  Chancellor  aloud. 

It  was  night ;- — each  repaired  home  in 
the  dark.  Two  of  the  Imperial  officers 
were  appointed  to  accompany  Luther. 
Some  persons  took  it  into  their  heads  that 
his  doom  had  been  decided,  that  they 
were  conducting  him  to  prison,  which  he 
would  only  leave  to  mount  the  scaffold. 
Then  a  tumult  spread.  Several  gentle- 
men demanded  aloud  :  "  Are  they  lead- 
ing him  to  prison  ?M  "  No  !"  answered 
Luther,  "  they  are  conducting  me  to  my 
hotel."  On  hearing  this  the  commotion 
subsided.  Then  certain  Spaniards  of 
the  Emperor's  household  followed  the 
boJd  man  through  the  streets  that  led  to 
the  hotel,  with  shouts  and  mockery,* 
while  others  poured  forth  the  cries  of  a 
wild  beast  bereft  of  his  prey.  But  Lu- 
ther maintained  his  firmness   and  assu- 


*  Subsannatione  hominem  Die  et  longo  rugitu 
prosecuti  sunt. — (L.  Opp.  lat.  ii.  166.) 


Such  was  the  scene  of  Worms.  The 
intrepid  monk  who  had  hitherto  boldly 
braved  all  his  enemies,  spoke  on  that 
occasion  to  those  who  thirsted  for  his 
blood  with  calm  dignity  and  humility. 
With  no  exaggeration,  no  enthusiasm  of 
the  flesh,  no  irascibility ;  he  was  in  peace 
in  the  liveliest  emotion ;  unpresumptu- 
ous,  though  withstanding  the  powers  of 
this  world  ;  and  full  of  grandeur  in  pres- 
ence of  the  great  ones  of  the  earth.  Be- 
hold an  indubitable  sign  that  Luther 
was  then  acting  in  obedience  to  God, 
and  not  the  suggestions  of  his  own  pride. 
In  the  hall  at  Worms  was  one  greater 
than  Luther  or  than  Charles.  "  When 
ye  shall  be  brought  before  governors 
and  kings  for  my  sake,  take  no  thought 
how  or  what  ye  shall  speak,  for  it  shall 
be  given  you  in  that  same  hour  what  ye 
shall  speak.  For  it  is  not  ye  that  speak, 
but  the  Spirit  of  your  Father  which 
speaketh  in  you."*  Never,  perhaps,  has 
this  promise  been  more  signally  fulfilled, 

A  powerful  impression  had  been  pro- 
duced on  the  chiefs  of  the  empire.  Lu- 
ther had  remarked  this ;  and  it  had 
given  him  new  courage.  The  Pope's 
adherents  were  provoked  because  Eck 
had  not  earlier  interrupted  the  speech  of 
the  guilty  monk.  Several  princes  and 
lords  were  won  over  to  his  cause  by  the 
tone  of  deep  conviction  with  which  he 
had  defended  it.  It  is  true,  with  some 
the  effect  was  transient ;  but  some  who 
then  concealed  their  thoughts,  at  a  later 
period  declared  themselves  with  great 
boldness. 

Luther  had  returned  to  his  hotel,  and 
was  seeking  in  repose  to  recruit  his 
strength,  exhausted  in  the  stern  and  try- 
ing events  of  the  day.  Spalatin  and 
others  of  his  friends  surrounded  him, 
giving  thanks  to  God.  As  they  were 
discoursing,  a  servant  entered,  bearing  a 
silver  vase  filled  with  Eimbek  beer. 
"  My  master,"  said  he,  as  he  offered  it  to 
Luther,  "  desires  you  to  refresh  yourself 
with  this  beverage."  "What  prince  is 
it,"  said  the  Wittemberg  Doctor,  ':  who 
has  me  in  such  gracious  remembrance?" 
It  was  the  aged  Duke  Eric  of  Bruns- 
wick* The  Reformer  was  moved-  by 
this  offering  from  a  powerful  lord  belong- 
ing to  the  Pope's  party.  "  His  High- 
ness himself,"  continued  the  messenger, 
*  Matt.  x.  18,  20. 


THE   DIET   OF  WORMS,   1521. 


305 


"  drank  of  the  cup  before  sending  it  to 
you."  Hereupon  Luther,  being  thirsty, 
poured  out  some  of  the  Duke's  beer,  and 
after  having  drunk,  he  said :  "  As  on 
this  day  Duke  Eric  has  remembered 
me,  may  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  remem- 
ber him  in  the  hour  of  his  last  struggle."* 
The  gift  was  a  trilling-  one  ;  but  Luther, 
desiring  to  show  his  gratitude  to  a  Prince 
who  thought  of  him  at  such  a  moment, 
gave  him  of  such  as  he  had, — a  prayer ! 
The  servant  bore  his  message  to  his 
9  master.  The  aged  Duke  called  to  mind 
these  words  at  the  moment  of  his  death, 
and  addressing  a  young  page,  Francis 
Kram,  who  was  standing  at  his  bedside: 
—"Take  the  Bible,"  said  he,  "  and  read 
to  me."  The  youth  read  the  words  of 
Christ,  and  the  soul  of  the  dying  man 
took  comfort.  "  Whosoever  shall  give 
you  a  cup  of  water  to  drink  in  my  na?ne, 
because  ye  belong  to  Christ"  said  the  Sa- 
viour, "  verily  I  say  unto  you  he  shall  not 
lose  his  reward" 

The  servant  of  the  Duke  of  Bruns- 
wick had  scarcely  left  him,  when  a  mes- 
senger from  the  Elector  of  Saxony  brought 
orders  to  Spalatin  to  come  to  him  imme- 
diately. Frederic  had  attended  the  Diet 
with  many  apprehensions.  He  had  ex- 
pected that  Luther's  courage  would  have 
failed  him  in  the  Emperor's  presence. 
Hence  he  had  been  deeply  affected  by 
the  Reformer's  firmness.  He  felt  proud 
of  having  taken  such  a  man  under  his 
protection.  When  the  chaplain  arrived, 
the  table  was  spread.  The  Elector  was 
just  sitting  down  to  supper  with  his 
court,  and  already  the  servant  in  waiting 
had  taken  away  the  vase  in  which  it 
was  the  custom  to  wash  before  eating. 
On  seeing  Spalatin  enter,  Frederic  in- 
stantly made  a  sign  to  him  to  follow 
him ;  and  as  soon  as  he  found  himself 
alone  with  him  in  his  bedchamber,  he 
said  with  strong  emotion  :  "  Oh  !  how  Lu- 
ther spoke  before  the  Emperor  and  all 
the  States  of  the  Empire  : — all  I  feared 
was  that  he  might  go  too  far!"f  From 
that  time  Frederic  formed  a  resolution  to 
protect  the  Doctor  more  openly. 

Aleander  saw  the  effect  that  Luther 
had   produced ;    there   was   no    time   to 

*  Also  gedencke  seiner  unser  Herr  Christus 
in  seinem  letzten  Kampffi — (Seek.  p.  354.) 

t  O  wie  schon  hat  Pater  Martinas  geredet. — 
(Seek.  p.  355.) 

39 


lose.  It  was  necessary  to  urge  the 
young  Emperor  to  adopt  vigorous  meas- 
ures. The  moment  was  favourable :  a 
war  with  France  was  impending.  Leo 
X,  eager  to  aggrandize  his  states,  and 
caring  little  for  the  peace  of  Christen- 
dom, was  at  the  same  lime  secretly  ne- 
gociating  two  treaties,— one  with  Charles 
against  Francis,  and  the  other  with  Fran- 
cis against  Charles.*  By  the  former  he 
stipulated  with  the  Emperor  for  the  pos- 
session of  Parma,  Placentia,  and  Ferra- 
ra;  by  the  latter  he  claimed  from  the 
King  a  district  of  the  kingdom  of  Na- 
ples, which  should  be  conquered  from 
Charles.  The  latter  felt  the  importance 
of  gaining  Leo  to  his  side,  that  he  might 
be  strengthened  by  his  alliance  in  the 
war  with  his  rival  of  France.  The 
mighty  Pontiff's  friendship  seemed  to 
be  cheaply  purchased  by  the  sacrifice  of 
Luther. 

The  day  following  Luther's  appear- 
ance being  Friday,  the  1-9 th  of  April, 
the  Emperor  caused  to  be  read  aloud 
to  the  Diet,  a  message  written  in  Flem- 
ish by  his  own  hand  : — f 

"  Descended  from  the  Christian  Em- 
perors of  Germany,  from  the  Catholic 
Kings  of  Spain,  from  the  Archdukes  of 
Austria  and  Dukes  of  Burgundy,  who 
have  all  distinguished  themselves  as  de- 
fenders of  the  faith  of  Rome,  I  am  firmly 
resolved  to  tread  in  the  footsteps  of  my 
ancestors.  A  single  monk,  led  astray  by 
his  own  madness,  erects  himself  against 
the  faith  of  Christendom.  I  will  sacri- 
fice my  kingdoms,  my  power,  my 
friends,  my  treasure,  my  body  and 
blood,  my  thoughts  and  my  life,  to  stay 
the  further  progress  of  this  impiety.  J  I 
am  about  to  dismiss  the  Augustine  Lu- 
ther, forbidding  him  to  cause  the  least 
disturbance  among  the  people.  I  will 
then  take  measures  against  him  and  his 
adherents,  as  open  heretics,  by  excom- 

*  Guieciardini,  L.  xiv.  175.  Dumont  Corp. 
Dipl.  torn.  iv.  96.  Dice&i  del  papa  Leone,  ehe 
qnando  l'aveva  fatto  lega  con  alcuno,  prima  so- 
leva  dir  che  pero  non  si  dovea  restar  de  tratar 
cum  lo  altro  principe  opposto. — (Suriano,  Vene- 
tian Ambassador  at  Rome,  MS.  archives  of  Ve- 
nice.) 

t  Autographum  in  lingua  Burgundies  ab  ipso- 
met  exaratum. — (Cochlajus,  p.  32.) 

t  Regna,  thesauros,  amicos,  corpus,  eangui- 
nem,  vitam,  spiritumque  profundere. — (Pallavi- 
cini,  i.  118.) 


306 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


munication,  interdict,  and  every  means 
necessary  to  their  destruction.*  I  call 
on  the  members  of  the  states  to  com- 
port themselves  like  faithful  Christians." 

This  address  was  not  well  received  by 
all  to  whom  it  was  addressed.  Charles, 
young  and  hasty,  had  not  observed  the 
customary  form  which  obliged  him  first 
to  ask  the  opinion  of  the  Diet.  Immedi- 
ately two  directly  opposite  parties  began 
to  show  themselves.  The  creatures  of 
the  Pope,  the  Elector  of  Brandenburg, 
and  several  dignitaries  of  the  church  de- 
manded that  Luther's  safe-conduct  should 
not  be  respected.f  "  His  ashes  ought  to 
be  thrown  into  the  Rhine,"  said  they, 
"as  was  the  fate  of  John  Huss." 
Charles,  if  we  may  believe  one  historian, 
subsequently  repented  bitterly  that  he 
did  not  adopt  this  cowardly  suggestion. 
"  I  acknowledge,"  said  he,  towards  the 
close  of  life,  "  that  I  committed  a  great 
mistake  in  not  punishing  Luther  with 
death.  I  was  not  bound  to  keep  my  pro- 
mise ;  that  heretic  had  offended  a  master 
greater  than  I.  I  might  and  I  ought  to 
have  forgotten  my  pledge,  and  avenged 
the  offence  he  committed  against  God. 
It  is  because  I  did  not  have  him  put  to 
death,  that  heresy  has  ever  since  been 
spreading.  His  death  would  have  stifled 
it  in  its  cradle."| 

This  frightful  proposal  filled  the  Elec- 
tor and  all  Luther's  friends  with  alarm. 
"  The  death  of  John  Huss,"  said  the 
Elector  Palatine,  "  has  brought  too  many 
calamities  on  Germany  for  us  to  think 
of  again  erecting  a  like  scaffold."  Even 
Duke  George  exclaimed  :  "  The  German 
Princes  will  not  endure  the  violation  of 
a  safe-conduct.  This  first  Diet,  presided 
over  by  our  new  Emperor,  will  not  be 
guilty  of  so  shameful  an  action.  Such 
perfidy  befits  not  the  ancient  good  faith 
of  the  Germans."  The  Bavarian  Prin- 
ces,   though    attached    to    the    Roman 

*  Und  andern  Wegen  sie  zu  vertilgen. — (L. 
Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  581.) 

t  Dass  Luthero  das  sichere  Geleit  nicht  mochte 
gehalten  werden. — (Seckend.  p.  357.) 

t  Sandoval  Hist,  de  Carlos  V.  quoted  by  Llo- 
rente  in  his  History  of  the  Inquisition,  ii.  57. 
According  to  Llorente,  the  supposition  that 
Charles  toward  the  end  of  his  life  leaned  to  evan- 
gelical opinions  is  an  invention  of  the  Protestants, 
and  of  the  enemies  of  Philip  II.  The  question 
is  a  problem  in  history  which  the  numerous  cita- 
tions of  Llorente  seem,  unhappily,  to  solve  con- 
formably to  his  statement. 


Church,  supported  this  protest ;  and  the 
prospect  of  his  death  that  Luther's 
friends  had  before  them  gradually  dis- 
appeared. 

The  report  of  these  discussions,  which 
lasted  for  two  days,  circulated  in  the  city. 
Party  spirit  was  roused.  Certain  gentle- 
men who  had  espoused  the  new  opinions 
began  to  speak  their  minds  boldly  on 
the  act  of  treachery  that  Aleander 
solicited.  "  The  Emperor,"  said  they, 
"is  young,  and  is  led  away  by  the  cajo- 
leries of  Papists  and  bishops."*  Palla^ 
vicini  mentions  four  hundred  nobles,  all 
ready  with  their  swords  to  enforce  re-  . 
spect  to  Luther's  safe-conduct.  On  the 
morning  of  Saturday,  placards  were  seen 
posted  on  the  doors  of  the  houses,  and  in 
the  public  squares,  some  against  Luther, 
and  others  in  his  favour.  In  one  was 
read  the  strong  and  simple  words  of  Ec- 
clesiastes,  Woe  to  thee,  O  land,  when  thy 
king  is  a  child  !  It  was  rumoured  that 
Sickengen  had  assembled,  at  a  distance 
of  a  few  leagues  from  Worms,  within  the 
impregnable  walls  of  his  fortress,  a  num- 
ber of  knights  and  soldiers,  and  waited 
only  the  issue  of  the  affair  to  know  how 
to  act.  The  popular  enthusiasm,  not 
merely  in  Worms,  but  even  in  the  re- 
motest towns  of  the  Empire,! — the  in- 
trepid courage  of  the  knights, — the  de- 
votion of  several  princes  to  the  cause  of 
the  Reformation — all  together,  gave 
clear  intimation  to  Charles  and  to  the 
Diet  that  the  course  of  proceeding  urged 
by  the  Romanists  might  place  in  jeopardy 
the  supreme  authority,  give  birth  to 
popular  commotions,  and  endanger  the 
very  stability  of  the  Empire  itself.J:  It 
was  but  a  question — whether  a  single 
monk  should  be  brought  to  the  stake  ; 
but  the  princes  and  partisans  of  Rome 
could  not  muster  among  them  all  either 
the  strength  or  the  courage  necessary  for 
the  act.  Doubtless,  also,  Charles  V.,  yet 
in  his  youth,  feared  to  incur  the  guilt  of 
perjury.  We  might  infer  this,  from  a 
saying  which,  if  report  be  true,  he  ut- 
tered at  this  juncture.  "  Though  honour 

*  Eum  esse  puerum,  qui  nutu  et  blandiliis 
Papistarum  et  Episcoporum  trahatur  quocunque 
velint. — (Cochlaeus,  p.  33.) 

t  Verum  etiam  in  longinquis  GermanifB  civi- 
tatibus,  motus  et  murmura  plebium. — (Ibid.) 

t  Es  ware  ein  Aufruhr  daraus  worden,  says 
Luther. 


THE   DIET   OF  WORMS,    1521. 


307 


and  good  faith  should  be  banished  from 
the  earth,  they  should  find  an  asylum  in 
the  breasts  of  princes."  It  is  a  melan- 
choly reflection  that  he  appears  to  have 
forgotten  this  maxim  before  his  death. 
But  the  Emperor  may  have  been  actu- 
ated by  other  motives.  The  Florentine 
Vettori,  the  friend  of  Leo  X.  and  of 
Machiavelli,  affirms  that  Charles  spared 
Luther  that  he  might  hold  the  Pope  in 
check.* 

In  the  sitting  of  Saturday  the  violent 
propositions  of  Aleander  were  rejected. 
Luther  was  the  object  of  much  affection, 
and  a  desire  was  general  to  rescue  this 
simple  man,  whose  confidence  in  God 
was  so  affecting ;  but  it  was  wished,  at 
the  same  time,  to  save  the  Church.  Men 
trembled  at  the  foreseen  consequences  of 
either  the  triumph  or  the  punishment  of 
the  Reformer.  Plans  of  conciliation 
were  started,  and  it  was  proposed  to 
make  a  new  effort  with  the  Doctor  of 
Wittemberg.  The  Archbishop  Elector 
of  Mentz  himself,  the  young  and  prod- 
igal Albert,  "more  devout  than  bold," 
says  Pallavicini,f  had  caught  the  alarm 
at  witnessing  the  interest  evinced  by  the 
people  and  the  nobility  in  the  fate  of  the 
monk  of  Saxony.  His  chaplain,  Capito, 
who  during  his  residence  at  Bale  had 
contracted  acquaintance  with  the  evan- 
gelical priest  of  Zurich,  Zwingle,  a  cour- 
ageous confessor  of  the  truth,  of  whom 
we  have  before  had  occasion  to  speak, 
there  can  be  little  doubt,  also  represented 
to  Albert  the  justice  of  the  Reformer's 
cause.  The  worldly  Archbishop  expe- 
rienced one  of  those  transient  recurrences 
of  Christian  feelings  which  we  some- 
times trace  in  the  lives  of  men,  and  con- 
sented to  wait  on  the  Emperor  and  re- 
quest him  to  give  time  for  a  fresh  at- 
tempt. But  Charles  would  not  hear  of 
any  thing  of  the  kind.  On  Monday  the 
22nd  of  April,  the  Princes  came  in  a 
body  to  repeat  the  request  of  Albert. 
"  I  will  not  go  from  what  I  have  laid 
down,"  replied  the  Emperor.  "  I  will 
authorize    no  one  to  have  any   official 

*  Carlo  si  excuso  di  non  poter  procedere  piu 
oltre,  rispetto  al  salvocondotto,  ma  la  verita  fu 
che  conoscendo  che  il  Papa  temeva  molto  di 
questa  doctrina  di  Luthero,  lo  voile  tenere  con 
questo  freno. — (Vettori,  Istoria  d'ltalia  MSC. 
Biblioth.  Corsini  at  Rome,  extracted  by  Ranke.) 

t  Qui  pio  magis  animo  erat  quam  forti. — (Pal- 
.avicini,  p.  118.) 


communication  with  Luther.  But,"  ad- 
ded he  (much  to  the  indignation  of  Ale- 
ander), "  I  will  allow  that  man  three 
days'  consideration  ;  during  which  time 
any  one  may  exhort  him  privately,  as 
he  may  think  fit."*  It  was  all  his 
friends  asked.  The  Reformer,  thought 
they,  elevated  by  the  solemnity  of  his 
public  trial,  would  perhaps  give  way  in 
more  friendly  conference,  and,  by  this 
means,  it  might  be  possible  to  save  him 
from  the  gulph  that  yawned  before  him. 

The  Elector  of  Saxony  knew  the  very 
contrary :  hence  he  was  full  of  anxiety. 
"  If  it  were  in  my  power,"  he  wrote  on 
the  next  day  to  his  brother,  Duke  John, 
"  I  would  be  ready  to  undertake  the  de- 
fence of  Luther.  You  can  hardly  ima- 
gine how  I  am  beset  by  the  partisans  of 
Rome.  If  I  were  to  tell  you  all,  you 
would  hear  strange  things. f  They  are 
bent  upon  his  ruin ;  and  if  any  one 
evinces  the  least  interest  in  his  safety,  he 
is  instantly  cried  down  as  a  heretic.  May 
God,  who  forsaketh  not  the  cause  of  the 
righteous,  bring  the  struggle  to  a  happy 
issue !"  Frederic,  without  betraying 
his  warm  affection  for  the  Reformer,  con- 
tented himself  with  keeping  a  constant 
eye  upon  all  his  movements. 

Not  so  men  of  all  ranks  at  Worms. 
Their  sympathy  broke  forth  without  fear 
or  disguise.  On  the  Friday,  a  train  of  prin- 
ces, counts,  barons,  knights,  gentlemen,  ec- 
clesiastics, laity  and  common  people,  sur- 
rounded the  Reformer's  lodging,  entering 
and  departing  as  if  never  satisfied  with 
gazing  on  hnn.'$  He  was  become  the 
man  of  Germany.  Even  those  who  did 
not  question  his  being  in  error,  were  af- 
fected by  the  nobility  of  soul  which  led 
him  to  peril  his  life  at  the  call  of  his  con- 
science.' Luther  had  the  happiness  of 
holding  with  many  persons  at  Worms, 
and  those  some  of  the  most  intelligent 
of  the  nation,  conversations  abounding  in 
that  salt  with  which  all  his  works  are 
seasoned  All,  on  leaving  him,  carried 
away  a  sentiment  of  generous  enthusi- 
asm for  truth.  :'  How  many  things  have 
I  to  tell  you,"  wrote  George  Vogler,  pri- 
vate secretary  to  the  Margrave   Casimir 

*  Quibus  privatim  exhortari  hominem  possenL 

— (Pallavicini,  i.  119.) 

t  Wunder  horen  werden. — (Seckend.  365.) 
I  Und  konnten  nicht  satt  werden  ihnzu  sehen. 

— (L.  Opp.  xvii.  581.) 


308 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


von  Brandenburg.  "  What  conversa- 
tions, overflowing  with  piety  and  kind- 
ness, Luther  has  had  with  me  and  others. 
Oh  !  how  rich  in  grace  is  that  man  !"* 

One  day  a  young  Prince,  of  seventeen 
years  of  age,  galloped  into  the  court  of 
the  inn ; — it  was  Philip,  who  for  two 
years  had  governed  Hesse.  The  young 
Landgrave  was  of  decided  and  enter- 
prising character, — wise  above  his  years, 
warlike,  impetuous  and  little  accustomed 
to  be  guided  by  any  thing  but  his  own 
will.  Struck  by  Luther's  speech,  he 
wished  to  have  a  nearer  view  of  him. 
"  He  however  was  not  on  my  side  in  the 
matter,"!  said  Luther,  in  relating  it.  He 
threw  himself  from  his  horse, — ran  up 
the  stairs  without  ceremony  to  Luther's 
apartment,  and  addressing  him,  said, 
"  Well,  Doctor  ;  how  are  you  going  on  ?" 
"  My  noble  lord,"  answered  Luther,  "  I 
think  all  will  end  well."  "  I  hear,"  re- 
plied the  Landgrave,  laughing,  "  that 
you,  Doctor,  teach  that  a  woman  may 
leave  her  husband  and  take  another  when 
the  first  is  proved  to  be  too  old."  The 
courtiers  of  the  Imperial  Court  had  in- 
vented this  story.  The  enemies  of  truth 
never  fail  to  circulate  inventions  as  pre-, 
tended  doctrines  of  Christian  teachers. 
':No,  my  lord,"  replied  Luther,  with 
gravity,  "  do  not  talk  thus,  I  beg  of  your 
Highness."  On  this  the  Prince  thrust 
out  his  hand  to  the  Doctor,  cordially 
grasping  Luther's,  with  the  words : 
"  Dear  Doctor,  if  you  are  in  the  right, 
may  God  be  your  helper !"  and  then 
leaving  the  room,  jumped  into  his  saddle 
and  rode  off  It  was  the  first  interview 
of  these  two  men,  who  were  destined 
subsequently  to  stand  in  the  van  of  the 
Reformation,  defending  it, — the  one  by 
the  sword  of  the  Word, — and  the  other 
by  that  of  kingly  power. 

The  Archbishop  of  Treves,  Richard 
von  Greiffenklau,  by  permission  of 
Charles,  had  undertaken  the  office  of 
mediator.  Richard,  who  was  intimate 
with  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  and  a 
staunch  Roman  Catholic,  wished,  by  ac- 
commodating this  affair,  to  render  a  ser- 
vice to  his  friend  as  well  as  to  the  Church. 
In  the  evening  of  Monday,  22nd  April, 

*  Wie  eine  holdselige  Person  er  ist. — (Meuzel 
Magaz.  i.  207.) 

t  War  noch  nicht  aiif  meiner  Seite. — (L.  Opp. 
xvii.  589.) 


just  as  Luther  was  sitting  down  to  table, 
a  messenger  from  this  prelate  brought 
him  word  that  the  Archbishop  wished  to 
see  him  on  the  day  after  the  morrow, 
Wednesday,  at  six  in  the  morning. 

The  chaplain,  attended  by  Sturm,  the 
Imperial  herald,  was  at  Luther's  door 
before  six  in  the  morning  of  that  day. 
But  already,  and  as  early  as  four  o'clock, 
Aleander  had  summoned  Cochlseus  to  his 
side.  The  Nuncio  had  quickly  discern- 
ed in  the  man  whom  Capito  had  intro- 
duced to  him  a  devoted  instrument  of  the 
Roman  Court,  and  one  on  whom  he 
could  rely  as  upon  himself.  Not  being 
himself  able  to  attend  the  interview,  Al- 
eander wished  much  to  have  some  one 
in  place  of  himself.  "  Do  you  go  direct 
to  the  Archbishop  of  Treves,"  said  he  to 
the  Dean  of  Frankfort,  "  take  no  part  in 
the  discussion,  but  merely  pay  attention 
to  all  that  is  said,  so  as  to  be  able  to  bring 
me  an  exact  report."*  The  Reformer 
repaired,  accompanied  by  some  of  his 
friends,  to  the  Archbishop's  residence. 
He  found  the  Prelate  surrounded  by  the 
Margrave  Joachim  of  Brandenburg,  Duke 
George  of  Saxony,  the  Bishops  of  Bran- 
denburg and  Augsburg,  some  nobles  and 
deputies  of  the  free  cities,  and  other  civil- 
ians and  divines,  among  whom  were 
Cochlasus  and  Jerome  Wehe,  chancellor 
of  Baden.  The  latter,  a  learned  civilian, 
was  anxious  to  see  a  reformation  of  gen- 
eral morals  and  discipline  :  he  went  even 
further  in  his  wishes.  "  What  we  want," 
said  he,  "  is  that  the  word  of  God,  so  long 
hidden  under  a  bushel,  should  be  brought 
forward  in  all  its  brightness."!  This 
friend  to  conciliation  was  appointed  to 
conduct  the  conference.  Turning  kindly 
to  Luther,  he  said,  "  The  object  in  sum- 
moning you  hither  is  not  to  dispute  with 
you, — but  to  urge  upon  you  brotherly 
exhortations.  You  know  how  carefully 
Scripture  enjoins  us  to  beware  of  the 
'  arrow  that  flietli  by  day,  and  the  de- 
struction that  wasteth  at  noon-day.'  The 
adversary  of  the  human  race  has  impel- 
led you  to  the  publishing  of  certain 
things  contrary  to  the  faith.  Consider 
your  own  eternal  interest,  and  that  of  the 

*  Aleander,  mane  liora  quarta  vocaverit  ad  se 
Cochlaeum,  jubens  ut  .  .  .  audiret  solum  .  .  . — 
(Cochlaeus,  p.  36.) 

t  Dass  das  Wort  Gottes,  welches  so  lange 
unter  dem  Scheffel  verborgen  gesteckt,  heller 
scheine  .  . . — (Seckend.  364.) 


THE   DIET   OF   WORMS,   1521. 


309 


Empire.  Have  a  care,  lest  those  whom 
Christ  hath  redeemed  from  eternal  death 
by  his  blood,  should  by  you  be  led  away 
to  their  everlasting  ruin.  Cease  to  set 
up  your  judgment  against  that  of  holy 
Councils.  Unless  we  adhere  to  the  de- 
crees of  our  fathers,  there  will  be  nothing 
but  confusion  in  the  Church.  The  emi- 
nent princes  who  hear  me  are  quite  in- 
tent upon  saving  you  ;  but  if  you  persist, 
the  Emperor  will  banish  you  beyond  the 
Empire,*  and  no  part  of  the  world  will 
then  be  able  to  give  you  shelter.  Con- 
sider therefore  the  fate  that  awaits  you." 

"  Most  serene  Princes,"  answered  Lu- 
ther, "  I  thank  you  for  your  kind  concern, 
for  I  am  but  a  poor  man, — of  too  mean 
station  to  look  to  be  advised  by  such 
great  lords  ;"t — an(i  ne  proceeded  to  say, 
"I  have  not  censured  all  the  Councils, 
but  only  the  Council  of  Constance,  for 
their  condemnation  of  John  Huss's  doc- 
trine :  namely,  that  the  Christian  Church 
is  the  assembly  of  those  who  are  predestina- 
ted to  salvatioii.%  It  condemned  that  ar- 
ticle of  our  faith,  J  believe  in  the  holy 
universal  Church,  and  even  the  word  of 
God."  He  added  :  "lam  told  that  my 
preaching  gives  occasion  of  stumbling. 
I  answer,  that  it  is  impossible  to  preach 
the  gospel  of  Christ  without  offence. 
Why  then  should  any  such  fear  separate 
me  from  the  Lord,  and  that  divine  word 
which  alone  is  truth  1  No,  rather  will  I 
give  up  body,  blood,  and  life  itself!  .  .  ." 

The  Princes  and  Doctors  having  delib- 
erated, Luther  was  called  in,  and  Wehe 
resumed  with  mildness : — "  We  must 
honour  the  powers  that  be,  even  when 
they  err  :  and  sacrifice  much  for  the  sake 
of  charity."  Then  with  more  earnest- 
ness he  added  : — "  Submit  to  the  judg- 
ment of  the  Emperor,  and  fear  nothing." 

Luther.  "  I  consent  with  all  my  heart 
to  the  Emperor,  the  Princes,  and  even 
the  humblest  Christian's  examining  and 
judging  of  my  writings,  but  on  one  single 
condition,  namely,  that  they  take  God's 
word  for  their  guide.  Men  have  nothing 
to  do,  but  to  render  obedience  to  that. 
My  conscience  is  in  dependance  upon 

*  Und  aus  deiri  Reich  verstossen. — (L.  Opp. 
(L.)  xvii.  582.     Sleidan,  i.  97.)  _ 

t  Agnosco  enim  me  homuncionem,  longe  vil- 
iorem  esse,  quam  ut  a  tantis  Principibus  .  .  . — 
(L.  Opp.  lat.  p.  167.) 

\  Ecclesia  Christi  est  universitas  praedestina- 
torum. — (Ibid.) 


that  word,  and  I  am  the  bounden  subject 
of  its  authority."* 

The  Elector  of  Brandenburg.  "  If 
I  understand  you,  Doctor,  you  will  ac- 
knowledge no  other  judge  than  the  Holy 
Scripture  ?" 

Luther.  "  Yes,  my  lord,  exactly  so — 
that  is  my  resolve." f  On  this  the 
Princes  and  Doctors  withdrew,  but  the 
excellent  Archbishop  of  Treves  was  still 
loath  to  forego  his  undertaking.  u  Come 
with  me,"  said  he  to  Luther,  passing  into 
his  private  apartment,  and  at  the  same 
time  he  desired  John  Eck  and  Cochla?us 
of  the  one  side,  and  Schurff  and  Amsdorff 
of  the  other  party  to  follow.  "  Why," 
asked  Eck,  with  warmth,  "  continually 
appeal  to  the  Holy  Scripture  1 — it  is  from 
thence  come  all  heresies."  But  Luther, 
says  his  friend  Mathesius,  was  unmoved 
as  a  rock,  backed  by  the  true  rock,  the 
word  of  the  Lord.  "  The  Pope,"  said 
he,  "  is  no  judge  in  things  pertaining  to 
the  word  of  the  Lord.  It  is  the  duty  of 
every  Christian  to  see  and  understand 
how  to  live  and  die."|  They  separated. 
The  partisans  of  the  Papacjrfelt  Luther's 
superiority,  and  ascribed  it  to  the  circum- 
stance of  there  being  no  one  at  hand 
capable  of  answering  him.  "  If  the  Em- 
peror had  managed  well,"  says  Cochlseus, 
"  when  he  cited  Luther  to  Worms,  he 
would  have  also  summoned  theologians 
capable  of  refuting  his  errors." 

The  Archbishop  of  Treves  repaired  to 
the  Diet,  and  communicated  the  failure 
of  his  negociation.  The  surprise  of  the 
young  Emperor  was  only  equalled  t>y 
his  indignation.  "  It  is  high  time,"  said 
he,  "to  put  an  end  to  this  business." 
The  Archbishop  requesting  a  delay  of 
two  days,  and  all  the  Diet  joining  in  the 
request,  Charles  V.  gave  consent.  Ale- 
ander,  losing  patience,  broke  forth  in 
complaints.^ 

While  these  things  were  passing  in 
the  Diet,  Cochlseus  burned  with  desire 
to  bear  off  the  victory  denied  to  prelates 
and  kings.     Though  he  had  ever  and 

*  Sie-  wollten  sein  Gewissen,  das  mit  Gottes 
Wort  und  heiliger  Schrifft  gebunden  und  gefan- 
gen  ware,  nieht  dringen. — (Math.  p.  57.) 

tJa  darauf  stehe  Ich.— (L.  Opp.  (L.)  xviL 
558.) 

t  Ein  Christenmensch  muss  zusehen  und  rich- 
ten  .  .— (L.  Epp.  i.  604.) 

§  De  iis  Aleander  acerrime  conquestus  est. — 
(Pallavicini,  i.  120.) 


310 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


anon  thrown  out  a  word,  in  the  presence 
of  the  Archbishop  of  Treves,  the  injunc- 
tion of  Aleander  to  maintain  silence  had 
restrained  him.  He  resolved  to  make 
amends  for  this  restraint,  and  lost  no 
time,  after  giving  the  Pope's  Nuncio  an 
account  of  his  mission,  to  present  him- 
self at  Luther's  lodging.  Advancing  to 
him  in  a  friendly  manner,  he  expressed 
his  regret  at  the  Emperor's  resolution. 
After  they  had  dined  together,  the  con- 
versation grew  more  animated.*  Coch- 
lffius  urged  Luther  to  retract.  The  latter 
shook  his  head.  Several  persons  who 
sat  at  table  could  with  difficulty  control 
their  feelings.  They  expressed  their  in- 
dignation that  the  Papists,  instead  of  con- 
vincing, should  seek  to  restrain  the  Re- 
former by  force.  "  Well,"  _  said  Cochlae- 
us  to  Luther,  growing  impatient  of  these 
reproaches,  "  I  offer  to  dispute  publicly 
with  you  if  you  will  forego  your  safe- 
conduct."!  Of  all  things  what  Luther 
most  wished  was  a  public  discussion. 
What  was  he  to  do  ?  To  throw  aside 
his  safe-conduct  would  be  to  risk  destruc- 
tion :  to  decline  Cochlseus's  challenge 
would  be  casting  doubt  upon  his  cause. 
The  guests  saw  in  this  proposal  an  act 
of  perfidy  planned  with  Aleander,  whom 
the  Dean  had  just  left.  Vollrat  von 
Watzdorf  relieved  Luther  from  the  em- 
barrassment of  a  decision.  Warm  in  his 
temper,  and  roused  to  indignation  at  the 
thought  of  a  stratagem  devised  for  de- 
livering Luther  into  the  hands  of  the  ex- 
ecutioner,;]; he  rose  with  great  warmth, 
and  seizing  the  terrified  priest  turned 
him  out  of  doors  ;  and  blood  might  have 
flowed  had  not  the  guests  interposed  be- 
tween the  angry  knight  and  the  trem- 
bling Cochlaeus.§  The  latter  withdrew 
in  confusion  from  the  hotel  of  the 
Knights  of  Rhodes.  Doubtless  it  was 
nothing  but  the  warmth  of  argument 
that  had  drawn  forth  the  words  let  slip 
by  the  Dean :  doubtless  there  was  no 
design  concocted  with  Aleander  to  draw 
Luther  into  the  toils.     Cochheus  denies 

*  Peracto  prandio. — (Coehlseus,  p.  36.) 

t  Und  wollte  mit  mir  disputiren,  ich  sollte  al- 
lein  das  Geloit  aufsagen. — (L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii. 
589.) 

t  Atque  ita  traderat  eum  camificiua?. — (Coch- 
lteus,  p.  36.) 

§  Das  Ihm  das  Blut  uber  den  KopfF  gelaufen 
ware,  wo  man  nicht  gewehret  hatte. — (L.  Opp. 
(L.)  xvii.  589.) 


it,  and  we  prefer  to  believe  his  assurance. 
Yet,  true  it  is,  he  had  but  just  quitted  the 
Nuncio  to  present  himself  at  Luther's 
lodging. 

That  same  evening  the  Archbishop  of 
Treves  assembled  at  supper  the  persons 
who  had  been  present  in  the  morning's 
conference.  He  sought  thus  to  unbend 
the  minds  of  the  parties  and  dispose  them 
in  favour  of  reconciliation.  Luther,  with 
all  his  intrepid  firmness  in  presence  of 
arbiters  or  judges,  was  remarkable  in 
private  intercourse  for  a  good  nature  and 
cheerfulness,  which  gave  ground  to  hope 
almost  anything  from  him.  The  Arch- 
bishop's Chancellor,  who  had  displayed 
so  much  stiffness  in  his  official  bearing, 
concurred  in  this  plan,  and  towards  the 
end  of  the  repast,  gave  Luther's  health. 
The  latter  was  about  to  return  the  com- 
pliment,— the  wine  was  poured  out,  and 
according  to  his  custom  he  had  made  the 
sign  of  the  cross  on  his  glass  ;  when  all 
of  a  sudden  the  glass  burst  in  his  hands, 
and  the  wine  was  spilt  upon  the  table. 
The  guests  were  thunderstruck.  Some 
of  Luther's  friends  exclaimed,  "  It  must 
have  been  poisoned,"*  but  the  Doctor, 
without  discomposure,  answered  with  a 
smile — "  Dear  friends,  either  this  wine 
was  not  destined  for  me, — or  it  would 
have  disagreed  with  me  :"  adding  calmly 
— "No  doubt  the  glass  has  flown,  be- 
cause in  washing,  it  was  plunged  too 
suddenly  in  cold  water."  These  simple 
words  have  something  of  grandeur  about 
them  in  his  circumstances,  and  shew  his 
unruffled  peace.  We  cannot  hence  infer 
that  the  Romanists  intended  to  poison 
Luther,  above  all,  at  the  table  of  the 
Archbishop  of  Treves.  This  repast  had 
no  effect  one  way  or  another.  Neither 
human  applause,  nor  any  fear  of  man 
could  shake  the  Reformer's  decision.  It 
was  from  above ! 

On  the  morning  of  Thursday,  the  25th 
of  April,  the  Chancellor  Wehe  and  Doc- 
tor Peutinger  of  Augsburg,  the  Empe- 
ror's counsellor,  who  had  expressed  much 
friendship  for  Luther  on  occasion  of  his 
interview  with  De  Vio,  repaired  to  the 

*  Es  miisse  Gift  darinnen  gewesen  seyn. — 
Luther  does  not  mention  this  circumstance,  but 
his  friend  Razeberg,  physician  to  the  Elector 
John  Frederic,  records  it  in  a  manuscript  history, 
found  in  the  library  of  Gotha,  and  says  he  re- 
ceived it  from  an  eye-witness. 


THE  DIET  OF  WORMS,  1521. 


311 


hotel  of  "  the  Knights  of  Rhodes."     The 
Elector  of  Saxony   sent  Frederic   Von 
Thun,  and  another  of  his  council,  to  be 
present  at  the  conference.     "  Rely  upon 
us,"  said  Wehe  and  Peutinger,  earnestly 
desirous  at  any  sacrifice  to  prevent  the 
schism  which  was  on  the  point  of  divid- 
ing the  Church — "  this  business  shall  be 
concluded  in  a  Christian  spirit ;  take  our 
word  for  it."     "  I  answer  at  once,"  said 
Luther ;  "  I   consent  to   forego  my  safe- 
conduct,*  and  resign  ,my  person  and  my 
life  to  the  Emperor's  disposal ;  but  as  to 
the  word  of  God  .  .  .  Never!"     Frede- 
ric Von  Thun,  in  strong  emotion,  stood  up, 
and  addressing  the  two  envoys,  said,  "  Is 
not  that  enough  ?     Is  not  such  a  sacrifice 
sufficient  ?"      And   then,   protesting   he 
would  hear  no  more,  he  withdrew.     On 
this    Wehe    and    Peutinger,   hoping   to 
succeed  better  with  the  Doctor  himself, 
seated  themselves  at  his  side.      "  Submit 
to  the  Diet,"  said  they  to  him.     "  No," 
answered   Luther,   "  for    it    is    written, 
'Cursed   is  he  who  trusteth  in  man.'" 
(Jeremiah   xvii.)     Wehe  and  Peutinger 
redoubled  their  exhortations  and  instan- 
ces,— pressing  the  Reformer  more  and 
more  closely  ; — Luther,  worn  out,  arose, 
and  made  sign  to  them  to  retire,  saying : 
"  I  will  allow  no  man  to  exalt  himself 
above  God's  word."f — "  Think  better  of 
it,"  said  they  as  they  withdrew ;    "  we 
will  call  on  you  again  in  the  afternoon." 
They  came,  according  to  appointment, 
but  aware  that  Luther  would  not  yield  the 
point,  they  brought  with  them  a  new  propo- 
sal.    Luther  has  declined  to  acknowledge 
the  Pope,  the  Emperor,  and  the  Diet,  there 
was  yet  an  authority  which  he  himself 
had  formerly  invoked ;  a  General  Coun- 
cil.    Doubtless  such  a  suggestion  would 
call  forth  the  anger  of  Rome,  but  it  was 
a  last  plank.     The  delegates,  therefore, 
proposed  to  Luther  an  appeal  to  a  Coun- 
cil.    He  had  only  to  accede  to  the  offer 
without   entering    into  points  of  detail. 
Years  must  elapse  before  the  difficulties 
the  Pope  would  interpose  in  the  way  of 
a  Council  could  be  removed.     A  gain 
of  some  years  was  everything  to  the  Re- 
formation and   the  Reformer.     God,  in 
the  progress  of  events,  would  in  that  time 

*  Er  wollte  ehe  das  Geleit  aufsageu  .  .  . — (L. 
Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  589.) 

t  Er  wollte  kurtzrum  Menschen  iiber  Gottes 
Wort  nicht  erkennea. — (L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  583.) 


bring  about  great  changes.  But  Luther 
put  right  above  all  things  :  he  had  no 
desire  to  deliver  himself  at  the  expense 
of  the  Truth,  even  though  a  silent  dis- 
simulation of  it  should  be  all  required  of 
him.  "  I  consent, — but,"  he  answered, 
and  the  condition  involved  an  appeal 
from  the  Council  as  judge, — "on  condi- 
tion that  the  Council  should  decide  ac- 
cording to  Holy  Scripture.'1* 

Peutinger  and  Wehe,  who  had  no 
idea  of  a  Council  deciding  otherwise, 
hastened,  overjoyed,  to  the  Archbishop. 
"  Doctor  Martin,"  said  they,  "  will  sub- 
mit his  writings  to  the  judgment  of  a 
Council."  The  Archbishop  was  prepa- 
ring to  communicate  the  intelligence  to 
the  Emperor,  when  a  doubt  crossed  his 
mind  ;  he  sent  for  Luther. 

Richard  Von  GreifFenklau  was  alone 
when  the  Doctor  arrived.  "  Dear  Doc- 
tor," said  the  Archbishop,  with  much 
kindness  of  manner,  f  "my  doctors  as- 
sure me  that  you  consent  to  submit  your 
cause  without  reserve  to  the  decision  of 
a  Council." — "  My  Lord,"  answered  Lu- 
ther, "  I  can-  endure  any  thing  except  to 
abandon  the  Holy  Scripture.'"  The  Arch- 
bishop saw  at  once  that  Wehe  and  Peu- 
tinger had  not  fully  explained  the  facts. 
Never  could  Rome  give  her  consent  to  a 
Council  which  should  take  Scripture 
alone  for  its  guide.  "  It  was  requiring," 
says  Pallavicini,  "  that  one  of  weak  sight 
should  read  very  small  writing,  and  at 
the  same  moment  refusing  him  the  use 
of  glasses.":):  The  good  Archbishop 
sighed.  "  It  was  of  little  use,"  said  he, 
"  my  sending  for  you.  What  would 
have  been  the  consequence  if  I  had 
gone  direct  to  bear  the  message  to  the 
Emperor  ?" 

The  unshaken  firmness  and  upright- 
ness of  Luther  may  well  astonish  us. 
They  will,  however,  be  comprehended 
and  honoured  by  all  who  know  the 
righteousness  of  God.  Seldom  has  a 
nobler  testimony  been  borne  to  the  un- 
changeable word  of  the  Lord  at  the  peril 
of  the  liberty  and  life  of  the  man  who 
thus  bore  witness. 

"  Well,  then,"  said  the  venerable  Pre- 
*  Dass  dariiber  aus  der  heiligen  Schrifft  ges- 
prochen. — (Ibid.  584.) 

t  Ganz  gut  und  mehr  denn  gnaedig. — (L.  Epp. 
i.  604.) 

X  Simulque  conspiciliorun  omnium  usum  ne- 
gare.— (L.  Epp.  i.  110.) 


312 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFpRMATION. 


late  addressing  Luther,  "let  me  hear 
your  own  remedy  for  the  evil." 

Luther  was  silent  for  an  instant. 
"My  lord,  I  know  of  none  but  what 
is  found  in  that  word  of  Gamaliel:  'if 
this  work  be  of  men,  it  will  come  to 
nought.  But  if  it  be  of  God  ye  can- 
not overthrow  it,  lest  haply  ye  be  found 
even  to  fight  against  God.'  Let  the 
Emperor,  the  Electors,  and  the  States  of 
the  Empire,  return  that  answer  to  the 
Pope." 

The  Archbishop.  "  At  least  retract 
some  articles." 

Luther.  "  Provided  they  be  not  those 
which  the  Council  of  Constance  has  con- 
demned." 

The  Archbishop.  "  Alas,  I  fear  it  is 
precisely  those." 

Luther.  "  Then  far  sooner  take  my 
life  ;  rather  would  I  be  deprived  of  my 
limbs  than  give  up  the  plain  and  sincere, 
word  of  God."* 

The  Archbishop  at  length  understood 
Luther.  "Retire,"  said  he,  still  in  a  tone 
of  much  mildness.  "My  lord,"  resumed 
Luther,  "  may  I  beg  you  to  request  his 
Majesty  to  send  me  the  safe-conduct 
necessary  for  my  return  whence  I  came." 
— "  I  will  attend  to  it,"  replied  the  wor- 
thy Archbishop, — and  they  parted. 

Thus  terminated  these  negociations. 
The  attention  of  the  whole  Empire  had 
been  engaged  by  this  man,t  and  its  ur- 
gent entreaties  and  direful  threats  had 
not  caused  him  to  stumble.  His  erect 
bearing  under  the  iron  hand  of  the  Pope 
was  the  means  of  emancipating  the 
Church — and  the  commencement  of  a 
new  era.  The  interposition  of  Provi- 
dence was  manifest.  It  was  one  of  those 
grand  scenes  in  history  above  which  the 
majesty  of  God  seems  to  rise  and  hover. 
Luther  retired  in  company  with  Spalatin, 
who  had  joined  them  during  his  conver- 
sation with  the  Archbishop.  John  von 
Minkwitz,  counsellor  of  the  Elector  of 
Saxony,  had  been  taken  ill  at  Worms. 
The  two  friends  visited  him.  Luther 
comforted  the  sick  man  in  the  tenderest 
manner.  "  Farewell,"  said  he  as  he  left 
the  room,  "to-morrow  I  leave  Worms." 

Luther  was  not   mistaken.     Scarcely 

*  Ehe  Stumpf  und  Stiel  fahren  lassen  .  .  . — 
(L.  Opp.  (h.)  xvii.  584.) 

+  Totum  imperium  ad  se  conversum  specta- 
bat— (Pallavicini,  i.  120.) 


three  hours  had  elapsed  from  his  return 
to  his  hotel,  when  the  Chancellor  Eck, 
attended  by  the  Chancellor  of  the  Em- 
pire, and  a  notary,  presented  themselves. 

The  Chancellor  addressed  him  as  fol- 
lows : — "  Martin  Luther,  His  Imperial 
Majesty,  the  Electors,  Princes,  and  States 
of  the  Empire,  having  repeatedly  and  in 
various  ways, — but  in  vain, — exhorted 
you  to  submission, — the  Emperor,  in  his 
character  of  defender  of  the  Catholic 
faith,  finds  himself  compelled  to  resort  to 
other  measures.  He  therefore  orders  you 
to  return  to  whence  you  came,  within 
the  space  of  twenty-one  days,  and  pro- 
hibits you  from  disturbing  the  public 
peace  on  your  journey,  either  by  preach- 
ing or  writing." 

Luther  was  well  aware  that  this  mes- 
sage was  the  precursor  of  his  condemna- 
tion. "  It  has  happened  unto  me,"  an- 
swered he  mildly,  "  according  to  the  will 
of  the  Eternal.  Blessed  be  his  name  !" 
He  then  proceeded, — "  And  first,  I  hum- 
bly, and  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart, 
thank  his  Majesty,  the  Electors,  Princes, 
and  States  of  the  Empire,  that  they  have 
given  me  so  gracious  a  hearing.  I 
neither  have,  nor  ever  have  had,  a  wish 
but  for  one  thing  :  to  wit,  a  reformation 
of  the  Church  according  to  the  Holy 
Scripture.  I  am  ready  to  do  or  to  suffer 
all  things  for  obedience  to  the  Emperor's 
will.  Life  or  death,  honour  or  dishonour, 
I  will  bear.  I  make  but  one  reservation 
— the  preaching  of  the  Gospel ;  for,  says 
St.  Paul,  the  Word  of  God  is  not  to  be 
bound."     The  deputies  retired. 

On  Friday  morning  the  26th  of  April, 
the  Reformer's  friends  and  several  nobles 
assembled  at  Luther's  lodgings.*  Men 
took  delight  in  recognizing  in  the  chris- 
tian constancy  he  had  opposed  to  Charles 
and  to  the  Empire,  the  features  of  the  cele- 
brated character  of  antiquity : 

Justum  ac  tenacem  propositi  virum, 
Non  civium  ardor  prava  jubentium 

Non  vuitus  instantis  tyranni, 

Mente  quatit  golida  .  .  .  t 

All  were  eager  once  more,  and  per- 
haps for  the  last  time,  to  say  farewell  to 
the  intrepid  monk.  Luther  partook  of 
a  simple  repast.     And  now  he  must  bid 

*  Salutatis  patronis  et  amicis  qui  eum  fre- 
quentissimi  convenerunt  .  .  . — (L.  Opp.  lat.  ii. 
168.) 

t  Horat.  Od.  lib.  3. 


THE  DIET  OF  WORMS,   1521. 


313 


adieu  to  his  friends,  and  depart  far 
from  them  under  a  sky  overhung  with 
storms.  He  resolved  to  spend  this  solemn 
moment  in  the  presence  of  God.  He 
fortified  his  soul,  and  gave  his  blessing 
to  those  around  him.*  It  was  ten  o'clock. 
Luther  left  the  hotel,  attended  by  his 
friends  who  had  accompanied  him  to 
Worms.  Twenty  gentlemen  on  horse- 
back surrounded  the  waggon.  A  crowd 
accompanied  him  outside  the  city.  Sturm, 
the  Imperial  herald,  joined  him  shortly 
after  at  Oppenheim,  and  on  the  following 
day  the  party  arrived  at  Frankfort. 

Thus  did  Luther  leave  those  walls 
which  seemed  destined  to  become  his 
tomb.  His  heart  overflowed  with  praise 
to  God.  "  Satan  himself,"  said  he,  "  kept 
the  Pope's  citadel,  but  Christ  has  made 
a  wide  breach  in  it,  and  the  devil  has 
been  compelled  to  confess  that  Christ  is 
mightier  than  he."f 

"  The  day  of  the  Diet  of  Worms,"  says 
the  devout  Mathesius,  the  disciple  and 
friend  of  Luther,  "is  one  of  the  most 
glorious  given  to  the  earth  before  its 
great  catastrophe.":}:  The  conflict  at 
Worms  resounded  far  and  near,  and  as 
the  report  of  it  traversed  Europe  from 
the  northern  countries  to  the  mountains 
of  Switzerland,  and  the  towns  of  England, 
France,  and  Italy,  many  seized  with 
eagerness  the  mighty  weapons  of  the 
word  of  God. 

Arriving  at  Frankfort  on  the  evening 
of  Saturday  the  27th  of  April,  Luther, 
on  the  following  morning,  took  advan- 
tage of  a  moment  of  leisure,  the  first  he 
had  enjoyed  for  a  long  time  past,  to  des- 
patch a  short  letter,  replete  at  once  with 
familiarity  and  energy,  to  his  friend  Lu- 
cas Cranach,  the  celebrated  painter  at 
Wittemberg  :  "  My  service  to  you,  dear 
master  Lucas,"  said  he  :  "I  expected  his 
Majesty  would  assemble  fifty  learned 
doctors  to  convict  the  monk  outright. 
But  not  at  all.  Are  these  books  of  your 
writing  ?  Yes.  Will  you  retract  them  ? 
No  !  Well  begone  !  There's  the  whole 
history.  Deluded  Germans.  ....  how 
childishly  we  act ! — how  we  are  duped 

*  Seine  Freunde  gesegnet.— (Mathesius,  p. 
27.) 

t  Aber  Christus  macht  eui  Loch  derein. — (L. 
Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  589.) 

X  Diss  ist  der  herrlichen  grossen   Tag  einer 
vorm  Ende  der  Welt. — (p.  28.) 
40 


and  defrauded  by  Rome  !  Let  the  Jews 
sing  their  Yo  !  Yo  !  Yo !  But  a  pass- 
over  is  coming  for  us  also,  and  then  we 
will  sing  Hallelujah  !*  We  must  keep 
silence  and  endure  for  a  short  time.  '  A 
little  while  and  ye  shall  not  see  me,  and 
again  a  little  while  and  ye  shall  see  me,' 
said  Jesus  Christ.  I  trust  I  may  say  the 
same.  Farewell. — I  commend  you  all  to 
the  Eternal.  May  He  preserve  in  Christ 
your  understanding  and  your  faith,  from 
the  attacks  of  the  wolves  and  dragons 
of  Rome.     Amen." 

After  writing  this  rather  mysterious 
letter,  Luther  immediately  set  out  for 
Friedberg,  six  leagues  from  Frankfort. 
Time,  in  fact,  pressed.  On  the  following 
morning  he  again  collected  his  thoughts, 
and  resolved  once  more  to  address 
Charles  the  Fifth.  He  was  unwilling 
to  appear  in  the  light  of  a  guilty  rebel. 
In  his  letter  he  explained  clearly  the 
obedience  the  Christian  owes  to  king, — 
and  that  which  is  due  to  God, — and  the 
point  at  whicli  the  former  must  give  place 
to  the  latter.  As  we  read  Luther's  letter, 
we  are  involuntarily  reminded  of  the 
saying  of  the  greatest  autocrat  of  modern 
times  :  "  My  dominion  ends  where  that 
of  conscience  commences."! 

"God  is  my  witness,  who  knoweth 
the  thoughts,"  said  Luther,  "  that  I  am 
ready  with  all  my  heart  to  obey  your 
Majesty  through  good  or  evil  report,  in 
life  or  in  death,  with  no  one  exception, 
save  the  word  of  God,  by  which  man 
liveth.  In  all  the  affairs  of  this  life  my 
fidelity  shall  be  unshaken,  for,  in  these, 
loss  or  gain  has  nothing  to  do  with  sal- 
vation. But  it  is  contrary  to  the  will 
of  God,  that  man  should  be  subject  to 
man,  in  that  which  pertains  to  eternal 
life.  Subjection  in  spirituals  is  a  real 
worship,  and  should  be  rendered  only  to 
the  Creator."| 

Luther  also  wrote  in  German  a  letter  to 
the  States.     It  was  nearly  to  the  same 

*  Es  miissen  die  Juden  einmal  singen  Io,  Io, 
Io !  .  .  .— (L.  Epp.  i.  589.)  The  shouts  of  the 
Jews  at  the  crucifixion  are  here  taken  to  repre- 
sent the  triumphant  songs  of  the  partisans  of  Po- 
pery on  the  downfall  of  Luther ;  but  the  Re- 
former hears  at  a  distance  the  hallelujahs  of  de- 
liverance. 

t  Napoleon  to  the  Protestant  deputies  after 
his  accession  to  the  Empire. 

X  Nam  ea  fides  et  submissio  proprie  est  vera 
ilia  latria  et  adoratio  Dei . . .— (L.  Epp.  i.  592.) 


314 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


effect,  and  recapitulated  what  had  taken 
place  at  Worms.  This  letter  was  several 
times  transcribed  and  circulated  through- 
out the  Empire,  exciting  everywhere, 
says  Cochlaeus,  the  feelings  of  the  people 
against  the  Emperor  and  the  upper 
ranks  of  the  clergy.* 

Early  the  following  morning  Luther 
wrote  a  note  to  Spalatin,  enclosing  in  it 
the  two  letters  he  had  written  on  the 
previous  evening.  He  sent  back  to 
Worms  the  herald  Sturm,  who  had  been 
gained  to  the  cause  of  the  Gospel.  Em- 
bracing him,  he  parted  from  him,  and 
set  out  in  haste  for  Grunberg. 

On  the  Tuesday,  when  he  was  within 
two  leagues  distance  from  Hirschfeld,  he 
was  met  by  the  Chancellor  to  the  Prince 
Abbot  of  the  city,  who  had  come  out  to 
welcome  him.  Soon  after  appeared  a 
troop  of  horsemen,  headed  by  the  Abbot. 
The  latter  dismounted,  Luther  stepped 
from  his  waggon.  The  Prince  and  the 
Reformer  embraced,  and  entered  Hirsch- 
feld together.  The  Senate  received  them 
at  the  gates.  Thus  dignitaries  of  the 
Church  opened  their  arms  to  a  monk 
whom  the  Pope  had  anathematised,  and 
the  higher  classes  did  honour  to  a  man 
whom  the  Emperor  had  placed  under 
ban  of  the  empire,  f 

"  To-morrow  morning,  at  five  o'clock, 
we  shall  be  at  church,"  said  the  Prince, 
rising  from  a  repast  to  which  he  had  in- 
vited the  Reformer.  He  insisted  on  his 
occupying  his  own  apartment.  The  fol- 
lowing day  Luther  preached,  and  the 
Prince  Abbot  and  his  suite  attended  the 
sermon. 

In  the  evening  of  that  day  Luther 
reached  Eisenach,  the  scene  of  his  child- 
hood. All  his  acquaintance  in  the  place 
came  round  him,  and  entreated  him  to 
preach :  and  the  following  day  they  es- 
corted him  to  church.  Upon  this  the 
curate  appeared,  attended  by  a  notary 
and  witnesses.  He  stepped  forward, 
trembling  between  fear  of  losing  his  ap- 
pointment and  of  opposing  the  energetic 
man  before  him.  "  I  must  protest"  said 
he  at  last,  with  embarrassment,  "  against 

*  Per  chalcographos  multiplicata  et  in  populos 
■dispersa  est  ea  epistola  .  .  .  Cssari  autem  et  cler- 
icis  odium  populare,  &c. — (Cochlaeus,  p.  38.) 

t  Senatus  intra  portas  nos  excepit. — (L.  Epp. 
ki.  6.; 


the  liberty  you  are  about  to  take."  Lu- 
ther ascended  the  pulpit,  and  a  voice, 
which,  three-and-twenty  years  before, 
had  sung  in  the  streets  of  that  same  town 
for  a  morsel  of  bread,  proclaimed  through 
the  vaulted  roofs  of  its  venerable  church 
the  word  which  was  beginning  to 
agitate  the  world.  The  sermon  being 
over,  the  curate  stepped  up  to  Luther. 
He  held  in  his  hand  the  record  drawn 
up  by  the  notary,  and  regularly  wit- 
nessed, to  protect  the  curate  from  dismis- 
sal. "  I  ask  your  pardon,"  said  he,  hum- 
bly :  "  I  take  this  course  from  fear  of  the 
tyrants  that  oppress  the  Church. ,:* 

And  truly  there  was  ground  for  ap- 
prehension. Affairs  at  Worms  had 
changed  their  aspect,  and  Aleander 
reigned  paramount.  "  The  only  pros- 
pect for  Luther  is  banishment,"  wrote 
Frederic  to  his  brother,  Duke  John, 
u«othing  can  save  him.  If  God  per- 
mits me  to  see  you  again,  I  shall  have 
strange  things  to  tell  you.  Not  only 
Annas  and  Caiaphas,  but  Pilate  and 
Herod  have  conspired  against  him." 
Frederic  had  no  desire  to  prolong  his 
stay,  and  accordingly  quitted  Worms,  as 
did  the  Elector  Palatine.  The  Elector 
Archbishop  of  Cologne  also  took  his  de- 
parture from  the  Diet,  and  the  inferior 
Princes  followed  the  example.  Deeming 
it  impossible  to  avert  the  blow,  they  pre- 
ferred, perhaps  unwisely,  to  quit  the 
place.  The  Spaniards,  Italians,  and  the 
most  ultra-montane  of  the  German 
Princes  alone  remained. 

Thus  Aleander  was  master  of  the 
field.  He  presented  to  Charles  a  rough 
draft  of  an  edict,  intended  to  serve  as  a 
model  for  that  the  Diet  was  about  to  pub- 
lish against  the  monk.  The  production 
of  the  Nuncio  pleased  the  incensed  Em- 
peror. He  assembled  the  members  of 
the  Diet  still  at  Worms  in  his  council 
chamber  and  read  to  them  Aleander's 
paper,  which,  as  Pallavicini  informs  us, 
was  approved  by  all  present. 

On  the  following  day,  which  was  a 
public  festival,  the  Emperor  repaired  to 
the  cathedral,  attended  by  the  nobles  of 
his  court.  The  service  being  gone 
through,  a  crowd  of  persons  thronged 
the  interior,  when  Aleander,  clothed  in 

*  Humiliter  tamen  excusante  .  .  ob  metum 
tyrannorum  suoruni. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  6.) 


THE   DIET    OF   WORMS,   1521. 


315 


the  insignia  of  his  order,  approached 
Charles.*  He  held  in  his  hand  two 
copies  of  the  edict  against  Luther,  one  in 
Latin,  the  other  in  German,  and  kneeling 
before  his  Imperial  Majesty,  he  petition- 
ed Charles  to  affix  to  it  his  signature  and 
the  seal  of  the  Empire.  It  was  at  the 
moment  when  sacrifice  had  just  been  of- 
fered, when  the  incense  filled  the  temple, 
and  the  hymn  was  reverberating  in  the 
vaulted  roofs,  and,  as  it  were,  in  the  im- 
mediate presence  of  God,  that  the  seal 
was  to  be  set  to  the  destruction  of  the 
enemy  of  Rome.  The  Emperor,  in  the 
most  gracious  manner,!  took  a  pen,  and 
attached  his  signature  to  the  edict.  Ale- 
ander  withdrew  in  triumph,  and  instantly 
sent  the  decree  to  the  printer,  and  thence 
to  every  part  of  Christendom. J  This  re- 
sult of  Roman  diplomacy  had  cost  no 
small  pains  to  the  Papacy.  We  learn 
from  Pallavicini  himself  that  the  edict, 
though  dated  the  8th  of  May,  was  writ- 
ten and  signed  some  days  later,  but  ante- 
dated, in  order  that  it  might  appear  sanc- 
tioned by  the  presence  of  the  whole 
Diet. 

"  We,  Charles  the  Fifth,  &c,"  said  the 
Emperor,  "  to  the  Electors,  Princes,  Prel- 
ates, and  all  to  whom  these  presents  shall 
come. 

"  The  Almighty  having  confided  to  us 
for  the  defence  of  our  holy  faith  more 
extensive  dominion  and  rule  than  He 
hath  given  to  any  of  our  predecessors, 
we  purpose  to  employ  all  our  powers  to 
preserve  our  holy  empire  from  being  pol- 
luted by  any  heresy. 

';  The  Augustine  monk,  Martin  Lu- 
ther, regardless  of  our  exhortations,  has 
madly  attacked  the  holy  Church,  and  at- 
tempted to  destroy  it  by  writings  full  of 
blasphemy.  He  has  shamefully  vilified 
the  unalterable  law  of  holy  marriage ; 
he  has  laboured  to  incite  the  laity  to  im- 
brue their  hands  in  the  blood  of  their 
priests  ;$  and,  defying  all  authority,  has 
incessantly  excited  the  people  to  revolt, 
schism,  war,  murder,  theft,  incendiarism, 
and  the  utter  destruction  of  the  Christian 
faith  ....  In  a  word,  and  passing  over 

*  Cum  Cassar  in  templo  adesset  .  .  .  processit 
illi  obviam  Aleander. — (Pallavicini,  i.  122.) 

t  Festivissimo  vultu. — (Pallavicini,  i.  122.) 

t  Et  undique  pervulgata. — (Ibid.) 

§  Ihre  Hiinde  in  der  Priester  Blut  zu  waschen. 
— (L.  Opp.  (L.)  xvii.  598.) 


many  other  evil  intentions  this  being,, 
who  is  no  man,  but  Satan  himself  under 
the  semblance  of  a  man  in  a  monk's 
hood,*  has  collected,  in  one  offensive 
mass,  all  the  worst  heresies  of  former 
ages,  adding  his  own  to  the  number. 

"  We  have  therefore  dismissed  from 
our  presence  this  Luther,  whom  all  rea- 
sonable men  count  a  madman,  or  pos- 
sessed by  the  devil ;  and  it  is  our  inten- 
tion that  so  soon  as  the  term  of  his  safe- 
conduct  is  expired,  effectual  measures  be 
forthwith  taken  to  put  a  stop  to  his  fury. 

"  For  this  end,  and  on  pain  of  incur- 
ring the  penalty  of  treason,  we  hereby 
forbid  you  to  receive  the  said  Luther 
from  the  moment  when  the  said  term  is 
expired,  or  to  harbour  or  to  give  him 
meat  or  drink,  or  by  word  or  act,  pub- 
licly or  in  private,  to  aid  or  abet  him. 
We  further  enjoin  you  to  seize,  or  cause 
him  to  be  seized,  wherever  he  may  be, 
and  to  bring  him  before  us  without  delay, 
or  hold  him  in  durance  until  you  shall 
be  informed  how  to  deal  with  him,  and 
have  received  the  reward  due  to  your 
co-operation  in  this  holy  work. 

"  As  to  his  adherents,  you  are  enjoined 
to  seize  upon  them,  putting  them  down 
and  confiscating  their  property. 

"  Touching  his  writings — seeing  that 
the  best  of  food  is*  held  in  horror  by  all 
men  when  the  least  poison  is  mixed 
therewith,  how  much  more  should  such 
writings,  wherein  the  main  object  is  a 
mortal  venom,  be  not  merely  rejected, 
but  destroyed'?  You  will,  therefore, 
burn,  or  in  other  ways  utterly  destroy 
them. 

"  As  to  the  authors,  poets,  printers, 
painters,  venders,  or  purchasers,  of  cari- 
catures or  placards  against  the  Pope  or 
the  Church,  you  are  enjoined  to  seize  on 
their  persons  and  property,  and  deal 
with  them  as  may  seem  fit. 

"And  if  any  one,  whatever  may  be 
his  rank,  should  dare  to  act  contrary  to 
this  decree  of  our  Imperial  Majesty,  we 
command  that  he  be  placed  under  ban 
of  the  Empire. 

"  Let  each  one  observe  this  decree." 

Such  was  the  edict  signed  in  the  ca- 
thedral of  Worms.  It  was  more  than  a 
Roman  bull,  which   though   issued   in 

*  Nicht  ein  Mensch,  sondern  als  der  bose 
Feind  in  Gestalt  eines  Menschen  mit  angenom- 
mener  Monchshiitten  . .  . — (Ibid.) 


316 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


Italy  might  not  be  carried  into  execution 
in  Germany.  The  Emperor  himself  had 
spoken,  and  the  Diet  had  ratified  the  de- 
cree. The  whole  body  of  Romanists 
shouted  for  joy.  "  The  tragedy  is  over," 
exclaimed  they.  "  For  my  part,"  said 
Alphonso  Valdez,  a  Spaniard  of  Charles's 
court,  "  I  am  persuaded  it  is  not  the 
last  act,  but  the  beginning."*  Valdez 
clearly  perceived  that  the  movement  was 
in  the  Church,  the  people,  the  age, — and 
that  were  Luther  to  fall,  his  cause  would 
not  perish  with  him.  But  none  could 
help  seeing  the  imminent  and  inevitable 
danger  in  which  the  Reformer  was 
placed,  and  the  superstitious  multitude 
were  impressed  by  a  feeling  of  horror  at 
the  thought  of  that  incarnate  Satan 
whom  the  Emperor  pointed  to  as  clothed 
with  a  monk's  habit. 

The  man  against  whom  the  mighty 
ones  of  this  earth  were  thus  forging  their 
thunderbolts, — on  leaving  the  pulpit  of 
Eisenach,  endeavoured  to  muster  resolu- 
tion to  take  leave  of  some  of  his  dearest 
friends.  He  decided  not  to  take  the  road 
to  Gotha  and  Erfurth,  but  to  proceed  by 
way  of  the  village  of  Mora,  the  birth- 
place of  his  father,  in  order  once  more  to 
see  his  grandmother  (who  died  four 
months  afterwards,)  and  to  visit  his  uncle, 
Henry  Luther,  and  some  other  relations. 
Schurff,  Jonas,  and  Suaven  set  out  for 
Wittemberg  ;  Luther  entered  his  wag- 
gon, accompanied  by  Amsdorff,  and 
plunged  into  the  forest  of  Thuringen.f 

That  same  evening  he  arrived  in  the 
village  of  his  fathers.  The  aged  peasant 
pressed  to  her  heart  that  grandson  who 
had  dared  to  confront  the  Emperor  and 
the  Pope.  Luther  passed  the  following 
day  with  his  relations,  joyfully  contrast- 
ing its  sweet  tranquillity  with  the  turmoil 
of  Worms.  The  next  day  he  again  set 
out  in  company  with  Amsdorff  and  his 
brother  James.  It  was  in  these  secluded 
spots  that  the  Reformer's  fate  was  on  the 
point  of  being  decided.  They  skirted 
the  woods  of  Thuringen,  taking  the  path 
that  leads  to  Waltershausen.  As  the 
waggon  was  passing  a  narrow  defile 
near  the  ruined  church  of  Glisbach,  a 
short  distance  from  the  castle  of  Alten- 

*  Non  finem  sed  initium. — (P.  Martyris  Epp. 
p.  412.) 

t  Ad  carnem  meara  trans  sylvam  profectus. — 
(L.  Epp.  ii.  7.) 


stein,  suddenly  a  noise  was  Ireard,  and 
in  a  moment,  five  horsemen,  masked 
and  armed  from  head  to  foot,  fell  upon 
them.  His  brother  James,  as  soon  as  he 
caught  sight  of  the  assailants,  jumped 
from  the  waggon,  and  fled  as  fast  as  he 
could  without  uttering  a  word.  The 
driver  would  have  resisted.  "  Stop," 
cried  a  hoarse  voice,  and  instantly  one 
of  the  attacking  party  threw  him  to  the 
earth.*  Another  of  the  masks  grasped 
Amsdorff,  and  held  him  fast.  While 
this  was  doing,  the  three  horsemen  laid 
hold  on  Luther,  maintaining  profound 
silence.  They  forced  him  to  alight,  and 
throwing  a  knight's  cloak  over  his 
shoulders,  set  him  on  a  led  horse  that 
they  had  with  them.  This  done,  the 
two  other  masks  let  go  Amsdorff  and  the 
waggoner,  and  the  whole  five  sprang 
into  their  saddles.  One  dropped  his  cap, 
but  they  did  not  stop  to  recover  it ;  and 
in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  the  party  and 
their  prisoner  were  lost  in  the  thick 
gloom  of  the  forest.  At  first  they  took 
the  direction  of  Broderode :  but  they 
rapidly  changed  their  route,  and  without 
quitting  the  forest,  rode  first  in  one  di- 
rection and  then  in  another,  turning  their 
horses'  feet  to  baffte  any  attempt  to  track 
their  course.  Luther,  little  used  to  riding, 
was  soon  overcome  with  fatigue. f  His 
guides  permitted  him  to  stop  for  a  few 
instants.  He  rested  on  the  earth  beside 
a  beech  tree,  and  drank  some  water 
from  a  spring,  which  still  bears  his  name. 
His  brother  James,  continuing  his  flight 
from  the  scene  of  the  rencounter,  reached 
Waltershausen  that  evening.  The  dri- 
ver, hastily  throwing  himself  into  the 
waggon,  in  which  Amsdorff  had  already 
mounted,  galloped  his  horse  at  full  speed, 
and  conducted  Luther's  friend  to  Wittem- 
berg. At  Waltershausen,  at  Wittem- 
berg, in  the  open  country,  the  villages 
and  towns  on  the  route,  the  news  spread 
that  Luther  was  carried  off  Some  re- 
joiced at  the  report,  but  the  greater  num- 
ber were  struck  with  astonishment  and 
indignation, — and  soon  a  cry  of  grief  re- 
sounded throughout  Germany — "  Luther 
has  fallen  into  the    hands  of  his    ene- 


*  Dejectoque  in  solum  auriga  et  verberato. — 
(Pallav.  i.  122.) 

t  Longo  itinere,  novus  eques,  fessus. — (L.  Epp. 
ii.  3.) 


THE   DIET   OF  WORMS,   1521. 


317 


After  the  stirring  conflict  that  Lu- 
ther had  been  called  to  sustain,  it  had 
pleased  God  that  he  should  be  transfer- 
red to  a  place  of  repose  and  peace.  Af- 
ter raising  him  on  the  dazzling  stage  of 
Worms,  where  all  the  energies  of  the 
Reformer's  soul  had  been  roused  to  their 
highest  pitch,  God  had  prepared  for  him 
the  obscure  and  lowly  refuge  of  a  prison. 
He  draws  from  the  deepest  obscurity  the 
frail  instruments  by  which  He  designs 
to  bring  mighty  things  to  pass  ;  and  then 
when  He  has  suffered  them  to  shine  for 
a  while  on  an  illumined  stage,  He  dis- 
misses them  again  to  obscurity.  The 
Reformation  was  to  be  brought  about  by 
other  steps  than  violent  struggles  or  pub- 
lic tribunals.  Not  thus  does  the  leaven 
penetrate  the  body  of  the  people  : — the 
Spirit  of  God  seeks  stiller  channels.  The 
man  whom  the  champions  of  Rome  were 
pitilessly  persecuting,  was  to  disappear  for 
a  time  from  the  world.  It  was  needful 
that  his  personal  greatness  should  be 
hidden  in  shade,  that  the  revolution  then 
accomplishing  might  not  bear  the  im- 
press of  one  man.  It  was  fit  that  the 
man  should  be  put  aside  that  God  alone 
might  remain  to  move  by  his  Spirit  over 
the  abyss,  wherein  the  darkness  of  the 
middle  ages  was  sinking,  and  to  say, 
"  Let  there  be  light !"  in  order  that  there 
might  be  light. 

The  shades  of  evening  closing  in,  and 
no  one  being  now  able  to  observe  their 
track,  Luther's  escort  changed  their 
route.  It  was  nearly  eleven  o'clock  at 
night  when  they  arrived  at  the  foot  of  a 
hill.*  The  horses  slowly  climbed  the 
steep  ascent.  On  the  summit  stood  an 
ancient  fortress,  on  every  side  but  that 
by  which  they  approached  it,  surrounded 
by  the  black  forests  which  clothe  the 
mountains  of  Thuringen. 

It  was  to  the  lofty  and  isolated  castle 
of  Warlburg,  where  the  ancient  Land- 
graves in  earlier  times  had  fixed  their 
retreat,  that  Luther  was  thus  led.  The 
bolts  were  drawn  back,  the  iron  bars  fell, 
the  gates  unclosed,  the  Reformer  passed 
the  threshold,  and  the  doors  were  closed 
upon  him.  He  dismounted  in  an  inner 
court.  One  of  the  horsemen,  Burkard 
von  Hund,  lord  of  Altenstein,  then  left 

*  Hora  ferme  undecima  ad  mansionem  noctis 
perveni  in  tenebris. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  3.) 


him.  Another,  John  von  Berlepsch,  pro- 
vost of  Wartburg,  conducted  him  to  his 
apartment,  where  he  found  a  knight's 
garment  and  sword.  The  three  others 
followed,  and  took  away  his  ecclesiasti- 
cal habit,  attiring  him  in  the  knightly 
dress  prepared  for  him,  and  enjoining 
him  to  let  his  beard  and  hair  grow,*  that 
no  one  in  the  castle  might  know  who  he 
was.  The  attendants  of  the  castle  of 
Wartburg  were  to  know  the  prisoner 
only  by  the  name  of  knight  George. 
Luther  scarcely  recognized  himself  under 
his  singular  metamorphosis,  f  Left  at 
length  to  his  meditations,  he  had  leisure 
to  revolve  the  extraordinary  events  that 
had  befallen  him  at  Worms,  the  uncer- 
tain future  that  awaited  him,  and  his 
new  and  strange  abode.  From  the  nar- 
row windows  of  his  turret,  his  eye  dis- 
covered the  dark  untrodden  and  bound- 
less forest  which  surrounded  him.  "  It 
was  there,"  says  Mathesius,  his  friend 
and  biographer,  ';  that  Luther  was  shut 
in,  like  St.  Paul  in  his  prison  at  Rome." 
,  Frederic  von  Thun,  Philip  Feilitsch, 
and  Spalatin,  in  a  confidential  conversa- 
tion with  Luther,  by  order  of  the  Elector, 
had  not  disguised  from  him  that  his  lib- 
erty would  be  sacrificed  to  the  anger  of 
Charles,  and  of  the  Pope.|  Yet  this  forced 
abduction  was  so  involved  in  mystery, 
that  Frederic  himself  was  for  a  long 
time  ignorant  of  the  place  where  Luther 
was  concealed.  The  grief  of  those  who 
were  favourable  to  the  Reformation  con- 
tinued. Spring  passed  away ;  summer, 
autumn,  winter  succeeded  ; — the  sun  had 
run  its  annual  course,  and  the  walls  of 
the  Wartburg  still  held  their  prisoner. 
Truth  had  been  placed  under  interdict 
by  the  German  Diet ;  and  its  defender, 
immured  in  a  fortress,  was  no  longer  on 
the  stage  of  events ;  and  even  the  fate 
that  had  overtaken  him  was  unknown. 
Aleander  was  all  confidence,  and  the 
Reformation  appeared  lost  .  .  .  but  God 
reigns !  and  the  blow  which  seemed  to 
brino-  to  nothing  the  cause  of  the  Gospel, 
will  but  serve  to  rescue  its  undaunted 

*  Exutus  vestibus  meis  et  equestribus  indu- 
tus,  comam  ct  barbam  nutriens  .  . . — (L.  Epp.  ii. 
7.) 

t  Cum  ipse  mo  jamdudum  non  noverim. — 
(Ibid.) 

t  Seckendorf,  p.  3G5. 


318 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


servant,  and    diffuse   far  and  wide  the 
radiance  of  faith. 

Let  us  leave  Luther  a  captive  in  Ger- 
many, on  the  heights  of  the  Wartburg, 


and  let  us  see  what  God  was  then  bring- 
ing to  pass  in  other  countries  of  Chris- 
tendom. 


BOOK   VIII. 


THE   SWISS.— 1484— 1522. 


Demecracy— Mercenary  Service— The  Cottage  of  Wildhaus— The  Herdsman's  Family— Young 
Ulr-ic— Ulric  at  Bale — Ulrie  at  Berne — Jetzer  and  the  Ghost-^Jetzer's  Visions — Exposure  of  the 
Dominicans — Passion  for  Music — Wittembach — Schinner — The  Labyrinth — Zwingle  in  Italy — 
Principals  of  the  Reformation — Zwingle's  Studies — Zwingle's  Classical  Studies — Paris  and  Claris 
— Oswald  Myconius — OZcolampadius — Zwingle  and  Marignan — Alarm  of  the  Pope — Dawn  of 
the  Reformation — Effects  of  the  Defeat  at  Marignan — The  Two  Worlds — Our  Lady  of  the 
Eremites — A  Learned  Society — Zwingle  Transcribes  the  Scriptures — Zwingle  Opposes  Error 
— Effects  of  his  Preaching — Zwingle  and  the  Legate— The  Bishop  of  Constance— Stapfer  and 
Zwingle — The  Preachership — The  Caadidates — Zwingle's  Confession — Zwingle  Elected — 
Leaves  Einsidlen — Reception  by  the  Chapter — Zwingle's  Mode  of  Lecturing — Zwingle  opens 
the  Gospel — Effects  of  his  Preaching — Opposition — Familiar  Manner — Love  of  Music — Imita- 
tion of  Christ — The  Colporteur — Samson  at  Berne — The  Dean  of  Bremgarten — Henry  Bullin- 
ger — Samson  and  the  Dean — Zwingle's  Studies — Samson  and  the  Helvetic  Diet — The  Baths  of 
Pfeffers — The  Critical  Moment — Zwingle  Attacked  by  the  Plague — His  Sick  Bed  and  Hymn — 
General  Joy — The  Adversaries — Effect  of  the  Visitation — Myconius  and  Xyloctect — Myconius 
Goes  to  Lucerne — Capido  and  Hedio — Opposition  of  the  Monks — The  Unnatural  Son — Zwingle's 
Gentleness — Fall  and  Recovery  of  Man — Expiation  of  the  God-man — No  Merit  in  Good  Works 
— Power  of  Love  for  Christ — Effects  of  his  Preaching — Dejection  and  Courage — Zwingle  and 
Sttiheli — Violent  Attacks — The  Reformer  of  Beme — Halfer's  Dejection — Oswald  Persecuted — 
H.  Bullinger — Ceroid  Von  Knonau — Roubli  at  Bale — War  Between  Francis  and  Charles — 
Foreign  Service  of  the  Swiss — Ferment — Truth  Triumphs  Amidst  Opposition — The  Bishop's 
Deputies — The  Councils — The  Parties  Confronted — The  Coadjuter  and  Zwingle — Zwingle's 
Answer — Hofman's  Charge — Zwingle's  Reply — The  Bishop's  Mandates — The  Archeteles — 
The  Bishop  Appeals  to  the  Diet — Zwingle  and  the  Monks — The  Nuns  of  Oetenbach — Defeat 
of  Bicocca — Francis  Lambert — Preaches  at  Zurich — The  Commander  of  the  Johannites — Car- 
nival at  Berne — The  (i  Feeders  Upon  the  Dead  " — The  Scull  of  St.  Ann — Appenzel — Adultery 
and  Murder — Zwingle's  Marriage — Meeting  at  Einsidlen — Petition  to  the  Bishop — The  Meet- 
ing at  Einsidlen  Breaks  Up — A  Scene  in  a  Convent — Myconius  at  Lucerne — Effects  of  the 
Petition — The  Council  and  the  Diet — Friburg — Treatment  of  Oswald — Oswald  Encouraged — 
Oswald  Quits  Lucerne — Zwingle's  Family  Alarmed — His  Resolution — Zwingle's  Prayer. 


At  the  period  when  the  decree  of  the 
Diet  of  Worms  was  announced,  a  stead- 
ily progressive  movement  was  begin- 
ning to  manifest  itself  in  the  quiet  val- 
leys of  Switzerland.  To  the  voices 
which  were  raised  in  the  plains  of  Upper 
and  Lower  Saxony,  responded  from  the 
mountains  of  Switzerland  the  bold  voices 
of  its  priests  and  herdsmen,  or  of  the 
inhabitants  of  its  martial  citites.  The 
partisans  of  Rome,  in  their  sudden  alarm, 
exclaimed  aloud  that  a  vast  and  formida- 
ble conspiracy  was  every  where  forming 
against  the  Church.  The  friends  of  the 
Gospel  joyfully  replied,  that  as  in  spring- 
time the  breath  of  life  is  felt  from  the 
sea-shore  to  the  mountain  top,  so  the 
Spirit  of  God  was  now  melting  the  ice 


of  a  long  winter  in  every  part  of  Christ- 
endom, and  clothing  with  verdure  and 
flowers  the  most  secluded  valleys,  and 
the  most  steep  and  barren  rocks.  Ger- 
many did  not  communicate  the  light  of 
truth  to  Switzerland, — Switzerland  to 
France, — France  to  England  :  all  these 
lands  received  it  from  God ;  just  as  no 
one  region  transmits  the  light  to  another, 
but  the  same  orb  of  splendour  dispenses 
it  direct  to  the  earth.  Raised  far  above 
men,  Christ,  the  Day-Star  from  on  high, 
was,  at  the  period  of  the  Reformation,  as 
at  the  first  introduction  of  the  Gospel,  the 
Divine  source  whence  came  the  light  of 
the  world.  One  and  the  same  doctrine 
suddenly  established  itself  in  the  16th 
century,  at  the  domestic  hearths,  and  in 


THE   SWISS— 1484— 1522. 


319 


the  places  of  worship,  of  nations  the  most 
distant  and  dissimilar.  It  was  because 
the  same  Spirit  was  every  where  present, 
producing  the  same  faith. 

The    Reformation   in    Germany   and 
that    in    Switzerland   demonstrate    this 
truth.      Zwingle  did    not  communicate  | 
with    Luther.      Doubtless   there   was    a 
bond  of  union  between  both  these  men  ;  ] 
but  we  must  seek  it  above  this  earth. 
He  who  gave  the  truth  from  heaven  to  j 
Luther,    gave    it     to    Zwingle.       Their ; 
communion  was  in  God.      "  I  began,"  . 
said  Zwingle,  "  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  | 
the    year  of  grace   1516 — that  is,  at    a 
time    when    the    name    of  Luther   had  i 
never  been  heard  among  these  countries.  I 
It  was  not  from  Luther  that  I  learned ' 
the    doctrine    of    Christ, — it   was    from 
God's  word.     If  Luther  preached  Christ, 
he  does  as  I  do  :  that  is  all."* 

But  whilst  the  several  Reformations 
derived  from  the  same  Spirit  a  compre- 
hensive unity, — they  also  bore  various 
peculiar  features  derived  from  the  differ- 
ent populations  in  the  midst  of  which 
they  were  wrought. 

We  have  already  slightly  sketched 
the  state  of  Switzerland  at  the  period  of 
the  Reformation.  We  will  add  but  a 
few  words.  In  Germany  the  principle 
of  monarchy  prevailed.  In  Switzerland 
the  democratic  principle  prevailed.  In 
Germany  the  Reformation  had  to  strug- 
gle against  the  authority  of  princes, — in 
Switzerland  against  the  will  of  the  peo- 
ple. A  popular  assembly,  more  readily 
swayed  than  a  single  individual,  is  more 
hasty  in  its  decisions.  The  victory  over 
Papal  rule,  which  beyond  the  Rhine 
had  cost  years,  required,  on  the  Swiss 
bank,  but  a  few  months  or  even  days. 

In  Germany  the  person  of  Luther 
rises  majestically  amid  the  Saxon  popu- 
lation ;  he  seems  almost  alone  in  his  at- 
tacks on  the  Roman  Colossus ;  and 
wherever  the  battle  rages  we  distinguish 
his  lofty  figure  on  the  field  of  conflict. 
Luther  is,  as  it  were,  the  monarch  of  the 
change  which  is  effected. — In  Switzer- 
land the  contest  is  begun,  at  one  and  the 
same  time,  in  several  cantons ; — there  is  a 

*  .  .  .  1516,  eo  scilicet  tempore,  quum  Lutheri 
nomen  in  nostris  regionibus  inauditum  adhuc 
erat  .  .  .  doctrinam  Christi  non  a  Luthero,  sed  ex 
verbo  Dei  didici. — (Zwinglii  Opera  curant. 
Schulero  et  Schultessio,  Turici,  vol.  i.  273,  276.) 


confederation  of  Reformers ; — their  very 
number  surprises  us.  Doubtless  one 
head  is  seen  above  the  rest, — but  no 
one  commands  : — it  is  a  republican  ma- 
gistracy, to  which  all  come,  bearing  the 
peculiar  features  of  their  origin.  We 
have  Wittembach,  Zwingle,  Capito,  Hel- 
ler, (Ecolampadius,  Oswald  Myconius. 
Leo  Juda,  Farell.  Calvin  ; — it  is  at  Gla- 
ris,  at  Bale,  at  Zurich,  at  Berne,  at  Neuf- 
chatel,  at  Geneva,  at  Lucerne,  at  Schaff- 
hausen,  at  Appenzel,  at  Saint  Gall,  and 
in  the  country  of  the  Grisons.  In  the 
German  Reformation  but  one  stage  is 
seen,  and  that  uniform  and  level,  like 
the  face  of  the  land ;  but  in  Switzerland 
the  Reformation  appears  broken,  like  the 
country  itself,  by  its  thousand  hills. 
Every  valley  has  its  own  hour  of  awa- 
kening, and  every  mountain  top  its  own 
radiance. 

A  calamitous  period  had  ensued  to  the 
Swiss  people  since  their  exploits  against 
the  Dukes  of  Burgundy.  Europe  hav- 
ing learned  the  strength  of  their  arms7 
had  drawn  them  from  their  fastnesses,  and 
deprived  them  of  their  independence,  by 
making  them  arbiters  in  the  field  of  bat- 
tle of  the  fortunes  of  her  states.  The 
hand  of  the  Swiss  peasant  turned  a 
sword  against  the  breast  of  his  country- 
man in  the  plains  of  Italy  and  France, 
while  foreign  intrigues  were  spreading 
discord  and  envy  in  those  Alpine  mead- 
ows, so  long  the  abode  of  simplicity  and 
peace.  Tempted  by  golden  bribes,  sonsT 
workmen,  and  servants,  quitted  by  stealth 
the  chalets  of  the  mountain  pastures  to 
tread  the  banks  of  the  Rhone  or  of  the 
Po.  Swiss  unity  had  yielded  to  the 
gradual  progress  of  mules  laden  with 
gold.  The  Reformation, — for  in  Swit- 
zerland the  Reformation  had  its  political 
aspect. — proposed  to  re-establish  the  unity 
and  primitive  virtue  of  the  cantons.  Its 
first  call  was,  that  the  people  should  tear 
in  pieces  the  nets  of  foreign  lures,  and 
with  one  heart  embrace  each  other  at 
the  foot  of  the  Cross.  But  its  generous 
desire  was  unheeded ;  Rome,  long  used 
to  recruit  in  the  Swiss  valleys  the  blood 
she  lavished  in  the  strife  for  power,  arose 
indignantly.  She  excited  the  Swiss 
against  their  own  countrymen ;  and 
passions,  till  then  unknown,  lacerated  the 
,  bosom  of  the  nation. 
I      Switzerland  stood  in  need  of  a  refor- 


320 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


mation.  The  Swiss  were,  it  is  true,  re- 
markable for  a  simplicity  and  credulity 
which  were  subjects  of  ridicule  to  the 
cunning  Italians;  but  they  were  also 
considered  to  be  of  all  nations  the  most 
stained  by  incontinency.  Astrologers 
ascribed  this  to  the  constellations,* — phi- 
losophers to  the  temperament  of  these 
indomitable  people, — moralists  to  the 
principles  of  the  Swiss,  who  counted 
deceit,  vinkindness,  and  calumny,  sins  of 
deeper  die  than  unchastity.f  Marriage 
Avas  forbidden  to  the  priests,  but  it 
would  have  been  difficult  to  find  one 
who  lived  in  true  celibacy.  Often  they 
were  enjoined  to  behave  themselves  not 
chastely — but  prudently.  This  was  one 
of  the  first  disorders  which  the  Refor- 
mation opposed.  It  is  time  to  take  a 
view  of  the  glimmerings  of  the  new  light 
that  was  dawning  in  the  Alps. 

Toward  the  middle  of  the  eleventh 
century,  two  pilgrims  penetrated  'from 
St.  Gall,  in  the  direction  of  the  moun- 
tains southward  of  that  ancient  monas- 
tery, and  reached  an  uninhabited  valley 
ten  leagues  in  extent. !  This  valley  is, 
on  the  north,  separated  from  the  canton 
of  Appenzel  by  the  lofty  mountains  of 
the  Sentis,  the  Sommerigkopf,  and  the 
Old  Man.  Southward  the  Kuhfirsten, 
with  its  seven  peaks,  rises  between  it 
and  the  Wallenses,  Sargans,  and  the 
Orisons.  Towards  the  east,  the  valley 
lies  open  to  the  rays  of  the  rising  sun, 
displaying  in  the  distance  the  magnifi- 
cent prospect  of  the  Tyrolese  Alps.  The 
two  pilgrims  arriving  at  the  source  of  a 
small  stream,  the  Thur,  erected  there 
two  cells.  By  slow  degrees  thinly-scat- 
tered habitations  appeared;  and  on  the 
most  elevated  site,  2010  feet  above  the 
lake  of  Zurich,  there  arose  around  a 
little  church  a  village  called  Wildhaus, 
or  the  Wildkouse,  on  which  now  depend 
two  hamlets,  Lisighaus,  or  Elizabeth's 
house,  and  Shonenboden.  On  those  ele- 
vated spots  the  earth  does  not  yield  its 
fruits.  A  green  sward  of  Alpine  fresh- 
ness clothes  the  whole  valley,  ascending 
the   sides   of  mountains,   above    which, 

*  "VVirz,  Helvetische  Kirchen  Geschichte,  iii. 
201. 

t  Sodomitis  melius  erit  in  die  judicii,  quam 
rerum  vel  honoris  ablatoribus.  (Hemrnerlin,  de 
anno  jubilaeo.) 

t  Tockenburg. 


enormous  rocks  rise  in  savage  grandeur 
towards  heaven. 

A  quarter  of  a  league  from  the  church, 
near  Lisighaus,  beside  a  footway  leading 
to  the  pastures  beyond  the  river,  there 
still  stands  a  solitary  house.  Tradition 
informs  us  that  the  wood  required  for 
the  building  was  felled  on  the  very  spot 
it  occupies.*  It  has  every  appearance 
of  remote  antiquity.  The  walls  are  thin, 
— the  windows  are  composed  of  small 
round  panes, — the  roof  is  formed  of  shin- 
gles, loaded  with  stones  to  prevent  the 
wind  carrying  them  away.  In  front 
gushes  a  limpid  stream. 

There  lived  in  this  house  towards  the 
close  of  the  fifteenth  century  a  man 
named  Zwingle,  amman  or  bailiff  of  the  t 
village.  The  family  of  Zwingle  or 
Zwingli  was  ancient,  and  in  great  es- 
teem among  the  dwellers  on  these 
mountains.!  Bartholomew,  the  bailiff's 
brother,  first  curate  of  the  parish,  and  in 
1487  dean  of  Wesen,  enjoyed  a  sort  of 
reputation  in  the  district,  j  The  wife  of 
the  amman  of  Wildhaus,  Margaret  Meili, 
whose  brother  John  was  afterwards  ab- 
bot of  the  convent  of  Fischingen  in 
Thurgovia,  had  already  borne  him  two 
sons,  Heniy  and  Klaus,  when  on  new 
year's  day,  1484,  just  seven  weeks  from 
the  birth  of  Luther,  a  third  son,  who 
was  afterwards  named  Ulric,  saw  the 
light  in  this  solitary  chalet.  §  Five  other 
sons,  John,  Wolfgang,  Bartholomew, 
James,  and  Andrew,  and  one  daughter, 
added  to  the  strength  of  this  Alpine  fam- 
ily. Not  a  man  in  the  neighbouring 
country  was  more  respected  than  the 
bailiff  Zwingle.  ||  His  character,  his 
office,  and  his  numerous  progeny,  made 
him  the  patriarch  of  these  hills.  He,  as 
well  as  his  sons,  led  a  shepherd  life. 
Soon  as  the  early  days  of  May  arrived 

*  Schuler's,  Zwingli's  Bildungs  Gesch.  p.  290. 

t  Diss  Geschliicht  der  Zwinglinen,  wass  in 
guter  Achtung  diesser  Landen,  als  ein  gut  alt 
ehrlich  Geschliicht. — (H.  Bullinger  Hist.  Besch- 
reibung  der  Eidg.  Gesch  ichten.)  This  precious 
work  exists  only  in  manuscript.  I  am  indebted 
for  the  communication  of  it  to  the  kindness  of 
M.  J.  G.  Hess.  The  orthography  of  the  manu- 
script is  preserved.  It  is  now  in  course  of  pub- 
lication. 

t  Ein  Verrumbter  Mann. — (Ibid.) 

§  "  Quadragesimum  octavum  agimus." — 
(Zwingle  to  Vadian,  17th  Sept.  1531.) 

||  Claras  fuit  pater  ob  spectatam  vitse  sane 
timoniam. — (Oswald  Myconius  Vita  Zwinglii.) 


THE   SWISS.— 1481— 1522. 


321 


to  cheer  the  mountains,  the  father  and 
his  sons  set  out  with  their  floeks  for 
the  pastures ;  ascending  as  the  season 
advanced,  from  station  to  station,  and  at- 
taining the  loftiest  summits  of  the  Alps 
towards  the.  end  of  July.  Then  they 
began  again  to  descend  gradually  to- 
ward the  valley,  and  in  this  way  the 
people  of  Wildhaus  were  accustomed  to 
return  in  autumn  to  their  lowly  cottages. 
Frequently  in  summer  the  young  folks, 
who  had  been  left  behind  in  their  hab- 
itations, eager  to  breathe  the  pure  air  of 
the  mountains,  set  out  in  parties  for  the 
chalets,  accompanying  with  their  songs 
the  sound  of  their  rustic  music ;  for  all 
were  musical.  As  they  arrived  on  the 
Alps,  the  shepherds  saluted  them  from 
afar  with  their  horns  and  songs,  and  has- 
tened to  regale  them  with  a  repast  of 
milk:  after  which  the  merry  company, 
by  many  a  winding  path,  descended 
again  into  the  valley  to  the  sound  of 
their  pipes.  Ulric,  doubtless,  sometimes 
shared  these  delights  in  early  youth. 
He  grew  up  at  the  foot  of  those  rocks 
which  seemed  everlasting,  and  whose 
peaks  pointed  to  the  skies.  "  I  have  of- 
ten thought,"  said  one  of  his  friends. 
"  that  being  brought  near  to  heaven  on 
these  sublime  heights,  he  contracted  a 
something  heavenly  and  divine."* 

Many  were  the  long  winter  evenings 
in  the  cottages  of  Wildhaus.  At  such 
seasons  young  Ulric  listened  at  his  pa- 
ternal hearth  to  the  conversations  of  the 
bailiff  and  the  elderly  men  of  the  vil- 
lage. When  they  recounted  how  the 
people  of  the  valley  had  formerly 
groaned  under  a  cruel  yoke,  his  heart 
responded  to  the  old  men's  joy  at  the 
tnoughts  of  the  independence  achieved 
by  Tockcnburg,  and  secured  to  it  by  its 
alliance  with  the  Swiss.  The  love  of 
his  country  was  kindled,  and  Switzer- 
land  became  endeared  to  his  heart.  If 
a  word  were  uttered  against  the  con- 
federated cantons,  the  child  would  im- 
mediately rise,  and  with  simple  earnest- 
ness, undertake  their  defence. f  Often, 
too,  would  he  sit  quietly  at  the  knee 
of  his  pious  grandmother,  listening  with 
fixed  attention  to  her  Bible  stories  and 

*  Divinitatis  nonnihil  ccclo  propriorem  con- 
traxisse. — (Osw.  Myc.) 

t  Schulers  Zw.  Bildung.  p.  291. 

41 


superstitious  legends,  and  eagerly  receiv- 
ing them  into  his  heart. 

The  good  bailiff  took  delight  in  observ- 
ing the  promising  disposition  of  his  son. 
He  thought  he  saw  that  Ulric  might  be 
fit  for  something  better  than  tending  his 
herds  on  Mount  Sentis,  and  singing  the 
Ranz  des  Bergers.  One  day  he  took 
him  in  his  hand  and  directed  his  steps 
towards  Wessen.  He  crossed  the  grassy 
summits  of  the  Ammon,  avoiding  the, 
wild  and  bold  rocks  which  border  the 
lake  of  Wallenstadt ;  and  arriving  at  the 
village,  entered  the  dwelling  of  the  dean, 
his  brother,  and  gave  into  his  care  the 
young  mountaineer,  to  be  examined  as 
to  his  capacities.*  The  dean,  in  a  short 
time,  loved  his  nephew  as  if  he  were 
his  own  son.  Delighted,  with  the  quick- 
ness of  his  understanding,  he  confided 
the  task  of  his  instruction  to'  a  school- 
master, who  soon  taught  him  all  he  him- 
self knew.  When  he  was  ten  years  old, 
Ulric  already  evinced  marks  of  superior 
intelligence,!  and  his  father  and  uncle 
decided  on  sending  him  to  Bale. 

When  this  child  of  the  mountains  of 
Tockenburg  arrived  in  that  celebrated 
city,  a  new  world  seemed  to  open  before 
him.  The  fame  of  the  celebrated  Coun- 
cil of  Bale, — its  university  founded  by 
Pius  II.  in  1460, — its  printing  presses, 
which  recalled  to  life  the  great  writers 
of  antiquity,  and  disseminated  through 
the  world  the  first  fruits  of  the  revival  of 
learning, — and  the  circumstances  of  its 
being  the  abode  chosen  by  such  eminent 
men  as  the  Wessels  and  Wittembachs, 
and  above  all,  by  Erasmus,  made  Bale, 
at  the  period  of  the  Reformation,  one 
of  the  great  foci  of  illumination  in  the 
West. 

Ulric  was  placed  in  St.  Theodore's 
school,  at  that  time  presided  over  by 
Greg-ory  Binzli,  a  man  of  affectionate 
character,  and  of  a  gentleness  at  that 
period  rarely  found  in  schoolmasters. 
Young  Zwingle  made  rapid  progress. 
Learned  discussions  much  in  vogue  in 
that  age  among  the  doctors  of  universi- 
ties had  descended  even  to  the  children 
of  the  school.     Ulric  took  part  in  them, 

*  Tenerimum  adhuc  ad  fratrem  sacrificum 
addu.xit,  nt  ingenii  ejus  periculum  faceret. — 
(Melch.  Ad.  Zw.  p.  25.) 

t  Und  in  Ihm  erschinen  merkliche  Zeichen 
eines  edlen  Gemuths. — (Bullinger's  MS.) 


322 


HISTORY  OF   THE   REFORMATION. 


disciplining  his  nascent  strength  against 
the  pupils  of  other  establishments,  and 
invariably  corning  off  victorious  from 
these  contests,  which  were  as  the  pre- 
ludes of  those  which  were  to  overthrow 
the  Papal  authority  in  Switzerland.* 
Such  early  successes  roused  the  jealousy 
of  his  senior  rivals.  Ere  long  he  out- 
grew the  school  of  Bale,  as  he  had  out- 
grown that  of  Wesen. 

Lupulus,  a  distinguished  scholar,  had 
shortly  before  opened  at  Berne,  the  first 
learned  foundation  of  Switzerland.  The 
bailiff  of  Wildhaus,  and  the  curate  of 
Wesen,  agreed  together  to  send  the  youth 
there,  and  in  1497,  Zwingle,  leaving  the 
smiling  plains  of  Bale,  again  approached 
those  upper  Alps  among  which  he  had 
passed  his  infancy,  and  whose  snowy 
summits  glowing  in  the  sun  might  be 
discerned  from  Berne.  Lupulus,  a  dis- 
tinguished poet,  introduced  his  pupil  to 
the  hidden  treasures  of  classical  learn- 
ing,! then  known  only,  and  but  slightly, 
to  a  few.  The  young  neophyte  was  de- 
lighted to  breathe  these  perfumes  of  an- 
tiquity. His  mind  opened,  his  style  took 
its  form,  and  himself  became  a  poet. 

Among  the  convents  of  Berne,  that  of 
the  Dominicans  was  most  celebrated. 
A  grave  controversy  existed  between 
these  monks  and  the  Franciscans.  The 
latter  maintained  the  immaculate  con- 
ception of  the  Virgin,  which  the  former 
denied.  Wherever  they  went, — at  the 
splendid  altar  that  adorned  their  church, 
— and  from  the  twelve  columns  which 
supported  its  roof,  the  Dominicans  thought 
of  nothing  but  to  humble  their  rivals. 
The  well-toned  voice  of  Zwingle  had 
drawn  their  notice ;  they  listened  to  the 
accounts  brought  them  of  his  preco- 
cious understanding  ;  and  thinking  he 
might  do  credit  to  their  order,  sought  to 
attract  him  amongst  them,|  and  invited 
him  to  take  up  his  residence  in  the  con- 
vent, until  the  period  when  he  might 
pass  his  noviciate.  The  future  useful- 
ness of  Zwingle  was  at  stake.  The 
amman  of  Wildhaus,   on  learning   the 

*  In  disputationibus,  quas  pro  more  turn  erant 
inter  pueros  usitatas  victoriam  semper  reportavit. 
— (Osw.  Myc.  Vit.  Zw.) 

t  Ab  eo  in  adyta  classicorum  scriptorum  in- 
trod  uctus. — (Ibid.) 

X  Und  alss  er  wol  singen  kondt  lokten  Ihn  die 
prediger  Monchen  in  dass  Kloster. — (Bullinger, 
MSC.) 


baits  the  Dominicans  held  out,  trembled 
for  the  innocence  of  his  son,  and  desired 
him  to  leave  Berne  without  delay.  Thus 
Zwingle  escaped  those  monastic  walls  in 
which  Luther  had  voluntarily  immured 
himself.  What  afterwards  ensued  will 
shew  the  greatness  of  the  danger  Zwin- 
gle then  incurred. 

A  great  agitation  reigned  in  Berne  in 
1507.  A  young  man  of  Zurzack,  named 
John  Jetzer,  having  one  day  presented 
himself  at  the  convent  of  the  Domini- 
cans, had  been  repulsed.  The  poor 
youth,  grieving  at  his  rejection,  hod  re- 
turned to  the  charge,  holding  out  53  flo- 
rins and  some  silk  stuffs.  "  It  is  all  I 
have  in  the  world,"  said  he,  "  take  it, 
and  receive  me  into  your  order."  He 
was  admitted  on  the  6th  of  January  as  a 
lay  brother.  But  on  the  very  first  night 
a  strange  noise  in  his  cell  filled  him  with 
terror.  He  fled  to  the  convent  of  Car- 
thusians, but  they  sent  him  back  to  the 
Dominicans. 

The  following  night  being  the  eve  of 
the  festival  of  St.  Matthias,  he  was  awa- 
kened by  deep  sighs.  Opening  his 
eyes  he  beheld  by  his  bedside  a  tall 
phantom  clothed  in  white : — "  I  am  a 
soul  from  the  fires  of  purgatory,"  said  a 
sepulchral  voice.  The  lay  brother  an- 
swered shuddering,  "  May  God  deliver 
you  !  I  can  do  nothing."  On  this  the 
spirit  drew  nigh,  and  sei^jng  him  by  the 
throat,  reproached  him  with  his  refusal. 
The  terrified  Jetzer  cried  aloud, — u  What 
can  I  do  for  your  deliverance  ?" — "  You 
must  scourge  yourself  to  blood  during 
eight  days,  and  lie  prostrate  on  the  earth 
in  the  chapel  of  St.  John."  This  •  said, 
the  apparition  vanished.  The  lay  bro- 
ther confided  what  he  had  seen  to  his 
confessor,  the  convent  preacher,  and  by 
his  advice  submitted  to  the  discipline 
enjoined  him.  It  was  soon  reported 
throughout  the  town  that  a  departed 
soul  had  applied  to  the  Dominicans  for 
its  deliverance  out  of  purgatory.  The 
multitude  deserted  the  Franciscans,  and 
every  one  hastened  to  the  church  where 
the  holy  man  was  seen  stretched  pros- 
trate on  the  earth.  The  soul  of  the  suf- 
ferer had  announced  that  it  would  return 
in  eight  days.  On  the  appointed  night 
it  re-appeared,  accompanied  by  two  spir- 
its tormenting  it,  and  howling  fearfully : 
— "Sec*,", said  the  voice; — "Scot,   the 


THE   SWISS— 1484— 1522. 


323 


forger  of  the  Franciscans'  doctrine  of 
the  immaculate  conception  of  the  Virgin, 
is  among  those  who  suffer  with  me  these 
horrible  torments."  At  this  report,  which 
soon  circulated  in  Berne,  the  partisans 
of  the  Franciscans  were  still  more  appal- 
led. But  the  soul  had  announced  that 
the  Virgin  herself  would  make  her  ap- 
pearance. Accordingly,  on  the  day 
named,  the  astonished  brother  beheld 
Mary  appear  in  his  cell.  He  could  not 
believe  his  eyes.  She  approached  him 
kindly,  delivered  to  him  three  tears  of  Je- 
sus, three  drops  of  his  blood,  a  crucifix, 
and  a  letter  addressed  to  Pope  Julius  II. 
"  He  is,"  said- she,  "the  man  whom  God 
has  chosen  to  abolish  the  festival  of  the 
immaculate  conception."  Then  coming 
close  to  the  bed  in  which  the  brother 
lay,  she  announced  in  a  solemn  tone 
that  a  distinguished  grace  was  about  to 
be  conferred  on  him, — and  he  felt  his 
hand  pierced  with  a  nail ! — but  Mary 
wrapped  round  the  wound  a  linen  cloth, 
worn  (she  said)  by  her  son  during  the 
flight  into  Egypt.  But  this  was  not 
enough  ; — that  the  glory  of  the  Domini- 
cans might  equal  that  of  the  Francis- 
cans, Jetzer  was  to  have  the  five  wounds 
of  Christ  and  of  St.  Francis  in  his  hands, 
feet,  and  side.  The  other  four  were  in- 
flicted,— a  sleeping  potion  was  adminis- 
tered, and  he  was  placed  in  an  apartment 
hung  with  tapestry,  representing  the 
events  of  the  Passion.  Here  he  passed 
days,  his  imagination  becoming  inflamed. 
Then  the  doors  were  from  time  to  time 
thrown  open  to  the  people,  who  came  in 
crowds  to  gaze  on  the  brother  with  the 
five  wounds,  extending  his  arms,  with 
his  head  reclined,  and  imitating  in  his 
posture  the  crucifixion  of  our  Lord.  At 
intervals,  losing  consciousness,  he  foamed 
at  the  mouth,  and  seemed  to  give  up  the 
ghost.  "  He  is  suffering  the  cross  of 
Christ,"  whispered  those  who  stood 
round  him.  The  multitude,  eager  for 
wonders,  incessantly  thronged  the  con- 
vent. Men  worthy  of  high  esteem, — 
even  Lupulus,  the  master  of  Zwingle, — 
were  awe-struck ;  and  the  Dominicans 
from  their  pulpits,  extolled  the  glory 
with  which  God  had  covered  their  order. 
For  some  years  that  order  had  felt  a 
necessity  for  humbling  the  Franciscans, 
and  adding  by  the  claim  of  miracles  to 
the  devotion  and  liberality  of  the  people. 


Berne,  with  its  "  simple,  rustic,  and  igno- 
rant population,"  (adopting  the  descrip- 
tion of  it  given  by  the  sub-prior  of  Berne 
to  the  chapter  held  at  Wempfen  on  the 
Necker)  had  been  chosen  for  the  scene 
of  these  wonders.  The  prior,  the  sub- 
prior,  the  preacher,  and  the  purveyor  of 
the  convent  had  taken  upon  them  the 
chief  parts  ;  but  they  could  not  play  them 
throughout.  Favoured  with  another 
vision  of  Mary,  Jetzer  thought  he  recog- 
nized the  voice  of  his  confessor,  and  hav- 
ing given  utterance  to  his  suspicion, 
Mary  vanished.  Soon  after  she  again 
appeared  to  upbraid  him  with  his  incre- 
dulity. "  This  time  it  is  the  prior !" 
cried  Jetzer,  throwing  himself  forward 
with  a  knife  in  his  hand.  The  saint 
hurled  a  pewter  plate  at  the  head  of  the 
brother,  and  again  disappeared. 

In  consternation  at  the  discovery  which 
Jetzer  had  made,  the  Dominicans  sought 
to  rid  themselves  of  him  by  poison.  He 
detected  the  artifice,  and  fleeing  from  the 
convent,  divulged  their  imposture.  They 
put  a  good  face  upon  the  matter,  and  de- 
spatched deputies  to  Rome.  The  Pope 
commissioned  his  legate  in  Switzerland, 
together  with  the  Bishops  of  Lausanne 
and  Sion,  to  investigate  the  affair.  The 
four  Dominicans  were  convicted,  and 
condemned  to  be  burnt  alive,  and  on  the 
1st  of  May,  1509,  they  perished  in  the 
flames,  in  presence  of  more  than  30,000 
spectators.  This  event  made  a  great 
noise  throughout  Europe,  and  by  reveal- 
ing one  great  plague  of  the  Church,  was 
instrumental  in  preparing  the  way  of  the 
Reformation.* 

Such  were  the  men  from  whose  hands 
young  Ulric  Zwingle  escaped.  He  had 
studied  letters  at  Berne, — he  was  now 
to  apply  himself  to  philosophy ;  and  for 
this  purpose  he  repaired  to  Vienna  in 
Austria.  Joachim  Vadian,  a  young  na- 
tive of  St.  Gall,  whose  genius  seemed  to 
give  promise  of  a  distinguished  states- 
man to  Switzerland  ; — Henri  Loreti,  of 
the  canton  of  Glaris,  commonly  called 
Glarianus,  and  who  shewed  considerable 
talent  for  poetry; — a  young  Suabian, 
John  Heigeriin,  son  of  a  smith,  and  on 
that    account   called   Faber,   of    supple 

*  Wirz,  Helvetische  Kirchen,  Gesch.  vol.  iii. 
387.  Anshelms  Cronik,  iii.  and  iv.  No  event 
of  that  age  gave  occasion  to  more  publications. — 
See  nailer's  Biblioth.  der  Schw.  Gech.  iii. 


324 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


character,  fond  of  distinction,  and  mani- 
festing the  qualities  of  a  courtier  : — such 
were  the  companions  of  Ulric's  studies 
and  amusements  in  the  Austrian  capital. 

In  1502  Zwingle  returned  to  Wild- 
haus :  while  he  gazed  on  its  mountains, 
he  felt  that  he  had  tasted  of  the  sweets 
of  learning,  and  was  no  longer  able  to 
live  amid  his  brethren's  songs,  and  the 
bleatings  of  their  flocks.  He  was  eigh- 
teen :  he  went  to  Bale*  to  renew  his  ap- 
plication to  study ;  and  there  at  one 
and  the  same  time  master  and  student, 
he  taught  in  the  school  of  St.  Martin, 
and  pursued  his  studies  at  the  university: 
he  could  now  dispense  with  his  father's 
succours.  Shortly  after  he  took  the  de- 
gree of  Master  of  Arts.  A  native  of 
Alsace,  named  Capito,  who  was  nine 
years  older  than  himself,  was  one  of  his 
dearest  friends. 

Zwingle  devoted  himself  to  the  study 
of  scholastic  theology,  for  called  as  he 
was  at  a  later  period  to  combat  its  soph- 
isms, it  was  necessary  he  should  explore 
its  tangled  labyrinths.  But  often  the 
joyous  student  of  the  mountains  of  the 
Sends  was  seen  suddenly  to  shake  off 
the  dust  of  the  schools,  and  exchanging 
his  philosophic  toils  for  amusement,  take 
the  lute,  harp,  violin,  flute,  dulcimer,  or 
hunting-horn,  and  pour  forth  gladsome 
sounds  as  in  the  meadows  of  Lisighaus, 
making  his  apartment,  or  the  houses  of 
his  friends  echo  with  the  airs  of  his  be- 
loved country,  and  accompanying  them 
with  his  own  songs.  In  his  love  of  mu- 
sic he  was  a  true  son  of  Tockenburg, 
a  master  among  many.f  He  played 
the  instruments  we  have  named,  and 
others  besides.  Enthusiastically  attached 
to  the  art,  he  diffused  a  taste  for  it 
through  the  university,  not  that  he  rel- 
ished dissipation,  but  because  he  loved 
relaxation  from  the  fatigue  of  graver 
studies,  and  its  power  of  restoring  him 
with  fresh  strength  for  close  application.  J 
There  was  no  one  more  cheerful  or  more 
amiable,  or  whose  discourse  had  more 

*  Ne  dintius  ab  exercitio  literarmn  cessaret. — 
(Osw.  Myc.  Vit.  Zw.) 

t  Ich  habe  auch  nie  von  Keinem  gehort,  der 
in  der  Kunst  Musica  .  .  so  erfahren  gewesen. — 
(B.  Weysen,  Fiisslin  Beytrage  zur  Ref.  Geseh. 
iv.  35.) 

t  Ut  ingenium  seriis  defatigatum  recrearetur 
et  paratius  ad  solita  etudia  redderetur  .  .  . — 
(Melch.  Ad.  Vit.  Zw.) 


charms.*  He  might  have  been  com- 
pared to  a  vigorous  alpine-tree,  expand- 
ing in  all  its  grace  and  strength,  not 
yet  pruned,  and  sending  forth  its  strong 
boughs  on  every  side.  The  moment 
was  destined  to  arrive,  when  these 
branches  would  shoot  upward  with  re- 
newed vigour  towards  heaven. 

Having  made  his  way  into  scholastic 
theology,  he  returned  weary  and  dis- 
gusted from  these  arid  sands,  having 
found  nothing  but  confused  ideas, — a 
vain  babble,  emptiness,  and  barbarism, 
without  any  sound  idea  of  doctrine.  "  It 
is  mere  lost  time,"  said  he, — and  he 
waited  to  know  more. 

Just  at  that  crisis  (November,  1505) 
arrived  in  Bale,  Thomas  Wittembach, 
son  of  a  burgomaster  of  Bienne.  Wit- 
tembach had  previously  been  teaching 
at  Tubingen  at  the  same  time  with 
Reuchlin.  He  was  in  the  prime  of  life, 
sincere,  pious,  versed  in  the  liberal  scien- 
ces, in  mathematics,  and  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures.  Zwingle  and  all  the  young 
students  immediately  gathered  round 
him.  An  energy  hitherto  unknown 
breathed  in  his  discourses,  and  prophetic 
words  proceeded  from  his  lips.  "  The 
time  is  not  far  distant,"  said  he,  "  when 
the  scholastic  theology  will  be  abolished, 
and  the  primitive  teaching  of  the  Church 
restored."!  "The  death  of  Christ," 
added  he,  "  is  the  only  ransom  of  our 
souls."|  The  heart  of  Zwingle  eagerly 
received  those  seeds  of  life.  § 

Among  the  students  who  constantly 
attended  the  lectures  of  the  youthful  Doc- 
tor, was  a  young  man  of  twenty-three 
years  of  age,  of  small  stature,  and  weak 
and  unhealthy  appearance,  but  whose 
look  bespoke  at  once  gentleness  and  in- 
trepidity. It  was  Leo  Juda,  son  of  a  curate 
of  Alsace,  and  whose  uncle  had  lost  his 
life  at  Rhodes,  under  the  standard  of  its 
knights,  for  the  defence  of  Christendom. 
Leo  and  Ulric  lived  in  the  closest  in- 
timacy. Leo  played  the  dulcimer,  and 
had   a   very   fine    voice.     Often  in   his 

*  Ingenio  amoenus,  et  ore  jucundus,  supra 
quam  dici  possit,  erat. — (Osw.  Myc.  Vit.  Zw.) 

t  Et  doctrinam  Ecclesice  veterem  .  .  .  instau- 
rari  oporteat. — (Gualterus,  Misc.  Tig.  iii.  102.) 

t  Der  Tod  Christi  sey  die  einige  Bezalilung 
fur  unsere  Siinde — (Fuslin   Beyr.  ii.  268.) 

§  Quum  a  tanto  viro  semina  qusedam  .  .  . 
Zwingliano  pectori  injecta  essent. — (Leo  Jud.  in 
Pnef.  ad.  Ann.  Zw.  in  N.  T.) 


THE   SWISS.— 1484— 1522. 


325 


apartment  the  two  friends  of  the  arts 
amused  themselves  in  joyous  song-.  Leo 
Juda  became  subsequently  Zwingle's 
colleague,  and  death  itself  could  not  ter- 
minate this  sacred  friendship. 

The  situation  of  pastor  of  Glaris  be- 
came vacant  at  this  period.  Henry  Goldi, 
a  young  courtier  in  the  Pope's  service, 
groom  of  his  Holmess's  palfrey,  and  al- 
ready endowed  with  several  benefices, 
hastened  to  Glaris  with  the  Pope's  letter 
of  appointment.  But  the  shepherds  of 
Glaris,  proud  of  the  antique  glories  of 
their  race,  and  of  their  struggles  for 
liberty,  were  unwilling  to  bow  their 
heads  before  a  parchment  from  Rome. 
Wildhaus  is  not  far  from  Glaris  ;  and 
Wesen,  of  which  Zwingle's  uncle  was 
curate,  is  the  place  where  that  people 
hold  their  market.  The  reputation  of 
the  young  master  of  arts  at  Bale  had 
penetrated  to  these  mountains.  The 
people  of  Glaris  resolved  to  choose 
Zwingle  for  their  priest.  They  invited 
him  in  1506.  Zwingle,  after  being  or- 
dained at  Constance  by  the  bishop, 
preached  his  first  sermon  at  Rapperswill. 
On  St.  Michael's  day  he  read  his  first 
mass  at  Wildhaus,  in  presence  of  all  his 
relations  and  the  friends  of  his  family, 
and  towards  the  close  of  the  year  reached 
Glaris. 

He  immediately  applied  himself  zeal- 
ously to  the  duties  of  his  extensive  parish. 
Yet  he  was  but  twenty-two  years  of  age. 
and  at  times  he  yielded  to  dissipation 
and  the  loose  morality  of  the  age.  As  a 
Romish  priest  he  was  like  other  priests 
all  around  him.  But  even  at  that  time, 
when  as  yet  the  Gospel  had  not  changed 
his  heart,  Zwingle  never  plunged  into 
those  scandals  which  often  grieved  the 
Church,*  and  he  constantly  felt  that  it 
was  necessary  to  subject  his  desires  to 
the  holy  rule  of  God's  word. 

A  passion  for  war  at  that  time  dis- 
turbed the  quiet  valleys  of  Glaris.  There 
dwelt  in  those  valleys  whole  families  of 
heroes;  the  Tschudi,  the  Wala,  the 
Aebli,  whose  blood  had  been  shed  on  the 
field  of  battle.  The  elder  warriors  were 
accustomed  to  recount  to  youths  ever 
ready  to  listen  to  such  recitals,  the  events 
of  the  wars  of  Burgundy  and  Suabia,  the 
battles  of  St.  James  and  of  Ragaz.     But 

*  Sic  reverentia  pudoris,  imprimis  autem  offi- 
cii divini,  perpetuo  cavit. — (Osw.  Myc.  Vit.  Zw.) 


alas,  it  was  no  longer  against  the  ene- 
mies of  their  liberty  that  these  martial 
shepherds  took  arms.  They  might  be 
seen  at  the  bidding  of  the  King  of 
France,  of  the  Emperor,  of  the  Duke  of 
Milan,  or  of  the  Pope,  descending  like 
an  avalanche  from  the  Alps,  and  rushing 
with  the  noise  of  thunder  against  the 
trained  soldiers  of  the  plain. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury, a  poor  boy  named  Matthew  Schin- 
ner,  who  was  attending  the  school  of  Sion 
in   the  Valais,  was  one  day  singing  be- 
fore   the   doors,  as    Luther  used   to    do 
rather   later,    when   he    heard    himself 
called  by  an  old  man ;  the  latter,  struck 
by  the  liberty  with  which  the  child  an- 
swered his  questions,  said  in  that  pro- 
phetic   accent    which,    say   some,    man 
sometimes  acquires  shortly  before  his  de- 
parture from  this  world — "  Thou  shalt  be 
a  Bishop  and  a  Prince!'1''*     The  predic- 
tion   made    a   deep    impression   on    the 
young  mendicant,  and  from  that  moment 
an  ambition  the  most  unbounded  took 
possession  of  his  heart.     At  Zurich,  and 
at  Como,  his    progress    in    his    studies 
amazed  his  teachers.     He  was  appointed 
curate  in  a  small  parish  in  the  Valais ; 
rose  rapidly  in  reputation,  and  being  sub- 
sequently sent  to    Rome    to   solicit   the 
Pope's  confirmation  of  a  recent  election 
of  a  Bishop   of  Sion,  he  procured  the 
bishopric  for  himself,  and  encircled  his 
head  with  the  episcopal  crown.     Ambi- 
tious   and    artful,  yet   not   unfrequently 
noble  and  generous,  this  man  never  re- 
garded one   dignity  as  anything  but  a 
stepping-stone  to  a  higher.     Having  ten- 
dered his  services  to  Louis  XII.  for  a 
stipulated  price,  the  King  remarked,  "  It 
is  too  much  for  any  one  man." — "  I  will 
shew  him,"  replied  the  Bishop  of  Sion  in 
a  passion,  "  that  I  am  a  man  worth  pur- 
chasing at  the  cost  of  many."     Accord- 
ingly he  made  proposals  to  Pope  Julius 
II.,  who  received  his  advances  with  joy  ; 
and    Schinner,   in   the  year   1510,  suc- 
ceeded in  uniting  the  whole  Swiss  Con- 
federation with  the  policy  of  that  ambi- 
tious Pontiff     The  Bishop  having  been 
rewarded  with  a  Cardinal's  hat,  smiled 
to  see  but  a  single  step  between  him  and 
the  papal  throne  itself! 

Schinner's   attention  was   continually 
engaged  by  the   Swiss  cantons,  and  as 

*  Helvet.  Kirch.  Gesch.  von  Wire,  iii.  214. 


326 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


soon  as  he  discerned  any  man  of  rising 
influence,  he  hastened  to  attach  him  to 
his  interest.  The  pastor  of  Glaris  drew 
his  notice  ;  and  it  was  not  long  before 
Zwingle  was  apprized  that  the  Pope  had 
granted  him  an  annual  pension  of  fifty 
florins,  to  encourage  him  in  his  studies. 
His  poverty  being  such  as  did  not  allow 
his  purchasing  books,  this  money,  so  long 
as  he  received  it,  was  spent  in  procuring 
classical  and  theological  works  from 
Bale.*  Zwingle  thenceforward  con- 
nected himself  with  the  Cardinal,  and 
thus  became  attached  to  the  Romanist 
party.  Schinner  and  Julius  II.  at  length 
laid  aside  the  mask.  Eight  thousand 
Swiss  collected  together  by  the  eloquence 
of  the  Cardinal  Bishop  passed  the  Alps; 
— but  want  of  supplies,  and  the  valour 
and  bribes  of  the  French,  obliged  them 
to  retreat  ingloriously  to  their  mountains. 
They  brought  with  them  the  usual  ef- 
fects of  their  foreign  wars, — suspicion, 
licentiousness,  party  spirit,  violence,  and 
every  kind  of  disorder.  The  citizens 
rose  against  their  magistrates,  the  chil- 
dren against  their  fathers, — agriculture 
and  their  flocks  were  neglected, — and 
luxury  and  beggary  increased, — the  most 
sacred  ties  were  broken,  and  the  Con- 
federacy seemed  on  the  point  of  falling 
to  pieces. 

Then  it  was  that  the  eyes  of  the  young 
curate  of  Glaris  were  opened,  and  his 
indignation  was  awakened.  His  power- 
ful voice  was  raised  to  shew  the  people 
the  gulph  into  which  they  were  hurry- 
ing. In  the  year  1510,  he  published  his 
poem,  entitled  the  Labyrinth.  Behind 
the  mazes  of  that  mysterious  garden, 
Minos  has  concealed  the  Minotaur,  a 
monster  half  man  and  half  bull,  whom 
he  feeds  with  the  blood  of  the  Athenian 
youth.  The  Minotaur,  says  Zwingle,  is  the 
sin,  the  irrcligion,  and  the  foreign  service 
of  the  Swiss  which  devour  her  children. 

A  brave  man,  Theseus,  undertakes  to 
deliver  his  country ;  but  many  obstacles 
are  in  the  way  ; — first,  a  lion  with  one 
eye  ;  it  is  Spain  and  Arragon  ; — next  a 
crowned  eagle  with  open  throat ;  it  is 
the  Empire ; — then  a  cock  with  crest 
erect,  as  if  provoking  to  the  onset ;  it  is 
France.     The  hero  overcoming  all  these 

*  Wellches  er  an  die  Biicher  verwendet. — 
(Bullinger  MSC.J 


obstacles,  slays  the  monster  and  delivers 
his  country. 

"  So  it  is  now,"  exclaims  the  poet, 
"  the  people  wander  in  the  labyrinth ; 
but  being  without  the  clue,  they  never 
return  to  light.  We  nowhere  see  men 
following  the  walk  of  Christ.  For  a 
breath  of  fame  we  risk  our  lives, — harass 
our  neighbours, — rush  into  strifes,  war, 
and  battles  ....  as  if  the  very  furies 
had  broken  loose  from  hell."* 

A  Theseus  was  needed, — a  Reformer; 
— Zwingle  saw  this,  and  from  that  mo-' 
ment  he  had  an  obscure  presentiment  of 
his  destiny.  Shortly  after  this  he  put 
forth  another  allegory,  in  which  his 
meaning  was  more  clearly  conveyed. f 

In  April,  1512,  the  confederates  again 
rose  at  the  Cardinal's  summons  to  the 
rescue  of  the  Church.  Glaris  was  fore- 
most. The  whole  commune  was  en- 
rolled for  the  campaign,  and  ranged  un- 
der its  banner  with  its  Landaman  and 
Pastor.  Zwingle  was  compelled  to  join 
the  march.  The  army  passed  the  Alps ; 
and  the  Cardinal  made  his  appearance 
among  the  confederates  with  the  pon- 
tiff's presents, — a  ducal  cap  adorned 
with  pearls  and  gold,  and  surmounted 
with  the  Holy  Spirit,  represented  under 
the  figure  of  a  dove.  The  Swiss  scaled 
the  walls  of  the  fortified  towns,  and  in 
the  -face  of  the  enemy  swam  the  rivers, 
naked,  with  their  halberds  in  their  arms. 
Every  where  the  French  were  defeated, 
the  bells  and  trumpets  sounded,  people 
flocked  from  all  sides ;  the  nobles  sent 
to  the  army  wine  and  fruits  in  great 
abundance ;  monks  and  priests  pro- 
claimed on  the  roads  that  the  confede- 
rates were  God's  people  and  the  aven- 
gers of  the  spouse  of  Christ ;  while  the 
Pope,  a  prophet  similar  to  Caiaphas, 
conferred  on  the  confederates  the  title 
of  "  Defenders  of  the  Liberty  of  the 
Church."| 

This  visit  to  Italy  was  not  without  its- 
consequences  to  Zwingle  in  his  vocation 

*   Dass  wir  die  hollschen  wutterinn'n 
Mogcnd  denken  abbrochen  syn. 
(Zw.  Opp.  ed.  Schiller  et  Schulthess,  ii.  part 
ii.  250.) 
t   Fabelgedicht   vom    Ochsen    und    etiichen 
Thieren,    iez    loufender    din^e    begriffenlich. — 
(Ibid.  257.) 

t  De  Gestis  inter  Gallos  et  Helvetios,  relatio 
H.  Zwinglii. 


THE   SWISS— 1484— 1522. 


327 


as  a  Reformer.  It  was  on  his  return 
from  this  campaign  that  he  began  to 
study  Greek, — "  in  order,"  he  said,  "  to 
draw  from  the  true  source  the  doctrine 
of  Christ."*  "  I  am  resolved  to  apply 
myself  so  closely  to  Greek  (he  wrote  to 
Vadian,  Feb.  23,  1513,)  that  no  one  but 
God  shall  call  me  off  from  that  study." 
"  I  do  so  from  a  love  of  divine  learning-, 
and  not  for  the  sake  of  fame."  At  a 
subsequent  period,,  a  worthy  priest  who 
had  been  his  school-fellow,  having  visited 
him, — "  Master  Ulric,"  said  the  visitor, 
"  they  tell  me  you  have  gone  into  the 
new  error,  and  that  you  are  a  follower 
of  Luther." — "I  am  no  Lutheran,"  said 
Zwingle, "  for  I  understood  Greek  before 
I  had  heard  the  name  of  Luther." f  To 
understand  Greek  and  study  the  Gospel 
in  the  original,  was  in  Zwingle's  judg- 
ment the  basis  of  the  Reformation. 

Zwingle  went  beyond  this  early  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  great  principle  of 
Evangelic  Christianity,  namely,  the  un- 
erring authority  of  Holy  Scripture.  He 
further  saw  the  way  of  determining  the 
sense  of  the  Divine  Word  : — "  Those  per- 
sons have  but  low  thoughts  of  the  Gos- 
pel, who  regard  whatever  they  think  in- 
compatible Avith  their  reason  as  of  no 
consequence,  unnecessary,  or  unjust  £ 
Men  are  not  permitted  to  bend  the  Gos- 
pel according  to  their  pleasure,  to  their 
own  interpretations."  §  "  Zwingle  looked 
to  heaven,"  says  his  best  friend,  "desiring 
to  have  no  other  interpreter  than  the 
Holy  Ghost."  || 

Such,  from  the  very  commencement 
of  his  career,  was  the  man  who  has  been 
boldly  represented  as  having  aimed  to 
subject  the  Bible  to  human  reason. 
"  Philosophy  and  Theology."  said  he, 
"were  constantly  raising  difficulties  in 
my  mind.  At  length  I  was  brought  to 
say,  we  must  leave  these  things,  and  en- 
deavour to  enter  into  GocVs  thoughts  in 

*  Ante  decern  annos,  operam  dedi  graecis  Ut- 
eris, ut  ex  fontibus  doctrinam  Christi  haurire  pos- 
sem.— (Zw.  Opp.  1.  274.    Explan.  Article,  1523.) 

t  Ich  hab'  graces  konnen,  ehe  icn  ni  nut  von 
Luther  gehot  hab. — (Salat.  Chronicle,  MSC.) 

X  Nihil  sublimius  de  evangelio  sentiunt,  quam 
quod,  quidqnid  eorum  rationi  non  est  consenta- 
neum,  hoc  iniquum,  vanum  et  frivolum  existi- 
mant.— (Zw.  Opp.  i.  202.) 

§  Nee  posse  evangelium  ad  sensum  et  inter- 
pretationem  hominum  redigi. — (Zw.  Opp.  i.  215.) 

||  In  crelum  suspexit,  doctorera  quserelis  spiri- 
tura.— (Osw.  Myc.  Vit.  Zw.) 


his  own  word.  I  applied  myself,"  con- 
tinues he,  "  in  earnest  prayer  to  the  Lord 
to  give  me  his  light ;  and  though  I  read 
nothing  but  Scripture,  its  sense  became 
clearer  to  me  than  if  I  had  studied  many 
commentators."  He  compared  Scripture 
with  Scripture,  interpreting  obscure  texts 
by  such  as  were  more  clear.*  Ere  long 
he  was  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the 
Bible,  and  especially  with  the  New  Tes- 
tament.! When  Zwingle  thus  turned 
towards  the  Holy  Scriptures,  Switzerland 
made  its  earliest  advance  towards  the 
Reformation.  Accordingly,  when  he 
expounded  their  meaning,  all  felt  that 
his  teaching  came  from  God  and  not 
from  man  4  "  A  wojk  altogether  di- 
vine !"  exclaims  Oswald  Myconius ; — "  it 
was  in  this  manner  that  we  recovered 
the  knowledge  of  heavenly  truth." 

Yet  Zwingle  did  not  despise  the  ex- 
planations of  the  most  celebrated  teach- 
ers ;  he  subsequently  studied  Origen, 
Ambrose,  Jerome,  Augustine,  Chrysos- 
tom,  but  never  as  authorities.  "  I  study 
the  doctors,"  said  he,  "just  as  we  ask  a 
friend,  How  do  you  understand  this  ?" 
Holy  Scripture  was,  in  his  judgment, 
the  touchstone  by  which  the  holiest  doc- 
tors should  themselves  so  be  tested. § 

Zwingle's  advance  was  slow  and  pro- 
gressive. He  did  not  arrive  at  truth,  as 
Luther  had  done,  by  those  tempest- 
shocks,  which  compel  the  soul  hastily 
to  seek  a  refuge ;  he  reached  it  by  the 
gentle  influence  of  Scripture — a  power 
which  gradually  subdues  the  heart  of 
man.  Luther  attained  the  wished-for 
shore  after  struggling  Avith  the  storms  of 
ocean  ; — ZAvingle  by  steering  cautiously 
and  sloAvly  along  the  shore.  They 
are  the  two  leading  methods  by  which 
God  conducts  men.  Zwingle  Avas  not 
fully  converted  to  God  and  his  Gospel 
until  the  early  days  of  his  abode  at  Zu- 
rich ;  yet  the  moment  Avhen  in  1514  or 
1515,  this  bold  man  boAved  the  knee  be- 
fore God,  to  ask  of  Him  to  enable  him  to 
understand  His  Avord,  Avas  that  wherein 

*  Scripta  contulit  et  obscura  claris  elucidavit 
—(Ibid.) 

t  In  summa  er  macht  im,  die  H.  Schrifft,  In- 
sonders  dass  N.  T.  gantz  gemein. — (Bullinger, 
MSC.) 

X  Ut  nemo  non  videret  Spiritum  doctorem, 
non  hominem. — (Osw.  Myc.  Vit.  Zw.) 

§  Scriptura  canonica,  seu  Lydio  lapide  pro- 
bandos.— (Osw.  Myc.  Vit.  Zw.) 


328 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


appeared  the  dawn  of  the  day-star  which 
afterwards  rose  upon  him. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  a  poem  of 
Erasmus,  wherein  that  writer  introduced 
Jesus  Christ  speaking  to  one  who  was 
perishing  by  his  own  apathy,  produced  a 
deep  impression  on  Zwingle's  thoughts. 
Alone  in  his  room  he  repeated  to  him- 
self the  passage  in  which  Jesus  com- 
plained that  men  came  not  to  him  for 
all  grace,  though  he  was  the  fountain  of 
all  blessing.  "  All .'"  said  Zwingle, 
"  All  J"  and  that  word  again  and  again 
recurred  to  his  mind. — "  Are  there  then 
any  created  beings  or  saints,  from  whom 
we  should  seek  help  ?  No,  Christ  is  our 
only  treasure."* 

Zwingle  did  not  confine  his  reading  to 
Christian  writers.  One  of  the  accompa- 
niments of  the  Reformation  of  the  six- 
teenth century  was  an  attentive  study  of 
the  classics.  Zwingle  delighted  in  the 
poems  of  Hesiod,  Homer,  and  Pindar, 
and  has  left  commentaries  on  the  two 
latter.  He  studied  closely  Cicero  and 
Demosthenes,  whose  writings  instructed 
him  in  oratory  and  politics.  The  child 
of  the  mountains  also  loved  the  wonders 
of  nature  as  reported  by  Pliny :  Thucy- 
dides,  Sallust,  Livy,  Caesar,  Suetonius, 
Plutarch,  and  Tacitus,  gave  ,him  an  in- 
sight into  the  affairs  of  life.  He  has 
been  blamed  for  his  enthusiastic  attach- 
ment to  the  great  names  of  antiquity ; 
and  true  it  is  that  some  of  his  expres- 
sions respecting  them  are  not  to  be  justi- 
fied. But  in  paying  them  so  much  hon- 
our, he  thought  he  discerned  in  them 
not  mere  human  virtues,  but  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Holy  Spirit.  God's  dealings, 
far  from  being  limited  in  former  ages  to 
the  Holy  Land,  extended,  as  he  thought, 
to  the  whole  world. f  ''  Plato,  also,"  said 
he,  "  drew  from  a  source  divine  ;  and  if 
the  Catos,  Camillus',  and  Scipios,  had 
not  been  deeply  religious,  could  they 
have  acted  so  nobly  as  Ave  know  they 
did?"} 

*  Dass  Christus  unser  armen  seelen  ein  ein- 
ziger  Schatz  sey. — (Zw.  Opp.  i.  298.)  Zwingle, 
speaking  in  1523,  says  he  read  this  poem  of 
Erasmus  eight  or  nine  years  before. 

t  Spiritus  ille  coelestis  non  solam  Palacstinam 
vel  creaverat  vel  fovebat,  seel  mundum  univer- 
sum  .  .  . — (CEcol.  et  Zw.  Epp.  p.  9.) 

t  Nisi  religiosi  nunquam  fuissent  magnanimi. 
—(Ibid.) 


Zwingle  diffused  around  him  a  love 
of  letters.  Several  young  persons  of  dis- 
tinction were  brought  up  in  his  school. 
"  You  have  offered  me  not  only  your 
books,  but  yourself,"  wrote  Valentine 
Tschudi,  son  of  one  of  the  heroes  in  the 
wars  of  Burgundy  ;  and  this  youth,  who 
had  already  studied  at  Vienna  and  Bale 
under  the  first  masters,  added,  "  I  have 
never  nTet  with  any  one  who  explains 
the  classics  with  so  much  justness  of 
thought,  and  depth  of  understanding,  as 
yourself."*  Tschudi  went  to  Paris,  and 
had  an  opportunity  of  comparing  the 
genius  of  its  university,  with  that  he  had 
known  in  the  narrow  valley  of  the  Alps, 
overlooked  by  the  gigantic  summits  and 
eternal  snows  of  the  Dodi,  the  Glarnisch, 
the  Righi,  and  the  Freyberg.  "  In  what 
trifling  do  they  educate  the  youth  of 
France  !"  said  he  ;  "  no  poison  can  equal 
the  sophistical  art  they  are  trained  in. 
It  dulls  the  faculties,  destroys  the  judg- 
ment, and  reduces  to  the  level  of  the 
brutes.  It  makes  a  man  a  mere  echo,  an 
empty  sound.  Ten  women  could  not 
compete  with  one  of  such  sophists. f 
Even  in  their  prayers  I  feel  assured  they 
bring  their  sophisms  to  God  himself,  and 
would  by  syllogisms  oblige  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  grant  their  petitions."  Such  as 
this  period  was  Paris,  the  intellectual 
capital  of  Christendom,  contrasted  with 
Glaris,  a  market-town  of  shepherds  of  the 
Alps.  One  gleam  of  light  from  God's 
word  gives  more  true  illumination  than 
all  the  wisdom  of  man. 

A  great  genius  of  that  age,  Erasmus, 
exercised  much  influence  on  Zwingle. 
The  moment  any  of  his  writings  ap- 
peared Zwingle  hastened  to  procure  it. 
In  1514  Erasmus  visited  Bale,  and  was 
received  by  its  Bishop  with  every  expres- 
sion of  esteem.  All  the  friends  of  learn- 
ing assembled  round  him.  But  the 
monarch  of  the  schools  had  at  once  dis- 
covered the  man  who  promised  to  be  the 
glory  of  Switzerland.  "  I  congratulate 
the  Swiss  people,"  said  he,  writing  to 
Zwingle,  "  that  you  are  doing  your  best 
to  civilize  and  ennoble  it,  by  studies  and 
moral  conduct  alike  worthy  of  admira- 

*  Nam  qui  sit  acrioris  in  cnodandis  autcribus 
judicii,  vidi  neminem. — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  13.) 

t  Ut  nee  decern  mulierculae  .  .  uni  sophistee 
adaequari  queant. — (IbLd.  45.) 


THE   SWISS.— 1484— 1522. 


329 


tion."*  Zwingle  longed  to  see  him. 
"  Spaniards  and  Gauls  once  made  the 
journey  to  Rome  to  look  on  Titus 
Livius,"  said  he,  and — set  out.  Arriv- 
ing at  Bale,  he  there  found  a  man  about 
forty  years  of  age,  of  small  stature,  weak 
health,  and  delicate  constitution,  but  ex- 
tremely amiable  and  polite. f  It  was 
Erasmus.  The  charm  of  his  intimacy 
banished  Zwingle's  timidity,  and  the 
power  of  his  intellect  impressed  him 
with  reverence.  "  As  poor,"  said  Ulric, 
"  as  iEschines,  when  the  disciples  of 
Socrates  each  brought  a  gift  to  their 
master,  I  make  you  the  present  he  made, 
and  give  you  myself? 

Among  the  men  of  learning  who  then 
formed  a  kind  of  court  of  Erasmus, — 
Amerbach,  Rhenanus,  Froben,  Nessenus, 
Glareanus,  and  the  rest — Zwingle  took 
notice  of  a  young  native  of  Lucerne, 
twenty-seven  years  of  age,  named  Os- 
wald Geishussler.  Erasmus,  translating 
his  name  into  Greek,  had  named  him 
Myconius.  We  shall  often  speak  of  him 
by  his  Christian  name,  to  distinguish 
this  friend  of  Zwingle  from  Frederic 
Myconius,  the  disciple  of  Luther.  Os- 
wald, after  studying  at  Rothwyl  with 
another  young  man  of  his  own  age, 
named  Berthold  Haller, — then  at  Berne, 
and  afterwards  at  Bale, — had  become 
rector  of  St.  Theodoric's,  and  still  later 
of  St.  Peter's  school  in  that  city. 
Though  the  humble  schoolmaster  had 
but  a  slender  income,  he  had  married  a 
young  girl  of  a  simplicity  and  purity  of 
mind  that  won  all  hearts.  We  have  al- 
ready said  that  it  was  a  time  of  trouble 
in  Switzerland  ;  when  foreign  wars  gave 
rise  to  scandalous  disorders,  and  the  sol- 
diers returning  to  their  country  brought 
with  them  habits  of  licentiousness  and 
brutality  One  winter's  day,  gloomy  and 
overcast,  some  of  these  wretches  attacked 
the  quiet  dwelling  of  Oswald  in  his  ab- 
sence. They  assaulted  the  door,  threw 
stones,  and  with  indecent  language 
called  for  his  wife.  At  last  they  burst 
open  the  door,  and  having  made  their 
way  to  his  school,  broke  every  thing  in 

*  Tu,  tuique  similes  optimis  etiam  studiis  ac 
moribus  et  expolietis  et  nobilitabitis. — (Zw.  Epp. 
p.  10.) 

t  Et  corpusculo  hoc  tuo  minuto,  verum  mini- 
me  inconcinno,  urbannissime  gestientem  videre 
videar. — (Ibid.) 

-     42 


the  place,  and  then  retired.  Shortly 
after  Oswald  returned.  His  son,  little 
Felix,  ran  to  meet  him  with  loud  cries ; 
and  his  wife,  speechless,  made  signs  of 
horror.  In  a  moment  he  perceived  what 
had  happened.  At  the  same  instant  a 
noise  was  heard  in  the  street.  Unable 
to  controul  himself,  the  schoolmaster 
s'eized  a  weapon  and  pursued  the  rioters 
to  the  cemetery.  They  took  refuge 
within  it  and  prepared  to  resist.  Three 
of  them  rushed  upon  Myconius  and 
wounded  him;  and  while  his  wounds 
were  being  dressed,  the  wretches  again 
broke  into  his  house  with  horrid  cries. 
Oswald  tells  no  more.*  Such  were  the 
scenes  which  took  place  in  Switzerland 
at  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, before  the  Reformation  had  hu- 
manized the  manners  of  the  people. 

The  uprightness  of  Oswald  Myconius, 
and  his  desire  of  learning  and  virtue, 
brought  him  into  contact  with  Zwingle. 
The  rector  of  the  school  of  Bale  at  once 
acknowledged  the  superior  genius  of  the 
curate  of  Glaris.  In  unaffected  humil- 
ity he  shrunk  from  the  praises  of 
Zwingle  and  Erasmus.  "  You  school- 
masters," the  latter  would  often  say, 
"  are,  in  my  opinion,  equal  to  kings." 
But  the  modest  Myconius  was  of  a  dif- 
ferent judgment.  "I  do  but  creep  upon 
the  earth,"  said  he;  "from  my  •child- 
hood there  has  been  a  something  low 
and  small  about  me."f 

A  preacher  who  had  arrived  in  Bale, 
almost  at  the  same  time  as  Zwingle,  was 
then  exciting  attention.  Of  mild  and 
peaceful  temper,  he  loved  a  tranquil  life  ; 
— slow  and  circumspect  in  his  actions,  he 
was  most  happy  in  studious  occupations, 
and  in  endeavours  to  promote  good  will 
among  Christians. \  He  was  named 
John  Hausschein,  in  Greek  CEcolainpa- 
dius,  or  "  light  of  the  house,"  and  was 
born  in  Franconia,  of  rich  parents,  one 
year  before  the  birth  of  Zwingle.  His 
pious  mother  wished  to  devote  to  learn- 
ing and  to  God  himself  the  only  child 
that  providence  had  left  her.  His  father 
at  first  destined  him  to  commerce,  and 

*  Erasmi,  Laus  Stultitiae,  cumannot.  Myconii. 

t  Equidem  humi  repere  didici  hactenus,  et  est 
natura  nescio  quid  humile  vel  a  cunabulis  in  me. 
— (Ozw.  Myc.  Vit.  Zw.) 

t  Ingenio  miti  et  tranquillo,  pacis  et  Concor- 
dia? studiosissimus. — (M.  Ad.  Vit.  CEc  p.  58.) 


330 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


afterwards  to  jurisprudence  j  but  on 
(Ecolampadius's  return  from  Bolonga, 
(where  he  had  studied  law),  the  Lord, 
whose  purpose  it  was  to  make  him  a 
light  in  the  Church,  called  him  to  the 
study  of  Theology.*  He  was  preaching 
in  his  native  town  when  Capito,  who 
had  made  his  acquaintance  at  Heidel- 
berg, obtained  his  election  as  preacher 
at  Bale.  He  there  proclaimed  Christ 
with  an  eloquence  which  was  the  admi- 
ration of  his  hearers,  t  Erasmus  ad- 
mitted him  to  intimacy.  GEcolampadius 
was  charmed  with  the  hours  he  spent  in 
the  society  of  this  distinguished  genius. 
"We  must  seek,"  said  the  prince  of 
scholars,  "  we  must  seek  but  one 
thing  in  Holy  Scripture,  namely,  Jesus 
Christ."^  He  presented  to  the  young 
preacher  in  token  of  his  friendship  the 
first  chapters  of  St.  John's  Gospel. 
(Ecolampadius  would  often  kiss  this 
pledge  of  so  valued  a  friendship,  and  ap- 
pended it  to  his  crucifix,  "  in  order," 
said  he,  "  that  I  may  always  remember 
Erasmus  in  my  prayers.'' 

Zwingle  returned  to  his  mountain- 
home  with  his  mind  and  heart  full  of  all 
he  had  seen  and  heard  at  Bale.  "  I 
should  not  be  able  to  sleep,"  said  he, 
writing  to  Erasmus,  "  without  holding 
some  discourse  with  you.  There  is  no- 
thing 1  am  so  proud  of  as  having  seen 
Erasmus."  Zwingle  had  received  a 
new  impulsion.  Such  visits  have  at 
times  great  effects  en  a  Christian's  con- 
duct. The  disciples  of  Zwingle,  Valen- 
tin, Jost,  Louis,  Peter,  and  Egidius 
Tschudi ;  his  friends,  the  bailiff  Aebli, 
the  curate  Binzli  of  Wesen,  Fridolin 
Brunner,  and  the  celebrated  professor 
Glareanus,  were  delighted  to  watch  his 
growth*  in  wisdom  and  knowledge. 
The  old  respected  him  as  a  courageous 
defender  of  his  country ; — the  faithful 
pastors  as  a  zealous  minister  of  the  Lord. 
Nothing  was  transacted  in  the  country 
without  his  advice.  All  the  better  sort 
looked  to  him  as  destined  one  day  to  re- 
store the  ancient  virtues  of  their  country.  § 

*  Flectente  et  vocante  Deo,  qui  eo  in  domo 
sua  pro  lampade  usurus  erat. — (Ibid.  46.) 

t  Omnium  vere  spiritualium  et  eruditorum  ad- 
miratione  Christum  predicavit. — (Ibid.) 

I  Nihil  in  sacris  literis  praeter  Christum  quae- 
rendum. — (Erasmi,  Epp.  p.  403.) 

§  Justitiam  avitam  per  hunc  olim  restitutum 
iri. — (Osw.  Myc.  Vit.  Zw.) 


Francis  the  First  having  ascended  the 
throne,  and  preparing  to  avenge  on  Italy 
the  honour  of  France,  the  Pope,  in 
alarm,  sought  to  gain  over  the  cantons. 
Thus,  in  1515,  Ulvic  again  saw  the 
plains  of  Italy  covered  by  the  battalions 
of  his  fellow-countrymen.  But  the  dis- 
cord which  the  intrigues  of  the  French 
introduced  among  the  army  of  the  con- 
federates grieved  his  spirit.  Often 
might  he  be  seen,  in  the  midst  of  the 
camp,  haranguing,  in  words  of  energy 
and  wisdom,  an  audience  armed  from 
head  to  foot  and  ready  for  battle.*  On 
the  8th  of  September,  five  days  before 
the  battle  of  Marignan,  he  preached  in 
the  square  of  Monza,  where  the  Swiss 
troops  who  adhered  to  their  standards 
were  assembled.  "  If  the  advice  of 
Zwingle  had  then  been  followed,"  says 
Werner  Steiner  of  Zug,  "  what  miseries 
would  our  country  have  been  spared !" 
But  all  ears  were  closed  against  the  ac- 
cents of  concord,  peace,  and  submission. 
The  overpowering  eloquence  of  the  Car- 
dinal Schinner  electrified  the  confed- 
erates, and  made  them  rush  impetuously 
to  the  fatal  plains  of  Marignan.  The 
flower  of  the  Swiss  youth  perished. 
Zwingle,  who  had  failed  in  his  attempts 
to  avert  these  calamities,  exposed  him- 
self in  the  cause  of  Rome  to  the  greatest 
danger.  His  hand  grasped  a  sword  !f 
Melancholy  mistake  of  Zwingle.  He,  a 
minister  of  Christ,  more  than  once  forgot 
that  it  was  his  duty  to  fight  only  with 
the  weapons  of  the  Spirit,  and  he  was 
doomed  to  see  accomplished  in  his  own 
case  in  a  most  striking  manner,  that  pro- 
phecy of  the  Lord,  They  that  take  the 
sword  shall  perish  by  the  sicord. 

Zwingle  and  the  Swiss  failed  to  save 
Rome  from  defeat.  The  Venetian  am- 
bassador, at  the  court  of  Rome,  was  the 
first  to  learn  the  news  of  the  defeat  at 
Marignan.  Overjoyed,  he  repaired  early 
to  the  Vatican.  The  Pope  left  his 
apartments,  though  scarcely  attjred,  to 
give  him  audience.  Leo  the  Tenth  on 
hearing  the  intelligence  made  no  secret 
of  his  fears.  In  a  moment  of  alarm  he 
saw  nothing  but  Francis  the  First,  and 

*  In  dem  Heerlager  hat  er  Flyssig  geprediget. 
— (Bullinger,  MSC.) 

t  ...  In  den  Schlachten  sich  redlich  und  tap- 
fer  gestellt  m  it  Rathen,  Worten  und  Thaten. — 
(Bullinger,  MSC.) 


THE   SWISS— 1484r— 1522. 


331 


lost  all  hope  : — "  My  lord  ambassador," 
said  he  tremblingly  to  Zorsi.  "  we  must 
throw  ourselves  into  the  king's  arms  and 
cry  for  mercy."  Luther  and  Zwingle, 
when  in  circumstances  of  peril,  knew 
another  refuge  and  invoked  another 
mercy.* 

This  second  visit  to  Italy  was  not  un- 
attended with  advantage  to  Zwingle. 
He  took  notice  of  the  differences  between 
the  Ambrosian  ritual,  in  use  at  Milan, 
and  that  of  Rome.  He  collected  and 
compared  with  each  other  the  most  an- 
cient canons  of  the  Mass.  Thus  his 
spirit  of  enquiry  found  employment 
amid  the  tumult  of  camps.  At  the  same 
time  the  sight  of  the  children  of  his  na- 
tive land,  drawn  from  their  mountains, 
and  delivered  up  to  slaughter  like  their 
cattle,  filled  him  with  indignation. 
"  The  blood  of1  the  confederates,"  said 
he,  ':  is  counted  of  less  value  than  their 
sheep  and  oxen."  The  faithlessness  and 
ambition  of  the  Pope,f — the  avarice  and 
ignorance  of  the  clergy. — the  licentious- 
ness and  immorality  of  the  monks, — the 
pride  and  luxury  of  the  prelates, — the 
corruption  and  venality  that  spread  on 
all  sides  among  his  countrymen, — all 
these  evils  were  forced  more  than  ever 
on  his  notice,  and  helped  to  deepen  more 
than  ever  his  conviction  of  the  necessity 
of  a  reformation  in  the  Church. 

Zwingle  from  that  time  preached  the 
word  of  God  with  more  distinctness. 
He  expounded  the  portions  of  the  Gos- 
pels and  Epistles  chosen  for  public  wor- 
ship ;  ever  comparing  Scripture  with 
Scripture.;};  He  spoke  with  force  and 
animation,^  and  pursued  with  his  audi- 
tors' the  same  course  that  God  was  pur- 
suing with  him.  He  did  not  expose,  as 
Luther  did,  the  wounds  of  the  Church ; 
but,  according  as  his  study  of  the  Bible 
discovered  to  him  any  profitable  instruc- 
tion, he  imparted  it  to  his  flock.  He 
laboured  to  persuade  them  to  receive  the 
truth    into    their   hearts ;  and   then   de- 

*  Domine  orator,  vederemo  quel  fara  il  re 
Christmo  semetteremo  in  le  so  man  dimandando 
misericordia. — (Zoisi  Relatione  MS.) 

t  Bellissimo  parlador :  (Leo  X.)  prometea  assa 
ma  non  atendea  .  .  . — (Relatione  MSC.  di  Gra- 
denigo,  venuto  orator  di  Roma.) 

t  Non  hominum  commentis,  sed  sola  scriptu- 
rarum  biblicarum  collatione. — (Zw.  Opp.  i.  273.) 

§  Sondern  auch  mit  predigen,  darrinen  er 
helftig  wass. — (Bullinger's  MS.) 


pended  upon  it  for  the  effect  it  was  des- 
tined to  produce.*  "If  the  people  see 
clearly  what  is  true,"  thought  he,  "they 
will  at  once  discern  what  is  false." — 
This  maxim  is  good  in  the  commence- 
ment of  a  reformation,  but  a  time  arrives 
when  error  must  be  boldly  denounced. 
Zwingle  well  knew  this.  "  The  spring," 
said  he,  ';  is  the  season  for  sowing  our 
seed." — It  was  then  seed  time  with  him. 

Zwingle  has  marked  this  period  as  the 
dawn  of  the  Swiss  Reformation.  Four 
years  before,  he  had  bent  over  God's 
book ;  and  he  now  raised  his  head  arid 
turned  toward  the  people  to  impart  to 
them  the  light  he  had  received  from  it. 
It  was  a  new  and  important  epoch  in 
the  development  of  the  religious  revolu- 
tion of  these  countries ;  but  it  is  a  mis- 
taken conclusion  to  infer  that  Zwingle's 
reformation  preceded  Luther's.  Zwingle 
may  possibly  have  preached  the  Gospel 
a  year  previous  to  the  theses  of  Luther, 
but  the  Gospel  was  preached  by  Luther 
himself  four  years  before  those  celebrated 
propositions.  If  Luther  and  Zwingle 
had  clone  nothing  but  preach,  the  Refor- 
mation would  not  have  so  soon  spread 
through  the  Church.  The  one  and  the 
other  was  neither  the  first  monk,  nor  the 
first  priest  who  taught  a  purer  doctrine 
than  the  scholastic  teachers  ;  but  Luther 
was  the  first  who  boldly  and  publicly 
raised  the  standard  of  truth  against  pre- 
vailing error,  and  invited  general  atten- 
tion to  the  fundamental  doctrine  of  the 
Gospel,  salvation  by  grace  ;  thus  intro- 
ducing his  generation  to  that  path  of 
knowledge,  faith,  and  life,  from  which  a 
new  world  has  arisen,  and  commencing 
a  real  and  saving  change.  The  great 
battle  of  which  the  signal  was  given  in 
the  theses  of  1517,  was  the  true  parent 
of  the  Reformation,  and  gave  to  it  both 
its  soul  and  its  form.  Luther  was  the 
earliest  of  the  Reformers. 

A  spirit  of  inquiry  was  beginning  to 
breathe  on  the  Swiss  mountains.  One 
day  the  curate  of  Glaris,  being  in  the 
lovely  country  of  Mollis,  at  the  house  of 
Adam  the  curate  of  the  place  in  com- 
pany with  Binzli,  curate  of  Wesen,  and 
Varchon,  curate  of  Kerensen,  the  party 
of  friends  found  an  old  liturgy  in  which 

*  Volebat  veritatem  coguitam,  in  cordibus 
auditorum,  agere  suuin  officium. — (Osw.  Myc- 
Vit.  Zw.) 


332 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


they  read  these  words, — "  After  the  child 
is  baptized,  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper  and  the  cup  is  to  be  given  him."* 
— "Then,"  remarked  Zwingle,  "the  Sup- 
per was  at  that  time  given  under  both 
kinds!"  The  liturgy  in  question  was 
about  two  centuries  old.  This  was  a 
grand  discovery  for  the  priests  of  the 
Alps. 

The  defeat  at  Marignan  produced  the 
consequences  that  were  to  be  expected  in 
the  remoter  cantons.  The  victorious 
Francis  I.  lavished  gold  and  flattery  to 
win  over  the  confederates  ;  and  the  Em- 
peror adjured  them  by  their  honour,  by 
the  tears  of  widows  and  orphans,  and  the 
blood  of  their  brethren,  not  to  sell  their 
services  to  their  murderers.  The  French 
party  prevailed  in  Glaris,  and  his  resi- 
dence in  the  country  became  from  that 
time  a  burthen  to  Ulric. 

At  Glaris,  Zwingle  might  have  re- 
mained a  man  of  his  own  age.  Party 
intrigue,  political  prejudices,  the  Empire, 
France,  the  Duke  of  Milan,  might  have 
almost  absorbed  his  life.  God  never 
leaves  in  the  tumult  of  the  world  those 
whom  he  is  training  for  the  people.  He 
leads  them  aside, — he  sets  them  in  soli- 
tude, where  they  may  feel  themselves  in 
his  presence,  and  gather  inexhaustible 
instruction.  The  Son  of  God  himself, 
the  type  in  that  particular  of  his  dealings 
with  his  servants,  passed  forty  days  in  the 
desert.  The  time  had  come  when 
Zwingle  was  to  be  delivered  from  the 
turmoil  of  his  political  agitation,  which 
by  constant  passage  through  his  soul 
would  have  quenched  the  Spirit  of  God. 
It  was  time  that  he  should  be  disciplined 
for  another  stage  than  that  whereon  fig- 
ured courtiers  and  factions,  and  on  which 
he  might  have  been  tempted  to  waste  an 
energy  worthy  of  better  aims.  His 
country  stood  in  need  of  a  very  different 
service.  It  was  necessary  that  a  new 
life  should  at  this  time  descend  from 
heaven,  and  that  he  who  was  to  be  the 
instrument  in  communicating  it  to  others 
should  himself  unlearn  the  things  of  time. 
These  two  spheres  are  entirely  distinct ; 
a  wide  space  separates  these  two  worlds  ; 
and  before  passing  from,  the  one  to  the 
other,  Zwingle  was  to  halt  for  a  while 

*  Detur  Eucharistiae  saeramentum,  similiter 
poculum  sanguinis. — (Zw.  Opp.  i.  266.) 


on  a  neutral  territory,  a  middle  and  pre- 
paratory ground,  there  to  be  taught  of 
God.  God  at  this  time  took  him  from 
the  centre  of  the  factions  of  Glaris,  and 
led  him,  for  his  noviciate,  to  the  solitude 
of  a  hermitage.  Thus  was  the  hopeful 
promise  of  the  Reformation,  which  ere 
long  was  to  be  transplanted  to  another 
soil,  and  to  cover  the  mountains  with  its 
shadow,  shut  up  in  the  narrow  enclosure 
of  the  walls  of  an  abbey. 

About  the  middle  of  the  ninth  century, 
a  wayfaring  monk,  Meinrad  of  Hohen- 
zollern,  had  passed  between  the  lakes  of 
Zurich  and  Wallstetten,  and  resting  on 
a  little  hill  in  front  of  an  ampitheatre  of 
fir  trees,  had  constructed  there  his  cell. 
Outlaws  had  imbrued  their  hands  in  the 
blood  of  the  saint.  For  a  long  time  the 
blood-stained  cell  was  deserted.  But  to- 
wards the  end  of  the  tenth  century,  a 
convent  and  church,  in  honour  of  the 
Virgin,  was  built  on  this  sacred  spot. 
On  the  eve  of  the  day  appointed  for  its 
consecration,  the  Bishop  of  Constance 
and  his  priests  were  at  prayers  in  the 
church — when  a  heavenly  chaunt,  pro- 
ceeding from  some  invisible  beings,  sud- 
denly resounded  in  the  chapel.  They 
listened  prostrate  and  amazed.  Next 
day,  as  the  Bishop  was  about  to  conse- 
crate the  chapel,  a  voice  three  times  re- 
peated, "  Stop  !  Stop  !  God  himself  has 
consecrated  it."*  Christ  in  person,  it  was 
said,  had  pronounced  his  blessing  on  it 
during  the  night ;  the  hymns  heard  were 
those  of  the  angels,  apostles,  and  saints  ; 
and  the  Virgin  had  appeared  for  an  in- 
stant like  a  flash  of  lightning  on  the  altar. 
A  bull  of  Leo  VIII.  forbade  the  faithful 
to  doubt  the  truth  of  this  legendary  tale. 
From  that  time  a  vast  crowd  of  pilgrims 
poured  incessantly  to  our  Lady  of  the 
Eremites  for  the  consecration  of  the  an- 
gels. Delphi  and  Ephesus  in  former 
ages,  and  Loretto  in  modern  times,  have 
alone  equalled  the  renown  of  Einsidlen. 
It  was  in  this  singular  scene  that  Ulric 
Zwingle  was,  in  1516,  called  to  be  priest 
and  preacher. 

Zwingle  did  not  hesitate.  "  I  am 
neither  swayed  by  ambition,  nor  the  love 
of  gain,"  said  he,  "  but  driven  by  the  in- 

*  Cessa,  cessa  frater,  divinitus  capella  conse- 
crata  est. — Hartm.  Annal.  Einsidl.  p.  51. 


THE   SWISS.— 1484.— 1522. 


333 


trigues  of  the  French."*  Motives  of  a 
higher  kind  concur  to  decide  him.  On 
the  one  hand  being  more  retired,  having 
more  quiet,  and  a  charge  of  less  extent, 
he  will  have  more  time  for  study  and 
meditation.  On  the  other  hand,  this  re- 
sort of  pilgrims  will  afford  him  oppor- 
tunity for  diffusing  to  the  most  distant 
lands  the  knowledge  of  Christ,  f 

The  friends  of  the  gospel  at  Glaris 
loudly  expressed  their  grief.  "  What 
worse  could  have  befallen  Glaris,"  said 
Peter  Tschudi,  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished citizens  of  the  canton,  "  than  to 
lose  so  valuable  a  man.1';};  His  parish- 
ioners, seeing  his  inflexibility,  resolved 
to  continue  to  him  the  name  of  pastor 
of  Glaris,  with  a  part  of  the  stipend,  and 
the  power  of  returning  to  it  whenever  he 
would.  § 

Conrad  of  Reichberg,  a  gentleman 
descended  from  an  ancient  family  of 
serious,  open-hearted,  intrepid,  and  some- 
times stern  manners,  was  one  of  the  best 
known  huntsmen  of  the  country  whither 
Zwingle  was  going.  He  had  established 
on  one  of  his  estates  a  stud  for  the  breed- 
ing of  horses,  which  became  famous  in 
Italy.  This  man  was  the  Abbot  of  Our 
Lady  of  the  Eremites.  Reichberg  held  in 
equal  aversion  the  pretensions  of  Rome, 
and  theological  controversy.  When  one, 
on  occasion  of  a  visitation  of  the  order, 
made  some  remarks  :  ':  I  am  master  here 
and  not  you,"  answered  he  abruptly; 
"go  about  your  business."  Another 
time,  when  Leo  .Tuda  was  discussing 
some  subject  at  table  with  the  adminis- 
trator of  the  convent,  the  hunting  Abbot 
exclaimed  : — "  Let  me  put  an  end  to  your 
disputings  : — I  say  with  David,  Have 
viercy  upon  me,  O  God  !  according  to  thy 
loving  kindness:  Enter  not  into  judg- 
ment with,  thy  servant  ! — and  I  want  to 
know  nothing  more.!,|| 

*  Locum  mutavimus  non  cupidinis  aut  cupidi- 
tatis  moti  stimulis,  verum  Gallomm  technis. — 
(Zw.  Epp.  24.) 

t  Christum  et  ejus  veritatem  in  regiones  et 
varias  et  rem'otas  divulgari  tain  felici  opportuni- 
tate.— (Osw.  Myc.  Vit.  Zw.) 

t  Quid  enim  Glareans  nostra  tristius  acci- 
dere  poterat,  tanto  videlicet  privari  viro. — (Zw. 
Epp.  p.  1G.) 

§  For  two  years  after  this,  Zwingle  still  signed 
himself :  Pastor  Glaronce,  Minister  Eremi. — 
(Ibid.) 

||  Wirz,  K.  Gesch.  iii.  363  Zwinglis  Bildung 
v.  Schiiler,  p.  174.    Miscell.     Tigur.  iii.  28. 


The  Baron  Theobald  de  Geroldsek 
was  administrator  of  the  monastery.     He 
was  of  mild  character,  sincerely  pious, 
and    fond    of  learning.       His    favourite 
scheme  was  to  collect  in  his  convent  a 
society  of  learned  men.     With  this  view 
he  had  invited  Zwingle.     Eager  for  in- 
struction, he  entreated  his  new  friend  to 
direct    his    studies.      "  Read   the    Holy 
Scriptures,"  answered  Zwingle,  "  and  for 
the  better  understanding  them,  consult 
St.  Jerome."     "  And  yet,"  he  continued, 
"  a  time  is  coming  (and  soon  too,  with 
God's  help,)  when  Christians  will  think 
little  of  St.  Jerome  or  any  other  teacher, 
but  the  Word  of  God."*     The  conduct 
of  Geroldsek  exhibited   evidence  of  his 
progress  in  the  faith.     He  gave  permis- 
sion to  the  nuns  of  a  nunnery  attached 
to  Einsidlen  to  read  the  Bible  in  the 
vulgar  tongue,  and  some  years  after  he 
took  up  his  abode  at  Zurich,  in  Zwingle's 
neighbourhood,  and  died  on'the  plain  of 
Cappel.    The  same  attraction  soon  united 
to  Zwingle  the  worthy  GExlin,  Lucas, 
and  other  inmates  of  the  abbey  walls. 
These    studious  men,   remote   from  the 
clamours  of  party,  were  accustomed  to 
read  together  the  Scriptures,  the  Fathers, 
the  masterpieces  of  antiquity,  and  the 
writings  of  the  restorers  of  learning.     It 
often  happened  that  friends  from  distant 
parts  joined  their  interesting  circle.     One 
day  Capito,  among  others,  arrived  on  a 
visit  to  Einsidlen.     The  two  friends,  re- 
newing the  connection  formed  at  Baden, 
together  went  round  the  convent  and  its 
wild  environs, — absorbed  in  conversation 
touching  the  Scripture  and  the  will  of 
God.     On  one  point  they  were  agreed  ; 
— it  was  that  the  Pope  must  fall !  Capito 
was  at  that  time  a  braver  man  than  he 
was  at  a  later  date. 

In  this  quiet  retreat.  Zwingle  had  rest, 
leisure,  books,  and  friends  ;  and  he  grew 
in  understanding  and  in  faith.  Then  it 
was  (May  1507,)  that  he  applied  him- 
self to  a  task  that  was  very  useful  to 
him.  As  in  early  times,  the  kings  of 
Israel  with  their  own  hands  transcribed 
the  law  of  God,  so  Zwingle  copied  out 
the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul.  There  were, 
then  none  but  cumbrous  editions  of  the   > 

*  Fore,  idque  brevi,  Deo  sic  juvante,  ut  neque 
Hieronymus  neque  ca^teri,  sed  sola  scriptura  di- 
vini  apud  Chrislianos  in  pnetio  sit  futura. — (Zw. 
Opp.  i.  273.) 


334 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


New  Testament,  and  Zwingle  wished 
to  be  able  to  carry  it  always  about  hirn.* 
He  learnt  by  heart  the  whole  of  the 
Epistles;  then  the  remaining  books  of 
the  New  Testament ;  and  after  that  por- 
tions of  the  Old.  Thus  did  his  heart 
cleave  more  and  more  to  the  supreme 
authority  of  God's  Word.  Not  satisfied 
with  acknowledging  its  supremacy,  he 
formed  the  resolution  to  subject  his  life 
to  it  in  sincerity.  Gradually  his  walk 
became  in  every  thing  more  Christian. 
The  purpose  lor  which  he  had  been 
brought  into  this  wilderness  was  then 
accomplishing.  Doubtless  it  was  not  till 
his  visit  to  Zurich  that  the  Christian  life 
penetrated  his  soul  with  power ;  but  al- 
ready at  Einsidlen  his  progress  in  sancti- 
fication  was  evident.  At  Glaris  he  had 
been  seen  to  take  part  in  worldly  amuse- 
ments;— at  Einsidlen  he  was  more  notice- 
able for  purity  of  manners  and  freedom 
from  every  stain  and  from  every  kind  of 
worldliness:  he  began  to  see  the  great 
spiritual  interests  of  the  people,  and  by 
slow  degrees  learned  what  God  would 
teach  him. 

Providence  had  besides  other  purposes 
in  bringing  him  to  Einsidlen.  He  was 
to  have  a  nearer  view  of  the  supersti- 
tions and  corruptions  which  had  invaded 
the  Church.  The  image  of  the  Virgin, 
■carefully  preserved  in  the  monastery,  it 
was  alleged  had  the  power  of  working 
miracles.  Over  the  gate  of  the  abbey 
might  be  read  this  pompous  inscription 
— "  Here  may  be  obtained  complete  re- 
mission of  sins."  A  multitude  of  pil- 
grims from  all  parts  of  Christendom 
flocked  to  Einsidlen,  that  they  might  ob- 
tain this  grace  for  their  pilgrimage.  The 
church,  the  abbey,  the  whole  valley,  was 
crowded  on  occasion  of  the  fete  of  the 
Virgin,  with  her  devout  worshippers. 
But  it  was  especially  on  the  grand  fete 
of  the  consecration  of  the  angelg,  that  the 
crowd  thronged  the  hermitage.  Long 
files,  to  the  number  of  several  thousands 
of  both  sexes,  climbed  the  steep  sides  of 
the  mountain  leading  to  the  oratory,  sing- 
ing hymns,  or  counting  the  beads  of  their 
chaplets.  These  devout  pilgrims  forced 
their  way  into  the  church,  believing  them- 
selves nearer  to  God  there  than  any  where 
else. 

Zwingle's  residence  at  Einsidlen  had 
*  This  manuscript  is  in  the  library  of  Zurich. 


similar  effects  to  those  attending  Luther's 
visit  to  Rome,  in  admitting  him  to  a 
closer  view  of  the  corruptions  of  the 
Papacy.  It  was  there  his  education,  as 
a  Reformer,  was  completed.  The  seri- 
ousness his  soul  had  acquired  soon  mani- 
fested itself  in  outward  action.  Affected 
at  the  sight  of  so  many  evils,  he  resolved 
to  oppose  them  energetically.  He  did 
not  falter  between  his  conscience  and  his 
interest.  He  boldly  stood  up,  and  his 
powerful  eloquence  fearlessly  attacked 
the  superstition  of  the  crowd  that  sur- 
rounded him.  "  Think  not,"  said  he, 
speaking  from  his  pulpit,  "  that  God  is 
in  this  temple  more  than  in  any  other 
part  of  creation.  Wherever  he  has  fixed 
your  dwelling  he  encompasses  you,  and 
hears  you  as  much  as  at  our  Lady  at 
Einsidiin.  What  power  can  there  be  in 
unprofitable  works,  weary  pilgrimages, 
offerings,  prayers  to  the  Virgin  and  the 
saints,  to  secure  you  the  favour  of  God  ! 
What  signify  the  multiplying  of  words 
in  prayer !  What  efficacy  in  the  cowl, 
or  shaven  crown,  or  priestly  garments 
falling,  and  adorned  with  gold !  God 
looks  upon  the  heart — and  our  heart  is 
far  off  from  God."* 

But  Zwingle  was  resolved  to  do  more 
than  resist  superstition ;  he  sought  to 
satisfy  the  ardent  desire  after  reconcilia- 
tion with  God,  which  urged  on  some  of 
the  pilgrims  that  flocked  to  the  chapel 
of  our  Lady  of  Einsidlen.  "  Christ,"  he 
cried,  like  the  Baptist  from  another  wil- 
derness of  Judea  ;  "  Christ,  who  offered 
himself  on  the  cross  once  for  all,  is  the 
sacrifice  and  victim  which  satisfies  for  all 
eternity,  for  the  sins  of  all  believers."! 
Thus  Zwingle  went  forward.  From  the 
hour,  when  so  bold  a  style  of  preaching 
was  heard  in  the  most  venerated  sanc- 
tuary in  Switzerland,  the  banner  of  re- 
sistance to  Rome  was  more  distinctly 
visible  above  its  mountains :  and  there 
was  a  kind  of  earthquake  of  reformation 
which  moved  its  very  foundations. 

In  truth,  an  universal  astonishment 
took  possession  of  men's  minds  at  the 
sound  of  the  eloquent  priest's  sermons. 

*  Vestis  oblonga  et  plicis  plena,  muli  auro  or- 
nati  .  .  .  Cor  vero  interim  procul  a  Deo  est. — 
(Zvv.  Opp.  i.  23G.) 

t  Christus  qui  sese  semel  in  cruce  obtulit,  hos- 
tia  est  et  victima  satisfaciens  in  sternum,  pro 
peccatis  omnium  fidelium. — (Ibid.  263.) 


THE   SWISS.— 1484— 1522. 


335 


Some  withdrew  with  horror  ;  others  fluc- 
tuated between  the  faith  of  their  fathers 
and  the  doctrine  that  was  to  give  them 
peace  ;  many  were  led  to  that  Jesus  who 
was  declared  to  be  full  of  mercy,  and 
took  away  with  them  the  tapers  they 
had  brought  to  present  to  the  Virgin. 
A  crowd  of  pilgrims  returned  to  their 
native  places,  everywhere  announcing 
the  tidings  they  had  heard  at  Einsidlen. 
"  Christ  alone  saves  us,  and  he  saves 
everywhere  !"  It  often  happened  that 
troops  of  pilgrims,  astonished  at  what 
they  thus  heard  recounted,  turned  back 
without  completing  their  pilgrimage. 
The  worshippers  of  Mary  were  every 
day  fewer.  It  was  from  their  offerings 
the  revenue  of  Zwingle  and  of  Geroldsek 
was  drawn.  But  the  bold  witness  .for 
the  truth  was  too  happy  to  see  himself 
impoverished,  while  thus,  spiritually, 
making  many  rich. 

On  Easter  Sunday,  1518,  among  the 
numerous  hearers  of  Zwingle  was  a 
learned  man,  of  gentle  character  and 
active  charity,  named  Gaspard  Hedio, 
a  doctor  of  divinity  at  Bale.  Zwingle 
preached  on  the  history  of  the  man  taken 
with  palsy  (Luke  v.),  in  which  occurs 
our  Lord's  declaration :  "  The  Son  of 
Man  hath  power  on  earth  to  forgive  sins" 
a  passage  well  suited  to  strike  the  crowd 
assembled  in  the  church  of  the  Virgin. 
The  preacher's  discourse  moved,  de- 
lighted, and  inspired  the  whole  assem- 
bly ;  and  in  an  especial  manner  the 
doctor  of  Bale.*  Long  afterwards  Hedio 
would  express  his  admiration  : — "  How 
beautiful  and  profound  !  how  grave  and 
convincing  !  how  moving  and  agreeable 
to  the  Gospel  was  that  discourse  !"  said 
he.  "  How  it  reminds  one  of  the  cvepyeia, 
(force)  of  the  ancient  doctors."f  From 
that  moment  Hedio  admired  and  loved 
Zwingle. |  He  longed  to  go  to  him  and 
open  his  heart :  he  lingered  about  the 
abbey  without  daring  to  make  advances, 
restrained,  as  he  tells  us,  by  a  sort  of 
superstitious  fear.  Mounting  his  horse, 
he  slowly  departed  from  our  Lady's 
chapel,  looking  back  on  a  spot  which 

*  Id  sermo  ita  me  inflammavit.  .  . — (Zw.  Epp. 
p.  90.) 

t  Elegans  ille,  doctus,  gravis,  copiosus,  pene- 
•  trans  et  evangelicus  .  .  . — (Ibid.  89.) 

I  Ut  inciperem  Zwinglium  arctissime  complec- 
ti,  suscipere  at  admirari. — (Ibid.) 


held  so  great  a  treasure,  with  the  warmest 
regret.* 

In  this  manner  did  Zwingle  preach ; 
less  powerfully,  no  doubt,  but  with  more 
moderation,  and  no  less  success  than  Lu- 
ther ;  he  avoided  precipitation,  and  gave 
less  offence  to  men's  minds  than  the 
Saxqn  monk  ;  he  trusted  to  the  power 
of  Truth  for  results.  The  same  pru- 
dence marked  his  intercourse  with  the 
dignitaries  of  the  Church.  Far  from 
directly  opposing  them,  like  Luther, — 
he  continued  long  on  friendly  terms  with 
them.  They  treated  him  with  respect, 
not  only  on  account  of  his  learning  and 
talents,  (and  Luther  would  have  been 
entitled  to  equal  attention  from  the  Bish- 
ops of  Mentz  and  Brandeburg)  but  still' 
more  on  account  of  his  devotion  to  the 
Pope's  political  views,  and  the  influence 
that  such  a  man  as  Zwingle  must  needs 
possess  in  a  republic. 

In  fact,  several  cantons,  weary  of  the 
Pope's  service,  were  on  the  point  of  a 
rupture.  But  the  Legates  hoped  to  re- 
tain many  on  their  side  by  gaining 
Zwingle,  as  they  had  gained  over  Eras- 
mus, by  pensions  and  honours.  The 
Legates,  Ennius  and  Pucci,  often  visited 
Einsidlen,  where,  from  the  proximity  of 
the  democratic  cantons,  their  negociations 
with  those  states  were  most  easy.  But 
Zwingle,  far  from  sacrificing  truth  to  the 
solicitations  and  bribes  of  Rome,  allowed 
no  opportunity  to  pass  of  defending  the 
Gospel.  The  famous  Schinner,  who  was 
then  on  ill  terms  with  his  diocese,  spent 
some  time  at  Einsidlen.  "  The  whole 
Papacy,"  remarked  Zwingle,  in  conver- 
sation with  him,  "  rests  on  bad  founda- 
tions, f  Do  you  begin  and  clear  away 
errors  and  corruptions,  or  else  you  will 
see  the  whole  fabric  come  tumbling  to 
the  ground  with  frightful  noise. "| 

He  spoke  with  the  same  frankness  to 
the  Legate  Pucci.  Four  times  did  he 
return  to  the  charge.  "  By  God's  help," 
said  he,  "  I  mean  to  preach  the  Gospel, 
— and  that  will  shake  Rome  :"  and  then 
he  went  on  to  explain  what  was  needed  in 
order  to  save  the  Church.    Pucci  promised 

*  Sicque  abequitavi,  non  sine  moiestia,  quam 
tamen  ipse  mihi  pepereram. — (Ibid.  90.) 

t  Dass  das  ganz  papstum  einen  sclilechten 
grund  habe. — (Zw.  Opp.  ii.  pars.  i.  7.) 

t  Oder  aber  sy  werdind  mit  grosser  unriiw 
umfallen. — (Ibid.) 


<aoo 


HISTORY  OF   THE   REFORMATION. 


every  thing,  but  did  nothing.  Zwingle 
declared  his  intention  to  throw  up  the 
Pope's  pension,  but  the  Legate  entreated 
him  to  retain  it.  As  he  had  no  desire 
to  appear  in  open  hostility  against  the 
head  of  the  Church,  Zwingle  continued 
in  receipt  of  it  for  three  years.  "But 
do  not  think,"  said  he,  "  that  for'  any 
money  I  will  suppress  a  single  syllable 
of  truth."*  _  Pucci.  in  alarm,  procured 
the  nomination  of  the  Reformer  as  acolyte 
of  the  Pope.  It  was  a  step  to  further 
honours.  Rome  sought  to  intimidate 
Luther  by  solemn  judgments ;  and  to 
win  Zwingle  by  her  favours.  Against 
one  she  hurled  excommunications  ;  to  the 
other  she  cast  her  gold  and  splendours. 
•They  were  two  different  methods  for 
attaining  the  same  end,  and  sealing  the 
daring  lips  which  presumed,  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  Pope's  pleasure,  to  proclaim 
the  word  of  God  in  Germany  and  Swit- 
zerland. The  last  device  was  the  most 
skilfully  conceived, — but  neither  was  suc- 
cessful. The  enlarged  hearts  of  the 
preachers  of  the  Gospel  were  shewn  to 
be  above  the  reach  of  vengeance  or 
seduction. 

About  this  time,  Zwingle  conceived 
great  hopes  of  another  Swiss  prelate. 
This  was  Hugo  of  Landenberg,  Bishop 
of  Constance.  Landenberg  gave  direc- 
tions for  a  general  visitation  of  the 
churches,  but  being  a  man  of  very  feeble 
character,  he  allowed  himself  to  be  over- 
ruled, sometimes  by  Faber  his  vicar,  at 
others  by  a  bad  woman,  from  whose  in- 
fluence he  could  not  extricate  himself. 
He  sometimes  seemed  to  honour  the 
Gospel  ;  and  yet,  if  any  one  preached  it 
boldly,  he  looked  upon  the  preacher  as 
a  disturber.  He  was  one  of  those  men 
too  often  met  with  in  the  church,  who, 
preferring  truth  to  error,  are  nevertheless 
more  tender  of  error  than  concerned  for 
truth  ;  and  are  frequently  found  at  last 
opposed  to  those  in  whose  ranks  they 
ought  to  be  contending.  Zwingle  ap- 
plied to  Hugo  ; — but  in  vain.  He  was 
doomed  to  experience,  as  Luther  had 
done,  that  it  was  useless  to  invoke  the 
assistance  of  the  heads  of  the  Church  ; 
and  that  the  only  way  to  revive  Chris- 
tianity was  to  act  the  part  of  a  faithful 

*  Frustra  sperari  me  vel  verbulum  de  veritate 
deminuturum  esse,  pecuniae  gratia. — (Zw.  Opp. 
i.  365.) 


teacher  of  God's  word.     The  opportunity 
for  this  was  not  long  delayed. 

In  1518,  a  barefooted  Carmelite  arri- 
ved on  the  heights  of  St.  Gothard,  in 
those  elevated  passes  which  have  been 
with  difficulty  opened  across  the  steep 
rocks  that  separate  Switzerland  from 
Italy.  This  man  had  been  brought  up 
in  an  Italian  convent,  and  was  the  bearer 
of  Papal  indulgences,  which  he  was 
commissioned  to  sell  to  the  good  Chris- 
tian people  of  the  Helvetic  league.  Bril- 
liant successes  under  two  preceding  Popes 
had  made  him  notorious  for  this  shame- 
ful traffic.  Companions  of  his  journey, 
whose  business  it  was  to  puff  off  his 
wares,  accompanied  his  advance  across 
snows  and  ice-fields,  as  old  as  creation 
itself.  The  caravan,  miserable  in  its  ap- 
pearance, and  a  good  deal  resembling  a 
troop  of  adventurers  in  quest  of  booty, 
went  forward  to  the  sound  of  the  dashing 
streams  that  form  by  their  confluence  the 
rivers  Rhine,  Reuss,  Aar,  Rhone,  Tes- 
sino,  and  others, — silently  meditating  the 
spoiling  of  the  simple  Swiss.  Samson, — 
for  that  was  the  name  of  the  Carmelite, 
attended  by  his  company,  arrived  first  at 
Uri,  and  commenced  their  trade.  They 
had  soon  made  an  end  with  these  poor 
country  folks,  and  removed  thence  to  the 
canton  of  Schwitz.  It  was  there  Zwingle 
was  residing ;  and  there  it  was  that  the 
contest  between  these  servants  of  two 
widely  different  masters  was  to  begin. 
"  /  am  empowered  to  remit  all  sins .'"  said 
the  Italian  monk  (the  Tetzel  of  Switzer- 
land) to  the  people  of  Schwitz.  "Heaven 
and  earth  are  subject  to  my  authority ; 
and  I  dispose  of  Christ's  merits  to  who- 
ever will  purchase  them, — by  bringing 
me  their  money  for  their  indulgence." 

When  tidings  of  this  discourse  reached 
Zwingle,  his  zeal  was  kindled,  and  he 
preached  vehemently.  "  Christ,"  said 
he,  "  the  Son  of  God,  says,  Come  unto  me 
all  ye  who  labour  and  are  heavy  laden, 
and  I  will  give  you  rest.  What  auda- 
cious folly  and  madness  is  it  then  to  say, 
contradicting  him :  '  Buy  letters  of  in- 
dulgence,— apply  to  Rome, — give  your 
money  to  the  monks, — sacrifice  to  the 
priests  !* — if  you  do  these  things,  I  will 
absolve  you  from  your  sins.'     Christ  is 

*  Romam  curre !  redime  literas  indulgenti- 
arum  !  da  tantumdem  monachis !  offer  sacerdo- 
tibus,  &c— (Zw.  Opp.  i.  222.) 


THE   SWISS— 1484— 1522. 


337 


the  one  offering!  Christ  is  the  only  sac- 
rifice !     Christ  is  the  only  way  !"* 

Throughout  Schwitz  people  soon  spoke 
of  Samson  as  a  cheat  and  impostor.  He 
took  the  road  to  Zug ;  and,  for  the  mo- 
ment, the  two  champions  missed  each 
other. 

Scarcely  had  Samson  taken  his  depar- 
ture from  Schwitz,  when  a  citizen  of  that 
canton  named  Stapfer,  who  was  much 
respected,  and  afterwards  public  secre- 
tary, was  suddenly  reduced,  with  his 
family,  to  a  state  of  total  destitution. 
"Alas!"  said  he,  addressing  himself  in 
his  perplexity  to  Zwingle,  "  I  know  not 
how  to  satisfy  my  hunger  and  the  wants 
of  my  poor  children. "j  Zwingle  could 
give  when  Rome  would  take  ;  and  he 
was  as  ready  to  do  good  works,  as  he 
was  to  oppose  those  who  inculcated  them 
as  means  by  which  we  are  saved.  He 
daily  supplied  Stapfer  with  support-!  "  It 
is  God,"  said  he,  intent  on  taking  no 
credit  to  himself,  "  it  is  God  who  "begets 
charity  in  the  believer,  and  gives  at  once 
the  first  thought,  the  resolve,  and  the 
work  itself:  it  is  God  who  does  it  by  his 
own  power."^  Stapfer's  affection  for  him 
lasted  till  death  ;  and  four  years  after 
this,  when  he  filled  the  post  of  secretary 
of  Schwitz,  he  turned  to  Zwingle  under 
the  feeling  of  a  higher  want,  and  with 
noble  candour  said,  "  Since  it  was  you 
who  once  supplied  my  temporal  need, 
how  much  more  may  I  expect  you  may 
give  me  that  which  shall  satisfy  the 
famine  of  my  soul." 

The  friends  of  Zwingle  multiplied 
daily.  It  was  no  longer  at  Glaris,  Bale, 
and  Schwitz,  that  persons  were  found 
whose  hearts  were  with  him  : — at  Uri, 
there  was  Schmidt  the  secretary  ;  at  Zug, 
Colin  Muller,  and  Werner  Stein er,  his 
old  companion  in  arms  at  Marignan  ;  at 
Lucerne,  Xyloctect  and  Kilchmeyer  ;  at 
Bienne,  Wittembach  ;  and  in  other  parts 
not  a  few.  But  the  curate  of  Einsidlen 
had  no  more  devoted  friend  than  Oswald 
Myconius.     Oswald  had  quitted  Bale  in 

*  Christus  una  est  oblatio,  unum  sacrificium, 
una  via. — (Ibid.  201.) 

t  Ut  mese,  meorumque  liberorum  inedia?  cor- 
porali  subveniretis. — (Zw.  Epp.  284.) 

t  Largas  mihi  quotidie  suppetias  tulistis. — 
(Ibid.) 

§  Caritatem  ingenerat  Deus,  consilium,  pro- 
positum  et  opus.  Quidquid  boni  praestat  Justus, 
hoc  Deus  sua  virtute  prsestat. — (Zw.  Opp.  i.  226.) 

43 


15 16  to  take  the  direction  of  the  cathedral 
school  at  Zurich.  At  this  period  that 
city  possessed  neither  learned  men  nor 
schools.  Oswald  laboured,  in  conjunc- 
tion with  several  benevolent  persons,  to 
reclaim  the  people  of  Zurich  from  their 
ignorance,  and  initiate  them  in  ancient 
learning.  He  at  the  same  time  defended 
the  uncompromising  truth  of  holy  Scrip- 
ture, and  declared  that  if  the  Pope  or  the 
Emperor  should  enjoin  what  was  con- 
trary to  the  Gospel,  it  was  man's  duty  to 
obey  God  alone,  who  is  above  Emperor 
or  Pope. 

Seven  centuries  before,.  Charlemagne 
had  added  a  college  of  canons  to  that 
same  cathedral:,  the  school  attached  to 
which  was  placed  under  Oswald  Myco- 
nius. These  canons  having  declined 
from  their  first  institution,  and  wishing 
So  enjoy  eheir  benefices  in  the  sweets  of 
indolence,  had  adopted  the  custom  of 
electing  a  preacher,  to  whom  they  dele- 
gated the  duty  of  preaching  and  the  cure 
of  souls.  This  post  became  vacant  short- 
ly after  the  arrival  of  Oswald,  who  im- 
mediately thought  of  his  friend.  What 
a  blessing  it  would;  be  to  Zurich  !  Zwin- 
gle's  manners  and  appearance  were  pre- 
possessing ; — he  was  a  handsome  man,* 
of  polite  address,  and  pleasing  conversa- 
tion, already  remarked  for  his  eloquence, 
and  distinguished  among  all  the  con- 
federated Swiss  for  his  brilliant  genius. 
Myconiirs  spoke  of  him  to  the  provost  of 
the  chapter,  Felix  Frey,f  who  was  pre- 
possessed by  the  manners  and  talents  of 
Zwingle  : — to  Utinger,  an  old  man  much 
respected,  and  to  the  canon  Hoffman,  a 
man  of  upright  and  open  character,  who 
having  for  a  long  time  opposed  the  foreign 
service  of  the  Swiss,  was  favourably  in- 
clined toward  Ulric.  Other  inhabitants 
of  Zurich  had,  on  different  occasions, 
heard  Zwingle  at  Einsidlen,  and  had 
returned  home  full  of  admiration.  The 
approaching  election  of  a  preacher  for 
the  cathedral  ere  long  put  every  body  in 
Zurich  in  motion.  Various  interests 
were  started  : — many  laboured  night  and 
day  to  promote  the  election  of  the  elo- 
quent preacher  of  our  Lady  of  the  Ere- 


*  Dan  Zwingli  vom  lyb  ein  hnbscher  man 
wass. — (Bullinger  MS.) 

t  Und  als  Imme  sein  gestalt  und  geschiklich- 
keit  wol  gefiel,  gab  er  Im  syn  stimm. — (Ibid.) 


338 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


mites.*  Myconius  apprized  his  friend  of 
it.  "  On  Wednesday  next,"  answered 
Zwingle,  "  I  am  going  to  dine  at  Zurich, 
and  we  will  talk  it  over."  He  came  ac- 
cordingly. Calling  on  one  of  the  canons 
the  latter  inquired :  "  Could  you  not 
come  amongst  us  and  preach  the  word  of 
God  ?" — "  I  could,"  answered  Zwingle, 
"  but  I  will  not  come  unless  invited  ;" 
and  forthwith  he  returned  to  his  mon- 
astery. 

This  visit  alarmed  his  enemies.  They 
persuaded  several  priests  to  offer  them- 
selves as  candidates  for  the  vacant  post. 
A  Suabian,  named  Lorenzo  Fable,  even 
preached  a  sermon  in  proof  of  his  talent ; 
and  a  report  prevailed  that  he  was  chosen. 
"  True  it  is,  then,"  said  Zwingle  when 
he  heard  it,  "  no  prophet  is  honoured  in 
his  own  country ;  since  a  Suabian  is  pre- 
ferred before  a  Swiss.  I  see  what  pop- 
ular applause  is  worth."f  Immediately 
afterwards  Zwingle.  received  intelligence 
from  the  secretary  of  Cardinal  Schinner 
that  the  election  had  not  taken  place ; 
nevertheless  the  false  report  that  had 
reached  him  piqued  the  curate  of  Ein- 
sidlen.  Finding  one  so  unworthy  as 
Fable  aspiring  to  fill  the  office,  he  was 
the  more  bent  on  obtaining  it,  and  wrote 
to  Myconius  on  the  subject.  Oswald 
answered  the  following  day.  "  Fable 
will  continue  Fable  :  the  good  folks  who 
will  have  to  decide  the  election,  have 
learned  that  he  is  the  father  of  six  sons, 
and  is  besides  possessed  of  I  can't  tell 
how  many  benefices."! 

Zwingle's  opponents  were  not  dis- 
couraged ;  true,  all  agreed  in  extolling 
his  distinguished  acquirements  ;  §  but 
some  said,  "  He  is  too  passionately  fond 
of  fnusic;"  others,  "he  is  fond  of  com- 
pany and  pleasure ;"  others  again,  "  he 
was  in  his  youth  very  intimate  with  peo- 
ple of  loose  morals."  One  man  even 
charged  him  with  having  been  guilty  of 
seduction.  This  was  mere  calumny : — 
yet  Zwingle,  although  more  innocent 
than  the  ecclesiastics  of  his  age,  had 
more  than  once,  in  the  first  years  of  his 

*  Qui  dies  et  noctes  laborarent  ut  vir  ille  sub- 
rogaretur.— (Osw.  Myc.  Vit.  Zw.) 

t  Scio  vulgi  acclamationes  et  illud  blandum 
Euge!  Euge!— (Zw.  Epp.  p.  53.) 

X  Fabula  manebit  fabula ;  quem  domini  mei 
acceperunt  sex  pueris  esse  patrem  .  .  . (Ibid.) 

(j  Neminem  tamen,  qui  tuam  doctrinam  non 
ad  ccelum  ferat  .  . — (Ibid.) 


ministry,  given  way  to  the  passions  of 
youth.     It   is  not  easy  to  estimate  the 
effect  upon  the  soul  of  the  atmosphere  in 
which  it  lives.     There  existed  under  the 
Papacy,  and  among  the  clergy,  disorders 
that  were  established,  allowed,  and  rec- 
ognised,  as   agreeable   to   the    laws   of 
nature.     A   saying  of  iEneas   Sylvius, 
afterwards   Pope  Pius  II,    gives   some 
notion  of  the  wretched  state  of  public 
morals  at  this  period.*      Licentiousness 
had  become  almost  every  where  allowed. 
Oswald  exerted  all  his  activity  in  his 
friend's  favour.     He  laboured  to  the  ut- 
most to  clear  his  character,  and  happily 
succeeded.!     He  visited  the  burgomaster 
Roust,    Hoffman,    Frey,    and     Utinger. 
He   extolled  the  probity,  the  frankness, 
and   deportment  of  Zwingle,  and    con- 
firmed the  favourable  impression  that  he 
had  made  on  the  people  of  Zurich.     But 
little  credence  was  given  to  the  assertions 
of  his  adversaries.     The  men   of  most 
weight  gave  their  judgment  that  Zwingle 
should  be  the  preacher  of  Zurich.     The 
canons  whispered  the  same  thing.     "  You 
may  hope  for  success,"  wrote  Oswald  with 
emotion,  "for  I  have  hopes  of  it."    At  the 
same  time  he  apprised  him  of  the  charges 
of  his  enemies.     Although  Zwingle  was 
not  yet  altogether  a  new  man,  his  was 
the  soul  of  one  whose  conscience  is  awak- 
ened, and  who  may  fall  into  sin,  but  never 
without  struggle   and   remorse.      Often 
had  he  determined  to  live  a  holy  life, — 
alone   among  his  order — in  the  world. 
But  when  he  heard  himself  accused  he 
would  not  boast  of  exemption  from  sin. 
Accordingly  he  wrote  to  the  canon  Utin- 
ger.    "  With  none  to  walk  with  me  in 
the  path  of  holiness  (many  even  of  those 
about  me  being  offended  at  it,)  I  did  alas! 
fall; — and,  as  St.  Peter  says,  turned  again, 
like   a  dog,   to  my  own  vomit. £     God 
knows  with  what  shame  and  anguish  I 
have  dragged  forth  into  light  these  sins 
from  the  depths  of  my  heart,  and  spread 
them  before  that  mighty  God,  to  whom 
I,    however,    confess    my   wretchedness 
more  freely  than  to  mortal  man."§     But 

*  Non  esse  qui  vigesimum  annum  excessit,  nee 
virginem  tetigerit. — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  57.) 

t  Reprimo  hffic  pro  viribus,  imo  et  repressi. — 
(Ibid.  54.) 

X  Quippe  neminem  habens,  comitem  hujus  in- 
tituti,  scandalizantes  vero  non  paucos,  hen  '.  ce- 
cidi  et  factus  sum  canisad  vomitum. — (Ibid.  55.) 

§  En  cum  verecundia  (Deus  novit !)  magna 


THE  SWISS— 1484— 1522. 


339 


while  Zwingle  acknowledged  himself  a 
sinner,  he  vindicated  himself  from  the 
odious  charges  brought  against  him,  and 
affirmed  that  lie  had  ever  abhorred  the 
thought  of  adultery,  or  the  seduction  of 
the  innocent ;  * — melancholy  excesses  ! 
then  too  common  : — "  I  call  to  witness," 
he  added,  "  all  with  whom  I  ever  lived."f 

On  the  1  lth  of  December  the  election 
took  place.  Zwingle  was  chosen  by  a 
majority  of  seventeen  out  of  twenty-four 
votes.  The  time  had  come  for  the  Ref- 
ormation to  arise  in  Switzerland.  The 
chosen  instrument  that  Providence  had 
been  for  three  years  preparing  in  the 
seclusion  of  Einsidlen  was  ready,  and 
was  to  be  transferred  to  another  scene. 
God,  who  had  made  choice  of  the  rising 
university  of  Wittemberg,  situate  in  the 
heart  of  Germany,  under  the  protection 
of  the  wisest  of  princes,  there  to  call  Lu- 
ther,— made  a  choice  of  Zurich,  esteemed 
the  chief  town  of  Helvetia,  there  to  fix 
Zwingle.  At  Zurich  he  would  be  in 
communication  not  merely  with  the  most 
intelligent  and  simple-minded,  the  most 
resolute  and  energetic,  of  the  Swiss  popu- 
lation, but  also  with  the  various  cantons 
that  lay  around  that  ancient  and  influen- 
tial state.  The  hand  that  had  taken  up 
a  poor  herdsman  of  mount  Sentis,  and 
placed  him  in  a  preparatory  school, — now 
established  him,  mighty  in  word  and  in 
deed,  in  the  face  of  all  his  nation,  that  he 
might  become  the  instrument  of  its  re- 
generation. Zurich  was  to  become  the 
focus  of  illumination  for  the  whole  of 
Switzerland. 

To  the  inmates  of  Einsidlen,  the  day 
on  which  they  received  the  tidings  of 
Zwingle's  nomination  was  a  day  of  re- 
joicing and  grief  intermingled.  The 
society  which  had  been  formed  there  was 
about  to  be  broken  up  by  the  removal 
of  its  most  valuable  member ;  and  who 
could  tell  whether  superstition  might  not 
again  assert  her  sway  over  that„ancient 
haunt  of  the  pilgrim  ?  The  Council  of 
Schwitz  transmitted  to  Ulric  an  address, 

haec  ex  pectoris  specubus  depromsi,  apud  eum 
scilicet  cum  quo  etiam  coram  minus  quam  cum 
ullo  ferme  mortalium  confiteri  vererer. — (Zw. 
Epp.  p.  55.) 

*  Ea  ratio  nobis  perpetuo  fuit,  nee  alienum 
thorum  conscendere,  nee  virginem  vitiare. — 
(Ibid.) 

t  Testes  invoco  cunctos,  quibuscum  vixi. — 
(Ibid.) 


expressive  of  their  sentiments,  in  which 
they  styled  him  "  their  reverend,  learned, 
and  very  gracious  malster  and  worthy 
friend."*  "  Choose  for  us  at  least  a  suc- 
cessor worthy  of  yourself,"  said  Geroldsek 
to  Zwingle.  "  I  have  a  little  lion  for 
you,"  he  replied,  "  who  is  both  simple- 
hearted  and  wise ;  a  man  conversant 
with  the  mysteries  of  Holy  Writ."  "  I 
will  have  him,"  said  the  administrator 
immediately.  This  was  Leo  Juda,  that 
mild  yet  intrepid  man,  with  whom  Zwin- 
gle had  contracted  so  close  a  fellowship 
at  Bale.  Leo  Juda  accepted  a  charge 
which  brought  him  nearer  to  his  beloved 
Ulric.  The  latter,  after  embracing  his 
friends,  bade  farewell  to  the  solitude  of 
Einsidlen,  and  pursued  his  journey  to 
that  delightful  region,  where  the  cheer- 
ful and  goodly  city  of  Zurich  is  seated, 
amidst  an  amphitheatre  of  gentle  hills, 
whose  sides  are  clothed  with  vineyards, 
and  their  feet  bedecked  with  meadows 
and  orchards,  while  over  their  wooded 
crests  are  descried  the  lofty  summits  of 
the  distant  Albis.  Zurich,  the  political 
centre  of  Switzerland,  where  the  leading 
men  of  the  nation  were  frequently  assem- 
bled, was  a  point  from  which  the  Hel- 
vetic territory  might  be  acted  on,  and  the 
seeds  of  truth  scattered  over  the  whole 
of  the  cantons.  Accordingly  the  friends 
of  literature  and  of  the  Gospel  hailed  the 
election  of  Zwingle  with  their  heartiest 
acclamations.  At  Paris,  especially,  the 
Swiss  students,  who  were  a  numerous 
body  there,  were  transported  with  joy  at 
the.  tidings.f  But  if  at  Zurich,  Zwingle 
had  the  prospect  of  a  mighty  victory 
opened  to  him,  he  had  also  to  expect  an 
arduous  conflict.  Glareanus  wrote  to 
him  from  Paris :  "  I  foresee  that  your 
learning  will  excite  a  bitter  hostility 
against  you  ;  but  take  courage,  and,  like 
Hercules,  you  will  overcome  all  the 
monsters  you  have  to  encounter."^ 

It  was  on  the  27th  of  December,  1518, 
that  Zwingle  arrived  at  Zurich;  he 
alighted  at  the  hotel  of  Einsidlen.  His 
welcome  was  a  cordial  and  honourable 


*  Reverende,  perdecte,  admodum  gratiose  dom- 
ine  ac  bone  amice. — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  60.) 

t  Omnes  adeo  quotquot  ex  Helvetiis  adsunt  ju- 
venes  fremere  et  gaudere. — (Ibid.  p.  64.) 

t  Quantum  invidiaa  tibi  inter  istos  eruditio  tua 
conflabit.— (Ibid.  64.) 


340 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


one.*     The  chapter  immediately  assem- 
bled to  receive  him,  and  he  was  invited 
to  take  his  place  among  his  colleagues. 
Felix  Frey  presided  ;  the  canons,  wheth- 
er friendly  or  hostile  to  Zwingle,  were 
seated  indiscriminately  round  their  prin- 
cipal.    There  was  a  general  excitement 
throughout  the  assembly ;  every  one  felt, 
though  probably  he  knew  not  why,  that 
this  new  appointment  was  likely  to  have 
momentous  results.     As  the  innovating 
spirit  of  the  young  priest  was  regarded 
with  apprehension,  it  was   agreed  that 
the  most  important  of  the  duties  attached 
to  his  new  office   should   be  distinctly 
pointed  out  to  him.     "  You  will  use  your 
utmost  diligence,"  he  was  gravely  ad- 
monished, "  in  collecting  the  revenues  of 
the  chapter — not  overlooking  the  smallest 
item.     You  will  exhort  the  faithful,  both 
from  the  pulpit  and  in  the  confessional, 
to  pay  all  dues  and  tithes,  and  to  testify 
by  their  offerings  the  love  which  they 
bear  to  the  Church.     You  will  be  careful 
to  increase  the  income  that  arises  from 
the  sick,  from  masses,  and  in  general  from 
all  ecclesiastical  ordinances."     The  chap- 
ter added :  "  As  to  the  administration  of 
the  sacraments,  preaching  and  personally 
watching  over  the  flock, — these  also  are 
among  the  duties  of  the  priest.     But  for 
the  performance  of  these,  you  may  em- 
ploy a  vicar  to  act  in  your  stead, — es- 
pecially in   preaching.     You  are  to  ad- 
minister the  sacraments  only  to  persons 
of  distinction,  and  when  especially  called 
upon: — you  are  not  allowed  to  admin- 
ister them  indiscriminately  to  people  of 
all  ranks."! 

What  regulations  were  these  for 
Zwingle  to  subscribe  to !  Money ! 
money !  nothing  but  money !  Was  it 
then  for  this  that  Christ  had  appointed 
the  ministry  1  Prudence,  however,  step- 
ped in  to  moderate  his  zeal:  he  knew 
that  it  is  impossible  for  the  seed  to  be 
dropped  into  the  earth,  and  the  tree  to 
grow  up,  and  the  fruit  to  be  gathered,  all 
at  once.  Without  offering  any  remarks 
on  the  charge  that  had  been  delivered  to 
him,  he  modestly  expressed  the  gratitude 
he  felt  for  having  been  made  the  object 
of  so  honourable  a  choice,  and  then  pro- 
ceeded to  explain  what  were  his  inten- 

*  Do  er  ehrlich  und  wol  empfangen  ward. — 
(Bullinger,  MS.) 
t  Schulers  Zwingli's  Bildung,  p.  227. 


tions.  "  The  history  of  Jesus,"  said  he, 
"  has  been  too  long  kept  out  of  the 
people's  view.  It  is  my  purpose  to  lec- 
ture upon  the  whole  of  the  Gospel  ac- 
cording to  St.  Matthew,  drawing  from 
the  fountains  of  Scripture  alone,*  sound- 
ing all  its  depths,  comparing  text  with 
text,  and  putting  up  earnest  and  unceas- 
ing prayers,  that  1  may  be  permitted  to 
discover  what  is  the  mind  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  f  It  is  to  the  glory  of  God,  to  the 
praise  of  his  only  Son,  to  the  salvation 
of  souls,  and  their  instruction  in  the  true 
faith,  that  I  desire  to  consecrate  my  min- 
istry."! Language,  so  new  to  their  ears, 
made  a  deep  impression  on  their  chapter. 
Some  heard  it  with  joy  ;  but  the  greater 
part  signified  their  disapproval  of  it.§ 
"  This  method  of  preaching  is  an  innova- 
tion," cried  they  ;  "  one  innovation  will 
soon  lead  to  another ; — and  where  can 
we  stop  ?"  The  canon  Hoffman,  es- 
pecially, thought  it  his  duty  to  prevent 
the  fatal  effects  of  an  appointment  which 
he  had  himself  promoted.  "  This  ex- 
pounding of  Scripture,"  said  he,  "  will  do 
the  people  more  harm  than  good." — "It 
is  no  new  method,"  replied  Zwingle,  "it 
is  the  old  one.  Recollect  St.  Chrysos- 
tom's  homilies  upon  Matthew,  and  St. 
Augustine's  upon  John.  Besides,  I  will 
be  cautious  in  all  that  I  say,  and  give  no 
one  cause  to  complain." 

In  abandoning  the  exclusive  use  of 
detached  portions  of  the  Gospels  merely, 
Zwingle  was  departing  from  the  practice 
that  had  prevailed  since  the  days  of 
Charlemagne,  and  restoring  the  Holy 
Scriptures  to  their  ancient  rights  ;  he  was 
connecting  the  Reformation,  even  in  the 
beginning  of  his  ministry,  with  the  prim- 
itive times  of  Christianity,  and  preparing 
for  future  ages  a  deeper  study  of  the 
Word  of  God.  But  more  than  this :  the 
firm  and  independent  posture  which  he 
assumed  in  relation  to  the  Church,  gave 
intimation    that    his    aim    was  extraor- 

*  Absque  humanis  commentationibus,  ex  solis 
fontibus  Scripturre  sacra?. — (Zw.  Opp.  i.  273.) 

t  Sed  mente  spiritus,  quam  diligenti  Sr.riptura- 
rum  collatione,  precibusque  ex  corde  fusis,  se 
nacturum. — (Osw.  Myc.  Vit.  Zw.) 

t  Alles  Gott  und  seinen  einigen  Sohn  zu  Lob 
und  Ehren  und  zu  reehten  Heil  der  Seelen,  zur 
Underrichtung  im  reehten  Glauben. — (Bullinger, 
MS.) 

§  Quibus  auditis,  mceror  simul  et  leetitia. — 
(Osw.  Myc.) 


THE   SWISS.— 1484— 1522. 


341 


dinary :  his  character  as  a  Reformer 
began  now  to  manifest  itself  distinctly 
to  the  eyes  of  his  countrymen ;  and  the 
Reformation  consequently  moved  a  step 
onward. 

Hoffman,  having  failed  in  the  chapter, 
addressed  a  written  request  to  the  prin- 
cipal, that  he  would  prohibit  Zwingle 
from  disturbing  the  people  in  their  faith. 
The  principal  sent  for  the  new  preacher, 
and  spoke  to  him  in  a  very  affectionate 
tone.  But  no  human  power  could  seal 
his  lips.  On  the  31st  of  December,  he 
wrote  to  the  Council  of  Glaris,  that  he 
entirely  relinquished  the  cure  of  souls, 
which,  by  their  favour,  he  had  hitherto 
retained  ;  and  for  the  future  he  dedicated 
himself  entirely  to  Zurich,  and  the  work 
which  God  was  preparing  for  him  in  that 
city. 

On  Saturday,  the  first  of  January,  1519, 
Zwingle,  having  on  that  day  completed 
his  thirty-fifth  year,  ascended  the  pulpit 
of  the  cathedral.  The  church  was  filled 
by  a  numerous  assemblage  of  persons 
desirous  to  see  a  man  who  had  already 
acquired  celebrity,  and  to  hear  that  new 
Gospel  of  which  every  one  was  beginning 
to  speak.  "  It  is  to  Christ,"  said  Zwingle, 
"that  I  wish  to  guide  you, — to  Christ, 
the  true  spring  of  salvation.  This  divine 
word  is  the  only  food  that  I  seek  to  min- 
ister to  your  hearts  and  souls."  He  then 
announced  that  on  the  following  day,  the 
first  Sunday  of  the  year,  he  would  begin 
to  explain  the  Gospel  according  to  Saint 
Matthew.  On  the  morrow,  accordingly, 
the  preacher,  and  a  still  more  numerous 
auditory,  were  assembled  in  their  places. 
Zwingle  opened  the  Gospel,  the  book 
that  had  so  long  been  sealed,  and  read 
the  first  page.  Passing  under  review  the 
history  of  the  Patriarchs  and  prophets 
(from  the  first  chapter  of  Matthew,)  he 
expounded  it  in  such  a  manner,  that  all 
exclaimed  in  astonishment  and  delight 
— "  We  never  heard  the  like  of  this  be- 
fore !"* 

He  continued  in  this  way  to  explain 
the  whole  of  St  Matthew  according  to 
the  Greek  original.  He  showed  how 
the  explanation  and  the  application  of 
the  Bible  were  both  to  be  found  in  the 
very  nature  of  man.     Setting  forth  the 

*  Dessgleiehen  wie  jederman  redt,  nie  gehort 
worden  war. — (B.  Weise,  a  contemporary  of 
Zwingle's,  Fusslin  Beytrage,  iv.  36.) 


sublimest  truths  of  the  gospel  in  familiar 
language ;  his  preaching  adapted  itself 
to  every  class, — to  the  wise  and  learned, 
as  well  as  the  ignorant  and  simple.*  He 
magnified  the  infinite  mercies  of  God  the 
Father,  while  he  besought  his  hearers  to 
put  their  trust  in  Jesus  Christ  as  the  only 
Saviour,  f  At  the  same  time  that  he 
called  them  to  repentance  by  the  most 
persuasive  appeals,  he  combated  the  errors 
which  prevailed  among  his  countrymen 
by  the  most  vigorous  reasoning.  He 
raised  a  fearless  voice  against  luxury,  in- 
temperance, extravagance  in  dress,  injus- 
tice to  the  poor,  idleness,  mercenary  serv- 
ice in  war,  and  the  acceptance  of  pensions 
from  foreign  princes.  "  In  the  pulpit," 
says  one  of  his  contemporaries,  "  he 
spared  no  one,  neither  Pope,  nor  Em- 
peror, nor  Kings,  nor  Dukes,  nor  Princes, 
nor  Lords,  not  even  the  Confederates. 
All  the  strength  and  all  the  joy  of  his 
own  heart  were  in  God ;  therefore  he 
exhorted  the  whole  city  of  Zurich  to  trust 
in  none  but  Him."| — "  Never  before  had 
any  man  been  heard  to  speak  with  so 
much  authority,"  says  Oswald  Myconius, 
who  watched  the  labours  of  his  friend 
with  joy  and  ardent  hope. 

It  was  impossible  that  the  Gospel  could 
be  proclaimed  in  Zurich  without  effect. 
A  great  and  continually  increasing  mul- 
titude of  every  class,  but  especially  of 
the  lower  orders,  flocked  to  hear  it.fy 
Many  of  the  citizens  of  Zurich  had  ceased 
to  attend  public  worship.  "  I  derive  no 
benefit  from  the  discourses  of  these  priests," 
was  the  frequent  observation  of  Fusslin, 
a  poet  and  historian,  as  well  as  a  coun- 
cillor of  state  ; — "  they  do  not  preach  the 
things  pertaining  to  salvation  ;  for  they 
understand  them  not.  Avarice  and  vo- 
luptuousness are  the  only  qualities  I  dis- 
cover in  them."  Henry  Rauschlin,  the 
state-treasurer,  a  diligent  reader  of  the 
Scriptures,  entertained  the   same   senti- 

*  Nam  ita  simp]  ices  (pqualiter  cum  prudentis- 
simis  et  acutissimis  quibusque  proficiebant. — 
(Osw.  Myc.  Vit.  Zw.) 

t  In  welchem  er  Gott  den  Vater  prysset  und 
alle  Menschen  allein  uff  Jesum  Christum,  als  den 
eini<ren  Heiland  verthrauwen  lehrte. — (Bullinger, 
MS?) 

t  All  sein  Trost  6tuhnd  allein  mit  frolichem 

Gemuth  zu  Gott — (B.  Weise  Fusslin  Beytr. 

iv.  36.) 

§  Do  ward  bald  ein  gross  gelaiiff  von  allerley 
menschen,  Innsonders  von  dem  gemeinen  Mann 
.  .  .—(Bullinger,  MS.) 


342 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


ments.  "  The  priests,"  said  he,  "  gath- 
ered together  by  thousands  at  the  Coun- 
cil of  Constance  ....  to  burn  the  best 
man  among  them  all."  These  distin- 
guished men,  attracted  by  curiosity,  came 
to  hear  Zwingle's  first  lecture.  The 
emotions  which  the  preacher  awakened 
in  their  minds,  were  successively  depicted 
in  their  countenances.  "  Glory  be  to 
God,"  said  they  as  they  left  the  church  ; 
"  this  is  a  preacher  of  the  truth.  He 
will  be  our  Moses  to  lead  us  forth  from 
Egypt."*  From  that  hour  they  became 
the  intimate  friends  of  the  Reformer. 
"  Ye  rulers  of  this  world,"  said  Fusslin, 
"  cease  to  persecute  the  doctrine  of  Christ. 
After  Christ  the  Son  of  God  had  been 
put  to  death,  fishermen  were  raised  up 
to  publish  his  Gospel.  And  so  now,  if 
you  destroy  the  preachers  of  the  truth, 
you  will  see  glass-workers,  and  millers, 
and  potters,  and  founders,  and  shoema- 
kers, and  tailors,  starting  up  to  teach  in 
their  stead. "f 

At  first  there  was  but  one  cry  of  ad- 
miration throughout  Zurich,  but  when 
the  first  burst  of  enthusiasm  had  sub- 
sided, the  enemy  took  heart  again. 
Many  well-meaning  men,  alarmed  by  the 
thought  of  a  Reformation,  gradually  fell 
away  from  Zwingle.  The  violence  of 
the  monks,  which  for  a  brief  space  had 
been  suppressed,  now  broke  out  anew, 
and  the  college  of  the  canons  resounded 
with  complaints.  Zwingle  remained  im- 
moveable. His  friends,  as  they  contem- 
plated his  courage,  recognised  in  their 
teacher  the  true  spirit  of  the  apostolic 
age.|  Among  his  enemies  there  were 
some  who  jeered  and  mocked  at  him, 
others  who  resorted  to  insulting  threats  ; 
but  he  endured  all  with  the  patience  of  a 
Christian. §  "  If  we  would  win  souls  to 
Christ,"  he  often  remarked,  "we  must 
learn  to  shut  our  eyes  against  many 
things  that  meet  us  in  our  way."||      An 

*  Und  unser  Moses  seyn  der  uns  Egypten 
fiihrt— (Bullinger,  MS.) 

t  Werden  die  Glaser,  Miiller,  Hafner,  Giesser, 
Schubmacher  und  Schneider  lehren. — (Mull. 
Reliq.  iii.  185.) 

t  Nobis  apostolici  illius  sceculi  virum  reprsesen- 
tas.— (Zw.  Epp.  p.  74.) 

§  Obganniunt  quidam,  rident,  minantur,  petu- 
lanter  incessunt ...  at  tu  vere,  Christiana,  pa- 
tientia,  suffers  omnia. — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  74. 7th  May, 
1519.) 

||  Connivendum  ad  multa  ei  qui  velit  malos 
Christo  lucri  facere  .  .  .  . — (Ibid.) 


admirable  saying,  which  ought  not  to 
pass  unnoted. 

His  character,  and  his  habitual  deport- 
ment towards  his  fellow-men,  contributed 
as  much  as  his  public  ministrations  to 
gain  all  hearts.  He  was  at  once  a  true 
Christian  and  a  true  republican.  The 
equality  of  mankind  was  with  him  no 
unmeaning  phrase  ;  it  was  inscribed  on 
his  heart,  and  his  life  was  in  accordance 
with  it.  He  had  neither  that  pharisaical 
pride  nor  that  monkish  coarseness  by 
which  men  of  simple  and  of  refined 
taste  are  alike  disgusted :  all  acknowl- 
edged the  attraction  of  his  manner,  and 
found  themselves  at  ease  in  his  society. 
Bold  and  energetic  in  the  pulpit,  he  was 
affable  to  those  whom  he  met  in  the 
streets  or  public  walks ;  he  was  often 
seen  in  the  places  where  the  civic  com- 
panies or  trading  bodies  held  their  meet- 
ings, explaining  to  the  burghers  the  lead- 
ing articles  of  the  Christian  faith,  or 
holding  familiar  conversation  with  them. 
He  accosted  peasants  and  patricians  with 
the  same  cordiality.  "  He  invited  the 
country-folks  to  dinner,"  says  one  of  his 
most  violent  enemies,  "  walked  with 
them,  talked  to  them  about  God,  and 
often  put  the  devil  into  their  hearts,  and 
his  own  writings  into  their  pockets." 
His  example  had  such  weight,  that  even 
the  town-councillors  of  Zurich  would 
visit  those  rustic  strangers,  supply  them 
with  refreshment,  go  about  the  city  with 
them,  and  pay  them  all  possible  atten- 
tion."* 

He  continued  to  cultivate  music, 
though  "  with  moderation,"  as  Bullinger 
assures  us ;  nevertheless  the  adversaries 
of  the  Gospel  took  advantage  of  this, 
and  called  him  "  the  evangelical  lute- 
player  and  piper."  f  Faber,  on  one  oc- 
casion, reproved  him  for  indulging  in 
this  recreation.  "  My  dear  Faber,"  re- 
plied Zwingle,  with  manly  frankness, 
"  thou  knowest  not  what  music  is.  I  do 
not  deny  that  I  have  learned  to  play  the 
lute  and  the  violin,  and  other  instru- 
ments ;  and  at  worst,  they  serve  me  to 
quiet  little  children,  when  they  cry  ;  J  but 
as  for  thee,  thou  art  too  holy  for  music  ! — 

*  Dass  der  Rath  gemeldete  Bauem  besucht 
.  .  . — (Salat's  Chronik.  p.  155.) 

t  Der  Lauthenschlager  und  evangelischer 
pfyffer.— (Bullinger,  MS.) 

t  Dass  kombt  mir  ja  wol  die  kind  zu  gesch- 
weigen. — (Ibid.) 


THE   SWISS— 1484— 1522. 


343 


and  dost  thou  not  know,  then,  that  David 
was  a  cunning  player  on  the  harp,  and 
how  he  chased  the  evil  spirit  out  of 
Saul  ?  Oh  !  if  thy  ears  were  but  awake 
to  the  notes  of  the  celestial  lute,  the  evil 
spirit  of  ambition  and  greediness  of 
wealth,  by  which  thou  art  possessed, 
would  in  like  manner  depart  from  thee.'' 
Perhaps  there  was  something  of  weak- 
ness in  Zwingle's  attachment  to  music  ; 
yet  it  was  in  a  spirit  of  open-heartedness, 
and  evangelical  liberty,  that  he  cultivated 
an  art  which  religion  has  always  con- 
nected with  her  loftiest  exercises.  He 
composed  the  music  of  several  of  his 
Christian  lyrics,  and  was  not  ashamed 
sometimes  to  touch  his  lute  for  the 
amusement  of  the  little  ones  of  his  flock. 
He  displayed  the  same  kindly  disposition 
in  his  demeanour  towards  the  poor.  "  He 
ate  and  drank,"  says  one  of  his  contem- 
poraries, "with  all  who  invited  him,  he 
treated  no  one  with  disdain, — he  was  full 
of  compassion  for  the  poor,  and  always 
composed  and  cheerful  in  good  or  evil 
fortune.  No  calamity  ever  daunted  him, 
his  speech  was  ever  hopeful, — his  heart 
ever  steadfast."*  Thus  did  Zwingle 
continually  enlarge  the  sphere  of  his  in- 
fluence,— sitting  alternately  at  the  poor 
man's  scanty  board,  and  the  banquet- 
table  of  the  great,  as  his  Master  had 
done  before  him, — and  never,  in  any 
situation,  omitting  an  opportunity  to  fur- 
ther the  work  with  which  God  had  en- 
trusted him. 

From  the  same  motive  he  was  inde- 
fatigable in  study.  From  sun-rise  until 
the  hour  of  ten  he  employed  himself  in 
reading,  writing,  or  translating ;  the 
Hebrew  especially,  during  that  portion 
of  the  day  occupied  much  of  his  atten- 
tion. After  dinner  he  gave  audience  to 
those  who  had  any  communication  to 
make  to  him,  or  stood  in  any  need  of  his 
advice ;  he  walked  out  in  company  with 
his  friends,  and  visited  his  people.  At 
two  o'clock  he  resumed  his  walk.  He 
took  a  short  turn  after  supper,  and  then 
began  writing  letters,  which  often  en- 
gaged him  till  midnight.  He  always 
read  and  wrote  standing,  and  never 
allowed  the  customary  allotment  of  his 

*  War  allwegen  trostlichen  Gemiith  und  tap- 
ferer  Red. — (B.  Weisse  Fiissl.  Beytr.  iv.  36.) 


time  to  be  disturbed,  except  for  some 
very  important  cause.* 

But  the  efforts  of  one  man  were  not 
enough.  He  received  a  visit  about  this 
time  from  a  stranger  named  Lucian, 
who  brought  him  some  of  the  works  of 
the  German  Reformer.  Rhenanus,  a 
scholar  then  resident  at  Bale,  and  an  un- 
wearied propagator  of  Luther's  writings 
in  Switzerland,  had  sent  this  man  to 
Zwingle.  It  had  occurred  to  Rhenanus 
that  the  hawking  of  books  might  be 
made  a  powerful  means  of  spreading  the 
doctrines  of  the  Gospel.  "  Ascertain," 
said  Rhenanus  to  Zwingle,  "whether 
this  Lucian  possesses  a  sufficient  share 
of  discretion  and  address ;  if  it  shall  ap- 
pear that  he  does,  let  him  go  from  city 
to  city,  from  town  to  town,  from  village 
to  village,  nay  from  house  to  house, — all 
over  Switzerland,  carrying  with  him  the 
writings  of  Luther,  and  especially  the 
exposition  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  written 
for  the  laity,  f  The  more  it  is  known, 
the  more  purchasers  will  it  find.  But 
be  sure  to  let  him  take  no  other  books  in 
his  pack,  for  if  he  have  none  but  Lu- 
ther's, he  will  sell  them  the  faster."  To 
this  expedient  was  many  a  Swiss  family 
indebted  for  the  gleam  of  light  that 
found  an  entrance  into  their  humble 
dwelling.  There  was  one  book,  how- 
ever, which  Zwingle  should  have  caused 
to  be  circulated  before  any  of  Luther's — 
the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 

An  opportunity  of  displaying  his  zeal 
in  a  new  field  of  service  was  soon  afford- 
ed him.  Samson,  the  famous  dealer  in 
indulgences,  was  journeying  by  slow 
stages  towards  Zurich.  This  vender  of 
disreputable  wares  had  arrived  from 
Schwitz  at  Zug  on  the  20th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1518,  and  had  remained  at  Zug 
three  days.  An  immense  crowd  had 
gathered  about  him  in  that  town.  Those 
of  the  poorest  class  were  the  most  eager 
of  the  throng,  and  thus  prevented  the 
rich  from  making  their  way  to  him. 
This  did  not  suit  the  monk's  purpose, 
and   accordingly  one  of  his  attendants 

*  Certas  studiis  vindicans  horas,  quas  etiam 
non  omisit,  nisi  seriis  coactus. — (Osw.  Myc.  Vit. 
Zw.) 

t  .  .  .  Oppidatim,  municipatim,  vicatim,  imo 
domesticatim  per  Helvetios  circumferat. — (Zw. 
EPP.  p.  81.) 


344 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


kept  crying  out  to  the  populace  : — "  Good 
people  do  not  press  forward  so  hard. 
Clear  the  way  for  those  who  have  money. 
We  will  do  our  best  afterwards  to  satisfy 
those  who  have  none."  From  Zug, 
Samson  and  his  company  went  on  to  Lu- 
cerne,— from  Lucerne  to  Underwalden, — 
and  thence,  passing  through  a  cultivated 
region  of  the  Alps,  with  its  rich  inter- 
jacent villages,  skirting  the  everlasting 
snows  of  the  Oberland, — and  displaying 
their  Romish  merchandise  for  sale  in 
every  inhabited  spot  of  the  loveliest  dis- 
trict of  Switzerland, — they  arrived  at 
length  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Berne. 
At  first,  the  monk  received  an  intimation 
that  he  would  not  be  allowed  to  enter 
the  city ;  but  eventually,  by  the  aid  of 
some  interested  auxiliaries  within,  he 
succeeded  in  gaining  admission,  and 
spread  out  his  stall  in  St.  Vincent's 
church.  He  there  began  to  cry  up  his 
wares  more  loudly  than  ever.  "  Here," 
said  he  to  the  rich,  "  are  indulgences  on 
parchment,  for  one  crown  ! — There,''  ad- 
dressing himself  to  the  poor,  "  are  abso- 
lutions on  common  paper,  for  two  batz 
only !"  One  day,  a  knight  of  high  name, 
Jacob  von  Stein,  presented  himself  before 
him,  mounted  on  a  prancing  dapple-grey 
charger.  "  Give  me,"  said  the  knight, 
"an  indulgence  for  myself;  for  my  troop, 
which  is  five  hundred  strong ; — for  all 
the  vassals  on  my  domain  of  Belp ;  and 
for  all  my  ancestors ;  and  I  will  give  you 
in  return  this  dapple  grey  horse  of  mine." 
It  was  a  high  price  to  ask  for  a  horse. 
Nevertheless,  the  charger  pleased  the 
barefooted  Carmelite.  The  bargain  was 
struck,  the  beast  was  led  into  the  monk's 
stable,  and  all  those  souls  were  duly  de- 
clared to  have  been  delivered  for  ever 
from  the  pains  of  hell.*  On  another 
occasion,  a  burgher  obtained  from  him 
for  thirteen  florins  an  indulgence,  by  vir- 
tue of  which,  his  confessor  was  author- 
ized to  absolve  him,  among  other  things, 
from  every  kind  of  perjury,  f  Samson 
was  held  in  such  reverence,  that  the 
counsellor,  Von  May,  an  old  man,  of 
enlightened  mind,  having  dropped  some 
expressions  against  him,  was  obliged  to 
ask  pardon  of  the  haughty  monk  on  his 
knees. 

*  Um  einem  Kuttgrowen  Hengst. — (Anshelm, 
v.  335 :  J.  J.  Hotting.  Helv.  K.  Gesch.  iii.  29.) 
t  A  quovis  perjurio. — (Muller's  Reliq.  iv.  403.) 


The  last  day  of  his  stay  had  now  ar- 
rived. A  deafening  clamour  of  bells 
gave  warning  to  the  inhabitants  of  Berne 
that  the  monk  was  about  to  take  his  de- 
parture. Samson  was  in  the  church, 
standing  on  the  steps  of  the  high  altar. 
The  canon,  Henry  Lupulus,  Zwingle's 
former  master,  officiated  as  his  inter- 
preter. "  When  the  wolf  and  the  fox 
come  abroad  together,"  said  the  canon 
Anselm,  addressing  the  Schultheiss  von 
Watteville,  "  the  wisest  plan  for  you, 
worshipful  Sir,  is  to  gather  your  sheep 
and  your  geese  with  all  speed  into  a 
place  of  safety."  But  the  monk  cared 
little  for  such  remarks  as  these,  which, 
moreover,  seldom  reached  his  ears.  "  Fall 
on  your  knees,"  said  he  to  the  supersti- 
tious crowd  ;  "  repeat  three  pater  nosters 
and  three  ave  marias,  and  your  souls 
will  instantly  be  as  pure  as  they  were  at 
the  moment  of  your  baptism."  The 
multitude  fell  on  their  knees  forthwith. 
Then  determined  to  outdo  himself,  Sam- 
son cried  out,  "  I  deliver  from  the  torments 
of  purgatory  and  hell  the  souls  of  all  the 
people  of  Berne  who  have  departed  this 
life,  whatsoever  may  have  been  the  man- 
ner or  the  place  of  their  death."  These 
mountebanks,  like  those  who  perform  at 
fairs,  always  reserved  their  most  astound- 
ing feat  for  the  last. 

Samson,  now  heavily  laden  with  coin, 
directed  his  course  towards  Zurich, 
through  the  Argan  and  Baden.  As  he 
proceeded  on  his  journey,  this  Carmelite, 
who  had  made  so  sorry  a  figure  when  he 
first  crossed  the  Alps,  displayed  an  in- 
creasing pomp  and  pride  of  retinue.  The 
bishop  of  Constance,  having  taken  um- 
brage because  he  had  not  applied  to  him 
to  legalize  his  bulls,  had  forbidden  all 
the  curates  of  his  diocese  to  open  their 
churches  to  him.  At  Baden,  however, 
the  curate  did  not  venture  to  persevere 
in  obstructing  the  holy  traffic.  The 
monk's  effrontery  rose  to  a  higher  pitch. 
Pacing  round  the  church-yard  at  the 
head  of  a  procession,  he  used  to  fix  his 
eyes  on  some  object  in  the  air,  while  his 
acolytes  were  chaunting  the  hymn  for 
the  dead,  and  pretending  that  he  saw 
the  liberated  souls  flying  up  from  the 
church-yard  towards  heaven,  to  cry  out : 
"  Ecce  volant !  Behold !  they  fly !"  One 
day  a  man,  residing  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, found  his  way  into  the  tower  of 


THE   SWISS— 1484— 1522. 


345 


the  church  and  mounted  to  the  belfry; 
presently  a  quantity  of  white  feathers 
floated  in  the  air,  and  fell  thickly  on  the 
astonished  procession  :  "  Behold  !  they 
fly!"  cried  the  waggish  citizen  of  Baden, 
from  his  lofty  perch,  still  shaking  more 
feathers,  out  of  a  pillow  that  he  had  un- 
ripped. Many  of  the  bystanders  laughed 
heartily  at  the  jest.*  Samson,  on  the 
contrary,  was  greatly  incensed, — nor 
could  he  be  appeased  until  assurances 
were  given  him  that  the  man  was  at 
times  disordered  in  his  intellect.  He  left 
Baden  quite  crest-fallen. 

Pursuing  his  journey,  he  arrived  about 
the  end  of  February,  1519,  at  Brem- 
garten,  whither  he  had  been  invited  by 
the  Schultheiss,  and  the  second  curate  of 
the  town,  both  of  whom  had  seen  him  at 
Baden.  The  dean  of  Bremgarten,  Bul- 
linger,  was  a  man,  than  whom  none, 
in  all  that  country,  stood  higher  in  public 
estimation.  He  was  but  ill-informed,  it 
is  true,  as  to  the  errors  of  the  Church, 
and  imperfectly  acquainted  with  the  word 
of  God  ; — but  his  frank  disposition,  his 
overflowing  zeal,  his  eloquence,  his  lib- 
erality to  the  poor,  his  willingness  to  do 
kind  offices  for  his  humble  neighbours, 
made  him  universally  beloved.  In  his 
youth  he  had  formed  a  connection  of  a 
conscientious  kind  with  the  daughter  of 
a  councillor  of  the  same  town.  Such 
was  the  custom  with  those  members  of 
the  priesthood,  who  wished  to  avoid  a 
life  of  profligacy.  Anna  had  brought 
him  five  children,  and  his  numerous 
family  had  in  no  degree  diminished  the 
consideration  in  which  the  Dean  was 
held.  There  was  not  in  all  Switzerland 
a  more  hospitable  house  than  his.  Being 
much  addicted  to  the  chase,  he  was  often 
seen,  surrounded  by  ten  or  a  dozen  dogs, 
and  accompanied  by  the  lords  of  Hall- 
wyli,  the  abbot  of  Mury,  and  the  patri- 
cians of  Zurich,  scouring  the  fields  and 
forests  in  his  vicinity.  He  kept  open 
house,  and  not  one  among  all  his  guests 
was  a  blither  man  than  himself.  When 
the  deputies,  who  were  sent  to  the  Diet, 
passed  through  Bremgarten,  on  their  way 
to  Baden,  they  never  failed  to  take  their 
seats  at  the  Dean's  table.  "  Bullinger," 
said  they,  "  keeps  court  like  some  power- 
ful baron." 

*  Dessen  viel  luth  gnug  lachten.— (Bullinger, 

MS.) 

44 


Strangers,  when  they  visited  the  house, 
were  sure  to  remark  a  boy  of  intelligent 
aspect,  whom  they  found  among  its  in- 
mates. This  was  Henry,  one  of  the 
Dean's  sons.  The  child  in  his  earliest 
years  had  passed  through  many  imminent 
perils.  He  had  been  seized  with  the 
plague,  and  reduced  to  such  extremity, 
that  he  was  thought  to  be  dead, — and 
preparations  were  making  for  his  burial, 
when,  to  the  joy  of  his  parents,  he  gave 
signs  that  he  was  yet  alive.  At  another 
time,  a  vagrant  enticed  him  from  the 
house,  and  was  carrying  him  off,  when 
some  passers-by  recognised  and  rescued 
him.  At  the  age  of  three  years,  he  al- 
ready knew  the  Lord's  prayer  and  the 
Apostles'  creed  ;  and  would  often  steal 
into  the  church,  mount  his  father's  pulpit, 
gravely  stand  up  there,  and  repeat  at  the 
full  pitch  of  his  voice,  "  I  believe  in  God 
the  Father,  &c.  &c."  When  he  was 
twelve  years  old,  his  parents  sent  him  to 
the  grammar  school  of  Emmeric, — not 
without  feelings  of  strong  apprehension, 
for  those  were  dangerous  times  for  an 
inexperienced  boy.  Instances  were  fre- 
quent of  students,  to  whom  the  discipline 
of  a  university  appeared  too  severe,  ab- 
sconding from  their  college  in  troops, 
carrying  children  along  with  them,  and 
encamping  in  the  woods, — whence  they 
sent  out  the  youngest  of  their  party  to 
beg,  or  else,  with  arms  in  their  hands 
attacked  travellers,  plundered  them,  and 
then  consumed  the  fruit  of  their  rapine 
in  debauchery.  Henry  was  happily  pre- 
served from  evil  in  his  new  and  distant 
abode.  Like  Luther,  he  gained  his  sub- 
sistence by  singing  at  the  doors  of  houses, 
for  his  father  was  resolved  that  he  should 
learn  to  depend  on  his  own  resources. 
He  had  reached  the  age  of  sixteen  when 
he  first  opened  a  New  Testament.  "  I 
there  found,"  said  he,  "  all  that  is  neces- 
sary for  man's  salvation,  and  from  that 
hour  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that  we 
must  follow  the  Holy  Scriptures  alone,  j 
and  reject  all  human  additions.  I  neither  ■, 
trust  the  Fathers,  nor  myself;  but  I  ex- 
plain Scripture  by  Scripture,  adding  no- 
thing, and  taking  nothing  away"*  God 
was  in  this  way  training  up  the  youth, 
who  was  afterwards  to  be  the  successor 
of  Zvvingle.  He  is  the  author  of  that 
*  Bulling.  Epp.  Frank's  Merkw.  Zuge,  p.  19. 


346 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


manuscript  chronicle  from  which  we  so 
frequently  quote. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Samson 
arrived  at  Bremgarten,  with  all  his  train. 
The  stout-hearted  Dean,  not  in  the  least 
intimidated  by  this  little  army  of  Italians, 
gave  notice  to  the  monk  that  he  must  not 
vend  his  merchandise  within  his  jurisdic- 
tion. The  Schultheiss,  the  town-coun- 
cil, and  the  second  pastor,  all  friends  of 
Samson,  were  assembled  in  a  room  of 
the  inn,  where  the  latter  had  taken  up 
his  quarters,  and  clustered  in  much  per- 
plexity round  the  irritated  monk.  The 
Dean  entered  the  chamber.  "  Here  are 
the  Pope's  bulls  !"  said  the  monk,  "open 
vour  church  to  me !" 

The  Dean.  "  I  will  suffer  no  one, 
Under  colour  of  unauthenticated  letters 
like  these  (for  the  bishop  has  not  legal- 
ized them.)  to  squeeze  the  purses  of  my 
parishioners." 

The  Monk,  in  a  solemn  tone.  "  The 
Pope  is  above  the  bishop.  I  charge  you 
not  to  deprive  your  flock  of  so  marvel- 
lous a  grace." 

The  Dean.  "  Were  it  to  cost  me  my 
life, — I  will  not  open  my  church." 

The  Monk,  in  great  anger.  "  Rebel- 
lious priest!  in  the  name  of  our  most 
holy  lord,  the  Pope,  I  pronounce  against 
thee  the  greater  excommunication, — nor 
will  I  grant  thee  absolution  until  thou 
hast  paid  a  penalty  of  three  hundred  du- 
cats for  this  unheard  of  presumption." 

The  Dean,  turning  to  go  out  again. 
u  I  am  prepared  to  answer  for  myself  be- 
fore my  lawful  judges  ;  as  for  thee,  and 
thy  excommunication,  I  have  nothing  to 
do  with  either." 

The  Monk,  tra?isported  with  rage. 
"  Headstrong  beast  that  thou  art !  I  am 
going  straight  to  Zurich,  and  there  I 
will  lodge  my  complaint  with  the  depu- 
ties of  the  Confederation."* 

The  Dean.  "  I  can  show  myself 
there  as  well  as  thou,  and  thither  will  I 
go." 

While  these  things  were  passing  at 
Bremgarten,  Zwingle,  who  saw  the 
enemy  gradually  draw  nigh,  was  preach- 
ing with  great  vigour  against  indul- 
gences.!    The    vicar,    Faber    of  Con- 

*  Du  freche  Bestie  .  .  &c.— (Bullinger,  MS.) 
t  Ich  predgete  streng  wider  des  Pabsts  Ablass 
. .— (Zw.  Opp.  2.  1st  part,  p.  7.) 


stance,  encouraged  him  in  this,  and 
promised  him  the  support  of  the  bishop.* 
"  I  know,"  said  Samson,  on  his  road  to 
Zurich,  "that  Zwingle  will  speak  against 
me,  but  I  will  stop  his  mouth."  Assured- 
ly, Zwingle  felt  too  deeply  the  sweetness 
of  the  pardoning  grace  of  Christ  to  re- 
frain from  attacking  the  paper  pardons 
of  these  presumptuous  men.  Like  Lu- 
ther, he  often  trembled  on  account  of  sin ; 
but  in  the  Saviour  he  found  deliverance 
from  his  fears.  Humble,  yet  strong- 
minded,  he  was  continually  advancing 
in  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord.  "  When 
Satan,"  said  he,  "  attempts  to  terrify  me, 
crying  aloud :  Lo !  this  and  that  thou 
hast  left  undone,  though  God  has  com- 
manded it ! — the  gentle  voice  of  the  Gos- 
pel brings  me  instant  comfort,  for  it  whis- 
pers :  What  thou  canst  not  do  (and  of  a 
truth  thou  canst  do  nothing), — that  Christ 
does  for  thee,  and  does  it  thoroughly." 
"  Yes!"  continued  the  pious  evangelist, 
"  when  my  heart  is  wrung  with  anguish 
by  reason  of  my  impotence,  and  the 
weakness  of  the  flesh,  my  spirit  revives 
at  the  sound  of  these  joyful  words : 
Christ  is  thy  sinlessness  !  Christ  is  thy 
righteousness  !  Christ  is  the  Alpha  and 
the  Omega  ;  Christ  is  the  beginning  and 
the  end  ;  Christ  is  all ;  he  can  do  all  !f 
All  created  things  will  disappoint  and 
deceive  thee  ;  but  Christ,  the  sinless  and 
the  righteous,  will  accept  thee." — "  Yes, 
it  is  He,"  exclaimed  Zwingle,  "  who  is 
our  righteousness,  and  the  righteousness 
of  all  those  who  shall  appear  as  righteous 
for  ever  before  the  throne  of  God  !" 

Confronted  by  truths  like  these,  the 
indulgences  could  never  stand  :  Zwingle 
therefore  hesitated  not  to  attack  them. 
"  No  man,"  said  he,  "  has  power  to  remit 
sins, — except  Christ  alone,  who  is  very 
God  and  very  man  in  one.J  Go,  if  thou 
wilt,  and  buy  indulgences.  But  be  as- 
sured, that  thou  art  in  nowise  absolved. 
They  who  sell  the  remission  of  sins  for 
money,  are   but  companions  of  Simon 

*  Und  hat  mich  darin  gestiirkt :  er  welle  mir 
mit  aller  triiw  byston.-*-(Ibid.) 

t  Christus  est  innocentia  tua  ;  Christus  est  jus- 
titia  et  puritas  tua ;  Christus  est  salus  tua ;  tu 
nihil  es,  tu  nihil  potes ;  Christus  est  A  et  fl I; 
Christus  est  prora  et  puppis ;  Christus  est  omnia 
. .— 'Zw.  Opp.  i.  207.) 

t  Nisi  Christus  Jesus,  verus  Deus  et  verus 
homo. .  .  .—(Ibid.  412.) 


THE   SWISS— 1484— 1522. 


347 


the  magician,  the  friends  of  Balaam,  the 
ambassadors  of  Satan." 

The  worthy  Dean  Bullinger,  still 
heated  by  his  altercation  with  the  monk, 
arrived  before  him  at  Zurich.  He  came 
to  lay  a  complaint  before  the  Diet  against 
the  shameless  trafficker,  and  his  fraudu- 
lent trade.  Deputies  sent  by  the  bishop 
on  the  same  errand  were  already  on  the 
spot,  with  whom  he  made  common  cause. 
Assurances  of  support  were  proffered 
him  on  all  hands.  The  same  spirit 
which  animated  Zwingle,  was  now 
breathing  over  the  whole  city..  The 
council  of  state  resolved  to  prohibit  the 
monk  from  entering  Zurich. 

Samson  had  arrived  in  the  suburbs, 
and  alighted  at  an  inn.  Already  he  had 
his  foot  in  the  stirrup  to  make  his  entry 
into  the  city,  when  he  was  accosted  by 
messengers  from  the  council,  who  offered 
him  the  honorary  wine-cup,  as  an  agent 
of  the  Pope,  and  at  the  same  time  inti- 
mated to  him  that  he  might  forego  his 
intention  of  appearing  in  Zurich.  "T 
have  somewhat  to  communicate  to  the 
Diet,  in  the  name  of  his  Holiness,"  re- 
plied the  monk.  This  was  only  a  strata- 
gem. It  was  determined,  however,  that 
he  should  be  admitted  ;  but  as  he  spoke 
of  nothing  but  his  bulls,  he  was  dis- 
missed, after  having  been  forced  to  with- 
draw the  excommunication  he  had  pro- 
nounced against  the  Dean  of  Brem- 
garten.  He  departed  in  high  dudgeon  ; 
and  soon  after  the  Pope  recalled  him 
into  Italy.  A  cart,  drawn  by  three* 
horses,  and  loaded  with  coin,  obtained 
under  false  pretences  from  the  poor, 
rolled  before  him  over  those  steep  roads 
of  the  St.  Gothard,  along  which  he  had 
passed  eight  months  before,  indigent,  un- 
attended, and  encumbered  by  no  burden 
save  his  papers.* 

The  Helvetic  Diet  showed  more  reso- 
lution at  this  time  than  the  Diet  of  Ger- 
many. The  reason  was  that  no  bishops 
or  cardinals  had  seats  in  it.  And  ac- 
cordingly the  Pope,  unsupported  by  those 
auxiliaries,  was  more  guarded  in  his 
proceedings  towards  Switzerland  than 
towards  Germany.  Besides  this,  the 
affair  of  the  indulgences,  which  occupies 
so  prominent  a  place  in  the  narrative  of 

*  Und  fiihrt  mit  ihm  ein  threspendiger  Schatz 
an  gelt  den  er  arraen  luthen  abgelogen  hat. — 
(Bullinger,  MS.) 


the  German  Reformation,  forms  but  an 
episode  in  the  history  of  the  Reformation 
in  Switzerland. 

Zwingle's  zeal  overlooked  all  con- 
siderations of  personal  ease  or  health; 
but  continued  toil  at  last  rendered  relax- 
ation necessary.  He  was  ordered  to  re- 
pair to  the  baths  of  Pfeffers.  "Oh!" 
said  Herus,  one  of  the  pupils  resident  in 
his  house,  who  in  this  parting  salutation 
gave  utterance  to  a  feeling  which  was 
shared  by  all  to  whom  Zwingle  was 
known,  "  had  I  a  hundred  tongues,  a 
hundred  mouths,  and  a  voice  of  iron,  as 
Virgil  says — or  rather,  had  I  the  elo- 
quence of  Cicero,  never  could  I  express 
how  much  I  owe  you,  or  how  much  pain 
I  suffer  from  this  separation."*  Zwingle, 
however,  was  constrained  to  go.  His 
journey  to  Pfeffers  led  him  through  the 
frightful  gorge  formed  by  the  impetuous 
torrent  of  the  Jamina.  He  descended 
into  that  '  infernal  gulf,'  to  use  the  phrase 
of  Daniel  the  hermit,  and  reached  the 
baths  of  which  he  was  in  quest, — a  site 
continually  shaken  by  the  din  of  the 
tumbling  torrent,  and  moistened  by  the 
cloud  of  spray  that  rises  from  its  shat- 
tered waters.  In  the  house  in  which 
Zwingle  was  lodged,  it  was  necessary  to 
burn  torches  at  noon-day  ;  and  it  was  the 
belief  of  the  neighbourhood  that  fearful 
spectres  might  sometimes  be  descried 
gliding  to  and  fro  amidst  the  darkness: 
and  yet  even  here  he  found  an  oppor- 
tunity of  serving  his  Master.  His  affa- 
bility won  the  hearts  of  many  of  the  in- 
valids assembled  at  the  baths.  Of  this 
number  was  the  celebrated  poet,  Philip 
Ingentinus.  a  professor  of  Friburg,  in  the 
Brisgau,t  who  from  that  time  became  a 
strenuous  supporter  of  the  Reformation. 

God  was  watching  over  his  work,  and 
it  was  his  will  to  hasten  it.  The  defect 
of  Zwinsde  consisted  in  his  strength. 
Strong  in  bodily  constitution,  strong  in 
character,  strong  in  talent,  he  was  destin- 
ed to  see  all  his  strength  laid  low  in  the 
dust,  that  he  might  become  such  an  in- 
strument as  God  loves  best  to  employ. 
There  was  a  baptism  with  which  he  yet 
needed  to  be  baptized, — the  baptism  of 

*  Etiamsi  mihi  sint  lingufe  centum,  sint  ora- 
que  centum,  ferrea  vox,  ut  Virgilius  ait,  aut 
potius  Ciceroniana  eloquentia. — (Zw.  Ep.  p.  84.) 

t  Illic  turn  comitatem  tuam  e  sinu  uberrimo 
profluentem  non  injucunde  sum  expertua. — (Zw.. 
Epp.  p.  119.) 


348 


HISTORY  <OF  THE   REFORMATION, 


adversity,  infirmity,  weakness,  and  pain. 
Luther  had  received  it  in  that  season  of 
anguish  when  piercing  cries  burst  forth 
from  his  narrow  cell,  and  echoed  through 
the  long  corridors  of  the  convent  at  Er- 
furth.      Zwingle  was  to  receive  it  by 
being  brought  into  contact  with  sickness 
and  death.     In  the  history  of  the  heroes 
of  this  world. — of  such  men  as  Charles 
XII.  or  Napoleon, — there  is  always  a 
critical  moment  which  shapes  their  career 
and  ensures  their  future  glory  ;  it  is  that 
in  which  a  consciousness  of  their  own 
strength  is  suddenly  imparted  to  them. 
And  a  moment  not  less  decisive*  than 
this, — though  stamped  with  an  impress 
altogether  different, — is  to  be  found  in  the 
life  of  every  heroic  servant  of  God  ; — it 
is  that  moment  in  which  he  first  recog- 
nises his  absolute  helplessness  and  noth- 
ingness ; — then  it  is  that  the  strength  of 
God  is  communicated  to  him  from  on 
high.      A   work    such   as    that   which 
Zwingle  was  called  to  perform  is  never 
accomplished  in  the  natural  strength  of 
man  ;    it  would  in   that   case  come   to 
naught,  just  as  a  tree  must  wither  which 
is  planted  in  its  full  maturity  and  vigour. 
The  plant  must  be  weak,  or  its  roots  will 
never  strike  ;  the  grain  must  die  in  the 
earth,  or  it   cannot   bring,  forth   much 
fruit.     God  was  about  to  lead  Zwingle, 
and  with  him  the  work  which  seemed 
to  be  dependent  on  him  for  success, — to 
the  very  gates  of  the  grave.     It  is  from 
amidst  the  dry  bones,  the  darkness  and 
the  dust  of  death,  that  God  delights  t© 
raise  His  instruments,  when  He  designs 
to   scatter   light    and   regeneration   and 
vitality  over  the  face  of  the  earth. 

While  Zwingle  was  buried  among 
the  stupendous  rocks  that  overhang  the 
headlong  torrent  of  the  Jamina,  he  sud- 
denly received  intelligence  that  the  plague, 
or  trie  u great  death"*  as  it  was  .called, 
had  visited  Zurich.  This  terrible  malady 
broke  -out  in  August,  on  St.  Lawrence's 
day,  and  lasted  till  Candlemas,  sweep- 
ing away  during  that  period  no  fewer 
than  two  thousand  five  hundred  souls. 
The  young  people  who  resided  under 
Zwingle's  roof  had  immediately  quitted 
it,  according  to  the  directions  he  had  left 
behind  him.  His  house  was  deserted 
therefore — but  it  was  his  time  to  return 
to  it.  He  set  out  from  Pfeffers  in  all 
*  Der  Grosse  Tod.— (Bullinger,  MS.) 


haste,  and  appeared  once  more  among  his 
flock,  which  the  disease  had  grievously 
thinned.  His  young  brother  Andrew, 
who  would  gladly  have  stayed  to  attend 
upon  him,  he  sent  back  at  once  to  Wild- 
haus,  and  from  that  moment  gave  him- 
self up  entirely  to  the  victims  of  that 
dreadful  scourge.  It  Was  his  daily  task 
to  testify  of  Christ  and  his  consolations 
to  the  sick.*  His  friends,  while  they 
rejoiced  to  see  him  still  unharmed,  while 
the  arrows  of  pestilence  were  flying  thick 
around  him,|  were  visited  nevertheless 
with  many  secret  misgivings  on  his  ac- 
count. "Do  good,"  was  the  language 
of  a  letter  written  to  him  from  Bale,  by 
Conrad  Brunner,  who  himself  died  of 
the  plague  a  few  months  afterwards ; — 
"  but  at  the  same  time  be  advised  to  take 
care  of  your  own  life."  The  caution 
came  too  late ;  Zwingle  had  been  seized 
by  the  plague.  The  great  preacher  of 
Switzerland  was  stretched  on  a  bed  from 
which  it  was  probable  he  might  never 
rise.  He  now  turned  his  thoughts  upon 
the  state  of  his  own  soul,  and  lifted  up 
his  eyes  to  God.  He  knew  that  Christ 
had  given  him  a  sure  inheritance  ;  and 
pouring  forth  the  feelings  of  his  heart  in 
a  hymn  full  of  unction  and  simplicity. — 
the  sense  and  the  rhythm  of  which  we 
will  endeavour  to  exhibit,  though  we 
should  fail  in  the  attempt  to  copy  its  nat- 
ural and  primitive  cast  of  language, — he 
cried  aloud  : 

Lo  !  at  my  door 
Gaunt  death  I  spy  :t 
Hear,  Lord  of  Life, 
Thy  creature's  cry ! 

The  arm  that  hung 
Upon  the  tree, 
Jesus  uplift — 
And  rescue  me. 


Yet,  if  to  quench 
My  sun  at  noon 

*  TJt  in  majori  periculo  sis  quod  in  dies  de  novo 
exponas,  dum  invisis  oegrotis. — (Bullinger,  MS.) 
M.  de  Chateaubriand  had  forgotten  this  fact,  and 
a  thousand  similar  ones,  when  he  remarked  that 
"  the  Protestant  pastor  abandons  the  helpless  on 
the  bed  of  death,  and  is  never  seen  rushing  into 
the  grasp  of  the  pestilence." — (Essay  on  English 
Literature.) 

t  Plurimum  gaudeo  te  inter  tot  jactus  telorum 
versantem  illsesum  hactenus  evasisse. — (Ibid.) 

J  Ich  mein  der  Tod, 

Syg  an  der  Thiir.— (Zw.  Opp.  2 
2nd  part,  p.  270.) 


THE  SWISS— 1484— 1522. 


349 


Be  thy  behest,* 
Thy  will  be  done ! 

In  faith  and  hope 
Earth  I  resign, 
Secure  of  heaven, — 
For  I  am  thine  ! 

The  disease,  in  the  mean  time,  gained 
ground  ;  his  friends  in  deep  affliction  be- 
held the  man  on  whom  the  hopes  of 
Switzerland  and  of  the  Church  reposed 
ready  to  be  swallowed  up  by  the  grave. 
His  bodily  powers  and  natural  faculties 
Avere  forsaking  him.  His  heart  was 
smitten  with  dismay ;  yet  he  found 
strength  sufficient  left  him  to  turn  to- 
wards God,  and  to  cry  : 

Fierce  grow  my  pains  s 
Help,  Lord,  in  haste ! 
For  flesh  and  heart 
Are  failing  fast. 

Clouds  wrap  my  sightr 
My  tongue  is  dumb, 
Lord,  tarry  not, 
The  hour  is  come  !t 

In  Satan's  grasp 
On  hell's  dark  brink 
My  spirit  reels,- 
Ah,  must  I  sink  ? 

No,  Jesus,  no! 
Him  I  defy, 
While  here  beneath 
Thy  cross  I  lie. 

The  Canon  Hoffman,  sincerely  at- 
tached to  the  creed  which  he  professed, 
could  not  bear  the  idea  of  seeing  Zwingle 
die  in  the  errors  which  he  had  inculcated. 
He  waited  on  the  principal  of  the  chap- 
ter. "  Think,"  said  he,  "  of  the  peril  of 
his  soul.  Has  he  not  given  the  name 
of  fantastical  innovators  to  all  the  doclbrs 
who  have  taught  for  the  last  three  hun- 
dred and  eighty  years  and  upwards — 
Alexander  of  Hales,  Saint  Bonaventura,v 
Albertus  Magnus,  Thomas  Aquinas,  and 
all  the  canonists  ?  Does  he  not  affirm 
that  the  doctrines  they  have  broached 
are  no  better  than  dreams  into  which 
they  have  fallen,  with  their  hoods  drawn 
over  their  eyes,  in  the  gloomy  corners 
of  their  cloisters  ?     Alas !  it  would  have 

*  Willt  du  dann  glych 

Tod  haben  mich 

In  mitts  der  Tagen  min 

So  soil's  willig  sin. — (Ibid.) 
t  Nun  ist  es  um 

Min  Zung  ist  stumm 


Darum  ist  Zyt 
Das  du  min  stryt. 


been  better  for  the  city  of  Zurich  had 
he  ruined  our  vintages  and  harvests  for 
many  a  year  ;  and  now  he  is  at  death's 
door  !  I  beseech  you  save  his  poor  soul !" 
It  would  appear  that  the  principal,  more 
enlightened  than  the  canon,  did  not 
think  it  necessary  to  convert  Zwingle  to 
St.  Bonaventura  and  Albertus  Magnus. 
He  was  left  undisturbed. 

Great  was  the  consternation  that  pre- 
vailed throughout  the  city.  The  believers 
cried  to  God  night  and  day,  earnestly 
entreating  that  He  would  restore  their 
faithful  pastor.*  The  alarm  had  spread 
from  Zurich  to  the  mountains  of  Tock- 
enburg.  Even  in  that  elevated  region 
the  plague  had  made  its  appearance. 
Seven  or  eight  persons  had  fallen  a  prey 
to  it  in  the  village ;  among  these  was  a 
servant  of  Nicholas,  Zwingle's  brother,  f 
No  tidings  were  received  from  the  Re- 
former. "  Let  me  know,"  wrote  young 
Andrew  Zwingle,  "  what  is  thy  state, 
my  beloved  brother !  The  abbot,  and 
all  our  brothers  salute  thee."  It  would 
seem  that  Zwingle's  parents  were  already 
dead,  since  they  are  not  mentioned  here;. 

The  news  of  Zwingle's  illness,  fol- 
lowed by  a  report  of  his  death,  was  cir- 
culated throughout  Switzerland  and  Ger- 
many. aAlas!"  exclaimed  Helio,  in 
tears,  "the  deliverer  of  our  country,  the 
trumpet  of  the  Gospel,  the  magnanimous 
herald  of  the  truth  is  s&ricken  with  death 
in  the  flower  and  spring-tide  of  his  age!"f 
When  the  intelligence  reached  Bale  that 
Zwingle  was  no  more,,  the  whole  city 
resounded  with  lamentations. § 

But  that  glimmering  spark  of  life 
which  had  been  left  unquenched,  began 
now  to  burn  more  brightly.  Though 
labouring  still  under  great  bodily  weak- 
ness, his  soul  was  impressed  with  a  deep 
persuasion,  that  God  had  called  him  to 
replace  the  candle  of  His  word  on  the 
deserted  candlestick  of  the  Church.    The 

*  Alle  glaubige  rufften  Gott  treuwillich  aru 
dass  er  ihren  getreuwen  Hirten  weider  ufrichte- 
— (Bullinger,  MS.) 

t  Nicolas  vero  germano  nostra  etiam  obiil  ser- 
vus  suus,  attamen  non  in  cedibus  suis. — (Zw. 
Epp.  88.) 

t  Quis  enim  non  doleat  publicam  patria?  salu- 
tem,  tubam  Evangelii,  magnanimum  veritatis 
buccinatorem  languere,  intercidere. . . — (Ibid.  90.) 

§  Heu  quantum  luctus  fatis  Zwinglium  con- 
cessisse  importunus  ille  rumor  suo  vehementi  im- 
petu  divulgavit. — (Ibid.  91.) 


350 


HISTORY   OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


plague  had  relinquished  its  victim.    With 
strong  emotion  Zwingle  now  exclaimed  : 

My  father  God, 
Behold  me  whole  ! 
Again  on  earth 
A  living  soul ! 

Let  sin  no  more 
My  heart  annoy, 
But  fill  it,  Lord, 
With  holy  joy. 

Though  now  delayed, 
My  hour  must  come, 
Involved,  perchance, 
In  deeper  gloom.* 

It  matters  not ; 

Rejoicing  yet 

I'll  bear  my  yoke 

To  Heaven's  bright  gate.t 

As  soon  as  he  was  able  to  hold  a  pen, 
(it  was  about  the  beginning  of  Novem- 
ber,) he  wrote  to  his  family.  Unspeak- 
able was  the  joy  which  his  letter  im- 
partedj  to  all  his  relatives,  but  especially 
to  his  younger  brother  Andrew,  who 
himself  died  of  the  plague  in  the  course 
of  the  following  year,  leaving  Ulric  to 
lament  his  loss  with  tears  and  cries,  sur- 
passing the  measure, — as  he  himself  re- 
marks,— even  of  a  woman's  passion. § 
At  Bale,  Conrad  Brunner,  Zwingle's 
friend,  and  Bruno  Amerbach,  the  cele- 
brated printer, — both  young  men, — had 
been  carried  to  the  grave  after  three  days' 
illness.  It  was  believed  in  that  city  that 
Zwingle  also  had  perished.  There  was 
a  general  expression  of  grief  throughout 
the  university.  "  He  whom  God  loves," 
said  they,  "  is  made  perfect  in  the  morn- 
ing of  life."j|     But  what  was  their  joy 

*  These  words  were  fulfilled  in  a  remarkable 
manner,  twelve  years  afterwards,  on  the  bloody 
field  of  Cappel. 

t  So  will  ich  doch 

Den  trutz  und  poch 

In  diser  welt 
Tragen  frolich 
Urn  widergelt. 
Although  these  three  fragments  of  poetry  have 
their  respective  dates  attached  to  them,  "  at  the 
beginning, — in  the  middle, — at  the  end — of  the 
sickness,"  and   truly    represent  the  feelings  of 
Zwingle  at  the  different  epochs,  it  is  probable 
that  they  were  not  thrown  into  the  form  into 
which  we  now  find  them,  until  after  his  recov- 
ery.— (See  Bullinger,  MS.) 

t  Inspectis  tuis  litteris  incredihilis  quidam  aes- 
tus  laetitiae  pectus  meum  subiit. — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  88.) 
§  Ejulatum  et  luctum  plusquam  foemineum. 
(Ibid.  155.) 

||    Of  Tt   6coi  <pt\iovot   vtaviaxet    TeXcvrn. —  (Zw. 

Epp.  p.  90.) 


when  tidings  were  brought,  first  by  Col- 
lin us,  a  student  from  Lucerne,  and  after- 
wards by  a  merchant  of  Zurich,  that 
Zwingle  had  been  snatched  from  the 
brink  of  the  grave.*  The  vicar  of  the 
Bishop  of  Constance,  John  Faber,  that 
early  friend  of  Zwingle,  who  was  after- 
wards his  most  violent  opponent,  wrote 
to  him  on  this  occasion  : — "  Oh,  my  be- 
loved Ulric !  what  joy  does  it  give  me 
to  learn  that  thou  hast  been  delivered 
from  the  jaws  of  the  cruel  pestilence. 
When  thy  life  is  in  jeopardy,  the  Chris- 
tian commonwealth  has  cause  to  tremble. 
The  Lord  has  seen  it  good  by  this  trial 
to  incite  thee  to  a  more  earnest  pursuit 
of  eternal  life." 

This  was  indeed  the  end  which  the 
Lord  had  in  view  in  subjecting  Zwingle 
to  trial,  and  the  end  was  attained,  but  in 
another  way  than  Faber  contemplated. 
This  pestilence  of  the  year  1519,  which 
committed  such  frightful  ravap-es  in  the 
north  of  Switzerland,  became  an  effectual 
agent  in  the  hands  of  God  for  the  con- 
version of  many  souls. t  But  on  no  one 
did  it  exercise  so  powerful  an  influence 
as  on  Zwingle.  The  Gospel  which  he 
had  heretofore  embraced  as  a  mere  doc- 
trine, now  became  a  great  reality.  He 
rose  from  the  dark  borders  of  the  tomb 
with  a  new  heart.  His  zeal  became 
more  ardent,  his  life  more  holy ,  his 
preaching  more  free,  more  Christian, 
more  persuasive.  This  was  the  epoch 
of  Zwingle's  complete  emancipation : 
henceforward  he  devoted  himself  entire- 
ly to  God.  But  along  with  the  Reformer, 
the  Reformation,  also,  of  Switzerland  re- 
ceived new  life.  The  scourge  of  God, 
"  the  great  death,"  while  it  ranged  over 
those  mountains,  and  swept  along  those 
valleys,  impressed  a  character  of  deeper 
holiness  on  the  movement  which  was 
taking  place  within  their  bosom.  The 
Reformation,  as  well  as  Zwingle,  was 
immersed  in  the  waters  of  sanctified  afflic- 
tion, and  came  forth  endued  with  a  purer 
and  more  vigorous  vitality.  It  was  a 
memorable  season  in  the  dispensations 
of  God  for  the  regeneration  of  the  Swiss 
people. 

*  E  diris  te  mortis  faucibus  feliciter  crcptum 
negotiator  quidam  tigurinus. — (Ibid.  91.) 

t  Als  die  Pestilenz  im  Jahre  1519,  in  dieser 
Gegend  grassirte,  viele  neigten  sich  zu  einem 
bessern  Leben. — (Georg.  Vogelin.  Ref.  Hist. 
Fiisslin  Beytr.  iv.  174.) 


THE   SWISS.— 1484— 1522. 


351 


Zwingle  derived  an  accession  of  that 
strength,  of  which  he  stood  so  much  in 
need,  from  his  renewed  communion  with 
his  friends.  With  Myconius  especially 
he  was  united  by  the  bonds  of  a  strong 
affection.  They  walked  side  by  side, 
each  supporting  the  other,  like  Luther 
and  Melancthon.  Oswald  was  happy  at 
Zurich.  His  position  there  was  a  con- 
strained one,  it  is  true ;  but  the  virtues 
of  his  modest  wife  made  him  amends  for 
all  his  discomforts.  It  was  of  her  that 
Glareanus  said  :  "  Could  I  meet  a  young 
woman  resembling  her,  I  would  prefer 
her  to  a  king's  daughter."  The  enjoy- 
ment which  Zwingle  and  Myconius 
found  in  their  reciprocal  friendship  was 
sometimes  broken  in  upon,  however,  by 
the  voice  of  a  faithful  monitor.  That 
monitor  was  the  canon  Xyloctect,  who 
was  continually  calling  on  Myconius  to 
return  to  Lucerne,  the  place  of  his  birth. 
"  Zurich  is  not  thy  country,"  said  he, 
"  but  Lucerne.  Thou  sayest  that  the 
Zurichers  are  thy  friends :  I  acknowl- 
edge it ; — but  canst  thou  tell  how  it  will 
fare  with  thee  when  the  shadows  of 
evening  begin  to  fall  on  thy  path?  Re- 
member thy  duty  to  thy  country,* — such 
is  my  desire,  my  entreaty, — and  if  I  may 
so  speak,  my  command !"  Following 
up  his  words  by  acts,  Xyloctect  caused 
Myconius  to  be  elected  rector  of  the  col- 
legiate school  of  his  native  city.  Oswald 
then  hesitated  no  longer ;  he  saw  the 
finger  of  God  in  this  nomination,  and 
o-reat  as  was  the  sacrifice  demanded  of 
him,  he  resolved  to  make  it.  Might  it 
not  be  the  will  of  the  Lord  to  employ 
him  as  His  instrument  in  publishing  the 
doctrine  of  peace  in  the  warlike  canton 
of  Lucerne  ?  But  how  shall  we  describe 
the  parting  between  Zwingle  and  My- 
conius? On  either  side,  their  farewell 
was  accompanied  with  tears.  "  Thy  de- 
parture," observed  Ulric  in  a  letter  writ- 
ten to  Oswald  shortly  afterwards,  "  has 
been  such  a  discouragement  to  the  cause 
which  I  defend,  as  can  only  be  com- 
pared to  that  which  would  be  felt  by  an 
army  drawn  up  in  order  of  battle,  were 
it  suddenly  deprived  of  one  of  its  wings. f 

*  Patriam  cole,  suadeo  et  obsecro,  et  si  hoc 
possum  jubeo. — (Xyloctect  Myconio.) 

t  Nam  res  meae,  te  abeunte,  non  sunt  minus 
accisffi  quam  si  exercitui  in  procinctu  stanti  al- 
tera alarum  abstergatur. — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  98.) 


Alas !  now  I  feel  the  value  of  my  My- 
conius, and  can  perceive  how  often,  when 
I  dreamed  not  of  it,  he  has  upheld  the 
cause  of  Christ  I" 

Zwingle  felt  the  loss  of  his  friend  the 
more  acutely,  by  reason  of  the  debilitated 
state  to  which  the  plague  had  reduced 
him.  "  It  has  enfeebled  my  memory," 
he  complains  in  a  letter,  dated  30th  No- 
vember, 1519,  "and  prostrated  my  spir- 
its." While  he  was  yet  scarcely  con- 
valescent, he  had  resumed  all  his  labours. 
"  But,"  said  he,  "  I  often  in  preaching 
lose  the  thread  of  my  discourse.  My 
whole  frame  is  oppressed  with  languor, 
and  I  am  little  better  than  a  dead  man." 
Besides  this,  Zwingle's  opposition  to  in- 
dulgences had  aroused  the  animosity  of 
those  who  supported  them.  Oswald  en- 
couraged his  friend  by  the  letters  he  wrote 
to  him  from  Lucerne.  Was  not  the  Lord, 
at  this  moment,  giving  a  pledge  of  his 
readiness  to  help,  by  the  protection  which 
he  afforded  in  Saxony  to  the  mighty 
champion  who  had  gained  such  signal 
victories  over  Rome  ?  "  What  thinkest 
thou,"  said  Myconius  to  Zwingle,  "of  the 
cause  of  Luther  ?  For  my  part,  I  have 
no  fear  either  for  the  Gospel  or  for  him. 
If  God  does  not  protect  his  truth,  by  whom 
else  shall  it  be  protected  ?  All  that  I  ask 
of  the  Lord  is,  that  he  will  not  withdraw 
his  hand  from  those  who  have  nothing 
so  dear  to  them  as  his  Gospel.  Go  on 
as  thou  hast  begun,  and  an  abundant 
reward  shall  be  bestowed  upon  thee  in 
heaven." 

The  arrival  of  an  old  friend  at  this 
time  brought  some  comfort  to  Zwingle, 
in  his  grief  for  the  removal  of  Myconius. 
Bunzli,  who  had  been  Ulric's  master  at 
Bale,  and  who  had  since  succeeded  the 
Dean  of  Wesen,  the  Reformer's  uncle, 
arrived  at  Zurich  in  the  first  week  of  the 
year  1520,  and  Zwingle  and  he  formed 
the  resolution  of  taking  a  journey  to  Bale 
together  to  see  their  common  friends.* 
Zwingle's  visit  to  Bale  was  not  unproduc- 
tive of  good.  "Oh,  my  dear  Zwingle!" 
wrote  John  Glother,  at  a  later  period, 
"  never  shall  I  forget  thee  !  My  gratitude 
is  thy  due  for  the  kindness  displayed  by 
thee  during  thy  stay  at  Bale,  in  visiting 
me  as  thou  didst, — me,  a  poor  school- 
master, a  man  without  name,  without 
learning,  without  merit,  and  in  a  low 
*  Zw.  Epp.  p.  103  and  111. 


352 


HISTORY   OF   THE  REFORMATION. 


condition.  My  affections  thou  hast  won 
hy  that  elegance  of  manners,  that  inde- 
scribable fascination,  by  which  thou  sub- 
duest  all  hearts, — and  I  might  almost  say 
the  very  stones."*  But  Zwingle's  earlier 
friends  derived  still  greater  benefit  from 
his  visit.  Capito  and  Hedio,  with  many 
others,  were  electrified  by  his  powerful 
discourses  ;  and  the  former,  adopting  the 
same  course  at  Bale  which  Zwingle  had 
pursued  at  Zurich,  began  to  expound  St. 
Matthew's  Gospel  to  an  auditory  which 
continually  increased  in  numbers.  The 
doctrine  of  Christ  manifested  its  power  in 
searching  and  warming  the  heart.  The 
people  received  it  with  joy,  and  hailed 
the  revival  of  Christianity  with  eager 
acclamations,  f  The  Reformation  had 
already  dawned.  A  proof  of  this  was 
soon  seen  in  a  conspiracy  of  priests  and 
monks,  which  was  formed  against  Capito. 
Albert,  the  young  Cardinal-archbishop  of 
Mentz,  who  was  desirous  to  attach  so 
learned  a  man  to  his  person,  took  advan- 
tage of  this  circumstance,  and  invited 
him  to  his  court.  Capito,  seeing  the  dif- 
ficulties with  which  he  was  surrounded, 
accepted  the  invitation.^  The  people 
thought  themselves  aggrieved,  their  in- 
dignation was  roused  against  the  priests, 
and  the  city  was  thrown  into  commotion.  § 
Hedio  was  spoken  of  as  Capito' s  suc- 
cessor ;  but  some  objected  to  his  youth, 
and  others  said : — "  He  is  his  disciple  !" 
"  The  truth,"  said  Hedio,  "  is  of  too  pun- 
gent a  quality.  There  are  susceptible 
ears,  which  it  cannot  fail  to  wound,  and 
which  are  not  to  be  wounded  with  im- 
punity. [|  No  matter !  I  will  not  be 
turned  aside  from  the  straight  road." 
The  monks  redoubled  their  efforts.  "  Be- 
ware," was  their  language  in  the  pulpit, 
u  of  giving  credence  to  those  who  tell 
you  that  the  sum  of  Christian  doctrine 
is  to  be  found  in  the  Gospels,  and  iit  the 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul.  Scotus  has  rendered 
greater  service  to  Christianity  than  Paul 
himself.     All  the  learning  that  has  been 

*  Morum  tuorum  elegantia.  suavitasque  in- 
credibilis,  qua  omnes  tibi  devincis,  etiam  lapides, 
ut  sic  dixerim. — (Ibid.  133.) 

t  Renascenti  Christianismo  miram  quam  fave- 
ant.— (Ibid.  120.) 

I  Cardinalis  illic  invitavit  amplissimis  condi- 
tionibus. — (Ibid.) 

§  Tumultus  exoritur  et  maxima  indignatio 
vulgi  erga  l(psiu — (Ibid.) 

||  Auriculas  teneras  mordaci  radere  vero  non 
asque  adeo  tutum  est — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  120.) 


preached  and  published  has  been  stolen 
from  Scotus.  The  utmost  that  certain 
persons  have  been  able  to  achieve  in 
their  attempts  to  gain  a  reputation  for 
themselves,  has  been  to  mix  up  a  few 
words  of  Greek  and  Hebrew  with  his 
matter,  so  as  to  perplex  and  darken  the 
whole."* 

The  tumult  continued  to  increase  ; 
there  was  reason  to  fear  that  after  Cap- 
ito's  departure,  the  opposition  would  be- 
come still  more  powerful.  "  I  shall  be 
left  almost  alone,  weak  and  insignificant 
as  I  am,"  said  Hedio,  "  to  struggle  with 
those  formidable  monsters."!  In  this 
emergency  he  betook  himself  to  God  for 
succour ; — and  in  a  letter  to  Zwingle 
expressed  himself  thus  : — "  Support  my 
courage  by  frequent  letters.  Learning 
and  religion  are  now  between  the  ham- 
mer and  the  anvil.  Luther  has  been 
condemned  by  the  universities  of  Louvain 
and  Cologne.  If  ever  the  church  was 
in  imminent  peril,  she  is  so  at  this 
hour!"! 

Capito  quitted  Bale  for  Mentz  on  the 
28th  of  April;  and  Hedio  succeeded  him. 
Not  content  with  the  public  assemblies 
which  were  held  in  the  church,  where  he 
continued  the  lectures  on  Saint  Matthew, 
he  resolved,  as  he  wrote  to  Luther  to  in- 
stitute, in  the  ensuing  month  of  June, 
private  meetings  in  his  own  house,  that 
he  might  impart  more  familiar  instruc- 
tion in  the  Gospel  to  such  as  should  de- 
sire it.  This  powerful  method  of  com- 
municating religious  knowledge,  and 
awakening  the  concern  and  affection  of 
believers  for  divine  things,  could  not  fail 
on  this,  as  on  every  occasion,  to  excite 
the  concurrent  opposition  of  worldly- 
minded  laymen,  and  an  arrogant  priest- 
hood, classes  which  are  equally  inimical, 
though  on  different  grounds,  to  every 
attempt  to  worship  God  anywhere  but 
within  the  enclosure  of  certain  walls. 
But  Hedio  was  not  to  be  driven  from  his 
purpose. 

About  the  period  when  he  conceived 
this  praiseworthy  design  at  Bale,  there 
arrived  at  Zurich  one  of  those  characters, 
who,  in  revolutionary  times,   are  often 

*  Scotum  plus  profuisse  rei  Christiana?  quam 

ipsum  Paulum qujcquid  eruditum  furatum 

ex  Scoto. — (Ibid.) 

t  Cum  pestilentissimis  monstris. — (Ibid.) 
1  Si  unquam  imminebat  periculum,  jam  im- 
miaet.— (Ibid.  17th  March,  1520.) 


THE   SWISS— 1-184— 1522. 


353 


thrown  up  like  a  foul  scum  upon  the 
agitated  surface  of  society. 

The  senator  Grebel,  a  man  highly 
respected  at  Zurich,  had  a  son  named 
Conrad,  a  young  man  of  remarkable 
talents,  a  determined  enemy  to  ignorance 
and  superstition, — which  he  assailed  with 
the  keenest  satire  ;  vehement  and  over- 
bearing in  his  manners,  sarcastic  and 
acrimonious  in  his  speech,  destitute  of 
natural  affection,  addicted  to  dissolute 
habits,  frequent  and  loud  in  professions 
of  his  own  integrity,  and  unable  to  dis- 
cover anything  but  evil  in  the  rest  of 
mankind.  We  mention  him  here  be- 
cause he  was  destined  afterwards  to  a 
melancholy  celebrity.  Just  at  this  time, 
Vadianus  contracted  a  marriage  with 
one  of  Conrad's  sisters.  The  latter,  who 
was  then  a  student  at  Paris,  where  his 
own  misconduct  prevented  him  from 
making  any  progress,  having  a  desire  to 
be  present  at  the  nuptials,  suddenly  ap- 
peared about  the  beginning  of  June,  in 
the  midst  of  his  family.  The  prodigal 
son  was  welcomed  by  his  poor  father 
with  a  gentle  smile ;  by  his  tender  mo- 
ther with  many  tears.  The  tenderness 
of  his  parents  could  not  change  that 
unnatural  heart.  Some  time  afterwards, 
on  the  recovery  of  his  worthy  but  un- 
fortunate mother  from  an  illness  which 
had  nearly  proved  fatal,  Conrad  wrote  to 
his  brother-in-law  Vadianus.  "  My  mo- 
ther is  well  again  ;  and  has  taken  the 
management  of  the  house  once  more  into 
her  own  hands.  She  sleeps,  rises,  be- 
gins to  scold,  breakfasts,  scolds  again, 
dines,  resumes  her  scolding,  and  never 
ceases  to  torment  us  from  morning  to 
night.  She  bustles  about,  overlooking 
kettle  and  oven,  gathering  and  strewing, 
toils  continually,  wearies  herself  to  death, 
and  will  soon  have  a  relapse."*  Such 
was  the  man  who  subsequently  attempt- 
ed to  lord  it  over  Zwingle,  and  who  ac- 
quired notoriety  as  the  leader  of  the  fa- 
natical Anabaptists.  Divine  providence 
may  have  permitted  such  characters  to 
appear  at  the  epoch  of  the  Reformation, 
in  order  that  the  contrast  furnished  by 
their  excesses  might  display  more  con- 
spicuously the  wise,  christian,  and  mod- 
erate spirit  of  the  Reformers. 

*  Sie  regiert  das  Haus,  schlaft,  steht  auf, 
zankt,  fruhstuckt,  keift  .  . — (Simml.  Samml.  4 
VVirz,  i.  76.) 

45 


Everything  indicated  that  the  struggle 
between  the  Gospel  and  the  Papacy  was 
about  to  commence.  "  Let  us  stir  up  the 
waverers,''  said  Hedio,  in  a  letter  to 
Zwingle,  <;  there  is  an  end  to  peace  ; 
and  let  us  fortify  our  own  hearts;  we 
have  implacable  enemies  to  encounter."* 
Myconius  wrote  in  the  same  strain ;  but 
Ulric  replied  to  these  warlike  appeals 
with  admirable  mildness.  "  I  could 
wish,"  said  he,  "  to  conciliate  those  stub- 
born men  by  kindness  and  gentleness  of 
demeanour,  rather  than  to  get  the  better 
of  them  in  angry  controversy. t  For  if 
they  call  our  doctrine  (though  ours  it  is 
not)  a  doctrine  of  devils,  that  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at ;  I  receive  it  as  a  token  that 
we  are  the  ambassadors  of  God.  The 
devils  cannot  remain  silent  in.  Christ's 
presence." 

Desirous  as  he  was  to  follow  the  path 
of  peace,  Zwingle  was  not  idle.  Since 
hi3  illness  his  preaching  had  become 
more  spiritual  and  more  fervent.  More 
than  two  thousand  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Zurich  had  received  the  word  of 
God  into  their  hearts, — confessed  the 
evangelical  doctrine, — and  were  qualified 
to  assist  in  its  propagation. 

Zwingle's  faith  is  the  same  as  Lu- 
ther's ;  but  it  rests  more  upon  argument 
than  his-.  Luther  is  carried  forward  by 
the  internal  impulse,  Zwingle  by  the  at- 
traction of  the  light  revealed  to  him. 
In  Luther's  writings  wre  find  a  deeply 
seated  personal  conviction  of  the  precious- 
ness  of  the  cross  of  Christ  to  his  own  soul ; 
and  this  earnest,  unfaltering  conviction 
gives  life  and  energy  to  all  that  he  says. 
The  same  thing,  undoubtedly,  is  found 
in  the  writings  of  Zwingle,  but  not  in 
the  same  degree.  His  contemplations 
have  been  fixed  rather  on  the  Christian 
system  as  a  whole  ;  he  reveres  it  for  its 
surpassing  beauty,  for  the  light  which  it 
sheds  upon  the  soul  of  man,  lor  the  ever- 
lasting life  which  it  brings  into  the  world. 
In  the  one  the  affections  are  the  moving 
power, — in  the  other  the  understanding ; 
and  hence  it  happens  that  persons  not 
experimentally  acquainted  with  the  faith 
which  animated  these  two  distinguished 
disciples  of  the  Lord,  have  fallen  into  a 

*  Armemus  pectora  nostra  !  pugnandum  erit 
contra  teterrimos  hostes. — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  101.) 

t  Benevolentia  honestoque  cbsequio  potius  allici 
quam  animosa  oppugnatione  trahi. — (Ibid.  103.) 


354 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


gross  error,  and  represented  the  one  as  a 
mystic,  the  other  as  a  rationalist.  The 
one  is  more  pathetic,  it  may  he,  in  the  ex- 
position of  his  faith— the  other  is  more 
philosophic ;  but  the  same  truths  are  em- 
braced by  both.  Secondary  questions, 
perhaps,  they  do  not  always  regard  under 
the  same  aspect ;  but  that  faith  which  is 
one,  that  faith  which  renews  and  justi- 
fies all  who  possess  it,  that  faith  which 
no  confession,  no  formulary  of  doctrine, 
can  ever  adequately  express, — is  the  pro- 
perty of  each  alike.  The  opinions  of 
Zwingle  have  often  been  so  erroneously 
stated,  that  it  seems  necessary  to  give  a 
summary  of  the  doctrine  which  he  then 
preached  to  the  people  who  nocked  in 
crowds  to  hear  him  in  the  cathedral  of 
Zurich. 

Zwingle  beheld  in  the  fall  of  the  first 
man  a  key  to  the  entire  history  of  the 
human  race.  •'  Before  the  fall,"  said  he, 
in  one  of  his  discourses,  "  man  had  been 
created  with  a  free  will,  so  that  if  he  had 
been  willing  he  might  have  fulfilled  the 
law :  his  nature  was  pure ;  the  disease 
of  sin  had  not  yet  tainted  it ; — his  life 
was  in  his  own  hands.  But  having  de- 
sired to  be  '  as  God,' — he  died  ; — and  not 
he  alone,  but  all  that  are  born  of  him. 
All  men,  then,  being  dead  in  Adam, 
must  ever  remain  so,  until  the  Spirit, 
which  is  God  himself,  raises  them  out 
of  death."* 

The  people  of  Zurich,  who  listened 
eagerly  to  the  impressive  pi'eacher,  were 
overwhelmed  with  sorrow  when  their 
eyes  were  first  opened  to  the  sinful  con- 
dition of  mankind ;  but  the  word  of  con- 
solation was  next  administered,  and  they 
were  taught  the  remedy  by  which  the 
life  of  man  is  renewed.  "  Christ,  very 
man  and  very  God,"f  said  the  eloquent 
descendant  of  the  shepherds  of  the  Tock- 
enburg,  "  has  purchased  for  us  an  ever- 
lasting deliverance.     He  who  died  for 

*  Quum  ergo  omnes  homines  in  Adamo  mor- 
tui  sunt  .  .  .  donee  per  Spiritum  et  gratiam  Dei 
ad  vitam  qua?  Deus  est  excitentur. — (Zw.  Opp. 
i.  203.) — These  expressions  and  others  which  we 
have,  already  quoted,  or  shall  proceed  to  quote, 
are  extracted  from  a  work  published  by  Zwingle 
in  1523,  in  which  he  reduced  into  a  compendium 
the  doctrine  which  he  had  then  been  preaching 
for  several  years.  "  Hie  resensere  coepi,"  he 
says,  "  qua?  ex  verbo  Dei  predicavi." — (Ibid. 
228.) 

t  Christus  verus  homo  et  verus  Deus  .  . — (Ibid. 
206.) 


us  is  the  eternal  God  :  his  passion,  there- 
fore, is  an  eternal  sacrifice,  and  has  a  per- 
petual efficacy;*  it  satisfies  the  divine 
justice  for  ever  upon  behalf  of  all  who 
rely  upon  it  with  a  firm  and  unshaken 
faith." — "  Where  sin  is,"  said  the  Re- 
former again,  "  death  must  needs  follow. 
But  Christ  had  no  sin,  neither  was  there 
guile  found  in  his  mouth ;  nevertheless 
he  suffered  death. — -Wherefore/  but  be- 
cause he  suffered  it  in  our  stead.  Fie 
was  content  to  die,  that  he  might  restore 
us  to  life  ;f  and  forasmuch  as  he  had  no 
sins  of  his  own,  the  Father,  in  his  in- 
finite mercy,  laid  upon  him  the  iniquity 
of  us  all." — "  The  will  of  man,"  argued 
the  christian  orator, "  had  rebelled  against 
the  Most  High  ;  it  was  necessary,  there- 
fore, for  the  re-establishment  of  the  eter- 
nal order  of  things,  and  the  salvation  of 
man,  that  the  human  will  should,  in 
Christ,  give  place  to  the  divine.^  It  was 
a  frequent  remark  of  his  that  the  ex- 
piatory death  of  Jesus  Christ  had  taken 
place  for  the  benefit  of  the  faithful,  or  the 
people  of  God.fy 

The  souls  that  hungered  after  salva- 
tion in  the  city  of  Zurich  found  comfort 
in  these  good  tidings ;  but  there  were 
some  errors  of  ancient  growth  which 
their  minds  still  harboured,  and  which  it 
was  needful  to  extirpate.  Following  out 
the  great  truth  that  salvation  is  the  gift 
of  God,  Zwingle  pleaded  powerfully 
against  the  pretended  merit  of  human 
works.  "Since  eternal  salvation,"  said 
he,  "  proceeds  solely  from  the  merits  and 
the  death  of  Christ,  the  notion  of  merit 
in  our  works  is  no  better  than  vanity 
and  folly, — not  to  call  it  senseless  im- 
piety. |[  If  we  could  have  been  saved 
by  our  own  works,  Christ's  death  would 
have  been  unnecessary.     All  who  have 


*  Deus  enim  eetemus  quum  sit  qui  pro  nobis 
moritur,  passionem  ejus  feternam  et  perpetuo 
salutarem  esse  oportet. — (Ibid.) 

t  Mori  voluit  ut  ncs  vitse  restitueret.  .  . — (Ibid. 
204.) 

t  Necesse  fuit  ut  voluntas  humana  in  Christo 
se  divines  submitteret. — (Ibid.) 

§  Hostia  est  et  victima  satisfaeiens  in  sternum 
pro  peccatis  omnium  fidelium. — (Zw.  Opp.  i.  253.) 
Expurgata  peccata  multitudinis,  hoc  est,  fidelis 
populi.— (Ibid.  264.) 

||  Sequitur  meritum  nostrorum  operum  nihil 
esse  quam  vanitatem  et  stultitiam,  ne  dicam 
impietatem  et  ignorantem  impudentiam. — (Ibid. 
290.) 


THE   SWISS— 1484— 1522. 


355 


ever  come  to  God  have  come  to  him  by 
the  death  of  Jesus."* 

Zwingle  was  not  ignorant  of  the 
objections  which  this  doctrine  excited 
amongst  a  portion  of  his  auditory. 
There  were  some  who  waited  on  him 
for  the  purpose  of  stating  those  objec- 
tions. He  answered  them  from  the  pul- 
pit thus :  "  Some  persons,  rather  specu- 
lative than  pious,  perhaps,  object  that 
his  doctrine  makes  men  reckless  and 
dissolute.  But  what  need  we  care  for 
the  objections  and  plans  that  may  be 
conjured  up  by  the  speculations  of  men. 
All  who  believe  in  Christ  are  assured 
that  whatever  comes  from  God  is  neces- 
sarily good.  If  then  the  Gospel  is  of 
God,  it  is  good.f  And  what  other 
power  is  there  that  could  bring  in  righte- 
ousness, truth,  and  love  among  the  chil- 
dren of  men?" — "O  God  most  merciful, 
most  righteous,  Father  of  all  mercies!" 
cried  he  in  a  transport  of  devotion,  "  with 
what  marvellous  love  hast  thou  em- 
braced us, — even  us  thy  enemies.^  How 
great  and  how  full  is  the  hope  thou  hast 
imparted  to  us,  who  merited  no  other 
portion  than  despair  !  To  what  a  height 
of  glory  hast  thou  vouchsafed,  in  thy  be- 
loved Son,  to  exalt  our  meanness  and 
nothingness !  Surely  it  is  thy  purpose 
by  this  unspeakable  Love,  to  constrain 
us  to  love  thee  in  return." 

Pursuing  this  idea,  he  next  showed 
that  love  to  the  Redeemer  was  a  law 
more  powerful  than  the  commandments. 
"  The  Christian,"  said  he,  "  being  de- 
livered from  the  law,  depends  entirely 
on  Christ.  Christ  is  his  reason,  his  coun- 
sel, his  righteousness,  his  sanctification, 
his  whole  salvation.  Christ  lives  and 
moves  in  him.  Christ  alone  leads  him 
on  his  way,  and  he  needs  no  other 
o-uide."§  Then  making  use  of  a  com- 
parison well  adapted  to  the  compre- 
hension of  his  hearers,  he  added : 
"When  a  government  forbids  its  citi- 
zens, under  pain  of  death,  to  receive  any 

*  Quotquot  ad  Deum  venerunt  unquam  per 
mortem  Christi  ad  Deum  venisse. — (Ibid.) 

t  Certus  est  quod  quidquid  ex  Deo  est  bonum 
eit.  Si  ergo  Evangelium  ex  Deo  bonum  est. — 
(Ibid.  2080  i 

X  Quanta,  caritate  nos  fures  et  perduelles. 

§  Turn  enim  totus  a  Christo  pendet.  Christus 
est  ei  ratio,  consilium,  justitia,  ir.nocentia  et  tota 
salus.  Christus  iu  eo  vivit,  in  eo  agit. — (Zw. 
Opp.  i.  233.) 


pension  or  largess  from  the  hands  of 
foreigners,  how  gentle  and  easy  is  that 
law  to  those  who,  for  the  sake  of  their 
fatherland  and  liberty,  would,  of  their 
own  accord,  abstain  from  so  unworthy 
an  act !  But  on  the  contrary,  how  harsh 
and  oppressive  does  it  appear  to  those 
who  care  for  nothing  but  their  selfish 
gains !  Even  so  it  is  that  the  righteous 
man  lives  free  and  joyful  in  his  love  of 
righteousness,  while  the  unrighteous  man 
walks  painfully  under  the  burthen  of  the 
law  that  condemns  him."* 

In  the  cathedral  of  Zurich,  that  day, 
there  were  many  old  soldiers  who  could 
appreciate  the  truth  of  these  words ; — 
and  can  we  deny  that  love  is  the  most 
powerful  of  lawgivers  ?  Are  not  all  its 
requisitions  immediately  fulfilled?  Does 
not  the  beloved  object  live  in  our  hearts, 
and  there  enforce  obedience  to  all  that 
he  has  enjoined  ?  Accordingly  Zwingle, 
assuming  a  still  bolder  tone  as  he  pro- 
ceeded, testified  to  the  people  of  Zurich 
that  love  to  the  Redeemer  was  the  only 
motive*  that  could  impel  man  to  the  per- 
formance of  actions  acceptable  to  God. 
"  Works  done  out  of  Christ  are  worth- 
less," said  the  Christian  teacher,  u  since 
every  good  work  is  done  by  him, — in 
him, — and  through  him,  what  is  there 
that  we  can  lay  claim  to  for  ourselves? 
Wheresoever  there  is  faith  in  God,  there 
God  himself  abides, — and  wheresoever 
God  is,  there  is  awakened  a  zeal  which 
urges  and  constrains  men  to  good  works. t 
See  to  it,  only,  that  Christ  be  in  thee, 
and  thou  in  Christ, — and  fear  not  but 
He  will  work  in  thee.  Of  a  truth  the 
life  of  a  Christian  man  is  but  one  con- 
tinual good  work,  begun  and  carried  for- 
ward and  brought  to  completion — by 
God  alone."J  ( 

J)eeply  impressed  with  the  greatness 
of  that  love  of  God  which  is  from  ever- 
lasting, the  herald  of  grace  adopted  a 
strain  of  impassioned  earnestness  in  the 
invitations  which  he  addressed  to  the  ir- 
resolute and  fearful.  "  How  is  it,"  said 
he,  "  that  you  fear  to  draw  nigh  to  that 

*  Bonus  vir  in  amore  justitiaa  liber  et  leetus  vivit 
—(Ibid.  284.) 

t  Ubi  Deus,  illic  cura  est  et  studium  ad  opera 
bona  urgens  et  impellens. — (Zw.  Opp.  i.  213.) 

J  Vita  ergo  pii  hominis  nihil  aliud  est  nisi  per- 
petua  quffidam  et  indefessa  boni  operatio  quam 
Deus  incipit,  ducit  et  absolvit. — (Ibid.  295.) 


356 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


tender  Father  who  has  chosen  us? 
Why  has  he  chosen  us  of  his  free  mer- 
cy ?  Why  has  he  called  us  ?  Why  has 
he  drawn  us  to  himself?  to  this  end  only, 
think  you,  that  we  should  shrink  from 
approaching  him  ?"* 

Such  was  the  doctrine  put  forth  by 
Zwingle.  It  was  the  doctrine  preached 
by  Jesus  Christ  himself.  "  If  Luther 
preaches  Christ,  he  does  what  I  do,"  said 
the  preacher  of  Zurich.  "  He  has  led 
to  Christ  many  more  souls  than  I : — be 
it  so.  Yet  will  I  bear  no  other  name 
than  that  of  Christ,  whose  soldier  I  am, 
and  who  alone  is  my  head.  Never  has 
a  single  line  been  addressed  by  me  to 
Luther,  or  by  Luther  to  me.  And 
why  ? — that  it  might  be  manifest  to  all 
how  uniform  is  the  testimony  of  the 
Spirit  of  God, — since  we,  who  have  had 
no  communication  with  each  other, 
agree  so  closely  in  the  doctrine  of  Jesus 
Christ."! 

The  success  which  attended  on  Zwin- 
gle's  preaching  corresponded  to  its  fidel- 
ity .|  The  spacious  cathedral  was  too 
small  to  contain  the  multitude  of  his 
hearers.  All  believers  united  in  prais- 
ing God  for  the  new  life  which  had  be- 
gun to  quicken  the  inanimate  body  of 
the  Church.  Many  strangers  from  every 
canton,  who  came  to  Zurich,  either  to 
attend  the  Diet,  or  for  other  purposes, 
embraced  the  new  doctrines,  and  carried 
the  precious  seeds  of  truth  into  all  the 
valleys  of  Switzerland.  From  populous 
cities  and  from  hamlets  hidden  in  the 
glen,  one  cry  of  rejoicing  gratitude  arose 
to  heaven.  "  Switzerland,"  said  Nicholas 
Hageus,  in  a  letter  written  from  Lucerne, 
"  has  heretofore  given  birth  to  many 
a  Csesar,  and  Scipio,  and  Brutus  ;  but 
scarcely  could  she  number  among  her 
offspring  one  or  two  to  whom  Christ  was 
truly  known,  and  who  had  learned  to 
nourish  souls  with  the  divine  word  in- 
stead of  doubtful  disputations.  Now  that 
Divine  Providence  has  given  to  Switzer- 
land, Zwingle  for  a  preacher,  and  Os- 
wald Myconius  for  a  professor,  religion 

*  Quum  ergo  Deus  pater  nos  elegit  ex  gratia 
euS.,  traxitque  et  vocavit,  cur  ad  eum  accedere 
non  auderemus? — (Ibid.  287.) 

t  Quam  concors  sit  spiritus  Dei,  dum  nos  tam 
procul  dissiti,  nihil  colludentes,  tam  concorditer 
Christi  doctrinam  docemus. — (Zw.  Opp.  i.  276.) 

X  Quam  fortis  sis  in  Christi  prcedicando. — 
(Zw.  Epp.  p.  160.) 


and  sacred  literature  are  reviving  in  the 
midst  of  us.  O  happy  Helvetia,  wouldst 
thou  only  rest  from  war,  satisfied  with 
the  glory  thou  hast  already  won  in  arms, 
and  cultivate  in  future  that  truer  glory 
which  follows  in  the  train  of  righteous- 
ness and  peace!"* — "It  was  reported," 
said  Myconius,  in  a  letter  to  Zwingle, 
"  that  thy  voice  could  not  be  heard  at 
the  distance  of  three  paces.  But  we  find 
now  how  false  a  tale  it  was  ;  for  thou  art 
heard  all  over  Switzerland."! — "  It  is  a 
noble  courage  with  which  thou  hast  arm- 
ed thyself,"  said  Hedio,  writing  from 
Bale  ;  "  I  will  follow  thee  as  far  as  I 
have  strength. "J — "  I  have  listened  to 
thy  teaching,"  wrote  Sebastian  Hofmeis- 
ter  of  Schaff  hausen,  in  a  letter  dated  from 
Constance  :  "  God  grant  that  Zurich,  the 
head  of  our  confederacy,  may  be  healed 
of  its  disease,  that  so  the  whole  body  may 
be  restored  to  soundness."^ 

But  Zwingle  met  with  adversaries  as 
well  as  admirers.  "  Wherefore,"  said 
some,  "  does  he  concern  himself  with 
the  political  affairs  of  Switzerland  ?" — 
"  Why,"  said  others,  "  does  he  repeat  the 
same  things  so  often  in  his  religious  in- 
structions ?"  In  the  midst  of  these  con- 
flicting judgments,  the  soul  of  Zwingle 
was  often  overcome  with  dejection.  It 
seemed  to  him  that  a  general  confusion 
was  at  hand,  and  that  the  fabric  of  socie- 
ty was  on  the  point  of  being  overturned.  || 
He  began  to  apprehend  that  it  was  im- 
possible for  good  to  make  its  appearance 
in  one  quarter,  but  evil  must  spring  up 
to  counteract  it  in  another. f  If  at  one 
moment  hope  shone  in  his  mind,  it  was 
instantly  succeeded  by  fear.  But  he  soon 
recovered  from  his  depression.  "  The  life 
of  man  here  below  is  a  warfare,"  said  he  ; 
"  he  who  Avould  inherit  glory  must  face 
the  world  as  an  enemy,  and,  like  David, 
force  the  haughty  Goliath,  exulting  in 
his  strength,  to  bite  the  dust." — "  The 

*  O  Helvetiam  longe  feliciorem,  si  tandem 
liceat  to  a  bellis  conquiescere ! — (Ibid.  128.) 

t  At  video  inendacium  esse,  cum  audiaris  per 
totam  Helvetiam. — (Ibid.  135.) 

X  Sequar  te  quoad  potero  .  .  . — (Ibid.  134.) 

§  Ut  capite  felicis  patriae  nostra?  a  morbo  erep- 
to,  sanitas  tandem  in  reliqua  membra  recipere- 
tur.— (Zw.  Epp.  p.  147.) 

I)  Omnia  sursum  deorsumque  moventur. — 
(Ibid.  142.) 

IT  Ut  nihil  proferre  caput  queat,  cujus  non 
contrarium  e  regione  emergat. — (Ibid.) 


THE   SWISS.— 1484— 1522. 


357 


Church,"  said  he  again,  using  the  very- 
expression  which  Luther  had  employed, 
■"  has  been  purchased  by  blood,  and  by 
blood  must  it  be  restored.*  The  more 
numerous  are  the  stains  that  defile  it,  the 
more  numerous  also  must  be  the  Hercu- 
lean arms  employed  to  cleanse  away  that 
augean  filth,  f  I  fear  little  for  Luther," 
added  he,  "  though  he  be  assailed  by  the 
thunderbolts  of  the  Romish  Jupiter.";}; 

Zwingle  had  need  of  rest ;  he  repaired 
to  the  waters  of  Baden.  The  curate  of 
the  place,  who  had  been  one  of  the  Pope's 
body-guard,  a  man  of  good  character,  but 
destitute  of  learning,  had  earned  his  ben- 
efice by  carrying  the  halberd.  Tena- 
cious of  his  military  habits,  he  passed 
the  day  and  a  portion  of  the  night  in 
jovial  company,  while  Staheli,  his  vicar, 
was  unwearied  in  performing  all  the  du- 
ties of  his  calling.  §  Zwingle  sent  for 
this  young  minister.  "  I  have  need," 
said  he,  "  of  helpers  in  Switzerland  ;"-— 
and  from  that  moment,  Staheli  became 
his  fellow-labourer.  Zwingle,  Staheli, 
and  Luti,  who  was  afterwards  a  pastor 
at  Winterthur,  lived  under  the  same 
roof. 

Zwingle's  self-devotion  was  not  to  miss 
its  reward.  The  word  of  Christ,  which 
he  preached  so  diligently,  was  ordained 
to  bring  forth  fruit.  Many  of  the  magis- 
trates had  been  converted ;  they  had 
found  comfort  and  strength  in  God's 
holy  word.  Grieved  to  observe  with 
what  effrontery  the  priests,  and  especial- 
ly the  monks,  in  their  addresses  from  the 
pulpit,  uttered  anything  that  came  upper- 
most in  their  minds,  the  Council  issued 
an  ordinance  by  which  they  were  en- 
joined to  "  deliver  nothing  in  their  dis- 
courses but  what  they  should  have  drawn 
from  the  sacred  fountains  of  the  Old  and 
New  Testaments."  ||  It  was  in  1520  that 
the  civil  power  thus  interfered  for  the 
first  time  in  the  work  of  the  Reforma- 
tion,— fulfilling  the  duty  of  the  Christian 
magistrate,  as  some  affirm  ;  because  the 

*  Eeclesiam  puto,  ut  sanguine  parta  est,  ita 
sanguine  instaurari. — (Ibid.  143.) 

t  Eo  plures  annabis  Hercules  qui  fimum  tot 
hactenus  bourn  efferant. — (Ibid.  144.) 

t  Etiamsi  fulmine  Jovis  istius  fulminetur. 
—(Ibid.) 

§  Misc.  Mig.  iii.  G79-696.     Wirz.  i.  79,  78. 

||  Vetuit  eos  Senatus  quicquam  prsedicare  quod 
non  ex  sacrarum  literarum  utriusque  Testamenti 
jbntibus  hausissent. — (Zw.  Opp.  iii.  28.) 


first  duty  of  a  magistrate  is  to  uphold  re- 
ligion, and  to  protect  the  paramount  and 
vital  interests  of  the  community ; — de- 
priving the  Church  of  its  liberty,  say 
others, — bringing  it  under  subjection  to 
the  secular  power,  and  opening  the  way 
for  that  long  train  of  calamities  which 
has  since  been  engendered  by  the  union 
of  Church  and  State.  We  will  not  here 
attempt  to  decide  that  great  controversy 
by  which  more  than  one  nation  is  agita- 
ted at  the  present  day.  Let  it  suffice  us 
to  have  marked  its  origin  at  the  epoch 
of  the  Reformation.  But  there  is  that 
in  the  fact  itself  which  we  must  also 
mark  ; — the  act  of  those  magistrates  was 
itself  an  effect  produced  by  the  preach- 
ing of  the  word  of  God.  The  Reforma- 
tion in  Switzerland  was  now  emerging 
from  the  sphere  of  individual  conversions, 
and  becoming  a  national  work.  It  had 
first  sprung  up  in  the  hearts  of  a  few 
priests  and  scholars  ;  it  was  now  spread- 
ing abroad,  and  lifting  itself  on  high,  and 
assuming  a  station  of  publicity.  Like 
the  waters  of  the  sea  it  rose  by  degrees, 
until  it  had  overspread  a  wide  expanse. 

The  monks  were  confounded, — they 
were  enjoined  to  preach  only  the  word 
of  God,  and  that  word  the  majority  of 
them  had  never  read !  Opposition  pro- 
vokes opposition.  This  ordinance  be- 
came the  signal  for  more  violent  attacks 
against  the  Reformation.  Plots  were 
now  formed  against  the  curate  of  Zurich, 
and  his  life  was  in  danger.  One  even- 
ing, when  Zwingle  and  his  assistants 
were  quietly  conversing  in  their  house, 
they  were  disturbed  by  the  hasty  en- 
trance of  some  burghers,  who  inquired  : 
— "  Have  you  strong  bolts  on  your 
doors'?"  and  added,  "  Be  on  your  guard 
to-night." — "  We  often  had  alarms  of  this 
kind,"  adds  Staheli,  "  but  we  were  well 
armed,*  and  there  was  a  watch  set  in  the 
street  for  our  protection." 

Elsewhere,  however,  measures  of  more 
atrocious  violence  were  resorted  to  : — an 
old  inhabitant  of  Schaffhausen,  named 
Gaster,  a  man  distinguished  for  his  piety, 
and  for  an  ardour  few,  at  his  age,  pos- 
sess, having  himself  derived  much  com- 
fort from  the  light  which  he  had  found 
in  the  Gospel,  endeavoured  to  communi- 
cate it  to  his  wife  and  children.     In  his 

*  Wir  waren  aber  gut  geriistet. — (Misc.  Tig. 
ii.  681.     Wirz.  i.  334.) 


358 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


jseal,  which  perhaps  was  not  duly  tem- 
pered with  discretion,  he  openly  attacked 
the  relics,  the  priestcraft,  and  the  super- 
stition with  which  that  canton  abounded. 
He  soon  became  an  object  of  hatred  and 
terror  even  to  his  own  family.  Perceiv- 
ing' at  length  that  evil  designs  were  en- 
tertained against  him,  the  old  man  fled, 
broken-hearted,  from  his  home,  and  be- 
took himself  to  the  shelter  of  the  neigh- 
bouring forest.  There  he  continued  for 
some  days,  sustaining  life  upon  such 
scanty  food  as  the  wilds  afforded  him, 
when  suddenly,  on  the  last  night  of  the 
year,  1520,  torches  flashed  through  the 
whole  extent  of  the  forest,  while  yells  of 
infuriated  men,  mingled  with  the  cry  of 
savage  hounds,  echoed  fearfully  through 
its  deepest  recesses.  The  Council  had 
ordered  the  woods  to  be  scoured  to  dis- 
cover his  retreat.  The  hounds  caught 
scent  of  their  prey,  and  seized  him.  The 
unfortunate  old  man  was  dragged  before 
the  magistrate,  and  summoned  to  abjure 
his  faith  ;  stedfastly  refusing  to  do  so,  he 
was  beheaded.* 

But  a  little  while  after  the  New  Year's 
day  that  witnessed  this  bloody  execution, 
Zwingle  was  visited  at  Zurich  by  a 
young  man  about  twenty-eight  years  of 
age,  tall  of  stature,  and  of  an  aspect 
which  denoted  candour,  simplicity,  and 
diffidence.!  He  introduced  himself  by 
the  name  of  Berthold  Haller.  Zwingle 
immediately  recognised  the  celebrated 
preacher  of  Berne,  and  embraced  him 
with  all  that  affability  which  rendered 
his  address  so  fascinating.  Haller, 
whose  native  place  was  Aldingen,  in 
Wurtemberg,  j  had  studied  first  at  Rot- 
Avell,  under  Rubellus,  and  subsequently 
at  Pforzheim,  where  he  had  Simler  for 
his  master,  and  Melancthon  for  a  fel- 
low-pupil. The  Bernese  about  that  time 
manifested  a  desire  to  make  their  re- 
public the  seat  of  letters,  as  it  was  al- 
ready powerful  in  arms.  Rubellus  and 
Haller,  the  latter  of  whom  was  then 
twenty-one  years  of  age,  repaired  to 
Berne  accordingly.  Haller  soon  be- 
came a  canon  there,  and  was  afterwards 

*  "Wirz.  1.  510.  Sebast.  Wagner,  von  Kirch- 
hofer,  p.  18. 

t  Animi  tui  candorem  siniplicem  et  simplici- 
tatem  candid  issimam,  hue  tua  pusilla  quidem 
epistola.  . .  . — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  186.) 

t  Ita  ipse  in  Uteris  manuscriptis. — (J.  J.  Hott. 
iii.  54.) 


appointed  preacher  of  the  cathedral. 
The  Gospel  proclaimed  by  Zwingle  had 
found  its  way  to  Berne.  Haller  be- 
lieved: and  from  that  time  he  felt  a 
wish  to  have  personal  intercourse  with 
the  gifted  man,  whom  he  already  re- 
vered as  a  father.  His  journey  to  Zu- 
rich, undertaken  with  this  view,  had 
been  announced  by  Myconius.  Such 
were  the  circumstances  of  the  meeting 
between  Haller  and  Zwingle.  Haller, 
whose  characteristic  was  meekness  of 
disposition,  confided  to  Zwingle  the 
trials  with  which  he  was  beset ;  and 
Zwingle,  who  was  eminently  endowed 
with  fortitude,  communicated  to  Haller 
a  portion  of  his  own  courage.  "  My 
spirit,"  said  Berthold,  "  is  overwhelmed. 
I  cannot  endure  such  harsh  treatment. 
I  am  resolved  to  give  up  my  pulpit,  seek 
a  retreat  with  Wittembach,  at  Bale,  and 
employ  myself  for  the  future  in  the  pri- 
vate study  of  the  Scriptures." — "  Alas  !" 
replied  Zwingle,  "  a  feeling  of  discour- 
agement often  takes  possession  of  me 
likewise,  when  I  am  unjustly  assailed. 
But  Christ  awakens  my  conscience  by 
the  powerful  stimulus  of  his  threaten- 
ings  and  promises.  He  rouses  my  fears 
by  declaring :  —  Whosoever  shall  be 
ashamed  of  me  before  men,  of  him  will  I 
be  ashamed  before  my  Father ; — and  then 
he  gives  me  comfort  by  adding  : — Who- 
soever shall  confess  me  before  men,  him  trill 
I  confess  before  my  Father.  O,  my  dear 
Berthold.  be  of  good  cheer  !  Our  names 
are  written  above,  in  characters  that  can 
never  be  effaced,  as  citizens  of  the  heav- 
enly city.*  For  my  part  I  am  ready  to 
die  for  Christ. f  Let  those  wild  bears' 
cubs  of. yours,"  he  added,  "  only  once 
give  ear  to  the  doctrine  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  you  will  see  how  gentle  they  will 
become.:);  But  Y011  must  address  your- 
self cautiously  to  the  work,  lest  they 
turn  and  rend  you."  Haller's  courage 
rose  again.  "  My  soul,"  said  he  to 
Zwingle,  "  has  cast  off  her  slumber.  I 
must  needs  preach  the  Gospel.  Christ 
must    again   be   received  within  those 

*  Scripta  tamen  habeatur  in  fastis  supemorum 
civium. — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  186.) 

t  Ut  mori  pro  Christo  non  usque  ade6  detrec- 
tem  apud  me. — (Ibid.  187.) 

X  Ut  ursi  tui  ferociusculi,  audita.  Christi  doc- 
trine, mansuescere  incipiant. — (Ibid )  The  read- 
er is  aware,  that  a  bear  is  the  armorial  device  of 
the  Canton  of  Berne. 


THE   SWISS— 1484— 1522. 


359 


walls  from  which  he  has  so  long  heen 
banished. n*  Thus  was  Berthold's  lamp 
kindled  afresh  by  Ulric's,  —  and  the 
timid  Haller  could  now  unshrinkingly 
encounter  the  savage  brood  of  bears 
"  that  gnashed  their  teeth,"  says  Zwin- 
gle,  "  and  longed  to  devour  hirn." 

But  it  was  in  another  quarter  that  the 
persecution  was  to  begin  in  Switzerland. 
The  warlike  canton  of  Lucerne  was 
about  to  take  the  field,  like  a  champion 
sheathed  in  mail,  and  ready  for  the 
charge.  The  military  spirit  had*  full 
sway  in  this  canton,  which  was  much 
addicted  to  foreign  alliances  ;  and  the 
great  men  of  the  city  would  knit  their 
brows  if  they  heard  so  much  as  a  pacific 
whisper  breathed  to  damp  the  martial 
ardour  of  their  country.  It  happened, 
however,  that  some  of  Luther's  writings 
found  their  way  into  the  city,  and  there 
were  certain  citizens  who  set  themselves 
to  peruse  them.  With  what  horror  were 
they  seized  as  they  read  on  !  It  seemed 
to  them  that  none  but  an  infernal  hand 
could  have  traced  those  lines ;  their 
imagination  was  excited,  their  senses 
were  bewildered,  and  they  fancied  that 
the  room  was  filled  with  devils  gathering 
thickly  round  them,  and  glaring  on  them 
with  a  sardonic  leer.f  They  shut  the 
book,  and  cast  it  from  them  in  affright. 
Oswald,  who  had  heard  these  singular 
visions  related,  never  spoke  of  Luther 
except  to  his  most  intimate  friends  ;  con- 
tenting himself  with  simply  setting  forth 
the  Gospel  of  Christ.  The  cry  never- 
theless was  raised  through  the  whole 
city  : — "  To  the  stake  with  Luther  and 
the  schoolmaster  (Myconius)!"J — "  I  am 
assailed  by  my  enemies,"  said  Oswald  to 
a  friend  of  his,  "  as  a  ship  is  beaten  by 
the  tempest."^  One  day,  early  in  the 
year  1520,  he  was  unexpectedly  sum- 
moned to  appear  before  the  Council. 
"  You  are  strictly  enjoined,"  said  the 
magistrates,  "  never  to  read  Luther's 
writings  to  your  pupils, — never  to  men- 
tion his  name  in  their  hearing, — never 

*  Donee  Christum,  cucullatis  nugis  Ionge  a 
nobis  exulem  pro  virili  restituerim. — (Ibid.  187.) 

t  Dum  Lutherum  semel  legerint,  ut  putarent 
stubellam  suam  plenam  esse  daemonibus  .  .  . — 
(Zw.  Epp.  p.  137.) 

t  Clamatur  hie  per  totam  civitatem  :  Lutherum 
comburendum  et  ludi  magistrum. — (Ibid.  153.) 

§  Non  aliter  meimpelluntquam  procellse  mari- 
nsB  navem  aliquam. — (Ibid.  159.) 


even  to  think  of  him  yourself."*  The 
lords  of  Lucerne  were  disposed,  we  per- 
ceive, to  confine  their  jurisdiction  within 
no  narrow  bounds.  Shortly  after  this,  a 
preacher  delivered  a  fierce  philippic 
against  heresy  from  the  pulpit. — A  pow- 
erful effect  was  produced  upon  the  audi- 
tory ;  all  eyes  were  turned  upon  Oswald, 
for  against  whom  else  could  the  preacher 
have  meant  to  direct  his  discourse  ?  Os- 
wald remained  quiet  in  his  seat,  as  if 
the  matter  had  not  concerned  him.  But 
when  he  and  his  friend,  the  canon  Xyloc- 
tect,  amongst  the  rest  of  the  congrega- 
tion, were  retiring  from  the  church,  one 
of  the  councillors  came  up  to  them,  with 
an  air  that  betrayed  his  internal  discom- 
posure, and  said  in  an  angry  tone: — 
"  How  now,  ye  disciples  of  Luther,  why 
do  ye  not  defend  your  Master?"  They 
made  no  reply.  "  I  live,"  said  Myco- 
nius,  "  in  the  midst  of  savage  wolves ; 
but  I  have  this  consolation,  that  the 
greater  part  of  them  have  lost  their  fangs. 
They  would  bite  if  they  could,  and  since 
they  cannot  bite  they  howl." 

The  Senate  was  now  convened,  for 
the  tumult  among  the  people  was  in- 
creasing. "  He  is  a  Lutheran!"  said 
one  of  the  councillors.  "  He  broaches 
new  doctrines  !"  said  another.  "  He  is 
a  seducer  of  youth  !"  said  a  third.  "  Let 
him  appear!  let  him  appear!"  The 
poor  schoolmaster  appeared  accordingly, 
and  had  to  listen  to  fresh  interdicts  and 
threats.  His  guileless  spirit  was  wound- 
ed and  depressed.  His  gentle  wife  could 
only  comfort  him  by  the  tears  of  sym- 
pathy which  she  shed.  "  Every  one  is 
against  me,"  said  he,  in  the  anguish  of 
his  heart.  "  Whither  shall  I  turn  me 
in  the  storm,  or  how  escape  its  fury  ? 
Were  it  not  for  the  help  that  Christ 
gives  me,  I  should  long  since  have  sunk 
under  this  persecution."! — "  What  mat- 
ters it,"  said  Doctor  Sebastine  Hofmeis- 
ter,  writing  to  him  from  Constance, 
"  whether  Lucerne  will  give  you  a  home 
or  not  ?  The  earth  is  the  Lord's.  The 
man  whose  heart  is  stedfast  finds  a  home 
in  every  land.  Were  we  even  the  vilest 
of  men,  our  cause  is  righteous,  for  we 
teach  the  word  of  Christ." 

Whilst    the    truth    was    struggling 

*  Im&  ne  in  mentem  eum  admitt'erem. — (Ibid.) 
t  Si  Chrislus  non  esset,  jam  olim  defecissem. 
— (Zw.  Epp.  p.  160.) 


360 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


against  so  much  opposition  at  Lucerne, 
it  was  gaining  ground  at  Zurich.  Zwin- 
gle  was  unwearied  in  his  labours.  De- 
sirous of  studying  the  whole  of  the  Scrip- 
tures in  the  original  languages,  he  had 
applied  himself  diligently  to  the  acquisi- 
tion of  the  Hebrew  under  the  direction 
of  John  Boscherstein,  a  disciple  of  Reuch- 
lin.  But  in  studying  the  Scriptures,  his 
object  was  to  make  their  contents  known. 
The  peasants  who  brought  their  produce 
on  Fridays  to  the  market  of  Zurich 
showed  great  eagerness  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  word  of  God.  To 
meet  their  desire,  Zwingle,  in  December, 
1520,  had  commenced  the  practice  of 
expounding  every  Friday,  a  portion  of 
the  Psalms,  previously  making  that  por- 
tion the  subject  of  his  private  medita- 
tions. The  Reformers  always  connect- 
ed deep  study  with  laborious  ministry  ; 
— the  ministry  was  the  end,  the  study 
was  but  the  means.  They  were  equally 
diligent  in  the  closet  and  the  public  as- 
sembly. This  union  of  learning  with 
Christian  love  is  one  of  the  character- 
istics of  the  period.  In  his  Sunday  ex- 
ercises, Zwingle,  after  having  comment- 
ed on  St.  Matthew's  narrative  of  the  life 
of  our  Saviour,  proceeded  to  show  in  a 
course  of  lectures  on  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  how  the  doctrine  of  Christ  had 
been  published  to  the  world.  He  next 
explained  the  rules  of  the  Christian  life, 
as  they  are  set  forth  in  the  ^Epistle  to 
Timothy ; — he  drew  arguments  for  the 
refutation  of  errors  in  the  doctrine  from 
the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians, — and  to  this 
he  joined  the  two  Epistles  of  St.  Peter, 
in  order  to  prove  to  the  despisers  of  St. 
Paul,  that  one  and  the  same  spirit  an- 
imated both  the  apostles  ;  he  ended  with 
the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  that  he  might 
exhibit  in  their  full  extent  the  benefits 
which  flow  from  the  gift  of  Jesus  Christ, 
as  great  high-priest  of  believers. 

But  Zwingle  devoted  not  his  attention 
solely  to  men  of  mature  age,  he  labour- 
ed also  to  kindle  a  holy  fire  in  the 
bosom  of  the  young.  One  day  in  the 
same  year  1521,  as  he  sat  in  his  closet, 
occupied  in  studying  the  Fathers  of  the 
Church,  the  most  striking  passages  of 
whose  works  he  was  collecting  and  care- 
fully classing  them  in  a  large  volume, — 
the  door  was  opened  by  a  young  man, 
whose   countenance  and  mien  strongly 


prepossessed  him  in  his  favour.*     This 
was  Henry  Bullinger,  who  had  come  to 
visit  him  on  his  way  home  from  Ger- 
many, impelled  by  an  earnest  desire  to 
form  an  acquaintance  with  a  teacher  of 
his  native  land,  whose  name  was  already 
celebrated  in  Christendom.     The  come- 
ly youth  fixed  his  eyes  by  turns  on  the 
Reformer  and  his  books ;   it  seemed  as 
though  he  felt  an  instant  call  to  follow 
his   example.       Zwingle   received   him 
with  the  cordiality  that  won  the  hearts 
of  all  who  accosted  him.     This  first  visit 
had  a  powerful  influence  on  the  whole 
life  of  the  student  after  he  returned  to 
his  father's  roof.     Another  young  man 
had  also  attracted  Zwingle's  regard  ;  this 
was  Gerold  Meyer  von  Knonau.     His 
mother  Anna  Reinhardt,  who  afterwards 
filled  an  important    part   in    Zwingle's 
history,  had  been  greatly  admired  for  her 
beauty,  and  was  still  distinguished   for 
her  virtues.     A  youth  of  noble  family, 
John  Meyer  von  Knonau,  who  had  been 
brought  up  at  the   court  of  the  Bishop 
of    Constance,    his    kinsman,  had    con- 
ceived an  ardent  affection  for  Anna  ;   but 
she  was  of  plebeian  birth.     The    elder 
Meyer  von  Knonau  refused  his  consent 
to  their  union,  and  when  he  found  that 
it  had  taken  place,  he  disinherited  his 
son.     In  1513  Anna,  was  left  a  widow 
with  one  son  and  two  daughters,  and  the 
education  of  her  poor  orphans  now  be- 
came the  sole  object  of  her  life.     The 
grandfather  was  inexorable.     One  day, 
however,  the  widow's  maid  servant  hav- 
ing taken  out  young  Gerold,  a  graceful 
lively  child,  just   three'  years  old,   and 
having   stopped   with   him   in  the  fish- 
market,  old  Meyer,  who  was  sitting  at 
the  window,!  happened  to  observe  him, 
followed  his  movements  with  his  eyes, 
and  asked  whose  child  it  was,  so  fresh 
and  beautiful  and  joyous.     "It  is  your 

*  Ich  hab  by  Im  eim  gross  Buch  gesehen, 
Locorum  communium,  als  ich  by  Ihm  wass,  a°. 
1521,  dorinnen  er  Senientias  und  dogmata  Pa- 
trutn,  flyssig  jedes  an  seinem  ort  verzeichnet. — 
(Bullinger,  MS.) 

t  Liiget  dess  Kindts  grossvater  zum  fanster 
uss,  und  ersach  das  kind  in  dcr  fischer  branten 
(Kufe,)  so  friich  (frisch)  und  frolich  sitzen  .... 
— (Archives  des  Meyer  von  Knonau,  quoted  in  a 
biographical  notice  of  Anna  Reinhardt,  Erlan- 
gen,  1835,  by  M.  Gerold  Meyer  von  Knonau.)  I 
am  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  this  friend  for  the 
elucidation  of  several  obscure  passages  in  Zwin- 
gle's history. 


THE   SWISS.— 1484— 1522. 


361 


own  son's  child  I"  was  the  reply.  The 
old  man's  heart  was  moved,  its  icy  crust 
was  melted  in  a  moment, — the  past  was 
forgotten,  and  he  hastened  to  clasp  in  his 
arms  the  bereaved  wife  and  children  of 
his  son.  Zwingle  felt  a  father's  love  for 
the  young,  the  noble,  and  courageous 
Gerold,  whose  destiny  it  was  to  perish  in 
his  prime,  at  the  Reformer's  side,  with 
his  hand  upon  his  sword,  and  surround- 
ed, alas!  by  the  dead  bodies  of  his  ene- 
mies. Thinking  that  Gerold  could  not 
pursue  his  studies  with  advantage  at 
Zurich,  Zwingle,  in  1521,  sent  him  to 
Bale. 

The  young  Von  Knonau  did  n©t  find 
Zvvingle's  friend  Hedio  at  the  Univer- 
sity. Capito,  being  obliged  to  attend  the 
Archbishop  Albert  to  the  coronation  of 
Charles  V.,  had  sent  for  Hedio  to  take 
his  place  at  Mentz.  Bale  had  thus  with- 
in a  brief  space  been  deprived  of  its  two 
most  faithful  preachers ;  the  church  in 
that  city  seemed  to  be  left  desolate  ;  but 
other  men  now  came  forward.  The 
church  of  William  Roubli,  the  curate  of 
Saint  Albans,  was  thronged  by  an  audit- 
ory of  four  thousand  persons.  He  in- 
veighed against  the  mass,  purgatory,  and 
the  invocation  of  saints ;  but  he  was  a 
man  of  a  contentious  spirit,  greedy  of  pop- 
ular admiration, — the  antagonist  of  error 
rather  than  the  champion  of  truth.  On 
Corpus  Christi  day,  he  joined  the  great 
procession  ;  but  instead  of  the  relics 
which  it  was  the  practice  to  exhibit,  a 
magnificently  decorated  copy  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures  was  carried  before  him,  bear- 
ing this  inscription  in  large  letters,  "  The 
Biblk  ;  this  is  the  true  relic  ;  all  the  rest 
are  but  dead  men's  bones." — Courage 
adorns  the  servant  of  God,  but  ostenta- 
tion ill  befits  him.  The  work  of  an 
Evangelist  is  to  preach  the  Bible, — not 
to  make  a  pompous  parade  of  it.  The 
irritated  priests  laid  a  charge  against 
Roubli  before  the  Council.  A  crowd 
immediately  assembled  in  the  square  of 
the  Cordeliers.  "  Protect  our  preacher," 
was  the  cry  of  the  burghers,  addressing 
the  Council.  Fifty  ladies  of  distinction 
interceded  in  his  behalf;  but  Roubli  was 
compelled  to  quit  Bale.  At  a  later  pe- 
riod he  was  implicated,  like  Grebel,  in 
the  disorders  of  the  Anabaptists.  The 
Reformation,  in  the  course  of  its  devel- 
opement,  never  failed  to  cast  out  the 
46 


chaff  that  was  mingled  with  the  good 
grain. 

But  now,  in  the  lowliest  of  cbapels,  a 
humble  voice  was  heard  that  distinctly 
proclaimed  the  truths  of  tin'  '  rospel.  It 
was  the  voice  of  the  youthful  Wolfgang 
Wissemburger,  the  son  of  a  counsellor 
of  State,  and  chaplain  to  the  hospital. 
Those  of  the  inhabitants  of  Bale,  whose 
eyes  were  opened  to  their  own  spiritual 
necessities,  were  induced  to  gather  round 
the  meek-tempered  chaplain,  rather  than 
the  arrogant  Roubli.  Wolfgang  began 
to  read  the  mass  in  German.  The 
monks  renewed  their  clamours  ;  but  this 
time  they  failed,  and  Wissemburger  was 
left  free  to  preach  the  Gospel ; — "  be- 
cause," says  an  old  chronicler,  "  he  was 
a  burgher,  and  his  father  was  a  counsel- 
lor."* These  early  advantages,  gained 
by  the  Reformation  at  Bale,  gave  token 
of  greater  success  to  follow.  Moreover, 
they  were  of  the  utmost  importance,  as 
they  affected  the  progress  of  the  work 
throughout  the  whole  of  the  confederated 
cantons.  Zurich  no  longer  stood  alone. 
The  enlightened  city  of  Bale  had  begun 
to  listen  to  the  new  doctrine  with  delight. 
The  foundations  of  the  renovated  temple 
were  widening.  The  Reformation  in 
Switzerland  had  reached  another  stage 
of  its  growth. 

Zurich,  however,  was  still  the  centre 
of  the  movement.  But  in  the  course  of 
the  year  1521,  events  of  political  import- 
ance occurred,  which  brought  bitter  grief 
to  the  heart  of  Zwingle,  and  in  a  meas- 
ure distracted  the  attention  of  his  coun- 
trymen from  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel. 
Leo  X. — who  had  proffered  his  alliance 
simultaneously  to  Charles  V.  and  to  Fran- 
cis I. — had  at  length  determined  in  favour 
of  the  Emperor.  The  war  between  the 
two  rivals  was  about  to  break  out  in 
Italy.  "We  shall  leave  the  Pope  nothing 
but  his  ears,"f  said  the  French  general 
Lautrec.  This  sorry  jest  increased  the 
anger  of  the  Pontiff  The  King  of 
France  claimed  the  assistance  of  the 
Swiss  Cantons,  which,  with  the  exception 

*  Dieweil  er  ein  Burger  war  und  sein  Vater 
dcs  Iiaths. — (Fridoliu  Ryff's  Chronik.) 

f  Disse  che  M.  di  Lutrech  et  M.  de  l'Escu 
havia  ditto  clie'l  voleva  die  ie  recchia  del  Papa 
fusse  la  major  parte  restasse  di  la  so  persona. — 
(Gradenigo,  the  Venetian  Ambassador  at  Romo, 
MS.  1523.) 


362 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


of  Zurich,  were  all  in  alliance  with  him  ; 
— it  was  afforded  at  his  calf  The  Pope 
conceived  the  hope  of  engaging  Zurich 
on  his  side  ;  and  the  Cardinal  of  Sion, 
ever  ready  for  intrigue,  and  relying  on 
his  own  dexterity  and  eloquence,  imme- 
diately visited  the  city,  to  procure  a  levy 
of  soldiers  for  his  master.  But  he  had 
to  encounter  a  vigorous  opposition  from 
his  old  friend  Zwingle.  The  latter  was 
indignant  at  the  thought  of  the  Swiss 
selling  their  blood  to  foreigners ;  his 
imagination  pictured  to  him  the  Zurich- 
ers  on  the  plains  of  Italy,  under  the  stand- 
ard of  the  Pope  and  the  Emperor,  rushing 
with  levelled  pikes  against  the  other  con- 
federates, who  were  gathered  under  the 
banners  of  France  ;  and  in  the  contem- 
plation of  that  fratricidal  scene,  his  patri- 
otic and  Christian  soul  was  filled  with 
horror.  He  lifted  up  his  admonitory 
voice  in  the  pulpit.  "  Will  you  rend 
asunder  and  destroy  the  confederation?"* 
cried  he.  "  We  give  chase  to  the  wolves 
who  ravage  our  flocks ;  but  we  set  no 
guard  against  such  as  prowl  around  us 
to  devour  our  brethren  !  Oh !  there  is 
good  reason  why  their  robes  and  hats 
are  red,  if  you  only  twitch  those  gar- 
ments of  theirs,  ducats  and  crowns  will 
fall  out :  but  if  you  grasp  them  tightly, 
you  will  find  them  dripping  with  the 
blood  of  your  brothers,  your  fathers,  your 
sons,  your  dearest  friends  !"f  In  vain 
did  Zwingle  record  his  energetic  protest. 
The  Cardinal  with  his  red  hat  prevailed, 
and  two  thousand  seven  hundred  Zurich- 
ers  marched  out  under  the  command  of 
George  Berguer.  Zwingle  was  deeply 
afflicted.  His  efforts,  however,  were  not 
wholly  unproductive  of  good.  A  long 
period  was  to  elapse  before  the  banners 
of  Zurich  should  again  be  unfurled,  and 
carried  through  the  city  gates  at  the  call 
of  a  foreign  prince. 

Mortified  by  the  ill  success  of  the  cause 
which  he  had  espoused  as  a  citizen,  Zwin- 
gle devoted  himself  with  renewed  zeal  to 
the  diffusion  of  the  Gospel.  He  preached 
with  greater  energy  than  ever.     "  I  will 

*  Sagt  wie  es  ein  fromme  Eidtgnossechafft 
zertrennen  und  umbkehren  wurde. — (Bullinger, 
MS.) 

t  Sie  tragen  billig  rothe  hilt  und  mantel,  dan 
schiite  man  sie,  so  fallen  cronen  und  Duggaten 
heraus, — winde  man  sie,  so  runt  deities  Bruders, 
Vaters,  Sohns  und  guten  Freunds  Blut  heraus. — 
(Ibid.) 


never  desist,"  said  he,  "  from  my  labours  to 
restore  the  primitive  unity  of  the  Church 
of  Christ."*  He  opened  the  year  1522, 
with  the  first  of  a  series  of  discourses  in 
which  he  pointed  out  the  difference  be- 
tween the  precepts  of  the  Gospel  and 
those  of  men.  When  the  season  of  Lent 
arrived,  his  exhortations  assumed  a  still 
more  impressive  tone.  Having  laid  the 
foundations  of  the  new  edifice,  he  was 
solicitous  to  clear  away  the  ruins  of  the 
old  one.  "  For  the  space  of  four  years," 
said  he  to  the  crowd  assembled  in  the 
cathedral,  "  ye  have  gladly  received  the 
holy  doctrines  of  the  Gospel.  The  love 
of  God  has  glowed  within  your  bosoms, 
— ye  have  tasted  the  sweetness  of  the 
heavenly  manna, — it  is  impossible  that 
ye  should  now  find  savour  or  sustenance 
in  human  traditions."!  He  proceeded 
to  argue  against  the  obligation  to  abstain 
from  flesh  at  particular  seasons.  "  There 
are  some,"  he  cried  in  a  strain  of  unstud- 
ied eloquence,  "  who  pretend  that  to  eat 
flesh  is  a  fault, — nay,  a  heinous  sin, — 
though  God  has  never  forbidden  it, — but 
who  yet  regard  it  as  no  sin  at  all  to  sell 
human  flesh  to  the  foreigner,  and  deliver 
their  brethren  to  be  butchered  !"$  This 
bold  language  could  not  fail  to  awaken 
the  indignation  and  anger  of  those  among 
his  auditory  who  supported  the  military 
compacts  with  foreign  states  ;  they  in- 
wardly vowed  that  they  would  never 
forget  it. 

While  he  preached  thus  fearlessly, 
Zwingle  still  continued  to  say  mass ;  he 
observed  the  rules  established  by  the 
church,  and  even  abstained  from  flesh 
on  the  appointed  days.  He  recognised 
the  necessity  of  enlightening  the  minds 
of  the  people  in  the  first  place.  But 
there  were  some  turbulent  spirits  who 
acted  with  less  prudence.  Roubli,  who 
had  found  an  asylum  at  Zurich,  allowed 
himself  to  be  hurried  blindly  along  by 
the  impulse  of  an  overcharged  zeal.  He, 
but  lately  the  curate  of  Saint  Albans, — 
a  Bernese  captain, — and  Conrad  Huber, 
a  member  of  the  Great  Council, — were 
accustomed  to  meet  together  at  Huber's 

*  Ego  veterem  Christi  ecclesias  unitatem  in- 
staurare  non  desinam. — (Zw.  Opp.  iii.  47.) 

t  Gustum  non  aliquis  humanarum  traditionum 
cibils  vobis  arridere  potuerit. — (Ibid.  i.  2.) 

t  Aber  menschentleisch  verkaufen  un  zu  Tod 
schlagen  .  . . — (Ibid.  ii.  2nd  part,  301.) 


THE   SWISS— 14S4— 1523. 


3G3 


house,  for  the  express  purpose  of  eating 
flesh  on  Fridays  and  Saturdays,  an  ex- 
ploit in  which  they  greatly  prided  them- 
selves. The  question  of  abstinence  be- 
gan to  engross  the  public  attention.  A 
native  of  Lucerne,  who  was  on  a  visit  in 
Zurich,  said  to  a  citizen  with  whom  he 
was  familiar  : — "  You  do  wrong, — you 
worthy  confederates  of  Zurich, — to  eat 
flesh  during  Lent."  The  Zuricher : 
"  But  you  also,  good  folks  of  Lucerne, 
take  the  liberty  of  eating  it  on  days  when 
it  is  forbidden."  The  Lucernese  :  "  We 
purchased  our  license  from  the  Pope." 
The  Zuricher  :  "  And  we  ours  from  the 
butcher*  ....  If  it  is  au  affair  of  money,, 
the  one,  surely,  is  as  good  as  the  other." 
The  Council  having  been  called  upon 
to  punish  those  who  transgressed  the 
ecclesiastical  ordinances,  requested  the 
opinion  of  the  curates  on  this  matter. 
Zwingle  replied  that  the  practice  of  eat- 
ing flesh  on  all  days  alike  was  in  itself 
harmless  ;  but  that  it  was  right  to  abstain 
from  adopting  it,  until  the  question  should 
have  been  decided  by  some  competent 
authority.  The  other  members  of  the 
clerical  body  concurred  in  the  same 
opinion. 

The  enemies  of  the  truth  took  ad- 
vantage of  this  fortunate  circumstance. 
Their  influence  was  fast  declining, — 
Zwingle's  ascendancy  becoming  para- 
mount,— it  was  necessary  to  strike  a 
prompt  and  vigorous  blow.  They  ad- 
dressed an  urgent  appeal  to  the  Bishop 
of  Constance.  "  Zwingle,"  cried  they, 
''  is  the  destroyer,  not  the  pastor,  of  the 
Lord's  flock.Mt 

The  ambitious  Faber,  Zwingle's  for- 
mer friend,  had  recently  undertaken  a 
journey  to  Rome,  and  returned  full  of 
zeal  for  the  Papacy.  To  the  notions 
which  he  had  imbibed  during  his  so- 
journ in  that  imperious  court,  we  must 
ascribe  the  first  outbreak  of  the  religious 
troubles  in  Switzerland.  The  time  had 
now  arrived  for  a  decisive  struggle  be- 
tween gospel  truth  and  the  retainers  of 
the  Roman  Pontiff  Until  the  truth  has 
been  exposed  to  hostile  efforts,  its  innate 
power  is  never  fully  elicited.  It  was  un- 
der the  cold  shadow  of  opposition  and 

*  So  haben  wirs  von  dem  Metzger  erkaufft  .  .  . 
— >  Bullinger,  MS.) 

+  Ovilis  dominici  populator  esse,  non  custos 
aut  pastor. — (Zvv.  Opp.  iii.) 


CUtlOD  that  Christianity  in  its  ear- 
liest growth  acquired  the  strength  by 
which  its  enemies  were  eventually  dis- 
comfited     And   at    the   epoch   of   the 

great  revival  which  forms  the  subject  of 
this  history,  it  was  the  will  of  God  that 
His  truth  should  march  onward  in  the 
same  rugged  and  thorny  track-.  The 
high-priests  then,  as  in  the  days  of  the 
Apostles,  set  themselves  against  the  new 
doctrine.  But  for  these  assaults,  it  might, 
perhaps,  have  remained  concealed  in  the 
secret  chamber  of  a  ihw  believing  b 
But  God's  puipose  was  to  manifest  it  to 
the  world.  Opposition  had  the  i 
clearing  new  avenues  for  its  pas 
launching  it  on  a  new  career,  ami  fi 
on  it  the  eyes  '  of  the  entire  nation.  It 
operated  like  the  gust  of  wind  that  scat- 
ters the  seed  to  a  distance,  which  other- 
wise, perhaps,  might  have  laid  inert  and 
unprofitable  in  the  spot  where  it  felL 
The  tree  under  whose  salutary  foli 
the  tribes  of  Helvetia  were  to  find  rest 
and  shelt-r  had  been  planted,  indeed,  in 
the  depths  of  her  valleys :  but  the  storm 
was  needed  to  give  its  roots  a  firmer  hold 
of  the  soil,  and  to  enlarge  the  covert  of 
its  branches.  The  partisans  of  the  Pa- 
pacy no  sooner  caught  a  glimpse  of  the 
flame  that  had  been  kindled  at  Zurich, 
than  they  hastened,  while  it  was  yet 
smouldering,  to  stifle  it ;  but  their  efforts 
served  only  to  fan  it  into  vigour. 

On  the  7th  of  April,  1522,  in  the  after 
part  of  the  day,  three  ecclesiastics  en- 
trusted with  a  mission  from  the  Bishop 
of  Constance,  entered  the  walls  of  Zu- 
rich. Two  of  them  had  an  austere  and 
angry  cast  of  countenance,  the  third  was 
of  gentler  aspect.  These  persons  were 
Melchior  Battli,  the  bishop's  coadjutor, 
Doctor  Brendi,  lastly  John  Vanner,  the 
preacher  of  the  cathedral,  a  man  of 
evangelic  piety,  who  was  silent  through- 
out the  whole  affair.*  It  was  already 
late  in  the  evening  when  Luti  ran  to 
Zwingle  to  tell  him  the  news.  "  Officers 
have  arrived  from  the  bishop,"  said  he, 
"  some   great   blow  is  to  be  struck  ;  all 

*  (Zw.  Opp.  p.  8.)— J.  J.  Hottinger  (iii.  77.) 
Ruchat  (i.  134,  2nd  edition,)  and  others  say,  that 
Faber  was  at  the  head  of  the  deputation.  Zwin- 
gle gives  the  names  of  the  three  deputies,  and 
makes  no  mention  of  Faber.  The  authors  first 
cited  have  no  doubt  confounded  two  distinct  of- 
fices of  the  Roman  hierarchy, — the  coadjutor 
and  the  vicar-general. 


364 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


who  favour  the  old  customs  are  in  com- 
motion. A  notary  is  now  going-  round 
to  give  notice  of  an  assembly  of  the 
clergy  to  be  held  at  an  early  hour  to- 
morrow in  the  Chapter-house." 

The  assembly  was  held  accordingly 
on  the  following  morning  ;  when  the  Co- 
adjutor rose  and  delivered  a  speech, 
which  his  opponents  characterized  as 
violent  and  arrogant;*  he  studiously 
refrained,  however,  from  mentioning 
Zwingle  by  name.  Some  priests  who 
had  lately  been  won  over  to  the  Gospel, 
and  who  were  yet  weak  in  the  faith, 
were  overawed  ; — their  paleness,  their 
silence,  their  sighs,  testified  that  they  had 
iost  all  courage. f  Zwingle  stood  up 
and  delivered  a  speech  which  his  adver- 
saries made  no  attempt  to  answer.  At 
Zurich,  as  in  the  other  cantons,  the  most 
violent  enemies  of  the  new  doctrine  were 
to  be  found  in  the  smaller  Council.  The 
deputies  having  been  baffled  in  the  meet- 
ing of  the  clergy,  now  carried  their  com- 
plaint before  the  magistrates  ;  Zwingle 
was  absent;  they  had  therefore  no  re- 
ply to  fear.  The  result  appeared  de- 
cisive. The  Gospel  and  its  champion 
were  on  the  point  of  being  condemned 
without  a  hearing.  Never  was  the 
Reformation  in  Switzerland  in  more  im- 
minent peril.  It  seemed  destined  to  be 
smothered  in  its  cradle.  In  this  emer- 
gency, the  councillors  who  were  friendly 
to  Zwingle  appealed  to  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Great  Council, — it  was  their  only 
remaining  resource,  and  God  was  pleased 
to  make  it  availing  for  the  preservation 
of  the  Gospel.  The  Two  Hundred 
were  convened.  The  partisans  of  the 
Papacy  used  every  endeavour  to  exclude 
Zwingle  from  that  assembly.  Zwingle 
struggled  hard  to  obtain  admission.  He 
knocked  at  every  door,  as  he  himself 
tells  us,  and  left  not  a  stone  unturned  ;  J — 
but  all  in  vain.  "  It  is  impossible  !"  said 
the  Burgomasters ;  "  The  Council  has 
signed  an  order  to  the  contrary."— 
"  Thereupon,"  says  Zwingle,  "  I  desist- 
ed, and  with  heavy  sighs  laid  the  matter 
before  Him  who  hears  the  grodnings  of 

*  Erat  tota  oratio  vehemens  et  stomachi  su- 
percilique  plena — (Zw.  Opp.  3.  8.) 

t  Infirmos  quosdam  nuper  Christo  lucrifactos 
s^cerdotes  offensos  ea  sentirem  ex  tacitis  pallori- 
bus  ac  suspiriis.— (Ibid.  9.) 

t  Frustra  diu  movi  omnem  lapidem. — (Ibid.) 


the  prisoner,  beseeching  him  to  succour 
his  Gospel."*  "The  patient  and  submis- 
sive expectation  of  a  servant  of  God  is 
never  disappointed. 

On  the  ninth  of  April  the  Two  Hun- 
dred were  assembled.  "  We  must  have 
our  pastors  here,"  said  those  members  at 
once,  who  were  friendly  to  the  Reforma- 
tion. The  smaller  Council  objected; 
but  the  great  Council  determined  that 
the  pastors  should  be  present  at  the  ac- 
cusation, and  might  even  reply  to  it,  if 
they  should  think  fit.  The  deputies 
from  Constance  were  ushered  in  first, — 
and  then  the  three  ourates  of  Zurich, 
Zwingle,  Engelhard,  and  the  aged 
Roeschli. 

After  the  adverse  parties  who  were 
thus  brought  face  to  face  had  regarded 
each  other  for  a  while  with  scrutinizing 
glances,  the  Coadjutor  rose  to  speak. 
"  If  his  heart  and  his  head  had  only  been 
matched  with  his  voice,"  says  Zwingle, 
'•  he  would  have  excelled  Apollo  and 
Orpheus  in  sweetness,  and  the  Gracchi 
and  Demosthenes  in  power." 

"The  civil  constitution,"  said  the  cham- 
pion of  the  Papacy,  "  and  the  Christian 
religion  itself  are  threatened  with  ruin. 
Men  have  appeared  amongst  us  teaching 
newly-invented  doctrines,  that  are  equally 
abominable  and  seditious."  He  went  on 
for  some  time  in  the  same  strain,  and 
then  fixing  his  eyes  on  the  assembled 
senators  before  whom  he  stood  :  "  Con- 
tinue in  the  Church,"  said  he,  "  continue 
in  the  Church.  Out  of  the  Church  none 
can  be  saved.  The  ceremonies  of  the 
Church  alone  can  bring  unlearned  Chris- 
tians to  the  knowledge  of  salvation  :f 
and  the  pastors  of  the  flock  have  no- 
thing to  do  but  to  explain  the  significa- 
tion of  these  ceremonies  to  the  people." 

When  the  Coadjutor  had  finished  his 
speech  and  resumed  his  seat  for  a  mo- 
ment, he  again  rose,  and  was  preparing 
with  his  colleagues  to  leave  the  council- 
hall,  when  Zwingle  earnestly  addressed 
him. — "  Reverend  Coadjutor  !"  said  he, 
"  and  you,  Sirs,  who  bear  him  company ! 
I  beseech  you  to  stay  until  I  have  an- 
swered this  charge." 

*  Ibi  ego  quiescere  ac  suspiriis  rem  agere  ccepi 
apud  eum  qui  audit  gemitum  compeditorum. — 
(Zw.  Opp.  3.  9.) 

t  Unicas  esse  per  quas  simplices  Christiani  ad 
agnitjonem  salutis  inducerentur. — (Ibid.  10.) 


THE   SWISS.— 1484— 1522. 


365 


The  Coadjutor.  "  It  is  not  our  com- 
mission to  dispute  with  any  one." 

Zwingle.  ;'  I  wish  not  to  dispute,  but 
to  state  unreservedly  what  my  doctrine 
has  been  up  to  this  hour." 

The  Burgomaster.  Roust,  addressing 
the  deputies  from  Constance :  "  I  pray 
you  listen  to  what  the  curate  hns  to  say 
in  reply." 

The  Coadjutor.  "  I  know  too  well 
the  man  I  have  to  deal  with.  Ulric 
Zwingle  is  too  violent  for  any  discussion 
to  be  held  with  him." 

Zwingle.  "Was  there,  ever  an  in- 
stance before  of  an  innocent  man  being 
so  vehemently  attacked,  and  then  denied 
a  hearing?  In  the  name  of  that  faith 
which  we  all  profess, — in  the  name  of 
the  baptism  which  each  of  us  has  re- 
ceived,— in  the  name  of  Christ,  the  au- 
thor of  salvation  and  eternal  life, — I  ad- 
jure you  to  listen  to  me  !*  If  you  can- 
not as  deputies, — do  so,  at  least,  as  Chris- 
tians !" 

After  having  discharged  her  idle  vol- 
ley, Rome  was  hastily  retreating  from 
the  field  of  battle.  The  Reformer  was 
anxious  only  to  be  heard  ;  the  Papal  en- 
voys thought  but  of  escaping.  A  cause 
thus  advocated  was  already  gained  by 
the  one  party  and  lost  by  the  other.  The 
Two  Hundred  could  no  longer  contain 
their  indignation  ;  —  a  murmurf  ran 
through  the  whole  assembly ;  again  the 
Burgomaster  remonstrated  with  the  dep- 
uties. At  last,  abashed  and  silenced, 
they  returned  to  their  seats.  Then 
Zwingle  spoke  as  follows  : — 

"  The  Reverend  Coadjutor  talks  of 
doctrines  that  are  seditious  and  subver- 
sive of  civil  authority.  Let  him  learn 
that  Zurich  is  more  tranquil  and  more 
obedient  to  the  laws  than  any  city  in 
Switzerland, — a  blessing  which  all  good 
Christians  attribute  to  the  Gospel.  What 
influence  so  powerful  as  that  of  Chris- 
tianity to  maintain  good  order  in  "a  com- 
munity 1%  As  for  ceremonies,  what  pur- 
pose do  they  serve  but  to  disfigure  the 

*  Ob  communem  fidem,  ob  communem  bap- 
tismum,  ob  Christum  vitse  salustisque  auctorem. 
— (Zw.  Opp.  3.  11.) 

t  Coepit  murmur  audiri  civium  indignantium. 
—(Ibid.) 

X  Imo  Christianismum  ad  communem  justi- 
tiam  servandam  esse  potentissimum.— (Zw.  Opp. 
iii.  13.) 


lineaments  of  Christ  and  his  followers?* 
No, — it  is  not  by  vain  observances  like 
these  thai  the  unlearned  multitude  can 
be  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth. 
There  is  another  ami  a  better  way.  It 
is  the  way  that  Christ  and  his  apoetles 
have  marked  out  for  us, — even  the  Gos- 
pel itself.  Let  ns  not  be  told  that  the 
people  cannot  understand  the  Gospel. 
Whosoever  believes  must  needs  under- 
stand. The  people  can  believe  ;  there- 
fore they  can  understand.  This  is  an 
operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit, — not  of  the 
human  intellect. f  With  regard  to  ab- 
stinence, let  him  who  thinks  forty  days 
insufficient, — fast,  if  he  will,  all  the  year 
round  :■ — it  concerns  not  me  !  All  that 
I  contend  for  is,  that  no  ofte  should  be 
compelled  to  fast ;  and  that  the  Zurich- 
ers  ought  not,  for  the  neglect  of  this  petty 
observance,  to  be  accused  of  withdrawing 
themselves  from  the  communion  of  Chris- 
tians .  .  ." 

"  I  never  said  that!"  cried  the  Coad- 
jutor. "  No  !"  said  his  colleague,  Doctor 
Brendi,  "  he  did  not  say  that."  But  the 
Senate  unanimously  confirmed  the  asser- 
tion of  Zwingle. 

"  Worthy  fellow-citizens,"  continued 
Zwingle,  "  let  not  this  accusation  move 
you.  The  foundation  of  the  Church  is 
the  same  rock,  the  same  Christ — that 
gave  Peter  his  name,  because  he  con- 
fessed him  faithfully.  In  every  nation 
whosoever  believes  with  all  his  heart  in 
the  Lord  Jesus  is  accepted  of  God  Here. 
truly,  is  the  Church,  out  of  which  no  one 
can  be  saved. %  To  explain  the  Gospel, 
and  to  obey  it, — such  is  the  sum  of  our 
duty  as  the  ministers  of  Christ." 

"  Let  those  who  live  upon  ceremonies 
make  it  their  business  to  explain  them  !" 
— This  was  probing  the  wound  to  the 
quick. 

A  flush  passed  over  the  Coadjutor's 
face,  but  he  remained  silent.  The  as- 
sembly of  the  Two  Hundred  broke  up. 
On  the  same  day  they  came  to  the  reso- 
lution, that  the  Pope  and  the  cardinals 
should  be  requested  to  explain  the  con- 
troverted point,  and  that  in  the  mean 
time  abstinence  from  flesh  should  be  ob- 

*  Ceremonias  haud  quicquam  aliud  agere  quam 
et  Christo  et  ejus  fidelibus  os  obiinere. — (Ibid.) 

t  Quidquid  hie  agitur  divino  fit  afilatu,  non 
humano  ratiocinio. — (Ibid.) 

X  Extra  illam  neminein  salvaxi. — (Ibid.  3.  15.) 


360 


HISTORY   OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


served  during-  Lent.  This  was  leaving 
the  matter  as  it  stood,  and  meeting  the 
bishop  by  an  expedient  to  gain  time. 

The  effect  of  this  controversy  was  to 
forward  the  work  of  the  Reformation. 
The  champions  of  Rome,  and  those  of 
the  new  doctrines,  had  encountered  each 
other,  in  the  presence,  it  might  be  said, 
of  tiie  whole  people,  and  the  issue  had 
not  been  to  the  advantage  of  the  former. 
This  was  the  first  conflict  in  a  warfare 
which  was  destined  to  be  long  and  diffi- 
cult, and  .marked  by  many  vicissitudes 
of  humiliation  and  rejoicing.  But  vic- 
tory won  at  the  commencement  of  a  con- 
test inspires  an  army  with  courage,  and 
strikes  terror  into  the  enemy.  The  Ref- 
ormation had  gained  a  vantage-ground, 
from  which  it  was  not  to  be  dislodged. 
The  Council,  indeed,  found  it  necessary 
to  proceed  with  caution :  but  the  people 
loudly  proclaimed  the  defeat  of  Rome. 
"  Never,"  said  they,  in  the  exultation  of 
the  moment,  "  never  again  can  she  rally 
her  scattered  forces."*  "  You  have 
shown  the  spirit  of  St.  Paul  himself," 
said  one  of  Zwingle's  correspondents, 
"  in  this  manful  attack  on  those  whited 
walls, — those  false  apostles  and  their 
Ananias.  The  servants  of  Antichrist 
can  now  only  gnash  their  teeth  against 
you !" — From  the  heart  of  Germany 
there  came  voices  that  hailed  him — "  the 
glory  of  regenerated  theology!"! 

But  in  the  mean  time  the  enemies  of 
the  truth  were  collecting  all  their  strength. 
If  the  Gospel  was  to  be  suppressed  at  all, 
there  was  no  time  to  be  lost,  for  it  would 
soon  bid  defiance  to  their  efforts.  Hoff- 
man impeached  the  Reformer  in  a  writ- 
ten discourse  of  great  length,  which  he 
addressed  to  the  chapter.  "Even  though 
the  curate,"  said  he,  "  could  bring  for- 
ward witnesses  to  prove  that  certain  of- 
fences or  disorders  had  been  committed 
by  ecclesiastics  in  such  and  such  a  con- 
vent, or  street,  or  tavern,  it  would  be  a 
breach  of  duty  to  name  the  delinquents! 
Why  does  he  insinuate — (it  is  true  I 
have  scarcely  ever  heard  him  myself) 
that  he  alone  derives  his  doctrine  from 
the   fountain-head,   while    others    draw 


*  Ut,  vulgo  jactatum  sit,  nunquam  ultra  co- 
pias  sarturos — (Zw.  Epp.  203.) 

t  Vale  renascentis  Theologiae  decus. — (Letter 
of  Urban  Regius.  Zw.  Epp,  205.) 


theirs  from  puddles  and  kennels  ?*  Is 
it  not  impossible, — seeing  the  difference 
of  men's  minds— thatall  preachers  should 
preach  alike?" 

Zwingle  defended  himself  in  a  full 
assembly  of  the  chapter,  scattering  his 
adversary's  charges,  '■  as  a  bull  with  his 
horns  scatters  a  wisp  of  straw  to  the 
wind."|  The  affair  which  had  appear- 
ed so  serious,  ended  in  a  peal  of  laugh- 
ter at  the  canon's  expense.  But  Zwin- 
gle did  not  stop  here  ; — on  the  16th  of 
April  he  published  a  treatise  "  on  thefree 
use  ofmeats.r'\ 

The  Reformer's  unconquerable  firm- 
ness was  a  cause  of  rejoicing  to  all  who 
loved  the  truth,  and  particularly  to  the 
evangelical  Christians  of  Germany,  af- 
flicted as  they  were  by  the  long  impris- 
onment at  Wartburg,  of  that  eminent 
apostle  who  had  first  appeared  in  the  bo- 
som of  the  Church.  Already  there  were 
instances  of  pastors  and  believing  laymen 
who  had  been  driven  into  exile  by  the 
rigorous  edict  which  Charles,  under  the 
influence  of  the  Papacy,  had  issued  at 
Worms, — and  who  had  found  an  asylum 
at  Zurich.  "  Oh,  how  it  gladdens  my 
heart !"  was  the  language  of  a  letter 
written  to  Zwingle  by  Nesse,  the  pro- 
fessor of  Frankfort,  whom  Luther  had 
visited  on  his  way  to  the  Diet : — "  how 
it  gladdens  my  heart  to  hear  with  what 
boldness  you  are  preaching  Christ  Jesus ! 
Strengthen  by  your  exhortations,  I  be- 
seech you,  those  whom  the  cruelty  of  un- 
worthy prelates  has  banished  from  our 
bereaved  churches."^ 

But  it  was  not  in  Germany  alone  that 
the  friends  of  the  Reformation  were  ex- 
posed to  the  deadly  machinations  of  their 
adversaries.  Not  a  day  passed  but  secret 
meetings  were  held  at  Zurich,  to  devise 
some  method  of  getting  rid  of  Zwingle.  || 
One  day  he  received  an  anonymous  let- 
ter,   which   he    immediately   communi- 

*  Die  andern  aber  aus  Rinnen  und  Pfutzen. 
— (Simml.  Samml.  Wirz.  I.  244.) 

t  Ut  cornu  vehemens  taurus  aristas. — (Zw. 
Epp.  p.  203.) 

X  De  deluctu  et  libero  ciborum  usu. — (Zw. 
Opp.  i.  1.) 

§  Et  ut  iis  qui  ob  malorum  episcoporum  srevi- 
tiam  a  nobis  submoventur  prodesse  velis. — (Zw. 
Epp.  p.  208.) 

||  Nulla  praeterierat  hora,  in  qua  non  fierent .  . . 
consultationes  insidiosissimas. — (Osw.  Myc  Vit 
Zw.) 


THE   SWISS.— 1481— 1522. 


367 


catcd  to  his  two  vicars.  "  You  are  beset 
with  snares  on  every  side,"  said  the  wri- 
ter ;  "  a  potent  poison  has  been  prepared 
to  deprive  you  of  life.*  Partake  of  no 
food  but  in  your  own  house  ;  eat  no  bread 
but  what  your  own  cook  has  baked. 
There  are  those  within  the  walls  of  Zu- 
rich who  are  leagued  for  your  destruc- 
tion. The  oracle  which  has  revealed 
this  to  me,  is  better  entitled  to  credit  than 
that  of  Delphi.  I  am  your  friend  ;  my 
name  you  shall  know  hereafter."! 

On  the  morning  following  the  day  on 
which  Zwingle  received  this  mysterious 
epistle,  just  as  Staheli  was  entering-  the 
Water-church,  a  chaplain  stopped  him 
and  said — "  Leave  Zwingle's  house  with 
all  speed  ;  a  catastrophe  is  at  hand !" 
Some  unknown  fanatics,  who  despaired 
of  seeing  the  Reformation  checked  by 
words,  had  betaken  themselves  to  the 
dagger.  When  mighty  revolutions  are 
in  progress,  and  the  foul  dregs  of  society 
are  heaved  upon  its  agitated  surface,  we 
often  see  the  assassin  playing  a  conspic- 
uous part.  Zwingle  was  preserved,  how- 
ever, for  God  watched  over  him. 

But  while  the  plots  of  the  murderers 
were  baffled,  the  legitimate  engines  of 
the  Papacy  were  again  put  in  motion. 
The  bishop  and  his  counsellors  were  de- 
termined to  renew  the  war.  Tidings  to 
this  effect  reached  Zwingle  from  every 
quarter.  The  Reformer,  still  leaning  on 
the  word  of  God,  replied  with  high- 
minded  intrepidity  : — "  I  fear  them  as  a 
lofty  crag  fears  the  roaring  waves  that 
dash  against  the  base.":}:  .  .  .  civ  t<d  Qe£. 
"  God  being  my  helper,"  added  he.  On 
the  2nd  of  May,  the  Bishop  of  Constance 
issued  a  mandate,  in  which,  without  any 
mention  of  Zurich,  or  of  Zwingle,- he 
complained  that  evil-disposed  persons 
were  reviving  doctrines  which  had  long 
since  been  condemned,  and  that  learned 
and  unlearned  men  were  alike  every 
where  irreverently  discussing  the  most 
exalted  mysteries.  John  Vanner,  preach- 
er of  the  cathedral  of  Constance,  was  the 
first  who  was  individually  attacked.  "  I 
choose,"  said  he,  "  rather  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian, though  I  incur  the  hatred  of  many, 

*"Era(/ia  (p'ippaxa  \vyp~d. — (Ibid.  199.) 
+  E<5;  £i>i ;  agnosces  me  postea. — (Ibid.) 
X  Quos  ita  metuo  ut  litus  altum  fluctuum  un- 
das  minacium. — (Zw.  Epp.  203.) 


than  to  purchase  the  friendship  of  the 
world  by  forsaking  Christ!"* 

But  it  was  at  Zurich  that  the  death- 
blow must  be  dealt  against  the  infant 
heresy.  Faber  and  the  bishop  knew 
that  Zwingle  had  many  enemies  among 
the  canons.  They  resolved  to  take  ad* 
vantage  of  this  circumstance.  Towards 
the  end  of  May  a  letter  from  the  bishop 
was  received  at  Zurich,  ad  o  the 

principal  and  chapter.  "Sons  of  the 
Church,"  said  the  prelate,  "let  those 
!  ri  b  who  will  perish!  but  let  oon  ■  en- 
tice you  to  abandon  the  Church."!  At 
the  same  time,  the  bishop  charged  the 
canons  to  prevent  those  pernicious  doc- 
trines which  were  giving  birth  to  dan- 
gerous sects  from  being  preached  among 
them,  or  made  the  subject  of  discussion 
either  in  private  or  in  public.  When 
this  letter  was  read  in  the  chapter,  all 
eyes  were  turned  upon  Zwingle.  He 
could  not  but  know  what  that  look  im- 
plied. "  You  think,"  said  he,  u  1  per- 
ceive that  this  letter  has  reference  to  me  ; 
be  pleased  to  deliver  it  to  me  then,  and, 
by  God's  help,  I  will  answer  it." 

Zwingle's  answer  was  embodied  in  a 
work,  bearing  the  title  of  Archctelcs, 
which  signifies  the  "  beginning  and  the 
end ;"  '•  for,"  said  he,  "  1  hope  that  this 
my  first  reply  will  also  be  my  last."  in 
this  production,  he  speaks  in  a  very  re- 
spectful manner  of  the  bishop,  and  as- 
cribes all  the  hostility  of  which  he  had 
to  complain  to  the  malevolence  of  a  few 
designing  men.  ':  What,  after  all,  is  my 
offence.-1,  he  asks,  "I  have  endeavoured 
to  open  men's  eyes  to  the  peril  of  their 
souls  ;  I  have  laboured  to  bring  them  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  only  true  God,  and 
Christ  Jesus  his  Son.  To  this  end  I 
have  employed  no  subtle  arguments,  but 
the  word,  of  truth  and  soberness,  such  as 
my  brethren  of  Switzerland  could  un- 
derstand." Then  exhanging  his  defen- 
sive posture  for  that  of  an  assailant,  he 
significantly  adds  :  "  Julius  Caesar,  when 
he  felt  that  he  had  received  a  mortal 
wound,  exerted  his  remaining  strength 
to  gather  his  robe  around  him,  that  he 

*  Malo  esse  Christianus  cum  multorum  invidia 
quam  relinquere  Christum  propter  mundauonun 
amicitiam.— (Ibid.  200,  22  May.) 

t  Nemo  vos  filios  ecclesiae  de  ecclesia  tollat. — 
(Zw.  Opp.  3.  35.) 


368 


HISTORY   OF   THE   REFORMATION. 


might  fall  with  dignity.  The  downfall 
of  your  ceremonies  is  at  hand ;  be  it 
your  care  to  give  their  fate  what  decency 
you  may, — and  to  speed  the  inevitable 
transition  from  darkness  to  light."* 

This  was  all  the  effect  produced  by 
the  bishop's  letter  to  the  chapter  of  Zu- 
^rich.  Since  every  milder  expedient 
proved  ineffectual,  it  became  necessary 
now  to  strike  a  vigorous  blow.  Faber 
and  Landenberg  cast  their  eyes  around 
them,  and  fixed  them  at  last  on  the  Diet, 
— the  Council  of  the  Helvetic  nation. f 
Deputies  from  the  bishop  presented  them- 
selves before  that  assembly  ;  they  stated 
that  their  master  had  issued  a  mandate 
forbidding  the  priests  of  his  diocese  to 
attempt  any  innovation  in  matters  of  doc- 
trine ;  that  his  injunction  had  been  set 
at  nought,  and  that  he  consequently  ap- 
pealed to  the  heads  of  the  Confederation 
to  aid  him  in  reducing  the  rebels  to  obe- 
dience, and  in  maintaining  the  true  and 
ancient  faith.}:  The  enemies  of  the  Ref- 
ormation had  the  ascendancy  in  this  su- 
preme assembly  of  the  nation.  But  a 
little  before,  it  had  issued  a  decree  by 
which  all  priests  were  required  to  desist 
from  preaching  ;  on  the  ground  that  their 
discourses  tended  to  stir  up  dissensions 
among  the  people.  This  decree  of  the 
Diet,  its  first  act  of  interference  with  the 
Reformation,  had  not  hitherto  been  en- 
forced ;  but  now,  being  bent  on  rigorous 
measures,  the  assembly  summoned  before 
it  Urban  Weiss,  the  pastor  of  Fislispach, 
near  Baden,  who  was  accused  by  public 
report  of  preaching  the  new  doctrine, 
and  rejecting  the  old.  The  proceedings 
against  Weiss  were  suspended  for  a 
while  at  the  intercession  of  a  numerous 
body  of  citizens, — security  having  first 
been  exacted  from  him  to  the  amount  of 
a  hundred  florins,  which  were  collected 
by  his  parishioners. 

But  the  Diet  had  taken  a  side  in  the 
contest ;  this  was  evident,  and  the  monks 
and  priests  began  to  recover  their  cour- 
age. At  Zurich  they  had  assumed  a 
haughtier  aspect  immediately  on  the  pro- 
mulgation of  the  first  decree.     Several 

*  In  umbrarum  locum  lux  quara  ocissime  in- 
ducatur.— (Zw.  Opp.  3.  69.) 

t  Nam  er  ein  anderen  Weg  an  die  Hand ; — 
echike  seine  Boten  .  . .  &c. — (Bulllinger,  MS.) 

t  Und  den  waliren  alten  Glauben  erhallten. — 
(Ibid.) 


members  of  the  Council  were  accustomed 
to  visit  the  three  convents  every  mornino- 
and  evening,  and  even  to  take  their  meals 
there.  The  monks  lectured  their  well- 
meaning  guests,  and  urged  them  to  pro- 
cure an  ordinance  from  the  government 
in  their  favour.  "  If  Zwingle  will  not 
hold  his  peace,"  said  they,  "  we  will  cry 
out  louder  than  he !"  The  Diet  had 
openly  espoused  the  cause  of  the  oppres- 
sors :  the  Council  of  Zurich  knew  not 
how  to  act.  On  the  7th  of  June,  it  pub- 
lished an  ordinance  forbidding  any  one 
to  preach  against  the  monks ;  but  no 
sooner  had  this  ordinance  been  voted, 
than  "  a  sudden  noise  was  heard  in  the 
council-chamber,"  says  Bullinger's  Chro- 
nicle,— "  so  that  all  present  looked  at 
each  other  in  dismay."*  Tranquillity 
was  not  restored ;  on  the  contrary,  the 
contest  which  was  carried  on  in  the  pul- 
pits grew  warmer  every  day.  The  Coun- 
cil appointed  a  committee  before  whom 
the  pastors  of  Zurich  and  the  readers 
and  preachers  of  the  convents  were  re- 
spectively summoned  to  appear  in  the 
Principal's  dwelling-house.  After  a  keen 
debate,  the  Burgomaster  enjoined  both 
parties  to  refrain  from  preaching  any- 
thing that  might  breed  discord.  "  I  can- 
not submit  to  this  injunction,"  said  Zwin- 
gle ;  "  I  claim  the  right  of  preaching  the 
Gospel  freely,  without  any  condition 
whatsoever,  agreeably  to  the  former  or- 
dinance. I  am  bishop  and  pastor  of  Zu- 
rich ;  it  is  to  me  that  the  care  of  souls 
has  been  confided.  I  am  under  the  obli- 
gation of  an  oath,  from  which  the  monks 
are  exempt.  They  are  the  party  who 
ought  to  give  way, — not  I.  If  they 
preach  what  is  false,  I  will  contradict 
them,  were  it  even  in  the  pulpit  of  their 
own  convent.  If  I  myself  preach  any 
doctrine  contrary  to  the  Holy  Gospel, 
then  I  desire  to  be  rebuked,  not  only  by 
the  chapter,  but  by  any  private  citizen,! 
and  moreover  to  be  punished  by  the 
Council." — "And  we,"  said  the  monks, 
"  on  our  part,  demand  permission  to 
preach  the  doctrines  of  St.  Thomas." 
The  committee  of  the  Council,  after 
mature  deliberation,  determined  "  that 
Thomas  Aquinas,  Scotus,  and  the  other 

*  Liess  die  Rathstuben  einen  grossen  Knall. 
— (Bullinger,  MS.) 

+  Sondern  von  einem  jedem  Burger  wyssen. 
—(Bullinger,  MS.) 


THE   SWISS— 1484— 1522. 


369 


doctors  should  be  laid  aside,  and  that 
preachers  should  confine  themselves  to 
the  Holy  Gospel."  Again,  therefore, 
the  truth  was  triumphant.  But  the  an- 
ger of  those  who  supported  the  Papacy- 
was  inflamed  to  a  higher  pitch.  The 
Italian  canons  could  not  conceal  their 
fury.  They  cast  insulting  glances  at 
Zwingle  in  the  chapter,  and  seemed  to 
be  thirsting  for  his  blood.* 

These  tokens  of  hostility  could  not  in- 
timidate Zwingle.  There  was  one  place 
in  Zurich  where,  thanks  to  the  Domini- 
cans, no  ray  of  light  had  hitherto  enter- 
ed ;  this  was  the  nunnery  of  Octenbach. 
The  daughters  of  the  first  families  of 
Zurich  were  accustomed  to  take  the  veil 
there.  It  seemed  unjust  that  these  poor 
females,  shut  up  within  the  walls  of  their 
convent,  should  alone  be  debarred  from 
hearing  the  word  of  God.  The  Great 
Council  ordered  Zwingle  to  visit  them. 
The  Reformer  accordingly  mounted  the 
pulpit  which  none  but  the  Dominicans 
had  hitherto  occupied,  and  delivered  a 
sermon  "  On  the  clearness  and  certainty 
of  the  word  of  God."f  He  afterwards 
published  this  remarkable  discourse, 
which  produced  a  great  effect,  and  still 
further  contributed  to  exasperate  the 
monks. 

An  event  now  occurred  which  enlarg- 
ed the  sphere  of  this  religious  animosity, 
and  communicated  it  to  many  a  heart 
which  had  as  yet  been  a  stranger  to  its 
influence.  The  Swiss,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Stein  and  Winkelried,  had  suf- 
fered a  bloody  defeat  at  Bicocca.  They 
had  made  a  gallant  attack  on  the  enemy; 
but  the  artillery  of  Pescara,  and  the  lanz- 
knechts  of  that  same  Freundsberg  whom 
Luther  had  encountered  at  the  door  of 
the  Council-hall  at  Worms,  had  over- 
thrown officers  and  standards,  and  whole 
companies  at  once  had  been  mowed  down 
and  exterminated.  Winkelried  and  Stein, 
•  •  with  many  inferior  chiefs  who  bore  the 
illustrious  names  of  Mulinen,  and  Dies- 
bach,  and  Bonstetten,  and  Tschudi,  and 
Pfyffer,  had  been  left  on  the  field  of  bat- 
tle. Schwitz,  in  particular,  had  been 
bereft  of  the  bravest  of  her  sons.  The 
mangled  remnant  of  that  disastrous  con- 

*  Oculos  in  me  procacius  torquent,  ut  cujus 
caput  peti  gauderent. — (Zw.  Opp.  iii.  29.) 

t  De  claritate  et  certitudine  verbi  Dei. — (Ibid. 
i.  66.) 

47 


flict  returned  to  Switzerland,  carrying 
mourning  in  their  train.  A  cry  of  un- 
mingled  lamentation  resounded  from  the 
Alps  to  the  Jura,  from  the  Rhone  even 
to  the  Rhine. 

But  no  one  felt  this  calamity  more  keen- 
ly than  Zwingle.  He  immediately  address- 
ed a  letter  to  the  canton  of  Schwitz  to  dis- 
suade the  citizens  of  that  state  from  en- 
gaging again  in  foreign  service.  "  Your 
ancestors,"  said  he,  with  all  the  warmth 
of  a  true-hearted  Switzer,  "  contended 
with  their  enemies  in  defence  of  their 
liberties ;  but  never  did  they  imbrue 
their  hands  in  Christian  blood.  These 
foreign  wars  bring  upon  our  country  in- 
calculable evils.  The  anger  of  God  de- 
scends upon  the  States,  and  Swiss  liberty 
is  almost  lost  between  the  interested 
caresses  and  mortal  hatred  of  foreign 
Princes."*  Zwingle  gave  the  right 
hand  to  Nicolas  Von  Flue,  and  support- 
ed the  appeal  of  that  friend  of  peace. 
This  remonstrance,  being  presented  at  a 
general  assembly  of  the  people  of  Schwitz, 
produced  such  an  impression,  that  it  was 
decreed  that  provisionally  the  state  would 
decline  any  alliance  for  the  next  twenty- 
five  years.  But  it  was  not  long  before  the 
French  party  procured  the  revocation  of 
this  noble  resolution  ;  and  from  that  time 
Schwitz  was,  of  all  the  cantons,  the  most 
opposed  to  Zwingle  and  his  efforts.  Even 
the  disgraces  that  the  same  party  drew 
upon  their  country  served  but  to  increase , 
their  hatred  of  the  bold  preacher  who 
was  striving  to  avert  them.  A  violent 
opposition  was  formed  against  Zurich 
and  Zwingle.  The  usages  of  the  Church, 
and  the  recruiting  services,  attacked  at 
the  same  moment,  mutually  supported 
each  other  against  the  rising  wind  which 
threatened  both  with  downfall.  Mean- 
while, enemies  were  multiplying  from 
without.  It  was  no  longer  the  Pope 
alone,  but  the  other  foreign  princes,  who 
vowed  irreconcilable  hatred  to  the  Ref- 
ormation. Its  effect  went  to  deprive 
them  of  those  Swiss  halberds  which  had 
added  so  many  triumphs  to  their  ambi- 
tion ...  On  the  side  of  the  Gospel  there 
remained — God — and  the  excellent  of  the 
earth : — it  was  more  than  enough.  Di- 
vine Providence  was  besides  bringing  to 

*  Ein  gottlich  Vermanung  an  die  ehreamen, 
&c.  eidgnossen  zu  Schwyz. — (Zw.  Opp.  ii.  2nd 
part,  206.) 


370 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


its  support  men  of  different  countries  who 
were  persecuted  for  their  faith. 

On  Saturday  the  12th  of  July,  the  in- 
habitants of  Zurich  witnessed  the  arrival 
in  their  streets  of  a  monk,  of  tall,  thin, 
and  gaunt  stature,  habited  in  the  grey 
frock  of  the  Cordeliers,  of  foreign  ap- 
pearance and  mounted  on  an  ass ;  his 
bare  feet  almost  touching  the  ground.* 
In  this  manner  he  arrived  from  the  road 
leading  to  Avignon,  not  knowing  a  word 
of  German.  However,  by  means  of 
Latin  he  contrived  to  make  himself  un- 
derstood. Francis  Lambert  (for  that 
was  his  name),  inquired  for  Zwingle, 
and  handed  to  him  a  letter  from  Berthold 
Haller  :  "  The  Franciscan  father  who  is 
the  bearer  of  this,"  wrote  the  Bernese 
curate,  "  is  no  other  than  apostolic  preach- 
er to  the  convent-general  at  Avignon. 
For  the  last  five  years  he  has  been  teach- 
ing the  true  Christian  doctrine ;  he  has 
preached  in  Latin  to  our  clergy  at  Ge- 
neva, at  Lausanne,  before  the  bishop,  at 
Friburg,  and  latterly  at  Berne,  touching 
the  church,  the  priesthood,  the  sacrament 
of  the  mass,  the  traditions  of  the  Roman 
bishops,  and  the  superstitions  of  religious 
orders.  To  me,  such  teaching  from  a 
Cordelier,  and  a  Frenchman,  (both  char- 
acters that,  as  you  know,  suppose  a  host 
of  superstitions)  seemed  a  thing  unpre- 
cedented."! The  Frenchman  himself 
recounted  to  Zwingle  that  the  writings 
of  Luther  having  been  discovered  in  his 
cell,  he  had  been  obliged  to  leave  Avig- 
non at  a  moment's  warning  ;  how  he  had 
first  preached  the  Gospel  in  the  city  of 
Geneva,  and  afterwards  at  Lausanne,  on 
the  banks  of  the  same  lake.  Zwingle, 
quite  overjoyed,  threw  open  to  him  the 
church  of  our  Lady, — assigning'  him  a 
seat  in  the  choir,  before  the  high  altar. 
There  Lambert  delivered  four  sermons, 
in  which  he  attacked  with  vigour  the 
errors  of  Rome  ;  but  in  his  fourth  dis- 
course he  defended  the  invocation  of  the 
saints  and  of  Mary. 

"  Brother !  Brother !  you  are  mis- 
taken," |  exclaimed  a  loud  voice.  It  was 
Zwingle' s.    Canons  and  chaplains  leaped 

*  .  .  .  Kam  ein  langer,  gerader,  barfiisser 
Monch  . .  ritte  auf  einer  Eselin. — (Fiisslin  Bey- 
trage,  iv.  39.) 

t  A  tali  Franciscano,  Gallo,  quae  omnioe  mare 
superstitionem  confluere  faciunt,  inaudita. — (Zw. 
Epp.  p.  207.) 

I  Bruder  da  irrestdu. — (Fiisslin  Beytr.  iv.40.) 


for  joy  on  seeing  a  dispute  arising  be- 
tween the  Frenchman  and  the  heretical 
curate  .  "  He  has  publicly  attacked  you," 
said  they  to  Lambert;  "require  of  him 
a  public,  discussion."  The  monk  of 
Avignon  did  so  : — and  on  the  22nd  of 
July,  at  ten  o'clock,  the  two  disputants 
met  in  the  conference-hall  of  the  canons. 
Zwingle  opened  the  Old  and  New  Tes- 
tament in  Greek  and  Latin.  He  dis- 
cussed and  expounded  until  two  o'clock, 
when  the  Frenchman,  clasping  his  hands 
together  and  raising  them  towards  heav- 
en,* broke  forth  in  these  words  :  ':  I  thank 
thee,  O  God,  that  by  this  thy  gifted  min- 
ister, thou  hast  granted  to  me  so  clear  a 
discovery  of  the  truth." — "  Henceforth," 
he  added,  turning  to  the  assembly,  u  in 
all  my  trials  I  will  invoke  none  but  God 
alone,  and  throw  aside  my  beads.  To- 
morrow I  purpose  to  continue  my  jour- 
ney. I  am  going  to  Bale  to  see  Eras- 
mus of  Rotterdam,  and  thence  to  Wittem- 
berg  to  see  the  Augustine  Martin  Lu- 
ther." And  accordingly  he  took  his 
departure  on  his  ass.  We  shall  meet 
with  him  again.  This  man  was  the 
first  who  went  forth  from  France  for  the 
sake  of  the  Gospel  into  Switzerland  and 
Germany ;  the  humble  forerunner  of 
many  thousands. 

Myconius  had  no  such  consolations. 
On  the  contrary,  it  was  his  lot  to  see  Se- 
bastian Hofmeister,  who  had  come  from 
Constance  to  Lucerne,  and  had  there 
preached  the  Gospel  boldly, — compelled 
to  quit  the  city.  On  this,  Oswald's  mel- 
ancholy increased — a  fever  consumed 
him;  the  physicians  gave  their  opinio'n 
that  if  he  did  not  remove  he  would  die. 
"  No  where  do  I  more  wish  to  b*e  than 
with  you,"  wrote  he  to  Zwingle,  "  and 
no  where  have  I  less  wish  to  be  than  at 
Lucerne.  Men  torment  me,  and  the 
climate  destroys  me.  People  say  that 
my  disease  is  the  punishment  of  my  in- 
iquity. It  is  in  vain  to  speak  or  do  any 
thing,  they  turn  every  thing  to  poison. 
.  .  .  There  is  One  above,  on  whom  alone 
my  hope  rests."  t 

This  hope  was  not  delusive. — It  was 
about  the  end  of  March,  and  Annuncia- 
tion-day was  approaching.  The  day  be- 
fore its  eve  a  solemn  fast  was  observed, 

*  Dass  er  beyde  Hiinde  zusammen  hob. — (Ibid.) 

+  Quicquid  facio  venerium  est  illis.     Sed  est  in 

quem  omnis  sges  mea  reclinat. — (Zw.  Epp.  192.) 


THE   SWISS.— 1484— 1523. 


371 


in  memory  of  a  conflagration  that  in  1340 
had  reduced  to  ashes  the  greater  part  of 
the  city.  A  crowd  of  people  from  the 
environs  were  collected  together  at  Lu- 
cerne, and  several  hundred  priests  were 
assembled.  A  noted  preacher  usually 
preached ;  and  on  this  occasion  Conrad 
Schmid,  of  Kusnacht,  commander  of  the 
Joha unites,  arrived  to  take  the  duty.  A 
great  crowd  filled  the  church, — but  what 
was  their  astonishment,  when  the  com- 
mander, abandoning  the  customary  Latin 
oration,  spoke  in  plain  Gferman,*  that  all 
could  understand  ;  declared  with  authori- 
ty and  holy  zeal  the  love  of  God  in  send- 
ing His  Son  into  the  world,  and  elo- 
quently shewed  that  our  works  cannot 
save  us,  and  that  God's  promises  are  in 
truth  the  essence  of  the  Gospel.  "  God 
forbid,"  cried  the  commander,  in  the 
hearing  of  the  astonished  congregation, 
"  that  we  should  recognize  a  head  so  full 
of  sin  as  the  Roman  bishop,  and  thereby 
reject  Jesus  Christ,  f  If  the  Bishop  of 
Rome  dispenses  the  bread  of  the  Gospel, 
let  us  acknowledge  him  as  a  pastor — not 
as  our  head ;  and  if  he  does  not  dispense 
it,  let  us  in  no  way  whatever  recognize 
him."     Oswald  could  not  restrain  his  joy. 

"  What  a  man !"  he  exclaimed, — 
"  What  a  discourse  ! — what  majesty  and 
authority  !  —  how  full  of  the  spirit  of 
Christ !"  The  effect  was  almost  univer- 
sal. To  the  agitation  which  pervaded 
the  town  succeeded  a  solemn  silence  : 
but  all  this  Avas  transient, — if  a  nation 
closes  the  ear  to  God's  call,  his  calls  are 
every  day  less  frequent,  and  ere  long 
they  are  altogether  withdrawn.  This 
was  the  fate  of  Lucerne. 

While  truth  was  there  proclaimed 
from  the  pulpit, — at  Berne,  the  Papacy 
was  assailed  in  the  festive  meetings  of 
the  people.  A  layman  of  reputation, 
Nicolas  Manuel,  famed  for  his  talents, 
and  afterwards  promoted  to  high  office 
in  the  State,  indignant  at  seeing  his 
countrymen  mercilessly  plundered  by 
Samson,  composed  some  carnival  dramas, 
in  which  he  keenly  satirized  the  extor- 
tion^ haughtiness,  and  pomp  of  the  Pope 

*  Wolt  er  keine  pracht  tryben  mit  latein 
schwatzen,  sondem  gut  teutsch  reden. — (Bullin- 
ger,  MSC.) 

t  Absit  a  grege  Christiano,  ut  caput  tam  lutu- 
lentum  et  peccatis  plenum  acceptans,  Christum 
abjiciat. — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  195.) 


and  clergy  ...  On  the  mardi  gras,  or 
Shrove  Tuesday  of  their  lordships,  (their 
lordships  were  then  the  clergy,  and  the 
clergy  usually  began  their  Lent  eight 
days  before  other  people,)  nothing  was 
talked  of  in  Berne  but  a  drama  or  mys- 
tcrii,  called — the  Feeders  upon  the  Dead, 
which  some  young  folks  were  to  act  in 
the  rue  de  la  Croix.  The  people  flocked 
to  the  spot. — As  literary  productions, 
these  dramatic  sketches  of  the  early  part 
of  the  sixteenth  century  possess  some 
interest, — but  it  is  in  a  very  different 
point  of  view  that  we  recal  them :  we 
would  prefer  doubtless  not  to  have  to 
adduce,  on  the  part  of  the  Reformation, 
attacks  of  this  nature  ;  as  truth  triumphs 
by  far  different  weapons:  history,  how- 
ever, does  not  create,  but  faithfully  trans- 
mits what  she  finds. 

And  now  the  acting  begins,  much  to 
the  satisfaction  of  the  impatient  crowd 
gathered  together  in  the  rue  de  la  Croix. 
The  Pope  appears,  attired  in  splendid 
habiliments,  and  seated  on  a  throne. 
Around  him  stand  his  courtiers  and 
body-guard,  and  a  mixed  assemblage  of 
dignified  and  inferior  clergy  ; — beyond 
them  are  nobles,  laymen,  and  beggars. 
Shortly  after,  a  funeral  procession  ap- 
pears ; — it  is  a  wealthy  farmer  whom 
they  are  carrying  to  his  grave.  Two  of 
his  kinsmen  walk  slowly  in  front  of  the 
coffin,  with  handkerchiefs  in  their  hands. 
The  procession  being  arrived  in  the 
Pope's  presence,  the  bier  is  lowered,  the 
acting  begins : — 

FIRST  RELATIVE. 

The  noble  army  of  saints, 
Take  pity  on  our  lot ; 
Alas  !  our  cousin  -is  dead, 
In  the  prime  of  his  life. 

ANOTHER  RELATIVE. 

No  cost  will  we  spare 

For  priests,  friars,  or  nuns, 
Tho'  a  hundred  crowns  we  should  drain ; 

Determined  are  we ; 

His  spirit  to  free, 
From  dire  purgatorial  pain.* 

The  Sacristan  coming  out  of  the  crowd  near 
the  Pope,  and  hurrying  to  the  curate,  Robert 
Ne'er-Enough : — 

*  Kein  kosten  soil  uns  dauern  dran, 

Wo  wir  Monch  uud  Priester  mogen  ha'n, 
Und  sollt'es  kosten  hundert  kronen  .... 
(Bern.  Mausol.  iv.  Wirz,  K.  Gesch.  i.  383.) 


372 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


My  lord  curate,  let  me  drink  your  health ; 
A  rich  farmer  is  just  dead ! 

THE  CURATE. 

One,  say  you.     One  is  not  enough. 

One  dead !  'tis  for  ten  that  I  call ; 

The  more  die  off,  the  more  blithely  we  live,* 

This  death  is  the  best  trick  of  all ! 

THE  SACRISTAN. 

Ah  !  if  I  had  but  my  heart's  desire, 
I'd  pass  my  time  in  tolling  of  knells  ; 
For  unlike  field  labour  the  dead  never  tire, 
But  pay  well,  and  tell  no  tales. 

THE  CURATE. 

If  tolling  a  bell  opes  the  gate  of  heaven, 
I  know  not — but  what  does  that  matter  ? 
It  brings  me  in  barbel,  pike,  salmon,  and  trout ; 
And  my  larder  grows,  day  by  day,  fatter. 

THE  CURATE'S  NIECE.t 

'Tis  all  very  well — but  I  put  in  my  claim, 

And  this  soul. must  to-day  me  provide 

With  a  comely  new  gown  of  white,  black,  pink, 

or  green, 
And  a  neat  pretty  kerchief  beside. 

Cardinal  Loftylook, — wearing  the  red  hat, 
and  standing  near  the  Pope : 
Did  we  not  love  the  bloody  prize  of  Death, 
Would  we  have  led  to  slaughter,  in  their  prime, 
Those  armed  trains, 
On  battle  plains, 
In  wars  our  pride  has  kindled  in  our  time  ?t 
The  blood  of  Christians  yields  to  Rome  her 
wealth ! 
Hence  do  I  wear  a  hat  of  sanguine  red, 
Made  fat  with  pomp  and  riches  by  the  dead  ! 

BISHOP  WOLFS-BELLY. ' 

By  papal  right  I  mean  to  live  and  die. 

I  wear  rich  silks,  and  spend  luxuriously  ; 

I  lead  in  battle,  or  I  hunt  at  will  ! 

If  we  in  the  first  church  were  living  still, 

My  cloak  were  what  a  peasant  round  him  flings.§ 

But  we  were  shepherds  then,  and  now,  we're 

kings! 
Yet  'mongst  the  shepherds  I  to  pass  intend. 

A  VOICE. 
How  so  ? 

BISHOP  WOLFS-BELLY. 

At  the  sheep-shearing  time,  my  friend ! 
Shepherds  and  wolves  are  we  to  our  fat  flocks ; 
They  must  feed  us,  or  fall  beneath  hard  knocks. 
Marriage  to  curates  doth  the  Pope  deny  : 
'Tis  well : — but  who  among  them  will  comply  ? 

*  Je   mehr  je   besser !     Kiimen   doch    noch 
Zehn  '.—(Ibid.) 

t  In  the    German   the   term   is   more   gross, 
Pfaffenmetze. 

t  Wenn  mir  nicht  war'  mit  Todten  wohl, 

So  lag  nicht  mancher  Acker  voll,  etc. 

(Bern.  Mausol.  iv.  Wire,  K:  Gesch.  i.  383.) 

§  Wenn  es  stund,  wie  im  Anfang  der  Kirchen, 
Ich  trtige  vielleicht  grobes  Tuch  und  Zwil- 
chen. — (Ibid.) 


Not  e'en  the  best  of  them.     That's  better  still ! 
What  matter  scandals  ? — Bribes  my  coffers  fill. 
Thus  shall  I  better  sport  a  princely  train  : 
The  smallest  coin  indeed  I  ne'er  disdain. 
A  priest  with  money  takes  a  wife  discreetly  : 
Four  florins  yearly  .  .  .  seal  my  eyes  completely. 
Brings  she  him  children, — he  must  bleed  again  . . 
Two  thousand  florins  in  a  year  I  gain : 
If  they  were  virtuous  I  should  starve,  be  sure.* 
Thanks  to  the  Pope  !  him  kneeling  I  adore. 
'Tis  in  his  faith  I'll  live, — his  church  defend, 
And  ask  no  other  God  till  life  shall  end  ! 

THE  POPE. 

Men  think  that  to  a  haughty  priest  'tis  given 
T'  unclose  or  shut  at  will  the  gate  of  heaven. 
— Preach  well  the  conclave's  chosen  one's  decree 
And  we  are  kings — and  laymen  slaves  shall  be  : 
But  if  the  Gospel  standard  be  displayed, 
All's  over  with  us  ! — for  'tis  no  where  said 

That  men  should  give  their  money  to  the  priest. 
Perhaps  too,  if  the  Gospel  were  obeyed, 
We  should  pass  life  in  poverty  and  shade  .  .  . 
Instead  of  these  caparisoned  proud  steeds, 
With  these  rich  carriages  my  household  needs, 

My  holiness  would  ride  a  duller  beast.t 
No, — We'll  find  means  to  guard  the  goodly  gains 
Our  predecessors  left, — and  quell  rash  aims. 
'Tis  ours  to  will,  and  the  world's  part  to  bow ; 
To  me  as  to  a  God  its  nations  vow ; 
Crushed  by  my  weight  when  I  ascend  its  throne, 
I  give  its  good  things  to  my  pack  alone. 
And  unclean  laymen  must  not  touch  our  treasure  ; 
Three  drops  of  holy  water  '11  fill  his  measure  ! 

We  will  not  follow  out  this  literal 
rendering  of  Manuel's  dramatic  effusion. 
The  vexation  of  the  clergy  on  learning 
these  efforts  of  the  Reformers,  their  an- 
ger against  those  who  would  thus  put  a 
stop  to  these  disorders, — is  painted  in 
vivid  colours.  The  dissoluteness  the 
mystery  brought  prominently  forward 
was  too  general  for  each  one  not  to  be 
struck  by  the  truth  of  the  picture.  The 
people  were  in  commotion.  Many  were 
the  satirical  jests  of  the  spectators  as  they 
broke  up  from  the  spectacle  in  the  rue  de 
la  Croix ;  but  some  were  more  gravely 
affected,  and  these  spoke  of  the  liberty  of 
the  Christian,  and  the  Pope's  despotism, 
— contrasting  the  simplicity  of  the  Gos- 
pel with  Romish  pageantry.  Rapidly 
the  popular  contempt  broke  forth  in  the 
public  streets.  On  Ash  Wednesday  the 
people  paraded  the  indulgences  through 
the  city,  accompanying  them  with  satiri- 
cal  songs.      A  heavy   blow   had   been 

*  The  German  is  very  expressive.  So  bin  Ich 
auf  gut  Deutsch  ein  Hurenwirth. — (Bern.  Mau- 
sol. iv.  Wirz,  K.  Gesch.  i.  383.) 

t  Wir  mochten  fast  kaum  ein  Eselein  ha'n.— 
(Ibid.) 


THE   SWISS.— 1484— 1522. 


373 


struct,  in  Berne,  and  throughout  Swit- 
zerland, at  the  ancient  edifice  of  Popery. 
Shortly  after  this  dramatic  representa- 
tion, another  comedy  took  place  at  Berne ; 
but  in  this  last,  invention  had  no  share. 
The  clergy,  the  council,  and  the  burgh- 
ers, had  assembled  before  the  upper  gate, 
expecting  the  skull  of  St.  Ann,  which 
the  celebrated  knight,  Albert  von  Stein, 
had  gone  to  fetch  from  Lyons.  After 
waiting  some  time,  Stein  arrived,  bearing 
the  precious  relic,  wrapped  in  a  covering 
of  silken  stuff  On  its  passage  through 
Lausanne,  the  bishop  of  that  place  had 
fallen  on  his  knees  before  it.  The  holy 
trophy  was  carried  in  procession  to  the 
church  of  the  Dominicans.  Bells  were 
rung, — the  procession  entered,  and  the 
skull  of  the  Virgin's  mother  was  solemn- 
ly deposited  on  the  altar  dedicated  to  her, 
beneath  a  screen  of  costly  lattice-work. 
But  in  the  height  of  the  rejoicing,  came 
a  letter  from  the  Abbot  of  the  convent  at 
Lyons  (where  the  remains  of  the  saint 
were  preserved,)  announcing  that  the 
monks  had  tricked  the  knight,  by  im- 
posing on  him  an  unclean  skull  picked 
up  from  among  the  bones  of  the  ceme- 
tery. This 'imposition  on  the  celebrated 
city  of  Berne  deeply  offended  its  inhabi- 
tants. 

The  Reformation  was  making  progress 
in  other  parts  of  Switzerland.  In  1521, 
Walter  Klarer,  a  young  man  of  Appenzel, 
returned  from  the  university  of  Paris  to 
his  own  canton.  The  writings  of  Lu- 
ther fell  into  his  hands,  and  in  1522  he 
preached  the  Gospel  with  all  the  fervour 
of  a  young  Christian.  An  innkeeper 
named  Rausberg,  a  member  of  the  Coun- 
cil of  Appenzel,  threw  open  his  house  to 
the  friends  of  truth.  A  famous  captain, 
Bartholomew  Berweger,  who  had  fought 
in  the  ranks  for  Julius  II.  and  Leo  X., 
being  lately  returned  from  Rome,  in- 
stantly set  about  persecuting  the  new 
doctrine.  But  recollecting  one  day  that 
he  had  seen  much  that  was  wrong  at 
Rome,  he  began  to  read  his  Bible  and 
hear  the  preachers ; — his  eyes  were 
opened,  and  he  embraced  the  Gospel. 
Observing  that  the  crowds  that  came 
could  no  longer  find  room  in  the 
churches :  "  Why  not  preach  in  the 
open  fields  and  in  the  public  squares?" 
said  he — in  spite  of  much  opposition,  the 
hills,  meadows,  and  mountains  of  Ap- 


penzel, from  that  time  often  resounded 
with  the  tidings  of  salvation. 

This  doctrine,  ascending  the  course  of 
the  Rhine,  even  reached  as  far  as  an- 
cient Rhetia.  One  day  a  stranger  com- 
ing from  Zurich,  passed  the  river,  and 
presented  himself  at  the  door  of  a  sad- 
dler of  Flasch,  the  first  town  in  the  Gri- 
sons.  Christian  Anhorn  listened  with 
amazement  to  the  conversation  of  his 
guest.  "Preach  then,"  said  the  whole 
village  to  the  stranger,  whose  name  was 
James  Burkli ; — and  Burkli  took  his 
stand  before  the  altar.  A  body  of  armed 
men,  with  Anhorn  at  their  head,  sur- 
rounded him  to  protect  him  from  any 
sudden  attack;  and  thus  he  proclaimed 
the  Gospel.  The  report  of  his  preaching 
spread  abroad,  and  on  the  next  Sunday 
an  immense  crowd  assembled.  Very 
soon  a  great  number  of  the  inhabitants 
of  that  country  desired  to  partake  of  the 
Lord's  supper,  according  to  Christ's  ap- 
pointment. But  one  day  the  tocsin  was 
suddenly  heard  in  Mayenfield ; — the 
people  ran  together  in  alarm,  the  priests 
depicted  the  dangers  that  threatened  the 
Church,  and — followed  by  this  fanatic 
population, — hurried  to  Flasch.  An- 
horn, who  was  working  in  the  fields,  sur- 
prised by  the  ringing  of  bells  at  so  un- 
usual an  hour,  returned  home  in  haste, 
and  secreted  Burkli  in  a  deep  pit  that 
had  been  dug  in  his  cellar.  The  house 
was  already  surrounded;  the  doors  were 
burst  open,  and  strict  search  made  for 
the  heretical  preacher ;  but  in  vain.  At 
length  they  left  the  place.* 

The  word  of  God  had  spread  through 
the  ten  jurisdictions  of  the  league.  The 
curate  of  Mayenfield,  on  returning  from 
Rome,  (whither  he  had  fled  in  indigna- 
tion at  the  progress  of  the  Gospel,)  ex- 
claimed— "  Rome  has  made  an  evange- 
list of  me  !"  and  became  -from  that  time 
a  zealous  Reformer.  Ere  long,  the  Ref- 
ormation extended  itself  in  the  league 
of  what  was  called  "  the  house  of  God." 
"  Oh,  if  you  could  but  see  how  the  inha- 
bitants of  the  Rhetian  Alps  cast  away 
from  them  the  yoke  of  Babylon !"  wrote 
Salandronius  to  Vadian. 

Revolting  disorders  hastened  the  day 
when  Zurich  and  its  neighbouring 
country   should    finally    throw   off   the 

*  Anhorn,  Wiedergeburt  tier  Ev.  Kirchen  in 
den  3  Bundten.     Chur.  1680.     Wirz,  i.  557. 


374 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


yoke.  A  married  schoolmaster  desiring 
to  take  priest's  orders  obtained  his  wife's 
consent  and  was  separated  from  her. 
The  new  curate  finding  himself  un- 
able to  fulfil  his  vow  of  celibacy  quitted 
the  place  of  his  wife's  residence,  from 
regard  to  her,  and  settling  himself  in  the 
diocese  of  Constance,  there  formed  a  cri- 
minal connection.  His  wife  hearing  of 
it  went  to  him.  The  poor  priest  was 
melted  at  the  sight  of  her,  and  dismissing 
the  woman  who  had  usurped  her  rights, 
took  home  his  lawful  wife.  Instantly 
the  procurator-fiscal  made  out  his  report, 
— the  Vicar-general  was  in  motion, — the 
councillors  of  the  consistory  met  in  deli- 
beration, and  ....  enjoined  the  curate  to 
renounce  his  wife,  or  his  benefice.  The 
poor  wife  left  her  husband's  house  in 
tears  ;  her  rival  resumed  her  place  in  tri- 
umph. The  church  was  satisfied,  and 
from  that  moment  left  the  adulterous 
priest  undisturbed.* 

Shortly  after  a  curate  of  Lucerne  se- 
duced a  married  woman,  and  cohabited 
with  her.  The  husband  repairing  to 
Lucerne  availed  himself  of  the  oppor- 
tunity afforded  by  the  priest's  absence  to 
recover  his  wife.  As  he  was  returning 
the  seducer  met  them  in  the  way ; — he 
instantly  fell  upon  the  injured  husband, 
and  inflicted  a  wound,  of  which  the  lat- 
ter died.f  All  good  men  saw  the  neces- 
sity of  re-establishing  the  law  of  God, 
which  declares  marriage  "  honourable  to 
all."  (Heb.  xiii.  4.)  The  ministers  of 
the  Gospel  had  discovered  that  the  law 
of  celibacy  was  altogether  of  human  au- 
thority, imposed  by  the  Popes,  contrary 
to  God's  word,  which,  in  describing  a 
faithful  bishop,  represents  him  as  a  hus- 
band and  a  father.  (1  Tim.  iii.  2 — 4.) 
They  also  saw  that  of  all  the  corruptions 
which  had  gained  a  footing  in  the  church, 
not  one  had  led"  to  more  profligacy  and 
scandals.  Hence  they  not  only  thought 
it  lawful,  but  even  a  part  of  their  duty 
to  God  to  reject  it.  Several  among 
them  at  this  period  returned  to  the  apos- 
tolic usage.  Xyloctect  was  already  a 
husband.  Zwingle  also  married  about 
this  time.  Among  the  women  of  Zurich 
none  was   more   respected   than   Anna 

*  Simml.  Samml.  vi. — Wirz,  K.  Gesch.  i.  275. 
t  Hinc  cum  scorto  redeuntem  in  itinere  debre- 
endit,  adgreditur,  lethiferoque  vulnere  csedit  et 
tandem  moritur. — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  206.) 


Reinhardt,  widow  of  Meyer  von  Knonau, 
mother  of  Gerold.  From  Zwingle's 
coming  among  them,  she  had  been  con- 
stant in  her  attendance  on  his  ministry  ; 
she  lived  near  him,  and  he  had  remarked 
her  piety,  modesty,  and  maternal  tender- 
ness. Young  Gerold,  who  had  become 
almost  like  a  son  to  him,  contributed 
further  to  bring  about  an  intimacy  with 
his  mother.  The  trials  that  had  already 
befallen  this  Christian  woman, — whose 
fate  it  was  to  be,  one  day,  more  severely 
tried  than  any  woman  whose  history  is 
on  record, — had  formed  her  to  a  serious- 
ness which  gave  prominency  to  her 
Christian  virtues.*  She  was  then  about 
thirty-five,  and  her  whole  fortune  con- 
sisted of  400  florins.  It  was  on  her  that 
Zwingle  fixed  his  eyes  for  a  companion 
for  life.  He  felt  the  sacredness  and  in- 
timate sympathy  of  the  marriage  tie ; 
and  termed  it  "a  most  holy  alliance."! — 
"  As  Christ,"  said  he,  "  died  for  those  who 
are  His,  and  gave  himself  entirely  for 
them,  so  should  those  who  are  united 
together  by  marriage,  do  and  suffer  all 
things  one  for  the  other."  But  Zwingle, 
when  he  took  Anna  Reinhardt  to  wife. 
did  not  make  his  marriage  public.  This 
was  beyond  doubt  a  blameable  weakness 
in  one  who  was  in  other  things  so  reso- 
lute. The  light  he  and  his  friends  pos- 
sessed on  the  subject  of  celibacy  was  by 
no  means  general.  The  weak  might 
have  been  stumbled.  He  feared  lest  his 
usefulness  in  the  church  might  be  des- 
troyed by  making  known  his  marriage,^ 
and  he  sacrificed  much  of  his  happiness 
to  these  fears,  excusable,  perhaps,  but 
such  as  he  ought  to  have  disregarded^. 

*  Anna  Reinhardt,  von  Gerold  Meyer  von  Kno- 
nau, p.  25. 

t  Ein  hochheiliges  Bimdniss. — (Ibid.  25.) 

I  Qui  veritus  sis,  te  marito  non  tam  feliciter  usu- 
rum  Christum  in  negotio  verbi  sui. — 'Zw.  Epp. 
p.  335.) 

§  The  most  respectable  biographers,  and  those 
who  have  followed  them,  place  Zwingle's  mar- 
riage two  years  later,  namely,  in  April  1524. 
Without  intending  here  to  state  all  the  reasons 
which  have  satisfied  me  that  this  is  an  error,  I 
will  notice  the  most  conclusive.  A  letter  from 
Zwingle's  intimate  friend  Myconius,  bearing  date 
22d  July,  1522,  has  these  words:  Vale  cum  ux- 
ore  quam  felicissimc.  Another  letter  from  the 
same  friend,  written  toward  the  end  of  that  year, 
has  likewise  the  words :  Vale  cum  uxore.  That 
the  date  of  these  letters  is  quite  correct  is  proved 
by  the  very  contents  of  them.  But  what  is  still 
stronger,  a  letter  written  from  Strasburg  by  Bu- 


THE  SWISS— 1484— 1522. 


375 


Meanwhile,  interests  of  a  higher  kind 
were  engaging  the  thoughts  of  the  friends 
of  truth.  The  Diet,  as  we  have  seen, 
urged  on  by  the  enemies  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, had  enjoined  the  preachers  of  the 
Gospel  to,  abstain  for  the  future  from 
preaching  doctrines  that  disturbed  the 
people.  Zwingle  felt  that  the  moment 
for  action  had  arrived,  and  with  charac- 
teristic energy  he  invited  such  ministers 
of  the  Lord  as  were  favourable  to  the 
Gospel,  to  meet  him  at  Einsidlen.  The 
strength  of  Christians  is  neither  in  force 
of  arms,  flames,  scaffold,  party  policy,  or 
man's  power.  It  is  found  in  a  simple 
but  unanimous  and  courageous  confes- 
sion of  the  great  truths  which  must  one 
day  prevail  over  the  world.  Those  who 
serve  God  are  specially  called  on  to  hold 
up  these  heavenly  truths  in  presence  of 
all  the  people,  una  wed  by  the  clamours 
of  enemies.  These  truths  carry  in  them- 
selves the  assurance  of  their  triumph,  and 
idols  fall  before  them  as  before  the  ark 
of  God.  The  time  had  come  when  God 
would  have  the  great  doctrine  of  salva- 
tion thus  confessed  in  Switzerland ;  it 
was  fit  that  the  gospel  standard  should 
be  planted  on  an  elevated  spot.  Provi- 
dence was  on  the  point  of  drawing  forth 
from  their  unknown  seclusion  humble 
but  intrepid  men,  and  causing  them  to 
give  a  noble  testimony  in  the  face  of  the 
whole  nation. 

Towards  the  end  of  June  and  begin- 
ning of  July,  1522,  pious  ministers  were 
ssen  from  every  side  journeying  to  the 

cer  at  the  moment  when  Zwingle's  marriage  was 
made  public,  the  14th  of  April,  1524,  (the  date 
of  the  year  is  wanting,  but  it  is  evident  that  this 
letter  is  of  that  year,)  contains  several  passages 
which  shew  Zwingle  to  have  been  married  a 
considerable  time  before  ;  the  following  are  some 
of  these,  besides  what  is  cited  in  the  preceding 
note.  Professum  palam  te  maritum  legi.  Unum 
hoc  desiderabam  in  te. — Quae  multo  facilius  quam 
connubii  tui  confessionem  Antichristus  posset 
ferre. — Ayopiv,  ab  eo,  quod  cum  fratribus  .  .  . 
episcopo  Constantiensi  congressus  es,  nullus  cre- 
didi. — Qua  ratione  id  tarn  diu  celares  .  .  .  non 
dubitarim,  rationibus  hue  adductum,  quoe  apud 
virum  evangelicum  non  queant  omnino  repudiari 
.  .  .  &c. — (Zw.  Epp.  235.)  Zwingle,  then,  did 
not  marry  in  1524,  but  he  then  made  public  his 
marriage  contracted  two  years  before.  The 
learned  editors  of  Zwingle's  letters  observe — Num 
forte  jam  Zwinglius  Annam  Reinhardam  clan- 
destino  in  matrimonio  habebat?  (p.  210.)  which 
appears  to  me  to  be  not  a  doubtful  point,  but  a 
fact  sufficiently  established. 


famous  chapel  of  Einsidlen,  on  a  new 
pilgrimage.*  From  Art  in  the  canton 
of  Schwitz,  came  its  curate,  Balthasar 
Trachsel ;  from  Weiningen  near  Baden, 
the  curate  Staheli ;  from  Zug,  Werner 
Steiner  ;  from  Lucerne,  the  canon  Kilch- 
meyer;  from  Uster,  the  curate  Pfister ; 
from  Hongg,  near  Zurich,  the  curate 
Stumpff ;  from  Zurich  itself,  the  canon 
Fabricius,  the  chaplain  Schmid,  the 
preacher  of  the  hospital,  Grosmann,  and 
Zwingle.  Leo  Juda,  curate  of  Einsidlen, 
joyfully  received  these  ministers  of  Christ 
into  the  ancient  abbey.  Since  Zwingle's 
residence,  the  place  had  become  a  kind 
of  citadel  of  truth, — a  refuge  for  the  righ- 
teous, f  So  in  the  solitary  field  of  Grut- 
li,  two  hundred  and  fifteen  years  before, 
had  gathered  together  three-and-thirty 
patriots,  fearlessl  y  determined  to  burst 
asunder  the  yoke  of  Austria.  At  Ein- 
sidlen the  great  aim  was  to  cast  away 
the  yoke  of  man's  authority  in  the  things 
of  God !  Zwingle  proposed  to  his  friends 
to  address  an  urgent  petition  to  the  can- 
tons and  the  bishop;  claiming  a  free 
preaching  of  the  Gospel,  and  also  the 
abolition  of  compulsory  celibacy,  the 
source  of  so  many  disorders.  All  agreed 
in  his  suggestion.^  Ulric  had  himself 
prepared  addresses.  That  to  the  bishop 
was  first  read.  It  was  on  the  2nd  of 
July,  1522.  All  signed  it.  A  hearty 
affection  united  the  preachers  of  the  Gos- 
pel. Many  others  there  were  who  sym- 
pathized with  those  who  had  met  at  Ein- 
sidlen ;  such  were  Haller,  Myconius, 
Hedio,  Capito,  CEcolampadius,  Sebastian 
Meyer,  Hoffmeister,  and  Vanner.  This 
brotherly  unity  is  one  of  the  loveliest 
features  of  the  Swiss  Reformation.  The 
excellent  men  we  have  mentioned  ever 
acted  with  one  heart,  and  their  mutual 
affection  lasted  till  death. 

The  men  assembled  at  Einsidlen  saw 
plainly  that  nothing  but  the  energy  of 
faith  could  combine  in  one  work  the 
members  of  the  confederation  divided  by 
the  foreign  capitulations.  But  their 
views  rose  above  this.     "  The  heavenly 

*  Thaten  sich  zusammen  etliche  priester. — 
(Bullinger,  M.S.) 

t  Zu  Einsidlen  hatten  sie  alle  Sicherheit  dahin 
zu  gehen  und  dort  zu  wohnen. — (J.  J.  Hottinger 
Helv.  K.  Gesch.  iii.  86.) 

t  Und  wurden  eins  an  den  Bischoff  zu  Con. 
stantz  und  gmein  Eidtgnossen  ein  Supplication 
zu  stellen. — (Bullinger,  MSC.) 


376 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


teachino-,"  said  they  to  their  ecclesiastical 
superior  in  their  address  dated  2nd  July, 
u  that  truth  which  God  the  Creator  has 
made  known  in  his  Son  to  mankind  im- 
mersed in  sin,  has  long  been  veiled  from 
our  eyes  by  the  ignorance,  not  to  say  the 
evil  intentions,  of  a  handful  of  men.  But 
Almighty  God  has  decreed  to  reinstate 
it  in  its  primitive  purity.  Join  then  with 
those  who  desire  that  the  great  body  of 
Christians  should  return  to  their  Head, 
that  is  Christ  ...  *  For  our  parts  we 
are  resolved  to  proclaim  his  Gospel  with 
unwearied  perseverance,  and  yet  with  a 
prudence  that  shall  leave  no  ground  of 
complaint  against  us.f  Favour  this  un- 
dertaking ;  startling,  perhaps,  but  not 
rash.  Take  your  stand  like  Moses,  in 
the  way,  at  the  head  of  the  people  get- 
ting up  out  of  Egypt,  and  by  your  own 
hands  overturn  all  obstacles  to  the  tri- 
umphant march  of  truth." 

After  this  spirit-stirring  appeal,  the 
ministers  of  the  Gospel  assembled  at  Ein- 
sidlen  came  to  the  subject  of  celibacy. 
Zwingle  had  for  himself  nothing  to  seek 
on  that  head  ;  —  he  had  as  his  partner 
such  a  minister's  wife  as  Saint  Paul  has 
shetched,  "grave,  sober,  faithful  in  all 
things."  (1  Tim.  iii.  2.)  But  his 
thoughts  were  for  those  of  his  brethren 
whose  consciences  were  not,  as  his,  set 
free  from  human  ordinances.  He  longed 
for  that  time  when  those  servants  of  God 
might  live  openly  and  without  fear  in 
the  circle  of  their  families,  "  having  their 
children  in  subjection  with  all  gravity." 
— "  You  are  not  ignorant,"  said  the  men 
of  Einsidlen,  "  how  deplorably  hitherto 
the  laws  of  chastity  have  been  violated 
by  the  clergy.  When  in  the  consecra- 
tion of  ministers  to  the  Lord,  the  question 
is  put  to  him  who  speaks  on  behalf  of  the 
rest : — Are  the  persons  you  present  to  us 
righteous  men  1  —  he  answers  : — They 
are  righteous.  Are  they  well  instructed ? 
— They  are  well  instructed.  But  when 
he  is  asked :  are  they  chaste  ?  His  an- 
swer is :  As  far  as  man's  weakness  per- 
mits."! — <:  The  New  Testament  every 

*  Et  universa  Christianorum  multitude)  ad  ca- 
put suum,  quod  Christus  est,  redeat.  Supplicatio 
quorundam  apud  Helvetios  Evangelistarum. — 
(Zw.  Opp.  iii.  18.) 

t  Evangelium  irremisso  tenore  promulgare 
statuimuB  .  .  . — (Zw.  Opp.  iii.  18.) 

X  Suntne  casti  ?  reddidit :  Quatenus  humana 
imbecillita8  permittit — (Ibid.  i.  III.  21.) 


where  condemns  illicit  intercourse,  while 
it  every  where  sanctions  marriage."  Here 
follow  a  great  number  of  citations  from 
Scripture. — "It  is  for  this  reason  we  en- 
treat you,  by  the  love  of  Christ,  by  the 
liberty  he  has  obtained  for  us,  by  the  dis- 
tress of  weak  and  unstable  souls,  by  the 
wounds  of  so  many  ulcerated  consciences, 
— by  every  motive,  divine  and  human, 
to  consent  that  what  has  been  enacted  in 
presumption,  may  be  annulled  in  wis- 
dom ;  lest  the  noble  fabric  of  the  Church 
crumble  into  dust  with  frightful  crash, 
spreading  ruin  far  and  wide.*  Look 
around  you.  Behold  how  many  storms 
threaten  society.  If  prudence  does  not 
come  to  our  rescue,  the  fate  of  the  clergy 
is  decided." 

The  petition  addressed  to  the  Confed- 
eration was  at  greater  length,  f  "  Wor- 
thy Sirs !"  thus  spoke  the  allies  of  Ein- 
sidlen :  "  We  are  all  Swiss,  and  acknowl- 
edge you  as  our  fathers.  Some  among 
us  have  given  proof  of  our  fidelity  in  the 
field  of  battle,  in  pestilence,  and  other 
calamities.  It  is  in  the  name  of  chastity 
that  we  address  you.  Which  of  you 
does  not  know  that  we  should  better 
consult  the  lust  of  the  flesh  by  declining 
to  subject  ourselves  to  the  conditions  of 
lawful  wedlock.  But  it  is  indispensable 
to  put  an  end  to  the  scandals  which  in- 
flict the  Church  of  Christ.  If  the  tyranny 
of  the  Roman  Pontiff  should  persist  in 
oppressing  us,  —  O!  noble  heroes,  fear 
nothing  !  The  authority  of  God's  word, 
the  rights  of  Christian  liberty,  and  the 
sovereign  power  of  grace,  will  encompass 
and  protect  xxs.%  We  are  of  one  land 
and  of  one  faith  ;  we  are  Swiss  ;  and  the 
"virtue  of  our  race  has  ever  displayed  its 
power  in  unflinching  defence  of  all  who 
are  unjustly  oppressed." 

Thus  did  Zwingle  and  his  friends 
boldly  uplift  the  standard  of  the  truth 
and  freedom  in  Einsidlen  itself,  that  an- 
cient bulwark  of  superstition,  which  even 
in  our  days  is  still  one  of  the  most  noted 
sanctuaries  of  Roman  observances.   They 

*  Ne  quando  moles  ista  non  ex  patris  coelestis 
sententia  constructa,  cum  fragore  longe  pernici- 
osiore  corruat. — (Zw.  Opp.  iii.  24.) 

t  Arnica  et  pia  paranesis  ad  commuuem  Hel- 
vetiorum  civitatem  scripta,  ne  evangelicae  doctri- 
nal cursum  impediant,  &c. — (Ibid.  i.  39.) 

t  Divini  enim  verbi  aucloritatem,  libertatis 
christianae  et  divinse  gratis  praesidium  nobis 
adesse  conspicietis. — (Ibid.  63.) 


THE   SWISS*— 1484— 1522. 


377 


appealed  to  the  chiefs  of  the  State  and  of 
the  Church.  Like  Luther,  they  publicly 
placarded  their  theses  :  —  but  it  was  at 
the  doors  of  the  episcopal  palace  and  of 
the  council  of  the  nation.  The  friends 
at  Einsidlen  Separated ;  calm,  joyous, 
and  full  of  confidence  in  that  God  to 
whom  they  had  committed  their  cause : 


But  it  was  in  the  convents  that  indig- 
nation was  at  its  height.  Even-  meet- 
ing held  therein  for  discussion  or  amuse- 
ment witnessed  some  new  attack.  One 
day.  on  occasion  of  a  grand  festivity  in 
the  convent  of  Fraubrunn,  the  wine 
mounting  to  the  heads  of  the  guests, 
they  begun  to  break  out  in  bitter  speeches 


and  passing,  some  by  the  way  of  the  against  the  Gospel.*  That  which  chiefly 
field  of  battle  of  Morgarten.  others  over  ( irritated  these  friars  and  pr;  - 
the  chain  of  the  Albis,  and  the  rest  by  j  evangelic  doctrine,  that  in  the  Christian 
other  valleys  or  mountain  paths,  they  re-  Church  there  can  properly  be  no  priest- 
turned  each  one  to  his  post.  ••  Truly  ly  caste  raised  above  o'ther  believers, 
there  was  something  sublime  for  those  !  Among  the  guests,  there  was  but  one 
times,"  says  Henry  Bullinger,*  -  that  |  who  was  a  favourer  of  the  Reformation, 
these  men  should  have  thus  dared  to  step  |  and  he  was  a  layman  named  Macrin, 
forward,  and  taking  their  stand  around  I  schoolmaster  of  Soleure.  At  first  he 
the  Gospel  expose  themselves  to  even*  took  no  pan  in  the  discourse,  but  changed 
kind  of  danger.  But  God  has  preserved  his  sea:  from  one  table  to  another.  At 
them  ail,  so  that  no  evil  has  happened  length,  unable  to  endure  the  shouts  of 
unto  them,  for  God  ever  protects  those  the  guests,  he  arose  and  said  aloud, — 
who  are  his.::  And  in  truth  there  was  "Well:  all  true  Christians  are  priests 
a  sublimity-  in  this  proceeding.  It  was  a  and  sacrificers.  according  to  that  word  of 
decisive  step  in  the  progress  of  the  Ref-  St  Peter:  (1  Pet.  ii.  9.  Rev.  i.  6.)  ye 
ormation,  one  of  the  most  brilliant  days  !  are  kings  and  pries:;  At  this  speech 
of  the  religious  regeneration  of  Switzer-  the  Dean  of  BurgdorrT.  one  of  the  loud- 
land.  A  holy  bond  was  compacted  at  est  in  company,  a  huge  man  of  powerful 
Einsidlen.  Humble  and  brave  men  had  lungs  and  sonorous  voice,  burst  into  a 
taken  •  the  sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  i  loud  laugh,  and  mingling  jest  with  in- 
the  word  of  God. and  the  shield  of  faith.1  salt, —  •  So  men,"  said  he.  -you  Greek- 
The  gauntlet  had  been  thrown  down, —  lings  and  accidence-mongers  are  the 
and  the  challenge  siren,  not  by  one  man  royal  priesthood  ?  .  . .  Noble  sacrificers  !f 
only, — but  by  men  of  different  cantons. —  beggar  kings! ...  priests  without  pre- 
prepared  to  peril  their  fives  on  the  issue,  j  bends  or  livings  P1  And  all  with  one 
The  battle  was  evidently  approaching.  I  accord  turned  against  the  presumptuous 
Every  thing  betokened  that  it  would  be  !  layman. 

vigorously  contes:ed.  As  early  as  the  j  It  was  however  at  Lucerne  that  the 
7th  of  July,  the  magistrate  of  Zurich,  bold  measure  of  the  men  at  Einsidlen 
willing  to  do  the  Romanists  a  pleasure,  ""as  to  produce  the  greatest  sensation, 
summoned  before  him  Conrad  Grebe!  I  The  Diet  had  met  in  that  town,  and 
and  Ciaus  Hottinger,  two  intemperate  from  all  sides  came  complaints  against 
men,  who  seemed  desirous  to  overpass  the  over-zealous  preachers  who  obstructed 
the  limit  of  a  prudent  reformation.  -  We  the  regular  sale  of  Swiss  blood  to  foreign 
prohibit  you.::  said  the  burgomaster ,  nations.  On  the  22nd  July,  1522,  as 
Roust, "from  speaking  against  the  monks.  Oswald  Myconius  sat  at  dinner  in  his 
or  on  the  points  in~  controversy. "?  At ;  house  in  company  with  the  Canon  Kilch- 
that  moment  a  loud  clap  was  heard  in   mever.  and  several  favourers  of  th 


the  room,  says  an  old  chronicle.  The 
work  of  God  was  so  manifest  in  events, 
that  men  saw  in  everything  the  sign  of 
His  intervention.  Every  one  in  aston- 
ishment looked  round  the  apartment 
without  being  able  to  discover  the  cause 
of  the  mysterious  sound,  f 

*  Es  wass  zwahren  gross  zu  denen  Zyten  .  .  . 
—{Bullinger,  MSC 

t  Da  liess  die  Stube  einen  grcssen  Knall. — 
(Fusslin  Bevtr.  iv.  39.) 

43 


pel.  a  young  lad.  sent  by  Zwingle,  came 
to  the  door.t  He  was  the  bearer  of  the 
two  famous  petitions  of   Einsidlen,  to- 

*  Cum  invalescente  Baccho,  disputationes.  imo 
verius  junjia  ...  —  Zw.  Epp.  230.) 

+  Estote  ergo  Grseculi  ac  Donatistffi  regale  sa- 
cerdotium  .  .  .  — Zw.  Epp.  230.  Donati&te, 
from  Donatus.  the  author  of  the  Latin  Grammar 
then  in  use  in  the  schools. 

:  Venit  puer.  qnem  misjsti,  inter  prandendum 
.  .  .— Jbid.  209.) 


378 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


gether  with  a  letter  from  Zwingle,  in 
which  he  desired  Oswald  to  circulate 
them  in  Lucerne.  "  My  advice  is," 
added  the  Reformer,  "  that  it  should  he 
done  quietly  and  gradually,  rather  than 
all  at  once,  for  we  need  to  learn  to  give 
up  everything, — even  our  wives, — for 
Christ's  sake." 

The  critical  moment  for  Lucerne  was 
approaching ; — the  homb  had  fallen ;  the 
shell  was  about  to  burst.  The  friends 
read  the  petitions,  "  May  God  bless  this 
beginning  !"*  exclaimed  Oswald,  raising 
his  eyes  to  heaven.  He  then  added : 
"  This  prayer  should  from  this  moment 
be  the  constant  burthen  of  our  hearts." 
The  petitions  were  forthwith  circulated, 
— perhaps  more  actively  than  Zwingle 
desired.  But  the  momemt  was  without 
example.  Eleven  men,  the  elite  of  the 
clergy,  had  placed  themselves  in  the 
breach ; — it  was  requisite  to  enlighten 
men's  minds,  to  decide  the  wavering  and 
carry  with  them  the  co-operation  of  the 
most  influential  members  of  the  Diet. 

Oswald,  in  the  midst  of  his  exertions, 
did  not  forget  his  friend.  The  young 
messenger  had  told  of  the  attacks  that 
Zwingle  had  to  endure  from  the  monks 
of  Zurich.  "  The  words  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  are  invincible,"  wrote  Myconius 
in  reply,  the  same  day.  "  Armed  with 
the  shield  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  you 
have  overcome,  not  in  one  conflict  only, 
or  in  two,  but  in  three ;  and  now  a 
fourth  is  commencing.  Hold  fast  those 
mighty  weapons,  whose  edge  is  harder 
than  a  diamond.  Christ  needs  for  the 
defence  of  those  who  are  his,  nothing 
but  his  word.  Your  conflicts  communi- 
cate unconquerable  courage  to  all  who 
have  devoted  themselves  to  Jesus  Christ."! 

The  two  petitions  did  not  produce  the 
effect  expected  from  them  in  Lucerne. 
Some  men  of  piety  approved  them, — but 
they  were  few  in  number.  Many,  fear- 
ing to  compromise  themselves,  would 
neither  commend  nor  blame  them.| 
Others  said,  "  These  people  will  make 
nothing  of  it."  The  priests  murmured 
against  them,  and  the  populace  broke 
forth  in  open  hostility.     The  passion  for 

*  Deus  coepta  fortunet ! — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  209.) 
t  Is  permaneas,  qui  es,  in  Christo  Jesu  ...  — ■ 

(Ibid.  210.) 

X  Boni  qui  pauci  sunt,  eommendant  libellos  ves- 

tros ;  alii  non  laudant  nee  vituperant. — (Ibid.) 


military  adventure  had  again  shewn  it- 
self in  Lucerne,  after  the  bloody  defeat 
of  Bicocca,  and  nothing  but  war  was 
thought  of*  Oswald,  who  attentively 
watched  these  varying  impressions,  felt 
his  resolution  fail.  The  reign  of  Gospel 
light  in  Lucerne  and  Switzerland,  which 
his  hopes  had  dwelt  upon  with  joy, 
seemed  to  vanish.  "  Our  countrymen 
are  blind  as  to  heavenly  things,"  said  he, 
fetching  a  deep  sigh  ;  "  there  is  nothing 
to  be  hoped  from  the  Swiss  for  the  glory 
of  Christ."! 

In  the  Council  and  at  the  Diet,  exas- 
peration was  at  its  height.  The  Pope, 
France,  England,  the  Empire,  were  all 
in  motion  round  Switzerland,  since  the 
defeat  of  Bicocca,  and  the  retreat  gf  the 
French  under  command  of  Lautrec  from 
Lombardy.  Was  it  because  the  political 
interests  of  the  moment  were  not  suffi- 
ciently complicated  that  these  eleven 
men  must  bring  forward  their  petitions, 
thereby  adding  controversies  of  religion? 
The  deputies  of  Zurich  alone  inclined  to 
favour  the  Gospel.  The  canon  Xyloc- 
tect,  trembling  for  the  safety  of  himself 
and  his  wife, — for  he  had  married  into 
one  of  the  chief  families  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood,— had  with  tears  declined  the 
invitation  to  Einsidlen  to  sign  the  ad- 
dress. The  canon  Kilchmeyer  had 
evinced  more  courage,  and  ere  long  he 
had  need  of  it. — "  Sentence  is  impending 
over  me,"  he  wrote  on  the  13th  of  August 
to  Zwingle.  "  I  await  it  with  firmness.  ." 
As  he  was  writing,  the  officer  of  the 
Council  entered  his  apartment,  and  de- 
livered him  a  summons  to  appear  on  the 
following  morning. \  "If  I  am  cast  into 
prison,"  said  he,  continuing  his  letter,  "  I 
claim  your  help ;  but  it  will  be  easier  to 
transport  a  rock  from  our  Alps,  than  to 
move  me  as  much  as  a  hand's  breadth 
from  the  word  of  Jesus  Christ."  Regard 
to  his  family,  and  the  resolution  that  had 
been  come  to,  that  the  storm  should  be 
directed  against  Oswald, — saved  the  can- 
on ! 

Berthold  Haller  had  not  signed  the 
petitions,   perhaps  because  he  was  not 

*  Belli  furor  occupat  omnia. — (Zw.  Epp.  p. 
210.) 

t  Nihil  ob  id  apud  Helvetios  agendnm  de  iis 
rebus  quae  Christi  gloriam  possunt  augere. — (Ibid.) 

t  Tu  vero  audi.  Hasc  dum  scriberem,  irruit 
praeco,  a  Senatoribus  missus  . . .  — (Ibid.  213.) 


THE   SWISS.— 1484— 1522. 


379 


Swiss  by  birth.  But,  without  flinching, 
he,  as  Zwingle  had  done,  expounded  the 
Gospel  of  St.  Matthew.  A  great  crowd 
thronged  the  cathedral  church  of  Berne. 
The  word  of  God  wrought  more  mightily 
than  Manuel's  dramas  had  done  on  the 
people.  Haller  was  summoned  to  the 
town-hall. — the  people  escorted  him  thi- 
ther, and  continued  collected  in  the  great 
square.  Opinions  were  divided  in  the 
Council.  "  It  is  a  matter  that  concerns 
the  bishops,"  said  the  most  influential 
persons ;  "  we  must  hand  over  the  preach- 
er to  my  Lord  Bishop  of  Lausanne." 
Haller' s  friends  were  alarmed  at  these 
words,  and  sent  him  word  to  retire  with 
all  possible  despatch.  The  people  ga- 
thered round  and  bore  him  company, 
and  a  considerable  number  of  burghers 
remained  in  arms  in  front  of  his  dwelling, 
ready  to  form  a  rampart  for  their  humble 
pastor,  with  their  bodies.  The  Bishop 
and  Council  drew  back  at  the  aspect  of 
this  bold  demonstration,  and  Haller  was 
saved !  But  he  was  not  the  only  cham- 
pion of  truth  at  Berne.  Sebastian  Meyer 
refuted  the  Bishop  of  Constance's  pastor- 
al letter,  and  more  especially  the  charge 
that  the  disciples  of  the  Gospel  taught  a 
new  doctrine,  and  that  the  ancient  only 
is  the  true.  "  To  have  gone  wrong  for 
a  thousand  years,"  said  he,  "  cannot 
make  us  right  for  a  single  hour :  other- 
wise it  would  have  been  the  duty  of  the 
heathen  to  continue  in  their  religion. 
And  if  the  most  ancient  doctrines  are  to 
be  preferred,  then  fifteen  hundred  years 
are  more  than  five  centuries, — and  the 
Gospel  is  more  ancient  than  the  decrees 
of  the  Popes."* 

At  this  time  the  magistrates  of  Friburg 
intercepted  certain  letters  addressed  to 
Haller  and  Meyer,  by  a  canon  of  Fri- 
burg, named  John  Hollard,  a  native  of 
Orbe.  They  proceeded  to  throw  him 
into  prison,  stripped  him  of  his  appoint- 
ment, and  finally  banished  him.  One 
John  Vannius,  a  chorister  of  the  cathe- 
dral, shortly  after  declared  himself  in 
favour  of  the  Gospel ;  for  in  this  war  as 
soon  as.  one  soldier  falls,  another  steps 
forward  to  occupy  his  place  in  the  ranks. 
«  How  is  it  possible,"  asked  "Vannius, 
"that  the  muddy  water  of  the  Tiber 
should  flow  side  by  side  with  the  pure 
stream  that  Luther  has  drawn  from  St. 
*  Simml.  Samml.  vi. 


Paul's  source  ?"  But  the  chorister  also 
had  his  mouth  shut.  ", Among  -all  the 
Swiss,"  said  Myconius,  writing  to  Zwin- 
gle, "  there  are  hardly  any  more  averse 
from  sound  doctrine  than  the  people  of 
Friburg."* 

There  was  nevertheless  one  c.wption, 
namely  Lucerne,  —  and  Myconius  ex- 
perienced this.  He  had  not  signed  the 
celebrated'  petitions  ;  but  if  not  ha,  his 
friends  did  so  ; — and  a  victim  was  re- 
quired. The  ancient  literature  of  Greece 
and  Rome,  thanks  to  his  efforts,  was  be- 
ginning to  shine  upon  Lucerne  ; — from 
various  quarters,  people  resorted  thither 
to  hear  the  learned  professor;  and  the 
peacefully  disposed  listened  with  delight 
to  softer  sounds  than  those  of  halberds, 
swords,  and  cuirasses,  which  previous  to 
this  time  had  been  the  only  sounds  in 
that  warlike  city.  Oswald  had  sacrificed 
every  thing  for  his  country  ;  he  had  quit- 
ted Zurich  and  Zwingle  ;  he  had  injured 
his  health  ;  his  wife  was  infirm,!  and  his 
son  of  tender  years  ; — if  Lucerne  should 
reject  him,  no  where  could  he  hope  for 
an  asylum !  But  these  considerations 
had  no  power  over  the  merciless  spirit  of 
party, — and  the  things  that  should  have 
moved  them  to  compassion,  inflamed  their 
anger.  Hurtenstein,  burgomaster  of  Lu- 
cerne, an  old  and  brave  soldier,  who  had 
acquired  distinction  in  the  wars  of  Suabia 
and  Burgundy,  urged  the  Council  to  dis- 
miss the  schoolmaster  from  his  post, — and 
wished,  together  with  the  master,  to  ex- 
pel his  Greek  and  Latin,  and  his  preach- 
ing, from  the  canton.  He  succeeded. 
On  leaving  the  Council,  in  which  it  had 
been  decided  to  dismiss  Myconius,  Hur- 
tenstein encountered  Berguer,  the  deputy 
of  Zurich : — "  We  send  you  back  your 
schoolmaster,"  said  he,  ironically ;  "  get 
ready  a  comfortable  lodging  for  him." 
"  We  will  not  let  him  lie  in  the  streets,":}: 
instantly 'replied  the  courageous  deputy. 
But  Berguer  promised  more  than  he 
could  perform. 

The  words  dropped  by  the  burgomas- 
ter were  too  true,  and  they  were  soon 
confirmed  to  the  distressed  Myconius. 
He  is  deprived  of  his  occupation, — ban- 

*  Hoc  audio  vix  alios  esse  per  Helvetiam,  qui 
pejus  veliut  sanee  doctrinae. — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  226.) 

t  Conjux  infirma.— (Ibid.  192.) 

X  Veniat !  efficiemus  enira  ne  dormiendum  sit 
ei  sub  dio.— (Ibid.  216.) 


380 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


ished, — and  the  only  crime  laid  to  his 
charge  is  that  he  is  a  disciple  of  Luther.* 
He  turns  his  eyes  on  the  right  hand  and 
on  the  left,  and  no  where  does  he' discern 
shelter.  He  beholds  himself  and  his 
wife  and  child,  —  weak  and  ailing,  — 
driven  from  their  home, — and  all  around 
him,  his  country  rocked  by  a  violent 
tempest  that  is  rending  and  destroying 
whatever  ventures  to  stand  against  it, — 
u  Here,"  said  he  to  Zwingle,  "  is  your 
poor  Myconius  discharged  by  the  Coun- 
cil of  Lucerne. f  Where  shall  I  go  1  .  .  . 
I  know  not  ....  Assailed  as  you  your- 
self are,  how  can  you  shelter  me  ?  .  .  .  . 
I  look,  therefore,  in  my  tribulation  to 
God,  as  my  only  hope.  Ever  abound- 
ing, ever  merciful,  he  suffers  none  who 
make  their  prayer  to  Him  to  go  empty 
away. — May  he  supply  my  wants  !" 

So  spake  Oswald.  —  He  waited  not 
long  before  a  word  of  consolation  came 
to  him.  There  was  one  man  in  Swit- 
zerland who  had  been  schooled  in  trials 
of  faith.  Zwingle  hastened  to  raise  and 
cheer  his  friend.  "  So  rude  are  the  blows 
by  which  the  enemy  would  level  God's 
house,"  said  Zwingle,  "  and  so  repeated 
the  assaults,  that  it  is  no  longer  the  rains 
descending,  and  the  wind  blowing,  ac- 
cording to  the  Lord's  prediction,  (Matt, 
vii.  27.)  but  hail  and  thunder-storm. |  If 
I  did  not  discern  the  Lord  keeping  the 
vessel,  I  should  long  since  have  let  go 
the  helm  ; — but  I  see  him  in  the  height 
of  the  tempest,  strengthening  the  cordage, 
shifting  the  yards,  spreading  the  sails, 
nay  more,  commanding  the  very  winds. 
Would  it  not  then  be  the  action  of  a  faint 
heart,  and  unworthy  of  a  man,  were  I  to 
abandon  my  post  and  seek  in  flight  a 
death  of  shame  1  I  commit  myself  en- 
tirely to  his  sovereign  goodness.  Let 
him  govern  all,  —  let  him  remove  im- 
pediments,—  let  him  appear  or  delay, 
hasten  or  stay,  —  rend,  swallow  up,  or 
plunge  us  to  the  bottom  of  the  deep ;  we 
will  not  fear.§  We  are  vessels  that  be- 
long to  Him.  He  can  make  us  to  hon- 
our  or   to   dishonour,  according  to  his 

*  Nil  exprobarunt  nisi  quod  sim  Lutheramis. 
— (Zw.  Epp.  p.  216.) 

t  Expellitur  ecce  miser  Myconius  a  Senatu 
Lucemano. — (Ibid.  215.) 

X  Nee  ventos  esse,  nee  imbres,  sed  grandines 
et  fulmina.— (Ibid.  217.) 

§  Regat,  vehat,  festinet,  maneat,  acceleret, 
moretur,  mergat. — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  217.) 


pleasure !"  After  these  breathings  of 
lively  faith,  Zwingle  continued  : — "  My 
advice  to  you  is  to  present  yourself  before 
the  Council,  and  there  pronounce  a  speech 
worthy  of  Christ,  and  of  yourself — that  is 
to  say,  suited  to  melt  and  not  to  irritate 
the  hearers.  Deny  that  you  are  a  Lu- 
theran, but  profess  yourself  a  disciple  of 
Jesus  Christ.  Let  your  pupils  accom- 
pany you,  and  speak  for  you; — and  if 
this  does  not  prevail,  come  to  your  friend, 
come  to  Zwingle,  and  look  upon  our  city 
as  your  own  hearth." 

Oswald,  emboldened  by  these  words, 
followed  the  noble  counsel  of  the  Re- 
former ;  but  all  his  efforts  were  fruitless. 
The  witness  for  truth  was  doomed  to  quit 
his  country,  and  they  of  Lucerne  were  so 
active  in  decrying  him,  that  every  where 
the  magistrates  opposed  the  offering  him 
an  asylum  :  "  Nothing  remains  for  me," 
said  the  confessor  of  Jesus  Christ,  heart- 
broken at  the  aspect  of  so  much  enmity, 
"  but  to  beg  the  support  of  my  miserable 
existence  from  door  to  door."*  The  day 
soon  arrived  when  the  friend  of  Zwingle, 
and  his  most  effective  fellow-labourer,  the 
first  among  the  Swiss  who  united  the  of- 
fice of  instructor  in  learning  with  the 
love  of  the  Gospel,  the  Reformer  of  Lu- 
cerne, and  afterwards  one  of  the  chiefs 
of  the  Helvetic  church,  was  compelled 
with  his  feeble  partner,  and  infant  child, 
to  leave  that  ungrateful  city  where,  out 
of  all  his  family,  only  one  of  his  sisters 
had  received  the  love  of  the  Gospel.  He 
passed  its  ancient  bridge.  He  caught 
sight  of  those  mountains  which  seemed 
to  rise  from  the  bosom  of  lake  Waldstet- 
ten  to  the  clouds.  The  canons  Xyloctect 
and  Kilchmeyer,  the  only  friends  the 
Reformation  could  as  yet  number  among 
his  countrymen,  followed  close  behind 
him.  And  in  the  moment  when  this 
poor  man,  in  company  with  the  helpless 
sufferers  dependent  upon  him  for  support, 
turned  towards  the  lake,  and,  shedding 
tears  for  his  infatuated  country,  bade 
adieu  to  the  sublime  natural  grandeur 
of  his  birth-place, — the  Gospel  itself  de- 
parted from  Lucerne,  and  there  Rome 
reigns  unto  this  day. 

The  Diet  itself,  then  sitting  at  Baden, 
stimulated  by  the  severity  resorted  to 
against  Myconius, — irritated  by  the  peti- 
tions from  Einsidlen,  which,  being  print- 

*  Osteatim  quaerere  quod  edam. — (Ibid.  245.) 


THE   SWISS— 1484— 1522. 


381 


ed  and  circulated,  produced  every  where 
a  strong  sensation, — and  persuaded  by 
the  bishop  of  Constance,  who  urged  them 
to  strike  a  final  blow  at  their  innovators, 
had  recourse  to  persecution,  enjoined  the 
authorities  of  the  baillages  to  "  give  in- 
formation against  all,  whether  priests  or 
laymen,  who  should  impugn  the  estab- 
lished faith,"  and  in  blind  haste  proceed- 
ed to  arrest  the  preacher  who  happened 
to  be  nearest,  namely,  Urban  Weiss,  pas- 
tor of  Fislispach  (who  had  before  this 
been  released  on  bail)  and  sent  him  to 
Constance,  to  the  Bishop,  who  kept  him 
a  long  while  in  confinement.  "  In  this 
manner,"  says  Bullinger's  Chronicle, 
"began  the  confederate  states'  persecu- 
tion of  the  Gospel,  and  all  this  happened 
at  the  instigation  of  the  clergy,  who  in 
all  ages  have  dragged  Jesus  Christ  be- 
fore the  judgment  seats  of  Herod  and 
Pilate."* 

Zvvingle  was  not  destined  to  escape 
trial, — and  he  was  at  this  time  wounded 
in  the  tenderest  point.  A  rumour  of  his 
doctrine  and  his  struggles  had  passed  the 
Santis,  penetrated  the  Tockenburg,  and 
reached  the  heights  of  Wildhaus.  The 
family  of  herdsmen  'from  which  he 
sprang,  were  deeply  moved  by  what 
they  heard.  Of  Zwingle's  five  brothers 
some  had  not  ceased  to  follow  their 
mountain  occupations  ;  while  others,  to 
the  great  grief  of  their  brother,  had  at 
times  taken  up  arms,  left  their  flocks, 
and  served  foreign  princes.  All  were 
in  consternation  at  the  reports  brought  to 
their  chalets.  In  imagination  they  be- 
held their  brother  seized,  dragged  before 
his  bishop  at  Constance,  and  a  pile  of 
faggots  lighted  for  his  destruction,  on  the 
spot  where  John  Huss  had  perished. 
The  high-spirited  shepherds  could  ill 
brook  the  thought  of  being  called  the 
brothers  of  a  heretic.  They  wrote  to 
Ulric,  communicating  their  distress  and 
alarm  :  Zwingle  answered  them.  "  As 
long  as  God  shall  enable  me,  I  will  per- 
form the  task  that  he  has  assigned  me, 
without  fearing  the  world  and  its  proud 
tyrants.  I  know  all  that  may  befal  me. 
There  is  no  danger,  no  evil,  that  I  have 
not  long  and  carefully  considered.  My 
strength  is  weakness  itself,  and  I  know 

*  Uss  anstifften  der  geistlichen,  Die  zu  alien 
Zyten,  Christum  Pilate  und  Herodi  viirstellen. 
— (MSC.) 


the  power  of  my  enemies ;  but  I  like- 
wise   know   that   I    can  do   all    things 
through   Christ  that  strengthcneth  me. 
Were  I  to  hold  my  peace,  another  would 
be  raised  up  and  constrained  to  do  what 
God  is  doing  by  my  means, — while  I 
should  be  judged  by  God!     O,  my  dear 
brethren,  banish  far  from  your  thoughts 
all  these  apprehensions.     If  I  have  a  fear 
it  is  that  1  have  been  more  gentle  and 
tractable  than  suits  the  times  we  live  in.* 
'  What  shame,'  say  you,  '  will  fall  upon 
all  our  family,  if  you  are  burnt  or  in  any 
other  way  putfto  death  ?'  \    O,  my  beloved 
brethren,  the    Gospel  derives  from  the 
blood  of  Christ  this  wondrous  property, 
that  the  fiercest  persecutions,  far  from  ar- 
resting its  progress,  do  but  hasten  its  tri- 
umph !     They  alone  are  faithful  soldiers 
of  Christ  who  are  not  afraid  to  bear  in 
their  own  bodies  the    wounds  of  their 
Master.     All  my  efforts  have  no  other 
end  than  to  make  known  to  men  the 
treasures  of  blessedness  that  Christ  has 
purchased  for  us ;  that  all  men  may  turn 
to  the  Father,  through  the  death  of  his 
Son.     If  this  doctrine  should  offend  you, 
your  anger  cannot  stop  my  testimony. 
You  are  my  brothers,  yes,  my  own  bro- 
thers, sons  of  my  father,  who  have  hung 
on  the  same  breasts  .  .  .  but  if  you  were 
not  my  brethren  in  Christ,  and  in  the 
work  of  faith,  then  would  my  grief  be  so 
overpowering  that  nothing  would  exceed 
it.     Farewell.     I  will  never  cease  to  be 
your  attached  brother,  if  you  will  not 
cease  to  be  the  brethren  of  Jesus  Christ." % 
The  confederated  Swiss  seemed  to  rise 
as  one  man  against  the  Gospel.     The 
petitions  from  Einsidlen  had  been  the 
signal  of  that  movement.     Zwingle,  af- 
fected at  the  fate  of  his  beloved  Myco- 
nius,  saw,  in  his  misfortunes,  but  the  be- 
ginning  of  sorrows.      Enemies   within 
and    without    the  city,  —  a   man's  foes, 
'  those  of  his  own  house,' — furious  oppo- 
sition from  monks  and  priests, —  strong 
measures  of  repression  by  the  Diet  and 
Councils,  —  riotous,  perhaps  murderous 
assaults,  from   partisans  of  the   foreign 

*  Plus  enim  metuo  ne  forte  lenior  mitiorque 
fuerim. — (De  semper  casta  Virgine  Maria,  Zw. 
Opp.  i.  104.)         , 

t  Si  vel  ignis  vel  alio  quodam  supplicii  genere 
tollaris  e  medio. — (Ibid.) 

I  Frater  vester  germanus  nunquam  desinam, 
si  modo  vos  fratres  Christi  esse  perrexeritis. — (Zw. 
Opp.  i.  107.) 


J82 


HISTORY   OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


service,  —  the  upper  valleys  of  Switzer- 
land, the  cradle  of  the  Confederation, 
pouring  forth  phalanxes  of  invincible  sol- 
diers, to  reinstate  Rome,  and  quench  the 
nascent  revival  of  faith  at  the  risk  of 
their  lives  !  Such  was  the  prospect  the 
prophetic  mind  of  the  Reformer  beheld 
with  trembling.  And  what  a  prospect ! 
was  indeed  this  revival  to  be  crushed  in 
its  very  beginning  ?  Then  it  was  that 
Zwingle,  anxious  and  troubled  in  mind, 
spread  before  his  God  the  deep  anguish 
of  his  soul.  "O  Jesus,"  he  exclaimed, 
"thou  seest  how  the  wicked  and  the  blas- 
phemer stun  thy  people's  ears  with  their 
clamours.*  Thou  knowest  how  from 
my  youth  up  I  have  abhorred  controver- 
sy, and  yet,  against  my  will,  thou  hast 
never  ceased  to  impel  me  to  the  conflict. 


*  Vides  enim,  piissime  Jesu,  aures  eorum  sep- 
ias esse  nequissimis  susurronibus,  sycophantis,  lu- 
crionibus  .  . . — (Ibid.  iii.  74.) 


Therefore,  do  I  call  upon  Thoe  with  con 
fidence  to  finish  what  thou  hast  begum! 
If  in  anything  I  have  builded  unwisely, 
let  thy  hand  of  power  cast  it  down.  If 
I  have  laid  any  other  foundation  beside 
Thee,  let  thy  mighty  arm  overturn  it.* 
O  thou  vine  full  of  all  sweetness  to  whom 
the  Father  is  the  husbandman, — and  we 
are  branches,  abandon  not  thy  suckers,  t 
Hast  thou  not  promised  to  be  with  us 
unto  the  end  of  the  world  !" 

It  was  on  the  22nd  of  August,  1522, 
that  Ulric  Zwingle,  the  Swiss  Reformer, 
beholding  the  thunder-cloud  descending 
from  the  mountains  on  the  frail  bark  of 
the  Faith,  thus  poured  forth  to  God  the 
troubles  and  desires  of  his  soul. 

*  Si  fundamentum  aliud  prater  te  jecero,  de- 
moliaris  ! — (Ibid.  74.) 

t  O  suavissima  vitis,  cujus  vinitor  Pater,  pal- 
mites  vere  nos'sumus :  sationem  tuam  ne  dese- 


BOOK    IX. 


LUTHER  LEAVES   THE   WARTBURG. 


Aspect  of  the  Church— Effects  of  Luther's  Teaching— Wisdom  of  God— Agitation  of  the  People- 
Luther  and  Melancthon— Tidings  of  Luther's  Safety— The  Imperial  Edict  Powerless— The. 
"  Knight  George"— A  Safe  Solitude— Luther's  Sickness— Alarm  of  his  Friends— The  Confes- 
sional—Luther's Health—  Feldkirchen's  Marriage— Marriage  of  Priests— And  of  Friars— Monk- 
ery—Luther  on  Monastic  Vows— Dedication  to  His  Father— Sale  of  Indulgences  Resumed— 
Luther's  Letter  to  Spalatin— Luther  to  the  Cardinal  Elector— Effect  of  the  Reformer's  Letter- 
Albert  to  Luther— Joachim  of  Brandenburg—"  The  Last  shall  be  First"— Luther's  Fitness  for 
the  Work— Of  Translating  the  Scriptures— Luther  and  Satan— Luther  Quits  the  Wartburg— - The 
Sorbonne— Luther's  Visit  to  Wittemburg— Progress  of  the  Reformation— The  Monk  Gabriel- 
Interference  of  the  Elector— Frederic's  Caution— Attack  on  Monkery— Thirteen  Monks  Quit 
the  Convent— The  Cordeliers  Threatened— Decision  of  Monastic  Vows— Carlstadt's  Zeal — Tho 
Lord's  Supper— Town  Council  of  Wittemburg— Errors  of  Popery— Fanatics  of  Zwickau— The 
New  Prophet— Nicolas  Hussman— Melancthon  and  Stubner— Melancthon's  Perplexity— Carl- 
stadt's Zeal— Contempt  of  Learning— Occupations  of  the  Elector— Luther's  Dejection— His  Test 
of  Inspiration — Edict  of  the  Diet— Luther  Leaves  the  Wartburg— Primitive  Church— Two  Swiss 
Students— A  Strange  Knight— Supper  at  the  Inn— Luther  on  His  Journey— Letter  to  the  Elec- 
tor—Reception at  Wittemburg— Meditation— Luther  Preaches— Faith  and  Love — God's  Way — 
Luther  on  the  Lord's  Supper— Effect  of  Luther's  Sermons — Luther's  Moderation  and  Courage— 
Stubner  and  Cellarius— Order  Restored— Scripture  and  Faith— The  Visionary  Pen— Publica- 
tion of  the  New  Testament— Effects  of  Luther's  Translation— The  "  Loci  Communes"— Origi- 
nal Sin— Free  Will— Knowledge  of  Christ— Effect  of  Melancthon's  Tract— Henry  VIII  — 
Catherine  of  Arragon— Bishop  Fisher  and  Sir  Thomas  More— Cardinal  Wolsey— Henry  VIII. 
Writes  against  Luther— Royal  Theology— The  King's  Vanity— Luther's  Indignation— His  Re- 
ply to  Henry  VIII.— Literary  Courtesy— More's  Attack  upon  Luther— Henry's  Attachment  to 
More— Henry's  Letter— Spread  of  the"  Reformation— The  Augustine  Monks— The  Franciscans 


LUTHER  LEAVES   THE   WARTBURG. 


383 


— The  People  and  the  Priests — The  New  Preachers — Power  of  the  Scriptures — Religion  and 
Literature — The  Press — Spread  of  Luther's  Writings — Luther  at  Zwickau — Duke  Henry — 
Ihach  expelled — Diffusion  of  the  Light — University  of  Wittemhurg — Principles  of  the  Reforma- 
tion— Transition  State  of  the  Church. 


It  was  now  fouryears  since  the  Church 
had  heard  again  proclaimed  a  Truth 
which  had  formed  part  of  her  earliest 
teaching.  The  mighty  word  of  a  Sal- 
vation by  Grace, — once  '  fully  preached' 
throughout  Asia,  Greece,  and  -^taly  by 
Paul  and  his  companions,  and  discovered 
many  ages  after,  in  the  pages  of  the  Bi- 
ble, by  a  monk  of  Wittemberg, — had  re- 
sounded from  the  plains  of  Saxony,  as  far 
as  Italy,  France,  and  England ;  and  the 
lofty  mountains  of  Switzerland  had  echoed 
its  inspiring  accents.  The  springs  of 
truth,  liberty,  and  life  were  again  opened: 
multitudes  had  drunk  gladly  of  the  wa- 
ters ;  but  those  who  had  freely  partaken 
of  them  had  retained  the  same  external 
appearance,  and  while  all  within  was 
new,  every  thing  without  remained  un- 
changed. 

The  constitution  of  the  Church,  its 
ritual,  and  its  discipline  had  undergone 
no  alteration.  In  Saxony — even  at  Wit- 
temberg— and  wherever  the  new  opin- 
'  ions  had  spread,  the  papal  ceremonies 
held  on  their  accustomed  course ;  the 
priest  before  the  altar  offering  the  host 
to  God  was  believed  to  effect  a  mysteri- 
ous transubstantiation ;  friars  and  nuns 
continued  to  present  themselves  at  the 
convents  to  take  upon  them  the  monastic 
vows;  pastors  lived  single  ;  religious  bro- 
therhoods herded  together ;  pilgrimages 
were  undertaken  ;  the  faithful'  suspend- 
ed their  votive  offerings  on  the  pillars  of 
the  chapels ;  and  all  the  accustomed 
ceremonies,  down  to  the  minutest  ob- 
servances, were  celebrated  as  before.  A 
voice  had  been  heard  in  the  world,  but 
as  yet  it  was  not  embodied  forth  in  action. 
The  language  of  the  priest  accordingly 
presented  the  most  striking  contrast  with 
his  ministrations.  From  his  pulpit  he 
might  be  heard  to  thunder  against  the 
mass  as  idolatrous,  and  then  he  might 
be  seen  to  come  down  to  the  altar,  and 
go  scrupulously  through  the  prescribed 
form  of  the  service.  On  every  side,  the 
recently  recovered  Gospel  sounded  in  the 
midst  of  the  ancient  rites.  The  officia- 
ting priest  himself  was  unconscious  of 
his  inconsistency,  and  the  populace,  who 
listened  with  avidity  to   the   bold   dis- 


courses of  the  new  preachers,  continued 
devoutly  observant  of  their  long-estab- 
lished customs,  as  though  they  were 
never  to  abandon  them.  All  things  con- 
tinued unchanged  at  the  domestic  hearth, 
and  in  the  social  circle,  as  in  the  house 
of  God.  A  new  faith  was  abroad,  but 
new  works  were  not  yet  seen.  The 
vernal  sun  had  risen,  but  winter  still 
bound  the  earth  ;  neither  flower,  nor  leaf, 
nor  any  sign  of  vegetation  was  visible. 
But  this  aspect  of  things  was  deceptive  j 
a  vigorous  sap  was  secretly  circulating 
beneath  the  surface,  and  was  about  to 
change  the  face  of  the  world. 

To  this  wisely-ordered  progress,  the 
Reformation  may  be  indebted  for  its  tri- 
umphs. Every  revolution  should  bo 
wrought  out  in  men's  minds  before  it 
takes  the  shape  of  action.  The  contrast 
we  have  remarked  did  not  at  first  fix 
Luther's  attention.  He  seemed  to  ex- 
pect that  while  men' received  his  writings 
with  enthusiasm,  they  should  continue 
devout  observers  of  the  corruptions  those 
writings  exposed.  One  might  be  tempt- 
ed to  believe  that  he  had  planned  his 
course  beforehand,  and  was  resolved  to 
change  the  opinions  of  men  before  he 
ventured  to  remodel  their  forms  of  wor- 
ship. But  this  would  be  ascribing  to 
Luther  a  wisdom,  the  honour  of  which 
is  due  to  a  higher  Intelligence.  He  was 
the  appointed  instrument  for  a  purpose 
he  had  no  power  to  conceive.  At  a  later 
period  he  could  discern  and  comprehend 
these  things,  but  he  did  not  devise  or  ar- 
range them.  God  led  the  way;  the  part, 
assigned  to  Luther  was  to  follow. 

If  Luther  had  begun  by  external  ref- 
ormation— if  he  had  followed  up  his 
words  by  an  attempt  to  abolish  monastic 
vows,  the  mass,  confession,  the  prescribed 
form  of  worship, — assuredly  he  would 
have  encountered  the  most  formidable 
resistance.  Mankind  need  time  to  ac- 
commodate themselves  to  great  changes 
But  Luther  was  not  the  imprudent  and 
daring  innovator  that  some  historians* 
have  depicted.  The  people,  seeing  no 
change  in  their  daily  devotions,  followed 
undoubtingly  their  new  leader — wonder- 
*  Hume,  &c. 


584 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


ing  at  the  assaults  directed  against  a 
man  who  left  unquestioned  their  mass, 
their  beads,  and  their  confessor ;  and  dis- 
posed to  ascribe  such  enmity  to  the  petty- 
jealousy  of  secret  rivals,  or  to  the  hard 
injustice  of  powerful  enemies.  And  yet 
the  opinions  that  Luther  put  forth,  fer- 
mented in  the  minas  of  men,  moulded 
their  thoughts,  and  so  undermined  the 
strong  hold  of  prejudice  that  it,  ere  long, 
fell  without  being  attacked.  Such  influ- 
ence is,  indeed,  gradual.  Opinions  make 
their  silent  progress,  like  the  waters 
which  trickle  behind  our  rocks,  and 
loosen  them  from  the  mountains  on  which 
they  rest :  suddenly  the  hidden  operation 
is  revealed,  and  a  single  day  suffices  to 
lay  bare  the  work  of  years,  if  not  of  cen- 
turies. 

A  new  era  had  dawned  upon  the  Ref- 
ormation :  already  truth  was  recovered 
in  its  teaching  ;  henceforward  the  teach- 
ing of  the  truth  is  to  work  truth  in  the 
Church  and  in  society.  The  agitation 
was  too  great  to  allow  of  men's  minds 
remaining  at  their  then  point  of  attain- 
ment ;  on  the  general  faith  in  the  dogmas 
so  extensively  undermined,  customs  had 
been  established  which  now  began  to  be 
disregarded,  and  were  destined,  with 
them,  to  pass  away. 

There  was  a  courage  and  vitality  in 
that  age,  which  prevented  its  continuing 
silent  in  presence  of  proved  error.  The 
sacraments,  public  worship,  the  hierarchy, 
vows,  constitutional  forms,  domestic  and 
public  life,  all  were  on  the  eve  of  under- 
going modification.  The  bark,  slowly 
and  laboriously  constructed,  was  on  the 
point  of  being  lowered  from  the  stocks, 
and  launched  on  the  open  sea.  It  is  for 
us  to  follow  its  progress  through  many 
shoals. 

The  captivity  of  Luther  in  the  castle 
of  Wartburg,  separates  these  two  periods. 
That  Divine  Providence  which  was 
about  to  give  a  mighty  impulse  to  the 
Reformation,  had  prepared  the  means  of 
its  progress,  by  leading  apart  into  pro- 
found seclusion,  the  man  chosen  to  effect 
it.  For  a  while,  the  work  was  as  much 
lost  sight  of  as  the  instrument  of  it :  but 
the  seed  must  be  committed  to  the  earth, 
if  it  is  to  bring  forth  fruit ;  and  from  this 
captivity,  which  might  have  seemed  to 
close  the  Reformer's  career,  the  Reforma- 


tion was  destined  to  go  forth  to  new  con- 
quests, and  spread  rapidly  through  the 
world. 

Until  this  period,  the  Reformation  had 
indeed  centered  in  the  person  of  Luther. 
His  appearance  before  the  Diet  of 
Worms  was  unquestionably  the  subli- 
mest  hour  of  his  life.  His  character  at 
that  time  seemed  almost  without  a  blem- 
ish ;  and  this  it  is  that  has  led  some  to 
the  remark,  that  if  God,  who  hid  the  Re- 
former for  ten  months  within  the  walls 
of  the  Wartburg,  had  at  that  moment 
for  ever  removed  him  from  the  eyes  of 
men,  his  end  would  have  resembled  an 
apotheosis.  But  God  designs  no  apothe- 
osis for  His  servants, — and  Luther  was 
preserved  to  the  Church,  that  in  him, 
and  by  his  errors,  the  Church  might 
learn  that  the  faith  of  Christians  should 
rest  only  on  the  word  of  God.  He  was 
hurried  away  and  placed  at  a  distance 
from  the  stage  on  which  the  great  revo- 
lution  of  the  sixteenth  century  was  going 
on.  The  truth  which  he  had  for  four 
years  so  energetically  proclaimed,  con- 
tinued to  produce  its  effect  upon  Chris- 
tendom ;  and  the  work  of  which  he  had 
been  the  weak  instrument,  bore  thence- 
forward the  impress,  not  of  man — but  of 
God  himself. 

All  Germany  was  moved  by  the  news 
of  Luther's  captivity.  Rumours,  the  most 
contradictory,  were  circulated  in  the  pro- 
vinces. Men's  minds  were  more  agitated 
by  the  absence  of  the  Reformer,  than 
they  could  possibly  have  been  by  his  pre- 
sence. On  one  side,  it  was  affirmed  that 
some  of  his  friends,  passing  from  the 
French  territory,  had  carried  him  off, 
and  lodged  him  in  safety  beyond  the 
Rhine.*  In  another  place,  it  was  said 
that  assassins  had  taken  his  life.  Even 
in  the  smallest  villages,  inquiries  were 
heard  concerning  Luther.  Travellers 
were  questioned,  and  groups  of  the  cu- 
rious assembled  in  the  market-places. 
Sometimes  a  stranger,  passing  through, 
recounted  how  the  Reformer  had  been 
carried  off;  depicting  the  brutal  horse- 
men hastily  tieing  their  prisoner's  hands 
behind  him,  dragging  him  after  them  on 
foot,  till  his  strength  was  spent,  and  deaf 
to  his  cries,  though  the  blood  forced  its 

*  Hie  ....  invalescit  opinio,  me  esse  ab  ami- 
cis  captum  e  Francia  missis. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  5.) 


LUTHER   LEAVES   THE   WARTBURG. 


385 


way  from  his  fingers.*  His  body,  said 
some,  has  been  seen  pierced  through 
and  through.f  Such  narratives  drew 
forth  exclamations  of  grief  and  horror. 
'  Never  more  shall  we  behold  him !' 
said  the  gathered  crowds  ;  '  never  again 
shall  we  hear  that  bold  man  whose  voice 
stirred  the  depths  of  our  hearts  !'  Luther'* 
partisans,  moved  with  indignation,  swore 
to  avenge  his  death.  AVomen  and 
children,  men  of  peace,  and  aged  people, 
foreboded  new  disturbances.  The  alarm 
of  the  Romish  party  was  altogether  un- 
exampled. The  priests  and  friars  who 
had  been  at  first  unable  to  conceal  their 
joy,  believing  their  own  triumph  se- 
cured by  the  death  of  one  man,  and  had 
carried  themselves  haughtily,  would  now 
willingly  have  hid  themselves  from  the 
threatening  anger  of  the  populace.^ 
Those  who  had  g^ven  free  vent  to  their 
rage,  so  long  as  Luther  was  at  large, 
now  trembled  with  alarm,  though  Luther 
was  in  captivity.  $  Aleander,  especially, 
was  as  if  thunderstruck.  "  The  only 
way  of  extricating  ourselves,"  wrote  a 
Roman  Catholic  to  the  Archbishop  of 
Mentz,  "  is  to  light  our  torches,  and  go 
searching  through  the  earth  for  Luther, 
till  we  can  restore  him  to  the  nation  that 
will  have  him."||  It  might  have  been 
thought  that  the  pallid  ghost  of  the  Re- 
former, dragging  his  chain,  was  spread- 
,  ing  terror  around,  and  calling  for  venge- 
ance. Luther's  death,  it  was  predicted, 
would  occasion  the  effusion  of  torrents  of 
human  blood. T 

Nowhere  was  there  a  stronger  feeling 
displayed  than  in  Worms  itself.  Bold 
remonstrances  were  heard  both  from  no- 
bles and  people.  Ulric  Hutten  and  Her- 
mann Busch  filled  the  air  with  their 
plaintive  lamentations  and  calls  to  war. 
Loud  accusations  were  brought  against 

*  Et  iter  festinantes  cursii  equites  ipsum  pe- 
destrem  raptim  tractum  fuisse  ut  sanguis  e  digitis 
erumperet. —  (Cochlanis,  p.  39.) 

t  Fuit  qui  testatus  sit,  visum  a  se  Lntheri  ca- 
daver transfossum.  .  .  . — (Pallaviciai  Hist.  Cone. 
Trid.  i.  p.  122.) 

t  Molem  vulgi  imminentis  ferre  non  possunt. 
— (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  13.) 

\  Qui  me  libero  insanierunt,  nunc  me  captivo 
ita  formidant  ut  incipiant  mitigare. — (Ibid.) 

||  Nos  vitam  vix  redempturos,  nisi  accensis 
candelis  undique  eum  requiramus. — (L.  Epp.  ii. 
p.  13.) 

V  Gerbelii  Ep.  in  M.  S.  C.  Heckelianis.    Lind- 
ner, Leb.  Luth.  p.  244. 
49 


Charles  V.  and  the  Nuncios.  The  en- 
tire  nation  had  espoused  the  cause  of  the 
monk  whose  energy  of  faith  had  made 
him  its  leader. 

At  Wittemborg,  his  colleagues  and 
friends,  and  especially  Melancthon,  were 
at  first  lost  in  sadness.  Luther  had  been  the 
means  of  communicating  to  the  youno- stud- 
ent the  treasures  of  that  divine  knowledge 
which  from  that  hour  had  taken  posses- 
sion of  his  whole  soul.  It  was  Luther 
who  had  given  substance  and  life  to  that 
intellectual  culture  which  Melancthon 
brought  with  him  to  Wittemberg.  The 
depth  of  the  Reformer's  doctrine  had  im- 
pressed the  young  Grecian,  and  his  bold 
advocacy  of  the  claims  of  the  unchang- 
ing Word  against  human  traditions  had 
called  forth  his  enthusiasm.  He  had  as- 
sociated himself  with  him  in  his  labours, 
and  taking  up  the  pen,  with  that  finished 
style  which  he  had  imbibed  in  the  study 
of  ancient  literature,  he  had  made  the 
authority  of  Fathers  and  of  Councils  to 
bend  before  the  sovereignty  of  God's 
Word. 

The  prompt  decision  that  Luther  dis- 
played in  the  trying  occasions  of  life, 
Melancthon  manifested  in  his  pursuit  of 
learning.  Never  were  two  men  more 
strongly  marked  with  diversity  and 
agreement.  "  Scripture,"  said  Melanc- 
thon, "satisfies  the  soul  with  holy  and 
wondrous  delight — it  is  a  heavenly  am- 
brosia !"*  "  The  word  of  God,"  exclaimed 
Luther,  "  is  a  sword — an  instrument  of 
war  and  destruction, — it  falls  on  the 
children  of  Ephraim  like  the  lioness  that 
darts  from  the  forest."  Thus  one  saw  in 
Scripture  chiefly  its  power  to  comfort ; — 
and  the  other,  a  mighty  energy  opposed 
to  the  corruption  of  the  world.  But  to 
both  it  was  the  sublimest  of  themes.  In 
so  far,  there  was  a  perfect  agreement  in 
their  judgment.  "Melancthon,"  observed 
Luther,  "  is  a  miracle  in  the  estimation 
of  all  who  know  him.  He  is  the  most 
dreaded  enemy  of  Satan  and  the  school- 
men, for  he  knows  all  their  foolishness, 
and  he  knows  Christ  as  the  rock.  That 
young  Grecian  goes  beyond  me  even  in 
divine  learning, — he  will  do  you  more 
good  than  many  Luthers!"  And  he 
went  on  to  say  he  -was  ready  to  give  up 
an  opinion  if  Philip  disapproved  it.   Me- 

*  Mirabilis  in  iis  voluptas,  imino  ambrosia  quaB- 
dam  coelestis. — (Corp.  Ref.  i.  128. 


386 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


lancthon,  on  his  part,  full  of  admiration 
for  Luther's  knowledge  of  Scripture, 
ranked  him  far  above  the  Fathers.  He 
took  pleasure  in  excusing  the  jesting 
which  Luther  was  reproached  for  resort- 
ing to,  and  would,  on  such  occasions, 
compare  him  to  an  earthen  vase  which 
holds  a  precious  treasure  in  an  unsightly 
vessel.  "  I  would  be  careful  how  I 
blame  him,"  said  he.* 

But  behold  the  two  friends  so  inti- 
mately united  in  affection,  now  parted 
one  from  the  other.  The  two  fellow- 
soldiers  no  longer  march  side  by  side  to 
the  rescue  of  the  Church.  Luther  is  ab- 
sent,— and  lost  perhaps  for  ever  !  The 
consternation  at  Wittemberg  was  ex- 
treme : — as  that  of  an  army,  gloomy  and 
dejected,  at  sight  of  the  bleeding  corpse 
of  the  general  who  was  leading  it  on  to 
victory. 

Suddenly  news  arrived  of  a  more  cheer- 
ing character.  "  Our  well-beloved  father 
still  lives,"!  exclaimed  Philip,  exultingly, 
"  take  courage  and  stand  firm."  But  ere 
long  melancholy  prognostications  return- 
ed. Luther  was  indeed  living,  but  in 
close  imprisonment.  The  edict  of 
Worms,  with  its  menacing  proscrip- 
tions,^: was  circulated  by  thousands 
throughout  the  empire,  and  even  in  the 
Tyrolese  mountains. §  Was  not  the  Ref- 
ormation on  the  very  eve  of  destruction 
by  the  iron  hand  impending  over  it? 
The  gentle  spirit  of  Melancthon  recoiled 
with  a  thrill  of  horror. 

But  above  the  hand  of  man's  power,  a 
mightier  hand  was  making  itself  felt,  and 
God  was  rendering  powerless  that  dread- 
ed edict.  The  German  princes,  who  had 
long  sought  occasion  to  reduce  the  au- 
thority which  Rome  exercised  in  the 
empire,  took  alarm  at  the  alliance  be- 
tween the  Emperor  and  the  Pope,  lest  it 
should  work  the  ruin  of  their  liberty. 
Whilst,  therefore,  Charles,  in  journeying 
in  the  Low  Countries,  might  see  with  a 
smile  of  irony  the  bonfires  in  which  flat- 
terers and  fanatics  consumed  the  writings 
of  Luther  in  the  public  squares, — those 
writings  were  read   in   Germany  with 

*  Spiritum  Martini  nolim  temere  in  hac  causa 
Interpellare. — (Ibid.  p.  211.) 

t  Pater  noster  charissimus  vivit. — (Ibid.  p.  389.) 

t  Dicitur  parari  proscriptio  horrenda. — (Corp. 
Ref.  i.  p.  389.) 

§  Dicuntur  signatas  chart®  proscriptionis  bis 
mille  misses  quoque  ad  Insbruck. — (Ibid.) 


continually  increasing  eagerness,  and 
numerous  pamphlets  in  favour  of  the 
Reformation  every  day  attacked  the  pa- 
pal authority. 

The  Nuncios  could  not  control  them- 
selves when  they  found  that  the  edict, 
which  it  had  cost  them  so  much  to  ob- 
tain, produced  so  feeble  an  effect.  u  The 
ink  of  the  signature,"  said  they,  "  has 
scarcely  had  time  to  dry,  when,  behold, 
on  all  sides,  the  imperial  decree  is  torn 
to  pieces."  The  populace  were  more 
and  more  won  to  the  cause  of  the  ex- 
traordinary man  who,  without  heeding 
the  thunderbolts  of  Charles  and  of  the 
Pepe,  had  made  confession  of  his  faith 
with  the  courage  of  a  martyr.  It  was 
said,  •"  Has  he  not  offered  to  retract  if 
refuted,  and  no  one  has  had  the  hardi- 
hood to  undertake  to  refute  him.  Does 
not  that  show  that  he  has  spoken  the 
truth?"  Thus  it  was  that  the  first  emo- 
tions of  fear  were  followed  at  Wittemberg 
and  throughout  the  empire  by  a  move- 
ment of  enthusiasm.  Even  the  arch- 
bishep  of  Mentz,  beholding  the  bujst  of 
national  sympathy,  durst  not  give  per- 
mission to  the  Cordeliers  to  preach  agai  nst 
the  Reformer.  The  University,  which 
might  have  been  expected  to  yield  to  the 
storm,  raised  its  head.  The  new  doc- 
trines had  taken  too  deep  root  to  suffer 
by  Luther's  absence,  and  the  halls  of  the 
academies  were  crowded  with  auditors.* 

Meanwhile,  the  Knight  George,  for 
this  was  the  name  of  Luther,  so  long  as 
he  was  in  the  Wartburg,  was  living  sol- 
itary and  unknown.  "  If  you  were  to 
see  me,"  wrote  he  to  Melancthon,  "  truly 
you  would  take  me  for  a  knight ;  even 
you  would  scarcely  know  me  again."! 
Luther,  on  his  arrival,  passed  a  short 
time  in  repose,  enjoying  a  leisure  which 
had  not  yet  been  allowed  him.  He  was 
at  large  within  the  fortress ;  but  he  was 
not  permitted  to  pass  outside  \X.%  All 
his  wishes  were  complied  with,  and  he 
had  never  been  better  treated. §  Many 
were  the  thoughts  that  occupied  his  mind, 

*  Scholastici  quorum  supra  millia  ibi  tunc  fue- 
runt. — (Spalatini  Annates,  1521,  October.) 

t  Equitem  videres  ac  ipse  vix  agnosceres.— 
(L.  Epp.  ii.  11.) 

X  Nunc  sum  hie  otiosus,  sicut  inter  captivos  li- 
ber.—(Ibid,  p.  3,  12  May.) 

§  Quanquam  et  hilariter  et  libenter  omnia  mi- 
ni mimstret. — (Ibid.  p.  13,  15  August.) 


LUTHER   LEAVES   THE   WARTBURG. 


387 


but  none  of  them  had  power  to  disturb 
him.  By  turns  he  looked  down  upon 
the  forests  that  surrounded  him,  and 
raised  his  eyes  to  heaven — "  Strange  cap- 
tivity I"  he  exclaimed, — "  a  prisoner  by 
consent,  and  yet  against  my  will."* 
"  Pray  for  me,"  he  wrote  to  Spalatin  : — 
"I  want  nothing  save  your  prayers  :  don't 
disturb  me  by  what  is  said  or  thought  of 
me  in  the  world.  At  last  I  am  quiet."f 
This  letter,  like  many  of  that  period,  is 
dated  from  the  island  of  Patmos.  Luther 
compared  the  Wart  burg  to  the  island 
celebrated  as  the  scene  of  the  banishment 
of  St.  John  by  the  emperor  Domitian. 

After  the  stirring  contests  that  had 
agitated  his  soul,  the  Reformer  onjoyed 
repose  in  the  heart  of  the  gloomy  forests 
ofThuringen.  There  he  studied  evan- 
gelic, truth, — not  for  disputation,  but  as 
the  means  of  regeneration  and  of  life. 
The  Reformation,  in  its  beginning,  was 
of  necessity  polemic  ;  —  other  circum- 
stances required  new  labours.  After 
eradicating  with  the  hoe  the  thorns  and 
brambles,  the  time  was  arrived  for  peace- 
ably sowing  the  word  of  God  in  men's 
hearts.  If  Luther  had  been  all  his  life 
called  to  wage  conflicts, — he  would  not 
have  effected  a  lasting  work  in  the 
Church.  By  his  captivity  he  escaped  a 
danger  which  might  have  ruined  the 
cause  of  the  Reformation, — that  of  al- 
ways attacking  and  demolishing,  without 
ever  defending  or  building  up. 

This  secluded  retreat  had  one  effect, 
perhaps  still  more  beneficial.  Lifted  by 
his  nation,  like  one  raised  upon  a  shield, 
he  was  but  a  hand's  breadth  from  the 
abyss  beyond,  and  the  least  degree  of  in- 
toxication might  have  precipitated  him 
headlong.  Some  of  the  foremost  pro- 
moters of  the  Reformation  in  Germany, 
as  well  as  in  Switzerland,  had  made  ship- 
wreck on  the  shoals  of  spiritual  pride  and 
fanaticism.  Luther  was  a  man  very 
subject  to  the  weaknesses  of  our  nature ; 
and,  as  it  was,  he  did  not  entirely  escape 
these  besetting  dangers.  Meanwhile, 
the  hand  of  the  Almighty,  for  a  while, 
preserved  him  from  them,  by  suddenly 
removing  him  from  the  intoxication  of 

*  Ego  mirabilis  captivus  qui  et  volens  et  nolens 
hie  sedeo. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  4,  12  May.) 

t  Tu  fac  ut  pro  me  ores:  hac  una  re  opus 
mihi  est.  Quicquid  de  me  fit  in  publico,  nihil 
moRror ;  ego  in  quiete  tandem  sedeo. — (L.  Epp. 
ii.  p.  4,  10  June,  1521.) 


success,  and  plunging  him  in  the  depth 
of  a  retirement  unknown  to  the  world! 
There  his  soul  gathered  up  itself  to  God 
—there  it  was  again  tempered  by  adver- 
sity:— his   sufferings,    his  humiliation, 
[  obliged  him  to  walk,  at  least  for  a  time, 
|  with  the  humble;  —  and  the  principles 
j  of  the  christian  life   thenceforward  de- 
veloped themselves  in  his  soul  with  fresh 
energy  and  freedom. 

|  Luther's  tranquillity  was  not  of  long 
duration.  Seated  in  solitude  on  the  walls 
of  the  Wartburg,  he  passed  whole  days 
lost  in  meditation.  At  times,  the  Church 
rose  before  his  vision,  and  spread  out  all 
her  wretchedness  :*  at  other  times,  lifting 
his  eyes  to  heaven,  he  would  say,  "  Canst 
Thou  have  made  all  men  in  vain?" 
Then  letting  go  his  confidence,  he  would 
add,  dejectedly,  "Alas!  there  is  no  one 
in  this  closing  day  of  wrath  to  stand  as 
a  wall  before  the  Lord,  and  save  Israel !" 

Then  recurring  to  his  own  lot,  he 
dreaded  being  charged  with  having  de- 
serted the  field  of  battle  ;f  the  thought 
was  insupportable.  "  Rather,"  exclaimed 
he,  "would  I  be  stretched  on  burning 
coals  than  stagnate  here  half  dead. "% 
Transported  in  thought  to  Worms — to 
Wittemberg — into  the  midst  of  his  ad- 
versaries— he  regretted  that,  yielding  to 
his  friends'  entreaties,  he  had  withdrawn 
himself  from  the  world.  §  "  Ah."  said 
he,  "  nothing  on  earth  do  I  more'  desire 
than  to  face  my  cruel  enemies."|| 

Some  gentler  thoughts,  however, 
brought  a  truce  to  such  complainings. 
Luther's  state  of  mind  was  not  all  tem- 
pest;  his  agitated  spirit  recovered  at 
times  a  degree  of  calm  and  comfort. 
Next  to  the  assurance  of  the  Divine  pro- 
tection, one  thing  consoled  him  in  his 
grief- — it  was  the  recollection  of  Melanc- 
thon.  u  If  I  perish,"  he  wrote,  "  the 
Gospel  will  loose  nothing!! — you  will 
succeed  me  as  Elisha  succeeded  Elijah, 

*  Ego  hie  sedens  tota  die  faciem  Ecclesia?  ante 
me  constituo. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  1.) 

t  Verebar  ego  ne  aciein  deserere  viderer. — 
(L.  Epp.  ii.  1.) 

t  Mallem  iuter  carbones  vivos  ardere,  quam 
solus  semivivus,  atque  utinam  non  mortuus  pu- 
tere.— (Ibid.  10.) 

§  Cervicem  esse  objectandam  publico  furori. — 
(Ibid.  69.) 

||  Nihil  magis  opto,  quam  furoribus  adversario- 
rum  occurrere,  objecto  jugulo. — (Ibid.  1.) 

If  Etiam  si  peream,  nihil  peribit  Evangelio. — 
(Ibid.  p.  10.) 


388 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


with  a  double  portion  of  my  spirit."  But 
calling-  to  mind  the  .timidity  of  Melanc- 
thon,  he  ejaculated — "  Minister  of  the 
Word !  keep  the  walls  and  towers  of 
Jerusalem  till  our  enemies  shall  strike 
you  down.  We  stand  alone  on  the  plain 
of  battle ;  after  me  they  will  strike  you 
down."* 

This  thought  of  the  final  onset  of 
Rome  on  the  infant  Church,  threw  him 
into  renewed  anxieties.  The  poor  monk, 
— a  prisoner  and  alone,  —  had  many  a 
struggle  to  pass  through  in  his  solitude  ; 
but  suddenly  he  seemed  to  get  a  glimpse 
of  his  deliverance.  He  thought  he  could 
foresee  that  the  assaults  of  the  papal  power 
would  rouse  the  nations  of  Germany ; 
and  that  the  soldiers  of  the  Gospel,  vic- 
torious over  its  enemies,  and  gathered 
under  the  walls  of  the  Wartburg,  would 
give  liberty  to  its  captive.  "  If  the  Pope," 
said  he,  "  should  stretch  forth  his  hand 
against  all  who  are  on  my  side,  there 
will  be  a  violent  commotion ;  the  more 
he  urges  on  our  ruin,  the  sooner  shall  we 
see  an  end  of  him  and  his  adherents ! 
and  as  for  me  ....  I  shall  be  restored  to 
your  arms.f  God  is  awakening  many, 
and  He  it  is  who  impels  the  nations. 
Only  let  our  enemies  take  up  our  affair 
and  try  to  stifle  it  in  their  arms, — and  it 
will  grow  by  their  pressure,  and  come 
forth  more  formidable  than  ever  !" 

But  sickness  brought  him  down  from 
these  lofty  heights  to  which  his  courage 
and  faith  would  at  times  rise.  He  had 
already,  when  at  Worms,  suffered  much ; 
and  his  disorder  had  increased  in  soli- 
tude. \  The  food  of  the  Wartburg  was 
altogether  unsuited  to  him  ;  it  was  rather 
less  ordinary  in  quality  than  that  of  his 
convent,  and  it  was  found  needful  to  give 
him  the  poor  diet  to  which  he  had  been 
accustomed.  He  passed  whole  nights 
without  sleep, — anxieties  of  mind  were 
added  to  pain  of  body.  No  great  work 
is  accomplished  without  struggle  and  suf- 
fering. Luther,  alone  on  his  rock,  en- 
dured in  his  vigorous  frame  a  suffering 
that  was  needed,  in  order  to  the  eman- 
cipation of  mankind.  "  Sitting,  at  night, 
in  my  apartment,"  says  he,  "I  uttered 

*  Nos  soli  adhuc  stamus  in  acie  :  te  querent 
post  mc. — (Ibid.  p.  2.) 

t  Quo  citus  id  tentaverit,  hoc  citius  et  ipse  et 
8ui  peribunt,  et  ego  revertar. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  10.) 

X  Auctum  est  malum,  quo  Wormatis  labora- 
bam.— (Ibid.  p.  17.) 


cries  like  a  woman  in  travail."*  Then, 
ceasing  to  complain,  and  touched  with 
the  thought  that  what  he  was  undergo- 
ing was  sent  in  mercy  from  God,  he 
broke  forth  in  accents  of  love  :  "  Thanks 
to  Thee,  O  Christ,  that  thou  wilt  not 
leave  me  without  the  precious  relics  of 
thy  holy  cross  !"f  But  soon,  feeling  in- 
dignation against  himself  wrought  in  his 
soul,  he  exclaimed,  "Hardened  fool  that 
I  am  ;  woe  is  me  !  my  prayers  are  few  ; 
I  wrestle  but  little  with  the  Lord ;  I  be- 
wail not  the  state  of  the  Church  of  God  :| 
instead  of  being  fervent  in  spirit,  my  pas- 
sions take  fire :  I  sink  in  sloth,  in  sleep, 
and  indolence."  Then,  not  knowing  to 
what  to  ascribe  his  feelings,  and  accus- 
tomed to  expect  blessing  through  the  af- 
fectionate remembrance  of  his  friends,  he 
exclaimed,  in  the  bitterness  of  his  soul, 
"  O,  my  friends,  do  you  then  forget  to 
pray  for  me?  that  God  can  thus  leave 
me  to  myself." 

Those  who  were  about  him,  as  also 
his  Wittemberg  friends,  and  those  at  the 
Elector's  court,  were  anxious  and  alarmed 
at  his  mental  suffering.  They  trembled 
!  in  the  prospect  of  the  life  that  had  been 
j  snatched  from  the  fires  of  the  Pope,  and 
|  the  sword  of  Charles,  so  sadly  sinking 
and  expiring.  The  Wartburg  then 
would  be  Luther's  tomb  !  "  I  fear,"  said 
Melancthon,  "  lest  his  grief  for  the  condi- 
tion of  the  Church  should  bring  him 
down  to  the  grave.  He  has  lighted  a 
candle  in  Israel ;  if  he  dies,  what  hope  is 
left  us  1  Would  that  by  the  sacrifice  of 
my  worthless  life,  I  could  retain  in  this 
world  one  who  is  surely  its  brightest  or- 
nament.^ O,  what  a  man!"  he  Re- 
claimed, (as  if  already  standing  beside 
his  grave,)  "  surely  we  never  valued  him 
as  we  ought." 

What  Luther  termed  the  shameful  in- 
dolence of  his  prison-life,  was  in  reality, 
diligence  beyond  the  strength  of  ordi- 
nary mortals.  "  Here  am  I,"  said  he,  on 
the  14th  of  May,  "lapped  in  indolence 
and  pleasures.  [He  doubtless  refers  to 
the  quality   of  his  food,  which  was  at 

*  Sedco  dolens,  sicut  puerpera,  lacer  et  saucius 
et  cruentus. — (Ibid,  p  50,  9  Sept.) 

t  Gratias  Christo,  qui  me  sine  reliquiis  sanctae 
Crucis  non  dere  linquit. — (Ibid.) 

I  Nihil  gemens  pro  ecciesia  Dei. — (L.  Epp.  ii. 
p.  22,  13  July.) 

§  Utinam  hac  vili  anima  mea  ipsius  vitam 
emere  queam. — (Corp.  Ref.  i.  415,  6  July.) 


LUTHER  LEAVES   THE   WARTBURG. 


389 


first  less  coarse  than  what  he  had  been 
used  to.]  I  am  going  through  the  Bible 
in  Hebrew  and  Greek.  I  mean  to  write 
a  discourse  in  German  touching  auricu- 
lar confession  ;  also  to  continue  the  trans- 
lation of  the  Psalms,  and  to  compose  a 
collection  of  sermons,  as  soon  as  I  have 
received  what  I  want  from  Wittemberg. 
My  pen  is  never  idle."*  Even  this  was 
but  a  part  of  Luther's  labours. 

His  enemies  thought  that,  if  not  dead, 
at  least  he  was  effectually  silenced  ;  but 
their  exultation  was  short,  and,  ere  long, 
no  doubt  could  exist  that  he  still  lived. 
A  multitude  of  tracts,  composed  in  the 
Wartburg,  followed  each  other  in  rapid 
succession ;  and  everywhere  the  well- 
known  voice  of  the  Reformer  was  enthu- 
siastically responded  to.  Luther,  at  the 
same  moment,  put  forth  such  writings  as 
were  adapted  to  build  up  the  church, 
and  controversial  tracts  which  disturbed 
his  opponents  in  their  fancied  security. 
For  nearly  a  whole  year,  he,  by  turns, 
instructed,  exhorted,  rebuked,  and  thun- 
dered from  his  mountain  height,  and  his 
astonished  adversaries  might  well  enquire 
whether  indeed  there  was  not  something 
supernatural  in  so  prodigious  an  activi- 
ty— "  He  could  not  have  allowed  himself 
any  rest,"f  says  Cochlseus.  But  the  so- 
lution of  the  whole  mystery  was  to  be 
found  in  the  rashness  of  the  Romish 
party.  They  were  in  haste  to  profit  by 
the  decree  of  Worms,  to  put  an  end  to 
the  Reformation  ;  and  Luther,  sentenced 
— placed  under  the  ban  of  the  empire, — 
and  a  prisoner  in  the  Wartburg,  stood  up 
in  the  cause  of  sound  doctrine,  as  if  he 
were  still  at  large  and  triumphant.  It 
was  especially  at  the  tribunal  of  penance, 
that  the  priests  strove  to  rivet  the  fetters 
of  their  deluded  parishioners ; — hence  it 
is  the  Confessional  that  Luther  first  as- 
sails. "  They  allege,"  says  he,  "  that  pas- 
sage in  St.  James,  '  confess  your  sins  to 
one  another  ;'  a  strange  confessor  this — 
his  name  is  '  one  another !'  Whence  it 
would  follow  that  the  confessors  ought 
also  to  confess  to  their  penitents;  that 
every  Christian  should  in  his  turn  be 
pope,  bishop,  and  priest,   and  that  the 

*  Sine  intermissione  scribo. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  6  and 
16.) 

t  Cum  quiescere  non  posset. — (Cochlaeus,  Ac- 
ta Lutheri,  p.  39.) 


pope  himself  should  make  confession  be- 
fore all."* 

Scarcely  had  Luther  finished  this  tract, 
when  he  commenced  another.  A  divine 
of  Louvain,  named  Latomos,  already 
known  by  his  opposition  to  Reuchlin 
and  Erasmus,  had  impugned  the  Refor- 
mer's statements.  Twelve  days  after, 
Luther's  answer  was  ready,  and  it  is  one 
of  his  masterpieces.  He  first  defends 
himself  against  the  charge  of  want  of 
moderation.  "  The  moderation  of  this 
age,"  says  he,  "  consists  in  bending  the 
knee  before  sacrilegious  pontiffs  and  im- 
pious sophists,  and  saying,  '  Gracious 
Lord,  most  worthy  master.'  Then,  hav- 
ing so  done,  you  may  persecute  who 
you  will  to  the  death  ;  you  may  convulse 
the  world, — all  that,  shall  not  hinder  your 
being  a  man  of  moderation  !  Away  with 
such  moderation,  say  I.  Let  me  speak 
out,  and  delude  no  one.  The  shell  may 
be  rough,  perhaps,  but  the  nut  is  soft  and 
tender."!  • 

The  health  of  Luther  continued  to  de- 
cline ;  he  began  to  think  of  leaving  the 
Wartburg.  But  what  to  do  ;  to  appear 
in  open  day  at  the  risk  of  his  life  ?  In 
the  rear  of  the  mountain  on  which  the 
fortress  was  built,  the  country  was  inter- 
sected by  numerous  footpaths,  bordered 
by  tufts  of  wild  strawberries.  The  mas- 
sive gate  of  the  castle  was  unclosed,  and 
the  prisoner  ventured,  not  without  fear, 
to  gather  some  of  the  fruit.J  Gradually, 
he  became  more  venturesome,  and,  clothed 
in  his  knight's  disguise,  and  attended  by 
a  rough-mannered  but  faithful  guard 
from  the  castle,  he  extended  his  excur- 
sions in  the  neighbourhood.  One  day, 
stopping  to  rest  at  an  inn,  Luther  laid 
aside  his  sword,  which  encumbered  him, 
and  took  up  some  books  that  lay  near. 
His  natural  disposition  got  the  better  of 
his  prudence.  His  attendant  took  the 
alarm  lest  an  action  so  unusual  in  a  man 
of  arms,  should  excite  a  suspicion  that 
the  doctor  was  not  really  a  knight. 
Another   time,  the  two  companions  de- 

*  Und  der  Pabst  musse  ihm  beichten. — (L. 
Opp.  xvi.  p.  701.) 

t  Cortex  meuf  esse  potest  durior,  sed  nucleus 
meus  mollis  et  didcis  est. — (L.  Opp.  xvii.  Lat.  ii. 
p.  213.) 

t  Zu  zeiten  gehet  er  inn  die  Erdbeer  am 
Schlossberg. — (Mathesius,  p.  33.) 


390 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


scended  the  mountain,  and  entered  the 
convent  of  Reichardsbrunn,  in  which, 
but  a  few  months  before,  Luther  had 
rested  for  a  night,  on  his  way  to  Worms.* 
Suddenly  one  of  the  lay-brothers  uttered 
an  exclamation  of  surprise — Luther  had 
been  recognised.  His  keeper,  seeing 
how  the  matter  stood,  hurried  him  away, 
and  it  was  not  till  they  were  galloping 
far  from  the  cloisters,  that  the  monk  re- 
covered from  his  astonishment. 

The  life  of  the  Doctor  of  Wittemberg, 
in  his  assumed  character  of  knight,  had, 
indeed,  at  times,  a  something  about  it 
truly  theological.  One  day,  the  snares 
were  made  ready — the  fortress  gates 
thrown  open — the  sporting  dogs  let  loose. 
Luther  had  expressed  a  wish  to  partake 
of  the  pleasures  of  the  chase.  The 
huntsmen  were  in  high  spirits ;  the  dogs 
scoured  the  hills,  driving  the  hares 
from  the  brushwood ;  but  as  the  tumult 
swelled  around  him,  the  Knight  George, 

aotionless  in  the  midst  of  it,  felt  his  soul 
1  with  solemn  thoughts.  Looking 
round  him,  his  heart  heaved  with  sor- 
row.! "Is  it  not,"  said  he,  "the  very 
picture  of  the  Devil,  setting  his  dogs,  the 
bishops,  those  messengers  of  antichrist, 
and  sending  them  out  to  hunt  down  poor 
souls?"|  A  young  leveret  had  been 
snared :  rejoicing  to  liberate  it,  Luther 
wrapped  it  in  his  mantle,  and  deposited 
it  in  the  midst  of  a  thicket ;  but  scarcely 
had  he  left  the  spot,  when  the  dogs 
scented  it,  and  killed  it.  Drawn  to  the 
place  by  its  cry,  Luther  uttered  an  ex- 
clamation of  grief — "  O,  Pope!  and  thou, 
too,  O  Satan !  it  is  thus  that  ye  would 
compass  the  destruction  of  the  souls  that 
have  been  rescued  from  death  !"§ 

Whilst  the  Doctor  of  Wittemberg, 
dead  to  the  world,  was  seeking  to  recruit 
his  spirits  by  these  occupations  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Wartburg,  the  great  work 
was  progressing,  as  if  by  its  own  power. 
The  Reformation,  in  fact,  was  beginning 
to  take  effect.     It  was  no  longer  limited 

*  See  page  292. 

t  Theologisabar  etiam  ibi  inter  retia  et  canes 
.  .  .  tantum  misericordice  etdoloris  miscuit  myste- 
rium. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  43.) 

t  Quid  enim  ista  imago,  nisi  Diabolum  signifi- 
cat  per  insidias  suas  et  impios  magistros  canes 
suos  .  . — (Ibid.) 

§  Sic  sasvit  Papa  et  Satan  ut  servatas  etiam 
animas  perdat. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  44.) 


to  teaching ;  it  now  began  to  affect  and 
mould  the  life. 

Bernard  Feldkirchen,  the  pastor  of 
Kemberg,  and  the  first,  under  Luther's 
direction,  to  expose  the  errors  of  Rome,* 
was  also  the  first  to  throw  off  the  yoke 
of  her  institutions  : — he  married  ! 

There  is,  in  the  German  character,  a 
strong  love  of  family  and  domestic  enjoy- 
ments : — hence,  of  all  the  injunctions  of 
the  Papal  authority,  none  had  had  more 
lamentable  results  than  the  imposition  of 
celibacy.  Made  obligatory  on  the  heads 
of  the  clergy,  this  practice  had  prevented 
the  fiefs  of  the  church  from  passing  into 
hereditary  possessions.  But  extended  by 
Gregory  VII.  to  the  inferior  orders,  its 
effects  had  been  indeed  deplorable.  Many 
of  the  priests,  in  evading  the  obligation 
imposed  upon  them,  by  shameful  dis- 
orders, had  drawn  down  hatred  and  con- 
tempt on  their  profession ;  while  those 
who  had  submitted  to  Hildebrand's  law, 
were  indignant  that  the  Church,  which 
lavished  power,  riches,  and  earthly  pos- 
sessions on  its  higher  dignitaries,  should 
impose  on  its  humbler  ministers,  who 
were  ever  its  most  useful  supporters,  a 
denial  so  opposed  to  the  Gospel. 

"  Neither  the  Pope,  nor  the  Councils," 
said  Feldkirchen,  and  another  pastor, 
named  Seidler,  who  followed  his  exam- 
ple, "  can  have  a  right  to  impose  on  the 
Church  a  command  that  endangers  soul 
and  body.  The  obligation  1o  observe 
God's  law  compels  us  to  throw  aside  tra- 
ditions of  men."f  The  re-establishment 
of  marriage  was,  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
an  homage  paid  to  the  moral  law.  The 
ecclesiastical  power,  in  alarm,  instantly 
issued  its  mandates  against  the  two 
priests.  Seidler,  who  lived  in  the  terri- 
tory of  Duke  George,  was  given  up  to 
his  superiors,  and  died  in  prison.  But 
the  Elector  Frederic  refused  to  surrender 
Feldkirchen  to  the  Archbishop  of  Mag- 
deburg. "  His  Highness,"  said  Spala- 
tin,  "  declines  to  act  the  part  of  a  police- 
officer."  Feldkirchen,  therefore,  con- 
tinued to  preside  over  his  flock,  though 
a  husband  and  a  father ! 

The  first  emotion  Of  the  Reformer,  on 
receiving  intelligence  of  these  events,  was 

*  See  page  94. 

t  Coegit  me  ergo  ut  humanas  traditiones  viola- 
rem,  necessitas  servandi  juris  divini. — (Corp.  Ref 
i.  p.  441.) 


LUTHER   LEAVES   TPHE    WARTBURG. 


391 


one  of  joy.  "I  am  all  admiration,"  says 
he,  "  of  the  new  bridegroom  of  Kemberg, 
who  moves  on  fearlessly  in  the  midst  of 
all  this  hubbub."  Luther  was  satisfied 
that  priests  ought  to  marry.  But  this 
question  led  directly  to  another  —  the 
marriage  of  friars —  and  on  this  point 
Luther  had  to  pass  through  one  of  those 
internal  struggles,  of  which  his  life  was 
full ;  for  every  reform  was  of  necessity  to 
be  wrought  out  by  a  mental  conflict. 
Melancthon  and  Carlstadt, — the  one  a 
layman,  the  other  in  priest's  orders, — 
thought  that  the  liberty  of  contracting 
the  marriage  bond  ought  to  be  as  free  to 
the  friars  as  to  the  priests.  Luther,  him- 
self a  monk,  did  not  at  first  agree  with 
them  in  judgment.  One  day,  when  the 
commandant  of  the  Wartburg  had  brought 
him  some  theses  of  Carlstadt,  touching 
celibacy,  "  Good  Heaven  !"  he  exclaimed, 
"will  our  Wittemberg  friends  allow  wives 
even  to  monks  ?"  The  thought  over- 
whelmed him,  and  disturbed  his  spirit. 
For  himself,  he  put  far  from  him  the  lib- 
erty he  claimed  for  others :  "  Ah,"  said 
he,  indignantly,  "  at  least  they  will  not 
make  me  take  a  wife."*  This  expression 
is  doubtless  unknown  to  those  who  as- 
sert that  Luther's  object  in  the  Reforma- 
tion was  that  he  might  marry.  Bent 
upon  the  truth,  not  from  any  desire  of 
self-pleasing,  but  with  upright  intentions, 
he  undertook  the  defence  of  that  which 
appeared  to  him  to  be  right,  although  it 
might  be  at  variance  with  the  general 
tendency  of  his  doctrine.  He  worked 
his  way  through  a  mingled  crowd  of 
truths  and  errors,  until  the  errors  had  al- 
together fallen,  and  truth  alone  remained 
standing  in  his  mind. 

There  was  indeed  a  broad  distinction 
discernible  between  the  two  questions. 
The  marriage  of  priests  did  not  draw 
after  it  the  downfall  of  the  priesthood ; 
on  the  contrary,  it  was  of  itself  likely  to 
win  back  popular  respect  to  the  secular 
clergy :  but  the  marriage  of  friars  in- 
volved the  breaking  up  of  the  monastic 
institutions.  The  question  then  really 
was,  whether  it  was  right  to  disband  the 
army  that  acknowledged  themselves  the 
soldiery  of  the  Pope.  "  The  priests," 
said  Luther,  writing  to  Melancthon,  "are 
ordained  by  God,  and  therefore  they  are 

*  At  mihi  non  obtrudent  uxorem. — (L.  Epp. 
ii.  p.  40.) 


set  above  the  commandments  of  men ; 
but  the  friars  have  of  their  own  accord 
chosen  a  life  of  celibacy, — they  therefore 
are  not  at  liberty  to  withdraw  from  the 
obligation  they  have  laid  themselves 
under."* 

The  Reformer  was  destined  to  ad- 
vance a  step  further,  and  by  a  new  strug- 
gle to  carry  also  this  post  of  the  enemy. 
Already  he  had  trampled  under  his  feet 
many  Romish  corruptions ;  nay,  even 
the  authority  of  Rome  herself.  But 
monkery  was  still  standing — monkery, 
which  had  in  early  times  carried  the 
spark  of  life  to  many  a  desert  spot,  and, 
passing  through  successive  generations, 
now  filled  so  many  cloisters  with  sloth 
and  luxury,  seemed  to  find  a  voice  and 
advocate  in  the  castle  of  Thuringen,  and 
to  depend  for  life  or  death  upon  the  agi- 
tated conscience  of  one  man  !  Luther 
struggled  for  a  while,  at  one  moment  on 
the  point  of  rejecting  it, — at  another  dis- 
posed to  acknowledge  it.  At  last,  no 
longer  able  to  support  the  contest,  he 
threw  himself  in  prayer  at  the  feet  of 
Christ,  exclaiming,  "  Do  thou  teach  us — 
do  thou  deliver  us — establish  us  with  thy 
free  Spirit,  in  the  liberty  thou  hast  given 
us !  for  surely  we  are  thy  people  !"f 

And  truly  there  was  no  long  tarrying  ; 
a  great  change  took  place  in  the  Reform- 
er's thoughts,  and  again  it  was  the  great 
doctrine  of  Justification  by  Faith  which 
gave  victory. 

This  weapon,  which  had  put  down 
indulgences,  baffled  Romish  intrigues, 
and  humbled  the  Pope  himself,  dethroned 
monkery  also  from  the  place  it  held  in 
the  mind  of  Luther  and  of  all  Christen- 
dom. Luther  was  led  to  see  that  the 
monastic  institutions  we're  in  flagrant 
opposition  to  the  doctrines  of  Free  Grace, 
and  that  the  life  led  by  the  monks  was 
entirely  grounded  on  the  assertion  of  hu- 
man merit.  Convinced  from  that  instant, 
that  the  glory  of  Christ  was  at  stake,  his 
conscience  incessantly  repeated — '  Monk- 
ery must  yield.'  So  long  as  Justification 
by  Faith  is  clearly  held  by  the  Church, 

*  Me  enim  vehementer  movet,  quod  sacerdo- 
tum  ordo,  a  Deo  institutus,  est  liber,  non  autem 
monuchorum  qui  sua  sponte  statum  eligerunt. — 
(L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  34.) 

t  Dominus  Jesus  erudiat  et  liberet  nos,  per 
misericordiam  suam,  in  libertatem  nostram. — 
(Melancthon  on  Celibacy,  6th  Aug.  1521,  ibid. p. 
40.) 


392 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


not  one  of  her  members  will  become  a 
monk.*  This  persuasion  continued  to 
gain  strength  in  his  mind,  and  as  early 
as  the  beginning  of  December,  he  ad- 
dressed to  the  bishops  and  deacons  of  the 
church  of  Wittemberg,  the  following 
theses — his  declaration  of  war  against 
monkery : — 

"  Whatsoever  is  not  of  faith,  is  sin. — 
Rom.  xiv.  23. 

"  Whoever  binds  himself  by  a  vow  of 
celibacy,  of  chastity,  of  service  to  God — 
without  faith — vows,  profanely  and  idol- 
atrously,  a  vow  to  the  devil  himself. 

"  To  make  such  vows  is  worse  than  to 
be  priests  of  Cybele,  or  vestals  of  Pagan 
worship  ;  for  the  monks  make  their  vows 
in  the  thought  that  they  shall  be  justified 
and  saved  by  them ;  and  that  which 
should  be  ascribed  to  the  alone  mercy  of 
God,  is  thus  ascribed  to  human  deserv- 
ings.  Such  convents  ought  to  be  razed 
to  the  foundation,  as  being-  abodes  of  the 
devil.  There  is  but  one  Order  that  is 
holy,  and  makes  men  holy,  and  that  is — 
Christianity  or  Faith.f 

"  To  make  the  religious  houses  really 
useful,  they  should  be  converted  into 
schools,  wherein  children  might  be 
brought  up  to  manhood ;  instead  of 
which,  they  are  establishments  where 
grown  men  are  reduced  to  second  child- 
hood for  the  rest  of  their  lives." 

We  see  that  Luther  at  this  period  would 
have  tolerated  the  convents  as  houses  of 
education  ;  but,  ere  long,  his  attack  upon 
them  became  more  unsparing. 

The  immorality  and  shameful  prac- 
tices that  disgraced  the  cloisters,  recurred 
forcibly  to  his  thoughts.  "  It  is  my  great 
aim,"  he  wrote  to  Spalatin,  on  the  11th 
of  November,  "  to  rescue  the  young  from 
the  hellish  fires  of  celibacy  ?%  and  he 
proceeded  to  compose  a  tract  against  mo- 
nastic vows,  which  he  dedicated  to  his 
father.  "  Do  you  desire,"  said  he,  in  his 
dedication  to  the  old  man  at  Mansfeld, 
"  do  you  still  feel  a  desire  to  extricate  me 
froma  monk's  life  ?  You  have  the  right 
to  do  so.,  for  you  are  still  my  father,  and 
I  am  still  your  son.  But  it  is  not  need- 
ed :  God  has  been  beforehand  with  you, 

*  L.  Opp.  (W.)  xxii.  p.  1466. 

t  Es  ist  nicht  mehr  denn  eine  einige  Geistlich- 
keit,  die  da  heilig  ist,  mid  heilig  macht.  .  .  . — (L. 
Opp.  xvii.  p.  718.) 

%  Adolescentes  liberare  ex  isto  inferno  cceliba- 
tus.— (Ibid.  ii.  95.) 


and  has  Himsslf  delivered  me  from  it  by 
his  mighty  arm.  What  does  it  matter 
if  I  should  lay  aside  the  tonsure  or  the 
cowl  ?  Is  it  the  cowl, — is  it  the  tonsure 
that  constitutes  a  monk  ?  '  All  things 
are  yours,'  said  St.  Paul,  '  and  you  are 
Christ's.'  I  belong  not  to  the  cowl,  but 
the  cowl  to  me  ;  I  am  a  monk,  and  yet 
no  monk  ;  I  am  a  new  creature,  not  of 
the  Pope,  but  of  Jesus  Christ !  Christ 
alone,  and  no  mere  go-between,  is  my 
bishop,  my  abbot,  my  prior,  my  lord,  my 
master, — and  I  acknowledge  no  other  ! 
What  matters  it  to  me  if  the  Pope  should 
sentence  and  put  me  to  death  ;  he  can- 
not summon  me  from  the  grave,  and  take 
my  life  a  second  time.  That  great  day 
is  nigh  when  the  kingdom  of  abomina- 
tions shall  be  overthrown.  Would  to 
God  the  Pope  would  do  his  worst,  and 
put  us  all  to  death  ;  our  blood  would  cry 
to  heaven  against  him,  and  bring  down 
swift  destruction  on  him-  and  his  ad- 
herents."* 

Luther  himself  was  already  trans- 
formed :  he  felt  himself  no  longer  a  friar. 
It  was  no  outward  circumstances,  no  hu- 
man passions,  no  haste  of  the  flesh  that 
had  brought  about  the  change.  A  strug- 
gle had  been  gone  through  :  Luther  had 
at  first  sided  with  monkery,  but  truth 
had  descended  into  the  arena,  and  monk- 
ery was  overthrown.  The  triumphs  of 
human  passion  are  short-lived,  but  those 
of  truth  are  decisive  and  durable. 

Whilst  Luther  was  thus  preparing  the 
way  for  one  of  the  greatest  changes 
which  the  Church  was  destined  to  pass 
through,  and  the  Reformation  was  be- 
ginning to  manifest  its  effects  on  the  lives 
of  Christians, — the  partisans  of  Rome, 
with  that  blind  infatuation  common  to 
those  who  have  long  held  power,  were 
pleasing  themselves  with  the  thought, 
that  because  Luther  was  in  the  Wart- 
burg,  the  Reformation  was  for  ever  at  an 
end.  They  thought,  therefore,  quietly 
to  resume  their  former  practices,  which 
had  been  for  an  instant  interrupted  by 
the  monk  of  Wittemberg.  Albert,  the 
Archbishop  and  Elector  of  Mentz,  was 
one  of  those  weak  persons  who,  when 
things  are  nearly  balanced,  are  found  on 

*  Dass  unser  Blut  niocht  schreien,  und  drin- 
gen  sein  Gericht,  dass  sein  bald  ein  Ende  wiirde. 
— (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  105.) 


LUTHER  LEAVES  THE  WARTBURG. 


393 


the  side  of  truth  ;  but  whenever  their 
own  interest  is  concerned,  are  quite  wil- 
ling to  take  up  with  error.  His  great 
aim  was  that  his  court  should  equal  in 
splendour  that  of  any  of  the  German 
princes,  that  his  equipages  should  be  as 
rich,  and  his  table  as  well  served :  the 
trade  in  indulgences  was  to  him  an  ad- 
mirable resource  for  the  promotion  of  his 
favourite  object.  Accordingly,  no  sooner 
was  the  decree  against  Luther  issued  from 
the  Imperial  Chancellor's  court,  than  Al- 
bert, who  was  then  at  Halle,  attended  by 
his  courtiers,  called  together  the  vendors 
of  indulgences,  whose  activity  had  been 
paralysed  by  the  Reformer's  preaching, 
and  endeavoured  to  encourage  them  by 
such  words  as — "  Do  not  fear,  we  have 
silenced  him :  go  shear  the  flock  in 
peace  ;  the  monk  is  in  prison,  under  bolts 
and  bars  ;  and  this  time  he  will  be  clever 
indeed  if  he  disturbs  us  at  our  work." 
The  market  was  again  opened,  the  Avares 
spread  out  for  sale,  and  again  the  church- 
es of  Halle  resounded  with  the  harangues 
of  the  mountebanks. 

But  Luther  still  lived ;  and  his  voice 
had  power  to  pass  beyond  the  walls  and 
gratings  behind  which  he  was  concealed. 
Nothing  could  have  roused  him  to  a 
higher  pitch  of  indignation.  "  What !" 
thought  he,  "  violent  discussions  have 
taken  place,  I  have  braved  every  danger, 
the  truth  has  triumphed,  and  now  they 
dare  to  trample  it  in  the  dust,  as  if  it  had 
been  refuted.  They  shall  again  hear 
that  voice  which  arrested  their  guilty 
traffic."  "  I  will  take  no  rest,"  wrote 
Luther  to  Spalatin,  "  till  I  have  attacked 
the  idol  of  Mentz,  and  its  whoredoms  at 
Halle."*  He  Avent  instantly  to  work, 
caring  little  for  the  mystery  in  which 
some  sought  to  envelope  his  seclusion  in 
the  Wartburg.  He  was  like  Elijah  in 
the  desert,  forging  new  thunderbolts  to 
hurl  against  the  impious  Ahab.  On  the 
1st  of  November,  he  completed  a  tract 
"  Against  the  new  Idol  of  Halle." 

The  Archbishop  had  received  infor- 
mation of  Luther's  intentions.  Urged 
by  his  apprehensions,  he,  toward  the 
middle  of  December,  despatched  two  of 
his  attendants,  Capito  and  Auerbach,  to 
Wittemberg,  to  ward  off  the  blow.     "  It 

*  Non  continebor  quin  idoluin  Mojnintinum  in- 
vadam,  cum  suo  lupanari  Hallensi. — (L.  Epp. 
ii.  p.  59,  7th  October.) 

50 


is  indispensable,"  said  they  to  Melanc- 
thon,  who  received  them  courteously,  "  it 
is  quite  indispensable  that  Luther  should 
moderate  his  impetuosity."  But  Me- 
lancthon,  though  himself  of  gentler  spirit, 
was  not  of  the  number  of  those  who  im- 
agine wisdom  to  consist  in  perpetual  con- 
cession, retracting,  and  silence.  "  God 
is  making  use  of  him,"  he  replied,  "  and 
this  age  requires  a  bitter  and  pungent 
salt."*  On  this,  Capito,  addressing  him- 
self to  Jonas, 'endeavoured,  through  him, 
to  influence  the  Elector's  councils. 

The  report  of  Luther's  design  had  al- 
ready spread  thither,  and  produced  great 
consternation.  "  What!"  said  the  cour- 
tiers, "  rekindle  the  flame  that  it  cost  so 
much  trouble  to  subdue !  The  only 
safety  for  Luther  is  to  withdraw  into  the 
shade  ;  and  see  how  he  exalts  himself 
against  the  greatest  prince  in  the  empire." 
"  I  will  not  suffer  Luther  to  write  against 
the  Archbishop  of  Mentz,  to  the  disturb- 
ance of  the  public  tranquillity,"!  said 
the  Elector. 

When  these  words  were  reported  to 
Luther,  he  was  indignant.  It  is  not 
enough,  then,  to  confine  his  body,  they 
would  enchain  his  spirit,  and  the  truth 
itself.  Do  they  imagine  he  hides  him- 
self from  fear  1  or  that  his  retreat  is  a 
confession  of  defeat?  On  the  contrary, 
he  contends  that  it  is  a  victory  gained. 
Who  then  in  Worms  had  dared  to  rise 
up  against  him,  in  opposition  to  the 
truth  %  Accordingly,  when  the  captive 
of  the  Wartburg  had  finished  reading 
Spalatin's  letter,  apprizing  him  of  the 
Elector's  intention,  he  threw  it  aside,  re- 
solving to  return  no  answer.  But  he 
could  not  contain  his  feelings ;  he  again 
took  it  in  hand.  "  And  so,  the  Elector 
will  not  sutler,  &c. !"  wrote  Luther  in 
reply,  "  and  I  on  my  part  will  not  suffer 
that  the  Elector  should  not  allow  me  to 
write.  Rather  will  I  be  the  utter  ruin 
of  yourself,  the  Elector,  and  the  whole 
world. %  If  I  have  stood  up  against  the 
Pope,  who  created  your  Cardinal,  is  it 
fitting  that  I  should  give  way  to  his  crea- 
ture %     Truty,  it  is  very  fine  to  hear  you 

*  Huic  seculo  opus  esse  acerrimosale. — (Corp. 
Ref.  i.  463.) 

t  Non  passurum  principem,  scribi  in  Mogunti- 
num. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  94.) 

t  Potius  te  et  principem  ipsum  perdam  et  om- 
nem  creaturam. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  94.) 


394 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


say  we  ought  not  to  disturb  the  public 
peace,  while  you  permit  the  disturbance 
of  the  Peace  that  is  from  God.  It  shall 
not  be  so.  Spalatin  !  O  Prince  it  shall 
not  stand  !*  I  send,  with  this,  a  tract  I 
had  written  against  the  Cardinal,  before 
I  received  your  letter  ; — please  to  hand 
it  to  Melancthon." 

The  reading  of  this  manuscript  alarmed 
Spalatin ; — he  again  urged  on  the  Re- 
former the  imprudence  of  a  publication 
that  would  oblige  the  Imperial  govern- 
ment to  lay  aside  its  affected  ignorance 
of  what  had  become  of  him,  and  to  pro- 
ceed to  punish  a  prisoner  who  assailed 
the  chief  dignitary  of  the  Church  and 
Empire.  If  Luther  persisted,  the  gen- 
eral tranquillity  would  be  disturbed,  and 
the  cause  of  the  Reformation  endangered. 
Luther,  therefore,  consented  to  delay  the 
publication,  and  even  gave  Melancthon 
leave  to  strike  out  the  more  severe  pas- 
sages.! But  growing  indignant  at  his 
friend's  timidity,  he  wrote  to  Spalatin, — 
"  The  Lord  still  lives — He  reigns, — the 
Lord  whom  you  counsellors  of  the  court 
cannot  trust,  unless  He  so  shapes  his 
work,  as  that  there  be  nothing  left  to 
trust  Him  in  !" — and  he  forthwith  re- 
solved to  write  direct  to  the  Cardinal. 

It  is  the  Episcopal  authority  itself  that 
Luther  calls  to  the  bar  of  judgment  in 
the  person  of  the  German  primate.  His 
words  are  those  of  a  bold  man,  burning 
with  zeal  in  behalf  of  truth,  and  feeling 
that  he  speaks  in  the  name  of  God 
himself. 

"  Your  Electoral  Highness,"  wrote  he, 
from  the  depth  of  his  retirement,  "has 
seen  fit  again  to  set  up  at  Halle  the  idol 
that  engulphs  the  treasure  and  the  souls 
of  poor  Christians.  You  think,  perhaps, 
that  1  am  disabled,  and  that  the  power 
of  the  Emperor  will  easily  silence  the 
protest  of  a  feeble  monk  ....  But  know 
this, — I  will  fearlessly  discharge  the  duty 
that  christian  charity  lays  me  under, 
dreading  not  the  gates  of  hell ! — and 
much  less,  popes,  bishops,  or  cardinals. 

"  Therefore,  I  humbly  implore  your 
Electoral  Highness  to  call  to  remem- 
brance the  origin  of  this  business,  and 
how  from  one  little  spark  came  so  fearful  a 
conflagration.     Then  also,  the  world  re- 

*  Non  sic,  Spalatine,  non  sic,  princeps. — (Ibid.) 
t  Ut  acerbiora  tradat  (ib.  p.  110.)  doubtless 
radat. 


posed  in  fancied  security.  '  That  poor 
mendicant  friar,'  thought  they,  '  who,  un- 
aided, would  attack  the  Pope,  has  under- 
taken a  task  above  his  strength.'  But 
God  interposed  his  arm,  and  gave  the 
Pope  more  disturbance  and  anxiety  than 
he  had  known  since  first  he  sat  in  the 
temple  of  God,  and  lorded  it  over  God's 
church.  That  same  God  still  lives — let 
none  doubt  it*  He  will  know  how  to 
bring  to  nothing  the  efforts  of  a  Cardinal 
of  Mentz,  though  he  should  be  backed 
by  four  emperors — for  it  is  His  pleasure 
to  bring  down  the  lofty  cedars,  and  hum- 
ble the  pride  of  the  Pharaohs. 

u  For  this  cause  I  apprize  your  High- 
ness that  if  the  idol  is  ^iot  removed,  it 
will  be  my  duty,  in  obedience  to  God's 
teaching,  publicly  to  rebuke  your  High- 
ness, as  1  have  done  the  Pope  himself. 
Let  not' your  Highness  neglect  this  no- 
tice. I  shall  wait  fourteen  days  for  an 
early  and  favourable  answer.  Given  in 
my  wilderness  retreat,  on  Sunday  after 
St.  Catherine's  day,  1521.  Your  High- 
ness' devoted  and  humble,  Martin  Lu- 
ther." 

This  letter  was  forwarded  to  Wittem- 
berg,  and  from  thence  to  Halle,  where 
the  Cardinal  Elector  was  then  resident ; 
for  no  one  dared  venture  to  intercept  it, 
foreseeing  the  storm  such  an  act  of  auda- 
city would  have  called  forth.  But  Me- 
lancthon accompanied  it  by  a  letter  to 
the  prudent  Capito,  wherein  he  laboured 
to  give  a  favourable  turn  to  so  untoward 
a  step. 

It  is  not  possible  to  describe  the  feel- 
ings of  the  young  and  pusillanimous 
Archbishop  on  the  receipt  of  the  Reform- 
er's letter.  The  forthcoming  work  against 
the  idol  of  Halle  was  like  a  sword  sus- 
pended over  his  head.  And  yet  what 
must  have  been,  at  the  same  time,  the  ir- 
ritation produced  by  the  insolence  of  the 
low-born  and  excommunicated  monk, 
who  dared  address  such  language  to  a 
prince  of  the  house  of  Brandenburg,  and 
a  primate  of  the  German  church.  Ca- 
pito besought  the  Archbishop  to  comply 
with  Luther's  advice.  Fear,  pride,  and 
conscience,  which  he  could  not  stifle, 
struggled  long  in  Albert's  soul.  At 
length,  dread  of  the  threatened  writing, 
joined,  perhaps,  to  a  feeling  of  remorse. 

*  Derselbig  Gott  lebet  noch,  da  zweifel  nur 
niemand  an — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  113.) 


LUTHER  LEAVES  THE  WARTBURG. 


395 


prevailed.  He  stooped  to  humble  him- 
self, and  put  together  such  an  answer  as 
seemed  likely  to  appease  the  man  of  the 
Warthurg,  and  scarcely  had  the  fourteen 
days  expired,  when  Luther  received  the 
following  letter,  more  surprising  even 
than  his  own  terrifying  epistle. 

"My  dear  Doctor, — I  have  received 
and  read  your  letter,  and  have  taken  it 
in  good  part,  as  being  well  intended :  but 
I  think  the  cause  that  has  induced  you 
to  write  to  me  in  such  a  strain,  has  for  a 
long  time  past  had  no  existence.  It  is 
my  desire,  by  God's  help,  to  comport  my- 
self as  a  pious  bishop,  •  and  a  christian 
prince ;  and  I  confess  that  for  this,  God's 
grace  is  necessary  to  me.  I  deny  not 
that  I  am  a  sinful  man,  liable  to  sin,  and 
apt  to  be  led  astray,  and  even  sinning 
and  going  astray  every  day  of  my  life. 
I  know  that,  without  God's  grace,  I  am 
but  worthless  and  loathsome  mire,  like 
others ;  if  not  worse.  In  replying  to 
your  letter,  I  would  not  omit  to  express 
the  favour  I  bear  you  ;  for  it  is  my  most 
earnest  desire,  for  Christ's  sake,  to  show 
you  all  kindness  and  favour.  I  know 
how  to  receive  the  rebuke  of  a  christian, 
and  a  brother.  By  my  own  hand. 
Albert." 

Such  was  the  strain  in  which  the  Elec- 
tor Archbishop  of  Mentz  and  Magdeburg, 
commissioned  to  represent  and  maintain 
in  Germany  the  constitution  of  the 
Church,  wrote  to  the  excommunicated 
prisoner  of  the  Wartburg !  In  thus  re- 
plying, did  Albert  obey  the  better  dic- 
tates of  his  conscience,  or  was  he  swayed 
by  his  fears  ?  On  the  former  supposition, 
it  is  a  noble  letter ;  on  the'  latter,  it  is 
contemptible.  We  would  rather  suppose 
it  to  have  proceeded  from  a  right  motive. 
However  that  may  be,  it  at  least  shows 
the  vast  superiority  of  the  servant  of  God 
above  the  greatness  of  this  world.  Whilst 
Luther,  solitary,  a  captive,  and  under 
sentence,  derived  from  his  faith  an  un- 
conquerable courage,  the  Cardinal-arch- 
bishop, surrounded  on  all  sides  with  the 
power  and  favour  of  the  world,  trembled 
in  his  chair.  Again,  and  again,  does 
this  reflection  present  itself,  and  it  affords 
the  solution  of  the  strange  enigma  offered 
by  the  history  of  the  Reformation.  The 
Christian  is  not  called  to  calculate  his 
resources,  and  count  the  means  of  suc- 
cess.    His  one  concern  is  to  know  that 


his  cause  is  the  cause  of  God  ; — and  that 
he  himself  has  no  aim  but  his  Master's 
glory.  Doubtless  he  has  an  enquiry  to 
make,  but  it  has  reference  only  to  his 
motives ;  the  Christian  looks  in  upon  his 
heart, — not  upon  his  arm:  he  regards 
right, — not  strength.  And  that  question 
once  well  settled, — his  path  is  clear.  It 
is  for  him  to  go  boldly  forward,  though 
the  world  and  all  its  armies  should  with- 
stand his  progress ;  in  the  firm  persua- 
sion that  God  himself  will  fight  against 
the  opposers. 

Thus  did  the  enemies  of  the  Reforma- 
tion pass  at  once  from  the  harshest  mea- 
sures to  pitiable  weakness :  they  had 
done  this  at  Worms,  and  these  sudden 
changes  are  continually  recurring  in  the 
conflict  between  truth  and  error.  Every 
cause  destined  to  succumb,  carries  with 
it  an  internal  malaise,  which  occasions  it 
to  stagger  and  fluctuate  between  opposite 
extremes.  Steadiness  of  purpose  and 
energy  could  not  sanctify  a  bad  cause, 
but  they  might  serve  at  least  to  gild  its 
fall  with  what  the  world  calls  glory. 

Joachim  I.,  Elector  of  Brandenburg, 
Albert's  brother,  was  an  example  of  that 
decision  of  character  so  rare  in  our  own 
times.      Immoveable   in  his   principles, 
decisive  in  action,  knowing  when  need- 
ful how  to  resist  the  encroachments  of 
the  Pope,  he  opposed  an  iron   hand   to 
the  progress  of  the  Reformation.     Long 
before    this,    when   at   Worms,  he   had 
urged  that  Luther  should  be  refused  a 
hearing,    and    brought    to   punishment, 
notwithstanding   the   safe-conduct   with 
which  he  was  furnished.     Scarcely  was 
the  edict  of  Worms  issued,  when  he  di- 
rected that  it  should  be   rigorously  en- 
forced in  his  states.     Luther  could  ap- 
preciate   so    decided  a   character,    and, 
drawing  a  distinction  in  favour  of  Joa- 
chim, when,  speaking  of  his  other  adver- 
saries, remarked,  "  we  may  still  pray  for 
the    Elector   of  Brandenburg."*      This 
disposition  in  the  prince  seemed  to  com- 
municate   itself  to   his  people.      Berlin 
and  Brandenburg  long  continued  closed 
to    the   reformed    doctrines.       But    that 
which  is  slowly  received  is  firmly  held; 
whilst  countries,  which  then  hailed   the 
Gospel  with  joy,  as  Belgium  and  Westr 
phalia,  were  ere  long  seen  to  abandon 
it;  Brandenburg, — which  was  the  latest 
*  Helwing,  Gesch.  der  Brandeb.  ii  p.  605. 


396 


HISTORY  -OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


of  the  German  states  to  enter  on  the  way 
of  faith, — was  destined,  at  a  later  period, 
to  stand  foremost  in  the  cause  of  the  Ref- 
ormation.* 

Luther  was  not  without  suspicion  that 
the  Cardinal's  letter  was  dictated  by- 
some  insidious  design  suggested  by  Ca- 
pito.  He  returned  no  answer ;  he  de- 
clared to  the  latter,  that  so  long  as  the 
Archbishop,  unequal  as  he  was  to  the 
care  of  a  petty  parish,  should  hold  to  his 
pretensions  as  Cardinal,  and  his  episco- 
pal state,  instead  of  discharging  the  hum- 
ble duty  of  a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  he 
■could  not  be  in  the  way  of  salvation,  f 
Meanwhile,  and  at  the  very  time  that 
Luther  contended  against  error,  as  if  he 
were  still  in  the  thick  of  the  conflict,  he 
was  at  work  in  his  retirement  as  though 
regardless  of  all  that  was  happening  out- 
side its  walls.  The  time  had  arrived 
when  the  Reformation  was  to  pass  from 
the  closet  of  divines,  into  the  private  life 
of  nations  ;  and,  nevertheless,  the  great 
engine  by  which  this  advance  was  to  be 
effected  was  not  yet  brought  forth.  This 
mighty  and  wonder-working  engine, 
from  whence  a  storm  of  missiles  was  to 
be  discharged  against  Rome,  battering 
down  its  walls, — this  engine,  which  was 
to  upheave  the  burthen,  under  which  the 
Papacy  then  held  down  the  almost  stifled 
Church,  and  to  communicate  to  mankind 
an  impulse  which,  ages  after,  would  still 
be  felt,  was  ordained  to  go  forth  from  the 
old  castle  of  the  Wartburg,  and  enter, 
with  the  Reformer,  on  the  world's  stage 
on  the  same  day  that  closed  his  captivity. 

The  further  the  Church  was  removed 
from  the  days  in  which  Jesus,  its  true 
light,  walked  on  this  earth,  the  more  did 
it  need  the  candle  of  God's  word  to  trans- 
mit to  after  times  the  unclouded  knowl- 
edge of  Jesus  Christ.  But  that  Divine 
Word  was  unknown  to  that  age.  Some 
fragments  of  translations  from  the  Vul- 
gate, made  in  1477, 1490,  and  1518,  had 
been  but  coldly  received,  and  were  al- 
most unintelligible,  as  well  as,  from  their 
high  price,  beyond  the  reach  of  the  com- 
mon people.     The  giving  the  Scriptures 

*  Hoe  enim  proprium  est  illorum  hominum 
(ex  March.  Brandeburg)  ut  quam  semel  in  reli- 
gione  sententiam  approbaverint,  uon  facile  dese- 
rant. — (Leutiiigeri  Opp.  i.  41.) 

t  Larvam  cardinalatus  et  pompam  episcopa- 
lem  ablegare. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  132.) 


to  the  Church  in  Germany  in  the  ver- 
nacular tongue,  had  even  been  prohibit- 
ed.* Added  to  which,  the  number  of 
those  who  could  read,  became  consider- 
able, only  when  there  existed  in  the  Ger- 
man language  a  book  of  strong  and  gen- 
eral interest. 

Luther  was  ordained  to  present  his 
nation  with  the  written  word.  That 
same  God  who  had  relegated  St.  John  in 
Patmos,  that  he  might  there  write  what 
he  had  seen,  had  shut  up  Luther  in  the 
Wartburg,  that  he  should  there  translate 
his  Word.  This  great  labour,  which  it 
would  have  been  difficult  for  him  to  take 
in  hand  in  the  distracting  occupations  of 
Wittemberg,  was  to  seat  the  new  edifice 
on  the  solid  rock,  and,-  after  the  lapse  of 
so  many  ages,  recall  Christians  from 
scholastic  subtleties  to  the  pure  and  un- 
adulterated fountains  of  redemption  and 
salvation.  The  wants  of  the  Church 
loudly  called  for  this  service,  and  Lu- 
ther's deep  experience  had  fitted  him  to 
render  it.  In  truth,  he  had  found  in  the 
faith,  that  rest  for  his  own  soul,  which 
his  fluctuating  conscience  and  monkish 
prejudice  had  so  long  sought  in  merits 
and  holiness  of  his  own.  The  ordinary 
teaching  of  the  Church,  the  theology  of 
the  schools  knew  nothing  of  the  conso- 
lations which  faith  gives:  but  the  Scrip- 
tures set  them  forth  powerfully, — and  it 
was  in  the  Scriptures  that  he  had  dis- 
covered them.  Faith  in  God's  word  had 
given  him  liberty!  By  faith  he  felt 
himself  freed  from  the  dogmatic  authori- 
ty of  Church,  hierarchy,  tradition,  the 
notions  of  the  schools,  the  power  of  pre- 
judice, and  commandments  of  men ! 
These  manifold  bonds  which  had  for 
ages  chained  down  and  silenced  all 
Christendom,  were  burst  asunder,  and 
he  could  raise  his  head  freed  from  all 
authority  save  that  of  the  Word.  This 
independence  of  man, — this  subjection  to 
God,  which  he  had  learned  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures, — he  was  anxious  to  commu- 
nicate to  the  Church.  But  for  this  pur- 
pose it  was  needful  that  he  should  give 
to  it  God's  own  Revelations.  There 
was  a  necessity  that  some  strong  hand 
should  unclose  the  portals  of  that  arsenal 
whence  Luther  had  drawn  his  weapons,, 
and  that  its  recesses,  which  had  for  ages 
been  unexplored,  should  be  laid  open  to 
*  Codex  Diplom.  Eccleske  Mogunt.  iv.  p.  460- 


LUTHER  LEAVES  THE  WARTBURG. 


3&7 


all  christian  people  against  the  day  of 
trial. 

Luther  had,  before  this  time,  translated 
some  fragments  of  the  Holy  Scripture. 
The  seven  penitential  psalms*  had  first 
occupied  his  pen.  John  the  Baptist, — 
Jesus  Christ, — and  the  Reformation — 
alike  commenced  by  calling  men  to  re- 
pentance. It  is,  indeed,  the  principle  of 
every  regeneration  in  human  nature. 
These  earlier  essays  had  been  eagerly 
bought  up,  and  had  awakened  a  general 
demand  for  more  ;  and  this  desire  on  the 
part  of  the  people  was  by  Luther  regard- 
ed as  a  call  from  God.  He  resolved  to 
meet  it.  He  was  a  captive  enclosed 
within  lofty  walls  ;  but  what  of  that !  he 
would  devote  his  leisure  to  render  the 
Word  of  God  into  the  language  of  his 
nation.  Soon  shall  we  see  that  Word 
descending  with  him  from  the  Wartburg 
— circulating  among  the  families  of  Ger- 
many, and  enriching  them  with  spiritual 
treasure,  that  had  hitherto  been  shut  up 
within  the  hearts  of  a  few  pious  persons. 
"  Would  that  that  book  alone,"  he  ex- 
claimed, "  were  in  all  languages — before 
the  eyes — in  the  ears — and  in  the  hearts 
of  all."f  Admirable  words,  which  a 
WTell-known  society^  engaged  in  trans- 
lating the  Bible  into  the  vernacular  dia- 
lect of  every  nation  under  heaven,  has, 
after  a  lapse  of  three  centuries,  under- 
taken to  realise.  "Scripture,"  says  he 
again,  "  Scripture  '  without  comment'  is 
the  sun  whence  all  teachers  receive  their 
light." 

Such  are  the  true  principles  of  Chris- 
tianity and  of  the  Reformation.  Adopt- 
ing these  memorable  words,  Ave  are  not 
to  seek  light  from  the  Fathers,  to  inter- 
pret Scripture, — but  to  use  Scripture  to 
interpret  the  writings  of  the  Fathers. 
The  Reformers,  as  also  the  Apostles,  hold 
lorth  the  alone  word  of  God  as  light, 
whilst  they  exalt  the  one  offering  of 
Christ  as  the  only  righteousness.  To 
mingle  commandments  of  men  with  this 
supreme  authority  of  God,  or  any  righ- 
teousness of  man's  own,  with  this  per- 
fect righteousness  of  Christ,  is  to  corrupt 
the  two  great  fundamental  truths  of  the 

*  Ps.  6,  32,  38,  51,  102,  130,  147. 

t  Et  solus  hie  liber  omnium  lingua.,  manu, 
oculis,  auribus,  cordibus,  versaretur. — (L.  Epp.  ii. 
p.  116.) 

t  The  Bible  Society. 


Gospel.  Such  were  the  two  leading 
heresies  of  Rome  :  and  the  doctrines  that 
certain  teachers  would  introduce  into  the 
bosom  of  the  Reformation,  though  not 
carried  to  such  a  length,  have  the  same 
tendencies. 

Luther,  taking  up  the  Greek  originals 
of  the  inspired  writers,  entered  on  the 
difficult  task  of  rendering  them  into  his 
native  tongue.  Important  moment  in 
the  history  of  the  Reformation  !  thence- 
forth, it  was  no  longer  in  the  hands  of 
the  Reformer.  The  Bible  was  brought 
forward — and  Luther  held  a  secondary 
place.  God  showed  himself;  and  man 
was  seen  as  nothing.  The  Reformer 
placed  the  Book  in  the  hands  of  his  con- 
temporaries :  thenceforward,  each  could 
hear  God  speaking  to  him, — and,  as  for 
himself,  he  mingled  in  the  crowd,  placing 
himself  among  those  who  came  to  draw 
from  the  common  fountain  of  light  and  life. 

In  translating  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
Luther  had  found  that  consolation  and 
strength  which  met  his  need.  Weak  in 
body  —  solitary — depressed  in  spirit  by 
the  machinations  of  his  enemies,  and 
sometimes  by  the  indiscretions  of  his 
friends — and  sensible  that  his  life  was 
wasting  in  the  gloom  of  the  old  castle, 
he  had,  at  times,  to  pass  through  awful 
struggles.  In  those  days,  men  were 
much  disposed  to  carry  into  the  visible 
world  the  conflicts  that  the  soul  sustains 
with  its  spiritual  enemies.  Luther's 
vivid  imagination  easily  gave,  bodily 
shape  to  the  emotions  of  his  soul,  and  the- 
superstitions  of  the  middle  ages  had  still 
some  hold  upon  his  mind,  so  that  it  might 
be  said  of  him,  as  was  said  of  Calvin,  in 
reference  to  his  judgment  in  regard  to 
heretics,  that  he  had  in  him  the  remains 
of  Popery.  To  Luther,  Satan  was  not 
simply  an  invisible,  though  really  exist- 
ing, being;  he  thought  that  adversary  of 
God  was  accustomed  to  appear  in  bodily 
form  to  man,  as  he  had  appeared  to  Jesus 
Christ.  Although  we  may  more  than 
doubt  the  authenticity  of  the  details  given 
on  such  topics  in  his  Table  Talk  and 
elsewhere,*  history  must  yet  record  this 
weakness  in  the  Reformer.  Never  had 
these  gloomy  imaginations  such  power 
over  him  as  in  his  seclusion  in  the  Wart- 

*  M.  Michelet,  in  his  Memoirs  of  Luther,  de- 
votes no  less  than  thirty  pages  to  the  various  ac- 
counts of  this  incident. 


398 


HISTORY   OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


burg.  At  Worms,  when  in  the  days  of 
his  strength,  he  had  braved  the  power  of 
the  devil, — but  now,  that  strength  was 
broken,  and  his  reputation  tarnished. 
He  was  thrown  aside :  Satan  had  his 
turn — and  in  bitterness  of  soul,  Luther 
imagined  he  saw  him  rearing  before  him 
his  gigantic  form — lifting  his  finger  as 
if  in  threatening,  grinning  triumphantly, 
and  grinding  his  teeth  in  fearful  rage. 
One  day  in  particular,  as  it  is  reported, 
whilst  Luther  was  engaged  in  transla- 
ting the  New  Testament,  he  thought  he 
saw  Satan,  in  detestation  of  his  work, 
tormenting  and  vexing  him,  and  moving 
round  him  like  a  lion  ready  to  spring 
upon  his  prey.  Luther,  alarmed  and 
aroused,  snatching  up  his  inkstand,  threw 
it  at  the  head  of  his  enemy.  The  appa- 
rition vanished,  and  the  ink-bottle  was 
dashed  to  pieces  against  the  wall.* 

His  stay  at  the  Wartburg  began  now 
to  be  insupportable  to  him.  He  was  in- 
dignant at  the  timidity  of  his  protectors. 
Sometimes  he  remained  all  day  lost  in 
silent  and  deep  meditation,  and,  awaken- 
ing from  it,  he  would  utter  the  exclama- 
tion— "  Ah  !  would  I  were  at  Wittem- 
berg !"  At  length,  he  could  no  longer 
restrain  himself: — "Enough,"  thought 
he,  "  enough  of  policy."  He  must  again 
see  his  friends — hear  from  their  lips  how 
things  were  going  on,  and  talk  over  all 
with  them.  True,  he  risked  falling  into 
the  power  of  his  enemies ;  but  nothing 
could  deter  him.  Toward  the  end  of 
November,  he  secretly  quitted  the  Wart- 
burg, and  set  out  for  Wittemberg.f 

A  storm  had  just  then  burst  forth 
against  him.  The  Sorbonne  had  at 
length  spoken  out  This  celebrated 
school  of  Paris — next  in  authority  in 
the  Church  to  the  Pope  himself — the 
ancient  and  venerable  source  whence 
theological  teaching  had  gone  forth,  had 
just  issued  its  verdict  against  the  Ref- 
ormation. The  following  were  among 
the  propositions  it  condemned: — Luther 
had  said,  "  God  ever  pardons  sin  freely, 
and  requires  nothing  from  us  in  return, 
save  that  for  the  time  to  come  we  live  ac- 
cording to  righteousness."  He  had  added 

*  The  keeper  of  the  Wartburg  regularly  points 
out  to  travellers  the  mark  made  by  Luther's  ink- 
stand. 

t  Machete  er  sich  heimlich  aus  seiner  Patmo 
auf.— (L.  Opp.  xviii.  238.) 


— "  The  most  mortal  of  all  mortal  sins  is 
this:  to  wit,  that  a  man  should  think  that 
he  is  not  guilty  of  damnable  and  mortal 
sin  in  the  sight  of  God."  He  had  also  de- 
clared, that  the  practice  of  burning  here- 
tics was  contrary  to  the  will  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  To  these  several  propositions, 
as  well  as  to  many  others  which  it 
quoted,  the  Faculty  of  Theology,  in 
Paris,  had  replied  by  the  word,  "  Heresy 
— let  it  be  accursed."* 

But  there  was  a  youth,  a  stripling  of 
twenty-four  years  of  age,  of  diffident 
and  retiring  manners,  who  ventured  to 
take  up  the  gauntlet  that  the  first  college 
in  Europe  had  thrown  down.  It  was 
no  secret  at  Wittemberg,  what  was  to  be 
thought  of  those  lofty  censures  ; — it  was 
known  that  Rome  had  allowed  free 
course  to  the  machinations  of  the  Domi- 
nicans, and  that  the  Sorbonne  had  been 
misled  by  the  influence  of  two  or  three 
fanatical  teachers  who  were  designated 
in  Paris  by  satirical  nicknames. f  Ac- 
cordingly, in  his  apology,  Melancthon 
did  not  confine  himself  to  defending  Lu- 
ther, ,  but  with  the  fearlessness  which 
characterizes  his  writings,  he  carried  the 
war  into  his  adversaries'  camp.  "  You 
say,  '  he  is  a  Manichean' — '  he  is  a  Mon- 
tanist :'  you  call  for  fire  and  faggot  to  re- 
press his  madness.  And  who,  I  pray 
you,  is  a  Montanist?  Luther,  who 
would  have  men  believe  Scripture  only  1 
or  yourselves,  who  would  claim  belief 
for  the  thoughts  of  men  rather  than  for 
the  word  of  God  1"% 

And  truly  the  attaching  more  import- 
ance to  man's  teaching  than  to  God's 
word  was  in  substance  the  heresy  of 
Montanus,  as  it  is  the  real  character  of 
that  of  the  Pope,  and,  indeed,  of  all  who 
rank  church  authority  or  mystical  im- 
pulses above  the  .plain  words  of  the 
Sacred  Writings.  Accordingly,  the 
young  master  of  arts,  who  had  been 
heard  to  say — "  I  would  rather  die  than 
relinquish  the  faith  of  the  Gospel,"^  did 

*  Determinatio  theologorum  Parisiensium  su- 
per doctrina  Lutherana. — (Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  366  to 
388.) 

t  Damnarunt  triumviri  Beda,  Querons,  et 
Christophoros.  Nomina  sunt  horum  monstrorum 
etiam  vulgo  nunc  nota  Belua,  Stercus,  Christo- 
tomus. — (Zvvinglii  Epp.  i.  p.  176.) 

t  Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  396. 

§  Scias  me  positurum  animam  citius  quam 
fidem— (Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  396.) 


LUTHER  LEAVES  THE  WARTBURG. 


300 


not  stop  there.  He  charged  the  doctors 
of  the  Sorbonne  with  having  darkened 
the  light  of  the  Gospel, — put  out  the  doc- 
trine of  Faith, — and  substituted  a  vain 
philosophy  in  place  of  true  Christianity.* 
The  publication  of  this  writing  of  Melanc- 
thon  changed  the  position  of  the  parties. 
He  proved  unanswerably  that  the  heresy 
was  in  Paris  and  in  Rome,  and  the  Ca- 
tholic truth  at  Wittemberg. 

All  this  while,  Luther,  little  regarding 
the  censures  of  the  Sorbonne,  was  jour- 
neying in  his  disguise  as  a  knight 
toward  the  university  city.  Various 
rumours  reached  him  in  his  journey,  of 
a  spirit  of  impatience  and  insubordina- 
tion having  manifested  itself  among  cer- 
tain of  his  adherents.!  He  was  deeply 
grieved  at  it.|  At  last  he  arrived  at 
Wittemberg  without  having  been  recog- 
nized on  the  road  thither,  and  stopped  at 
the  door  of  Amsdorff.  Immediately  his 
friends  were  secretly  called  together. 
Among  the  first  was  Melancthon,  who 
had  so  often  said,  '.'  I  would  rather  die 
than  be  separated  from  him."§  They 
met.  What  an  interview  !  what  joy ! 
The  captive  of  the  Wartburg,  surrounded 
by  his  friends,  enjoyed  the  sweets  of 
christian  friendship.  He  learned  the 
spread  of  the  Reformation, — the  hopes 
of  his  brethren, — and,  delighted  with 
what  he  saw  and  heard, ||  he  kneeled 
down  and  prayed,  gave  thanks,  and  then, 
with  brief  delay,  set  forth,  and  returned 
to  the  Wartburg. 

His  joy  was  well  founded.  The  work 
of  the  Reformation  made,  just  then,  a 
prodigious  advance.  Feldkirchen,  ever 
in  the  van,  had  mounted  the  breach ; 
the  whole  body  of  those  who  held  the 
new  doctrines  were  in  motion,  and  the 
energy  which  carried  the  Reformation 
from  the  range  of  teaching  into  the  pub- 
lic worship,  to  private  life,  and  the  con- 
stitution of  the  Church,  revealed  itself 
by  another  explosion — more  threatening 

*  Evangelium  obscuratum  est  .  .  .  fides  extinc- 
ta  v ...  Ex  Christianismo,  contra  omnem  sensum 
spiritus,  facta  est  queedam  philosophica  vivendi 
ratio.— (Ibid.  p.  400.) 

t  Per  viam  vexatus  rumore  vario  de  nostrorum 
quorumdam  importunitate. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  109.) 

J  Liess  in  der  Stille  seine  Freunde  fodern. — 
(L.  Opp.  xviii.  p.  238.) 

§  Quo  si  mihi  carendum  est,  mortem  fortius 
tulero.— (Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  453—455.) 

||  Omnia  vehementer  placent  qua?  video  et  au- 
dio.—(L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  109.) 


to  the  papal  power  than  that  which  had 
already  happened. 

Rome,  having  rid  herself  of  the  Re- 
former, thought  she  had  extinguished  the 
new  heresy  ;  but  it  was  not  long  before 
a  great  change  took  place.  Death  re- 
moved the  Pontiff  who  had  put  Luther 
under  ban.  Troubles  broke  out  in 
Spain,  and  compelled  Charles  V.  to  re- 
cross  the  Pyrenees.  War  was  declared 
between  that  prince  and  Francis  the 
First ;  and  (as  if  this  were  not  enough 
to  engross  the  Emperor's  attention,)  Soly- 
man  invaded  Hungary.  Charles,  thus 
attacked  on  all  sides,  found  himself  com- 
pelled to  leave  unmolested  the  monk  of 
Worms,  and  his  religious  novelties. 

It  was  about  this  time,  that  the  bark 
of  the  Reformed  Faith,  which,  driven  in 
every  direction  by  the  winds,  had  been 
well  nigh  swamped,  righted  itself,  and 
rode  above  the  waters. 

It  was  in  the  convent  of  the  Augus- 
tines,  at  Wittemberg,  that  the  Reforma- 
tion showed  itself.  We  cannot  wonder 
at  this :  the  Reformer,  it  is  true,  was  not 
within  its  walls,  but  no  human  power 
could  expel  from  it  the  spirit  that  had 
animated  him. 

Strange  doctrines  had  for  some  time 
been  occasionally  heard  in  the  church 
where  Luther  had  so  often  preached. 
A  zealous  monk,  who  rilled  the  office  of 
college  preacher,  loudly  urged  on  his 
hearers  the  necessity  of  a  Reformation. 
As  if  Luther,  whose  name  was  on  every 
one's  lips,  had  reached  too  commanding 
an  elevation  and  esteem,  God  seemed  to 
be  making  choice  of  men,  no  way  known 
for  any  strength  of  character  or  influ- 
ence, to  bring  in  the  Reformation,  for 
which  the  renowned  doctor  had  opened 
a  way.  "  Christ,"  said  the  preacher, 
''instituted  the  Sacrament  of  the  Altar, 
in  remembrance  of  his  death,  and  not  to 
make  it  an  object  of  worship.  To  bow 
down  to  it  is  idolatry.  The  priest  who 
communicates  alone  or  in  private,  is  guilty 
of  a  sin.  No  prior  has  the  right  to  re- 
quire a  monk  to  say  mass  alone.  Let 
one,  two,  or  three  officiate,  and  all  the 
rest  receive  the  Lord's  Sacrament  under 
both  kinds."* 

*  Einem,  2  oder  3  befehlen  Mess  zu  halten 
und  die  andern  12  von  denen  das  Sacrament  sub 
utraque  specie  mit  empfahen. — (Corp.  Ref.  t 
p.  460.) 


400 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


Such  was  the  change  called  for  by  the 
monk  Gabriel ;  and  his  bold  words  were 
heard  with  approbation  by  his  brother 
monks,  particularly  those  who  came  from 
the  Low  Countries.*  As  disciples  of  the 
Gospel,  why  should  they  not  conform  in 
everything  to  its  directions?  Had  not 
Luther  himself,  in  writing  to  Melancthon, 
in  the  month  of  August,  remarked — 
"  Henceforth,  I  will  say  no  more  private 
masses?"!  Thus  the  friars,  the  very 
soldiers  of  the  hierarchy,  when  made 
free  by  the  Word  of  God,  boldly  took 
part  against  Rome.  4 

In  Wittemberg  they  encountered  an 
unbending  resistance  from  the  Prior, 
and  here  they  yielded, — at  the  same  time 
protesting  that  to  support  the  mass  was 
to  oppose  the  Gospel  of  God. 

The  Prior  had  carried  the  day.  One 
man's  authority  had  prevailed  over  all 
the.  rest.  It  might  have  been  thought  that 
this  stir  among  the  Augustines  was  but 
a  capricious  act  of  insubordination,  such 
as  was  often  occurring  in  the  convents; 
but  in  reality  the  spirit  of  God  itself  was 
then  moving  christian  hearts.  A  single 
voice  proceeding  from  the  seclusion  of  a 
monastery,  found  a  thousand  echoes ; 
and  that  which  men  would  have  confined 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  convent,  spread  beyond  its  walls,  and 
began  to  show  itself  in  the  heart  of  the 
city. 

Rumours  of  the  differences  among  the 
monks  were  soon  circulated  in  the  town  : 
the  burghers  and  students  sided  some 
with,  and  others  against  the  mass.  The 
Elector's  court  interposed.  Frederic,  in 
some  surprise,  despatched  his  Chancellor, 
Pontanus,  to  Wittemberg,  with  orders  to 
reduce  the  monks  to  obedience,  putting 
them,  if  necessary,  upon  bread  and  wa- 
ter ;|  and  on  the  12th  October,  a  deputa- 
tion of  Professors,  among  whom  was  Me- 
lancthon, repairing  to  the  convent,  ex- 
horted the  monks  to  desist  from  all  in- 
novations,§  or  at  least  to  wait  the  course 
of  events.     This  did  but  rekindle  their 

*  Der  meisto  Theil  jener  Parthaei  Niederlten- 
der  seyn. — (Ibid.  476.) 

t  Sed  et  ego  amplius  non  faciam  missam  pri- 
vatim  in  seternum. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  36. ^ 

t  Woilen  die  Monche  nicht  Mess  halten,  sie 
werden's  bald  in  der  Kiichen  und  Keller  empfin- 
den.— (Corp.  Ref.  i.  p,  461.) 

§  Mit  dem  Messhalten  keine  Neuerung  ma- 
then. — (Ibid.) 


zeal ;  and  all,  with  exception  of  their 
Prior,  being  of  one  mind  in  their  faith, 
they  appealed  to  Scripture,  to  the  spiri- 
tual discernment  of  believers,  and  to  the 
impartial  judgment  of  divines, — and  two 
days  after,  handed  in  a  declaration  in 
writing. 

The  Professors  proceeded  to  examine 
the  question  more  closely,  and  perceived 
that  the  monks  had  truth  on  their  side. 
Having  come  to  convince  others,  they 
were  convinced  themselves !  What  was 
to  be  done?  Conscience  pleaded — their 
perplexity  was  continually  increasing ; 
and  at  last,  after  long  hesitation,  they 
came  to  a  courageous  decision. 

On  the  20th  of  October,  the  University 
reported  to  the  Elector,  after  setting  forth 
the  abuses  of  the  mass :  "  Let  your  Elec- 
toral Highness,"  said  they,  "  put  an  end 
to  all  corruptions ;  lest,  in  the  day  of 
judgment,  Christ  should  apply  to  us  the 
rebukes  he  once  pronounced  upon  Ca- 
pernaum." 

Thus,  it  was  no  longer  a  handful  of 
oWure  monks  who  spoke, — it  was  the 
University,  accredited  by  the  most  judi- 
cious, as  having,  for  years  past,  been  the 
great  school  of  national  instruction  :  and 
thus,  the  very  agency  employed  to  quell 
the  spirit  of  the  Reformation,  was  about 
to  diffuse  it  far  and  wide. 

Melancthon,  with  that  decision  which 
he  carried  into  learning,  put  forth  fifty- 
five  propositions  calculated  to  enlighten 
the  minds  of  enquirers. 

"  Just,"  said  he,  "  as  gazing  on  a  cross 
is  no  good  work,  but  the  bare  contempla- 
tion of  a  sign  that  reminds  us  of  Christ's 
death." 

"Just  as  to  behold  the  sun  is  not  to 
do  any  good  work,  but  merely  to  look 
upon  that  which  reminds  us  of  Christ 
and  his  Gospel." 

"  So,  to  partake  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
is  not  to  do  a  good  work,  but  merely  to 
make  use  of  a  sign  which  recalls  to  re- 
membrance the  grace  bestowed  upon  us 
through  Christ." 

"  But  here  is  the  difference  ;  namely, 
that  the  symbols  invented  by  men  do 
only  remind  ,us  of  what  they  signify — 
whilst  the  signs  given  by  God,  not 
merely  recall  the  things  themselves,  but 
assure  our  hearts  in  the  will  of  God." 

"  As  the  sight  of  a  cross  does  not  justi- 
fy, so  the  mass  cannot  justify." 


LUTHER  LEAVES  THE  WARTBURG. 


401 


"  As  the  gazing-  on  a  cross  is  no  sacri- 
fice for  our  own  or  others'  sins,  just  so 
the  mass  is  no  sacrifice." 

"  There  is  but  one  sacrifice, — but  one 
satisfaction, — Jesus  Christ.  Beside  him 
there  i?  none  other." 

"  Let  such  bishops  as  do  not  withstand 
the  profanations  of  the  mass,  be  anath- 
ema."* 

Thus  spake  the  pious  and  gentle-spir- 
ited Philip. 

The  Elector  was  astounded.  His  in- 
tention had  been  to  restore  order  among 
a  few  refractory  friars,  and  lo  !  the  entire 
University,  with  Melancthon  at  their 
head,  stand  up  to  defend  them.  To  wait 
the  course  of  events,  was  ordinarily,  in 
his  view,  the  most  eligible  course.  He 
had  no  relish  for  abrupt  changes,  and  it 
was  his  wish  that  all  opinions  should  be 
left  to  work  their  own  way.  "  Time 
alone,"  thought  he,  "  throws  light  upon 
all  things,  and  brings  all  to  maturity." 
And  yet  the  Reformation  was  advancing 
in  spite  of  all  his  caution  with  rapid 
strides,  and  threatened  to  carry  all  before 
it.  Frederic  made  indeed  some  efforts 
to  arrest  it.  His  authority, — the  influ- 
ence of  his  personal  character, — and  such 
arguments  as  appeared  to  him  most  con- 
clusive, were  all  called  into  exercise : 
"  Do  not  be  hasty,"  said  he,  to  the  di- 
vines, "you  are  too  few  in  number  to  ef- 
fect such  a  change.  If  it  is  well  founded 
in  Scripture,  others  will  be  led  to  see  it, 
and  you  will  have  the  whole  Church 
with  you  in  putting  an  end  to  these  cor- 
ruptions. Speak  of  these  things, — dis- 
cuss and  preach  them  as  much  as  you 
will,  but  keep  up  the  established  ser- 
vices." 

Such  was  the  war  waged  relative  to 
the  mass.  The  monks  had  boldly 
mounted  to  the  assault; — the  divines,  af- 
ter a  moment  of  indecision,  had  supported 
them.  The  prince  and  his  counsellors 
alone  defended  the  citadel.  It  has  been 
said  that  the  Reformation  was  brought 
about  by  the  power  and  authority  of  the 
Elector ;  but  so  far  from  this  being  the 
case*  we  see  the  assailants  drawing  oft' 
their  forces,  in  deference  to  the  voice  of 
the  revered  Frederic,  and  the  mass,  for  a 
while,  continuing  to  hold  its  place. 

*  Signa  ab  hominibus  reperta  admonent  tan- 
tum  ;  signa  a  Deo  tradita,  prceterquam  quod  ad- 
monent, certificant  etiam  cor  de  voluntate  Dei. 
—(Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  478.) 

51 


|      The  heat  of  battle  was  already  begin- 
j  ning  to  rage  in  another  part  of  the  field. 
;  The  monk  Gabriel  did  not  relax  in  his 
fervid  appeals  from  the  pulpit  of  the  Au- 
gustines.     It  was  against  the  condition 
of  monkery  itself  he  now  dealt  his  power- 
ful strokes ;  and  if  the  strength  of  Romish 
doctrines    was  principally  in  the  mass, 
I  the  monastic  order  formed  the  main  sup- 
port of  her  priestly  hierarchy.     Hence, 
!  these    two   posts   were    the   first   to    be 
stormed.     "No  one,"  exclaimed  Gabriel, 
according  to  the  Prior's  report,  "  not  even 
a  single  inmate  of  a  convent,  keeps  God'3 
commandments." 

"  No  one  who  wears  a  cowl  can  be 
saved*  Whoso  enters  a  cloister,  enters 
into  the  service  of  the  Devil.  Vows  of 
chastity,  poverty,  and  obedience  to  a  su- 
perior, are  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the 
Gospel." 

These  strange  expressions  were  re- 
ported to  the  Prior,  who  took  care  not  to 
be  present  in  church  to  hear  them. 

"Gabriel,"  said  his  informants,  "  Ga- 
briel insists  that  every  possible  means 
should  be  taken  to  clear  out  the  cloisters; 
that  when  the  friars  are  met  in  the  street, 
they  should  be  twitched  by  the  cloak, 
and  pointed  out  to  ridicule  :  and  thatjf 
that  does  not  rout  them  from  their  con- 
vent, they  should  be  expelled  by  main 
force.  He  cries,  ■  break  open  the  monas- 
teries, destroy  them,  raze  them  to  their 
foundations,  that  no  trace  of  them  may 
remain,  and  that  on  the  ground  they  co- 
ver, not  one  stone  may  be  left  of  walls 
that  have  sheltered  such  sloth  and  super- 
stition.' "f 

The  friars  were  astonished  ;  their  con- 
sciences whispered  that  the  charge 
brought  against  them  was  but  too  true; 
— that  the  life  of  a  monk  was  not  agree- 
able to  the  will  of  God ; — and  that  no 
man  could  have  a  claim  to  their  implicit 
and  unlimited  obedience. 

In  one  day,  thirteen  Augustine  monks 
quitted  the  convent,  and  throwing  aside 
the  habit  of  their  order,  assumed  the 
dress  of  the  laity.  Such  of  them  as  had 
the  advantage  of  instruction  continued 
their  course  of  study,  in  the  hope  of  being 
one  day  useful  to  the  Church ;  and  such 

*  Kein  Monch  verde  in  der  Kappe  selig.— 
(Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  433.) 

t  Dass  man  nicht  oben  Stuck  von  einem 
Kloster  da  sey  gestanden,  merken  moge. — (Corp. 
Ref.  i.  p.  483.) 


402 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


as  had  profited  litle  by  study,  sought  a 
livelihood  by  working-  with  their  own 
hands,  according  to  the  precept  of  the 
Apostle,  and  after  the  example  of  the 
worthy  burghers  of  Wittemberg.*  One, 
who  had  some  knowledge  of  carpentry, 
applied  for  the  freedom  of  the  city,  resolv- 
ing to  marry  and  settle. 

If  Luther's  entrance  into  the  convent 
of  the  Augustines  at  Erfurth,  had  laid  the 
seeds  of  the  Reformation,  the  departure  of 
the  tnirteen  monks  from  the  convent  of 
the  Augustines  of  Wittemberg  was  the 
signal  of  its  taking  possession  of  the  na- 
tions of  Christendom.  For  a  period  of 
thirty  years,  Erasmus  had  exposed  the 
unprofitableness,  fatuity,  and  vices  of  the 
friars ;  and  all  Europe  had  gone  with 
him  in  his  ridicule  and  contempt.  Thir- 
teen men  of  resolute  character  returned  to 
their  place  in  society ; — and  there,  in 
service  to  their  fellow  men,  sought  to  ful- 
fil God's  commandments.  The  marriage 
of  Feldkirchen  was  one  of  humiliation  to 
the  hierarchy  ; — the  emancipation  of 
these  thirteen  Augustines  followed  close 
upon  it,  as  a  second.  Monkery,  which 
had  established  itself  in  the  day  when 
the  Church  entered  on  her  long  period 
of  bondage  and  error,  was  doomed  to  fall 
whenever  the  time  came  which  should 
restore  liberty  and  truth. 

This  bold  step  occasioned  a  general 
ferment  in  Wittemberg.  All  marvelled  at 
the  men  who  thus  came  forward  to  share 
the  labours  of  the  common  people,  and 
welcomed  them  as  brethren : — at  the 
same  time,  cries  were  heard  against  those 
who  obstinately  clung  to  their  indolent 
seclusion  within  the  walls  of  their  mon- 
astery. The  monks,  who  adhered  to 
the  prior,  trembled  in  their  cells,  and  the 
prior  himself,  carried  away  by  the  gener- 
al feeling,  suspended  the  performance  of 
private  masses. 

In  a  moment  so  critical,  the  least  con- 
cession necessarily  precipitated  the  course 
of  events.  The  order  issued  by  the  Prior 
caused  a  strong  sensation  in  the  town 
and  in  the  University,  and  produced  an 
unforeseen  explosion.  Among  the  stu- 
dents and  burghers  of  Wittemberg,  were 
some  of  those  turbulent  spirits  whom  the 
least  excitement  inflames,  and  urges  to 

*  "  Etlicho  unter  den  Biirgern,  etliche  unter 
den  Studenten,"  said  the  Prior,  in  his  address  to 
the  Elector.— (Ibid.) 


criminal  excesses.  These  men  were  in- 
dignant that  the  same  masses,  which 
were  suspended  by  the  devout  Prior, 
should  still  be  performed  in  the  parish 
church;  and  on  the  3d  December,  as 
mass  was  about  to  be  chaunted,  they  sud- 
denly made  their  way  to  the  altar,  bore 
off  the  books,  and  compelled  the  officia- 
ting priests  to  seek  safety  in  flight-.  The 
Council  and  the  University  assembled  to 
take  severe  -measures  against  the  authors 
of  these  disturbances.  But  the  passions, 
once  roused,  are  not  easily  calmed.  The 
Cordeliers  had  taken  no  part  in  the  Ref- 
ormation that  had  begun  to  show  itself 
among  the  Augustines.  Next  day  the 
students  affixed  to  the  gates  of  their 
monastery  a  threatening  placard.  Soon 
after,  forty  of  their  number  forced  their 
way  into  the  chapel,  and  without  proceed- 
ing to  violence,  gave  such  free  expression 
to  their  ridicule,  that  the  monks  dared 
not  proceed  with  the  mass.  In  the  even- 
ing, notice  came  advising  the  friars  to  be 
on  their  guard.  "  The  students,"  it  was 
said,  "  have  planned  to  break  into  the 
monastery."  The  monks  in  alarm,  and 
seeing  no  way  of  defence  against  these 
real  or  supposed  attacks,  sent  in  haste  tp 
ask  protection  of  the  Council.  Soldiers 
were  placed  on  guard, 'but  the  enemy  did 
not  make  his  appearance.  The  Univer- 
sity arrested  the  students  who  had  taken 
part  in  these  disturbances.  They  were 
found  to  be  from  Erfurth,  and  already 
noted  for  their  insubordination.*  The 
penalty  annexed  to  their  offence  by  the 
laws  of  the  University  was  imposed  upon 
them. 

_  Nevertheless,  it  was  felt  that  a  neces- 
sity had  arisen  for  a  careful  examination 
of  the  lawfulness  of  monastic  vows.  A 
chapter,  composed  of  the  Augustine 
monks  of  Thuringen  and'Misnia,  assem- 
bled at  Wittemberg  in  December  follow- 
ing. Luther's  judgment  was  acquiesced 
in.  They  declared,  on  the  one  hand, 
that  monastic  vows  were  not  sinful,  but^ 
on  the  other  hand,  that  they  were  not  ob- 
ligatory. "  In  Christ,"  said  they,  "  there 
is  neither  layman  nor  monk, — each  one 
is  free  to  leave  the  monastery  or  to  abide 
in  it.  Let  whoever  leaves  it,  beware 
how  he  abuses  his  liberty ;  let  him  who 

*  In  summa  es  sollen  die  Aufruhr  etliche  Stu- 
denten von  Erffurth  erwerckt  haben. — (Corp. 
Ref.  i.  p.  490.) 


LUTHER  LEAVES  THE  WARTBURG. 


403 


abides  in  it,  obey  his  superiors, — but  with 
the  obedience  of  love  ;"  and  they  pro- 
ceeded to  prohibit  mendicity,  and  the 
saying  masses  for  money ;  they  also  de- 
termined that  the  more  instructed  monks 
should  devote  themselves  to  teaching  the 
word  of  God,  and  that  *the  rest  should 
labour  with  their  own  hands  for  the  sup- 
port of  their  brethren.* 

Thus  the  question  of  Vows  seemed  to 
be  settled,  but  that  of  the  Mass  was  still 
undecided.  The  Elector  continued  to  op- 
pose the  stream,  and  to  defend  an  institu- 
tion which  he  saw  still  standing  in  every 
nation  where  Christianity  was  professed. 
The  moderation  of  this  mild  sovereign 
could  not,  however,  for  any  length  of 
time,  hold  in  the  public  mind.  Carlstadt, 
above  all,  took  part  in  the  general  fer- 
ment. Zealous,  upright,  and  fearless: 
prompt,  like  Luther,  to  sacrifice  every 
thing  for  the  truth  ;  he  had  not  the  Re- 
former's wisdom  and  moderation  :  he  was 
not  free  from  vanity,  and  with  a  disposi- 
tion that  led  him  to  go  deeply  into  every 
question,  he  yet  had  but  little  power  of 
judgment,  and  no  great  clearness  of 
ideas.  Luther  had  delivered  him  from 
the  teaching  of  the  schools,  and  had  led 
him  to  study  the  Scriptures ;  but  Carl- 
stadt had  not  had  patience  to  acquire  a 
knowledge  of  the  original  languages, 
and  had  not,  as  his  friend  had  done,  ac- 
knowledged the  sufficiency  of  God's 
word.  Hence  he  was  often  taking  up 
with  singular  interpretations.  As  long 
as  Luther  was  at  his  side,  the  influence 
of  the  master  restrained  the  disciple  with- 
in due  bounds  ;  but  Carlstadt  was  freed 
from  this  wholesome  restraint.  In  the 
university, — in  the  chapel, — throughout 
Wittemberg, — the  little  tawny-complex- 
ioned  Carlstadt,  who  had  never  excelled 
in  eloquence,  gave  utterance  to  thoughts, 
at  times,  profound,  but  often  enthusiastic 
and  exaggerated.  "  What  infatuated  fol- 
ly !''  he  exclaimed,  "  for  men  to  think 
that  the  Reformation  must  be  left  to  God's 
working.  A  new  order  of  things  is 
opening.  The  strength  of  man  must  be 
brought  in,  and  woe  to  him  who  shall 
hold  back  instead  of  mounting  the  breach 
in  the  cause  of  the  mighty  God !" 

The    Archdeacon's  speech  communi- 

*  Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  456. — The  editors  assign  to 
this  decree  the  date  of  October,  before  the  monks 
had  forsaken  their  convent. 


cated  his  own  impatience  to  his  auditory. 
"  Whatever  the  Pope  has  set  up  is  im- 
pious," exclaimed  some  men  of  sincere 
and  upright  minds,  under  the  influence 
of  his  harangues.  "  Let  us  not  make 
ourselves  accomplices  in  these  abomina- 
tions by  allowing  them  to  exist.  That 
which  God's  word  condemns  ought  to  be 
swept  from  the  face  of  Christendom,  with- 
out regarding  the  commandments  of  men. 
If  the  heads  of  the  state  and  of  the 
church  will  not  do  their  duty,  let  us  at 
least  do  ours.  Let  us  leave  thinking  of 
negociation,  conferences,  theses,  and  dis- 
cussions, and  let  us  apply  the  true  reme- 
dy to  so  many  evils.  We  want  a  second 
Elijah  to  throw  down  the  altars  of  Baal !" 

The  restoration  of  the  Supper  of  the 
Lord  in  this  moment  of  ferment  and  en- 
thusiastic excitement,  could  not,  doubt- 
less, wear  that  character  of  solemnity 
and  sacredness  which  was  given  to  it  by 
the  Son  of  God  in  his  institution  of  it 
'  the  night  that  he  was  betrayed.'  But  if 
God  was  now  using  the  weakness  and 
passions  of  men,  it  was,  not  the  less,  His 
own  hand  which  was  engaged  in  re-es- 
tablishing in  the  midst  of  His  church 
the  feast  of  His  own  love. 

As  early  as  the  October  previous, 
Carlstadt  had  privately  celebrated  the 
Lord's  Supper,  according  to  Christ's  ap- 
pointment, with  twelve  of  his  friends. 
On  the  Sunday  before  Christmas  Day, 
he  announced  from  the  pulpit  that,  on 
New  Year's  Day,  he  would  distribute 
the  elements  under  the  two  kinds,  bread 
and  wine,  to  all  who  should  come  to  the 
altar :  that  he  intended  to  omit  all  un- 
necessary ceremonies,*  and  should  per- 
form the  service  without  cope  or  chasu- 
ble. 

The  Council,  in  perturbatin,  requested 
the  counsellor  Bergen  to  interfere,  and 
prevent  so  disorderly  a  proceeding,  where- 
upon Carlstadt  resolved  not  to  wait  the 
time  fixed.  On  Christmas  Day,  1521, 
he  preached,  in  the  parochial  church,  on 
the  duty  of  abandoning  the  mass,  and 
receiving  the  sacrament  under  both  kinds. 
The  sermon  being  ended,  he  came  down, 
took  his  place  at  the  altar,  and  after  pro- 
nouncing, in  German,  the  words  of  insti- 
tution, said  solemnly,  turning  towards 
the  people, — "  If  any  one  feels  the  bur- 

*  Und  die  anderen  Schirymstege  alle  ausseu 
lassen. — (Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  512.) 


404 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


then  of  his  sins,  and  is  hungering  and 
thirsting  for  the  grace  of  God,  let  him 
draw  near,  and  receive  the  body  and 
blood  of  the  Lord."*  Then,  without 
elevating  the  host,  he  distributed  to  each 
one  the  bread  and  wine,  saying,  "  This 
is  the  cup  of  my  blood,  the  blood  of  the 
new  and  everlasting  covenant." 

Conflicting  feelings  reigned  in  the  as- 
sembly. Some,  in  the  sense  that  a  fur- 
ther grace  of  God  was  given  to  the 
Church,  drew  near  the  altar  in  silent 
emotion.  Others,  attracted  principally 
by  the  novelty  of  the  occasion,  approached 
in  some  confusion,  and  with  a  kind  of 
impatience.  Not  more  than  five  com- 
municants had  presented  themselves  in 
the  confessional, — the  rest  took  part  only 
in  the  public  confession  of  sins.  Carl- 
stadt  gave  to  all  the  general  absolution, 
laying  upon  them  no  other  penance  than 
this,  "  Sin  no  moreV — In  conclusion,  the 
communicants  sang  the  Agnus  Dei.\ 

Carlstadt  met  with  no  opposition  :  the 
changes  we  are  narrating  had  already 
obtained  general  concurrence.  The  Arch- 
deacon administered  the  Lord's  Supper 
again  on  New  Year's  Day,  and  also  on 
the  Sunday  following,  and  from  that 
time  the  regular  observance  of  it  was 
kept  up.  Einsidlen,  one  of  the  Elector's 
council,  having  rebuked  Carlstadt  for 
seeking  his  own  exaltation,  rather  than 
the  salvation  of  his  hearers — "  Noble 
Sir  !"  answered  he,  "  I  would  meet  death 
in  any  form,  rather  than  desist  from  fol- 
lowing the  Scripture.  The  word  has 
come  to  me  so  quick  and  powerful  .... 
woe  is  me  if  I  do  not  preach."]:  Soon 
after  this,  Carlstadt  married. 

In  the  month  of  January,  the  town- 
council  of  Wittemberg  issued  regulations 
for  the  celebration  of  the  Supper  accord- 
ing to  the  amended  ritual.  Steps  were 
also  taken  to  restore  the  influence  of  reli- 
gion upon  public  morals  ; — for  it  was  the 
office  of  the  Reformation  to  re-establish, 
simultaneously,  faith,  christian  worship, 
and  general  morality.  It  was  decreed 
that  public  beggars  should  be  no  longer 
tolerated,  whether  friars  or  others  ;   and 

*  Wer  mit  Siinden  beschwert  und  nach  der 
Gnade  Gottes  hungrig  und  durstig. — (Ibid. 
p.  540.) 

t  Wer.n  man  communicirt  hat,  so  singt  man  : 
Agnus  Dei  carmen. — (Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  540.) 

t  Mir  ist  das  Wort  fast  in  grosser  Geschwin- 
digkeit  eingefallen. — (Ibid.  p.  545.) 


that  in  each  street,  some  man,  well  re- 
ported of  for  piety,  should  be  commis- 
sioned to  take  care  of  the  poor,  and  to 
summon  before  the  University  or  the 
Council  such  as  were  guilty  of  disor- 
ders.* 

So  fell  that  grand  bulwark  of  Romish 
dominion, — the  Mass.  Thus  it  was  that 
the  Reformation  passed  beyond  the  sphere 
of  teaching,  into  that  of  public  worship. 
For  three  centuries,  the  mass  and  the 
doctrine  of  transubstantiation  had  been 
regularly  established,  f  Throughout  that 
long  period,  all  things  within  the  Church 
had  a  new  tendency  impressed  upon 
them,  and  every  thing  conspired  to  fa- 
vour the  pride  of  man  and  the  honour 
paid  to  the  priest.  The  holy  sacrament 
had  been  adored, — regular  festivals  had 
been  instituted  in  honour  of  the  most 
stupendous  of  miracles, — the  worship  of 
Mary  had  risen  high  in  the  scale  of  pub- 
lic estimation, — the  priest,  who  in  the 
consecration  of  the  elements  was  sup- 
posed to  receive  mysterious  power  to 
change  them  into  the  very  body  of  Christ, 
had  been  separated  from  the  class  of  laity, 
and,  to  use  the  words  of  Thomas  Aqui- 
nas, had  become  a  '  mediator  between 
God  and  man,'| — celibacy  had  been  pro- 
claimed as  an  inviolable  law, — auricular 
confession  was  enforced  upon  the  people, 
and  the  cup  of  blessing  denied  them, — 
for  how,  indeed,  should  common  people 
be  ranged  on  the  same  line  with  priests, 
honoured  with  the  most  solemn  of  all 
ministrations.  The  Mass  cast  reproach 
upon  the  Son  of  God  ;  it  was  opposed  to 
the  perfect  remission  through  his  cross, 
and  the  spotless  glory  of  his  everlasting 
kingdom  ; — but,  whilst  it  disparaged  the 
glory  of  the  Lord,  it  exalted  the  priest, — 
whom  it  invested  with  the  inconceivable 
power  of  reproducing,  in  hand,  and  at 
will,  the  Sovereign  Creator  of  all  things  !$ 
Thenceforward  the  Church  seemed  to 
exist — not  to  preach  the  Gospel,  but  only 
to  reproduce  Christ  in  the  flesh !  The 
Roman  Pontiff  whose  obedient  vassals, 
at   their  pleasure,  created  the  body  of 

*  Keinen  offenbaren  Sunder  zu  dulden  .... 
—(Ibid.  p.  540.) 

t  By  the  Council  of  Lateran,  in  1215. 

X  Sacerdos  constituitur  medius  inter  Deum  et 
populum. — (Th.  Aquin.  Summa  iii.  p.  22.) 

§  Perfectio  hujus  sacramenti  non  est  in  usu 
fidelium,  sed  in  consecratione  materise. — (Th. 
Aquin.  Summa,  Quest.  80.) 


LUTHER  LEAVES  THE  WARTBURG. 


405 


God  himself, — took  his  seat  as  God,  in 
the  temple  of  God,  and  asserted  his 
claim  to  a  spiritual  treasury,  from  whence 
to  draw  forth  at  will  indulgences  for  the 
pardon  of  men's  sins. 

Such  were  the  gross  errors  which  for  a 
period  of  three  centuries  had  established 
themselves  in  the  Church  in  connection 
with  the  mass.  The  Reformation,  by- 
abolishing  this  thing  of  man's  setting  up, 
swept  away  all  the  abuses  blended  with 
it.  The  proceeding  of  the  Archdeacon 
was  therefore  full  of  important  results. 
The  costly  shows  that  amused  the  people, 
the  worship  of  the  Virgin,  the  pride  of 
the  clergy,  and  the  papal  authority,  were 
all  shaken.  The  glory  was  withdrawn 
from  the  priests,  and  returned  to  rest  on 
Jesus, — and  the  Reformation  advanced  a 
step  farther. 

Nevertheless,  prejudiced  observers 
might  have  seen  nothing  in  all  that  was 
going  on,  but  what  might  be  deemed  the 
effect  of  passing  enthusiasm.  Facts  were 
needed,  that  should  give  proof  of  the  con- 
trary, and  demonstrate  that  there  was  a 
deep  and  broad  distinction  between  a 
Reformation  based  on  God's  word  and 
any  mere  fanatical  excitement. 

Whenever  a  great  ferment  is  working 
in  the  Church,  some  impure  elements 
are  sure  to  mingle  with  the  testimony 
given  to  truth ;  and  some  one  or  more 
pretended  reforms  arise  out  of  man's  ima- 
gination, and  serve  as  evidences  or  coun- 
tersigns of  some  real  reformation  in  prog- 
ress. Thus  many  false  Messiahs  in  the 
first  century  of  the  Church,  were  an  evi- 
dence that  the  true  Messiah  had  already 
come.  The  Reformation  of  the  sixteenth 
century  could  not  run  its  course  without 
presenting  the  like  phenomenon,  and  it 
was  first  exhibited  in  the  little  village  of 
Zwickau. 

There  were  dwelling  at  Zwickau  a 
few  men,  who,  being  deeply  moved  by 
the  events  passing  around  them,  looked 
for  special  and  direct  revelations  from 
the  Deity,  instead  of  desiring,  in  meek- 
ness and  simplicity,  the  sanctification  of 
their  affections.  These  persons  asserted 
that  they  were  commissioned  to  complete 
that  Reformation  which  in  their  view 
Luther  had  but  feebly  begun.  "  What 
is  the  use,"  asked  they,  "  of  such  close 
application  to  the  Bible?  Nothing  is 
heard  of  but  the  Bible.     Can  the  Bible 


preach  to  us?  Can  it  suffice  for  our  in- 
struction ?  If  God  had  intended  to  in- 
struct us  by  a  book,  would  he  not  have 
given  us  a  Bible  direct  from  heaven !  It 
is  only  the  SriuiT  that  can  enlighten ! 
God  himself  speaks  to  us,  and  shows  us 
what  to  do  and  say."  Thus  did  these 
fanatics,  playing  into  the  hands  of  Rome, 
impugn  the  fundamental  principle  on 
which  the  whole  Reformation  is  based ; 
namely,  the  perfect  sufficiency  of  the 
Word  of  God. 

Nicolas  Storch,  a  weaver,  publicly 
declared  that  the  angel  Gabriel  had  ap- 
peared to  him  by  night,  and  after  reveal- 
ing to  him  matters  he  was  not  allowed 
to  divulge,  had  uttered  the  words — "  Thou 
shalt  sit  on. my  throne!''*  A  senior 
student  of  Wittemberg,  named  Mark 
Stubner,  joined  Storch,  and  forthwith 
abandoned  his  studies, — for,  according  to 
his  own  statement,  he  had  received  im- 
mediately from  God  the  ability  to  inter- 
pret holy  Scripture.  Mark  Thomas, 
also  a  weaver,  associated  himself  with 
them :  and  another  of  the  initiated,  by 
name  Thomas  Munzer,  a  man  of  fanati- 
cal turn  of  mind,  gave  to  the  new  sect  a 
regular  organization.  Resolving  to  act 
according  to  the  example  of  Christ, 
Storch  chose  from  among  his  followers 
twelve  apostles  and  seventy  disciples. 
All  these  loudly  proclaimed,  as  we  have 
lately  heard  it  asserted  by  a  sect  of  our 
own  days,  that  Apostles  and  Prophets 
were  at  last  restored  to  the  Church,  t 

Ere  long,  the  new  prophets,  in  accord- 
ance with  this  plan  of  adhering  to  the 
example  of  those  of  holy  writ,  began  to 
declare  their  mission — "  Woe,  woe!"  they 
exclaimed,  "  a  church  under  human  gov- 
ernors, corrupted  like  the  bishops,  can- 
not be  the  church  of  Christ.  The  un- 
godly rulers  of  Christendom  will  soon  be- 
east  down.  In  five,  six,  or  seven  years, 
a  time  of  universal  desolation  will  come 
upon  the  earth.  The  Turk  will  get  pos- 
session of  Germany  ;  the  clergy,  not  even 
excepting  those  who  have  married,  shall 
be  slain.  The  ungodly  sinners  shall  all 
be  destroyed ;  and  when  the  earth  shall 
have  been  purified  by  blood,  supreme 
power  shall  be  given  to  Storch,  to  install 

*  Advolasse  Gabrielem  Angelum. — (Camera- 
rii  Vita  Melancthonis,  p.  48.) 

t  Breviter,  de  sese  predicant,  viros  esse  pro- 
pheticos  et  apostolicos. — (Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  514.) 


406 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


the  saints  in  the  government  of  the 
earth.*  Then  shall  there  be  one  Faith 
and  one  Baptism  !  The  day  of  the  Lord 
draweth  nigh,  and  the  end  of  all  things 
is  at  hand.  Woe  !  woe  !  woe  ! :'  Then 
publicly  declaring  that  infant  baptism 
Avas  of  no  avail,  the  new  prophets  called 
upon  all  to  draw  near,  and  receive  at 
their  hands  a  true  baptism,  in  token  of 
their  entrance  into  the  new  Church  of 
God. 

Such  preaching  made  a  deep  impres- 
sion on  the  popular  mind.  INot  a  few 
devout  persons  were  startled  by  the 
thought  that  prophets  were  again  given 
to  the  Church,  and  those  on  whom  the 
love  of  the  marvellous  had  most  power, 
threw  themselves  into  the  open  arms  of 
the  eccentric  preachers  of  Zwickau. 

But  scarcely  had  this  heresy,  which 
had  shown  itself  of  old  in  the  days  of 
Montanism,  and  again  in  the  middle  ages, 
drawn  -  together  a  handful  of  separatists, 
when  it  encountered  in  the  Reformation 
a  strong  opposing  power.  Nicolas  Hauss- 
man,  to  whom  Luther  gave  that  noble 
testimony — "  What  we  teach,  he  ads ,"f 
was  at  this  time  the  pastor  of  Zwickau. 
This  good  man  was  not  led  away  by  the 
pretensions  of  the  false  prophets.  Sup- 
ported by  his  two  deacons,  he  successful- 
ly resisted  the  innovations  Storch  and 
his  followers  were  seelcing  to  introduce. 
The  fanatics,  repelled  by  the  pastors  of 
the  church,  fell  into  another  extrava- 
gance :  they  formed  meetings,  in  which 
doctrines  subversive  of  order  were  pub- 
licly preached.  The  people  caught  the 
infection,  and  disturbances  were  the  con- 
sequence ;  a  priest,  bearing  the  sacrament, 
was  pelted  with  stones.^  and  the  civil 
authority  interfering,  committed  the  most 
violent  of  the  party  to  prison. §  Indig- 
nant at  this  treatment,  and  intent  upon 
justifying  themselves  and  obtaining  re- 
dress, Storch,  Mark  Thomas,  and  Stub- 
ner,  repaired  to  Wittemberg.  || 

They  arrived  on  the  27th  December, 

*  Ut  rerum  potiatur  et  instauret  sacra  et  res- 
publicas  tradat  Sanctis  viris  tenendas. — (Camerar. 
Vit.  Mel.  p.  45.) 

t  Quod  nos  docemus,  ille  facit. 

t  Einen  Priester  der  da's  Vcnerabilc  getragcn 
mit  Steinen  geworfen. — (Seek.  p.  482.) 

§  Sunt  et  illic  in  vincula  conjecti. — (Mel.  Corp. 
Ref  i.  p.  513.) 

||  Hue  advolarunt  tres  viri,  duo  lanifices,  lite- 
rarum  rudes,  literatus  tertius  est. — (MeL  Corp. 
Ref.  i.  p.  513.) 


1521.  Storch,  leading  the  way  with  the 
port  and  bearing  of  a  Lanzknecht,*  and 
Mark  Thomas  and  Stubner  following  be- 
hind. The  disorder  that  reigned  in  Wit- 
temberg was  favourable  to  their  designs. 
The  youth  of  the  academies,  and  the 
class  of  citizens  already  roused  and  ex- 
cited, were  well  prepared  to  give  eap:  to 
the  new  teachers. 

Making  sure  of  co-operation,  they 
waited  upon  the  University  Professors, 
to  receive  their  sanction :  "  We,:'  said 
they,  "  are  sent  by  God  to  teach  the  peo- 
ple. The  Lord  has  favoured  us  with 
special  communications  from  Himself; 
we  have  the  knowledge  of  things  which 
are  coming  upon  the  earth. f  In  a  word, 
we  are  Apostles  and  Prophets,  and  we 
appeal,  for  the  truth  of  what  we  say,  to 
Doctor  Luther."  The  Professors  were 
amazed. 

"  Who  commissioned  you  to  preach  ?" 
enquired  Melancthon  of  Stubner,  who 
had  formerly  studied  under  him,  and 
whom  he  now  received  at  his  table. — 
"  The  Lord  our  God." — "  Have  you  com- 
mitted anything  to  writing  ?" — "  The 
Lord  our  God  has  forbidden  me  to  do  so." 
Melancthon  drew  back,  alarmed  and  as- 
tonished. 

"There  are  indeed  spirits  of  no  ordinary 
kind  in  these  men,"  said  he ;  "  but  what 
spirits?  .  .  .  none  but  Luther  can  solve 
the  doubt.  On  the  one  hand  let  us  be- 
ware of  quenching  the  Spirit  of  God, 
and  on  the  other,  of  being  seduced  by 
the  spirit  of  the  devil." 

Storch,  who- was  of  a  restless  disposi- 
tion, soon  left  Wittemberg;  Stubner  re- 
mained behind.  Actuated  by  an  ardent 
desire  to  make  proselytes,  he  went  from 
house  to  house,  conversing  with  one  and 
another,  and  persuading  many  to  ac- 
knowledge him  as  a  prophet  of  God.  He 
especially  attached  himself  to  Cellarius, 
a  Suabian,  a  friend  of  Melancthon,  and 
master  of  a  school  attended  by  a  consid- 
erable number  of  young  persons.  Cel- 
larius admitted,  with  blind  confidence, 
the  claims  of  the  new  Apostles. 

Melancthon's  perplexity  and  uneasi- 
ness continued  to  increase.  It  was  not 
so  much  the  visions  of  the  prophets  of 

*  Incedens  more  et  habitu  mililum  istorum 
quos  Lanzknecht  dicimus. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  245.) 

t  Esse  sibi  cum  Deo  familiaria  colloquia,  videre 

f„tura —(Mel.  Electori,  27th  Dec.  1521. 

Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  514.) 


LUTHER  LEAVES  THE  WARTBURG. 


407 


Zwjpkau,  as  their  doctrine  concerning 
Baptism,  that  disturbed  him.  To  him  it 
seemed  agreeable  to  reason, — and  he 
thought  it  deserved  to  be  examined  into, 
— "  for,"  observed  he, u  nothing  should  be 
lightly  received  or  rejected."* 

Such  was  the  spirit  of  the  Reformation. 
In  this  hesitation  and  struggle  of  Me- 
lancthon,  we  have  an  evidence  of  his  up- 
rightness, which  does  him  more  honour 
than  a  determined  opposition  could  have 
done. 

The  Elector  himself,  whom  Melanc- 
thon  termed  "the  light  of  Israel,"!  had 
his  doubts.  "  Prophets  and  Apostles  in 
the  electorate  of  Saxony,  as  of  old  time 
in  Jerusalem  !  It  is  a  solemn  question," 
said  he,  "  and  as  a  layman,  I  cannot  de- 
cide it.  But  rather  than  fight  against 
God,  I  would  take  to  my  staff,  and  de- 
scend from  my  throne !" 

On  reflection,  he  intimated  by  his 
counsellors,  that  Wittemberg  had  quite 
sufficient  trouble  in  hand  :  that  it  was 
most  likely  the  claims  of  the  men  of 
Zwickau  were  a  temptation  of  the  devil, 
and  that  the  wisest  course  appeared  to  be 
to  allow  the  whole  matter  to  settle  down, 
— that  nevertheless  whenever  his  High- 
ness should  clearly  perceive  what  was 
God's  will,  he  would  not  confer  with 
flesh  and  blood,  but  was  ready  to  endure 
every  thing  in  the  cause  of  truth. | 

Luther  received  in  the  Wartburg  in- 
telligence of  the  ferment  at  the  court  of 
Wittemberg.  His  informants  apprized 
him  of  strange  persons  having  made  their 
appearance,  and  that,  as  to  their  message, 
it  was  not  known  from  whence  it  came. 
The  thought  instantly  occurred  to  him, 
that  God  had  permitted  these  deplorable 
events  in  order  to  humble  his  servants, 
and  to  rouse  them  to  seek  higher  degrees 
of  sanctification.  "  Your  Highness," 
said  he,  in  a  letter  to  the  Elector,  "  your 
Highness  for  many  a  year  collected  rel- 
iques  far  and  wide ;  God  has  heard 
your  prayers,  and  sent  you,  at  no  cost  or 
trouble  of  your  own,  a  whole  cross,  with 
nails,  spears,  and  scourges.  God  prosper 
the  newly  acquired  relic  !     Only  let  your 

*  Censebat  enim  neque  admittendum  neque 
rejiciendum  quicquam  temere. — (Camer.  Vit. 
Mel.  p.  49.) 

t  Electori  lucernce  Israel. — (Ibid.  p.  513.) 
t  Daruber  auch   leiden  was  S.  C.  G.  leiden 
soUt— (Ibid.  p.  537.) 


Highness  spread  out  your  arms,  and  en- 
dure the  piercing  of  the  nails  in  your 
flesh.  I  always  expected  that  Satan 
would  send  us  this  plague." 

Nevertheless,  there  was  nothing,  ac- 
cording to  his  judgment,  more  urgent 
than  to  secure  to  others  the  liberty  he 
claimed  for  himself.  He  would  have  no 
divers  weights  or  measures:  "Pray  let 
them  alone ;  don't  imprison  them."  wrote 
he  to  Spalatin ;  "  let  not  our  prince  im- 
brue his  hands  in  the  blood  of  the  pro- 
phets that  have  risen  up."*  Luther  was 
far  beyond  the  age  in  which  he  lived, 
and  even  beyond  many  of  the  Reformers 
in  the  matter  of  toleration. 

Affairs  were  daily  growing  more  seri- 
ous in  Wittemberg.  f 

Carlstadt  did  not  receive  many  things 
taught  by  the  new  teachers,  and  especial- 
ly their  anabaptist  doctrine  ;  but  there  is 
something  contagious  in  religious  enthu- 
siasm, which  a  head  like  his  could  with 
difficulty  withstand.     From  the  time  the 
men  of  Zwickau  arrived  in  Wittemberg, 
Carlstadt  had  accelerated  his  movements 
in  the  direction  of  violent  changes:  "It 
is  become  necessary,"  cried  he,  "  that  we 
J  should  exterminate  all  the  ungodly  prac- 
tices around  us."±  He  brought  forward  all 
'  the  texts  against  image  worship,  and  with 
j  increased  vehemence  declaimed  against 
J  Romish  idolatry — "People  kneel,"  said 
he,  "  and  crawl  before  those  idols  ;  burn 
tapers  before    their   shrines,   and    make 
offerings   to    them.     Let   us   arise,  and 
drag  the  worshippers  from  their  altars !" 

Such  appeals  were  not  lost  upon  the 
populace.  They  broke  into  churches, 
carried  off  the  images,  breaking  them  in 
pieces,  and  burning  them.§  Better  would 
it  have  been  to  have  awaited  their  abo- 
lition by  authority  ;  but  the  cautious  ad- 
j  vances  of  the  leaders  of  the  Reformation 
were  thought  to  compromise  its  security. 

It  was  not  long  before  one  who  lis- 
tened to  these  enthusiasts  might  have 
thought  that  there  were  no  real  Christians 
in  all  Wittemberg,  save  only  those  who  re- 
fused to  come  to  confession,  persecuted 
the  priests,  and  ate  meat  on  fast  days. 

*  Ne  princeps  manus  cruentet  in  prophetis. — 
(L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  135.) 

t  Ubi  fiebant  omnia  in  dies  difficiliora. — 
(Camer.  Vit.  Mel.  p.  49.) 

I  Irruendum  et  demoliendum  statim. — (Ibid.) 
§  Die  Bilder  zu  sturmen  und  aus  den  Kirchen 
zu  werfen. — (Math.  p.  31.) 


408 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


The  bare  suspicion  that  he  did  not  reject, 
one  and  all,  the  ceremonies  of  the 
Church  as  inventions  of  the  devil,  was 
enough  to  subject  a  man  to  the  charge 
of  being  a  worshipper  of  Baal.  "  We 
must  form  a  church,"  they  exclaimed, 
"that  shall  consist  of  the  Saints  alone  !" 

The  burghers  of  Wittemberg  presented 
to  the  Council  certain  regulations  which 
it  was  compelled  to  sanction.  Several 
of  these  regulations  were  conformable  to 
christian  morals.  The  closing  of  places 
of  amusement  was  particularly  insisted 
upon. 

But  soon  after  this,  Carlstadt  went 
still  greater  lengths ;  he  began  to  pour 
contempt  upon  human  learning  ;  and  the 
students  heard  their  aged  tutor  advising 
them,  from  his  rostrum,  to  return  to  their 
homes,  and  resume  the  spade,  or  follow 
the  plough,  and  cultivate  the  earth,  be- 
cause man  was  to  eat  bread  in  the  sweat 
of  his  brow !  George  Mohr,  master  of 
the  boy's  school  of  Wittemberg,  carried 
away  by  a  similar  madness,  called  from 
his  window  to  the  burghers  outside  to 
come  and  remove  their  children.  Where 
indeed  was  the  use  of  their  pursuing 
their  studies,  since  Storch  and  Stubner 
had  never  been  at  the  University,  and 
yet  were  prophets?  A  mechanic  was 
just  as  well,  nay  perhaps  better  qualified 
than  all  the  divines  in  the  world,  to 
preach  the  Gospel ! 

Thus  it  was  that  doctrines  were  put 
forth  directly  opposed  to  the  Reformation. 
The  revival  of  letters  had  opened  a  way 
for  the  reformed  opinions.  Furnished 
with  theological  learning,  Luther  had 
joined  issue  with  Rome  ; — and  the  Wit- 
temberg enthusiasts,  similar  to  those  fa- 
natical monks  exposed  by  Erasmus  and 
Reuchlin,  pretended  to  trample  under 
foot  all  human  learning  !  Only  let  Van- 
dalism once  establish  its  sway,  and  the 
hopes  of  the  world  were  gone ;  and 
another  irruption  of  barbarians  would 
quench  the  light  which  God  had  kin- 
dled among  Christian  people. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  results  of 
these  strange  lessons  began  to  show 
themselves.  Men's  minds  were  diverted 
from  the  Gospel,  or  prejudiced  against  it; 
the  school  was  almost  broken  up.  the  de- 
moralised students  burst  the  bands  of 
discipline,  and  the  states  of  Germany  re- 


called such  as  belonged  to  their  several 
jurisdictions.*  Thus  the  men  who 
aimed  at  reforming,  and  infusing  new 
vigour  into  every  thing,  had  brought  all 
to  the  brink  of  ruin.  "  One  more  effort," 
thought  the  partisans  of  Rome,  who,  on 
all  sides,  were  again  lifting  their  heads, 
"and  all  will  be  oursF'f 

The  prompt  repression  of  these  fanat- 
ical excesses  was  the  only  means  of  sav- 
ing the  Reformation.  But  who  should 
undertake  the  task?  Melancthon ?  He 
was  too  young,  too  deficient  in  firmness, 
too  much  perplexed  by  this  strange  con- 
juncture of  circumstances.  The  Elec- 
tor? He  was  the  most  pacific  man  of 
his  age.  To  build  his  castles  of  Alten- 
burg,  Weimar,  Lochau,  and  Coburg,  to 
adorn  the  churches  with  fine  pictures  by 
Lucas  Cranach,  to  improve  the  chaunt- 
ings  in  his  chapels,  to  advance  the  pros- 
perity of  his  university,  and  promote  the 
happiness  of  his  subjects ;  to  stop  in  his 
walks  and  distribute  little  presents  to 
playful  children, — such  were  the  tran- 
quil occupations  of  his  life  ;  and  now,  in 
his  declining  years,  to  engage  in  conflict 
with  fanatics,  and  oppose  violence  to 
violence, — how  could  the  gracious  and 
pious  Frederic  take  such  a  step  ? 

The  evil,  therefore,  was  gaining 
ground,  and  no  one  stept  forward  to  ar- 
rest its  progress.  Luther  was  absent  far 
from  Wittemberg.  Confusion  and  ruin 
impended  over  the  city.  The  Reforma- 
tion beheld,  proceeding,  as  it  were,  from 
its  own  bosom,  an  enemy  more  to  be 
dreaded  than  Popes  and  Emperors.  It 
was  as  if  on  the  brink  of  an  abyss. 

"  Luther !  Luther !"  was  the  cry  from 
one  end  of  Wittemberg  to  the  other. 
The  burghers  were  clamorous  for  his  re- 
appearance. Divines  felt  their  need  of 
the  benefit  of  his  judgment ;  even  the 
prophets  appealed  to  him.  All  united  in 
entreating  him  to  return. | 

We  may  guess  what  was  passing  in 
the  Reformer's  mind.  The  harsh  usage 
of  Rome  seemed  nothing  when  compared 
with  what  now  wrung  his  heart.     It  is 

*  Etliche  Fiirsten  ihre  Bewandten  abgefordert. 
—(Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  560.) 

t  Perdita  et  fundltus  diruta. — (Cam.  Vit.  Mel. 
p.  52.) 

t  Lutherum  revocavimus  ex  heremo  suo  mag- 
nis  de  causis. — (Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  566.) 


LUTHER  LEAVES  THE  WARTBURG. 


409 


from  the  very  midst  of  the  Reformation 
that  its  enemies  have  gone  forth.  It  is 
preying  upon  its  own  vitals ;  and  that 
teaching,  which,  by  its  power,  had  suf- 
ficed to  restore  peace  to  his  troubled 
heart,  he  beholds  perverted  into  an  occa- 
sion of  fatal  dissensions  in  the  Church. 

"  If  I  knew,"  said  Luther,  at  an  earlier 
period,  "  that  my  doctrine  had  injured 
one  human  being,  however  poor  and  un- 
known,— which  it  could  not,  for  it  is  the 
very  Gospel, — I  would  rather  face  death 
ten  times  over,  than  not  retract  it.*  And 
lo !  now,  a  whole  city,  and  that  city  Wit- 
temberg  itself,  is  sinking  fast  into  licen- 
tiousness." True,  indeed,  the  doctrine 
he  had  taught  had  not  been  the  cause  of 
all  this  evil ;  but  from  every  quarter  of 
Germany  voices  were  heard  that  accused 
him  as  the  author  of  it.  Some  of  the 
bitterest  feelings  he  had  ever  known  op- 
pressed his  spirit  at  this  juncture,  and  his 
trial  was  of  a  different  kind.  Was  this 
then,  he  asked  himself,  to  be  the  issue 
of  the  great  work  of  Reformation  1  Im- 
possible !  he  utterly  rejected  the  doubts 
that  presented  themselves.  God  has  be- 
gun the  work — God  will  fulfil  it.  "I 
prostrate  myself  in  deep  abasement  be- 
fore the  Eternal,"  said  he,  "  and  I  im- 
plore of  Him  that  His  name  may  rest  upon 
this  work,  and  that  if  anything  impure 
has  mingled  in  the  doing  of  it,  He  will 
remember  that  I  am  but  a  sinful  man."f 

The  letters  written  to  Luther,  convey- 
ing reports  of  the  inspiration  of  the  pre- 
tended prophets  and  their  exalted  com- 
munion with  the  Lord,  did  not  occasion 
him  a  moment's  hesitation.  He  well 
knew  the  deep  struggles  and  prostra- 
tions of  the  spiritual  life  ;  at  Erfurth  and 
at  Wittemberg,  he  had  had  experience 
of  the  mighty  power  of  God,  which  ren- 
dered him  but  little  disposed  to  credit  the 
statement  that  God  had  appeared  visibly, 
and  discoursed  with  his  creature. 

"  Ask  thero,"  said  he,  in  writing  to 
Melancthon,  "  if  they  have  known  those 
spiritual  heavings,  those  pangs  of  God's 
new  creation,  those  deaths  and  hells, 
which  accompany  a  real  regeneration.^ 

*  MSchte  ich  ehe  zehn  Tode  leyden. — (Wie- 
der  Emser,  L.  Opp.  xviii.  p.  613.) 

t  Ich  krieche  zu  seiner  Gnaden. — (L.  Opp. 
xviii.  p.  615.) 

t  Qiiisras  num  experti  sint  spirituales  illas  an- 
gustias  et  nativitates  divinas,  mortes  infernosque. 
— (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  215.) 

52 


And  if  they  speak  only  of  soft  and  tran- 
quil impressions,  piety,  and  devotion,  as 
they  phrase  it,  don't  believe  them  ;  not 
even  though  they  should  assert  that  they 
have  been  caught  up  into  the  third  heav- 
en !  In  order  that  Christ  should  enter 
into  his  glory,  it  behoved  him  to  pass 
through  the  suffering  of  death :  thus  the 
believer  must  pass  through  the  tribula- 
tion of  his  sin  before  he  enters  into  his 
Peace.  Would  you  learn  when,  where, 
and  how,  God  speaks  to  men  1  Listen 
to  the  word.  '  As  a  lion  He  has  broken 
all  my  bones, — I  am  cast  out  from  before 
His  face,  and  my  life  is  brought  down  to 
the  gates  of  death.'  No,  no,  the  Divine 
Majesty  (as  they  term  Him)  does  not 
speak  face  to  face  with  man,  for  '  no  man] 
says  He, '  can  see  my  face  and  UveJ  " 

But  his  firm  conviction  that  the  pro- 
phets were  under  a  delusion  did  but  ag- 
gravate Luther's  grief.  The  solemn 
truth  of  Salvation  by  Grace  seemed  to 
have  quickly  lost  its  attraction,  and  men 
were  turning  aside  after  fables.  He  be- 
gan to  understand  that  the  work  was  not 
so  easy  as  he  had  once  fondly  thought. 
He  stumbled  at  this  first  stone  placed  in 
his  path  by  the  fickleness  of  the  human 
heart.  Grief  and  anxiety  weighed  heavy 
on  his  spirit.  He  desired,  though  at  the 
hazard  of  his  life,  to  remove  the  stum- 
bling-block out  of  the  way  of  the  people, 
and  he  resolved  to  return  to  Wittem- 
berg. 

It  was  a  moment  of  considerable  dan- 
ger. The  enemies  of  the  Reformation 
thought  themselves  on  the  very  eve  of 
destroying  it.  George  of  Saxony,  who 
would  neither  connect  himself  with 
Rome  nor  with  Wittemberg,  had  writ- 
ten, as  early  as  the  15th  October,  1521, 
to  Duke  John,  the  Elector's  brother,  to 
induce  him  to  side  with  those  who  op- 
posed the  progress  of  the  Reformation. 
"  Some,"  wrote  he,  "  deny  the  immortal- 
ity of  the  soul,  others,  and  those  friars 
too !  drag  the  relics  of  St.  Anthony 
through  the  streets,  and  throw  them  into 
the  gutters.*  All  this  comes  of  Luther's 
teaching.  Entreat  your  brother  either 
to  make  a  public  example  of  the  impious 
authors  of  these  'disorders,  or,  at  least, 
publicly  to  declare  his  opinion  of  them. 
Our  grey  hairs  warn  us   that  we  are 

*  Mit  Schweinen  und  Schellen  . . . .  in  Koth 
geworfen. — (Weyn.  Ann  Seek.  p.  482.) 


410 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


near  the  end  of  our  course,  and  that  we 
ought  speedily  to  put  an  end  to  such 
evils." 

After  this,  George  took  his  departure 
to  be  present  at  the  sittings  of  the  Impe- 
rial Government  at  Nuremberg.  On  ar- 
riving, he  used  every  means  to  procure 
the  adoption  of  severe  measures.  The 
result  was  that,  on  the  21st  of  January, 
the  Diet  published  an  edict,  in  which 
they  conplained  bitterly  that  the  priests 
were  accustomed  to  say  mass  without 
being  habited  in  priest's  garments, — that 
they  pronounced  the  words  of  consecra- 
tion in  German, — administered  it  to  such 
as  had  not  confessed  themselves, — passed 
it  into  the  hands  of  laymen,  without 
even  troubling  themselves  to  ascertain 
whether  the  communicant  came  to  it 
fasting.* 

The  Imperial  Government  directed 
the  Bishops  accordingly,  to  look  after 
and  punish  severely  the  innovators  within 
their  respective  dioceses :  and  the  Bishops 
were  not  slow  in  following  these  direc- 
tions. 

It  was  just  at  this  moment  that  Lu- 
ther decided  to  appear  again  upon  the 
stage.  He  clearly  saw  the  critical  posi- 
tion of  affairs,  and  foreboded  wide-spread- 
ing calamity.  "A  time  of  trouble,"  said 
he,  "  is  coming  upon  the  empire  which 
will  sweep  before  it  princes,  magistrates 
and  bishops.  People's  eyes  are  opened 
they  cannot  be  driven  by  main  force 
Germany  will  be  deluged  with  blood,  f 
Let  us  take  our  stand  as  a  wall  of  de- 
fence to  our  country  in  the  day  of  God's 
anger." 

So  thought  Luther  :  but  he  perceived 
a  danger  yet  more  imminent.  At  Wit- 
temberg,  the  fire,  instead  of  expiring, 
was  burning  every  day  more  fiercely. 
From  the  summits  of  the  Wartburg, 
Luther  might  discern  in  the  horizon  the 
lurid  glare  that  gives  notice  of  devasta- 
tion flashing  at  intervals  through  the 
gloom.  Who  but  himself  can  apply  a 
remedy  in  the  crisis?  What  should 
prevent  his  throwing  himself  into  the 
heat  of  the  conflagration,  and  exerting 
his  influence  to  arrest  its  progress  1  He 
foresees  his  enemies  preparing  to  strike 

*  In  ihre  lalsche  Hande  reiche. — (L.  Opp. 
xviii.  p.  285.) 

t  Germaniam  in  sanguine  natare. — (L.  Epp. 
ii.  p.  157.) 


him  down,  but  his  purpose  is  not  shaken. 
Nor  is  he  deterred  by  the  Elector's  en- 
treaty that  he  would  keep  within  the 
Wartburg,  and  there  quietly  prepare  his 
justification  at  the  approaching  Diet. 
A  more  urgent  necessity  is  pressing 
upon  his  soul ;  and  it  is  to  justify  the 
Gospel  itself.  "  The  news  from  Wit- 
temberg,"  wrote  he,  "  is  every  day  be-' 
coming  more  alarming.  I  am  on  the 
point  of  setting  out.  That  state  of  things 
absolutely  requires  it."* 

Accordingly,  on  the  3d  of  March,  he 
finally  decided  on  leaving  the  Wartburg. 
He  bade  farewell  to  its  grey  turrets  and 
gloomy  forests.  He  passed  beyond  those 
walls,  within  which  the  anathemas  of 
Leo  and  the  sword  of  Charles  were  alike 
powerless.  He  trod  the  path  that  wound 
to  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  The  world 
which  lay  stretched  before  him,  and  on 
which  he  was  once  more  about  to  ap- 
pear, would  soon  perhaps  ring  with  the 
clamours  of  those  who  sought  his  life. 
It  matters  not.  On  he  goes  rejoicing ; 
for  it  is  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  that  he 
is  bending  his  steps  towards  the  haunts 
of  men. f 

Time  had  been  busy.  Luther  was 
leaving  the  Wartburg  for  another  cause 
and  in  a  different  character  from  that  in 
which  he  had  first  entered  it.  He  had 
arrived  there  as  one  who  had  attacked 
the  received  tradition,  and  its  established 
teachers.  He  was  quitting  it  for  the  de- 
fence of  the  doctrine  of  the  Apostles 
against  a  new  class  of  adversaries.  He 
had  entered  the  Wartburg  as  an  innova- 
tor who  had  assailed  the  ancient  hierar- 
chy,— he  was  leaving  it  in  the  spirit  of  a 
conservator,  that  he  might  defend  the 
faith  of  Christians.  Until  this  period, 
Luther  had  seen  in  the  success  of  his  ef- 
forts but  the  triumph  of  the  great  truth 
of  Justification  by  Faith ;  and,  armed 
with  this  single  weapon,  he  had  beaj 
down  long  standing  superstitions.  But 
if  there  had  been  a  time  for  removing 
that  which  had  encumbered  the  soil,  a 
season  must  needs  come  for  building  up. 
Hidden  under  the  ruins  with  which  his 
assaults  had  strewed  the  plain,  behind 
discredited  letters  of  indulgence,  broken 

*  Ita  enim  res  postulat  ipsa. — (Ibid.  p.  135.) 
t  So  machte  er  sich  mit  unglaublicher  Freu- 

digkeit  des  Geistes,  im  Nahmen  Gottes  auf  den 

Weg.— (Seek.  p.  458.) 


LUTHER  LEAVES  THE  WART  BURG. 


411 


tiaras  and  trampled  cowls,  beneath  the 
many    Romish    errors   and    corruptions 
that  his  mind  surveyed  as  the  slain  upon 
a  battle-field,  he  discerned  and  brought 
forth    to    light   the    primitive    Catholic 
Church,  re-appearing  still  the  same,  and, 
as  it  were,  emerging  from  a  protracted 
struggle,    with    unchangeable    doctrine 
and  heavenly  accents.     He  could  appre- 
ciate the  vast  difference  between  Rome 
and  that  true  Church  which  he  hailed 
and  embraced  with  joy.     Luther  wrought 
no  new  thing  on  the  earth,  as  has  been 
falsely  charged  upon   him  ;  he  did  not 
build  for  his  own  age  an  edifice  that  had 
no   associations  with   the  past ;   he  dis- 
cerned and  let  in  the  light  upon  those 
earlier  foundations  which  were  then  over- 
run with  thorns  and  brambles ;  while  he 
persevered  in  reconstructing  the  temple, 
he    did   but  build  on   the   fundamental 
truths  taught  by  the  Apostles.     Luther 
was  aware  that  the  ancient  and  primi- 
tive Apostolic  Church  must,  on  one  hand, 
be  restored    and    opposed  to  that  papal 
power  which  had  so  long  oppressed  it, — 
and,  on   the    other   hand,    be   defended 
against  enthusiasts  and  unbelievers,  who 
affected  to  disown  it,  and  were  seeking  to 
set  up  some  new  thing,  regardless  of  all 
that  God  had  done  in  past  ages.     Luther 
was,  from  thft  hour,  no  longer  the  rep- 
resentative of  a  single  great  truth — that 
of  Justification  by  Faith,  though,  to  the 
last,  he  gave  to  it  the  highest  place ;  the 
whole  theology  of  Christianity  now  occu- 
pied  his    thoughts: — and  while  he  be- 
lieved that,  in  its  essence,  the  Church  is 
the  Congregation  of  Saints,  he  was  care- 
ful not  to  despise  the  visible  Church,  and 
he  therefore  recognised  those  who  were 
outwardly  called,  as  constituting,  in   a 
'  certain  sense,  the  kingdom  of  God.     Ac- 
cordingly, a  great  change  took  place  in 
Luther,  and,  in  his  entrance  into  divine 
truth,  and  in   that  regenerative  process 
which  God  was  carrying  on  in  the  world. 
The    hierarchy  of  Rome,  acting  upon 
him,  might  have  goaded  the  Reformer  to 
one  extreme,  had  not  the  sects,  which,  at 
this  time,  lifted  their  heads  so  daringly, 
recalled  him  to  just  and  moderate  views. 
His  residence  in  the  Wartburg  divides 
these  two  periods  of  the  history  of  the 
Reformation. 

Luther  rode  slowly  on  in  the  direction 
of  Wittemberg.     It  was  Shrove  Tuesday, 


and    the    second    day   of   his    journey. 
Towards  evening,  a  terrific  storm  came 
on,   and  the  roads  were  flooded.      Two 
ig    Swiss,  who  xvcvc  travelling  the 
same    way,  were  hastening  for  shelter 
to  the  city  of  Jena.     They  had  studied 
at  Bale,  and  were  attracted  to   Wittem- 
berg by  the    renown   of  its  university. 
Journeying    on     foot,    tired,    and     wet 
through,    John    Kessler,  of  Saint  Gall, 
and  his  comrade,  quickened  their  steps. 
The  town  was  in  all  the  bustle  and  buf- 
foonery   of  the    carnival — dances,  mas- 
querades,  and   tumultuous  feasting,  en- 
grossed the  thoughts  of  the  inhabitants, 
and  the  two  travellers,  on  arriving,  could 
find  no  room  in  any  of  the  inns.     After 
a  while,  they  were  directed  to  the  Black 
Bear,  outside   the  city  gate.     Harassed 
and    depressed,    they   repaired    thither. 
The    landlord   received   them   kindly.* 
Ashamed  of  their  appearance,  they  sat 
down  near  the  open  door  of  the  public 
room,  unwilling  to  go  further.     Seated 
at  one  of  the  tables,  was  a  solitary  man 
in  the  habit  of  a  knight,  his  head  covered 
with    a   red    cap,    and    wearing    small 
clothes,  over  which  hung  down  the  skirts 
of  his  doublet.     His  right  hand  rested 
on  the  pommel  of  his  sword ;   his  left 
grasped  the  hilt ;  a  book  lay  open  before 
him,  and  he  seemed  to  be  reading  atten- 
tively.!    At  the  noise  made  by  their  en- 
trance, the  stranger  raised  his  head  and 
saluted  them  courteously,  inviting  them 
to  approach  and  take  a  seat  with  him  at 
the  table ;  then  offering  them  a  glass  of 
beer,  he  said,  alluding  to  their  accent, 
"  You  are  Swiss,  I  perceive ;   but  from 
which   of  the    Cantons?" — "From    St. 
Gall." — "  If  you  are  going  to  Wittem- 
berg, you  will  there  meet  one  of  your 
countrymen,  Doctor  Schurff "     Encour- 
aged   by   so  much  affability,   they  en- 
quired— "  Could   you  kindly  inform  us 
where    Martin    Luther    now   is?" — "I 
know  for  certain,"  answered  the  knight, 
"  that  Luther  is  not  at  Wittemberg,  but 
probably  he  will  be  there  shortly.     Phil- 
ip   Melancthon    is  there.     If   you'll  be 
advised  by  me,  apply  yourselves  to  the 

*  See  the  narrative  of  Kessler,  with  its  details, 
in  the  simple  language  of  that  age,  in  Bernet, 
Johann.  Kessler, p.  27.  Hahnhard  Erzahlungen, 
iii.  p.  300,  and  Marheinecke  Gesch.  der  Ref.  ii. 
p.  321,  2d  edit. 

t  In  einem  rothen  Schlopli,  in  blossen  Hosen 
und  Wamms  .  . — (Ibid.) 


412 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


Greek  and  Hebrew,  that  yon  may  under- 
stand the  Holy  Scriptures."  "If  our 
lives  are  spared/'  observed  one  of  the 
Swiss,  "  we  will  not  return  without  see- 
ing and  hearing  Doctor  Luther ;  it  is  for 
that  purpose  we  have  made  the  journey. 
We  hear  he  wants  to  abolish  the  clergy 
and  the  mass,  and  as  our  parents  always 
intended  to  bring  us  up  to  the  church, 
we  should  like  to  know  on  what  grounds 
he  is  acting."  The  knight  was  silent 
for  a  moment,  and  then  enquired,  "  Where 
have  you  been  studying  hitherto?" — 
"At  Bale."— "Is  Erasmus  still  there? 
what  is  he  doing?"  They  answered  his 
questions;  and  a  pause  ensued.  The 
two  Swiss  knew  not  what  to  make  of 
their  new  acquaintance.  "  How  strange," 
thought  they,  "  that  the  conversation  of 
a  knight  should  be  all  about  Schurff, 
Melancthon,  and  Erasmus,  and  the  ad- 
vantage of  knowing  Greek  and  Hebrew." 
"  Tell  me,  my  friends,"  said  the  stranger, 
suddenly  breaking  silence,  "  what  is 
said  of  Luther  in  Switzerland?" — "Sir," 
replied  Kessler,  "  opinions  concerning 
him  are  greatly  divided,  as  is  the  case 
every  where.  Some  extol  him,  and  others 
pronounce  him  an  abominable  heretic", 
— "  Aye,  aye,  the  priests,  no  doubt,"  re- 
marked the  stranger. 

The  knight's  cordiality  had  put  the 
students  completely  at  their  ease.  Their 
curiosity  was  excited  to  know  what  book 
he  had  been  reading  when  they  came 
in.  The  knight  had  closed  the  volume. 
Kessler's -comrade  ventured  to  take  it  up: 
what  was  his  surprise  at  finding  it  to  be 
the  Hebrew  Psalter.  Laying  it  down, 
he  said,  as  if  to  divert  attention  from  this 
freedom,  u  Gladly  would  I  give  my  little 
finger  to  understand  that  language." — 
"  You  will  surely  have  your  wish,"  was 
the  stranger's  reply,  "  if  you  will  take 
the  pains  to  acquire  it." 

A  few  minutes  after,  the  landlord's 
voice  was  heard  calling  Kessler.  The 
poor  Swiss  began  to  fear  something  was 
amiss ;  but  the  host  whispered,  "  I  hear 
you  want  to  see  Luther  ;  well,  it  is  he 
who  is  seated  beside  you."  Kessler's 
first  thought  was  that  he  was  jesting. 
"  You  surely  would  not  deceive  me," 
said  he.  "  It  is  he,  himself,"  replied  the 
landlord;  "but  don't  let  him  see  that  you 
know  him."  Kessler  made  no  answer ; 
but  returned  to  the  room,  and  resumed 


his  seat,  eager  to  communicate  the  infor- 
mation to  his  companion.  To  do  this 
was  not  easy ;  at  last  he  leaned  forward, 
as  if  looking  towards  the  door,  and  stoop- 
ing close  to  his  friend's  ear,  whispered, — 
"  The  landlord  says  it  is  Luther  himself." 
— "  Perhaps,"  returned  his  companion, 
"  he  said  Hutten?" — "  Probably  so,"  said 
Kessler,  "  I  may  have  mistaken  the  one 
name  for  the  other,  for  they  resemble 
each  other  in  sound." 

At  that  moment,  the  trampling  of 
horses'  feet  was  heard  outside :  two  trav- 
elling merchants,  asking  a  night's  lodg- 
ing, entered  the  room,  laid  aside  their 
spurs,  and  threw  off  their  cloaks,  and 
one  of  them  deposited  near  him,  on  the 
table,  an  unbound  book,  which  attracted 
the  knight's  notice.  "  What  book  may 
that  be  ?"  asked  he.  "  It  is  a  commen- 
tary on  the  Gospels  and  Epistles,  by 
Doctor  Luther,"  was  the  traveller's  an- 
swer ;  "  it  has  only  just  appeared." — "  I 
shall  get  it  shortly,"  remarked  the  knight. 

Conversation  was  interrupted  by  the 
landlord's  announcing  that  supper  was 
ready.  The  two  students,  not  wishing 
to  Incur  the  expense  of  a  meal  in  com- 
pany with  the  knight  Ulric  Hutten,  and 
two  thriving  merchants,  took  the  land- 
lord aside,  and  asked  him  to  serve  them 
with  something  apart.  "  Come  along,  my 
friends,"  said  the  innkeeper  of  the  Black 
Bear,  "sit  ye  down  beside  this  gentle- 
man ;  I  will  let  you  off  easy." — "  Come, 
come,"  said  the  knight,  "  I'll  pay  the 
score." 

During  supper,  the  mysterious  stranger 
made  many  striking  and  instructive  re- 
marks. Both  merchants  and  students 
listened  in  silence,  more  attentive  to  his 
words  than  to  the  dishes  before  them. 
In  the  course  of  conversation,  one  of  the 
merchants  exclaimed,  "  Luther  must  be 
either  an  angel  from  heaven,  or  a  devil 
from  hell !"  and  he  followed  up  his  ex- 
clamation by  the  remark, — "  I  would 
give  ten  florins  for  an  opportunity  of 
meeting  him,  and  confessing  to  him." 

Supper  being  over,  the  merchants  rose 
from  their  seats  ;  the  two  Swiss  remained 
in  company  with  the  knight,  who,  ta- 
king up  a  large  glass  of  beer,  and  raising 
it  to  his  lips,  said  gravely,  after  the  cus- 
tom of  the  country, — "  Swiss,  one  glass 
more,  for  thanks."  And  as  Kessler  was 
about  to  take  the  glass,  the  stranger,  re- 


LUTHER  LEAVES  THE  WARTBURG. 


413 


placing  it,  handed  him  one  filled  with 
wine: — "You  are  not  used  to  beer," 
said  he. 

This  said,  he  rose  from  his  seat,  threw 
over  his  shoulders  a  military  cloak,  and 
extending  his  hand  to  the  students,  said, 
"  When  you  reach  Wittemberg,  salute 
Doctor  Jerome  Schurff  from  me." — 
"  With  pleasure,"  replied  they  ;  "  but 
whose  name  shall  we  give?" — "  Do  you 
tell  him  only,  that  he  who  is  coming 
sends  him  greeting."  With  these  words 
he  departed,  leaving  them  delighted  with 
his  condescension  and  kindness. 

Luther, — for  he  it  was, — continued  his 
journey.  It  will  be  remembered,  that 
he  had  been  placed  under  ban  of  the 
Empire  :  whoever  met  him  might  there- 
fore seize  his  person.  But  in  that  criti- 
cal moment,  engaged  as  he  was,  in  an 
enterprise  replete  with  dangers,  he  was 
calm  and  serene,  and  conversed  cheer- 
fully with  those  whom  he  met  with  on 
his  way. 

It  was  not  that  he  deceived  himself  as 
to  immediate  results.  He  saw  the  hori- 
zon black  with  storms  : — "  Satan,"  said 
he,  "  is  enraged  ;  and  all  around  me  are 
plotting  death  and  destruction.*  But  I 
go  forward  to  throw  myself  in  the  way 
of  the  Emperor  and  the  Pope,  with  no 
protector  but  God  above.  C4o  where  I 
will,  every  man  is  at  perfect  liberty  to 
put  me  to  death  wherever  he  may  find 
me»  Christ  is  Lord  of  all !  if  it  be  His 
will  that  my  life  should  be  taken,  even 
so  let  it  be." 

That  same  day,  being  Ash  Wednes- 
day, Luther  arrived  at  Borne,  a  small 
town  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Leipsic. 
He  felt  that  it  became  him  to  acquaint 
his  prince  with  the  bold  step  he  was 
about  to  take,  and  accordingly  wrote  as 
follows,  from  the  inn  at  which  he  had 
alighted : 

"  Grace  and  peace  from  God,  our  Fa- 
ther, and  from  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ! 
Most  Serene  Elector,  Gracious  Prince, — 
the  reproach  brought  upon  the  Gospel 
by  the  events  that  have  taken  place  at 
Wittemberg,  have  so  deeply  grieved  me, 
that  I  should  have  lost  all  hope,  were  I 
not  assured  that  our  cause  is  that  of  the 
truth. 

*  Furit  Satanas ;  et  fremunt  vicini  undique, 
nescio  quot  mortibus  et  infernis. — (L.  Epp.  ii. 
p.  153.) 


"  Your  Highness  knows  full  well,— 
or  if  not,  be  it  known  to  you,  I  received 
the  Gospel — not  from  man,  but  from  hea- 
ven,— by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  It  was 
not  from  any  doubt  as  to  the  truth,  that 
I  formerly  requested  public  discussions  : 
I  did  so  in  humility,  and  in  the  hope  to 
win  over  others.  But  since  my  humili- 
ty is  taken  advantage  of  to  the  hindrance 
of  the  Gospel,  my  conscience  urges  me, 
at  this  time,  to  change  my  course  of  ac- 
tion. I  have  sufficiently  shown  my  def- 
erence to  your  Highness,  in  withdraw- 
ing from  the  public  gaze  for  a  whole 
year.  Satan  knows  that  it  was  not  from 
cowardice  that  I  did  so.  I  would  have 
entered  Worms,  though  there  had  been 
as  many  devils  in  the  town,  as  there 
were  tiles  upon  its  roofs.  Now  Duke 
George,  whom  your  Highness  mentions 
as  if  to  scare  me,  is  much  less  to  be 
dreaded  than  a  single  devil.  If  what  is 
passing  at  Wittemberg  were  occurring 
at  Leipsic,  (the  Duke's  usual  place  of  res- 
idence,) I  would  instantly  mount  my 
horse,  and  repair  thither,  even  though — 
your  Highness  will,  I  trust,  pardon  the 
expression — it  should  rain  Dukes  George 
for  nine  days  together,  and  every  one 
should  be  nine  times  as  fierce  as  he ! 
What  can  he  be  thinking  of  in  attack- 
ing me  1  Does  he  suppose  that  Christ, 
my  Lord,  is  a  man  of  straw?*  May 
God  avert  from  him  the  awful  judgment 
that  hangs  over  him. 

"Be  it  known  to  your  Highness,  that 
I  am  repairing  to  Wittemberg,  under  a 
protection  more  powerful  than  that  of  an 
Elector.  I  have  no  thought  of  soliciting 
the  aid  of  your  Highness  :  and  am  so  far 
from  desiring  your  protection,  that  it  is 
rather  my  purpose  to  protect  your  High- 
ness. If  I  knew  that  your  Highness 
could  or  would  take  up  my  defence,  I 
would  not  come  to  Wittemberg.  No  sec- 
ular sword  can  advance  this  cause  :  God 
must  do  all,  without  the  aid  or  co-opera- 
tion of  man.  He  who  has  most  faith,  is 
the  most  availing  defence ;  but,  as  it 
seems  to  me,  your  Highness  is  as  yet 
very  weak  in  faith. 

"  But  since  your  Highness  desires  to 
know  what  to  do,  I  will  humbly  answer : 
Your  Electoral  Highness  has  already 
done  too  muck,  and  should  do  nothing 

*  Er  halt  meinen  Herrn  Christum  fur  eia 
Mann  aus  Stroh  geflochten. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  139.) 


414 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


whatever ;  God  neither  wants  nor  will 
endure  that  you  or  I  should  take  thought 
or  part  in  the  matter.  Let  your  High- 
ness follow  this  advice. 

"  In  regard  to  myself,  your  Highness 
must  remember  your  duty  as  Elector, 
and  allow  the  instructions  of  his  Imperi- 
al Majesty  to  be  carried  into  effect  in 
your  towns  and  districts,  offering  no  im- 
pediment to  any  who  would  seize  or  kill 
me  ;*  for  none  may  contend  against  the 
powers  that  be,  save  only  He  who  has 
ordained  them. 

"  Let  your  Highness  accordingly  leave 
the  gates  open,  and  respect  safe-conducts, 
if  my  enemies  in  person,  or  by  their  en- 
voys, should  come  to  search  for  me  in 
your  Highness's  states.  Every  thing 
may  take  its  course,  without  trouble  or 
prejudice  to  your  Highness. 

"  I  write  this  in  haste,  that  you  may 
not  feel  aggrieved  by  my  coming.  My 
business  is  with  another  kind  of  person 
from  Duke  George,  one  who  knows  me, 
and  whom  I  know  well. 

"  Written  at  Borne,  at  the  inn  of  the 
Guide,  on  Ash  Wednesday,  1522. 
"  Your  Electoral  Highness's 

"Very  humble  servant, 

"  Martin  Luther." 

In  this  way,  Luther  made  his  approach 
to  Wittemberg ;  he  wrote  to  his  prince, 
but  not.  as  we  have  seen,  to  excuse  the 
step  he  had  taken.  An  unshaken  con- 
fidence animated  his  heart.  He  saw 
God's  hand  engaged  in  the  cause,  and 
that  sufficed  him.  The  heroism  of  faith 
was  perhaps  never  more  fully  acted  out. 
In  one  of  the  editions  of  Luther's  works, 
we  read  opposite  this  letter,  the  remark 
— "  This  is  a  wonderful  writing  of  the 
third  and  latest  Elias."f 

It  was  on  Friday,  the  7th  of  March, 
that  Luther  re-entered  Wittemberg,  hav- 
ing been  five  days  on  his  journey.  Doc- 
tors, students,  burghers,  broke  forth  in 
rejoicings,  for  they  had  again  among 
them  the  pilot  who  could  best  extricate 
the  vessel  from  the  reefs  by  which  it  was 
encompassed. 

The  Elector,  who  was  then  at  Lochau, 
attended  by  his  court,  was  much  affected 
by  the  perusal  of  the   Reformer's  letter. 

*  Und  ja  nicht  wehren  ...  so  sie  raich  fahen 
ode;-  todten  will. — (L.  Epp.  p.  140.) 

t  Der  wahre,  dritte  und  lezte  Elias  .  .  . — (L. 
Opp.  (L.)  xviii.  p.  271.) 


In  his  desire  to  exculpate  him  before  the 
Diet,  he  wrote  to  Schurff — "  Let  Luther 
write  to  me,  explaining  his  reasons  for 
returning  to  Wittemberg,  and  introduce 
the  statement  that  he  came  without  my 
consent."     Luther  complied. 

"  Behold  me  ready  to  bear  your  High- 
ness's disapprobation,  and  the  anger  of 
the  whole  world.  Are  not  the  Wittem- 
bergers  my  own  sheep  ?  Has  not  God 
committed  them  to  my  care  ?  and  ought 
I  not,  if  need  be,  to  lay  down  my  life  for 
them  1  Besides,  I  dread  lest  we  should 
see,  throughout  Germany,  a  revolt  by 
which  God  shall  punish  our  nation. 
Let  your  Highness  be  well  assured,  the 
decrees  of  heaven  are  not  like  those  of 
Nuremberg."*  This  letter  was  written 
on  the  same  day  that  Luther  reached 
Wittemberg. 

The  following  day,  being  Easter  Eve, 
Luther  visited  Jerome  Schurff  He  found 
Melancthon,  Jonas,  Amsdorff,  Augustin 
Schurff.  Jerome's  brother,  assembled. 
Luther  put  many  questions  to  them,  and 
while  they  recounted  all  that  had  taken 
place  in  his  absence,  two  foreigners  en- 
tered the  room.  Tbe  Swiss  drew  back 
timidly,  on  finding  themselves  in  the 
midst  of  this  company  of  learned  Doc- 
tors ;  but  they  soon  recovered  their  self- 
possession  when  they  saw  in  the  centre, 
of  the  group,  the  knight  whom  they  had 
met  at  the  Black  Bear.  The  latter  ad- 
vancing, accosted  them  as  old  friends, 
and  said,  smiling,  as  he  pointed  to  one 
of  the  company. — "That  is  Philip  Me- 
lancthon, whom  I  mentioned  to  you." 
The  two  Swiss  spent  that  day  in  the  so- 
ciety of  the  assembled  friends,  on  the 
strength  of  the  meeting  at  Jena. 

One  absorbing  thought  engrossed  the 
Reformer's  mind,  and  damped  the  plea- 
sure he  would  otherwise  have  felt  at 
finding  himself  once  more  surrounded 
by  his  friends.  Doubtless,  the  stage  on 
which  he  had  chosen  to  appear  was  an 
obscure  one.  He  was  about  to  raise  his 
voice  in  a  petty  town  of  Saxony ;  and 
yet  his  object  was,  in  reality,  so  import- 
ant, as  to  influence  the  destinies  of  the 
world,  and  be  felt  in  its  effects  by  many 
nations  and  people.  The  question  to  be 
decided  was, — whether  the  teaching 
which  he  had  derived  from  God's  Worcl 

*  L.  Epp.  ii  p.  143.  Luther  altered  this  ex- 
pression at  the  Elector's  request. 


LUTHER  LEAVES  THE  WARTBURG. 


415 


and  which  was  destined  to  produce  so 
mighty  an  effect,  would,  in  the  trial, 
prove  stronger  than  those  disorganizing 
principles  which  threatened  its  extinction. 
It  was  now  to  be  seen  whether  it  was 
possible  to  reform  without  destroying, — 
to  open  a  way  to  new  developments 
without  losing  such  as  had  already  been 
evolved.  To  reduce  to  silence  fanatics 
in  the  energy  of  the  first  bursts  of  enthu- 
siasm,— to  arrest  the  headlong  course  of 
a  thoughtless  multitude, — to  calm  their 
spirits,  and  restore  order,  peace,  and  rea- 
son,— to  break  the  force  of  the  torrent 
that  beat  against  the  as  yet  unsettled  edi- 
fice of  the  Reformation, — such  was  the 
object  of  Luther's  return  to  Wittemberg. 
But  would  his  influence  accomplish  all 
this?     Time  must  show. 

The  Reformer's  heart  thrilled  at  the 
thought  of  the  struggle  he  was  about  to 
enter  upon.  He  raised  his  head,  as  the 
lion  shakes  his  brindled  mane  when 
roused  to  the  fight.  ';  The  hour,"  said 
he,  "  is  arrived,  when  we  must  trample 
under  foot  the  power  of  Satan,  and  con- 
tend against  the  spirit  of  darkness.  If 
our  adversaries  do  not  flee  from  us ; — 
Christ  will  know  how  to  compel  them. 
We  who  put  our  trust  in  the  Lord  of 
life  and  death,  are  lords  both  of  life  and 
of  death  !':* 

But  at  the  same  time  the  impetuous 
Reformer,  as  if  restrained  by  a  higher 
power,  refused  to  employ  the  anathemas 
and  thunders  of  the  Word,  and  set  about 
his  work  in  the  spirit  of  an  humble  pas- 
tor— a  tender  shepherd  of  souls.  "  It  is 
with  the  Word  we  must  contend,"  ob- 
served he,  "  and  by  the  Word  we  must 
refute  and  expel  what  has  gained  a  foot- 
ing by  violence.  I  would  not  resort  to 
force  against  such  as  are  superstitious  ; — 
nor  even  against  unbelievers!  Whoso- 
ever believeth  let  him  draw  nigh,  and 
whoso  believeth  not,  stand  afar  off*  Let 
there  be  no  compulsion.  Liberty  is  of 
the  very  essence  of  Faith." f 

The  next  day  was  Sunday.  That  day 
the  Doctor,  whom  the  lofty  walls  of  the 
Wartburg  had  for  nearly  a  year  hidden 
from  the  public  eye,  is  to  appear  in  the 
pulpit   of    the    church   of  Wittemberg. 

*  Domini  enim  sumus  vitce  et  mortis. — (L. 
Epp.  ii.  p.  150.) 

t  Non  enim  ad  fidem  et  ad  ea  quae  fidei  sunt, 
ullus  cogendus  est. . .  . — (L  Epp.  ii.  p.  151.) 


"  Luther  is  come  back."  "  Luther  is  to 
preach  to-day."  The  news,  repeated 
from  one  to  another,  had  of  itself  no 
slight  effect  in  giving  a  turn  to  the 
thoughts  by  which  the  multitude  were 
deluded.  People  hurried  to  and  fro  in 
all  directions ;  and  on  Sunday  morning 
the  church  was  filled  to  overflow  with 
an  attentive  and  impressed  congregation 

Luther  could  comprehend  the  disposi- 
tion of  his  hearers'  minds.  He  ascended 
the  pulpit.  Behold  him  surrounded  by 
the  flock  which  had  formerly  followed 
him  with  one  heart  as  a  docile  sheep, 
but  which  has  broken  from  him  in  the 
spirit  of  an  untamed  heifer.  His  ad- 
dress was  simple  and  noble, — energetic 
and  persuasive  ; — breathing  the  spirit  of 
a  tender  father  returning  to  his  children, 
and  enquiring  into  their  conduct,  while 
he  communicates  the  reports  that  have 
reached  him  concerning  them.  He 
frankly  commended  their  progress  in  the 
faith,  and  having  thus  prepared  and 
gathered  up  their  thoughts,  he  proceeded 
as  follows : — 

"  But  we  need  a  something  beyond 
Faith  ;  and  that  is  Love.  If  a  man  who 
carries  a  sword  is  alone,  it  matters  not 
whether  he  draw  it  or  keep  it  sheathed ; 
but  if  he  is  in  a  crowd  let  him  have  a 
care  lest  he  wound  any  of  those  about 
him. 

.  "  Observe  a  mother  with  her  babe. 
She  first  gives  it  nothing  but  milk  ;  and 
then  the  most  easily  digestible  food. 
What  would  be  the  consequence  were 
she  to  begin  by  giving  it  meat  or  wine? 

"  In  like  manner  should  we  act  toward 
our  brother. — Have  you  been  long  at 
the  breast? — If  so,  well; — only  let  your 
brother  suck  as  long  ! 

"Observe  the  Sun.  He  dispenses  two 
gifts — namely — light  and  warmth.  The 
mightiest  monarch  cannot  turn  aside  his 
rays: — they  come  straight  on,  arriving 
upon  this  earth  by  a  direct  course. 
Meanwhile  his  warmth  goes  out  and  dif- 
fuses itself  in  every  direction.  So  it  is 
that  Faith,  like  light,  should  ever  be  sim- 
ple and  unbending ; — whilst  Love,  like 
warmth,  should  beam  forth  on  all  sides, 
and  bend  to  eveiy  necessity  of  our  breth- 
ren." 

Having  thus  engaged  his  hearers'  at- 
tention, he  proceeded  to  press  them  more 
closely : 


416 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


"  It  is  agreeable  to  Scripture,  say  you, 
to  abolish  the  mass.  Be  it  so.  But 
what  order,  what  decency  have  you  ob- 
served ?  It  became  you  to  offer  up  ear- 
nest prayers  to  God ;  to  apply  to  the 
authorities ;  then,  indeed,  every  one 
might  have  acknowledged  that  the  thing 
was  of  the  Lord." 

Thus  spake  Luther.  The  fearless 
man  who,  at  Worms,  had  stood  forth 
against  the  princes  of  this  world,  made  a 
deep  impression  on  men's  minds  by  these 
accents  of  wisdom  and  peace.  Carlstadt 
and  the  prophets  of  Zwickau,  from  being 
extolled  and  all-powerful  for  a  few  weeks, 
and  ruling  to  the  disturbance  of  the  pub- 
He  peace,  had  shrunk  into  insignificance 
beside  the  prisoner  escaped  from  the 
Wartburg. 

"  The  Mass,"  he  continued,  u  is  a  bad 
thing.  God  is  opposed  to  it.  It  ought 
to  be  abolished,  and  I  would  that  every 
where  the  Supper  of  the  Gospel  were  es- 
tablished in  its  stead.  But  let  none  be 
torn  from  it  by  force.  We  must  leave  re- 
sults to  God.  It  is  not  ice  that  must  work, 
— but  His  Word.  And  why  so  ?  you 
will  ask.  Because  the  hearts  of  men 
are  not  in  my  hand  as  clay  in  the  hand 
of  the  potter.  We  have  a  right  to  speak, 
but  none  whatever  to  compel.  Let  us 
preach  ; — the  rest  belongs  to  God.  If  I 
resort  to  force,  what  shall  I  gain  ?  Gri- 
mace, fair  appearances,  apeings,  cramped 
uniformity,  and  hypocrisy.  But  there 
will  be  no  hearty  sincerity, — no  faith, — 
no  love.  Where  these  are  wanting, — 
all  is  wanting ;  and  I  would  not  give  a 
straw  for  such  a  victory  !* 

"  Our  first  aim  must  be  to  win  the 
heart ;  and1  to  this  end  we  must  preach 
the  Gospel.  Then  we  shall  find  the 
Word  impressing  one  to-day,  another  the 
next  day ;  and  the  result  will  be,  that 
each  one  will  withdraw  from  the  Mass, 
and  cease  to  receive  it.  God  does  more 
by  the  simpler  power  of  His  word  than 
you  and  I  and  the  whole  world  could  ef- 
fect by  all  our  efforts  put  together !  God 
arrests  the  heart,  and  that  once  taken, — 
all  is  won1. 

"  I  say  not  this  that  you  should  re- 
store the  Mass.  Since  it  is  done  away 
with,  in  God's  name,  let  it  not  be  revived. 
But  was  it  right  to  go  about  it  in  such  a 

*  Ich  wollte  nicht  einen  Birnstiel  drauf  geben. 
— (L.  Opp.  (L.)  xviii.  p.  255.) 


manner  ?  Paul,  coming  one  day  to  the 
famous  city  of  Athens,  found  there  the 
altars  of  such  as  were  no  gods.  He 
passed  on  from  one  to  the  other,  observ- 
ing them  without  touching  one  of  them  ; 
but  he  made  his  way  to  the  market-place, 
and  testified  to  the  people  that  all  their 
gods  were  nought  but  images,  graven  by 
art  and  man's  device.  And  that  preached 
Word  took  possession  of  their  hearts, 
and  the  idols  fell,  without  his  so  much 
as  touching  them ! 

u  I  am  ready  to  preach,  argue,  write, 
— but  I  will  not  constrain  any  one :  for 
faith  is  a  voluntary  act.  Call  to  mind 
what  I  have  already  done.  I  stood  up 
against  Pope,  indulgences,  and  Papists; 
but  without  violence  or  tumult.  I 
brought  forward  God's  Word ;  I  preached 
and  wrote,  and  there  I  stopped.  And 
whilst  I  laid  me  down  and  slept,  or 
chatted  with  Amsdorff  and  Melancthon 
over  our  tankard  of  Wittemberg  beer, 
the  word  I  had  preached  brought  down 
the  power  of  the  Pope  to  the  ground,  so 
that  never  prince  or  emperor  had  dealt  it 
such  a  blow.  For  my  part,  I  did  next 
to  nothing :  the  power  of  the  Word  did 
the  whole  business.  Had  I  appealed  to 
force,  Germany  might  have  been  deluged 
with  blood.  But  what  would  have  been 
the  consequence  ?  Ruin  and  destruction 
of  soul  and  body.  Accordingly,  I  kept 
quiet,  and  let  the  Word  run  through  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land.  Know 
you  what  the  devil  thinks  when  he  sees 
men  resort  to  violence  to  spread  the  Gos- 
pel through  the  world?  Seated  behind 
the  fire  of  hell,  and  folding  his  arms, 
with  malignant  glance  and  horrid  leer, 
Satan  says,  '  How  good  it  is  in  yonder 
madmen  to  play  into  my  hands.'  But 
only  let  him  see  the  Word  of  the  Lord 
circulating,  and  working  its  way  unaided 
on  the  field  of  the  world,  and  at  once  he 
is  disturbed  at  his  work,  his  knees  smite 
each  other,  he  trembles,  and  is  ready  to 
die  with  fear." 

On  the  Tuesday  following,  Luther 
again  ascended  the  pulpit,  and  his  power- 
ful exhortation  was  once  more  heard,  in 
the  midst  of  an  attentive  audience.  He 
preached  again  on  Wednesday,  Thurs- 
day, Friday,  Saturday,  and  Sunday.  He 
took  a  review  of  the  destruction  of 
images,  the  distinction  of  meats,  the  in- 
stitution of  the  Supper,  the  restoration  of 


LUTHER  LEAVES  THE  WARTBURG. 


417 


the  cup  to  the  laity,  and  the  abolition  of 
the  confessional.  He  showed  that  these 
points  were  of  much  less  consequence 
than  the  Mass,  and  that  the  prime  movers 
of  the  disorders  of  which  Wittemberg 
had  been  the  scene,  had  grossly  abused 
their  liberty.  He  passed  by  turns  from 
accents  of  true  Christian  charity  to  bursts 
of  holy  indignation. 

He  especially  declared  himself  against 
those  wbo  ventured  lightly  to  partake  of 
the  Supper  of  the  Lord.  ';  It  is  not  the 
mere  pressing  with  the  teeth"  said  he,  "it 
is  the  inward  and  spiritual  partaking 
realized  by  faith  which  makes  us  Chris- 
tians, and  without  which  all  outward 
acts  are  but  show  and  grimace.  But 
that  faith  consists  in  the  firm  belief  that 
Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God ;  that  having 
himself  borue  our  sins  and  our  iniquities 
on  the  cross,  he  is,  himself,  the  alone  and 
all-sufficient  expiation ;  that  he  now  ap- 
pears continually  in  the  presence  of  God, 
reconciling  us.  to  the  Father :  and  has 
given  to  us  the  sacrament  of  his  body  for 
the  strengthening  of  our  faith  in  this  un- 
speakable mercy.  Only  let  me  believe 
this,  and  God  is  my  defence  :  with  Him 
for  my  buckler  I  defy  sin,  death,  hell,  and 
devils',  they  cannot  harm  me,  nor  even 
so  much  as  ruffle  a  hair  of  my  head ! 
That  spiritual  bread  is  comfort  to  the  af- 
flicted, health  to  the  sick,  life  to  the  dy- 
ing, food  to  the  hungry,  and  a  treasury 
for  the  poor !  The  man  who  does  not 
feel  the  burthen  of  his  sins,  ought,  there- 
fore, to  abstain  from  approaching  the  al- 
tar. What  can  he  have  to  do  there? 
Ah !  let  conscience  be  heard ;  let  our 
hearts  be  broken  with  the  sense  of  our 
sins,  and  we  shall  not  come  to  that  holy 
sacrament  in  a  spirit  of  presumption." 

Crowds  continually  filled  the  church  ; 
many  came  even  from  the  neighbouring 
towns  and  villages  to  hear  this  new 
Elijah.  Among  others  Capito  passed 
two  days  at  Wittemberg,  and  heard  the 
.doctor  preach  twice.  Never  before  had 
Luther  and  the  cardinal's  chaplain  been 
so  entirely  agreed.  Melancthon,  magis- 
trates, professors,  and  the  whole  popula- 
tion were  overjoyed.*  Schurff,  delighted 
with  such  a  termination  of  so  unpromis- 
ing a  state  of  things,  hastened  to  com- 
municate the  intelligence  to  the  Elector. 

*  Grosse  Freude  und  Frohlocken  unter  Gelahr- 
ten  und  Ungelahrten. — (L.  Opp.  xviii.  p.  266.) 

53 


He  wrote  to  him  on  Friday,  the  15th  of 
March,  after  hearing  Luther's  sixth  dis- 
course. "  Oh,  what  joy  has  Doctor  Mar- 
tin's reappearance  diffused  among  us! 
His  words,  through  divine  mercy,  every 
day  bring  back  into  the  way  of  truth  our 
poor  deluded  people.  It  is  manifest  that 
the  Spirit  of  God  is  with  him,  and  that 
his  coming  to  Wittemberg  is  by  His  spe- 
cial providence."* 

In  truth  these  sermons  are  models  of 
popular  eloquence ;  but  not  such  as,  in 
the  days  of  Demosthenes,  or#even  in 
those  of  Savonarola,  had  led  captive  the 
hearts  of  the  people.  The  task  of  the 
preacher  of  Wittemberg  was  one  of 
greater  difficulty.  It  is  far  easier  to 
rouse  the  fury  of  a  wild  beast  than  to 
charm  it  down.  What  was  needed  was 
to  soothe  a  fanatic  multitude,  and  to  tame 
unruly  passions  ;  and  in  this  Luther  suc- 
ceeded. In  his  first  eight  sermons,  he 
allowed  not  a  word  to  escape  him  against 
the  originators  of  these  disorders  ;  no  al- 
lusion likely  to  give  pain, — not  so  much 
as  a  word  by  which  their  feelings  could 
be  wounded.  But  his  moderation  was 
his  strength.;  and  the  more  tenderly  he 
dealt  with  the  souls  that  had  gone  astray, 
the  more  perfectly  did  he  vindicate  that 
truth  that  was  aggrieved.  There  was  no 
withstanding  the  power  of  his  eloquence. 
Men  usually  ascribe  to  timidity  and 
cowardly  compromise,  exhortations  that 
inculcate  moderation.  Here,  how  dif- 
ferent was  the  case  !  In  publicly  stand- 
ing forth  before  the  inhabitants  of  Wit- 
temberg, Luther  braved  the  Pope's  ex- 
communication and  the  Emperor's  pro- 
scription. He  re-appeared,  notwithstand- 
ing the  Elector's  prohibition,  who  had 
intimated  that  he  could  not  protect  him. 
Even  at  Worms  his  courage  had  not 
been  so  signally  proved.  He  was  expo- 
sing himself  to  the  most  imminent  dan- 
gers; and  hence  his  call  was  responded 
to.  The  man  who  braved  the  scaffold, 
might  claim  to  be  listened  to  when  he 
inculcated  submission.  None  better  qual- 
ified to  urge  on  his  hearers  the  duty  of 
obedience  to  God,  than  he  who,  in  order 
that  he  might  himself  render  such  obedi- 
ence, defied  the  most  violent  persecution 
of  man.  At  Luther's  appeal  difficulties 
disappeared — tumult    subsided — sedition 

*  Aus  sonderlicher  Schickung  des  Allmuchti- 
gen  .  .  . — (Ibid.) 


418 


HISTORY  OF   THE   REFORMATION. 


was  silenced,  and  the  burghers  of  Wit- 
temberg returned  quietly  to  their  dwell- 
ings. 

Gabriel  Didymus,  who,  of  all  the  Au- 
gustine monks,  had  manifested  most  en- 
thusiasm, hung  upon  the  Reformer's 
words.  "Don't  you  think  Luther  a 
wonderful  teacher?"  inquired  one  of  his 
hearers,  who  was  himself  deeply  affected. 
"Ah!"  replied  he,  "I  seem  to  be  listen- 
ing to  the  voice  of  an  angel  rather  than 
a  man."*  Didymus,  soon  after  this,  pub- 
licly confessed  he  had  been  deceived. 
"He  is  quite  a  changed  man,"  said  Lu- 
ther, f 

It  was  not  so  at  first  with  Carlstadt. 
Abandoning  his  studies,  and  frequenting 
the  workshops  of  artisans,  that  he  might 
there  receive  the  true  interpretation  of 
the  Scriptures,  he  was  mortified  at  be- 
holding his  party  losing  ground  on  the 
re-appearance  of  Luther. £  In  his  view 
it  was  arresting  the  Reformation  in  the 
midst  of  its  career.  Hence,  his  counte- 
nance wore  a  constant  air  of  dejection, 
sadness,  and  dissatisfaction.  Neverthe- 
less, he  sacrificed  his  self-love  for  the  sake 
of  peace,  restrained  his  desire  to  vindicate 
his  doctrine,  was  reconciled,  at  least  in 
appearance,  to  his  colleague,  and  soon 
after  resumed  his  studies  in  the  univer- 
sity. $ 

The  most  noted  of  the  prophets  were 
not  at  Wittemberg  when  Luther  arrived 
there.  Nicolas  Storch  was  on  a  prog- 
ress through  the  country.  Mark  Stub- 
ner  had  quitted  the  hospitable  roof  of 
Melancthon.  Perhaps  their  spirit  of  pro- 
phecy had  left  them  without  "  voice  or 
answer,"  ||  from  the  first  tidings  brought 
them  that  the  new  Elijah  was  turning 
his  steps  toward  their  Mount  Carmel. 
Cellarius,  the  old  schoolmaster,  alone 
remained.  Meanwhile,  Stubner,  hear- 
ing that  his  sheep  were  scattered,  re- 
turned in  haste  to  Wittemberg.  Those 
who  had  remained  faithful  to  "  the  heav- 
enly prophecy"  gathered  round  their 
master,  repeated  the  substance  of  Luther's 

*  Imo,  inquit,  angeli,  non  hominis  vocem  mihi 
audisse  videor. — (Camerarius,  p.  12.) 

t  In  aliura  virum  mutatus  est. — (L.  Epp.  ii. 
p.  156.) 

t  Ego  Carlstadium  offendi,  quod  ordinationes 
suas  cessavi. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  177.) 

§  Philippi  et  Carlstadii  lectiones,  ut  sunt  opti- 
ma; .  .—(Ibid.  p.  284.) 

||  1  Kings  xviii. 


sermons,  and  pressed  him  with  anxious 
enquiries  as  to  what  they  ought  to  think 
and  do.*  Stubner  exhorted  them  to 
stand  firm.  "  Let  him  come  forth,"  in- 
terposed Cellarius  ;  "  let  him  give  us  the 
meeting ;  let  him  only  afford  us  oppor- 
tunity to  declare  our  doctrine,  and  then 
we  shall  see  .  .  .  ." 

Luther  had  but  little  wish  to  meet 
them.  He  knew  them  to  be  men  of  vio- 
lent, hasty,  and  haughty  temper,  who 
would  not  endure  even  kind  admonitions, 
but  required  that  every  one  should,  at 
the  very  first  summons,  submit  to  them 
as  to  a  supreme  authority.!  Such  are 
enthusiasts  in  every  age.  Nevertheless, 
as  an  interview  was  requested,  Luther 
could  not  decline  it.  Besides,  it  might 
be  doing  service  to  the  weak  of  the  flock 
to  unmask  the  imposture  of  the  prophets. 
Accordingly  the  meeting  took  place. 
Stubner  opened  the  conversation.  He 
showed  how  he  proposed  to  restore  the 
Church  and  reform  the  world.  Luther 
listened  to  him  with  great  calmness. | 
"  Of  all  you  have  been  saying,"  replied 
he,  at  last,  gravely,  "  there  is  nothing 
that  I  see  to  be  based  upon  Scripture. 
It  is  a  mere  tissue  of  fiction."  At  these 
words  Cellarius  lost  all  self-possession. 
Raising  his  voice  like  one  out  of  his 
mind,  he  trembled  from  head  to  foot,  and 
striking  the  table  with  his  fist,  in  a  vio- 
lent passion, §  exclaimed  against  Luther's 
speech  as  an  insult  offered  to  a  man  of 
God.  On  this  Luther  remarked,  "  Paul 
declared  that  the  signs  of  an  apostle 
were  wrought  among  the  Corinthians,  in 
signs  and  mighty  deeds.  Do  you  like- 
wise prove  your  apostleship  by  miracles." 
— "  We  will  do  so,"  rejoined  the  pro- 
phets.! "The  God  whom  I  serve," 
answered  Luther,  "  will  know  how  to 
bridle  your  gods."  Stubner,  who  had 
hitherto  preserved  an  imperturbable  si- 
lence, now  fixing  his  eyes  on  the  Reform- 
er, said,  in  a  solemn  tone,  "  Martin  Lu- 
ther, hear  me  while   I  declare   what  is 

*  Rursum  ad  ipsum  confluere  .  .  . — (Camerar. 
p.  52.) 

t  Vehementer  superbus  et  impatiens  .  .  .  credi 
vult  plena  auctoritate,  ad  primam  vocem  .  .  . — 
(L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  179.) 

t  Audivit  Lutherus  placide  . . . — (Camcr.  p.  52.) 

§  Cum  et  solum  pedibus  et  propositam  mensu- 
lam  manibus  feriret. — (Ibid.) 

||  Quid  pollicentes  de  mirabilibus  affectionibus. 
—(Ibid.  p.  53.)    ' 


LUTHER  LEAVES  THE  WARTBURG. 


419 


passing  at  this  moment  in  your  soul. 
You  are  beginning  to  see  that  my  doc- 
trine is  true."  Luther  was  silent  for  a 
few  moments,  and  then  replied,  "  The 
Lord  rebuke  thee,  Satan."  Instantly  the 
prophets  lost  all  self-command.  They 
shouted  aloud,  "  The  Spirit,  the  Spirit." 
The  answer  of  Luther  was  marked  by 
the  cool  contempt  and  cutting  homeli- 
ness of  his  expressions  :  "  1  slap  your  spi- 
rit on  the  snout!"*  said  he.  Hereupon 
their  outcries  redoubled.  Cellarius  was 
more  violent  than  the  rest.  He  stormed 
till  he  foamed  at  the  mouth,f — and  their 
voices  were  inaudible  from  the  tumult. 
The  result  was  that  the  pretended  pro- 
phets abandoned  the  field,  and  that  very 
day  they  left  Wittemberg. 

Thus  did  Luther  achieve  the  object 
for  which  he  had  left  his  retirement. 
He  had  taken  his  stand  against  fanati- 
cism, and  expelled  from  the  bosom  of 
the  church  the  enthusiasm  and  disorder 
which  had  invaded  it.  If  the  Reforma- 
tion with  one  hand  dashed  to  the  earth 
the  dusty  decretals  of  Rome,  with  the 
other  it  put  away  from  it  the  pretensions 
of  the  mystics,  and  established  on  the  ter- 
ritory it  had  acquired  the  living  and  sure 
Word  of  God.  The  character  of  the 
Reformation  was  thus  distinctly  seen. 
Its  mission  was  to  keep  constantly  a  mid- 
dle course  between  these  extremes,  remote 
alike  from  fanatical  distortions  and  from 
the  death-like  slumber  of  the  papal  rule. 

Here  was  an  instance  of  a  whole  pop- 
ulation passionately  excited,  and  misled 
to  such  a  degree  as  to  have  cast  off  all 
restraint,  at  once  listening  to  reason,  re- 
covering calmness,  and  returning  to  their 
accustomed  submission,  so  that  the  most 
perfect  quiet  again  reigned  in  that  very 
city  which,  but  a  few  days  before,  had 
been  like  the  troubled  ocean. 

The  most  absolute  liberty  was  forth- 
with established  at  Wittemberg.  Luther 
continued  to  reside  in  the  convent,  and 
to  wear  the  monastic  habit ;  but  every 
one  was  free  to  lay  it  aside.  In  coming 
to  the  Lord's  Supper,  persons  might 
either  receive  only  the  general  absolu- 
tion or  they  might  apply  for  a  special 
one.     It  was  recognised  as  a  principle  to 

*  Ihren  Geist  naue  er  iiber  die  Schnauze. — 
(L.  Opp.  Altenburg.  Augs.  iii.  p.  137.) 

t  Spumabat  et  fremebat  et  furebat—  (L.  Epp. 
ii.  p.  179.) 


reject  nothing  but  what  contradicted  a 
clear  and  express  declaration  of  Scrip- 
ture.* It  was  no  indifference  that  dic- 
tated this  course.  On  the  contrary,  reli- 
gion was  recalled  to  its  essential  princi- 
ple. Piety  only  withdrew  from  the  ac- 
cessary forms  in  which  it  had  been  well 
nigh  lost,  that  it  might  rest  on  its  true 
basis.  Thus  was  the  Reformation  itself 
preserved,  and  the  church's  teaching 
progressively  developed  in  love  and  truth. 

No  sooner  was  order  re-established, 
when  the  Reformer  turned  to  his  be- 
loved Melancthon,  and  requested  his  co- 
operation in  the  final  revision  of  the 
translation  of  the  New  Testament,  which 
he  had  brought  with  him  from  the 
Wartburg.f  As  early  as  the  year  1519, 
Melancthon  had  laid  down  the  grand  prin- 
ciple that  the  Fathers  must  be  explained 
conformably  to  the  Scripture,  and  not  Scrip- 
ture according  to  the  Fathers.  Medita- 
ting daily  on  the  books  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, he  felt  at  once  charmed  by  their 
simplicity,  and  solemnly  impressed  by 
the  depth  of  their  import.  "  In  thqii,  and 
them  only,"  affirmed  this  adept  in  ancient 
philosophy,  "  do  we  find  the  true  '  food 
of  the  soul.'  "  Gladly,  therefore,  did  he 
comply  with  Luther's  desire,  and  many 
were  the  hours  the  two  friends,  from  that 
time,  spent  together,  studying  and  trans- 
lating the  inspired  Word.  Often  would 
they  pause  in  their  labours  to  give  free 
expression  to  their  wonder.  "  If  Reason 
could  speak,"  said  Luther,  "it  would  say, 
O,  that  I  could  once  hear  the  voice  of 
God !  I  should  think  it  worth  a  journey 
to  the  very  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth ! 
Give  ear,  then,  my  fellow-man — God,  the 
creator  of  heaven  and  earth,  now  speaks 
to  thee !" 

The  printing  of  the  New  Testament 
was  begun  and  carried  on  with  an  activ- 
ity beyond  all  example.  {  One  might 
have  thought  the  very  printers  felt  the 
importance  of  the  work  in  hand.  Three 
presses  were  constantly  employed,  and 
ten  thousand  sheets  were  struck  off 
every  day.§ 

At  last,  on  the  21st  Sept.,  appeared  the 

*  Ganz  klare  und  griindliche  Schrift. 

f  Verum  omnia  nunc  elimare  cnepimus  Philip- 
pus  et  ego. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  17G.) 

t  Ingenti  labore  et  studio. — (L.  Epp.  p.  236.) 

§  Singulis  diebus  decies  millia  chartarum  sub 
tribus  prelis  . .  . — (Ibid.) 


420 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


complete  edition  of  three  thousand  copies 
in  two  volumes,  with  the  brief  title, 
"  The  New  Testament  in  German  : — at 
Wittemberg."  It  bore  no  name  of  man. 
From  that  hour  every  German  might  ob- 
tain the  Word  of  God  at  a  small  pecuni- 
ary cost.* 

The  new  translation,  written  in  the 
tone  of  the  sacred  books,  in  a  language 
that  was  as  yet  in  its  virgin  simplicity, 
and  now  first  opening  its  full  beauty,  in- 
terested and  delighted  all  classes,  from 
the  highest  to  the  lowest.  It  was  a  na- 
tional work — the  people's  book — nay, 
much  more,  it  was  the  book  of  God. 
Even  enemies  could  not  withhold  their 
commendation  of  this  wonderful  produc- 
tion, and  there  were  some  incautious  par- 
tisans of  the  Reformation  so  carried 
away  by  the  beauty  of  the  new  version, 
as  to  imagine  they  could  recognize  in  it 
a  second  inspiration.  It,  indeed,  served 
more  than  all  Luther's  own  writings  to 
diffuse  a  spirit  of  christian  piety.  The 
great  work  of  the  sixteenth  century  was 
now  placed  on  a  rock  whence  nothing 
could  dislodge  it.  The  Bible,  restored 
to  the  people,  recalled  the  mind  of  man, 
which  had  for  ages  wandered  in  the  end- 
less labyrinths  of  scholastic  teaching,  to 
the  heavenly  springs  of  salvation.  Hence, 
the  success  that  attended  this  step  was 
prodigious.  All  the  copies  were  quickly 
disposed  of.  In  December  following,  a 
second  edition  appeared ;  and  by  the 
year  1533,  no  less  than  seventeen  edi- 
tions had  issued  from  the  presses  of  Wit- 
temberg; thirteen  from  Augsburg;  twelve 
from  Bale ;  one  from  Erfurth  ;  one  from 
Grimma ;  one  from  Leipsic ;  thirteen 
from  Strasburg.f 

Even  while  the  first  edition  of  the 
New  Testament  was  passing  through 
the  press,  Luther  was  already  at  work 
on  a  translation  of  the  Old  Testament. 
This  labour,  begun  in  1522,  was  con- 
tinued without  intermission.  He  issued 
it  in  detached  portions,  as  he  finished 
them,  in  order  to  gratify  the  impatience 
of  the  public  demand,  and  to  make  the 
purchase  easy  to  the  poor. 

From  Scripture  and  Faith,  two  streams 
issuing  from  one  and  the  same  spring, 
the  life  of  the  Gospel  has  flowed,  and 
still   diffuses  itself  through   the   world. 

*  A  florin  and  a  half,  about  a  half-crown, 
t  Gcsched.  deutsch.  Bibel  Uebersetz. 


They  bore  directly  against  two  estab- 
lished errors.  Faith  was  met  by  the  op- 
posing Pelagian  tendency  of  Catholi- 
cism. Scripture,  in  like  manner,  found 
arrayed  against  it  the  theory  of  tradition 
and  the  authority  of  Rome.  Scripture 
led  its  reader  to  Faith,  and  Faith  made 
him  the  disciple  of  the  Word.  "  Man 
can  do  no  meritorious  work :  the  free 
grace  of  God,  received  through  faith  in 
Christ,  alone  saves  him."  Such  was  the 
doctrine  proclaimed  throughout  Chris- 
tendom. But  this  teaching  must  needs 
bring  Christendom  to  the  study  of  the 
Scripture.  In  truth,  if  faith  in  Christ  is 
everything  in  Christianity,  and  if  the  ob- 
servances and  ordinances  of  the  Church 
are  nothing,  it  is  not  to  the  Church's 
teaching,  but  to  Christ's  word  that  we 
must  adhere.  The  bond  that  unites  to 
Christ  will  be  everything  to  the  believing 
soul.  What  signifies  the  outward  link 
that  connects  him  with  a  visible  church, 
enslaved  by  the  commandments  of 
men?  .  .  Thus,  as  the  doctrine  of  the 
Bible  had  impelled  Luther's  contempora- 
ries toward  Jesus  Christ,  their  love  for 
Jesus  Christ,  in  its  turn,  impelled  them 
towards  the  Bible.  It  was  not,  as  some 
in  our  days  have  supposed,  from  a  philo- 
sophic necessity,  or  from  doubt,  or  a  spir- 
it of  inquiry  that  they  reverted  to  Scrip- 
ture, it  was  because  they  found  there  the 
words  of  Him  they  loved.  "  You  have 
preached  Christ,"  said  they  to  the  Re- 
former, "  let  us  now  hear  him  himself?1 
And  they  caught  at  the  sheets  given  to 
the  world,  as  a  letter  coming  to  them 
from  heaven. 

But  if  the  Bible  was  thus  joyfully  wel- 
comed by  such  as  love  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  it  was  scornfully  rejected  by  such 
as  preferred  the  traditions  and  ordinances 
of  men.  This  publication  by  Luther 
was  the  signal  of  violent  persecution. 
Rome  trembled  at  the  report  brought 
thither.  The  pen  which  transcribed  the 
sacred  oracles  was  in  truth  that  visionary 
pen  which  Frederic  had  beheld  in  his 
dream,  reaching  to  the  seven  hills,  and 
discomposing  the  pope's  tiara.  The 
monk  in  his  cell,  the  prince  upon  his 
throne,  uttered  a  cry  of  anger.  The  ig- 
norant priests  were  dismayed  at  the 
thought  that  burghers,  and  even  rustics 
would  now  be  able  freely  to  discuss  with 
them  the  precepts   of  the    Lord.     The 


LUTHER  LEAVES  THE  WARTBURG. 


421 


king  of  England  denounced  the  work  to 
the  Elector  Frederic  and  to  Duke  George 
of  Saxony.  But  before  this,  and  as  early 
as  the  November  previous,  the  Duke 
had  commanded  all  his  subjects  to  deliver 
up  every  copy  of  Luther's  New  Testa- 
ment into  the  hands  of  the  magistrate. 
Bavaria,  Brandenburg,  Austria,  and  all 
the  states  in  the  interest  of  Rome  passed 
similar  decrees.  In  some  parts,  a  sacri- 
legious bonfire,  composed  of  the  sacred 
books,  was  lighted  in  the  public  squares.* 
Thus  did  Rome,  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
renew  the  efforts,  by  which  heathenism 
had  attempted  to  uproot  the  religion  of 
Jesus  Christ,  at  the  period  when  the 
reins  were  escaping  from  the  hands  of 
the  Priests  of  Idol  worship.  But  what 
power  can  stay  the  triumphant  progress 
of  the  Gospel  1  "  Even  after  I  had  pro- 
hibited the  sale,"  wrote  Duke  George, 
"many  thousand  copies  were  sold  and 
read  in  my  states." 

God  even  used,  for  the  purpose  of 
making  known  His  word,  the  very  hands 
that  were  essaying  to  destroy  it.  The 
Romish  divines,  seeing  they  could  not 
stop  the  circulation  of  the  Reformer's 
work,  themselves  put  forth  a  translation 
of  the  New  Testament.  It  was  no  other 
than  Luther's,  here  and  there  altered  by 
the  new  editors.  No  hindrance  was  of- 
fered to  the  reading  of  it.  Rome  had 
not  yet  experienced  that  wherever  the 
Word  of  God  took  root,  its  own  power 
began  to  totter.  Joachim  of  Branden- 
burg, gave  license  to  his  subjects  to  read 
any  translation  of  the  Bible,  in  Latin  or 
in  German,  provided  it  were  not  from 
the  presses  of  Wittemberg.  The  Ger- 
man nations,  and  more  especially  the 
people  of  Brandenburg,  made,  in  this 
way,  a  decided  advance  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  truth. 

The  publication  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment in  the  vernacular  tongue,  is  among 
the  memorable  epochs  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. If  the  marriage  of  Feldkirchen 
had  been  the  first  step  in  the  progress  of 
its  influence  from  the  sphere  of  teaching 
to  that  of  social  life ; — if  the  abolition  of 
monastic  vows  had  been  the  second,  and 
the  establishment  of  the  Supper  of  the 
Lord  a  third  stage  of  this  transition,  the 
publication  of  the  New  Testament  was, 

*  Qui  et  alicubi  in  unum  congesti  rogum  pub- 
lice  combusti  sunt. 


perhaps,  even  more  important  than  all 
the  rest.  It  wrought  an  entire  change 
in  the  aspect  of  society — not  alone  in  the 
priest's  presbytery — not  merely  in  the 
monk's  cell  and  the  noble's  closet,  but 
more  than  this,  in  the  interior  of  the 
dwellings  of  the  nobles,  citizens,  and 
peasantry.  When  Christians  began  to 
read  the  Bible  in  their  families,  Christi- 
anity itself  underwent  a  palpable  change. 
Thence  ensued  changed  habits, — im- 
proved morals, — other  conversations, — in 
short,  a  new  life.  With  the  publication 
of  the  New  Testament,  it  seemed  as  if 
the  Reformation  passed  the  threshold  of 
the  college,  and  took  its  proper  place  at 
the  hearths  of  the  people. 

The  effect  that  followed  was  incalcu- 
lable. The  Christianity  of  the  Primitive 
Church  was,  by  the  publication  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  presented  full  before  the 
eyes  of  the  nation,  recovered  from  the 
oblivion  in  which  for  centuries  it  had 
lain  hid, — and  the  sight  was,  of  itself, 
enough  to  justify  the  charges  that  had 
been  brought  against  Rome.  The  least  in- 
structed, provided  they  did  but  know  how 
to  read — women,  artisans,  (we  are  quoting 
from  one  of  that  age  who  was  bitterly 
opposed  to  the  Reformation,)  studied  the 
New  Testament  with  eager  delight.* 
They  carried  it  about  with  them,  learnt 
portions  by  heart,  and  saw  in  its  pre- 
cious pages  the  proof  of  the  perfect  ac- 
cordance of  that  Reformation  which  was 
Luther's  aim,  with  the  revelation  that 
God  had  given. 

Meanwhile,  it  was  in  detached  por- 
tions only  that  the  teaching  of  the  Bible 
and  of  the  Reformation  had  till  then  been 
set  forth.  A  certain  truth  had  been  de- 
clared in  one  tract — a  certain  error  ex- 
posed in  another.  The  field  of  the 
Church  presented  the  appearance  of  a 
plain,  on  which  here  and  there  were  seen, 
without  order  or  arrangement,  the  ruins 
of  the  old,  and  the  materials  of  a  new 
structure ;  but  as  yet  the  new  edifice  was 
wanting.  True  it  is,  that  the  publica- 
tion of  the  New  Testament  met  this 
want.  The  Reformation  might  say, 
with  that  book  in  its  hand — "  Behold  my 
system."  But  as  each  individual  may 
contend  that  his  system  is  none  other  than 
that  of  the  Bible,  the  Reformation  seemed 

*  .  .  .  muliercs,  et  quilibet  idiotic  .  .  .  avidis- 
sime  legerent. — (CochUeus,  p.  50.) 


422 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


called  to  set  forth  in  order  what  it  found 
in  Holy  Scripture.  This  was  a  work 
Melancthon  now  contributed  in  its  name. 

In  the  development  of  his  theology, 
Melancthon's  steps  had  been  deliberate  ; 
but  they  were  taken  with  firmness,  and 
the  result  of  his  enquiries  was  courage- 
ously made  known  to  all.  As  early  as 
1520,  he  had  declared  that  some  of  the 
seven  sacraments  were,  in  his  judgment, 
mere  imitations  of  Jewish  feasts ;  and 
that  he  considered  the  asserted  infallibil- 
ity of  the  Pope  as  a  proud  pretension, 
directly  at  variance  with  Scripture  and 
sound  judgment.  "  We  want  more  than 
a  Hercules,"*  remarked  he,  "  to  make  a 
stand  against  such  doctrines."  Here  we 
see  that  Melancthon  had  been  led  to  the 
same  conclusion  as  Luther  by  a  more 
studious  and  calm  process  of  conviction. 
The  time  had  now  come  that  he  in  his 
turn  should  publicly  confess  his  faith. 

In  1 52 1 ,  during  his  friend's  captivity  in 
the  Wartburg,  his  celebrated  "  Loci  Com- 
munes" had  presented  to  Christian  Eu- 
rope a  body  of  doctrine,  based  on  solid 
grounds,  and  admirably  compacted.  The 
tracings  of  a  simple  and  majestic  outline 
appeared  before  the  wondering  minds  of 
that  generation.  As  the  translation  of 
the  New  Testament  had  justified  the 
Reformation  to  the  people,  so  Melanc- 
thon's Loci  Communes  served  to  justify 
it  in  the  judgment  of  the  learned. , 

For  fifteen  centuries  the  Church  had 
existed  on  the  earth  without  having  seen 
such  a  work.  Relinquishing  the  com- 
mon argumentation  of  scholastic  theolo- 
gy, the  friend  of  Luther  had  at  last  given 
to  Christendom  a  system  of  divinity,  de- 
rived entirely  from  Scripture.  In  it  the 
reader  was  conscious  of  a  breath  of  life, 
a  quickness  of  understanding,  a  force  of 
conviction,  and  a  simplicity  of  statement, 
which  strikingly  contrasted  with  the  sub- 
tle and  pedantic  method  of  the  schools. 
The  coolest  judgments,  and  the  most 
exact  divines,  were  alike  impressed  with 
admiration. 

Erasmus  designated  this  work  a  won- 
drous army,  ranged  in  order  of  battle 
against  the  pharisaic  tyranny  of  false 
teachers  ;f  and  while  he  confessed  that 


*  Adverstis  quas  non  uno  nobis,  ut  ita  dicam, 
Hercule  opus  est. — (Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  137.) 

t  Video  dogmatum  aciem  pulchre  instructam 


on  some  points  he  did  not  agree  with  the 
author,  he  nevertheless  added,  that  hav- 
ing always  loved  him,  he  had  never 
loved  him  so  much  as  after  reading  this 
work.  "  So  beautiful  is  the  proof  that  it 
affords,"  said  Calvin,  when  presenting  it 
at  a  subsequent  period  to  the  French 
people,  "  that  the  most  perfect  simplicity 
is  the  noblest  method  of  handling  the 
Christian  doctrine."* 

But  no  one  experienced  a  finer  joy 
than  Luther ;  to  the  last  this  work  was 
to  him  a  theme  of  wonder.  The  occa- 
sional sounds  his  trembling  hand  had 
drawn,  in  the  deep  emotion  of  his  soul, 
from  the  chords  of  prophets  and  apostles, 
were  here  blended  together  in  entrancing 
harmony.  Those  solid  masses  of  truth 
which  he  had  hewn  from  the  quarry 
of  Holy  Scripture,  were  here  raised 
and  compacted  together  in  one  majestic 
edifice.  He  was  never  tired  of  commend- 
ing the  work  to  the  attention  of  the 
youths  who  came  to  study  at  Wittem- 
berg.  "  If  you  would  wish  to  become 
divines,"  said  he,  "  read  Melancthon."! 

In  Melancthon's  judgment,  a  deep 
sense  of  the  wretched  state  to  which  man 
is  reduced  by  s»,  is  the  foundation  on 
which  we  must  build  the  teaching  of 
Christian  theology.  This  universal  evil 
is  the  primary  fact,  the  leading  truth 
whence  the  science  takes  its  departure ; 
and  it  is  this  which  forms  the  peculiar 
distinction  of  theology  from  the  sciences 
which  work  their  own  advancement  by 
the  powers  of  reason. 

The  Christian  divine,  diving  into  the 
heart  of  man,  revealed  its  laws  and  mys- 
terious motions,  as  the  philosopher  in  later 
times  has  disclosed  the  laws  and  attrac- 
tions of  material  bodies.  "  Original  sin," 
said  he,  "  is  an  inclination  born  with  us 
— an  impulse  which  is  agreeable  to  us — 
a  certain  influence  which  leads  us  into 
the  commission  of  sin,  and  which  has 
passed  from  Adam  upon  all  his  posterity. 
Just  as  there  is  found  in  fire  a  native 
energy  which  mounts  upward,  just  as 
in  the  loadstone  we  observe    a    natural 

adversus  tyrannidem  pharisai'cam. — (Er.  Epp. 
p.  949.) 

*  La  Somme  de  Theologie,  par  Philippe  Me- 
lancthon.— (Geneve,  1551.  Jehan  Calvin  aux 
lecteurs.) 

t  "  Librum  invictum,"  said  he  another  time, 
"  non  solum  immortalitate  sed  et  canone  ecclesi- 
astico  dignum." — (De  servo  arbitrio.) 


LUTHER  LEAVES  THE  WARTBURG. 


423 


power  of  attracting  steel,  just  so  do  we 
find  in  man  a  primary  impulse  impelling 
him  to  that  which  is  evil.  I  admit  free- 
ly that  in  Socrates,  Xenocrates,  Zeno, 
were  seen  temperance  and  chastity ;  these 
exterior  virtues  were  found  in  men  whose 
hearts  were  unpurified,  and  they  pro- 
ceeded out  of  the  love  of  self,  hence  we 
should  regard  them  in  reality,  not  as  vir- 
tues, but  vices."*  Such  language  may 
sound  harsh,  but  not  so  if  we  enter  into 
Melancthon's  real  meaning.  None  more 
prompt  than  he  to  acknowledge  virtues 
in  the  great  men  of  antiquity,  which  en- 
titled them  to  the  esteem  of  men  ;  but  he 
laid  down  the  solemn  truth,  that  the 
highest  law  given  by  God  to  all  his  crea- 
tures is  to  love  Him  above  all  things.  If 
then  man  in  doing  that  which  God  com- 
mands, does  it,  not  from  love  to  God,  but 
from  love  of  self — -can  we  think  that  God 
will  accept  him,  thus  daring  to  substitute 
self  in  place  of  His  own  infinite  Majesty? 
And  must  it  not  be  enough  to  vitiate  any 
action,  that  it  involves  in  it  a  direct  rebel- 
lion against  the  sovereignty  of  God? 

The  Wittemberg  divine  proceeded  to 
show  how  man  is  rescued  from  this 
wretched  state  :  "  The  Apostle,"  said  he, 
"  invites  thee  to  contemplate  at  the  Fa- 
ther's right  hand,  the  Son  of  God,  our 
great  Mediator,  ever  living  to  make  in- 
tercession for  us,f  and  he  calls  upon  thee 
to  believe  assuredly  that  thy  sins  are  par- 
doned, and  thyself  counted  righteous  and 
accepted  by  the  Eather,  for  the  sake  of 
that  Son  who  died  upon  the  cross." 

A  peculiar  interest  attaches  to  this  first 
edition  of  the  Loci  Communes,  from  the 
manner  in  which  the  German  divine 
speaks  concerning  Free  Will.  We  find 
him  recognizing,  even  more  clearly  than 
had  been  done  by  Luther,  (for  he  was 
more  of  a  theologian,)  that  this  doctrine 
could  not  be  separated  from  that  which 
constituted  the  very  essence  of  the  Ref- 
ormation. Man's  justification  in  the 
sight  of  God,  is  by  Faith  alone,  was  the 
first  point.  This  faith  wrought  in  man's 
heart  by  the  alone  Grace  of  God,  was 
the   second,      Melancthon    saw    clearly 

*  Loci  communes  thcologici.  Bale,  1521,  p.  35, 
— a  rare  edition.  See  for  the  subsequent  revis- 
ions, that  of  Erlangen,  1828,  a  reprint  of  that 
of  Bale,  1561. 

t  Vult  te  intueri  Filium  Dei  sedentem  addex- 
teram  Patris,  mediatorem  interpellantem  pro  no- 
bis.—(Ibid.) 


that  to  allow  any  ability  in  the  natural 
man  to  believe,  would,  in  this  second  point, 
entirely  set  aside  that  grand  doctrine  of 
Grace  which  is  asserted  in  the  first.  He 
was  too  discerning, — too  deeply  instructed 
in  the  Scriptures,  to  be  misled  on  so  im- 
portant a  question.  But  he  went  too 
far :  instead  of  confining  himself  to  the 
religious  bearing  of  the  question,  he  en- 
tered upon  metaphysics.  He  laid  down 
a  sort  of  fatalism,  which  might  lead  his 
readers  to  think  of  God  as  the  author  of 
evil,  and  which  consequently  has  no 
foundation  in  Scripture  : — "  Since  what- 
ever happens,"  said  he,  "  happens  by  ne- 
cessity, agreeably  to  the  divine  foreknowl- 
edge, it  is  plain  that  our  will  hath  no  lib- 
erty whatever."* 

But  the  principal  object  Melancthon 
had  in  view,  was  to  present  theology  as 
a  system  of  devotion. — The  schools  had 
so  dried  up  the  generally  received  creed, 
as  to  leave  it  destitute  of  life.  The  office 
of  the  Reformation  was  to  reanimate  this 
lifeless  creed.  In  succeeding  editions, 
Melancthon  felt  the  necessity  for  great 
clearness  in  doctrinal  statements.!  In 
1521,  however,  it  was  not  so  much  the 
case.  "  The  knowledge  of  Christ,"  said 
he,  "  is  found  in  the  knowledge  of  the 
blessings  derived  through  him.  Paul, 
writing  to  the  Romans,  and  desiring  to 
sum  up  the  Christian  doctrine,  does  not 
set  about  treating  philosophically  of  the 
Trinity,  the  Incarnation,  Creation,  active 
or  passive.  What,  then,  are  his  themes? 
— the  Law,  Sin,  Grace.  On  our  instruc- 
tion in  these,  depends  our  knowledge  of 
Christ."}; 

The  publication  of  this  treatise  was  of 
singular  service  to  the  cause  of  truth. 
Calumnies  stood  refuted— prejudices  were 
dissipated.  Among  the  religious,  the 
worldly,  and  the  learned,  the  genius  of 
Melancthon  was  admired,  and  his  char- 
acter esteemed  and  loved.     Even  such 

*  Quandoquidem  omnia  quae  eveniunt,  neces- 
sario  eveniunt  juxta  divinam  praedestinationem, 
nulla  est  voluntatis  nostras  libertas. — Loci  eomm. 
theol.  Bale,  1521,  p.  35. 

t  See  the  edition  of  1561,  reprinted  in  1829, 
pages  14  to  44,  the  several  chapters, — De  tribus 
personis  ; — De  divinitate  Filii ; — De  duabus  na- 
turis  in  Christo  ; — Testimonia  quod  Filius  sit  per- 
sona ;  testimonia  refulantia  Arianos  ;  De  discer- 
nendis  proprietatibus  humanae  et  divinffi  natura? 
Christi ; — De  Spiritu  sancto,  &,c.  &c. 

X  Hoc  est  Christum  cognoscere,  beneficia  ejus 
cognoscere,  &c. — (Ibid.) 


424 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


as  had  no  personal  knowledge  of  the 
author  were  conciliated  to  his  creed  by 
this  work.  The  vigour  and  occasional 
violence  of  Luther's  language  had  of- 
fended many;  but  in  Melancthon,  an 
elegance  of  composition,  a  discriminating 
judgment,  and  a  remarkable  clearness 
and  arrangement  were  seen  engaged  in 
the  exposition  of  those  mighty  truths  that 
had  aroused  the  slumbering  world.  The 
work  was  rapidly  bought  up  and  read 
with  avidity.  His  gentleness  and  mod- 
esty won  all  hearts,  while  his  elevation 
of  thought  commanded  their  respect ; 
and  the  higher  classes,  who  had  been 
hitherto  undecided,  were  captivated  by 
a  wisdom  which  had  at  last  found  so 
noble  an  utterance. 

On  the  other  hand,  such  of  the  oppo- 
sers  of  the  truth  as  had  not  been  hum- 
bled by  the  energy  of  Luther,  were,  for 
a  while,  silenced  and  disconcerted  by  the 
appearance  of  Melancthon's  tract.  They 
had  found  another  man  as  worthy  as 
Luther  to  be  a  mark  for  their  hatred. 
"Alas!"  they  exclaimed,  "alas,  for  Ger- 
many !  to  what  new  extremity  shall  we 
be  brought  by  this  last  birth  !"* 

The  Loci  Communes  passed  through 
sixty-seven  editions  between  1521  and 
1595,  without  including  translations. 
Next  to  the  Bible,  this  work  may  have 
mainly  contributed  to  the  establishment 
of  the  evangelical  doctrine. 

Whilst  the  "grammarian,"  Melanc- 
thon, was  by  this  happy  co-operation  aid- 
ing the  efforts  of  Luther,  schemes  of  a 
violent  character  were  again  planning 
by  his  formidable  enemies.  At  the  news 
that  he  had  effected  his  escape  from  the 
Wartburg  and  appeared  again  on  the 
world's  stage,  the  rage  of  his  former  ad- 
versaries returned. 

Luther  had  been  rather  more  than 
three  months  at  Wittemberg,  when  a 
rumour,  repeated  by  common  fame, 
brought  him  the  intelligence  that  one  of 
the  greatest  monarchs  of  Christendom 
had  risen  up  against  him.  Henry  VIII. 
head  of  the  house  of  Tudor,  a  prince 
descended  from  the  families  of  York  and 
Lancaster,  and  in  whom,  after  torrents  of 
bloodshed,  the  red  and  white  roses  were 
at  length  united,  the  puissant  king  of 
England,  who  boldly  advanced  the  ob- 

*  Heu !  infelicem  hoc  novo  partu  Germani- 
am!  .  .  .— (Cochl.) 


solete  authority  of  his  crown  over  the 
continent,  and  more  particularly  over 
France — had  put  forth  an  answer  to  the 
poor  monk  of  Wittemberg.  "  I  hear 
much  commendation  of  a  little  treatise 
by  the  king  of  England,"  wrote  Luther 
to  Lange,  on  the  26th  of  June,  1522.* 

Henry  the  Eighth  was  then  in  his 
thirty-first  year, — "  tall,  strong-built,  and 
proportioned,  and  had  an  air  of  authority 
and  empire,"!  and  a  countenance  that 
expressed  the  vivacity  of  his  mind.  Ve- 
hement in  temper,  bearing  down  what- 
ever stood  in  the  way  of  his  passions, 
and  thirsting  for  distinctions,  the  defects 
of  his  character,  were  for  a  time  mista- 
ken for  the  impetuosity  of  youth — and 
there  was  no  lack  of  flatterers  to  confirm 
him  in  them.  Often  would  he  resort, 
accompanied  by  his  favourite  compan- 
ions, to  the  house  of  his  chaplain,  Thom- 
as Wolsey,  the  son  of  a  butcher  of  Ips- 
wich. This  man,  who  was  gifted  with 
great  abilities,  of  excessive  ambition,  and 
unbounded  audacity,  being  patronised  by 
the  Bishop  of  Winchester,  the  king's 
chancellor,  had  rapidly  risen  in  his  mas- 
ter's favour.  He  would  often  allure  the 
young  prince  to  his  residence  by  the  at- 
traction of  riotous  pleasures,:};  in  which 
he  would  not  have  ventured  to  indulge 
within  the  walls  of  his  own  palace. 
This  is  recorded  by  Polydore  Vergil,  then 
sub-collector  of  the  Pope's  revenues  in 
England.  In  these  orgies,  the  chaplain 
outdid  the  licentiousness  of  the  younger 
courtiers.  He  sang,  danced,  laughed, 
played  the  buffoon,  took  part  in  indecent 
conversation,  and  fenced. §  He  soon  at- 
tained the  highest  seat  at  the  council 
board,  and  the  whole  kingly  power  pass- 

*  Jactant  libellum  regis  Anglice ;  sed  leum  il- 
ium suspicor  sub  pelle  tectum — an  allusion  to 
Lee,  Henry  the  Eighth's  chaplain,  punning  on 
his  name. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  213.) 

t  He  was  tall,  strong-built,  and  proportioned, 
and  had  an  air  of  authority  and  empire. — (Col- 
lier's Eccles.  Hist,  of  Great  Britain,  fol.  ii.  1.) 

t  Domi  suce  voluptatum  omnium  sacrarium  fecit, 
quo  regem  frequenter  ducebat. — (Polyd.  Vergili- 
us,  Angl.  Hist.  Bale,  1570,  fol.  p.  633.)— Poly- 
dore Vergil  seems  to  have  been  a  sufferer  by 
Wolsey's  pride,  and  to  have  been,  perhaps,  in- 
clined, on  that  account,  to  exaggerate  that  minis- 
ter's errors. 

§  Cum  illis  adolescentibus  una  psallebat,  salta- 
bat,  sermones  leporis  plenos  habebat,  ridebat, 
jocabatur. — (Polyd.  Vergilius,  Angl.  Hist.  Bale, 
1570,  fol.  p.  633.) 


LUTHER  LEAVES  THE  WARTBURG. 


425 


ing  into  his  hands,  he  was  enabled  to 
stipulate  with  foreign  princes  for  a  reward 
for  his  influence  in  affairs. 

Henry  passed  whole  days  in  balls, 
banqueting,  and  jesting — thus  squander- 
ing the  treasure  which  the  avarice  of  his 
father  had  accumulated.  Splendid  tour- 
naments succeeded  each  other  without 
intermission.  On  these  occasions,  the 
king,  who  was  easily  distinguished  from 
the  other  combatants  by  his  manly  beau- 
ty, took  the  lead.*  If  the  contest  seemed 
for  a  moment  doubtful,  his  expertness  or 
strength,  or  else  the  skilful  policy  of  his 
antagonist,  decided  the  victory  in  his  fa- 
vour, and  the  arena  resounded  with  shouts 
of  applause.  Such  easy  triumphs  infla- 
ted the  vanity  of  the  young  prince,  and 
there  was  no  pinnacle  of  earthly  gran- 
deur to  which  he  would  not  have  aspired. 
The  Queen  was  often  present  on  such 
occasions.  Her  grave  deportment,  mel- 
ancholy look,  and  constrained  and  de- 
pressed manner,  presented  a  marked  con- 
trast to  the  tumultuous  glitter  of  such 
festivities.  Henry  VIII.,  soon  after  his 
accession,  had,  from  political  considera- 
tions, contracted  marriage  with  Catherine 
of  Arragon,  five  years  older  than  himself, 
widow  of  his  brother  Arthur,  and  aunt  to 
Charles  V.  While  her  husband  followed 
his  pleasures,  the  virtuous  Catherine, 
whose  piety  was  such  as  Spain  has  been 
noted  for,  was  accustomed  to  leave  her 
bed  in  the  dead  of  the  night  to  take  a 
silent  part  in  the  prayers  of  the  monks. f 
She  would  kneel  without  cushion  or  car- 
pet. At  five,  after  taking  a  little  rest, 
she  would  again  rise,  and  assume  the 
habit  of  St.  Francis ;  for  she  had  been 
admitted  into  the  third  order  of  that 
saint.J  Then,  hastily  throwing  over  her 
the  royal  garments,  she  was  in  church  at 
six,  to  join  in  the  holy  offices. 

Two  beings,  living  in  such  different  at- 
mospheres, could  not  long  continue  united. 

*  Eximia  corporis  forma  praditus,  in  qua  etiam 
regiaa  majestutis  augusta  qnoedam  species  eluce- 
bat'. — (Sanderus  de  Schismate  Anglicano.  p.  4.) 
— The  work  of  Sanders,  the  Pope's  nuncio,  mast 
be  read  with  much  suspicion,  for  unfounded  and 
calumnious  statements  are  not  wanting  in  it — as 
has  been  remarked  by  Cardinal  Quirini  and  the 
Roman  Catholic  doctor  Lingard. — (See  the  His- 
tory of  England,  by  this  last,  vol.  vi.  p.  173.) 

t  Surgebat  media  nocte  ut  nocturnis  religio- 
Borurn  precibus  interesset. — (Sanders,  p.  5.) 

X  Sub  regio  vestitu  Divi  Francisci  habitu  ute- 
batur. — (Sanders,  p.  5.) 

54 


Catherine,  however,  was  not  the  only 
representative  of  Romish  devotion  at  the 
court  of  Henry  VIII.  John  Fisher, 
bishop  of  Rochester,  then  nearly  seventy 
years  of  age,  and  distinguished  alike  for 
his  learning  and  strict  morals,  was  the 
object  of  universal  veneration.  He  had 
been,  for  a  long  period,  the  oldest  coun- 
sellor of  Henry  VII.,  and  the  Duchess 
of  Richmond,  grandmother  to  Henry 
VIII,  had,  on  her  death-bed,  confided  to 
him  the  youth  and  inexperience  of  her 
grandson.  The  king,  in  the  midst  of  his 
excesses,  long  continued  to  revere  the 
aged  bishop  as  a  father. 

A  much  younger  man  than  Fisher,  a 
layman  and  civilian,  had,  at  this  time, 
attracted  general  attention  by  his  genius 
and  noble  character.  His  name  was 
Thomas  More.  He  was  the  son  of  one 
of  the  judges  of  the  Court  of  King's 
Bench.  In  poor  circumstances,  of  tem- 
perate habits,  and  unwearied  application, 
he,  at  the  age  of  twenty,  had  sought  to 
mortify  the  passions  of  youth  by  wearing 
a  hair  shirt,  and  by  self-inflicted  scourg- 
ings.  One  day,  when  summoned  to  the 
presence  of  Henry  VIII.,  at  a  moment 
when  he  was  attending  mass,  he  replied — 
"  The  king's  service  must  give  way  to 
the  service  of  God."  Wolsey  introduced 
him  to  Henry,  who  employed  him  in 
various  embassies,  and  lavished  on  him 
much  kindness.  He  would  often  send 
for  him  to  converse  with  him  on  astron- 
omy, and  at  other  times  concerning 
Wolsey,  or  on  disputed  points  of  theol- 
ogy- 

The  king  was,  to  say  the  truth,  not 

altogether  unacquainted  with  the  doc- 
trines of  Rome.  It  even  appears,  that, 
had  prince  Arthur  lived  to  ascend  the 
throne,  Henry  was  destined  to  the  archi- 
episcopal  see  of  Canterbury.  In  his 
mind  and  life  were  strangely  blended 
Thomas  Aquinas* — St.  Bonaventura — 

tournaments banquetings — Elizabeth 

Blount,  and  others  of  his  mistresses. 
Masses  set  to  music  by  himself  were 
chaunted  in  his  chapel. 

From  the  time  Henry  VIII.  first  heard 
of  Luther,  his  indignation  broke  forth ; 
and  no  sooner  did  the  decree  of  the  Diet 
of  Worms  reach  England  than  he  gave 
orders  that  the  Pontiff's  bull  against  the 

*  Legebat  studiose  libros  divi  Thomee  Aquina- 
tis._(Polyd.  Vergil,  p.  634.) 


426 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


Reformer's  writings  should  be  carried 
into  execution.*  On  the  12th  of  May, 
1521,  Thomas  Wolsey,  who,  together 
with  the  rank  of  Chancellor  of  England, 
held  that  of  Cardinal  and  Roman  Legate, 
repaired  in  solemn  procession  to  St.  Paul's 
Church.  Swollen  by  excess  of  pride,  he 
assumed  to  rival  the  pomp  of  royalty 
itself.  He  was  accustomed  to  seat  him- 
self in  a  gold  chair,  slept  in  a  golden 
bed,  and  dined  on  a  table  covered  with 
cloth  of  gold.f  On  this  occasion  he  dis- 
played his  utmost  state.  His  household, 
to  the  number  of  800  persons,  compri- 
sing barons,  knights,  sons  of  the  first 
families,  who  had  entered  his  service  as 
a  step  towards  the  service  of  the  state, 
attended  the  haughty  prelate.  His  gar- 
ments shone  with  gold  and  silk,  (he  was 
the  first  esccleciastic  who  had  ventured 
to  assume  such  sumptuous  apparel.  )| 
Even  the  horse-cloths  and  harness  were 
of  the  like  costly  materials.  Before  him 
walked  a  priest  of  lofty  stature,  bearing 
a  silver  pillar,  surmounted  by  a  cross. 
Behind  him,  another  stately  ecclesiastic, 
holding  in  his  hand  the  archiepiscopal 
crozier  of  York  ;  a  nobleman  at  his  side7 
carried  his  cardinal's  hat.§  Others  of  the 
nobility — the  prelates — the  ambassadors 
of  the  Pope  and  of  the  Emperor  joined 
the  cavalcade,  and  were  followed  by  a 
long  line  of  mules,  bearing  chests  over- 
hung with  rich  and  brilliant  stuffs  ;  and 
in  this  pompous  procession  the  several 
parties  that  composed  it  were  carrying  to 
the  pile  the  writings  of  the  poor  monk 
of  Wittemberg.  On  reaching  the  church, 
the  proud  priest  deposited  his  cardinal's 
hat  on  the  altar  itself  The  virtuous 
Bishop  of  Rochester  took  his  place  at 
the  foot  of  the  cross,  and  with  accents  of 
strong  emotion,  preached  earnestly  against 
heresy.  After  this,  the  attendants  drew 
near,  bearing  the  writings  of  the  heresi- 
arch,  and  they  were  devoutly  consumed 
in  the  presence  of  a  vast  concourse  of 

*  Prirnum  libros  Lutheranos,  quorum  magnus 
jam  numerus  per  venerat  in  manus  suoram  An- 
glorum,  comburendos  euravit. — (Ibid.  p.  664.) 

t  Uti  sella  aurea,  uti  pulvino  aureo,  uti  velo 
aureo  ad  mensam. — (Ibid.  p.  664.) 

t  Primus  episcoporum  et  cardinalium,  vestitum 
exteriorem  sericum  sibi  induit. — (Polyd.  Vergil, 
p.  633.) 

§-Galerum  cardinalium,  ordinis  insignem,  sub- 
lime a  ministro  prasferebat  ....  super  altare 
collocabat — (Ibid.  p.  645.) 


spectators.  Such  was  the  first  public 
announcement  of  the  Reformation  to  the 
people  of  England. 

Henry  did  not  rest  there.  This  prince, 
whose  sword  was  ever  Uplifted  against 
his  adversaries,  his  wives,  and  his  favour- 
ites, wrote  to  the  Elector  Palatine — 
"  Surely,  it  is  no  other  than  the  devil, 
who,  by  the  agency  of  Luther,  has  kin- 
dled this  wide-spreading  conflagration. 
If  Luther  will  not  retract,  let  himself  and 
his  writings  be  committed  to  the  flames."* 

But  this  was  not  all.  Convinced  that 
the  progress  of  heresy  was  mainly  as- 
cribable  to  the  extreme  ignorance  of  the 
German  princes,  Henry  conceived  that 
the  moment  was  arrived  for  the  exhibition 
of  his  own  learning.  The  recollection 
of  the  triumphs  of  his  battle-axe  did  not 
permit  him  to  doubt  of  the  victory  he 
should  gaiu  by  his  pen.  But  another 
passion,  vanity, — ever  large  in  little 
minds, — spurred  on  the  royal  purpose. 
He  was  mortified  by  the  circumstance, 
that  he  had  no  title  to  set  against  that  of 
Most  Christian  and  Catholic,  borne  by 
the  kings  of  France  and  of  Spain,  and 
had  for  a  long  time  solicited  from  the 
court  of  Rome  a  similar  distinction. 
What  course  more  likely  to  obtain  it  than 
an  attack  upon  heresy!  Henry,  then, 
laid  aside  his  royal  dignity,  and  descend- 
ed from  his  throne  into  the  arena  of  theo- 
logical dispute.  He  pressed  into  his  ser- 
vice Thomas  Aquinas,  Peter  Lombard, 
Alexander  of  Hale,  and  Bonaventura, 
and  gave  to  the  world  his  "  Defence  of 
the  Seven  Sacraments,  against  Martin 
Luther,  by  the  most  Invincible  King  of 
England  and  of  France,  Lord  of  Ireland, 
Henry,  the  Eighth  of  that  nameV 

"  I  will  put  myself  in  the  forefront  of 
the  Church,  to  save  her,"  said  the  king 
of  England  in  this  book  ; — "  I  will  re- 
ceive into  my  bosom  the  poisoned  darts 
of  her  assailant  ;f  what  I  hear  constrains 
me  to  this.  All  the  servants  of  Jesus 
Christ,  whatever  be  their  age,  sex  or 
rank,  should  rise  up  against  the  common 
enemy  of  Christendom. "{ 

"  Let  us  be  doubly  armed :  with  the 

*  Knapp's  Nachlese,  ii.  p.  458. 

t  Meque  adversus  venenata  jacula  hostis  earn 
oppugnantis  objicerem  (Assertio  septem  sacra- 
mentorum  adv.  M.  Lvtherum  in  prologo.) 

X  Omnis  Christi  servus,  omnis  setas,  omnis 
sexus,  omnis  ordo  consurgat. — (Ibid.) 


LUTHER  LEAVES  THE  WARTBURG. 


427 


heavenly  armour  to  conquer  with  the 
arms  of  truth,  him  who  fights  with  those 
of  error ;  but  also  an  earthly  armour,  so 
that,  should  he  show  himself  obstinate 
iu  malice,  the  hand  of  the  executioner 
may  silence  him  ;  and  thus,  for  once  at 
least,  he  may  be  useful  to  the  world,  by 
the  terrible  example  of  his  death."* 

Henry  VIII.  could  not  conceal  the 
contempt  which  he  entertained  for  his 
feeble  adversary.  "  This  man,"  says  the 
royal  theologian,  "  seems  to  be  in  pains 
of  labour  ;  he  travafts  in  birth  ;  and  lo  ! 
he  brings  forth  but  wind.  Take  away 
the  audacious  covering  of  proud  words, 
with  which  he  clothes  his  absurdities, — 
as  an  ape  is  clothed  with  purple, — and 
what  remains  ? — a  wretched  and  empty 
sophism."! 

The  king  defends,  successively,  the 
mass,  penance,  confirmation,  marriage, 
orders,  and  extreme  unction.  He  is  not 
sparing  of  hard  epithets  towards  his  ad- 
versary ;  styling  him  sometimes  an  in- 
fernal wolf,  at  others  a  venomous  serpent, 
or  a  limb  of  the  devil,  and  he  even  casts 
doubts  on  Luther's  sincerity.  In  short, 
Henry  VIII.  crushes  the  mendicant  monk 
with  his  royal  anger,  "  and  writes,"  says 
an  historian,  "  as  it  were  with  his  scep- 
tre."! 

It  must,  however,  be  confessed  that 
the  book  was  not  ill  written,  consider- 
ing the  author  and  the  age  in  which  he 
wrote.  The  style  is  not  altogether  de- 
void of  force.  The  public  of  the  day  set 
no  bounds  to  its  praises.  The  theologi- 
cal treatise  of  the  powerful  king  of  Eng- 
land was  received  with  a  profusion  of 
adulation.  "  The  most  learned  work 
that  ever  the  sun  saw,"  is  the  expression 
of  some.§  "It  can  only  be  compared 
With  the  works  of  Saint  Augustine,"  said 
others.  "  He  is  a  Constantine,  a  Charle- 
magne,— nay  more,"  echoed  others,  "  he 
is  a  second  Solomon." 

These  flattering  reports  soon  reached 
the  continent.  Henry  had  desired  his 
ambassador  at  Rome,  John  Clarke,  dean 
of  Windsor,  to  present  his  book  to  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff     Leo  X.  received  the 

*  Et  qui  nocuit  verbo  malitice,  supplicii  prosit 
exemplo. — (Ibid.) 

t  Mirum  est  quanto  nixu  parturiens,  quam  ni- 
hil peperit,  nisi  merum  ventum  .  .  .  . — (Ibid.) 

I  Collier.  Eccl.  Hist.  Gr.  Br.  p.  17. 

§  Burnet,  Hist,  of  the  Ref.  of  England,  i.  p. 
30. 


ambassador  in  full  consistory :  Clarke 
presented  the  royal  work  to  him  with 
these  words,  "  The  king  my  master  as- 
sures you,  now  that  he  has  refuted  the 
errors  of  Luther  with  the  pen,  he  is 
ready  to  combat  his  adherents  with  the 
sword."  Leo,  touched  with  this  promise, 
answered,  that  the  king's  book  could 
not  have  been  composed  but  by  the  aid 
of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  conferred  upon 
Henry  the  title  of  "Defender  of  the 
Faith" — still  borne  by  the  Sovereigns  of 
England ! 

The  reception  which  the  work  met 
with  at  Rome,  contributed  not  a  little  to 
attract  the  general  attention.  In  a  few 
months,  many  thousand  copies,  from  dif- 
ferent presses,  got  into  circulation  ;•  so 
that,  to  use  the  words  of  Cochlseus,  "  the 
whole  Christian  world  was  filled  with 
wonder  and  joy."f 

Such  extravagant  praises  served  to 
augment  the  already  insufferable  vanity 
of  the  head  of  the  race  of  Tudor.  He 
seemed  himself  to  entertain  no  doubt, 
that  he  was  inspired  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  J 
Henceforward  he  could  not  endure  con- 
tradiction. Papal  authority  was  in  his 
view,  no  longer  at  Rome,  but  at  Green- 
wich,— and  infallibility  was  vested  in  his 
own  person.  This  proud  assumption 
served  greatly  to  promote,  at  a  later  pe- 
riod, the  Reformation  in  England. 

Luther  read  Henry's  book  with  a 
smile,  mingled  with  disdain,  impatience, 
and  indignation.  The  falsehoods  and 
insults  it  contained,  but  above  all  the  air 
of  pity  and  contempt  which  the  king  af- 
fected, irritated  the  doctor  of  Wittemberg 
to  the  highest  degree.  The  thought  that 
the  Pope  had  publicly  approved  the 
book,  and  that  on  all  sides  the  enemies 
of  the  Gospel  were  triumphing  over  the 
Reformation  and  the  Reformer,  as  al- 
ready overthrown,  increased  his  indigna- 
tion : — and  why  indeed,  thought  he, 
should  he  temporise  ?  Was  he  not  con- 
tending in  the  cause  of  One  greater  than 
all  the  kings  of  this  earth  ?  The  gentle- 
ness that  the  Gospel  inculcates  seemed 
to  him  out  of  place.     An  eye  for  an  eye, 

*  Intra  paucos  menses,  liber  ejus  a  multis 
chalcographis  in  multa  millia  multiplicatus. — 
(Cochlseus,  p.  44.) 

t  Ut  totum  orbem  christianum  et  gaudio  et 
admiratione  repleverit. 

I  He  was  brought  to  fancy  it  was  written  with 
some  degree  of  inspiration. — (Burnet  in  prsef.) 


428 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


a  tooth  for  a  tootk     And  indeed  he  went 
beyond  all  bounds: — persecuted,  railed 
at,  hunted  down,  wounded, — the  furious 
lion  turned  upon  his  pursuers,  and  set 
himself  determinedly  to  crush  his  enemy. 
The  Elector,  Spalatin,  Melancthon,  Bu- 
genhagen,  essayed  in  vain   to  appease 
him.     They  tried  to  dissuade  him  from 
replying;  but  nothing  could  stop   him. 
"  I  won't  be  gentle  toward  the  king  of 
England,"  said  he :  "I  know  it  is  useless 
to  humble  myself,   to   compromise,  en- 
treat and  try  peaceful  methods.     I  will 
show  these  wild  beasts,  who  are  every 
day  running  at  me  with  their  horns,  how 
terrible  I  can  be  ;  I  will  turn  upon^my 
pursuers,  I  will  provoke,  and  exasperate 
my  adversary,  until  exhausting  all  his 
strength  he  falls  and  is  for  ever  annihi- 
lated.*    '  If  this  heretic  does  not  retract,' 
says  the  new  Thomas,  Henry  VIII.,  'he 
must  be  burnt!'     Such  are  the  weapons 
which  are  now  employed  against  me : 
the  fury  and  the  faggots  of  stupid  asses 
and  hogs  of  the  Thomas  Aquinas  brood,  f 
Well,  then,  be  it  so !     Let  these  swine 
come  on,   if  they  dare  ;   aye,  let  them 
even   burn   me — here    I   am,    awaiting 
them.      My  ashes,  after  death,  though 
cast  into  a  thousand  seas,  shall  rise  up  in 
arms,  and  pursue,  and  swallow  up  their 
abominable  troop.     Living,  I  will  be  the 
enemy  of  the  Papacy, — and  burnt,  I  will 
be  its  ruin  !     Go  then,  swine  of  St.  Tho- 
mas, do  what  you  will.     Ever  will  you 
find  Luther,  like  a  bear  upon  your  road, 
and  like  a  lion  upon  your  path.     He 
will  fall  upon  you  from  all   sides,  and 
give  you  no  rest  until  he    shall  have 
ground  your  iron  brains,  and  pulverized 
your  brazen  foreheads !" 

Luther  begins  by  reproaching  Henry 
VIII.  with  having  supported  his  state- 
ments merely  by  decrees  and  doctrines 
of  man.     "  As  to  me,"  says  he,  "  I  do  not 

*  (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  236.)  Mea  in  ipsos  exercebo 
cornua,  irritaturus  Satanam,  donee  effusis  viribus 
et  eornatibus  corruat  in  se  ipso. 

+  Ignis  et  furor  insulsissimorum  asinorum  et 
Thomisticorum  poreorum. — (Contra  Henricum 
Regem,  Opp.  Lat.  ii.  p.  331.)  There  is  some- 
thing in  this  way  of  speaking  which  recalls  to 
our  mind  the  language  of  the  great  agitator  of 
Ireland,  except  that  there  is  more  force  and  no- 
bility of  thought  in  the  orator  of  the  sixteenth 
century,  than  in  him  of  the  nineteenth. — (See 
Revue  Britannique,  Nov.  1835 :  '  The  Reign  of 
O'Connell'— "  Soaped  swine  of  civilised  society," 
&c.  p.  30.) 


cease  my  cry  of '  The  Gospel !  the  Gos- 
pel ! — Christ !  Christ !' — and  my  enemies 
are  as  ready  with  their  answer, — '  Cus- 
tom! custom! — Ordinances!  ordinances! 
— Fathers  !  fathers !' — '  That  your  faith 
should  not  stand  in  the  wisdom  of  men,  but 
in  the  power  of  God]  says  St.  Paul.  And 
the  Apostle,  by  this  thunder-clap  from 
heaven,  at  once  overturns  and  disperses, 
as  the  wind  scatters  the  dust,  all  the 
foolish  thoughts  of  such  a  one  as  this 
Henry  !  Alarmed  and  confounded,  the 
Aquinases,  Papists,  Henrys,  fall  prostrate 
before  the  power  of  those  words."* 

He  proceeds  to  refute  in  detail  the 
king's  book,  and  exposes  his  arguments, 
one  after  the  other,  with  remarkable 
clearness,  energy,  and  knowledge  of  the 
Scriptures,  and  of  Church  history ;  but 
also  with  a  boldness  and  contempt,  and 
at  times  a  violence,  which  need  not  sur- 
prise us. 

Towards  the  end,  Luther's  indigna- 
tion is  again  aroused,  that  his  adversary 
should  only  have  drawn  his  arguments 
from  the  Fathers  ;  for  on  them  was  made 
to  turn  the  whole  controversy  :  "  To  all 
the  decisions  of  Fathers,  of  men,  of  an- 
gels, of  devils,  I  oppose,"  says  he,  "not 
the  antiquity  of  custom,  not  the  habits  of 
the  many,  but  the  word  of  the  Eternal 
God, — the  Gospel, — which  they  them- 
selves are  obliged  to  admit.  It  is  to  this 
book  that  I  keep, — upon  it  I  rest, — in  it 
I  make  my  boast, — in  it  I  triumph,  and 
exult  over  Papists,  Aquinases,  Henrys, 
sophists,  and  all  the  swine  of  hell. f  The 
King  of  Heaven  is  on  my  side, — there- 
fore I  fear  nothing,  though  even  a  thou- 
sand Augustines,  a  thousand  Cyprians, 
and  a  thousand  such  churches  as  that  of 
which  this  Henry  is  Defender,  should 
rise  up  against  me.  It  is  a  small  mat- 
ter that  I  should  despise  and  revile  an 
earthly  king,  since  he  himself  has  not 
feared,  by  his  writings,  to  blaspheme  the 
King  of  Heaven,  and  profane  his  Holy 
name  by  the  most  daring  lies."! 

"  Papists !"  he  exclaims  in  conclusion, 

"will  you  never  have  done  with  your 

*  Confusi  et  prostrati  jacent  a  facie  verborum 

istius  tonitrui. — (Contra  Henricum  regem.  Opp. 

Lat.  ii.  p.  336.) 

t  Hie  sto,  hie  sedeo,  hie  maneo,  hie  glorior, 
hie  triumpho,  hie  insulto  papistis  .  .  . — Contra 
Henricum  regem.  Opp.  Lat.  ii.  p.  342.) 

t  Nee  magnum  si  ego  regem  terree  contemno.- 
— (Cont.  Hen.  reg.  p.  344.  verso.) 


LUTHER  LEAVES  THE  WARTBURG. 


429 


vain  attempts?  Do,  then,  what  ye  list. 
Notwithstanding,  it  must  still  come  to 
pass,  that  popes,  bishops,  priests,  monks, 
princes,  devils,  death,  sin, — and  all  that 
is  not  Jesus  Christ,  or  in  Jesus  Christ, — 
must  fall  and  perish  before  the  power  of 
this  Gospel,  which  I,  Martin  Luther, 
have  preached."* 

Thus  spake  an  unfriended  monk.  His 
violence  certainly  cannot  be  excused,  if 
we  judge  of  it  according  to  the  rule  to 
which  he  himself  was  ever  appealing, 
namely,  God's  Word.  It  cannot  even  be 
justified,  by  pleading  in  extenuation,  the 
grossness  of  the  age, — (for  Melancthon 
knew  how  to  observe  courtesy  of  lan- 
guage in  his  writings,) — nor  can  we  plead 
the  energy  of  his  character.  If  something 
is  allowed  for  this,  more  must  be  ascribed 
to  the  violence  of  his  passions.  It  is  bet- 
ter, then,  that  we  should  give  our  judg- 
ment against  it.  Nevertheless,  justice 
requires  the  remark,  that  in  the  sixteenth 
century  this  extravagant  language  was 
not  so  strange  as  it  would  be  at  this  time. 
The  learned  were,  like  the  nobles,  a 
kind  of  estate.  Henry,  in  attacking  Lu- 
ther, had  put  himself  in  the  rank  of  a 
man  of  letters.  Luther  replied  to  him  ac- 
cording to  the  law  which  obtained  in  the 
republic  of  letters  ;  viz.  that  the  truth  of 
what  is  stated  is  to  be  considered,  and  not 
the  condition  in  life  of  him  who  states  it. 
Let  it  be  added,  also,  that  when  this 
same  king  turned  against  the  Pope,  the 
insults  heaped  upon  him  by  the  Romish 
writers,  and  by  the  Pope  himself,  far  ex- 
ceeded all  that  Luther  had  ever  fulmi- 
nated against  him. 

Besides, — if  Luther  did  call  Doctor 
Eck  an  ass,  and  Henry  VIII.  a  hog,  he 
indignantly  rejected  the  intervention  of 
the  secular  arm  ;  at  the  time  that  the 
former  was  writing  a  dissertation  to  show 
that  heretics  ought  to  be  burned,  and  the 
latter  was  erecting  scaffolds  that  he  might 
follow  out  the  precepts  of  the  chancellor 
of  Ingolstadt. 

Great  was  the  emotion  at  the  king's 
court,  when  Luther's  reply  arrived.  Sur- 
rey, Wolsey,  and  the  rest  of  the  courtiers 
put  a  stop  to  the  fetes  and  pageantry  at 
Greenwich,  to  vent  their  indignation  in 
sarcasms  and  abuse.  The  aged  Bishop 
of  Rochester,  who  had  looked  on  with 
delight  at  the  young  prince,  formerly 
*  3  L.  Opp.  Leipz.  xviii.  p.  209. 


confided  to  his  care,  breaking  a  lance  in 
defence  of  the  Church,  was  stung  to  the 
quick  by  the  monk's  attack.  He  replied 
to  it  at  the  moment.  His  words  gave  a 
good  idea  of  the  age,  and  of  the  Church: — 
"  Take  us  the  little  foxes  that  spoil  the 
vines,  says  Christ  in  Solomon's  Song ; 
from  this  we  learn,"  said  Fisher,  "  that 
we  ought  to  lay  hands  upon  heretics,  be- 
fore they  grow  big.  Luther  is  become  a 
large  fox,  so  old,  so  cunning,  so  mischiev- 
ous, that  it  is  very  difficult  to  catch  him. 
What  do  I  say,  a  fox  ?  He  is  a  mad 
dog,  a  ravening  wolf,  a  cruel  she-bear  ;  or 
rather,  all  these  put  together,  for  the  mon- 
ster includes  many  beasts  within  him."* 
Thomas  More  also  descended  into  the 

arena  to  enp-acre  with  the  monk  of  Wit- 
ts   o 

temberg.  Although  a  laic,  his  zeal 
against  the  Reformation  amounted  to 
fanaticism,  if  it  would  not  have  led  him 
even  to  the  shedding  of  blood.  When 
yoUng  men  of  family  take  up  the  cause  of 
the  Papacy,  they  often,  in  their  violence, 
outdo  the  clergy  themselves.  "Reverend 
brother,  father  tippler,  Luther,  apostate 
of  the  order  of  St.  Augustine,  (misshapen 
bacchanalian)  of  either  faculty,  unlearned 
doctor  of  sacred  theology. "f  Thus  it  is 
the  Reformer  is  addressed  by  one  of  the 
most  illustrious  men  of  the  age.  Then 
he  goes  on  to  say,  in  explanation  of  the 
way  in  which  Luther  had  composed  his 
book  against  Henry  VIII. — "  He  assem- 
bled his  companions,  and  bid  them  go 
each  his  own  way  to  pick  up  scurrilities 
and  insults.  One  frequented  the  public 
carriages  and  barges ;  another  the  baths 
and  gambling  houses ;  this  one,  the  bar- 
bers' shops  and  low  taverns;  that  one, 
the  manufactory  and  the  house  of  ill  fame. 
They  took  down  in  their  pocket-books 
all  that  they  heard  of  insolence,  of  filthi- 
ness,  of  infamy,  and  bringing  back  all 
these  insults  and  impurities,  they  filled 
with  them  that  dirty  sink  which  is  called 
'•  Luther's  wit?  "  Then  he  continues  : 
"  If  he  retracts  these  lies  and  calumnies, 
if  he  puts  away  these  fooleries  and  this 
rage,  if  he  swallows  down  his  excrements 
again. |  ....  he  will  find  one  who  will 

*  Canem  dixissem  rabidum,  imo  lupum  rapa- 
cissimum,  aut  sasvissimam  quamdam  ursam. — 
(Coehlseus,  p.  60.) 

t  Reverendus  frater,  pater,  potator,  Luthcrus. 
— (Coehlseus,  p.  61.) 

t  Si  .  .  suas  resorbeat  et  aua  relingat  stercora. 
—(Ibid.  p.  62.) 


430 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


soberly  discuss  with  him.  But  if  he 
continues  as  he  has  begun,  joking,  taunt- 
ing, fooling,  calumniating,  vomiting  out 
sinks  and  sewers  ....  *  let  others  do 
what  they  choose  ;  for  ourselves  we  prefer 
leaving  the  little  man  to  his  own  anger 
and  dirtiness.'1  f  Thomas  More  would 
have  done  better  to  restrain  his  own 
coarseness ;  Luther  never  descended  to 
such  a  style,  neither  did  he  return  it  any 
answer. 

This  work  increased  Henry's  attach- 
ment to  More.  He  even  used  to  go  and 
visit  him  at  his  humble  residence  at  Chel- 
sea. After  dinner, — his  arm  leaning  on 
the  shoulder  of  his  favourite,  the  king 
would  walk  round  the  garden  with  him, 
whilst  the  astonished  wife  of  his  flattered 
host,  concealed  behind  a  lattice,  with  her 
children,  could  not  but  keep  her  eyes 
fixed  on  them.  After  one  of  these  walks, 
More,  who  well  knew  the  man  he  had  to 
deal  with,  said  to  his  wife,  "  If  my  head 
ctiuld  gain  for  him  a  single  castle  in 
France,  he  would  not  hesitate  a  moment 
to  take  it  off" 

The  king,  thus  defended  by  the  Bishop 
of  Rochester,  and  by  his  future  chancel- 
lor, needed  not  any  more  to  resume  his 
pen.  Confounded  at  the  thought  of 
being  treated,  in  the  face  of  Europe,  as 
any  common  writer,  Henry  VIII.  aban- 
doned the  dangerous  position  he  had 
taken,  and  laying  aside  the  pen  of  the 
theologian,  had  recourse  to  the  more  ef- 
fectual measures  of  diplomacy. 

An  ambassador  was  despatched  from 
his  court  at  Greenwich,  with  a  letter  to 
the  Elector,  and  to  the  Dukes  of  Saxony. 
"  The  true  serpent  cast  down  from  heav- 
en, even  Luther,"  says  Henry,  "  casts  out 
a  flood  of  poison  upon  the  earth.  He 
excites  revolt  in  the  Church  of  Jesus 
Christ,  he  abolishes  its  laws,  insults  the 
authorities,  inflames  the  laity  against  the 
priesthood,  both  of  these  against  the  Pope, 
the  people  against  kings,  and  asks  noth- 

*  Sentinas,  cloacas,  latrinas  .  .  .  stercora. — 
(Ibid.  p.  63.)  ♦ 

tCumsuis  ....  et  stercoribus . . .  relinquere. — 
(Ibid.)  Cochlseus  indeed  glories  in  the  citation 
of  these  passages,  choosing  what,  according  to 
his  taste,  he  thinks  the  finest  parts  of  the  work 
of  Thomas  More.  M.  Nisard,  on  the  contrary, 
confesses  in  his  book  on  More,  whose  defence 
he  undertakes  with  so  much  warmth  and  learn- 
ing, that,  in  this  writing,  the  expressions  dictated 
by  the  anger  of  the  Catholic  are  such,  that  the 
translation  of  them  is  impossible. 


ing  better  than  to  see  Christians  fighting 
against,  and  destroying  one  another,  and 
the  enemies  of  our  faith  enjoying,  with 
a  savage  grin,  the  scene  of  carnage.* 

"  What  is  this  doctrine,  which  he  calls 
evangelical,  other  than  the  doctrine  of 
Wicklif?  Now,  most  honoured  uncles, 
I  know  how  your  ancestors  have  labour- 
ed to  destroy  it ;  they  pursued  it,  as  a 
wild  beast,  in  Bohemia,  and  driving  it, 
till  it  fell  into  a  pit,  they  shut  it  in  there, 
and  barricaded  it.  You  will  not,  1  am 
sure,  let  it  escape  through  your  negli- 
gence, lest,  making  its  way  into  Saxony, 
it  should  become  master  of  the  whole  of 
Germany,  and,  with  smoking  nostrils, 
vomiting  forth  the  fire  of  hell,  spread 
that  conflagration  far  and  wide,  which 
your  nation  has  so  often  wished  to  ex- 
tinguish in  its  blood,  t 

''Therefore  it  is,  most  worthy  lords, 
I  feel  obliged  to  exhort  you,  and  even  to 
beseech  you,  by  all  that  is  most  sacred, 
promptly  to  extinguish  the  cursed  sect  of 
Luther.  Shed  no  blood,  if  it  can  be 
avoided ;  but  if  this  heretical  doctrine 
lasts,  shed  it  without  hesitation,  in  order 
that  this  abominable  sect  may  disappear 
from  under  the  heaven. "| 

The  Elector  and  his  brother  referred 
the  king  to  the  approaching  council. 
Henry  VIII.  was  thus  as  far  as  ever  from 
his  object.  "  So  renowned  a  name  mixed 
up  in  the  dispute,"  says  Paolo  Sarpi, 
"  served  to  give  it  a  greater  zest,  and  to 
conciliate  general  favour  towards  Luther, 
as  is  usually  the  case  in  combats  and 
tournaments,  where  the  spectators  have 
always  a  leaning  to  the  weakest,  and 
delight  to  exaggerate  the  merit  of  his 
actions."^ 

In  fact,  an  immense  movement  was  in 
progress.  The  Reformation,  which,  after 
the  Diet  of  Worms,  had  been  thought 
to  be  confined,  together  with  its  great 
teacher,  in  the  turret-chamber  of  a  strong 
castle,  was  breaking  forth  on  all  sides  in 
the  empire,  and  even  throughout  Christ- 
endom. The  two  parties,  until  now, 
mixed  up  together,  were  beginning   to 

*  So  ergiest  er,  gleichwie  eine  Schlang  vom 
Himmel  geworfen. — (L.  Opp.  xviii.  p.  2 J 2.)  The 
original  is  in  Latin — Velut  a  coelo  dejectus  ser- 
pens, virus  effundit  in  terras. 

t  Und  durch  sein  schiidlich  Anblasen  das  hol- 
lische  Feuer  ausspriihe. — (L.  Opp.  xviii.  p.  213.) 

t  Oder  aber  auch  mit  Blut  vergiessen. — (Ibid.) 

§  Hist,  of  the  Council  of  Treat,  p.  15, 16. 


LUTHER  LEAVES  THE  WARTBURG. 


431 


separate,  and  the  partisans  of  a  monk, 
who  had  nothing  on  his  side  but  the 
power  of  his  words,  were  fearlessly  taking 
their  stand  in  the  face  of  the  followers 
of  Charles  V.  and  Leo  X.  Luther  had 
only  just  left  the  Wartburg, — the  Pope 
had  excommunicated  all  his  adherents, — 
the  Imperial  Diet  had  just  condemned 
his  doctrine, — the  princes  were  active  in 
putting  it  down  throughout  the  greatest 
part  of  the  German  states, — the  Romish 
priests  were  setting  the  public  against  it 
by  their  violent  invective, — foreign  na- 
tions were  requiring  that  Germany  should 
sacrifice  a  man  whose  attacks  were  for- 
midable even  at  a  distance, — and  yet, 
this  new  sect,  few  in  number,  and  among 
whose  numbers  there  was  no  organiza- 
tion, no  acting  in  concert,  nothing,  in 
short,  of  concentrated  power,  was  already, 
by  the  energy  of  the  faith  engaged  in  it, 
and  the  rapidity  of  its  conquests  of  the 
minds  of  men,  beginning  to  cause  alarm 
to  the  vast,  ancient,  and  powerful  sover- 
eignty of  Rome.  Every  where  was  to 
be  seen,  as  in  the  first  appearance  of 
spring-time,  the  seed  bursting  forth  from 
the  earth,  spontaneously  and  without 
effort.  Every  day  some  progress  might 
be  remarked.  Individuals,  village  pop- 
ulations, country  towns,  nay,  large  cities, 
joined  in  this  new  confession  of  the  name 
of  Jesus  Christ.  It  was  met  by  strong 
opposition  and  fierce  persecution,  but  the 
mysterious  power  which  animated  these 
people  was  irresistible  ;  and,  though  per- 
secuted, they  still  went  forward,  facing 
the  terrors  of  exile,  imprisonment,  or  the 
stake,  and  were  every  where  more  than 
conquerors  over  their  persecutors. 

The  monastic  orders,  which  Rome 
had  planted  over  the  whole  of  Christen- 
dom, like  nets  for  catching  souls  and  re- 
taining them  in  their  meshes,  were 
among  the  first  to  burst  their  fetters,  and 
to  propagate  the  new  doctrine  in  every 
part  of  the  Western  Church.  The  Au- 
gustines  of  Saxony  had  gone  along  with 
Luther,  and,  like  him,  formed  that  inti- 
mate acquaintance  with  the  Word  of 
Truth,  which,  making  God  their  portion, 
disabused  their  minds  from  the  delusions 
of  Rome  and  its  lofty  pretensions.  But 
in  other  convents  of  this  order,  the  light 
of  the  Gospel  had  also  shone  forth :  some- 
times, among  the  aged,  who,  like  Stau- 
pitz,  had  preserved,  in  the  midst  of  a  leav- 


ened Christianity,  the  sound  doctrines  of 
truth,  and  were  now  asking  of  God  that 
they  might  depart  in  peace,  since  their 
eyes  had  seen  his  salvation  ;  sometimes,, 
among  the  young,  among  those  who  had 
imbibed  Luther's  instructions  with  the 
characteristic  eagerness  of  their  years. 
At  Nuremberg,  Osnabruck,  Dillingen, 
Ratisbon,  in  Hesse,  in  Wirtemburg,  at 
Strasburgh,  at  Antwerp,  the  convents  of 
the  Augustineswere  returning  to  the  faith 
of  Christ,  and  by  their  courageous  confes- 
sion exciting  the  indignation  of  Rome. 

But  the  movement  was  not  confined  to 
the  Augustines.  Men  of  decided  charac- 
ter among  the  other  orders  followed  their 
example  ;  and,  notwithstanding  the  cla- 
mours of  their  fellow-monks,  who  were 
unwilling  to  abandon  their  carnal  observ- 
ances, and  undeterred  by  their  anger 
and  conteinpt,  or  by  censure,  discipline, 
and  claustral  imprisonment,  they  fearless- 
ly lifted  up  their  voices  in  favour  of  that 
holy  and  precious  truth,  which,  after  so 
many  toilsome  researches,  so  many 
distressing  doubts,  and  inward  con- 
flicts, they  had  at  last  foiand.  In  the 
majority  of  the  cloisters,  the  most  spiri- 
tual, devout,  and  instructed  monks  de- 
clared themselves  in  favour  of  the  Refor- 
mation. Eberlin  and  Kettenbach  at- 
tacked, from  the  convents  of  the  Francis- 
cans at  Ulm,  the  service  of  bondage  of 
monkery,  and  the  superstitious  practices 
of  the  Church,  with  an  eloquence  that 
mfght  have  drawn  a  whole  nation  after 
it.  They  introduced  in  their  petition,  in 
the  same  sentence,  a  request  for  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  houses  of  the  monks,  and  of 
those  of  prostitution.  Another  Franciscan. 
Stephen  Kempe,  preached  the  Gospel  at 
Hamburg,  and,  though  alone,  set  his  face 
like  a  flint  against  the  hatred,  envy, 
threats,  cunning,  and  violence  of  the 
priests, — enraged  to  see  the  congrega- 
tions forsake  their  altars,  and  flock  with 
enthusiasm  to  his  preachings.* 

Sometimes  it  was  the  superiors  them- 
selves who  were  first  won  over  to  the 
Reformation.  The  Priors  at  Halber- 
stadt,  at  Neuenwerk,  at  Halle,  at  Sagan, 
set  the  example,  in  this  respect,  to  those 
under  their  authority ;  at  least,  they  de- 
clared that  if  a  monk  felt  his  conscience 

*  Der  tibrigen  Prediger  Feindschafft,  Neid, 
Nachstellungen,  Praticken  und  Schrecken. — 
(Seckendorf,  p.  559.) 


432 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


burdened  by  his  monastic  vows,  so  far 
from  insisting  on  his  remaining  in  the 
convent,  they  would  themselves  carry 
him  out  on  their  shoulders.* 

In  fact,  in  all  parts  of  Germany  might 
be  seen  monks  Jeaving,  at  the  gates  of 
their  monastery,  their  frock  and  cowl.  Of 
these,  some  had  been  expelled  by  the  vio- 
lence of  their  fellows,  or  of  their  superiors; 
others,  of  a  gentle  and  peaceable  spirit, 
could  no  longer  endure  the  continually 
recurring  disputes,  insults,  recriminations, 
and  animosities,  which  pursued  them  from 
morning  till  night.  Of  all  these,  the 
greater  number  were  convinced  that  the 
monastic  vows  were  inconsistent  with  the 
will  of  God  and  the  Christian  life.  Some 
had  gradually  been  led  to  this  conviction ; 
others  had  reached  it  at  once  by  con- 
sidering a  single  text.  The  indolent, 
heavy  ignorance  which  generally  marked 
the  mendicant  orders  communicated  a 
feeling  of  disgust  to  men  of  more  intelli- 
gent minds,  who  could  no  longer  endure 
the  society  of  such  associates.  A  Fran- 
ciscan, begging  his  way,  one  day  pre- 
sented himself,  box  in  hand,  at  a  black- 
smith's shop,  in  Nuremberg.  "  Why 
don't  you  get  your  bread  by  working 
with  your  own  hands'?"  inquired  the 
blacksmith.  Thus  invited,  the  sturdy 
monk,  tossing  from  him  his  habit,  lifted 
the  hammer,  and  brought  it  down  again 
with  force  upon  the  anvil.  Behold  the 
useless  mendicant  transformed  into  the 
industrious  workman  !  The  box  and 
monk's  gown  were  sent  back  to  the 
monastery.! 

It  was  not,  however,  the  monks  only, 
who  ranged  themselves  under  the  stand- 
ard of  evangelical  truth :  a  far  greater 
number  of  priests  proclaimed  the  new 
doctrine.  But  it  needed  not  to  be  pro- 
mulgated by  human  organs;  it  often 
acted  upon  men's  minds  and  aroused 
them  from  their  deep  slumber,  without 
the  instrumentality  of  a  preacher. 

Luther's  writings  were  read  in  the 
boroughs,  cities,  and  hamlets ;  even  the 
village  schoolmaster  had  his  fire-side  audi- 
ence. Some  persons  in  each  locality,  im- 
pressed with  what  they  had  heard,  con- 
sulted the  Bible  to  relieve  their  uncertain- 
ty, and  were  struck  with  the  marked  con- 

*  Seckendorf,  p.  811.  Stentzd.  Script.  Rer 
Sites,  I.  p.  45. 

t  Ranke,  Deutsche  Geschichte,  ii.  p.  70. 


trast  between  the  Christianity  of  Scrip- 
ture and  that  which  they  had  imbibed. 
Fluctuating  for  a  while  between  Roman- 
ism and  Holy  Writ,  they  ere  long  took 
refuge  in  that  living  Word  which  had 
beamed  into  their  minds  with  such 
new  and  cheering  lustre.  While  these 
changes  were  passing  in  their  minds,  an 
evangelical  preacher — he  might  be  a 
priest,  or,  perhaps,  a  monk — would  ap- 
pear. He  speaks  with  eloquence  and 
authority,*  proclaiming  that  Christ  has 
fully  atoned  for  the  sins  of  his  people, 
and  proves  from  the  sacred  Word  the 
vanity  of  human  works  and  penance. 
Such  preaching  excited  terrible  opposi- 
tion ;  the  clergy,  in  numerous  instances, 
aided  by  the  magistrates,  used  every 
effort  to  bring  back  those  whose  souls 
were  escaping  from  bondage.  But  there 
was  in  the  new  preaching  an  accordance 
with  Scripture,  and  a  secret,  but  irresist- 
ible energy,  which  won  the  heart  and 
subdued  the  most  rebellious.  Risking 
the  loss  of  property,  and,  if  needful,  the 
loss  of  life  itself,  men  deserted  the  barren 
fanatical  preachers  of  the  Papacy,  and 
enrolled  themselves  under  the  Gospel 
banner,  f  Sometimes  the  people,  irritated 
at  the  thought  how  long  they  had  been 
duped,  drove  away  the  priests ;  but  more 
frequently  these  latter,  forsaken  by  their 
flocks,  without  tithes  or  offerings,  went 
off,  with  desponding  hearts,  to  earn  a 
livelihood  in  distant  places. :f  Whilst  the 
defenders  of  the  ancient  hierarchy  with- 
drew in  sullen  dejection,  pronouncing 
maledictions  as  they  took  leave  of  their 
former  flocks, — the  people,  whom  truth 
and  liberty  filled  with  transports  of  joy, 
surrounded  the  new  preachers  with  ac- 
clamations, and  in  their  eagerness  to  hear 
the  Word,  bore  them,  as  in  triumph,  into 
the  churches  and  pulpits.^ 

A  word  of  Power  from  God  himself, 
was  remoulding  society.  In  many  in- 
stances, the  people,  or  the  principal  citi- 
zens, wrote  to  a  man  whose  faith  they 
knew,  urging  him  to  come  and  instruct 

*  Eaque  omnia  prompte,  alacriter,  eloquenter. 
— (CochlEBiis,  p.  52.) 

t  Populo  odibiles  catholici  concionatores. — 
(Cochlasus,  p.  52.) 

t  Ad  extremam  redaeti  inopiam,  aliunde  eibi 
victum  quaerere  cogerentur. — (Ibid.  p.  53.) 

§  Triuniphantibus  novis  praedicatoribus  qui  se- 
quacem  populum  verbo  novi  Evangelii  sui  duce- 
bant— (Ibid.) 


LUTHER  LEAVES  THE  WARTBURG. 


433 


them ;  and  he,  for  the  love  of  the  truth, 
would,  at  their  call,  at  once  leave  his 
worldly  interests,  his  family,  friends,  and 
country*     Persecution  often  compelled 
the  favourers  of  the  Reformation  to  aban- 
don their  dwellings  ; — they  arrive  in  a 
place    where   the    new    doctrines   have 
never  yet  been  heard  of;  they  find  there 
some  hospitable  roof,  offering  shelter  to 
houseless   travellers ;  there    they   speak 
of  the  Gospel,  and  read  a  few  pages  to 
the  listening  townsmen,  and  perhaps,  by 
the  intercession  of  their  new  acquaint- 
ances, obtain  leave  to  preach  a  sermon  in 
the    church.      Immediately,   the    Word 
spreads  like  fire  through  the  town,  and 
no  efforts  can  stay  its  progress. f     If  not 
permitted  to  preach  in  the  church,  the 
preaching    took    place    elsewhere,    and 
every  place  became  a  temple.     At  Hu- 
sum  in  Holstein,  Herman  Tast,  then  on 
his  way  from  Wittemberg,  and  to  whom 
the  parochial  clergy  denied  the  use  of 
the    church,    preached   to'  an    immense 
multitude,  under  the  shade  of  two  large 
trees  adjoining  the  churchyard,  not  far 
from  the  spot  where,  seven  centuries  be- 
fore,  Anschar  had  first  proclaimed  the 
Gospel    to    a    Heathen    auditory.      At 
Armstadt,  Gaspard  Gittel,  an  Augustine 
friar,  preached  in  the  market-place.     At 
Dantzic,  the  Gospel  was  proclaimed  from 
an  eminence  outside  the  city.     At  Goss- 
lar,  a  student  of  Wittemberg  opened  the 
new  doctrines,  in  a  plain  planted  with 
lime-trees,  from  which  circumstance  the 
evangelical  Christians  there  obtained  the 
appellation  of  The  Lime-tree  Brethren. 

Whilst  the  Priests  were  exposing,  be- 
fore the  eyes  of  the  people,  their  sordid 
avidity,  the  new  preachers,  in  addressing 
them,  said  :  "  Freely  we  have  received 
— freely  do  we  give.":}:  The  observation 
often  dropt  by  the  new  preachers  in  the 
pulpit,  that  Rome  had  of  old  given  to 
the  nations  a  corrupted  Gospel,  so  that 
Germany  now  first  heard  the  Word  of 
Christ  in  its  divine  and  primitive  beauty, 
made  a  deep  impression  upon  all  ;§  and 
the  grand  thought  of  the  equality  of  all 

*  Multi,  omissa  re  domestica,  in  speciem  veri 
Evangelii,  parentes  et  amicos  relinquebant. — 
(Ibid.) 

t  Ubi  vero  aliquos  nacti  fuissent  amicos  in  ea 
civitate  .  .  .  . — (Cochlaeus,  p.  54.) 

t  Mira  eis  erat  liberalitas. — (Ibid.) 

§   Earn  usque  diem  nunquam  germane  praedi- 
catam. — (Cochlaeus,  p.  53.) 
55 


men  in  the  universal  brotherhood  of 
Jesus  Christ,  elevated  the  souls  which 
had  so  long  borne  the  yoke  of  the  feu- 
dality and  papacy  of  the  middle  ages.* 

Simple  Christians  were  often  seen 
with  the  New  Testament  in  hand,  offer- 
ing to  justify  the  doctrine  of  the  Refor- 
mation. The  Catholics,  who  adhered  to 
Rome,  drew  back  in  dismay ;  for  the 
study  of  Holy  Scripture  was  reserved  to 
the  priests  and  monks  alone.  The  latter 
being  thus  compelled  to  come  forward, 
discussion  ensued  ;  but  the  priests  and 
monks  were  soon  overwhelmed  with  the 
Scriptures  quoted  by  the  laity,  and  at  a 
loss  how  to  meet  them.f  "  Unhappily," 
says  Cochlasus,  "  Luther  had  persuaded 
his  followers  that  their  faith  ought  only 
to  be  given  to  the  oracles  of  Holy  Writ." 
Often  clamours  were  heard  in  the  crowd, 
denouncing  the  shameful  ignorance  of 
the  old  theologians,  who  had  till  then 
been  regarded  by  their  own  party  as 
among  the  most  eminently  learned. "J 

Men  of  the  humblest  capacity,  and 
even  the  weaker  sex,  by  the  help  of  the 
knowledge  of  the  Word,  persuaded,  and 
prevailed  with  many.  Extraordinary 
times  produced  extraordinary  actions. 
At  lngolstadt  a  young  weaver  read  the 
works  of  Luther  to  a  crowded  congre- 
gation, in  the  very  place  where  Doctor 
Eck  was  residing.  The  university 
council  of  the  same  town,  having  re- 
solved to  oblige  a  disciple  of  Melancthon 
to  retract,  — a  woman,  named  Argula  de 
Staufen,  volunteered  to  defend  him,  and 
challenged  the  doctors  to  a  public  dispu- 
tation. Women,  children,  artizans,  and 
soldiers,  had  acquired  a  greater  know- 
ledge of  the  Bible  than  learned  doctors 
or  surpliced  priests. 

Christianity  was  presented  in  two-fold 
array,  and  under  aspects  strikingly  con- 
trasted. Opposed  to  the  old  defenders  of 
the  hierarchy,  who  had  neglected  the 
acquirement  of  the  languages  and  the 
cultivation  of  literature,  (we  have  it  on 
the  authority  of  one  of  themselves)  was 
a  generous-minded  youth,  most  of  them 
devoted  to  study  and  the  investigation  of 
the  Scriptures,  and  acquainted  with  the 

*  Omnes  aequales  et  fratres  in  Christo. — (Ibid.) 
t  A  Iaicis  lutheranis,  plures  scripturas  locos, 

quam  a  monachis  et  praesbyteris. — (Ibid.  p.  54.) 
t  Reputabantur  catholici  ab  illis  ignari  Scrip- 

turarum. — (Ibid.) 


434 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


literary  treasures  of  antiquity.*  Gifted 
with  quickness  of  apprehension,  eleva- 
tion of  soul,  and  intrepidity  of  heart, 
these  youths  soon  attained  such  proficien- 
cy that  none  could  compete  with  them. 
It  was  not  only  the  vigour  of  their  faith 
which  raised  them  above  their  contempo- 
raries, but  an  elegance  of  style,  a  per- 
fume of  antiquity,  a  sound  philosophy, 
and  a  knowledge  of  the  world,  of  which 
the  theologians,  veteris  farina  (as  Coch- 
laeus  himself  terms  them)  were  alto- 
gether destitute.  So  that  on  public  occa- 
sions, on  which  these  youthful  defenders 
of  the  Reformation  encountered  the 
Romish  doctors,  their  assault  was  carried 
on  with  an  ease  and  confidence  that  em- 
barrassed the  dulness  of  their  adversa- 
ries, and  exposed  them  before  all  to  de- 
served contempt. 

The  ancient  structure  of  the  Church 
was  thus  tottering  under  the  weight  of 
superstition  and  ignorance,  while  the 
new  edifice  was  rising  from  its  founda- 
tions of  faith  and  learning.  The  ele- 
ments of  a  new  life  were  diffused  among 
the  general  body  of  the  people.  List- 
less dulness  was  everywhere  succeeded 
by  an  inquiring  disposition  and  a  thirst 
for  information.  An  active  enlightened 
and  living  faith,  took  the  place  of  super- 
stitious piety,  and  ascetic  meditations. 
Works  of  true  devotedness  superseded 
mere  outward  observance  and  penances. 
The  pulpit  prevailed  over  the  mumme- 
ries of  the  altar,  and  the  ancient  and  su- 
preme authority  of  God's  word  was  at 
length  re-established  in  the  Church. 

The  art  of  printing,  that  mighty  en- 
gine, the  discovery  of  which  marks  the 
fifteenth  century,  came  to  the  assistance 
of  the  efforts  we  are  now  recording  ;  and 
its  weighty  missiles  were  continually  dis- 
charged against  the  enemy's  walls. 

The  impulse  which  the  Reformation 
gave  to  popular  literature  in  Germany 
was  prodigious.  Whilst  the  year  1513 
saw  only "  thirty-five  publications,  and 
1517  but  thirty-seven,  the  number  of 
books  increased  with  astonishing  rapid- 
ity after  the  appearance  of  Luther's 
theses.  We  find,  in  1518,  seventy-one 
various  publications  recorded;  in  1519, 
one  hundred  and  eleven  ;  in  1520,  two 

*  Totam  vero  juventutem,  eloquentiae  litteris, 
linguarumque  studio  deditara  ...  in  partem  suam 
traxit. — (Cochlreus,  p.  54.) 


hundred  and  eight;  in  1521,  two  hun- 
dred and  eleven  ;  in  1522,  three  hun- 
dred and  forty-seven  ;  and  in  1523,  four 
hundred  and  ninety-eight.  And  where 
were  all  these  books  published  ?  Al- 
most invariably  at  Wittemberg.  And 
who  was  the  author  of  them?  For  the 
most  part,  Luther.  The  year  1 522,  saw 
one  hundred  and  thirty  publications 
from  the  pen  of  the  Reformer  alone  ; 
and  the  following  year,  one  hundred 
and  eighty-three  ;  whilst  in  this  latter 
year,  the  total  number  of  Roman  Catho- 
lic publications  amounted  to  but  twenty.* 
Thus,  the  literature  of  Germany  was 
formed  in  the  din  of  controversy^  as  its 
religion  arose  in  the  midst  of  conflicts. 
Already  it  gave  evidence  of  that  learned, 
profound,  bold,  and  stirring  spirit  that 
latter  times  have  seen  in  it.  The  genius 
of  the  nation  now,  for  the  first  time,  dis- 
played itself  without  mixture,  and  in  the 
very  hour  of  its  birth  it  received  a  bap- 
tism of  fire  from  Christian  enthusiasm. 

Whatever  Luther  and  his  friends  com- 
posed, others  disseminated  far  and  wide. 
Monks,  who  had  been  led  to  see  the  un- 
lawfulness of  the  monastic  obligations, 
and  desirous  of  exchanging  a  life  of  in- 
dolence for  one  of  activity,  but  too  igno- 
rant to  be  able  themselves  to  proclaim 
the  Word  of  God,  traversed  the  prov- 
inces, and,  visiting  the  hamlets  and  cot- 
tages, sold  the  writings  of  Luther  and 
his  friends.  Germany  was,  ere  long, 
overrun  with  these  enterprising  colpor- 
teurs.! Printers  and  booksellers  eagerly 
received  whatever  writings  were  directed 
to  the  defence  of  the  Reformation,  but 
would  not  look  at  those  of  the  opposite 
party,  as  savouring  generally  of  igno- 
rance- and  barbarism.^  If  any  of  these 
men,  however,  ventured  to  sell  a  book  in 
favour  of  Papacy,  or  to  offer  it  for  sale 
at  Frankfort,  or  elsewhere,  he  drew  upon 
himself  a  torrent  of  ridicule  and  sar- 
casm fro'm  dealers,  publishers,  and  schol- 
ars.§     Vainly  had  the  Emperor  and  the 

*  Panzer's  Annalen  der  Deutsch  Litt. — 
(Ranke's  Deutsch  Gesch.  ii.  p.  79.) 

t  Apostatarum,  monasteriis  relictis,  infinitus~ 
jam  erat  Humerus,  in  speciem  bibliopolarum. — 
(Cochlseus,  p.  54.) 

t  Catholicorum,  velut  indocta  et  veteris  barba- 
rici  trivialia  scripta,  contemnebant. — (Cochlceus, 

P-  54.) 

§  In  publicis  mercatibus  Francofordise  et  alibi, 
vcxabantur  ac  ridebuntur. — (Ibid.) 


LUTHER  LEAVES  THE  WARTBURG. 


435 


reigning  princes  fulminated  severe  edicts 
against  the  writings  of  the  Reformers. 
As  soon  as  an  inquisitorial  visit  was  de- 
termined on,  the  dealers  (who  secretly- 
obtained  information  of  it)  would  con- 
ceal the  books  which  it  was  intended  to 
proscribe  ;  and  the  people,  ever  eager  to 
possGss  that  of  which  authority  would 
deprive  them,  would  afterwards  buy 
them  up,  and  read  them  with  redoubled 
ardour.  It  was  not  alone  Germany  that 
was  the  theatre  of  such  incidents,  the 
writings  of  Luther  were  translated  into 
French,  Spanish,  English,  and  Italian, 
and  were  circulated  among  those  na- 
tions. 

If  instruments  so  despised  could  yet 
inflict  such  disaster  on  the  power  of 
Rome,  what  was  it  when  the  monk  of 
Wittemberg  was  heard  to  raise  his  voice? 
Shortly  after  the  discomfiture  of  the 
strange  prophets,  Luther  traversed  the 
territory  of  Duke  George,  in  a  waggon, 
attired  in  plain  clothes.  His  gown  was 
carefully  concealed,  and  the  Reformer 
wore  the  disguise  of  a  countryman.  Had 
he  been  recognised,  and  so  fallen  into 
the  hands  of  the  exasperated  Duke,  it 
had,  perhaps,  been  all  over  with  him. 


He  was  on  his  way  to  preach  at  Zwic- 
kau, the    birth-place    of   the    pretended  I  have  made  this  journey 
prophets.      Scarcely  was   it   known    at  j  present   of    this   money 


an  old  woman,  in  order  to  excite  a  tu- 
mult."* But  vain  was  the  effort  ;  the 
Reformer's  word  put  the  evil  spirit  to  si- 
lence ;  an  enthusiasm  communicated  it- 
self from  one  to  another,  looks  and 
warm  greetings  were  exchanged,  the 
people  pressed  each  other  by  the  hand, 
and  the  friars,  not  knowing  what  to 
make  of  what  they  saw,  and  unable  to 
charm  down  the  tempest,  soon  found  it 
necessary  to  take  their  departure  from 
Zwickau. 

In  the  Castle  of  Freyberg  resided 
Duke  Henry,  brother  of  Duke  George. 
His  wife,  the  Princess  of  Mecklenburg, 
had,  the  preceding  year,  presented  him 
with  a  son,  who  was  christened  Maurice. 
Duke  Henry  united  the  bluntness  and 
coarse  manners  of  the  soldier  to  a  pas- 
sion for  the  pleasures  of  the  table,  and 
the  pursuits  of  dissipation.  He  was, 
withal,  pious  after  the  manner  of  the 
age  in  which  he  lived ;  he  had  visited 
the  Holy  Land,  and  had  also  gone  on 
pilgrimage  to  the  shrine  of  St.  James  at 
Compostella.  He  would  often  say, 
"  When  I  was  at  Compostella,  I  depos- 
ited a  hundred  golden  florins  on  the  al- 
tar of  the  Saint,  and  I  said  to  him, — '  O ! 
St.  James,  it  is  to  gain  your  favour  I 
I  make  you  a 
but  if    those 


Schneeberg,  Annaberg,  and  the  neigh- 
bouring towns,  when  numbers  flocked  to 
hear  him.  Fourteen  thousand  persons 
arrived  in  the  town,  and  as  there  was  no 
edifice  which  could  contain  so  great  a 
multitude,  Luther  preached  from  the 
balcony  of  the  Town-hall  to  twenty-five 
thousand  auditors,  who  thronged  the 
market-place, — and  of  whom  several 
had  climbed  to  the  top  of  some  stones 
that  lay  heaped  together  near  the  hall* 
The  servant  of  Jesus  Christ  was  expati- 
ating with  fervour  on  the  election  of 
grace,  when  suddenly  a  shriek  proceeded 
from  the  midst  of  the  rivetted  auditory. 
An  old  woman  of  haggard  mien,  who 
had  stationed  herself  on  a  large  block  of 
stones,  was  seen  motioning  with  her  lank 
arms  as  though  she  would  controul  the 
multitude  just  about  to  fall  prostrate  at 
the  feet  of  Jesus.  Her  wild  yells  inter- 
rupted the  preacher.  "  It  was  the  devil," 
says  Seckendorf,  "  who  took  the  form  of 

*  Von  dem  Rathhaus  unter  einem  Zulauf  von 
25,000  Menschen.— (Seek,  p.  539.) 


knaves  (the  priests)  steal  it  from  you,  I 
can't  help  it ;  so  take  you  care  of  it.'  "f 
Two  friars,  (a  Franciscan  and  a  Do- 
minican) disciples  of  Luther,  had  been 
for  some  time  preaching  the  Gospel  at 
Freyberg.  The  Duchess,  whose  piety 
had  inspired  her  with  a  horror  of  heresy, 
attended  their  sermons,  and  were  all  as- 
tonishment at  discovering  that  what  she 
had  been  taught  so  much  to  dread,  was 
the  gracious  word  of  a  Saviour.  Gra- 
dually, her  eyes  were  opened ;  and  she 
found  peace  in  Jesus  Christ.  The  mo- 
ment Duke  George  learned  that  the 
Gospel  was  preached  at  Freyberg,  he 
begged  his  brother  to  resist  the  introduc- 
tion of  such  novelties.  The  Chancellor 
Stehelin  and  the  canons  seconded  these 
representations  with  their  fanatical  zeal. 
A  violent  explosion  took  place  at  the 
court  of  Freyberg.    Duke  Henry  sternly 

*  Der  Teufel  indem  er  sich  in  Gestalt  einea 
alten  Weibes  .  . . — (Ibid.) 

t  Lasst  du  dir's  die  Buben  nehmen  . . . — (Ibid, 
p.  430.) 


436 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


reprimanded  and  reproached  his  wife, 
and  more  than  once  the  pious  Duchess 
was  known  to  shed  tears  over  the  cradle 
of  her  babe.  By  slow  degrees,  how- 
ever, her  gentle  entreaties  melted  the 
heart  of  her  husband.  This  man,  so 
stern  by  nature,  softened  down.  A  sweet 
harmony  was  established  between  them : 
at  length,  they  were  enabled  to  join  in 
prayer  beside  their  infant  son.  Great 
and  untold  destinies  hovered  above  that 
son ;  and  from  that  cradle,  where  the 
christian  mother  had  so  often  poured  out 
her  sorrows,  was  to  come  forth  one  whom 
God  in  his  own  time  would  use  as  a  de- 
fender of  the  Reformation. 

The  intrepidity  of  Luther  had  made  a 
deep  impression  on  the  inhabitants  of 
Worms.  The  Imperial  Decree  over- 
awed the  magistrates ;  the  churches 
were  all  closed ;  but  a  preacher,  taking 
his  stand  on  a  rudely-constructed  pulpit, 
in  a  square  thronged  with  an  immense 
multitude,  proclaimed  the  glad  tidings 
with  persuasive  earnestness.  If  the  au- 
thorities showed  a  disposition  to  inter- 
fere, the  people  dispersed  in  an  instant, 
hastily  carrying  off  their  pulpit ;  but  no 
sooner  had  the  officers  of  authority 
passed  by,  than  they  again  erected  their 
pulpit  in  some  more  retired  spot,  to  which 
the  multitude  would  again  flock  together, 
to  hear  more  of  the  Word  of  Jesus 
Christ.  This  temporary  pulpit  was 
every  day  set  up  in  one  spot  or  another, 
and  served  as  a  rallying  point  for  the 
people  who  were  still  under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  emotions  awakened  by  the 
drama  lately  enacted  in  Worms.* 

At  Frankfort  on  the  Maine,  one  of  the 
most  considerable  free  cities  of  the  em- 
pire, all  was  commotion.  A  courageous 
evangelist,  Ibach,  preached  salvation  by 
Jesus  Christ.  The  clergy,  among  whom 
was  Cochlseus,  known  by  his  writings 
and  his  opposition  to  the  Reformation, 
irritated  by  the  daring  intrusion  of  such 
a  colleague,  denounced  him  to  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Mentz.  The  Council,  though 
with  some  timidity,  nevertheless  support- 
ed him  ;  but  without  avail.  The  clergy 
expelled  the  evangelical  minister,  and  obli- 
ged him  to  quit  Frankfort.  Rome  ap- 
peared triumphant ;  all  seemed  lost ;  and 
private  Christians  began  to  fear  that  they 

*  So  liessen  sie  eine  Canzel  machen,  die  man 
von  einem  Ort  zum  andern  . . . — (Seek.  p.  436.) 


were  for  ever  deprived  of  the  preaching 
of  the  Word :  but  at  the  very  moment 
when  the  citizens  seemed  disposed  to 
submit  to  the  tyranny  of  their  priests, 
certain  nobles  suddenly  declared  them- 
selves for  the  Gospel.  Max  of  Moln- 
heim,  Harmut  of  Cronberg,  George  of 
Stockheim,  and  Emeric  of  Reiffenstein, 
whose  estates  lay  near  Frankfort,  wrote 
to  the  Council : — "  We  are  constrained 
to  make  a  stand  against  those  spiritual 
wolves."  And,  in  addressing  the  clergy, 
they  said  : — "  Either  embrace  evangeli- 
cal doctrines  and  recall  Ibach,  or  we  will 
pay  no  more  tithes." 

The  common  people,  who  listened 
gladly  to  the  reformed  opinions,  embol- 
dened by  this  language  of  the  nobles, 
showed  symptoms  of  agitation  ;  and  one 
day  when  Peter  Mayer,  the  persecutor 
of  Ibach,  and  who  of  all  the  priests  was 
the  most  hostile  to  the  new  opinions,  was 
on  the  point  of  preaching  against  here- 
tics, a  violent  tumult  broke  forth,  and 
Mayer  in  alarm  retreated  from  the  pul- 
pit. This  popular  movement  decided 
the  determination  of  the  Council.  An 
ordinance  was  published,  enjoining  all 
ministers  to  preach  the  pure  Word  of 
God,  or  to  quit  the  town. 

The  light  which  shone  forth  from 
Wittemberg,  as  from  the  heart  of  the 
nation,  was  thus  diffusing  itself  through- 
out the  empire.  In  the  west, — Berg, 
Cleves,  Lippstadt,  Munster,  Wesel,  Mil- 
tenberg,  Mentz,  Deux  Ponts,  and  Stras- 
burg,  heard  the  'joyful  sound.'  In  the 
south, — Hof,  Schlesstadt,  Bamberg,  Ess- 
lingen,  Hall  (in  Suabia),  Heilbrunn, 
Augsburg,  Ulm,  and  many' other  places, 
welcomed  it  with  joy.  In  the  east, — 
the  Duchy  of  Liegnitz,  Prussia  and  Po- 
merania,  received  it  with  open  arms. 
In  the  north, — Brunswick,  Halberstadt, 
Gosslar,  Zell,  Friesland,  Bremen,  Ham- 
burg, Holstein,  and  even  Denmark,  and 
other  adjacent  countries,  moved  at  the 
sounds  of  the  new  teaching. 

The  Elector  had  declared  that  he 
would  give  full  liberty  to  the  bishops  to 
preach  in  his  dominions ;  but  that  he 
would  not  deliver  any  one  into  their 
hands.  Accordingly,  the  evangelical 
preachers,  persecuted  in  other  countries, 
were  soon  driven  to  take  refuge  in  Sax- 
ony. Among  these  were — Ibach,  from 
Frankfort,  Eberlin,  from    Ulm,   Kana- 


LUTHER  LEAVES  THE  WARTBURG. 


437 


dorff,  from  Magdeburg,  Valentine  Mus- 
teus,*  whom  the  canons  of  Halber- 
stadt  had  horribly  mutilated,  and  other 
faithful  ministers,  from  all  parts  of  Ger- 
many, flocked  to  Wittemberg,  as  to  the 
only  asylum  of  which  they  felt  secure. 
Here  they  could  hold  converse  with  the 
leading  Reformers,  thereby  strengthening 
themselves  in  the  faith,  and  at  the  same 
time  communicating  the  experience  each 
one  had  gained,  together  with  the  infor- 
mation he  had  acquired.  It  is  thus  that 
the  waters  of  our  rivers  return,  borne  in 
the  clouds  from  the  vast  expanse  of  ocean, 
to  feed  the  glaciers  whence  they  first  de- 
scended, to  flow  through  the  plain. 

The  work  which  was  at  this  time  de- 
veloping itself  at  Wittemberg,  composed, 
as  has  been  seen,  of  various  elements, 
became  from  day  to  day  increasingly  the 
work  of  that  nation,  of  Europe,  and  of 
Christendom.  The  school  which  Fred- 
eric had  founded,  and  into  which  Luther 
had  introduced  the  Word  of  Life,  was 
the  centre  of  that  wide-spreading  revolu- 
tion which  regenerated  the  Church  ;  and 
from  it  the  Reformation  derived  a  true 
and  a  living  unity,  far  above  the  semblance 
of  unity  that  might  be  seen  in  Rome. 
The  Bible  was  the  supreme  authority  at 
Wittemberg,  and  there  its  doctrines  were 
heard  on  all  sides.  This  academy, 
though  the  most  recent  of  all  in  its  ori- 
gin, had  acquired  a  rank  and  influence 
throughout  Christendom  which  hitherto 
had  exclusively  appertained  to  the  an- 
cient University  of  Paris.  The  crowds 
of  students  which  resorted  to  Wittem- 
berg, from  all  parts  of  Europe,  brought 
thither  the  report  of  the  wants  of  the 
Church  and  of  the  people,  and  in  quit- 
ting those  walls,  become  sacred  in  their 
esteem,  they  bore  with  them,  to  the 
Church  and  people,  that  Word  of  Grace, 
which  is  for  the  healing  and  salvation 
of  the  nations. 

In  contemplating  these  happy  results, 
Luther  felt  his  confidence  increased. 
He  had  seen  a  feeble  effort,  begun 
amidst  so  many  fears  and  struggles, 
change  the  face  of  the  christian  world  ; 
and  he  himself  was  astonished  at  a  re- 

*  Aliquot  ministri  canonicorum  capiunt  D. 
Valentinum  Mustseum  et  vinctum  manibus  pedi- 
busque,  injecto  in  ejus  os  freno,  deferunt  per 
trabes  inferiores  coenobii  partes,  ibique  in  cella 
oerevisiaria  eum  castrant. — (Hamelmann,  Hist, 
renati  Evangelii,  p.  880.) 


suit  which  he  never  anticipated  when  he 
first  entered  the  lists  against  Tetzel. 
Prostrate  before  the  God  whom  he 
adored,  he  confessed  that  the  work  was 
His ;  and  he  rejoiced  in  the  assurance 
of  victory  which  no  power  could  prevent. 
"  Our  enemies  threaten  us  with  death," 
said  he,  to  the  Chevalier  Harmut  of 
Cronberg — "  if  their  wisdom  were  equal 
to  their  folly,  it  is  with  life  they  would 
threaten  us.  What  an  absurdity  and  in- 
sult it  is  to  affect  to  denounce  death 
against  Christ  and  Christians,  who  are 
themselves  the  conquerors  of  death  !* 
It  is  as  if  I  would  seek  to  affright  a 
rider  by  saddling  his  courser,  and  help- 
ing him  to  mount.  Do  they  not  know 
that  Christ  is  raised  from  the  dead  ?  So 
far  as  they  see,  He  is  yet  lying  in  the 
grave,  nay — even  in  hell.  But  we  know 
that  He  lives."  He  was  grieved  when- 
ever he  thought  that  any  one  should  look 
upon  him  as  the  author  of  a  work,  of 
which  the  most  minute  details  disclosed 
to  him  the  finger  of  God.  "  Some  there 
are,"  said  he,  "  who  believe  because  J 
believe.  But  they  only  truly  believe, 
who  would  continue  faithful  even  though 
they  should  hear  (which  may  God  for- 
bid!) that  I  had  denied  Christ.  True 
disciples  believe — not  in  Luther — but  in 
Jesus  Christ.  Even  I  myself  care  little 
for  Luther,  f  Let  him  be  counted  a 
saint  or  a  cheat,  what  care  I?  It  is  not 
him  that  I  preach  ;  it  is  Christ.  If  the 
devil  can  seize  Luther,  let  him  do  so! 
But  let  Christ  abide  with  us,  and  we 
shall  abide  also." 

Surely  it  is  idle  to  explain  such  a  prin- 
ciple as  here  speaks  out,  by  the  mere 
circumstances  of  human  affairs.  Men 
of  letters  might  sharpen  their  wits,  and 
shoot  their  poisoned  arrows  against  Pope 
and  friars — the  gathering  cry  for  free- 
dom, which  Germany  had  so  often  sent 
forth  against  Italian  tyranny,  might 
again  echo  in  the  castles  and  provinces ; 
— the  people  might  again  delight  in  the 
familiar  voice  of  the  Wittemberg  night- 
ingale %  heralding  the  spring  that  was 
everywhere  bursting  forth  ; — but  it  was 
no   change    in   mere   outward   circum- 

*  Herren  und  Siegmanner  des  Todes. — (L. 
Epp.  ii.  p.  164.) 

t  Ich  kenne  auch  selbst  nicht  den  Luther.— 
(Ibid.) 

%  Wittemberger  Nacktigall,  poem  of  Hans 
Sachs,  1523. 


438 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


stances,  like  such  as  is  the  effect  of  a 
craving  for  earthly  liberty,  that  was  then 
accomplishing.  Those  who  assert  that 
the  Reformation  was  brought  about  by 
bribing  the  reigning  princes  with  the 
prospect  of  convent  treasure, — the  clergy 
with  the  licence  of  marriage, — or  the 
people  with  the  boon  of  freedom,  are 
strangely  mistaken  in  its  nature.  Doubt- 
less, a  profitable  use  of  resources  which 
hitherto  had  maintained  the  monks  in 
idleness, — doubtless,  marriage  and  lib- 
erty, God's  gifts,  might  conduce  to  the 
progress  of  the  Reformation, — but  the 
moving  power  was  not  in  these  things. 
An  interior  revolution  was  going  on  in 
the  deep  privacy  of  men's  hearts:  Chris- 
tians were  again  learning  to  love  and  to 


forgive,  to  pray,  to  suffer  affliction,  and, 
if  need  be,  to  die  for  the  sake  of  that 
Truth  which  yet  held  out  no  prospect  of 
rest  on  this  side  heaven  !  The  Church 
was  in  a  state  of  transition.  Christian- 
ity was  bursting  the  shroud  in  which  it 
had  so  long  been  veiled,  and  resuming 
its  place  in  a  world  which  had  well  nigh 
forgotten  its  former  power.  He  who 
made  the  earth,  now  '  turned  his  hand,' 
and  the  Gospel, — emerging  from  eclipse, 
— went  forward,  notwithstanding  the  re- 
peated efforts  of  priests  and  of  kings, — 
like  the  Ocean,  which,  when  the  hand 
of  God  presses  on  its  bosom,  rises  in  ma- 
jestic calmness  along  its  shores,  so  that 
no  power  of  man  is  able  to  resist  its 
movement. 


BOOK   X. 


MOVEMENTS  IN^GERMANY. 


Movement  in  Germany— War  between  Francis  I.  and  Charles  V. — Inigo  Lopez  de  Recalde — 
Siege  of  Pampeluna — Loyola's  Armed  Vigil — Enters  a  Dominican  Convent — Mental  Distress — 
"  Strong  Delusions" — "  Belief  of  a  Lie" — Amusement  of  the  Pope — Death  of  Leo  X. — Charac- 
ter of  Adrian  VI. — The  Pope  attempts  a  Reformation — Opposition  at  Rome — Designs  against 
Luther — Diet  at  Nuremburg — Osiander  at  Nuremburg — The  Pope's  Candour — Resolution  of 
the   Diet — Grievances — The  Pope  to  the  Elector — The   Pope's  Brief— The  Princes  fear  the 

Pope "  The   Fiery  Trial" — "  The   Failing   Mines" — The   Augustine  Convent— Mirisch   and 

Probst — Persecution  at  Miltenburg — The  Inquisitors  and  the  Confessors — The  Fate  of  Lambert 

Luther's  Sympathy — Hymn  on  the  Martyrs — The  Legate  Campeggio— Evasion  of  the  Edict 

of  Worms— Alarm  of  the  Pope — The  Dukes  of  Bavaria — Conference  at  Ratisbon — Subtle  De- 
vices—Results of  the  Ratisbon  League— The  Emperor's  Edict— Martyrdom  of  Gaspard  Tauber 

Cruelties  in  Wurtemburg — Persecution  in  Bavaria — Fanaticism  in  Holstein — The  Prior  and 

the  Regent — Martyrdom  of  Henry  Zuphten — Luther  and  Carlstadt — Opinions  on  the  Lord's 
Supper — Carlstadt  Leaves  Wittemburg — Luther  at  Jena — Luther  and  Carlstadt — Luther  at 
Orlamund — Interview  at  Orlamund — On  the  Worship  of  Images — Carlstadt  Banished — Carl- 
stadt Retires  to  Strasburg — Assembly  at  Spires — Abridgment  of  the  Reformed  Doctrine — 
Albert  of  Brandenburg — The  Word  of  God  Not  Bound — All  Saints'  Church — Abolition  of  the 

Mass Nature  of  Christianity — Letter  to  Councillors— On  the  Use  of  Learning— Religion  and 

the  Arts — Essence  of  Christianity — Music  and  Poetry— Abuses  of  Painting— Insurrection  of 
the  Peasantry — The  Reformation  and  Revolt — Fanaticism — "The  Spirit" — Miinzer  Preaches 
Revolt Liberty  of  Conscience — Luther's  View  of  the  Revolt — Luther  to  the  Peasantry — Mur- 
der of  Count  Helfenstein— Warlike  Exhortation— Gotz  of  Berlichingen — "  Radical  Reform" — 
Defeat  of  the  Rebels — Miinzer  at  Mulhausen — Anxieties  at  Wittemburg — The  Landgrave 
V  Takes  up  Arms— Defeat  and  Death  of  Miinzer — Thirteenth  Article— Luther  Calumniated — 
:.  Rise  of  the  New  Church— The  Revolt  and  the  Reformation— The  Last  Days  of  the  Elector 
Frederic— The  Elector  and  the  Reformer — Duke  George's  Confederacy  —  The  Nuns  of 
Nimptsch— Catherine  Bora— The  Deserted  Convent— Luther's  Thoughts  on  Matrimony — Lu- 
ther's Marriage— Domestic  Happiness— The  Elector  John— The  Landgrave  Philip— Poliander's 
Hymn— New  Ordination — Diet  at  Augsburg — League  of  Torgau — The  Evangelic  Union — 
"  The  Rulers  Take  Counsel  Together"— The  Emperor's  Message— The  Reformation  and  the 
Papacy. 

The  Reformation,  which  had  taken  I  its  way  into  the  public  worship  and  the 
its  rise  in  a  few  pious  hearts,  had  worked  |  private  life  of  the  Church ;  it  was  to  be 


MOVEMENTS  IN  GERMANY. 


439 


expected  that  it  would,  as  it  advanced, 
penetrate  into  civil  relationships.  Its 
progress  was  constantly,  from  within, — 
outward.  We  are  about  to  contemplate 
this  great  change  taking  possession  of 
the  political  life  of  nations. 

For  a  period  of  nearly  eight  centuries, 
Europe  had  formed  one  vast  sacerdotal 
state.  Its  emperors  and  kings  had  been 
under  the  patronage  of  its  popes.  If 
France  and  Germany  had  afforded  ex- 
amples of  energetic  resistance  to  auda- 
cious pretensions,  still,  Rome,  in  the  re- 
sult, had  prevailed,  and  the  world  had 
seen  temporal  princes,  consenting  to  act 
as  executioners  of  her  terrible  sentences, 
contend  in  defence  of  her  power  against 
private  Christians  living  under  their 
rule,  and  shed,  in  her  cause,  the  blood 
of  the  children  of  their  people. 

No  infringement  of  this  vast  ecclesias- 
tical polity  but  must  affect,  in  a  greater 
or  less  degree,  established  political  rela- 
tions. 

Two  leading  desires  then  agitated  the 
minds  of  the  Germans.  On  one  hand, 
the  people  aspired  after  a  revival  of  the 
faith :  on  the  other  they  demanded  a 
national  government  wherein  the  Ger- 
man states  might  be  represented,  and 
which  should  serve  as  a  counterpoise  to 
the  Imperial  power.* 

The  Elector  Frederic  had  urged  this 
demand  at  the  time  of  the  election  of 
Maximilian's  successor,  and  the  youth- 
ful Charles  had  consented.  A  national 
government  had,  in  consequence,  been 
chosen,  consisting  of  the  Imperial  chief 
and  representatives  of  the  various  elec- 
tors and  circles. 

Thus  while  Luther  was  reforming  the 
Church,  Frederic  was  engaged  in  re- 
forming the  State. 

But  when,  simultaneously  with  a 
change  in  religion,  important  modifica- 
tions of  political  relationships  were  in- 
troduced by  the  authorities,  it  was  to  be 
apprehended  that  the  commonalty  would 
exhibit  a  disposition  to  revolt, — thereby 
bringing  into  jeopardy  the  Reformation 
both  of  Church  and  of  State. 

This  violent  and  fanatical  irruption 
of  the  people,  under  certain  chosen  lead- 
ers, unavoidable  where  society  is  in  a 

*  Pfeffel  Droit  publ.  de  l'AIlemagne.  590.— 
Robertson,  Charles  V.  vol.  iii.  p.  1 14. — Ranke, 
Deutsche  Gesen. 


state  of  crisis, — did  not  fail  to  happen  in 
the  times  we  are  recording. 

Other  circumstances  there  were  which 
tended  to  these  disorders. 

The  Emperor  and  the  Pope  had 
combined  against  the  Reformation,  and 
it  might  appear  to  be  doomed  to  fail  be- 
neath the  strokes  of  such  powerful  ene- 
mies. Policy — interest — ambition  obli- 
ged Charles  V.  and  Leo  X.  to  extirpate 
it.  But  such  motives  are  feeble  defences 
against  the  power  of  Truth.  A  devoted 
assertion  of  a  cause  deemed  sacred  can 
be  conquered  only  by  a  like  devoted  ness 
opposed  to  it.  But  the  Romans,  quick 
to  catch  Leo's  enthusiasm  for  a  sonnet 
or  a  musical  composition,  had  no  pulse 
to  beat  response  to  the  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ :  or,  if  at  times  some  graver 
thoughts  would  intervene,  instead  of 
their  being  such  as  might  purify  their 
hearts,  and  imbue  them  with  the  Chris- 
tianity of  the  Apostles,  they  turned  upon 
alliances,  or  conquests,  or  treaties  that 
added  new  provinces  to  the  Papal  states ; 
and  Rome,  with  cold  disdain,  left  to  the 
Reformation  to  awaken  on  all  sides  a 
religious  enthusiasm,  and  to  go  forward 
in  triumphant  progress  to  new  victories. 
The  foe  that  she  had  sworn  to  crush,  in 
the  church  of  Worms,  was  before  her  in 
the  confidence  of  courage  and  strength. 
The  contest  must  be  sharp :  blood  must 
flow. 

Nevertheless  some  of  the  dangers  that 
threatened  the  Reformation  seemed,  just 
then,  to  be  less  pressing.  The  youthful 
Charles,  standing  one  day,  a  little  before 
the  publication  of  the  edict  of  Worms, 
in  a  window  of  his  palace  in  conversa- 
tion with  his  confessor,  had,  it  is  true, 
said  with  emphasis,  laying  his  hand  upon 
his  heart,  "  I  swear  that  I  will  hang  up 
before  this  window  the  first  man  who, 
after  the  publication  of  my  edict,  shall 
declare  himself  a  Lutheran."*  But  it 
was  not  long  before  his  zeal  cooled. 
His  plan  for  restoring  the  ancient  glory 
of  the  empire,  or,  in  other  words,  enlarg- 
ing his  own  dominions,  was  coldly  re- 
ceived ;f  and  taking  umbrage  with  his 

*  Sancte  juro  ....  eum  ex  hac  fenestra,  meo 
jussu  suspensum  iri. — (Pallavicini,  i.  p.  130.) 

t  Essendo  tomato  dalla  Dieta  che  sua  MaestS. 
haveva  fatta  in  Wormatia,  escluso  d'ogni  conclu- 
sion buona  d'ajuti  e  di  favori  che  si  fussi  proposto 
d'ottenere  in  esea. — (Instruttione  al  card.  Far- 


440 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


German  subjects,  he  passed  the  Rhine, 
and  retired  to  the  Low  Countries,  avail- 
ing himself  of  his  sojourn  there,  to  afford 
the  friars  some  gratifications  that  he 
found  himself  unable  to  give  them  in 
the  empire.  At  Ghent,  Luther's  wri- 
tings were  burned  by  the  public  execu- 
tioner with  the  utmost  solemnity.  More 
than  fifty  thousand  spectators  attended 
this  auto-da-fe,  and ,  the  presence  of  the 
Emperor  himself,  marked  his  approval 
of  the  proceedings.* 

Just  at  this  time,  Francis  the  First, 
who  eagerly  sought  a  pretext  for  attack- 
ing his  rival,  had  thrown  down  the 
gauntlet.  Under  pretence  of  re-estab- 
lishing in  their  patrimony  the  children 
of  John  of  Albret,  king  of  Navarre,  he 
had  commenced  a  bloody  contest,  des- 
tined to  last  all  his  life : — sending  an 
army  to  invade  that  kingdom,  under 
command  of  Lesparra,  who  rapidly 
pushed  his  victorious  advance  to  the 
gates  of  Pampeluna. 

On  the  walls  of  this  fortress  was  to  be 
enkindled  an  enthusiasm  Avhich,  in  after 
years,  should  withstand  the  aggressive 
enthusiasm  of  the  Reformer,  and  breathe 
through  the  Papal  system  a  new  energy 
of  devotedness  and  control.  Pampeluna 
was  to  be  the  cradle  of  a  rival  to  the 
Wittemberg  monk. 

The  spirit  of  chivalry,  which  had  so 
long  reigned  in  the  Christian  world,  still 
survived  in  Spain.  The  wars  with  the 
Moors,  recently  terminated  in  that  Penin- 
sula, but  continually  recurring  in  Africa 
— and  distant  and  adventurous  expeditions 
beyond  sea,  kept  alive  in  the  Castilian 
youth  the  enthusiastic  and  simple  valour 
of  which  Amadis  had  been  the  ideal  ex- 
hibition. 

Among  the  garrison  of  Pampeluna  was 
a  young  man  named  Don  Inigo  Lopez 
de  Recalde,  the  youngest  of  a  family  of 
thirteen.  Recalde  had  been  brought  up 
at  the  court  of  Ferdinand  the  Catholic. 
Remarkable  for  a  fine  person,!  and  ex- 
pert in  the  use  of  sword  and  lance,  he 
was  ardently  ambitious  of  chivalrous  re- 
nown.    Clothed  in  dazzling  armour,  and 

nese.  Manuscript  of  the  Bibl.  Corsini,  published 
by  Ranke.) 

*  Ipso  Caesare,  ore  subridenti,  spectaculo  plau- 
Bit. — (Pallavicini,  i.  p.  130.) 

t  Cum  esset  in  corporis  ornatd  elegantissimus. 
— (Maffei,  Vita  Loyote,  1586,  p.  3.) 


mounted  on  a  prancing  steed,  he  took 
delight  in  exposing  himself  to  the  glitter- 
ing dangers  of  the  tournament,*  enga- 
ging in  hazardous  enterprizes,  taking  part 
in  the  impassioned  struggles  of  opposing 
factions,!  and  manifesting  as  much  de- 
votion to  St.  Peter  as  to  his  lady-love. 
Such  was  the  life  led  by  the  young 
knight. 

The  governor  of  Navarre,  having  gone 
into  Spain  to  obtain  succours,  had  left  to 
Inigo  and  a  few  nobles  the  charge  of  de- 
fending Pampeluna.  These  latter,  learn- 
ing the  superior  numbers  of  the  French 
troops,  decided  on  retiring.  Inigo  en- 
treated them  to  stand  firm  and  resist  Les- 
parra ;  but,  not  being  able  to  prevail  on 
them,  he  indignantly  reproached  them 
with  their  cowardice  and  perfidy,  and 
then  threw  himself  into  the  citadel,  re- 
solved to  defend  it  at  the  sacrifice  of  his 
life.i 

When  the  French,  who  had  been  re- 
ceived with  enthusiasm  in  Pampeluna, 
proposed  to  the  commandant  of  the  for- 
tress to  capitulate,  "  Let  us  endure  every- 
thing,"^ boldly  exclaimed  Inigo,  "  rather 
than  surrender!"  On  this  the  French 
began  to  batter  the  walls  with  their  for- 
midable artillery,  and  in  a  short  time  they 
attempted  to  storm  it.  The  bravery  and 
exhortations  of  Inigo  gave  fresh  courage 
to  the  Spaniards ;  they  drove  back  the 
assailants  by  their  arrows,  swords,  or  hal- 
berds. Inigo  led  them  on.  Taking  his 
stand  on  the  ramparts,  with  eyes  flaming 
with  rage,  the  young  knight  brandished 
his  sword,  and  felled  the  assailants  to  the 
earth.  Suddenly  a  ball  struck  the  wall, 
just  where  he  stood  ;  a  stone  shivered 
from  the  ramparts,  wounded  the  knight 
severely  in  the  right  leg,  at  the  same 
moment  as  the  ball,  rebounding  from  the 
violence  of  the  shock,  broke  his  left. 
Inigo  fell  senseless.  ||  The  garrison  im- 
mediately surrendered ;  and  the  French, 

*  Equorumque  et  armorum  usd  pracelleret. — 
(Ibid.) 

t  Partim  in  factionum  rixarumque  periculis, 
partim  in  amatoria  vesania . . .  tenipus  consumeret. 
—(Maffei,  Vita  Loyolae,  1586,  p.  3.) 

I  Ardentibus  oculis,  detestatus  ignaviam  per- 
fidiamque  spectantibus  omnibus,  in  arcem  solus 
introit. — (Ibid.  p.  6.) 

§  Tam  acri  ac  vehementi  oratione  commilitoni- 
bus  dissuasit. — (Maf.  Vita  Loyolae,  1586,  p.  6.) 

||  Ut  e  vestigio  semiajiimis  alienata  mente  cor- 
ruerit. — (Ibid.  p.  7.) 


LUTHER  LEAVES  THE  WARTBURG. 


441 


admiring  the  courage  of  their  youthful 
adversary,  bore  him  in  a  litter  to  his  rela- 
tives in  the  castle  of  Loyola.  In  this 
lordly  mansion,  from  which  his  name 
was  afterwards  derived,  Inigo  had  been 
born  of  one  of  the  most  illustrious  families 
of  that  country,  eight  years  after  the  birth 
of  Luther. 

A  painful  operation  became  necessary. 
In  the  most  acute  suffering,  Inigo  firmly 
clenched  his  hands,  but  uttered  no  com- 
plaint.* 

Constrained  to  a  repose  which  he  could 
ill  endure,  he  found  it  needful  to  employ, 
in  some  way,  his  ardent  imagination. 
In  the  absence  of  the  romances  which 
he  had  been  accustomed  to  devour,  they 
gave  him  the  Life  of  Christ,  and  the 
Flores  Sanctorum.  The  reading  of  these 
works,  in  his  state  of  solitude  and  sick- 
ness, produced  an  extraordinary  effect 
upon  his  mind.  The  stirring  life  of 
tournaments  and  battles,  which  had  oc- 
cupied his  youth,  to  the  exclusion  of  every 
thing  beside,  seemed  as  if  receding  and 
fading  from  view,  while  a  career  of 
brighter  glory  appeared  to  open  before 
him.  The  humble  labours  of  the  saints, 
and  their  heroic  patience  were,  all  of  a 
sudden,  seen  to  be  far  more  worthy  of 
praise  than  all  the  high  deeds  of  chivalry. 
Stretched  upon  his  couch,  and  still  under 
the  effects  of  fever,  he  indulged  in  the 
most  conflicting  thoughts.  The  world 
he  was  planning  to  renounce,  and  that 
life  of  holy  mortification  which  he  con- 
templated, both  appeared  before  him — 
the  one  soliciting  by  its  pleasures,  the 
other  by  its  severities; — and  fearful  was 
the  struggle  in  his  conscience  between 
these  two  opposing  worlds.  "  What," 
thought  he,  "  if  I  were  to  act  like  St. 
Francis  or  St.  Dominic  ?"f  But  the  rec- 
ollection of  the  lady  to  whom  he  had 
pledged  his  love  recurred  to  his  mind. 
"  She  is  neither  countess  nor  duchess," 
said  he  to  himself,  with  a  kind  of  simple 
yanity,  "sfie  is  much  more  than  either."! 
But  thoughts  like  these  were  sure  to  fill 
him  with  distress  and  impatience,  while 

*  Nullum  aliud  indicium  dedit  doloris,  nisi  ut 
coactus  in  pugnum  digitos  valde  constringeret. 
—(Ibid.  p.  8.) 

t  Quia  si  ego  hoc  agerem  quod  fecit  b.  Fran- 
ciscus,  quid  si  hoc  quod  b.  Dominicus? — (Acta 
Sanctorum,  vii.  p.  634.) 

X  Non  era  condessa,  ni  duquessa,  mas  era  su 
estado  mas  alto  .  .  . — (lb.) 

56 


the  idea  of  imitating  the  example  of  the 
saints  caused  his  heart  to  overflow  with 
peace  and  joy. 

From  this  period  his  resolution  was 
taken.  Scarcely  had  he  risen  from  his 
sick-bed,  when  he  decided  to  retire  from 
the  world.  As  Luther  had  done,  he 
once  more  invited  to  a  repast  his  com- 
panions in  arms  ;  and  then,  without  di- 
vulging his  design,  set  out,  unattended,* 
for  the  lonely  cells  excavated  by  the 
Benedictine  monks,  in  the  rocks  of  the 
mountains  of  Montserrat.  Impelled,  not 
by  the  sense  of  his  sin,  or  of  his  need  of 
the  grace  of  God,  but  by  the  wish  to  be- 
come "  knight  of  the  Virgin  Mary,"  and 
to  be  renowned  for  mortifications  and 
works,  after  the  example  of  the  army  of 
saints, — he  confessed  for  three  successive 
days,  gave  away  his  costly  attire  to  a 
mendicant,!  clothed  himself  in  sackcloth, 
and  girded  himself  with  a  rope.  Then, 
calling  to  mind  the  armed  vigil  of  Am- 
adis  of  Gaul,  he  suspended  his  sword  at 
the  shrine  of  Mary,  passed  the  night  in 
watching,  in  his  new  and  strange  cos- 
tume ;  and  sometimes  on  his  knees,  and 
then  standing,  but  ever  absorbed  in 
prayer,  and  with  his  pilgrim's  staff  in 
hand,  went  through  all  the  devout  prac- 
tices of  which  the  illustrious  Amadis  had 
set  the  example.  "  Thus,"  remarks  the 
Jesuit,  Maffei,  one  of  the  biographers  of 
the  saint,  "  while  Satan  was  stirring  up 
Martin  Luther  to  rebellion  against  all 
laws,  divine  and  human,  and  whilst  that 
heretic  stood  up  at  Worms,  declaring  im- 
pious war  against  the  Apostolic  See, 
Christ,  by  his  heavenly  providence,, 
called  forth  this  new  champion,  and 
binding  him  by  after  vows  to  obedience 
to  the  Roman  Pontiff,  opposed  him  to 
the  licentiousness  and  fury  of  heretical 
perversity."^ 

Loyola,  who  was  still  lame  in  one  of 
his  legs,  journeyed  slowly  by  circuitous 
and  secluded  paths  till  he  arrived  at 
Manresa.  There  he  entered  a  convent 
of  Dominicans,  resolving  in  this  retired 
spot  to  give  himself  up  to  the  most  rigid 

*  Ibi  duce  amicisque  ita  salutatis,  ut  arcana 
consiliorum  suorum  quam  accuratissime  tegeret. 
— (Maf.  p.  16.) 

t  Pretiosa  vestimenta  quibus  erat  ornatus, 
pannoso  cuidam  largitus  sacco  sese  alacer  induit 
ac  func  prajcinxit. —  (Ibid.  p.  20.) 

t  Furori  ac  libidini  hsereticse  pravitatis  oppo- 
nent.—(Ibid,  p.  21.) 


442 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


penances.  Like  Luther,  he  daily  went 
from  door  to  door  begging  his  bread.* 
Seven  hours  he  was  on  his  knees,  and 
thrice  every  day  did  he  flagellate  him- 
self. Again  at  midnight  he  was  accus- 
tomed to  rise  and  pray.  He  allowed  his 
hair  and  nails  to  grow ;  and  it  would 
have  been  hard,  indeed,  to  recognise  in 
the  pale  and  lank  visage  of  the  monk  of 
Manresa,  the  young  and  brilliant  knight 
of  Pampeluna. 

Yet  the  moment  had  arrived  when 
the  ideas  of  religion,  which  hitherto  had 
been  to  Inigo  little  more  than  a  form  of 
chivalric  devotion,  were  to  reveal  them- 
selves to  him  as  having  an  importance, 
and  exercising  a  power  of  which,  till  then, 
he  had  been  entirely  unconscious.     Sud- 
denly, without  any  thing  that  might  give 
intimation  of  an  approaching  change  of 
feeling,  the  joy  he  had  experienced  left 
him.f     In  vain  did  he  have  recourse  to 
prayer  and  chaunting  psalms  ;  he  could 
not  rest4     His   imagination    ceased   to 
present  nothing  but  pleasing  illusions, — 
he  was  alone  with  his  conscience.     He  did 
not  know  what  to  make  of  a  state  of  feel- 
ing so  new  to  him ;  and  he  shuddered 
as  he  asked  whether  God  could  still  be 
against  him,  after  all  the  sacrifices  he 
had  made.     Day  and  night,  gloomy  ter- 
rors disturbed  him, — bitter  were  the  tears 
he  shed,  and  urgent  was  his  cry  for  that 
peace  which  he  had  lost — but  all  in  vain.$ 
He  again  ran  over  the  long  confession 
he   had   made   at   Montserrat.     "  Possi- 
bly," thought  he,  "  I  may  have  forgotten 
something."     But  that  confession  did  but' 
aggravate  his  distress  of  heart,  for  it  re- 
vived the  thought  of  former  transgres- 
sions.    He  wandered  about,  melancholy 
and   dejected,  his   conscience   accusing 
him  of  having,  all  his  life,  done  nought 
but  heap  sin  upon  sin,  and  the  wretched 
man — a  prey  to  overwhelming  terrors — 
filled  the  cloisters  with  the  sound  of  his 
sighs. 

Strange  thoughts,  at  this  crisis,  found 

*  Victum  osteatim  precibus,  infimis  emendi- 
care  quotidie. — (Maf.  p.  23.) 

t  Tunc  subito  nulla  preecedente  significatione 
prorsus  exui  nudarique  se  omni  guadio  eentiret. 
—(Ibid.  p.  27.) 

X  Nee  jam  in  precibus,  neque  in  psalmis  .  .  .  . 
ullam  inveniret  delectationem  aut  requiem. — 
(Ibid.) 

§  Vanis  agitari  terroribus,  dies  noctesque  fleti- 
bus  jungere. — (Ibid.  p.  28.) 


access  to  his  heart.  Obtaining  no  relief 
in  the  confessional,  and  the  various  ordi- 
nances of  the  Church,*  he  began,  as  Lu- 
ther had  done,  to  doubt  their  efficacy. 
But,  instead  of  turning  from  man's  works, 
and  seeking  to  the  finished  work  of 
Christ,— he  considered  whether  he  should 
not  once  more  plunge  into  the  vanities 
of  the  age.  His  soul  panted  eagerly  for 
that  world  that  he  had  solemnly  renoun- 
ced ;f  but  instantly  he  recoiled,  awe- 
struck. 

And  was  there,  at  this  moment,  any 
difference  between  the  monk  of  Manresa 
and  the  monk  of  Erfurth  1  Doubtless, 
in  secondary  points ;  but  their  condition 
of  soul  was  alike.  Both  were  deeply 
sensible  of  their  sins ;  both  sought  peace 
with  God,  and  desired  to  have  the  assu- 
rance of  it  in  their  hearts.  If  another 
Staupitz,  with  the  Bible  in  his  hand,  had 
presented  himself  at  the  convent  of  Man- 
resa, perhaps  Inigo  might  have  been 
known  to  us  as  the  Luther  of  the  Pen- 
insula. These  two  remarkable  men  of 
the  sixteenth  century,  the  founders  of  two 
opposing  spiritual  empires,  which,  for 
three  centuries,  have  warred  one  against 
the  other,  were,  at  this  period,  brothers  ; 
and,  perhaps,  if  they  had  been  thrown 
together,  Luther  and  Loyola  would  have 
rushed  into  each  other's  embrace,  and 
mingled  their  tears  and  their  prayers. 

But,  from  this  moment,  the  two  monks 
were  to  take  opposite  courses. 

Inigo,  instead  of  regarding  his  remorse 
as  sent  to  urge  him  to  the  foot  of  the 
cross,  deluded  himself  with  the  belief 
that  his  inward  compunctions  were  not 
from  God,  but  the  mere  suggestions  of 
the  devil;  and  he  resolved  not  to  think 
any  longer  of  his  sins,  but  to  obliterate 
them  for  ever  from  his  memory  !|  Lu- 
ther looked  to  Christ — Loyola  did  but 
turn  inward  on  himself. 

It  was  not  long  before  visionary  attes- 
tations came  in  confirmation  of  Inigo's 
self-imposed  convictions.  His  own  res- 
olutions had  been  to  him  in  place  of  the 
Lord's  -grace,  and  he  had  suffered  the 

*  Ut  nulla  jam  res  mitigare  dolorem  posse  vi- 
deretur.— (Maf.  p.  29.) 

t  Et  saeculi  commodis  repetendis  magno  quo- 
dam  impetu  cogitaverit. — (Ibid.  p.  30.) 

t  Sine  ulla  dubitatione  constituit  piffiteritae 
vitcB  labes  perpetua  oblivione  conterere. — (Ibid, 
p.  31.) 


MOVEMENTS  IN  GERMANY. 


443 


imaginations  of  his  own  heart  to  take 
the  place  of  God's  word.  He  had  count- 
ed the  voice  of  God,  speaking  to  him  in 
his  conscience,  as  the  voice  of  the  devil ; 
and  hence,  we  see  him,  in  the  remainder 
of  his  history,  the  dupe  of  delusions  of 
the  power  of  darkness. 

One  day,  Loyola  chanced  to  meet  an 
old  woman ;  as  Luther,  when  his  soul 
was  under  trial  and  exercise,  had  received 
a  visit  from  an  old  man.  But  the  Span- 
ish crone,  instead  of  testifying  of  Remis- 
sion of  Sins  to  the  penitent  of  Manresa, 
predicted  certain  appearances  of  Jesus. 
This  was  the  sort  of  Christianity  to  which 
Loyola,  like  the  prophets  of  Zwickau, 
had  recourse.  Inigo  did  not  seek  truth 
from  the  Holy  Scriptures,  but  invented 
in  their  place  certain  direct  communica- 
tions from  the  world  of  spirits.  He  soon 
passed  his  whole  time  absorbed  in  exta- 
cy  and  abstraction. 

Once,  when  on  his  way  to  the  church 
of  St.  Paul,  outside  the  city,  he  followed, 
lost  in  thought,  the  course  of  the  Llobre- 
gat,  and  stopped,  for  a  moment,  to  seat 
himself  on  its  bank.  He  fixed  his  eyes 
*on  the  river  which  rolled  its  deep  waters 
in^  silence  before  him.  He  soon  lost  all 
consciousness  of  surrounding  objects. 
Of  a  sudden,  he  fell  into  an  extacy. 
Things  were  revealed  to  his  sight,  such 
as  ordinary  men  comprehend  only  after 
much  reading  and  long  watching,  and 
study.*  He  rose  from  his  seat.  As  he 
stood  by  the  bank  of  the  river,  he  seem- 
ed to  himself  a  new  man.  He  proceeded 
to  throw  himself  on  his  knees  before  a 
crucifix  erected  near  the  spot,  decided  to 
devote  his  life  in  service  to  that  cause, 
the  mysteries  of  which  had  just  been  re- 
vealed to  his  soul. 

From  this  time,  his  visions  were  more 
frequent.  Sitting  one  day  on  the  steps 
of  St.  Dominic,  at  Manresa,  singing 
hymns  to  the  Virgin,  his  thoughts  were 
all  of  a  sudden  arrested,  and,  wrapt  in 
extacy  of  motionless  abstraction,  while 
the  mystery  of  the  Holy  Trinity  f  was 
revealed  before  his  vision,  under  symbols 
of  glory  and  magnificence.  His  tears 
flowed — his  bosom  heaved  with  sobs  of 
emotion,  and  all  that  day  he  never 
ceased  speaking  of  that  ineffable  vision. 

*  Quae  vix  demum  solent  homines  intelligen- 
tia  comprehendere. — (Maf.  p.  32.) 
+  En  figuras  de  tree  teclas. 


Such  repeated  apparitions  had  over- 
come and  dissipated  all  his  doubts.  He 
believed,  not  as  Luther,  because  the 
things  of  Faith  were  written  in  the  Word 
of  God,— but  because  of  the  visions  he 
himself  had  had.  "  Even  though  no 
Bible  had  existed,"*  say  his  apologists, 
"  even  though  those  mysteries  should 
never  have  been  revealed  in  Scripture, 
he  would  have  believed  them,  for  God 
had  disclosed  Himself  to  him."f  Luther, 
become  a  doctor  of  divinity,  had  pledged 
his  oath  to  the  sacred  Scriptures — and 
the  alone  infallible  rule  of  God's  word 
was  become  the  fundamental  principle 
of  the  Reformation.  Loyola,  at  the  time 
we  are  recording,  bound  himself  to 
dreams  and  apparitions  ; — and  visionary 
delusions  became  the  moving  principles 
of  his  life,  and  the  grounds  of  his  confi- 
dence. 

Luther's  sojourn  in  the  convent  of 
Erfurth,  and  that  of  Loyola  at  Manresa 
explain  to  us  the  principle  of  the  Refor- 
mation, and  the  character  of  modern 
Popery.  We  will  not  follow, — in  his 
journey  to  Jerusalem,  whither  he  re- 
paired on  leaving  the  convent, — the 
monk  who  was  to  be  a  means  of  re- 
animating the  expiring  power  of  Rome. 
We  shall  meet  with  him  again  in  the 
further  progress  of  this  history. 

Whilst  these  things  were  passing  in 
Spain,  Rome  herself  appeared  to  wear  a 
graver  aspect.  The  great  patron  of 
music,  hunting,  and  feasting  was  re- 
moved from  the  throne  of  the  Pontiff, 
and  succeeded  by  a  pious  and  grave 
monk. 

Leo  X.  had  been  greatly  pleased  by 
the  intelligence  of  the  edict  of  Worms, 
and  of  Luther's  captivity ;  and  in  sign 
of  his  triumph  had  caused  the  Reformer 
to  be  publicly  burnt  in  effigy,  together 
with  his  writings.^  It  was  the  second 
or  third  time  that  the  Papacy  had  in- 
dulged itself  in  this  harmless  satisfaction. 
At  the  same  time,  Leo,  to  show  his  grati- 
tude to  the  Emperor,  united  his  army 
with  the  Imperial  forces.     The  French 

*  Quod  etsi  nulla  scriptura,  mysteria  ilia  fidei 
doceret. — (Acta  Sanct.) 

t  Quae  Deo  sibi  aperiente  cognoverat. — (Maf. 
p.  34.) 

t  Comburi  jussit  alteram  vultus  in  ejus  statua, 
alteram  animi  ejus  hi  Iibris. — (Pallavicini,  i.  p. 
128.) 


444 


HISTORY  OF   THE   REFORMATION. 


were  compelled  to  evacuate  Parma,  PJa- 
centia,  and  Milan  ;  and  Cardinal  Giulio 
de  Medici*  cousin  to  the  Pope,  made  a 
public  entry  into  the  latter  city.  The 
Pope  appeared  on  the  point  of  attaining 
the  summit  of  human  greatness. 

The  winter  of  the  year  1521  was  just 
commencing.  It  was  customary  with 
Leo  X.  to  spend  the  autumn  in  the  coun- 
try. At  that  season,  he  would  leave 
Rome  without  surplice,  and  also,  what, 
remarks  his  master  of  the  ceremonies, 
was  a  yet  greater  impropriety,  wearing 
boots !  At  Viterbo,  he  would  amuse 
himself  with  hawking ;  at  Corneto,  he 
hunted ;  the  lake  of  Bolsena  afforded 
him  the  pleasures  of  fishing.  Leaving 
these,  he  would  pass  some  time  at  his  fa- 
vourite residence,  Malliana,  in  a  round  of 
festivities.  Musicians,  improvisatori,  and 
other  Roman  artists,  whose  talents  might 
add  to  the  charms  of  this  delightful 
villa,  there  gathered  round  the  Sovereign 
Pontiff  He  was  residing  there,  when 
news  was  brought  him  of  the  taking  of 
Milan.  A  tumult  of  joy  ensued  in  the 
town.  The  courtiers  and  officers  could 
not  contain  their  exultation  ;  the  Swiss 
discharged  their  carbines,  and  Leo  in- 
cautiously passed  the  night  in  walking 
backward  and  forward  in  his  chamber, 
and  looking  out  of  the  window  at  the  re- 
joicings of  the  people.  He  returned  to 
Rome,  exhausted  in  body,  and  in  the  in- 
toxication of  success.  Scarcely  had  he 
re-entered  the  Vatican,  when  he  was 
suddenly  taken  ill.  "  Pray  for  me,"  said 
he  to  his  attendants.  He  had  not  even 
time  to  receive  the  last  sacraments,  and 
died,  in  the  prime  of  life,  at  the  age  of 
forty-seven — in  a  moment  of  victory,  and 
amid  the  sounds  of  public  joy. 

The  crowd  that  followed  the  hearse  of 
the  Sovereign  Pontiff  gave  utterance  to 
curses.  They  could  not  pardon  his  hav- 
ing died  without  the  sacraments, — leav- 
ing behind  him  the  debts  incurred  by 
his  vast  expenditure.  "  Thou  didst  win 
the  pontificate  like  a  fox — heldst  it  like 
a  lion — and  hast  left  it  like  a  dog,"  said 
the  Romans. 

Such  was  the  mourning  with  which 
Rome  honoured  the  Pope  who  excom- 
municated the  Reformation ;  and  one 
whose  name  yet  serves  to  designate  a 
remarkable  period  in  history. 

Meanwhile  a  feeble  reaction  against 


the  temper  of  Leo  and  of  Rome  was  al- 
ready beginning  in  Rome  itself.  A  few 
men  of  piety  had  opened  a  place  of 
prayer  in  order  to  mutual  edification, — 
not  far  from  the  spot  in  which  tradition 
reports  the  first  Christians  of  Rome  to 
have  held  their  meetings.*  Contarini, 
who  had  been  present  on  Luther's  ap- 
pearance at  Worms,  took  the  lead  in 
these  little  meetings.  Thus,  almost  at 
the  same  time  as  at  Wittemberg,  a  kind 
of  movement  toward  a  reformation  mani- 
fested itself  at  Rome.  Truly  has  it 
been  remarked,  that  wherever  there  are 
the  seeds  of '  love  to  God,'  there  are  also 
the  germs  of  reformation.  But  these 
well-meant  efforts  were  soon  to  come  to 
nothing. 

In  other  times,  the  choice  of  a  succes- 
sor to  Leo  X.  would  surely  have  fallen 
upon  a  Gregory  VII.  or  an  Innocent  III., 
if  men  like  them  had  been  to  be  found ; 
but  now  the  Imperial  interest  was 
stronger  than  that  of  the  Church,  and 
Charles  V.  required  a  Pope  who  should 
be  devoted  to  his  interests. 

The  Cardinal  de  Medici,  afterwards 
Clement  VII.,  seeing  that  he  had  no  '' 
chance  of  obtaining  the  tiara,  exclaimed 
aloud — "Choose  the  Cardinal  Tortosa, 
an  old  man  whom  every  one  regards  as 
a  saint."  The  result  was,  that  this  prel- 
ate, who  was  a  native  of  Utrecht,  and 
of  humble  birth,  was  actually  chosen, 
and  reigned  under  the  name  of  Adrian 
VI.  He  had  been  professor  at  Louvain, 
and  afterwards  tutor  to  Charles.  In 
1517,  through  the  Emperor's  influence, 
he  had  been  invested  with  the  Roman 
purple.  Cardinal  de  Vio  supported  his 
nomination.  "  Adrian,"  said  he,  "  was 
very  useful  in  persuading  the  doctors  of 
Louvain  to  put  forth  their  condemnation 
of  Luther. "t  The  conclave,  tired  out 
and  taken  by  surprise,  nominated  the 
ultramontane  Cardinal.  "  But  soon  com- 
ing to  their  senses,"  observes  an  old 
chronicler,  "  they  were  ready  to  die  with 
fear  of  the  consequences."  The  thought 
that  the  native  of  the  Netherlands  might 
not  accept  of  the  tiara,  brought  them 
temporary  relief ;  but  it  was  soon  dissi- 

*  Si  unirono  in  un  oratorio,  chiamato  del  divf- 
no  amore,  circa  sessanta  di  loro. — (Caracciolo 
Vita  da  Paolo  IV.  MSC.  Ranke.) 

t  Doctores  Lovanienses  accepisse  consilium  a 
tam  conspicuo  alumno. — (Pallavicini,  p.  136.) 


MOVEMENTS  IN  GERMANY. 


445 


pated.  Pasquin  represented  the  elect 
Pontiff  under  the  character  of  a  school- 
master, and  the  Cardinals  as  boys  under 
the  discipline  of  the  rod.  The  irritation 
of  the  populace  was  such  that  the  mem- 
bers of  the  conclave  thought  themselves 
fortunate  to  escape  being  thrown  into  the 
river.*  In  Holland,  it  was  a  subject  of 
general  rejoicing  that  they  had  given 
a  head  to  the  Church.  Inscribed  on 
banners,  suspended  from  the  houses, 
were  the  words,  "  Utrecht  planted — 
Louvain  watered — the  Emperor  gave 
the  increase."  One  added  underneath, 
the  words, — "  and  God  had  nothing  to 
do  with  it !" 

Notwithstanding  the  dissatisfaction 
which  was  at  first  manifested  by  the  in- 
habitants of  Rome,  Adrian  VI.  repaired 
thither  in  August,  1522,  and  was  well 
received.  It  was  whispered  from  one  to 
another  that  he  had  five  thousand  bene- 
fices in  his  gift,  and  each  reckoned  on 
some  advantage  to  himself.  For  a  long 
time,  the  Papal  chair  had  not  been  filled 
by  such  a  man.  He  was  upright,  indus- 
trious, learned,  pious,  sincere,  irreproach- 
able in  morals,  and  neither  misled  by 
favouritism,  nor  blinded  by  passion.  He 
brought  with  him  to  the  Vatican,  his  old 
house-keeper,  whom  he  charged  to  con- 
tinue to  provide  frugally  for  his  daily 
wants  in  that  palace  which  Leo  had 
filled  with  luxury  and  dissipation.  He 
was  a  stranger  to  the  tastes  of  his  pre- 
decessor. When  they  showed  him  the 
noble  group  of  Laocoon,  discovered  only 
a  few  years  before,  and  purchased  by 
Julius  II.  at  an  enormous  cost — he  turn- 
ed away,  coolly  observing,  "  They  are 
the  idols  of  the  heathen:"  and  in  one  of 
his  letters,  he  wrote,  "  I  would  far  rather 
serve  God  in  my  priory  at  Louvain, 
than  be  pope  at  Rome." 

Adrian,  alarmed  by  the  danger  to 
which  the  religion,  which  had  come 
down  to  them,  through  the  middle  ages, 
was  exposed  from  the  spread  of  the  Ref- 
ormation ;  and  not,  like  the  Italians,  fear- 
ing the  discredit  into  which  Rome  and 
her  hierarchy  were  brought  by  it, — 
earnestly  desired  to  oppose  and  arrest  its 
progress;  and  he  judged  that  the  best 
means  to  that  end  was  to  be  found  in  a 
reformation  of  the  Church  by  herself. 
"  The  Church,"  said  he,  "  stands  in  need 
*  Sleidan.  Hist,  de  la  Ref.  i.  p.  124. 


of  a  reformation  ;  but  we  must  take  one 
step  at  a  time."  "  The  Pope,"  said  Lu- 
ther, "  advises  that  a  few  centuries  should 
be  permitted  to  intervene  between  the 
first  and  the  second  step."  In  truth,  the 
Church  had  for  ages  tended  towards  a 
reformation.  It  was  now  no  time  for 
temporising.     It  was  necessary  to  act ! 

Adhering  to  his  plan,  Adrian  set  about 
banishing  from  the  city  the  profane,  the 
perjurers,  and  the  usurers.  It  was  no 
easy  task,  for  they  composed  a  considera- 
ble proportion  of  the  population. 

At  first  the  Romans  derided  him,  but 
ere  long  they  hated  him.  Priestly  rule 
and  the  vast  gains  it  brought,  the  power, 
and  influence  of  Rome,  its  games  and  its 
festivals,  the  luxury  that  everywhere 
reigned  in  it,  all  would  be  irretrievably 
lost,  if  there  were  a  return  to  apostolic 
simplicity. 

The  restoration  of  discipline  every- 
where encountered  strong  opposition. 
"  To  produce  the  desired  effect,"  said  the 
chief  Cardinal  Penitentiaria,  "  it  would 
be  necessary  to  begin  by  reviving  the 
'  first  love'  of  Christians :  the  remedy  is 
more  than  the  patient  can  bear ;  it  will 
be  death  to  him.  Take  care,  lest  in 
your  desire  to  preserve  Germany  you 
should  lose  Italy."*  And,  indeed,  it  was 
not  long  before  Adrian  had  even  more 
to  fear  from  Romanism  than  Lutheranism 
itself. 

Those  about  him  attempted  to  lead 
him  back  to  the  path  he  had  abandoned. 
The  old  and  practised  Cardinal  Soder- 
mus  of  Volterra,  the  intimate  friend  of 
Alexander  VI.,  of  Julius  II.,  and  of  Leo 
X.,t  would  often  drop  expressions  well 
suited  to  prepare  him  for  that  part,  to 
him  so  Strang*,  which  he  was  reserved 
to  act.  "Heretics,"  observed  he,  "have, 
in  all  ages,  declaimed  aganist  the  morals 
of  the  Roman  Court;  and  yet  the  Popes 
have  never  changed  them.  It  has  never 
been  by  reforms  that  heresies  have  been 
extinguished,  but  by  crusades."  "Oh, how 
wretched  is  the  position  of  the  Popes," 
replied  the  Pontiff,  sighing  deeply, "  since 
they  have  not  even  liberty  to  do  right."| 

On  the  23d  March,  1522,  and  before 

*  Sarpi  Histoire  du  Concile  de  Trente,  p.  20. 

t  Per  longa  esperienza  delle  cose  del  miindo, 
molto  prudente  e  accorto. — (Nardi.  Hist.  Fior., 
lib.  7.) 

i  Sarpi  Hist  du  Cone,  de  Tr.,  p.  21. 


446 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


Adrian's  entry  into  Rome,  the  Diet  as- 
sembled at  Nuremberg-.  Already  the 
bishops  of  Mersburg  and  Misnia  had  pe- 
titioned the  Elector  of  Saxony  to  allow  a 
visitation  of  the  convents  and  churches 
in  his  states.  Frederic,  thinking  that 
truth  had  nothing  to  fear,  had  consented, 
and  the  visitation  took  place.  The  bish- 
ops and  doctors  preached  vehemently 
against  the  new  opinions,  exhorting, 
alarming,  and  entreating,  but  their  argu- 
ments seemed  to  have  no  effect ;  and 
when  looking  about  them  for  more  effect- 
ual methods,  they  requested  the  secular 
authorities  to  carry  their  directions  into 
execution,  the  Elector's  council  returned 
for  answer,  that  the  question  was  one 
that  required  to  be  examined  by  the 
Word  of  God,  and  that  the  Elector,  at 
his  advanced  age,  could  not  engage  in 
theological  investigation.  These  expe- 
dients of  the  bishops  did  not  reclaim  a 
single  soul  to  the  fold  of  Rome ;  and 
Luther,  who  passed  over  the  same  ground 
shortly  afterwards,  preaching  from  place 
to  place,  dispelled,  by  his  powerful  ex- 
hortation, the  slight  impression  that  had 
here  and  there  been  produced. 

It  was  to  be  feared  that  the  Archduke 
Ferdinand,  brother  to  the  Emperor,  would 
do  what  Frederic  had  declined  doing. 
That  young  prince,  who  presided  at 
several  sittings  of  the  Diet,  gradually 
acquiring  decision  of  purpose,  might,  in 
his  zeal,  boldly  unsheathe  the  sword 
that  his  more  prudent  and  politic  brother 
wisely  left  in  the  scabbard.  In  fact, 
Ferdinand,  in  his  hereditary  states  of 
Austria,  had  already  commenced  a  cruel 
persecution  against  those  who  were  fa- 
vourable to  the  Reformation.  But  God, 
on  various  occasions,  ma^e  instrumental, 
in  the  deliverance  of  reviving  Christian- 
ity, the  very  same  agency  that  had  been 
employed  for  the  destruction  of  corrupt 
Christianity.  The  Crescent  suddenly 
appeared  in  the  panic-struck  provinces 
of  Hungary.  On  the  9th  of  August,  af- 
ter a  siege  of  six  weeks,  Belgrade,  the 
advanced  post  of  that  kingdom,  and  of 
the  empire,  was  taken  by  assault  by  So- 
liman.  The  followers  of  Mahomet,  after 
retiring  from  Spain,  seemed  intent  on 
re-entering  Europe  from  the  East.  The 
Diet  of  Nuremberg  turned  its  attention 
from  the  Monk  of  Worms  to  the  Sultan 
of  Constantinople.     But  Charles  V.  kept 


both  antagonists  in  view.  In  writing  to 
the  Pope  from  Valladolid  on  the  31st 
October,  he  said,  "  We  must  arrest  the 
progress  of  the  Turks, — and  punish  by 
the  sword,  all  who  favour  the  pestilent 
doctrines  of  Luther."* 

It  was  not  long  before  the  thunder 
clouds  which  had  seemed  to  pass  by  and 
roll  eastward,  again  gathered  over  the 
Reformer.  His  re-appearance  and  ac- 
tivity at  Wittemberg  had  revived  the 
by-gone  •  hatred.  "  Now  that  we  know 
where  to  lay  hands  on  him,"  said  Duke 
George,  "  why  not  carry  into  effect  the 
sentence  of  Worms  ?"  It  was  confident- 
ly affirmed  in  Germany,  that  Charles  V. 
and  Adrian  had  in  a  meeting  at  Nurem- 
berg concerted  the  measures  to  be  adopt- 
ed.! "  Satan  feels  the  wound  that  has 
been  inflicted  on  him,"  said  Luther, 
"  and  thence  his  rage.  But  Christ  has 
already  put  forth  his  power,  and  will  ere 
long  trample  him  under  foot,  in  spite  of 
the  gates  of  hell.  "J 

In  the  month  of  December,  1522,  the 
Diet  again  assembled  at  Nuremberg. 
Everything  announced  that,  as  Soliman 
had  been  the  great  enemy  that  had  fixed 
attention  in  the  spring  session,  Luther 
would  be  its  principal  object  during  the 
winter  sittings.  Adrian  VI.,  by  birth  a 
German,  hoped  to  find  that  favour  from 
his  own  nation  which  a  Pope  of  Italian 
origin  could  not  expect.^  He,  in  conse- 
quence, commissioned  Chieregati,  whom 
he  had  known  in  Spain,  to  repair  to 
Nuremberg.  At  the  opening  of  the  Di- 
et, several  of  the  princes  spoke  strongly 
against  Luther.  The  Cardinal  Arch- 
bishop of  Salzburg,  who  was  high  in  the 
confidence  of  the  Emperor,  urged  the 
adoption  of  prompt  and  vigorous  meas- 
ures, before  the  arrival  of  the  Elector  of 
Saxony.  The  Elector  Joachim  of  Bran- 
denburg, inflexible  in  his  purpose,  and 
the  Chancellor  of  Treves,  jointly  insisted 
that  the  edict  of  Worms  should  be  carried 
into  effect.  The  rest  of  the  princes  were 
% 

*  Das  man  die  Nachfolger  derselben  vergifte- 
ten  Lehre,  mit  dem  Schwert  strafen  mag. — (L. 
Opp.  xvii.  p.  321.) 

t  Cumfama  sit  fortis  et  Cffisarem  et  Papam 
Numbergam  conventuros. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  214.) 

t  Sed  Christus  qui  ccepit  conteret  eum. — (L. 
Epp.  ii.  p.  215.) 

§  Quod  ex  ea  regione  venirent,  undo  nobis  se- 
cundum carnem  origo  est. — (See  the  Pope's  brief 
L.  Opp.  lat.  ii.  p.  352.) 


MOVEMENTS  IN  GERMANY. 


447 


in  great  part  undecided,  and  divided  in 
opinion.  The  dilemma  in  which  the 
church  was  placed,  filled  its  faithful  ad- 
herents with  anguish.  "  I  would  give 
one  of  my  fingers,"  exclaimed  the  Bishop 
of  Strasburg,  in*  open  assembly  of  the 
Diet,  "  I  would  give  one  of  my  fingers 
to  be  no  priest."* 

Chieregati,  supported  by  the  Cardinal 
of  Salzburg,  insisted  that  Luther  should 
be  put  to  death.  "  It  is  necessary,"  said 
he,  speaking  in  the  Pope's  name,  and 
holding  the  Pope's  brief  in  his  hand,  u  It 
is  indispensable  that  we  should  sever 
from  the  body  that  gangrened  member,  f 
Your  forefathers  punished  with  death 
John  Huss  and  Jerome  of  Prague,  at 
Constance,  but  both  these  are  now  risen 
up  in  Luther.  Follow  the  glorious  ex- 
ample of  your  ancestors,  and  by  the  help 
of  God,  and  of  St.  Peter,  gain  a  signal 
victory  over  this  serpent  of  hell." 

On  hearing  the  brief  of  the  pious  and 
mild  Adrian  read  in  the  assembly,  the 
majority  of  the  princes  were  not  a  little 
alarmed. |  Many  began  to  see  more  in 
Luther's  arguments  ;  and  they  had  hoped 
better  things  from  the  Pope.  Thus  then 
Rome,  though  under  the  presidency  of 
an  Adrian,  cannot  be  brought  to  acknowl- 
edge her  delinquency,  but  still  hurls  her 
thunderbolts,  and  the  fields  of  Germany 
are  again  about  to  be  deluged  with  blood. 
Whilst  the  princes  maintained  a  gloomy 
silence,  the  prelates,  and  such  members 
of  the  Diet  as  were  in  the  interest  of  Rome, 
tumultuously  urged  the  adoption  of  a  de- 
cision. "  Let  him  be  put  death,"§  cried 
they, — as  we  learn  from  the  Saxon  envoy 
who  was  present  at  this  sitting. 

Very  different  were  the  sounds  heard 
in  the  churches  of  Nuremberg.  The 
chapel  of  the  hospital,  and  the  churches 
of  the  Augustines,  St.  Sebald  and  St. 
Lorenzo,  were  crowded  with  multitudes 
flocking  to  hear  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel.  Andrew  Osiander  preached  pow- 
erfully at  St.  Lorenzo's.  Many  princes 
attended,  especially  Albert,  Margrave  of 
Brandenburg,   who,   in   his   quality  of 

*  Er  wollte  einen  Finger  drum  geben. — (Seek. 
p.  568.) 

t  Resecandos  uti  membra  jam  pwtrida  a  sano 
corpore. — (Pall.  i.  158.) 

X  Einen  grossen  Schrecken  eingejagt. — (Seek. 
p.  552.) 

§  Nicht  anders  geschrien  denn :  Crucifige .' 
Crucifige  ! — (L.  Opp,  xviii.  p.  367.) 


Grand  Master  of  the  Teutonic  order,  took 
rank  immediately  next  to  the  archbishops. 
Monks,  abandoning  the  religious  houses 
in  the  city,  applied  themselves  to  learn 
various  trades,  in  order  to  gain  their  live- 
lihood by  their  labour. 

Chieregati  could  not  endure  such  daring 
disobedience.  He  insisted  that  the  priests 
and  refractory  monks  should  be  imprison- 
ed. The  Diet,  notwithstanding  the  re- 
monstrances of  the  ambassadors  of  the 
Elector  of  Saxony  and  the  Margrave 
Casimir,  decided  to  seize  the  persons  of 
the  monks,  but  consented  to  communi- 
cate previously  to  Osiander  and  his  col- 
leagues the  Nuncio's  complaint.  A  com- 
mittee, under  the  direction  of  the  fanati- 
cal Cardinal  of  Salzburg,  was  charged 
with  the  matter.  The  danger  was  im- 
minent— the  conflict  was  on  the  point  of 
commencing,  and  it  was  the  great  Coun- 
cil of  the  nation  that  provoked  it. 

Yet  the  people  interposed.  Whilst 
the  Diet  was  engaged  in  deliberating 
what  should  be  done  with  these  ministers, 
the  town  council  was  considering  what 
steps  should  be  taken  in  regard  to  the 
decision  of  the  Diet.  The  council  came 
to  a  resolution  which  did  not  overstep  the 
limits  assigned  to  it  by  the  laws, — that 
if  force  were  employed  to  deprive  them 
of  their  preachers,  recourse  should  be 
had  to  force  to  set  them  at  liberty.  Such 
a  resolution  was  full  of  significance.  The 
astonished  Diet  returned  an  answer  to 
the  Nuncio  that  it  was  not  lawful  to  ar- 
rest the'  preachers  of  the  free  city  of  Nu- 
remberg without  previously  convicting 
them  of  heresy. 

Chieregati  was  strangely  disconcerted 
by  this  fresh  insult  to  the  supreme  authori- 
ty of  the  Papacy. — "  Very  well,"  said  he, 
haughtily,  addressing  himself  to  Ferdi- 
nand, "  do  you  then  do  nothing, — leave 
me  to  act, — I  will  seize  the  preachers  in 
the  Pope's  name."*  When  the  Cardinal- 
Archbishop  Albert  of  Mentz,  and  the 
Margrave  Casimir  were  apprized  of  this 
startling  determination,  they  came  in 
haste  to  the  Legate,  imploring  him  to 
abandon  his  intention.  The  latter  was, 
at  first,  inflexible,  affirming  that,  in  the 
bosom  of  Christendom,  obedience  to  the 
Pope  could  not  be  dispensed  with.     The 

*  Sese  auctoritate  pontifica  curaturum  ut  isti 
caperentur. — (Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  606 ) 


448 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


two  Princes  retired ; — "  If  you  persist  in 
your  intention/'  said  they,  "we  require 
you  to  send  us  notice,  for  we  will  quit 
the  city  before  you  venture  to  lay  hands 
on  the  preachers."*  The  Legate  aban- 
doned his  project. 

Despairing-  of  success  by  authoritative 
measures,  he  now  decided  to  have  re- 
course to  expedients  of  another  kind,  and 
with  this  purpose,  communicated  to  the 
Diet  the  Pontiff's  intentions  and  orders, 
which  he  had  hitherto  kept  private. 

But  the  well-intentioned  Adrian,  little 
used  to  the  ways  of  the  world,  did  injury 
even  by  his  candour  to  the  cause  he  had 
at  heart  "  We  are  well  aware,"  said 
he,  in  the  '  resolutions'  forwarded  to  his 
Legate,  "  that  for  many  years  past,  the 
holy  city  has  been  a  scene  of  many  cor- 
ruptions and  abominations.!  The  infec- 
tion has  spread  from  the  head  through 
the  members,  and  has  descended  from 
the  Popes  to  the  rest  of  the  clergy.  It 
is  our  desire  to  reform  that  court  of 
Rome,  whence  so  many  evils  are  seen 
to  flow, — the  whole  world  desires  it,  and 
it  is  in  order  that  we  may  do  this,  that 
we  consented  to  ascend  the  throne  of  the 
pontiffs." 

The  supporters  of  Rome  blushed  to 
hear  these  unlooked-for  words.  "  They 
thought,"  as  Pallavicini  says,  "  that  such 
admissions  were  too  sincere. "J  The 
friends  of  the  Reformation,  on  the  con- 
trary, rejoiced  to  hear  Rome  herself  pro- 
claiming her  corruption.  Who  could 
doubt  that  Luther  had  truth  on  his  side, 
now  that  the  Pope  declared  it ! 

The  answer  of  the  Diet  shewed  how 
greatly  the  authority  of  the  chief  Pontiff 
had  lost  ground  in  the  empire.  Luther's 
spirit  seemed  to  have  taken  possession 
of  the  hearts  of  the  nation's  representa- 
tives. The  moment  was  auspicious. — 
Adrian's  ear  seemed  open, — the  Emper- 
or was  at  a  distance  ; — the  Diet  resolved 
to  enumerate  in  one  document  the  va- 
rious wrongs  that  Germany  had  for  cen- 

*  Priusquam  illi  caperentur,  se  urbe  cessuro- 
sesse. — (Ibid.) 

+  In  earn  sedem  aliquot  jam  annos  quuedam 
vitia  irrepsisse,  abusus  in  rebus  sacris,  in  legibus 
violationes,  in  cunctis  denique  perversionem. — 
(Pallav.  i.  p.  100.  See  also  Sarpi,  p.  25.  L. 
Opp.  xviii.  p.  329,  &c.) 

t  Liberioris  tamen  quam  par  erat,  sinceritatis 
fuisse  visum  est,  ea  conventui  patefacere. — (Ibid. 
p.  162.) 


turies  endured  from  Rome,  and  to  address 
their  memorial  to  the  Pope. 

The  Legate  was  alarmed  at  this  de- 
termination. He  used  threats  and  en- 
treaties, but  both  were  unavailing.  The 
secular  states  adhered  to  their  purpose, 
and  the  ecclesiastical  did  not  venture  to 
offer  opposition.  Eighty  grievances  were 
therefore  set  forth.  The  corruption  and 
arts  of  the  Popes  and  of  the  court  of 
Rome,  in  order  to  squeeze  revenue  from 
Germany, — the  scandals  and  profana- 
tions of  the  clerical  orders, — the  disorders 
and  simony  of  the  ecclesiastical  courts, — 
the  encroachments  on  the  civil  power  to 
the  restriction  of  liberty  of  conscience, 
were  detailed  with  equal  freedom  and 
force.  The  States  distinctly  intimated 
that  traditions  of  men  were  the  source 
of  all  this  abuse,  and  they  ended  by  say- 
ing,— "  If  these  grievances  are  not  re- 
dressed within  a  limited  time,  we  will 
consult  together,  and  seek  some  other 
means  of  deliverance  from  our  sufferings 
and  our  wrongs."*  Chieregati,  having 
a  presentiment  that  the  report  the  Djet 
would  prepare  would  be  couched  in 
strong  language,  hastily  took  his  depar- 
ture from  Nuremberg,  thus  avoiding 
being  himself  the  bearer  of  so  disap- 
pointing and  insolent  a  communica- 
tion. 

After  all,  was  it  not  still  to  be  feared 
that  the  Diet  would  endeavour  to  make 
some  amends  for  this  bold  measure,  by 
the  sacrifice  of  Luther  himself?  At  first, 
there  were  some  apprehensions  of  such 
a  policy, — but  a  spirit  of  justice  and  sin- 
cerity had  been  breathed  on  the  assembly. 
Following  the  example  of  Luther,  it  de- 
manded the  convocation  of  a  free  Coun- 
cil in  the  Empire,  and  decreed  that  until 
such  Council  should  assemble,  nothing 
should  be  preached  but  the  simple  Gos- 
pel, and  nothing  put  forth  in  print, 
without  the  sanction  of  a  certain  number 
of  men  of  character  and  learning.! 
These  resolutions  afford  us  some  means 
of  estimating  the  vast  advance  the  Ref- 
ormation had  made  since  the  Diet  of 
Worms, — and  yet  the  Saxon  envoy,  the 
knight  Frelitsch,  recorded  a  formal  pro- 
test against  the  censorship  prescribed  by 

*  Wie-  sie  solcher  Beschwerung  und  Drangsaal 
entladen  werden. — (L.  Opp.  xviii.  p.  354.) 

t  Ut  pie  placideque  purum  Evangelium  prasdi- 
caretur. — (Pal.  i.  p.  166.    Sleiden,  i.  p.  135.) 


MOVEMENTS  IN  GERMANY. 


449 


the  Diet,  moderate  as  that  censorship 
might  seem.  The  decree  of  the  Diet 
was  a  first  victory  gained  by  the  Ref- 
ormation, which  was  the  presage  of 
future  triumphs.  Even  the  Swiss,  in 
the  depths  of  their  mountains,  shared  in 
the  general  exultation.  "  The  Roman 
Pontiff  has  been  defeated  in  Germany  !" 
said  Zwingle  ;  "  All  that  remains  to  be 
done  is  to  deprive  him  of  his  armour. 
It  is  for  this  that  we  must  now  fight,  and 
the  battle  Avill  be  fiercer  than  before. 
But  we  have  Christ  present  with  us  in 
the  conflict."*  Luther  loudly  affirmed 
that  the  edict  the  Princes  had  put  forth 
was  by  inspiration  of  God  himself,  f 

Great  was  the  indignation  al  the  Vat- 
ican among  the  Pope's  council.  "  What ! 
it  is  not  enough  to  have  to  bear  with  a 
Pope  who  disappoints  the  expectation  of 
the  Romans,  in  whose  palace  no  sound 
of  song  or  amusement  is  ever  heand,  but, 
in  addition  to  thisr  secular  princes  are  to 
be  suffered  to  hold  a  language  that  Rome 
abhors,  and  refuse  to  deliver  up  the 
monk  of  Wittemberg  to  the  executioner !" 

Adrian  himself  was  indignant  at  the 
events  in  Germany,  and  it  was  on  the 
head  of  the  Elector  of  Saxony  that  he 
now  poured  out  his  anger.  Never  had 
the  Roman  Pontiffs  uttered  a  cry  of 
alarm  more  energetic,  more  sincere,  or 
more  affecting. 

"  We  have  waited  long — perhaps  too 
long,"  said  the  pious  Adrian,  in  his  brief 
addressed  to  the  Elector :  "  It  was  our 
desire  to  see  whether  God  would  visit 
thy  soul,  so  that  thou  mightest  at  the  last 
be  delivered  from  the  snares  of  the  devil. 
But  where  we  had  hoped  to  gather 
grapes  there  have  we  found  nothing  but 
wild  grapes.  The  Spirit's  promptings 
have  been  despised  ;  thy  wickedness  has 
not  been  subdued.  Open  then  thine 
eyes  to  behold  the  greatness  of  thy  fall ! 

"  If  the  unity  of  the  Church  is  gone — 
if  the  simple  have  been  turned  out  of  the 
way  of  that  faith  which  they  had  sucked 
from  their  mothers'  breasts — if  the  church- 
es are  deserted — if  the  people  are  without 
priests,  and  the  priests  have  not  the  hon- 
our due  to  them, — if  christians  are  with- 

*  Victus  est  ac  ferme  profligatns  e  Germania 
romanus  pontifex. — (Zvv.  Epp.  313.  11th  Oct. 
1523.) 

t  Gott  habe  solches  E.  G.  eingeben. — (L.  Opp. 
xviii.  476.) 

57 


out  Christ,  to>  whom  is  it  owing  but  to 
thee?*  ....  If  christian  peace  has  for- 
saken the  earth — if,  on  every  side,  dis- 
cord, rebellion,  pillage,  violence,  and 
midnight  conflagrations  prevail — if  the 
cry  of  war  is  heard  from  east  to  west — 
if  universal  conflict  is  at  hand, — it  is  thou 
thyself  who  art  the  author  of  all  these. 

"  Seest  thou  not  that  sacrilegious  man 
(Lulher),  how  he  rends  with  wicked 
hands,  and  profanely  tramples  under 
foot,  the  pictures  of  the  saints,  and  even 
the  holy  cross  of  Jesus  ? .  .  .  .  Seest  thou 
not  how,  in  his  infamous  rage,  he  incites 
the  laity  to  shed  the  blood  of  the  priests, 
and  overturn  the  temples  of  the  Lord  ? 

"  And  what,  if  the  priests  he  assails 
are  disorderly  in  conduct  1  lias  not  the 
Lord  said, '  Whatsoever  they  bid  you,  that 
observe  and  do,  but  do  not  after  their  works1 
— thus  instructing  us  in  the  honour  that 
belongs  to  them,  even  though  their  lives 
should  be  disorderly! 

"  Rebellious  apostate !  he  does  not 
blush  to  defile  vessels  dedicated  to  God ; 
he  forces  from  the  sanctuaries  virgins 
.consecrated  to  Christ,  delivering  them 
over  to  the  devil ;  he  getteth  into  his 
power  the  priests  of  the  Lord,  and  gives 
them  to  abandoned  women.  Awful  prof- 
anation !  which  even  the  heathen  would 
have  reprobated  in  the  priests  of  their 
idol  worship. 

"  What  punishment,  what  infliction, 
dost  thou  think  we  judge  thee  to  de- 
serve 1  Have  pity  on  thyself, — have 
pity  on  thy  poor  Saxons ;  for  surely,  if 
thou  dost  not  turn  from  the  evil  of  thy 
way,  God  will  bring  down  His  ven- 
geance upon  thee. 

"  In  the  name  of  the  Almighty  God 
and  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  of  whom 
I  am  vicegerent  on  earth,  I  warn  thee 
that  thou  wilt  be  judged  in  this  world, 
and  be  cast  into  the  lake  of  everlasting 
fire  in  that  which  is  to  come.  Repent 
and  be  converted.  Both  swords  are  im- 
pending over  thy  head, — the  sword  of 
the  Empire,  and  that  of  the  Papal  au- 
thority." 

The  pious  Frederic  shuddered  as  he 

*  Dass  die  Kirchen  olino  Volk  sind,  class  die 
Volker  ohne  Priester  sind,  dass  die  Priester  ohne 
Ehre  sind,  und  dass  die  Christen  ohnc  Christo 
sind. — (L.  Opp.  xviii.  p.  371.) 

t  Wen  sie  gleich  eines  verdammten  Lebens 
sind. — (L.  Opp.  xviii.  p.  379.) 


450 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


read  this  menacing  brief.  A  little  be- 
fore he  had  written  to  the  Emperor  to 
say  that  his  age  and  bodily  indisposition 
incapacitated  him  for  attending  to  such 
matters ;  and  the  answer  returned  was 
one  of  the  most  insolent  letters  a  reign- 
ing prince  had  ever  received.  Infirm 
and  aged  as  he  was,  his  eyes  rested  upon 
the  sword  he  had  received  at  the  holy 
sepulchre  in  the  days  of  youthful  vigour. 
A  thought  crossed-  his  mind  that  it 
might  be  necessary  to  unsheathe  it  in 
defence  of  the  conscience  of  his  subjects, 
and  that,  near  as  his  life  was  to  its  close, 
he  should  not  descend  to  the  grave  in 
peace.  He  forthwith  wrote  to  Wittem- 
berg  to  have  the  judgment  of  the  fathers 
of  the  Reformation  as  to  what  should  be 
done. 

There,  also,  forebodings  of  commotion 
and  persecution  were  rife.  "  What  can 
I  say,"  exclaimed  the  mild  Melancthon, 
"whither  can  I  turn?*  Hatred  presses 
ns  to  the  earth — the  world  is  up  in  arms 
against  us."  Luther,  Link,  Melancthon, 
Bugenhagen  and  Amsdorff,  held  a  con- 
sultation on  the  answer  to  be  returned  to 
the  Elector.  They  drew  up  a  reply, 
each  in  terms  nearly  identical,  and  the 
advice  they  gave  is  not  a  little  remark- 
able. 

"  No  prince,"  said  they,  "  can  under- 
take a  war  without  the  consent  of  the 
people  from  whose  hands  he  has  receiv- 
ed his  authority.!  But  the  people  have 
no  heart  to  fight  for  the  Gospel,  for  they 
do  not  believe.  Therefore,  let  not  princes 
take  up  arms ;  they  are  rulers  of  the 
nations ,  that  is  to  say,  of  unbelievers." 
Here  we  find  the  impetuous  Luther  so- 
liciting the  discreet  Frederic  to  restore 
his  sword  to  its  scabbard.  No  better  an- 
swer could  be  given  to  the  Pope's  charge 
that  he  stirred  up  the  laity  to  embrue 
their  hands  in  the  blood  of  the  priests. 
Few  characters  have  been  more  misun- 
derstood than  his.  This  advice  was 
dated  the  8th  February,  1523.  Frederic 
submitted  in  silence. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  effects  of 
the  Pope's  angpr  began  to  be  seen.  The 
princes    who    had    recapitulated    their 

*  Quid  dicam  ?  quo  me  vertam  ? — (Corf).  Ref. 
i.  p.  627.) 

+  Principi  nullum  licet  suscipere  bellum,  nisi 
consentiente  populo,  a  quo  accepit  imperium. — 
(Ibid,  p  601  j 


grievances,  now  dreading  the  conse- 
quences, sought  to  make  amends  by 
compliances.  Some,  there  were,  who 
reflected  that  victory  would  probably  de- 
clare for  the  Pontiff,  seeing  that  he,  to 
all  appearance,  was  the  stronger  of  the 
two.  "  In  our  days,"  observed  Luther, 
"  princes  are  content  to  say  three  times 
three  make  nine,  or  twice  seven  make 
fourteen, — right,  the  counsel  shall  stand. 
Then  the  Lord  our  God  arises  and 
speaks :  '  What  then  do  you  allow  for 
My  power?'  ....  It  may  be  naught 
.  .  .  .  And  immediately  He  confuses 
the  figures,  and  their  calculations  are 
proved  false."* 

The  stream  of  fire  poured  forth  by 
the  humble  and  gentle  Adrian  kindled 
a  conflagration,  and  the  rising  flame 
spread  far  and  wide  in  Christendom  a 
deep  agitation.  Persecution,  which  had 
slackened  for  a  while,  was  now  renewed. 
Luther  trembled  for  Germany,  and 
sought  to  allay  the  tempest.  "  If  the 
princes  make  war  against  the  truth,"  said 
he,  "  there  will  be  such  confusion  as  will 
be  the  ruin  of  princes,  magistrates,  cler- 
gy, and  people.  I  tremble  at  the  thought 
that  all  Germany  may,  in  a  little  while, 
be  deluged  with  blood. f  Let  us  stand 
as  a  rampart  for  our  country  against  the 
wrath  of  our  God.  Nations  are  not  now 
as  formerly. ;£  The  sword  of  civil  war  is 
impending  over  kings : — they  are  bent 
on  destroying  Luther — but  Luther  is 
bent  on  saving  them  ;  Christ  lives  and 
reigns,  and  I  shall  reign  with  him.v§ 

These  words  were  spoken  to  the  winds. 
Rome  was  pressing  forward  to  scaffolds 
and  the  shedding  of  blood.  The  Refor- 
mation in  this  resembled  Jesus  Christ, — 
that  it  came  not  to  send  peace  on  the 
earth,  but  a  sword.  Persecution  was 
necessary  in  the  counsels  of  God.  As 
certain  substances  are  hardened  in  the 
fire  that  they  may  be  less  liable  to  be  af- 
fected by  atmospheric  changes,  so  the 
fiery  trial  was  designed  to  arm  and  de- 
fend the  truth  of  the  Gospel  from  the  in- 
fluence of  the  world.      But   that   fiery 

*  So  kehrt  er  ihnen  auch  die  Rechnung  gar 
um. — (L.  Opp.  xxii.  1831.) 

t  Ut  videar  mini  videre  Germaniam  in  san- 
guine natare.- — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  156.) 

t  Cogitent  populos  non  esse  tales  modo,  qualee 
hactenus  fuerunt. — (Ibid.  p.  157.) 

§  Christus  meus  vivit  et  regnat,  et  ego  vivam 
et  regnabo. — (Ibid.  p.  158.) 


MOVEMENTS  IN  GERMANY. 


451 


trial  did  yet  more  ; — it  served,  as  in  the 
early  days  of  Christianity,  to  kindle  in 
men's  hearts  an  universal  enthusiasm  for 
a  cause  against  which  such  rage  was  let 
loose.  There  is  in  man,  when  first  in- 
troduced to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth, 
a  holy  indignation  against  violence  and 
injustice.  An  instinct  received  from 
God  impels  him  to  range  himself  on  the 
side  of  the  oppressed  ;  and,  at  the  same 
time,  the  faith  of  the  martyrs  exalts, 
controls,  and  leads  him  to  that  saving 
truth  which  gifts  its  followers  with  so 
much  courage  and  tranquillity. 

Duke  George  openly  took  the  lead  in 
the  persecution.  But  he  was  not  con- 
tent to  carry  it  on  among  his  own  sub- 
jects ;  he  desired,  above  all,  to  see  it  ex- 
tend itself  to  electoral  Saxonyj  the  focus 
of  heresy,  and  he  laboured  hard  to  move 
the  Elector  Frederic  and  Duke  John. 
In  writing  to  them  from  Nuremberg,  he 
observed,  "Certain  merchants,  recently 
from  Saxony,  bring  reports  from  thence 
of  strange  things,  and  such  as  are  most 
opposed  to  the  honour  of  God,  and  the 
saints.  It  seems,  they  take  the  holy 
sacrament  in  their  hands — consecrate 
the  bread  and  wine  in  the  common 
speech  of  the  people — pour  the  blood  of 
Christ  into  a  common  cup.  It  is  said 
that  at  Eulenberg,  a  man,  who  sought 
occasion  to  insult  an  officiating  priest, 
rode  into  the  church  mounted  on  an  ass. 
And  what  do  we  hear  to  be  the  conse- 
quence 1  The  mines,  with  which  God 
had  enriched  Saxony,  are  become  less 
productive  ever  since  this  preaching  of 
Luther's  innovations.  Would  to  God 
that  those  who  boast  that  they  have  re- 
stored the  Gospel  in  the  electorate  had 
employed  themselves  in  carrying  the 
testimony  of  it  to  Constantinople.  Lu- 
ther's speech  is  gentle  and  specious,  but 
it  draws  after  it  a  sting  which  is  sharper 
than  a  scorpion's.  Let  us  make  ready 
our  hands  to  fight.  Let  us  cast  these 
apostate  monks  and  ungodly  priests  into 
prison ;  let  us  do  so  at  once  ;  for  the 
hairs  of  our  heads  are  turning  as  grey 
as  our  beards,  and  admonish  us  that  we 
have  not  long  to  live."* 

So  wrote  Duke  George  to  the  Elector. 
The  latter  answered  decidedly,  yet  mild- 

*   Wie  ihre   Bart   und  Haare   ausweisen. — 
(Seckend.  p.  482.) 


ly,  that  whoever  should  commit  any 
crime  within  his  state  should  not  go  un- 
punished ;  but  that,  as  to  matters  of  con- 
science, they  must  be  left  to  the  judg- 
ment of  God.* 

Failing  in  his  endeavour  to  persuade 
Frederic,  George  pressed  his  severities 
against  such  as  lay  within  his  reach. 
He  imprisoned  the  monks  and  priests 
who  were  known  to  adhere  to  Luther's 
doctrines, — recalled  to  their  families  the 
students  who  had  gone  from  his  states  to 
pursue  their  studies  in  the  universities  to 
which  the  Reformation  had  extended, 
and  required  his  subjects  to  deliver  up 
to  the  magistrates  all  copies  of  the  New 
Testament  in  the  vernacular  tongue. 
Similar  measures  were  put  in  force  in 
Austria,  Wurtemberg,  and  the  Duchy 
of  Brunswick. 

But  it  was  in  the  Low  Countries,  un- 
der the  immediate  rule  of  Charles  V., 
that  the  persecution  broke  out  with  most 
violence.  The  convent  of  the  Augus- 
tines,  at  Antwerp,  contained  within  it 
many  monks  who  had  hailed  with  joy 
the  truths  of  the  Gospel.  Several  of  the 
brothers  had  passed  some  time  at  Wit- 
temberg,  and  ever  since  1519,  Salvation 
by  Grace  had  been  preached  in  their 
church  with  unusual  power.  Toward 
the  close  of  the  year  1521,  James  Probst, 
the  prior,  a  man  of  ardent  temperament, 
and  Melchior  Mirisch,  who  was  remark- 
able for  the  opposite  qualities  of  experi- 
ence and  prudence,  were  arrested  and 
carried  to  Brussels.  They  were  there 
brought  before  Aleander,  Glapio,  and 
several  other  prelates.  Taken  unawares, 
disconcerted,  and  dreading  consequences, 
Probst  recanted.  Melchior  Mirisch  found 
means  to  appease  his  judges  ;  and,  while 
he  avoided  a  recantation,  escaped  con- 
demnation. 

These  proceedings  no  way  overawed 
the  monks  who  remained  in  the  convent 
of  Antwerp.  They  continued  to  preach 
the  Gospel  with  earnestness.  The  peo- 
ple crowded  to  hear,  and  the  church  of 
the  Augustines  at  Antwerp  was  unable 
to  contain  the  hearers,  as  had  been  the 
case  at  Wittemberg.  In  October,  1522, 
the  storm  which  nad  been  gathering 
over  their  heads  suddenly  burst  forth. 

*  Musse  man  solche  Dinge  Gott  iiberlassen. — 
(Seckend.  p.  485.) 


452 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


The  convent  was  closed,  and  the  monks 
imprisoned  and  sentenced  to  die.*  A 
few  effected  their  escape.  Some  women, 
roused  into  forgetfulness  of  the  natural 
timidity  of  their  sex,  rescued  one  of 
them,  by  name  Henry  Zuphten.  from 
the  hands  of  the  executioners.!  Three 
of  the  younger  monks,  Henry  Voc, 
John  Eesch,  and  Lambert  Thorn,  eva- 
ded for  a  time  the  search  of  the  inquisi- 
tors. The  sacred  vessels  of  the  convent 
were  publicly  sold,  the  entrance  to  the 
church  barricaded,  the  holy  sacrament 
was  carried  forth  as  if  from  a  place  of 
pollution,  and  Margaret,  who  then  gov- 
erned the  Low  Countries,  solemnly  re- 
ceived it  into  the  church  of  the  Holy 
Virgin.;};  An  order  was  given  that  not 
one  stone  should  be  left  upon  another  of 
that  heretical  monastery  :  and  several 
private  citizens  and  women  who  had 
joyfully  received  the  Gospel  were  thrown 
into  prison.  § 

Luther  was  deeply  grieved  on  receiv- 
ing intelligence  of  these  events.  "The 
cause  we  have  in  hand,"  said  he,  "is  no 
longer  a  mere  trial  of  strength ;  it  de- 
mands the  sacrifice  of  our  lives,  and  must 
be  cemented  by  our  blood."  || 

Mirisch  and  Probst  were  reserved  for 
a  very  different  fate.  The  politic  Mirisch 
soon  became  the  docile  slave  of  Rome, 
and  was  employed  in  carrying  into  exe- 
cution the  Imperial  orders  against  the  fa- 
vourers of  the  Reformation.!"  Probst, 
on  the  contrary,  escaping  out  of  the 
hands  of  the  inquisitors,  wept  bitterly 
over  his  failure,  retraced  his  recantation, 
and  boldly  preached,  at  Bruges  in  Flan- 
ders, the  doctrine  he  had  abjured.  Be- 
ing again  arrested  and  cast  into  prison 
at  Brussels,  death  seemed  inevitable.** 
A  Franciscan  took  pity  upon  him,  as- 
sisted him  in  his  flight,  and  Probst,  "sa- 
ved by  a  miracle  of  God,"  says  Luther, 
reached  Wittemberg,   where  all   hearts 

*  Zum  Tode  verurtheilet— (Seek.  p.  548.) 

t  Quomodo  mulieresvi  Henricum  liberarint. — 
(L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  265.) 

t  Susceptum  honorifice  a  domina  Margareta. 
—(Ibid.) 

§  Cives  aliquos,  et  mulieres  vexata?  et  punitae. 
—(Ibid ) 

||  Et  vitam  exiget  et  sanguinem. — (Ibid.  181.) 

f  Est  executor  Csesaris  contra  nostros. — (Ibid. 
p.  207.) 

**  Domo  captum,  exustum  credimus. — (Ibid. 
p.  214.) 


were  filled  with  joy  at  his  second  deliv- 
erance.* 

On  every  side  the  priests  of  Rome  were 
under  arms.  The  town  of  Miltenberg 
on  the  Maine,  in  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Elector  Archbishop  of  Mentz,  had,  of  all 
the  towns  of  Germany,  received  the 
Word  of  God  with  most  joy.  The  in- 
habitants were  much  attached  to  their 
pastor,  John  Draco,  one  of  the  most  en- 
lightened men  of  his  time.  He  was  com- 
pelled to  leave  the  city  ;  but  the  Roman 
clergy  withdrew  at  the  same  time,  dread- 
ing the  vengeance  of  the  people.  An . 
evangelical  deacon  remained  behind,  and 
comforted  their  hearts.  At  Jhe  same 
time  the  soldiery  of  Mentz  were  intro- 
duced and  dispersed  through  the  city, 
vomiting  blasphemies,  brandishing  their 
swords,  and  giving  themselves  up  to  de- 
bauchery.! 

Some  of  the  evangelical  Christians 
fell  victims  to  their  violence,^  others  were 
seized  and  thrown  into  dungeons,  the 
rites  of  Romish  worship  was  restored, 
the  reading  of  the  Scriptures  prohibited, 
and  the  inhabitants  forbidden  to  speak 
of  the  Gospel,  even  in  their  family  meet- 
ings The  deacon  had  taken  refuge  with 
a  poor  widow,  on  the  entrance  of  the 
troops.  Information  was  given  to  the 
commanding  officer,  and  a  soldier  de- 
spatched to  take  him.  The  humble  dea- 
con, hearing  the  steps  of  the  soldier  who 
sought  his  life,  advancing,  quietly  waited 
for  him,  and  just  as  the  door  of  the  cham- 
ber was  abruptly  pushed  open,  he  came 
forward,  and,  embracing  him,  said,  "  I 
bid  you  welcome,  brother.     Here  I  am : 

*  Jacobus,  Dei  miraculo  liberatus  qui  nunc  i 
agit  nobiscum. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  182.)  This  letter, 
which  is  found  in  M.  De  Wette's  collection,  un- 
der the  date  of  April  14,  must  be  subsequent  to 
the  month  of  June, — since,  on  the  26th  of  June, 
we  find  Luther  saying  that  Probst  has  been  again 
taken,  and  was  expected  to  be  burnt.  The  sup- 
position that  would  solve  the  difficulty,  by  sup- 
posing Probst  to  have  been  at  Wittemberg  be- 
tween these  two  captures,  is  not  admissible,  for 
Luther  would  not  have  said  of  a  Christian  who 
had  been  saved  from  death  by  his  recantation 
that  he  had  been  delivered  by  a  miracle  of  God. 
Perhaps,  we  should  read  the  date,  &c.  of  this 
letter,  instead  of  '  in  die  S.  Tihurtii,' — '  in  die 
Turiafi.' — which  would  place  it  in  July  13 — tho 
probable  date,  in  my  opinion. 

t  So  sie  doch  schandlicher  leben  denn  Huren 
und  Buben.— (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  482.; 

X  Schlug  etliche  todt.— (Seek.  p.  604.) 


MOVEMENTS  IN  GERMANY. 


453 


plunge  your  sword  in  my  bosom."* 
The  stern  soldier,  in  astonishment,  dropt 
his  weapon,  and  contrived  to  save  the 
pious  evangelist  from  further  molestation. 

Meanwhile,  the  inquisitors  of  the  Low 
Countries,  thirsting  for  blood,  scoured 
the  neighbouring  country,  searching 
everywhere  for  the  young  Augustines 
who  had  escaped  from  the  Antwerp  per- 
secution. Esch,  Voes,  and  Lambert, 
were  at  last,  discovered,  put  in  chains, 
and  conducted  to  Brussels.  Egmonda- 
nus,  Hochstraten,  and  several  other  in- 
quisitors, summoned  them  to  their  pres- 
ence. "  Do  you  retract  your  opinion," 
inquired  Hochstraten,  "  that  the  priest 
has  no  power  to  forgive  sins,  but  that 
that  power  belongs  to  God  alone  ?" — and 
then  he  went  on  to  enumerate  the  other 
Gospel  truths  which  he  required  them  to 
abjure.  "  No  :  we  will  retract  nothing," 
exclaimed  Esch  and  Voes,  firmly  ;  "  we 
will  not  disown  God's  Word ;  we  will 
rather  die  for  the  faith !" 

The  Inquisitor. — ';  Confess  that  you 
have  been  deceived  by  Luther." 

The  young  Augustines. — "  As  the 
apostles  were  deceived  by  Jesus  Christ." 

The  Inquisitors. — "  We  declare  you 
to  be  heretics,  worthy  of  being  burnt 
alive  ;  and  we  deliver 
secular  arm." 

Lambert  was  silent 
of  death  terrified  him  : 
certainty  agitated  his  heart.  "  I  request 
four  days'  respite,"  said  he,  in  stifled 
emotion.  He  was  taken  back  to  prison. 
As  soon  as  this  respite  was  expired, 
Esch  and  Voes  were  degraded  from 
their  priestly  office,  and  handed  over  to 
the  council  of  the  reigning  governess 
of  the  Low  Countries.  The  council  de- 
livered them,  bound,  to  the  executioner. 
Hochstraten  and  three  other  inquisitors  ac- 
companied them  to  the  place  of  execution,  f 

Arriving  at  the  scaffold,  the  young 
martyrs  contemplated  it  with  calmness. 
Their  constancy,  their  piety,  and  their 
youth,  drew  tears  from  the  inquisitors 
themselves.  When  they  were  bound  to 
the    stake,|    the  confessors   drew   near, 

*  Sey  gegriisst,  mein  Bruder. — (Scultet.  ann. 
i.  p.  173.) 

t  Facta  est  hsec  res  Bruxellee  in  publico  foro. 
— (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  361.) 

t  Nondum  triginta  annorum. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p. 
361.) 


you 


over  to  the 


The   prospect 
distress  and  un- 


"  Once  more  we  ask  you  if  you  will  re- 
ceive the  Christian  faith?" 

The  Martyrs. — We  believe  in  the 
Christian  Church,  but  not  in  your 
Church." 

Half-an-hour  elapsed.  It  was  a  pause 
of  hesitation.  A  hope  had  been  cher- 
ished that  the  near  prospect  of  such  a 
death  would  intimidate  these  youths. 
But,  alone  tranquil  of  all  the  crowd  that 
thronged  the  square,  they  began  to  sing 
psalms, — stopping  from  time  to  time  to 
declare  that  they  were  resolved  to  die  for 
the  name  of  Jesus  Christ. 

"  Be  converted — be  converted,"  cried 
the  inquisitors,  "  or  you  will  die  in  the 
name  of  the  devil."  "  No,"  answered 
the  martyrs  ;  "  we  will  die  like  Chris- 
tians, and  for  the  truth  of  the  Gospel." 

The  pile  was  then  lighted.  Whilst 
the  flame  slowly  ascended,  a  heavenly 
peace  dilated  their  hearts ;  and  one  of 
them  could  even  say,  "  I  seem  to  be  on 
a  bed  of  roses."*  '  The  solemn  hour 
was  come — death  was  at  hand.  The 
two  martyrs  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  "  O 
Lord  Jesus,  Son  of  David,  have  mercy 
upon  us !"  and  then  they  began  to  recite 
their  creed,  f  At  last  the  flames  reached 
them  ;  but  the  fire  consumed  the  cords 
which  fastened  them  to  the  stake  before 
their  breath  was  gone.  One  of  them, 
feeling  his  liberty,  dropped  upon  his 
knees  in  the  midst  of  the  flames,  and 
then,  in  worship  to  his  Lord,  exclaimed, 
clasping  his  hands,  "  Lord  Jesus,  Son 
of  David,  have  mercy  on  us  !"t 

Their  bodies  were  quickly  wrapped 
in  flame  ;  they  shouted  "  Te  Deum  lauda- 
mus."  Soon  their  voices  were  stifled, — 
and  their  ashes  alone  remained. 

This  execution  had  lasted  four  hours. 
It  was  on  the  1st  of  July.  1523,  that  the 
first  martyrs  of  the  Reformation  laid 
down  their  lives  for  the  Gospel. 

All  good  men  shuddered  when  they 
heard  of  these  events.  The  future  was 
big  with  fearful  anticipations.  "  The 
executions  have  begun,"§  said  Erasmus. 
"  At  length,"  exclaimed  Luther,  "  Christ 

*  Dit  schijnen  mij  als  roosen  te  zijn. — (Brandt 
Hist,  der  Reformatie,  i.  p.  79.) 

t  Admoto  igni,  canere  cceperunl  symbolurn 
fidei,  says  Erasmus. — (Epp.  i.  p.  1278.) 

t  Da  ist  der  eine  im  Feuer  auf  die  Knie  j 
len. — (L.  <Opp.  xviii.  p.  481.) 

§  Ccepta  est  carnificina. — (Epp.  i.  p.  129.) 


454 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


is  gathering  some  fruits  of  our  preach- 
ing, and  preparing  new  martyrs." 

But  the  joy  of  Luther  in  the  con- 
stancy of  these  young  Christians  was 
disturbed  by  the  thoughts  of  Lambert. 
Of  the  three,  Lambert  possessed  most 
learning  ;  he  had  been  chosen  to  fill  the 
place  of  Probst,  as  preacher  at  Antwerp. 
Finding  no  peace  in  his  dungeon,  he 
was  terrified  at  the  prospect  of  death  ; 
but  still  more  by  conscience,  which  re- 
proached him  with  cowardice,  and  urged 
him  to  confess  the  Gospel.  Delivered, 
ere  long,  from  his  fears,  he  boldly  pro- 
claimed the  truth,  and  died  like  his 
brethren.* 

A  noble  harvest  sprung  up  from  the 
blood  of  these  martyrs.  Brussels  mani- 
fested a  willingness  to  receive  the  Gos- 
pel.f  "  Wherever  Aleander  lights  a 
pile,"  remarked  Erasmus,  "there  it 
seems  as  if  he  had  sowed  heretics." :{: 

"  I  am  bound  with  you  in  your 
bonds,"  exclaimed  Luther  :  "  Your  dun- 
geons, and  your  burnings  my  soul  takes 
part  in.§  All  of  us  are  with  you  in 
spirit ;  and  the  Lord  is  above  it  all  I" 

He  proceeded  to  compose  a  hymn 
commemorative  of  the  death  of  the 
young  monks  ;  and  soon,  in  every  direc- 
tion, throughout  Germany  and  the  Low 
Countries,  in  towns  and  in  villages, 
were  heard  accents  of  song  which  com- 
municated an  enthusiasm  for  the  faith 
of  the  martyrs.  || 

Flung  to  the  heedless  winds, 
Or  on  the  waters  cast, 


*  Quarta  post  exustus  est  tertius  frater  Lam- 
bertus — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  361.) 

t  Ea  mors  multos  fecit  lutheranos. — (Er.  Epp. 
p.  952.)  Turn  demum  ccepit  civitas  favere  Lu- 
thero.  —  (Ibid.  p.  1676.  Erasmus  to  Duke 
George.)  Ea  civitas  antea  purissima. — (Ibid.  p. 
1430.) 

t  Ubicumque  fumos  excitavit  nuntius,  ibi  di- 
ceres  fuisse  factam  hsereseon  sementem. — (Ibid.) 
§  Vestra  vincula  mea  sunt,  vestri  carceres  et 
ignes  mei  sunt. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  464.) 
||  Die  Asche  will  nicht  lassen  ab, 
Sie  stiiubt  in  alien  Landen, 
Hie  hilft  kein  Bach,  Loch,  noch  Grab  .  .  .  . — 
(L.  Opp.  xviii.  p.  484.) 

Obligingly  rendered  by  John  Alex.  Messen- 
ger ;  to  whose  friendly  pen  the  publisher  is  in- 
debted for  the  touching  hymns  of  Zwingle  (see 
pages  348 — 350)  :  as  well  as  for  the  transla- 
tion of  a  considerable  portion  of  Books  V.  to 
VIII.,  besides  other  assistance  and  many  valua- 
ble suggestions. 


Their  ashes  shall  be  watched, 
And  gathered  at  the  last. 
And  from  that  scattered  dust, 
Around  us  and  abroad, 
Shall  spring  a  plenteous  seed 
Of  witnesses  for  God. 

Jesus  hath  now  received 
Their  latest  living  breath, — 
Yet  vain  is  Satan's  boast 
Of  victory  in  their  death. 
Still — still — though  dead,  they 
And  trumpet-tongued  proclaim 
To  many  a  wakening  land, 
The  one  availing  Name. 


Doubtless  Adrian  would  have  persist- 
ed in  these  violent  measures  ; — the  fail- 
ure of  his  efforts  to  arrest  the  progress 
of  the  Reformation — his  own  orthodoxy 
— his  zeal — his  inflexibility — even  his 
conscientiousness  would  have  made  him 
an  unrelenting  persecutor.  Providence 
ordained  otherwise.  He  expired  on  the 
14th  of  September,  1523;  and  the  Ro- 
mans, overjoyed  at  being  rid  of  the  stern 
foreigner,  suspended  a  crown  of  flowers 
at  the  door  of  his  physician,  with  an  in- 
scription— uto  the  saviour  of  his   court-   i 

try" 

Julio  de  Medicis,  cousin  to  Leo  X., 
succeeded  Adrian  under  the  name  of 
Clement  VII.  From  the  day  of  his 
election,  all  ideas  of  religious  reforma- 
tion were  at  an  end.  .  The  new  Pope, 
like  many  of  his  predecessors,  thought 
only  of  maintaining  the  privileges  of  the 
Papacy,  and  employing  its  resources  for 
his  own  aggrandisement. 

Anxious  to  repair  the  indiscretions  of 
Adrian,  Clement  despatched  a  legate  of  a 
character  resembling  his  own,  Cardinal 
Campeggio,  the  ablest  prelate  of  his  court, 
and  a  man  of  large  experience,  well  ac- 
quainted with  most  of  the  German  Prin- 
ces. After  a  pompous  reception  in  his 
passage  through  the  Italian  cities,  the 
Legate  soon  noticed  the  change  that  had 
taken  place  in  the  Empire.  On  entering 
Augsburg,  he  proposed,  according  to 
custom,  to  give  his  benediction  to  the 
people  ;  but  those  to  whom  he  spoke 
met  the  proposal  by  a  smile.  The  hint 
was  enough  ;  and  he  entered  Nurem- 
berg incognito,  without  repairing  to 
St.  Sebalde's  church,  where  the  clergy 
were  waiting  for  him.  No  priests  in  sa- 
cerdotal vestments  were  seen  advancing 
to  greet  him  ; — no  cross  was  borne  in 


MOVEMENTS  IN  GERMANY. 


455 


solemn  state  before  him  ;  but  one  might 
have  thought  a  private  individual  was 
taking  his  journey  through  the  city.* 
Every  thing  indicated  that  the  reign  of 
the  Papacy  was  drawing  to  its  close. 

The  Diet  had  met  again  in  session,  at 
Nuremberg,  in  January,  1525.  A  storm 
was  impending  over  the  government  of 
the  nation,  owing  to  the  firmness  of 
Frederic.  The  Suabian  league,  com- 
prising the  richest  cities  of  the  empire, 
and,  above  all,  Charles  the  Fifth,  had 
combined  for  his  destruction.  He  was 
charged  with  favouring  the  newly- 
broached  heresy.  Accordingly,  it  was 
decided  that  the  executive  powers  should 
be  so  entirely  changed  as  not  to  retain 
one  of  the  old  members.  Frederic, 
overwhelmed  with  grief,  instantly  took 
his  departure  from  Nuremberg. 

Easter  drew  nigh.  Osiander  and  the 
gospel  preachers  redoubled  their  activity. 
The  former  preached  publicly  to  the  ef- 
fect, that  Antichrist  entered  Rome  the 
very  day  that  Constantine  had  quitted  it 
to  fix  his  residence  at  Constantinople. 
The  ceremony  of  Palm  Sunday  and 
others  were  omitted  :  four  thousand  per- 
sons partook  of  the  supper  under  both 
kinds  ;  and  the  Glueen  of  Denmark,  sis- 
ter to  the  Emperor,  publicly  received  it 
in  like  manner  at  the  Castle.  "  Oh  !" 
exclaimed  the  Archduke  Ferdinand,  los-. 
ing  all  self-command,  "  would  that  you 
were  not  myt sister." — "  The  same  moth- 
er bore  us,"  replied  the  Queen  ;  "  and  I 
would  give  up  every  thing  but  God's 
truth  to  serve  you."f 

Campeggio  trembled  at  witnessing 
such  audacity  ;  nevertheless,  affecting  to 
despise  the  jeers  of  the  people,  and  the 
harangues  of  the  preachers, — and  rely- 
ing on  the  authority  of  the  Emperor  and 
of  the  Pope,  he  referred  the  Diet  to  the 
edict  of  Worms,  and  demanded  that  the 
Reformation  should  be  put  down  by 
force.  On  hearing  this,  some  of  the 
princes  and  deputies  gave  vent  to  their 
indignation.  "And  pray,"  asked  they, 
addressing  Campeggio,  "what  has  be- 
come of  the  memorial  of  grievances  pre- 
sented to  the  Pope  by  the  people  of 

*  Communi  habitu  quod  per  sylvas  et  carnpos 
ierat,  per  mediam  urbem  .  .  .  sine  clero,  sine  prse- 
via  cruce. — (Cochl.  p.  82.) 

t  Wolle  sich  des  Wortes  Gottes  halten. — 
(Seckend.  p.  613.) 


Germany?"  The  Legate,  acting  upon 
his  instructions,  assumed  an  air  of  bland 
surprise :  "  Three  versions  of  that  me- 
morial have  been  received  in  Rome," 
said  he  ;  "  but  it  has  never  been  officially 
communicated  ;  and  I  could  never  be- 
lieve that  so  unseemly  a  paper  could 
have  emanated  from  your  Highnesses." 

The  Diet  was  stung  by  this  reply.  If 
this  be  the  spirit  in  which  the  Pope  re- 
ceives their  representations,  they  also 
know  what  reception  to  give  to  such  as 
he  should  address  to  them.  Several  dep- 
uties remarked  that  such  was  the  ea- 
gerness of  the  people  for  the  Word 
of  God,  that  the  attempt  to  deprive  them 
of  it  would  occasion  torrents  of  blood- 
shed. 

The  Diet  straightway  set  about  pre- 
paring an  answer  to  the  Pope.  As  it 
was  not  possible  to  get  rid  of  the  edict 
of  Worms,  a  clause  was  added  to  it, 
which  had  the  effect  of  rendering  it 
null.  "  We  require,"  said  they,  "  that  all 
should  conform  to  it — so  far  as  is  possi- 
ble."* But  several  of  the  states  had  de- 
clared that  it  was  impossible  to  enforce  it. 
At  the  same  time  calling  to  mind  the 
unwelcome  remembrance  of  the  Coun- 
cils of  Constance  and  of  Bale,  the  Diet 
demanded  the  convocation  in  Germany 
of  a  General  Council  of  Christendom. 

The  friends  of  the  Reformation  did 
not  stop  there.  What  could  they  look 
for  from  a  Council  which  might  perhaps 
never  be  called  together,  and  which,  in 
any  case,  would  be  sure  to  be  composed 
of  bishops  of  all  nations?  Will  Ger- 
many humble  her  anti-Roman  inclina- 
tions in  deference  to  prelates  assembled 
from  Spain,  France,  England,  and 
Italy  ?  The  government  of  the  nation 
has  been  already  set  aside.  It  is  neces- 
sary that  in  its  place  should  be  a  '  na- 
tional assembly'  charged  with  the  de- 
fence of  the  popular  interest. 

Vainly  did  Hannart,  the  Spanish  en- 
voy of  Charles,  supported  by  the  adhe- 
rents of  Rome  and  of  the  Emperor,  op- 
pose the  suggestion  ;  the  majority  of  the 
Diet  were  unshaken.  It  was  arranged 
that  a  diet  or  secular  assembly  should 
meet  in  November  at  Spires,  to  regulate 
all  questions  of  religion,  and  that  the 
States  should  invite  their  divines  to  pre- 


*  Quantum  eis 
84.) 


-(Cochl.  p. 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


pare  a  list  of  controverted  points  to  be 
laid  before  that  august  assembly. 

No  time  was  lost.  Each  province 
prepared  its  memorial,  and  never  had 
Rome  reason  to  apprehend  so  great  an 
explosion.  Franconia,  Brandenburg, 
Henneberg,  Windsheim,  Wertheim,  Nu- 
remberg, declared  for  the  truth  of  the 
Gospel  as  opposed  to  the  seven  sacra- 
ments, the  corruptions  of  the  mass,  the 
worship  of  the  saints,  and  the  Pope's  su- 
premacy. "  There  is  coin  for  you  of  the 
genuine  stamp/'  said  Luther.  Not  one 
of  the  questions  which  engaged  the  pop- 
ular mind  seemed  likely  to  be  passed 
over  in  silence,  in  that  council  of  the  na- 
tion. The  majority  would  make  a  stand 
for  general  measures.  The  unity  of 
Germany,  its  independence,  and  its  ref- 
ormation, would  yet  be  safe  ! 

When  news  of  what  was  passing 
reached  the  Pope,  he  could  not  restrain 
his  anger.  What !  do  any  presume  to 
set  up  a  secular  tribunal  to  decide  ques- 
tions of  religion  in  contempt  of  his  au- 
thority 1*  If  this  unprecedented  step 
be  taken,  doubtless  Germany  will  be 
saved, — but  Rome  is  ruined !  A  con- 
sistory was  hastily  called  together,  and 
one  who  watched  the  dismay  of  the 
senators  might  have  thought  the  Ger- 
mans were  in  full  march  upon  the  Cap- 
itol. "  As  to  the  Elector  Frederic," 
exclaimed  Aleander,  "  we  must  take  off 
his  head  ;"  and  another  Cardinal  gave 
counsel  that  the  Kings  of  England  and 
of  Spain  should  overawe  the  free  cities 
by  threatening  to  break  off  all  commer- 
cial intercourse  with  them.  In  conclusion, 
the  consistory  came  to  the  decision  that 
the  only  way  of  safety  lay  in  moving 
heaven  and  earth  to  prevent  the  pro- 
posed assembly  at  Spires. 

The  Pope  wrote  directly  to  the  Em- 
peror : — "  If  I  am  called  to  be  foremost 
in  making  head  against  the  storm,  it  is 
not  because  I  am  the  only  one  threaten- 
ed by  the  tempest,  but  because  I  am  at 
the  helm.  The  imperial  authority  is 
yet  more  invaded  than  even  the  dignity 
of  the  court  of  Rome." 

Whilst  the  Pope  was  sending  this  let- 
ter to  Castile,  he  was  seeking  to 
strengthen  himself  by  alliances  in  Ger- 

*  Pontifiex  aegerrime  tulit .  .  .  intelligens  no- 
vum de  religione  tribunal  eo  pacto  excitari  citra 
ipsius  auctoritatem. — (Pallav.  i.  p.  182.) 


many.  It  was  not  long  before  he  gained 
over  one  of  the  most  powerful  reigning 
families  of  the  Empire,  the  Dukes  of 
Bavaria.  The  edict  of  Worms  had 
been  as  much  a  dead  letter  there  as  else- 
where ;  and  the  doctrine  of  the  Gospel 
had  made  its  way  extensively.  But  sub- 
sequent to  the  close  of  1521,  the  princes 
of  the  country,  urged  on  by  Doctor  Eck, 
who  was  chancellor  in  their  university 
of  Ingolstadt,  had  again  made  advances 
towards  Rome,  and  passed  a  law  enjoin- 
ing their  subjects  to  adhere  faithfully  to 
the  religion  of  their  forefathers.* 

The  Bavarian  bishops  showed  some 
signs  of  alarm  at  this  intervention  of  the 
secular  authority.  Eck  set  out  immedi- 
ately for  Rome  to  solicit  from  the  Pope 
an  extension  of  the  authority  lodged  in 
the  princes.  The  Pope  granted  all  their 
desires,  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  make 
over  to  them  a  fifth  of  the  revenues  of 
the  church  in  their  country. 

Here  we  see  Roman  Catholicism,  at 
a  time  when  the  Reformation  had  no 
regular  settlement,  resorting  to  establish- 
ed institutions  for  support,  and  Catholic 
princes,  aided  by  the  Pope,  seizing  the 
revenues  of  the  Church  long  before  the 
Reformation  had  ventured  to  touch  them. 
What  then  must  be  thought  of  the  oft- 
repeated  charges  of  Catholics  on  this 
head  ! 

Clement  VII.  was  secure  of  the  as- 
sistance of  Bavaria  in  quelling  the 
dreaded  assembly  of  Spires.  It  was  not 
long  before  the  Archduke  Ferdinand, 
the  Archbishop  of  Salzburg,  and  others 
of  the  princes  were  likewise  gained 
over. 

But  Campeggio  was  bent  on  some- 
thing more.  His  aim  was  to  divide 
Germany  into  two  hostile  camps ; — 
Germans  were  to  be  opposed  to  Ger- 
mans. 

During  a  previous  residence  at  Stut- 
gard,  the  Legate  had  concerted  with 
Ferdinand  the  project  of  a  league  against 
the  Reformation.  "  There  is  no  telling 
what  may  be  the  result  of  an  assembly 
in  which  the  voice  of  the  people  will  be 
heard,"  observed  he :  "  The  Diet  of 
Spires  may  be  the  ruin  of  Rome  and  the 
salvation  of  Wittemberg.     Let  us  close 

*  Erstes  baierisches  Religions  Mandat. — (Win- 
ter, Gesch.  der  Evang.  Lehre  in  Baiern,  i.  p 
310.) 


MOVEMENTS  IN  GERMANY. 


457 


our  ranks  and  be  prepared  for  the  on- 
set."* It  was  settled  that  Ratisbon 
should  be  the  point  of  rendezvous. 

Prevailing  over  the  jealousies  that  es- 
tranged the  reigning  houses  of*  Bavaria 
and  Austria,  Gampeggio  contrived  to 
assemble  in  that  city,  toward  the  end  of 
1524,  the  Duke  of  Bavaria  and  the 
Archduke  Ferdinand.  The  Archbishop 
of  Salzburg  and  the  Bishops  of  Trent 
and  of  Ratisbon,  joined  them.  The 
Bishops  of  Spires,  Bamberg,  Augsburg, 
Strasburg,  Bale,  Constance,  Freesingen, 
Passau,  and  Brixen,  sent  deputies  to  the 
assembly. 

The  Legate  opened  the  subject  of  the 
meeting,  depicting  in  moving  language 
the  dangers  resulting  from  the  Reforma- 
tion both  to  princes  and  the  clergy,  and 
concluded  by  calling  upon  them  to  ex- 
tirpate heresy  and  rescue  the  Church. 

For  fifteen  days  the  conferences  were 
continued  in  the  town-hall  of  Ratisbon. 
At  the  expiration  of  that  time,  a  ball, 
which  continued  till  daybreak,  served  as 
a  relaxation  to  the  first  Catholic  assem- 
bly convened  by  the  Papacy  to  resist  the 
infant  Reformation,! — and,  after  this, 
measures  were  agreed  upon  for  the  de- 
struction of  the  heretics. 

The  Princes  and  Bishops  bound 
themselves  to  enforce  the  edicts  of 
Worms  and  Nuremberg — to  allow  of  no 
innovations  in  public  worship — to  toler- 
ate no  married  priest — to  recall  the  stu- 
dents of  their  states  who  might  be  resi- 
dent in  Wittemberg,  and  to  employ  all  the 
means  in  their  power  for  the  extirpation 
of  heresy.  They  enjoined  the  preach- 
ers to  take  for  their  guides,  in  interpret- 
ing difficult  scriptures,  the  Latin  Fa- 
thers, Ambrose,  Jerome,  Augustine,  and 
Gregory.  Not  daring,  in  the  face  of  the 
Reformation,  to  invoke  again  the  au- 
thority of  the  Schools,  they  contented 
themselves  with  laying  the  foundations 
of  Roman  orthodoxy. 

But,  not  able  to  close  their  eyes 
against  the  scandals  and  profligate  mor- 
als of  the  clergy,^  they  agreed  on  a  pro- 
gramme of  reform  in  which  they  studi- 
ously  selected   such   grievances  of  the 

*  Winter,  Gesch.  der  Evang.  Lehre  in  Baiern, 
i.  p.  156. 

t  Ranke,  Deutsche  Gesch.  ii.  p.  159. 

t    Improbis    clericorum    abusibus   et   perditis 
moribus. — (Cochl.  p.  91.) 
58 


Germans,  as  least  involved  or  affected 
the  court  of  Rome.  They  prohibited 
priests  from  dealings  in  the  way  of  bar- 
ter, from  frequenting  taverns,  being 
present  "at  dances,"  and  disputing  over 
their  bottle  about  points  of  faith ! 

This  was  the  issue  of  the  confedera- 
tion of  Ratisbon.*  In  the  very  act  of 
taking  up  arms  against  the  Reformation, 
Rome  yet  conceded  a  something  ; — and 
we  discern  in  these  regulations  the  ear- 
liest influence  of  the  Reformation,  in  in- 
ducing an  interior  renovation  in  Cathol- 
icism itself.  Wherever  the  Gospel  de- 
velops its  resources,  its  enemies  are  sure 
to  have  their  counterfeits  at  hand.  Em- 
ser  had  produced  a  translation  of  the 
Bible  to  counteract  that  by  Luther. 
Eck,  in  like  manner,  put  forth  his  Loci 
Communes  in  opposition  to  Melanc- 
thon's,f — and  then  it  was  that  Rome  be- 
gan to  oppose  to  the  Reformation  those 
partial  changes  which  have  given  to 
Roman  Catholicism  its  present  aspect. 
But,  in  truth,  these  expedients  were  but 
subtle  devices  to  escape  impending  dan- 
gers. Branches,  plucked  indeed  from 
the  tree  of  the  Reformation,  but  set  in  a 
soil  which  doomed  them  to  decay ;  the 
principle  of  life  was  wanting,  and  thus 
it  will  ever  be  with  all  similar  attempts. 

Another  fact  is  here  presented  to  us. 
The  Romanist  party,  by  the  league 
which  they  formed  at  Ratisbon,  were 
the  first  to  violate  the  unity  of  Germany. 
It  was  in  the  Pope's  camp  that  the  sig- 
nal of  battle  was  given.  Ratisbon  was 
the  birth-place  of  that  schism  and  po- 
litical rending  of  their  country  which  so 
many  of  the  Germans  to  this  hour  de- 
plore. The  national  assembly  of  Spires 
was  called  to  ensure  the  unity  of  the 
Empire  by  sanctioning  and  extending 
the  Reformation  of  the  Church.  The 
conventicle  of  separatists  that  met  at  Ra- 
tisbon for  ever  divided  the  nation  in  two 
parties.^  Yet  the  schemes  of  Campeg- 
gio  were  not  at  first  attended  with  the 
results  anticipated.  But  few  of  the 
chiefs  responded  to  the  call.  The  most 
decided    opponents    of    Luther,    Duke 

*  Ut  Lutherans  factioni  efficacius  rcsistere 
possint,  ultronea  confederatione  sese  constrixe- 
runt. — (Ibid.) 

t  Enchiridion,  seu  loci  communes  contra  hje- 
reticos. 

t  Ranke  Deutsche  Gesch.  ii.  p.  163. 


458 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


George  of  Saxony,  the  elector  Joachim 
of  Brandenburg,  the  ecclesiastical  Elec- 
tors, and  the  imperial  cities,  declined 
taking  anv  part.  An  opinion  prevailed 
that  the  Pope's  legate  was  forming  a 
Romanist  faction  opposed  to  the  national 
mind.  The  popular  sympathies  coun- 
terbalanced the  antipathies  of  religion  ; 
and  it  was  not  long  before  the  Ratisbon 
Reformation  was  an  object  of  public  ridi- 
cule. But  a  first  step  had  been  taken, 
— an  example  had  been  set.  It  was  ex- 
pected that,  with  a  little  pains,  it  would 
be  easy  eventually  to  confirm  and  en- 
large this  Roman  league.  Those  who 
then  hesitated  would  be  decided  by  the 
course  of  events.  To  the  legate,  Cam- 
peggio,  is  ascribed  the  glory  of  having 
laid  the  train  which  was  to  bring  little 
less  than  destruction  upon  the  liberties 
of  Germany,  and  the  safety  of  the  Em- 
pire, and  the  Reformation.  From  that 
hour  the  cause  of  Luther  was  no  longer 
of  a  nature  purely  religious;  and  the 
contest  with  the  Wittemberg  monk 
ranked  among  the  political  events  of 
Europe.  Luther  in  this  new  sphere, 
would  pass  under  eclipse,  and  Charles 
V.,  the  Pope,  and  the  reigning  Princes, 
would  be  the  chief  actors  on  the  stage 
where  the  grand  drama  of  the  sixteenth 
century  was  to  be  performed. 

But  the  prospect  of  the  assembly  at 
Spires  was  continually  present  to  the 
minds  of  the  people.  .  Its  measures 
might  remedy  the  mischiefs  that  Cam- 
peggio  had  occasioned  at  Ratisbon.  Ac- 
cordingly, Rome  strained  every  nerve  to 
prevent  its  assembling.  "What!"  ex- 
claimed the  Pope's  deputies  to  Charles 
V.,  as  also  to  his  ally  Henry  VIII.,  and 
other  princes,  "  will  these  presumptuous 
Germans  pretend  to  decide  points  of 
faith  in  a  national  assembly !  They 
seem  to  expect  that  kings,  the  imperial 
authority,  all  Christendom,  and  the 
whole  world,  are  to  bend  to  their  deci- 
sions." 

The  moment  was  not  ill  chosen  for 
influencing  the  Emperor.  The  war  be- 
tween that  prince  and  Francis  the  First 
was  at  its  height.  Pescara  and  the 
Constable  of  Bourbon  had  left  Italy, 
and  entering  France  in  the  month  of 
May,  laid  siege  to  Marseilles.  The 
Pope,  who  looked  with  an  evil  eye  on 
this  attack,  might  effect  a  powerful  di- 


version in  the  rear  of  the  Imperial 
forces.  Charles,  who,  under  these  cir- 
cumstances, must  have  feared  to  give 
umbrage  to  his  Holiness,  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  sacrifice  the  independence  of  the 
Empire,  that  he  might  purchase  the, fa- 
vour of  Rome,  and  humble  his  rival  the 
king  of  France. 

On  the  15th  July,  Charles  issued  an 
edict,  dated  at  Burgos  in  Castile,  "  in 
which  he  haughtily  and  angrily  declared 
that  to  the  Pope  alone  belonged  the  right 
to  convoke  a  Council,  and  to  the  Em- 
peror that  of  demanding  one :  that  the 
meeting  appointed  to  be  held  at  Spires 
neither  ought  to  be,  nor  could  be  allow- 
ed :  that  it  was  strange  that  the  German 
people  should  undertake  to  do  that,  which 
all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  with  the 
Pope  at  their  head,  could  not  lawfully 
do  :  and  that  it  was  necessary,  without 
delay,  to  carry  into  effect  the  decree  of 
Worms  against  the  modern  Mahomet." 
Thus  it  was  from  Spain  and  Italy  the 
blow  was  struck  which  arrested  the  de- 
velopment of  the  Gospel  among  the  peo- 
ple of  Germany.  Charles  was  not  satis- 
fied with  this.  In  1519  he  had  offered 
to  duke  John,  the  Elector's  brother,  to 
give  his  sister,  the  Archduchess  Catha- 
rine, in  marriage  to  his  son,  John  Fred- 
eric, heir  to  the  electorate.  But  was 
not  that  reigning  house  of  Saxony  the 
grand  support  of  those  principles  of  re- 
ligious and  political  independence  which 
Charles  detested  ?  He  decided  to  break 
off  all  intercourse  with  the  troublesome 
and  guilty  champion  of  Gospel  princi- 
ples and  the  nation's  wishes, — and  ac- 
cordingly gave  his  sister  in  marriage  to 
John  III ,  king  of  Portugal.  Frederic, 
who  in  1519  had  manifested  some  indif- 
ference to  the  overtures  of  the  king  of 
Spain,  was  enabled  in  1524,  to  suppress 
his  indignation  at  this  conduct  of  the 
Emperor.  But  Duke  John  haughtily 
intimated  his  feeling  of  the  affront  put 
upon  him. 

Thus,  an  observer  might  have  distin- 
guished, as  they  fell  slowly  into  the  line, 
the  rival  hosts  by  whose  struggle  for 
mastery  the  Empire  was  to  be  so  long 
convulsed. 

The  Romanists  went  a  step  further. 
The  compact  of  Ratisbon  was  to  be  no 
empty  form ;  it  was  necessary  that  it 
should  be  sealed  with  blood.  Ferdinand 


MOVEMENTS  IN  GERMANY. 


459 


and  Campeggio  descended  the  Danube 
from  Ratisbon  to  Vienna,  and,  during 
their  journey,  mutually  pledged  them- 
selves to  cruel  measures.  Instantly  a 
persecution  was  set  on  foot  in  the  Aus- 
trian provinces. 

A  citizen  of  Vienna,  by  name  Gas- 
pard  Tauber,  had  circulated  Luther's 
writings,  and  had  himself  written  against 
the  invocation  of  saints,  purgatory,  and 
transubstantiation.*  Being  thrown  into 
prison,  he  was  required  by  his  judges, 
both  divines  and  jurisconsults,  to  retract 
his  errors.  It  was  believed  that  he  had 
given  way,  and  every  preparation  was 
made  in  Vienna  to  gratify  the  populace 
with  the  solemn  spectacle  of  his  recanta- 
tion. On  St.  Mary's  day,  two  pulpits 
were  erected  over  the  cemetery  of  St. 
Stephen's,  the  one  for  the  leader  of  the 
choir,  whose  office  was  to  chaunt  the 
heretic's  repentance,  the  other  for  Tau- 
ber  himself.  The  formula  of  his  recan- 
tation was  put  into  his  hands. f  The 
people,  the  choristers,  and  the  priests 
were  in  silent  expectation.  Whether  it 
was  that  Tauber  had  given  no  promise 
to  recant,  or  whether,  in  the  appointed 
moment  of  abjuration,  he  suddenly  re- 
ceived fresh  energy  of  faith, — he  ex- 
claimed aloud,  "  /  am  not  convinced,  and 
I  appeal  to  the  holy  Roman  Empire." 
Ecclesiastics,  choristers,  and  by-standers, 
were  struck  with  astonishment  and  dis- 
may. But  Tauber  continued  calling  for 
death  rather  than  that  he  should  deny 
the  Gospel.  He  was  beheaded, — his 
body  burned  :| — and  his  firmness  left  an 
indelible  impression  on  the  memory  of 
the  citizens  of  Vienna. 

At  Buda,  in  Hungary,  a  bookseller, 
named  John,  who  had  received  the  truth 
in  the  love  of  it,  had  distributed  copies 
of  the  New  Testament,  and  also  some 
of  Luther's  writings.  The  persecutors 
bound  him  to  a  stake,  and  then  forming 
a  pile  of  his  books,  so  as  to  enclose  him 
within  them,  set  fire  to  the  whole.  The 
poor  man  manifested  an  unshaken  cour- 
age, rejoicing,  amidst  the  flames,  that  he 

*  Atque  etiam  proprios  ipse  tractatus  per- 
scripserim. — (Cochlasus,  p.  92,  verso.) 

t  See  Coehl.,  lb.  Ciun  igitur  ego  Casparus 
Tauber,  etc. 

I  Credo  te  vidisse.  Casparis  Tauber  historiam 
martyris  novi  Viennae,  quern  csesum  capite  scri- 
bunt  et  igne  exustum  pro  verbo  Dei. — (Luther  to 
Hausmann,  12  Nov.  1524,  ii.  p.  563.) 


was  counted  worthy  to  suffer  for  his 
Lord's  name.  "  Blood  follows  blood," 
cried  Luther,  when  he  heard  of  this 
martyrdom,*  "  but  that  innocent  blood 
that  Rome  delights  to  shed,  will  one  day- 
choke  the  Pope,  with  his  kings  and 
their  kingdoms."  f 

The  zeal  of  the  fanatics  burnt  every 
day  more  fiercely.  Gospel  preachers 
were  expelled,  magistrates  banished,  and 
sometimes  the  most  horrible  torments 
were  inflicted.  In  Wurtemberg  an  in- 
quisitor, named  Reichler,  caused  the 
Lutherans,  especially  their  preachers,  to 
be  hanged  upon  the  trees.  Monsters 
were  found,  who  deliberately  nailed  by 
their  tongues  to  the  stake  the  ministers 
of  God's  word, — so  that  the  sufferers, 
tearing  themselves  in  their  agony  from 
the  wood  to  which  they  were  fastened, 
endured  a  frightful  mutilation  in  their 
efforts  to  liberate  themselves, — and  were 
thus  deprived  of  that  gift  of  speech 
which  they  had  long  used  in  the  preach- 
ing of  the  Gospel.^: 

The  same  persecutions  were  set  on 
foot  in  the  other  states  of  the  Catholic 
League.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  Salz- 
burg a  minister  of  the  Gospel,  who  had 
been  sentenced  to  imprisonment  for  life, 
was  on  his  way  to  the  prison  ;  whilst 
the  constables  who  had  charge  of  him 
were  stopping  to  drink  at  a  house  by  the 
wayside,  two  country  youths,  moved 
with  compassion,  contrived,  by  eluding 
their  vigilance,  to  favour  the  escape  of 
the  pastor.  The  rage  of  the  Archbish- 
op broke  forth  against  these  poor  people, 
and  without  so  much  as  any  form  of 
trial,  he  commanded  that  they  should  be 
beheaded.  They  were  secretly  taken 
outside  the  town,  at  an  early  hour. 
Coming  to  the  plain  where  they  were  to 
die,  the  executioner's  heart  failed  him : 
— "  For,"  said  he,  "  they  have  not  been 
condemned."  "Do  your  duly,"  said  the 
Archbishop's  emissary,  sternly,  "  and 
leave  to  the  Prince  to  answer  for  it :" — 
and  the  heads  of  the  youths  were  imme- 
diately struck  off  $ 

*  Idem  accidit  Budce  in  Ungaria  bibliopoles 
cuidam  Johanni,  simul  cum  libris  circa  eum  posi- 
tis  exusto,  fortissimeque  passo  pro  Doinino. — 
(Ibid.) 

t  Sanguis  sanguinem  tangit,  qui  suffocabit 
papam  cum  regibus  et  regnis  suis. — (Ibid.) 

t  Ranke,  Deutsche  Gesch.  ii.  p.  174. 
I      §  Zauner,  Salzburger  Chronik  IV.  p.  381. 


480 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


The  persecution  raged  with  most  vio- 
lence in  the  states  of  the  Duke  of  Bava- 
ria. Priests  were  degraded  ;  nobles  ex- 
pelled from  their  castles  ;  spies  traversed 
the  country  ;  and  suspicion  and  terror 
filled  the  hearts  of  all.  Bernard  Fichtel, 
a  magistrate,  was  on  his  way  to  Nurem- 
berg, called  thither  by  the  Duke's  af- 
fairs ;  on  the  road,  he  was  joined  by 
Francis  Bourkard,  a  professor,  from  In- 
golstadt,  and  a  friend  of  Eck.  Bourkard 
accosted  him,  and  they  travelled  in  com- 
pany. After  supping  together,  the  pro- 
fessor began  to  speak  on  matters  of  reli- 
gion. Fichtel  having  some  knowledge 
of  his  company,  reminded  him  that  the 
recent  edict  prohibited  such  topics  of 
conversation.  "  Between  us,"  answered 
Bourkard,  "  there  is  nothing  to  fear." 
On  this  Fichtel  remarked,  "  I  don't  think 
the  edict  can  be  enforced ;"  and  he  went 
on  to  express  himself  in  a  tone  of  doubt 
respecting  purgatory,  observing,  "  that  it 
was  a  dreadful  thing  to  visit  religious 
differences  with  death."  At  hearing 
this,  Bourkard  could  not  control  himself. 
"  What  more  just,"  exclaimed  he,  "  than 
to  strike  off  the  heads  of  all  those  scoun- 
drel Lutherans  ?"  He  soon  took  a  kind 
leave  of  Fichtel ; — but  hastened  to  lodge 
information  against  him.  Fichtel  was 
thrown  into  prison,  and  the  unhappy 
man,  who  had  no  desire  of  the  martyr's 
crown — his  religious  convictions  not  be- 
ing at  all  deep — escaped  death  only  by 
a  shameful  recantation.  Confidence  was 
at  an  end  ;  and  no  one  was  safe. 

But  that  death  which  Fichtel  avoided, 
others  met.  It  was  in  vain  that  the 
Gospel  was  now  only  privately  preach- 
ed.* The  Duke  urged  on  its  pursuers ; 
following  it  even  in  the  darkness,  in  se- 
cret places,  in  private  dwellings,  and 
mountain  recesses. 

"  The  cross  and  persecution  are  in  full 
career  in  Bavaria,"  said  Luther  :  "  those 
wild  beasts  are  carrying  all  before 
them."t 

Even  the  north  of  Germany  was  not 
exempted  from  these  atrocities.  Bogis- 
las,  Duke  of  Pomerania,  dying,  his  son, 
who  had  been  brought  up  in  the  court 
of  Duke  George,  set  on  foot  a  persecu- 

*  Verbi  non  palam  seminati. — (L.  Epp.  ii- 
p.  559.) 

+  In  Bavaria  multum  regnat  crux  et  persecu- 
te ...  .  (Ibid.) 


tion  of  the  Gospel.  Suaven  and  Knips- 
trow  were  compelled  to  seek  refuge  in 
flight 

But  it  was  in  Holstein,  that  one  of  the 
most  memorable  instances  of  fanaticism 
occurred. 

Henry  Zuphten,  who,  as  has  been 
seen,  had  escaped  from  the  convent  at 
Antwerp,  was  engaged  in  preaching  the 
Gospel  at  Bremen.  Nicholas  Boye,  pas- 
tor at  Mehldorf,  in  the  country  of  the 
Dittmarches,  and  several  devout  persons 
of  the  neighbouring  districts,  having  in- 
vited him  to  come  over  and  declare 
Jesus  Christ ;  he  complied.  Immedi- 
ately, the  prior  of  the  Dominicans  and 
the  vicar  of  the  official  of  Hamburg 
concerted  measures.  "  If  he  is  allowed 
to  preach,  and  the  people  give  ear,"  said 
they,  "  we  are  undone."  The  prior 
passed  a  disturbed  night ;  and,  rising 
early  in  the  morning,  repaired  to  the 
wild  and  barren  heath  on  which  the  for- 
ty-eight regents  of  the  country  are  ac- 
customed to  hold  their  meetings.  "  The 
monk  from  Bremen  is  come  amongst 
us,"  said  he,  addressing  them,  "  and  will 
bring  ruin  on  the  Dittmarches."  Those 
forty-eight  simple-minded  and  unlearned 
men,  deceived  into  the  belief  that  they 
would  earn  imperishable  renown  by  de- 
livering the  world  from  the  heretical 
monk,  decided  on  putting  him  to  death 
without  so  much  as  giving  him  a  hear- 
ing. 

It  was  Saturday — and  the  prior  was 
bent  on  preventing  Henry's  preaching 
on  the  following  Sunday.  In  the  mid- 
dle of  the  night  he  knocked  at  the  door 
of  the  pastor  Boye,  armed  with  the  man- 
date of  the  forty-eight  regents.  "  If  it 
be  the  will  of  God  that  I  should  die 
among  the  Dittmarches,"  said  Henry 
Zuphten  ;  "  Heaven  is  as  easily  reached 
from  thence  as  from  anywhere  else.*  I 
will  preach." 

He  ascended  the  pulpit,  and  spoke 
with  earnestness.  His  hearers,  moved 
and  roused  by  his  christian  eloquence, 
had  scarcely  quitted  the  church,  when 
the  prior  delivered  to  them  the  mandate 
of  the  forty-eight  regents  forbidding-  the 
monk  to  preach.  They  immediately 
sent  a  deputation  to  the  heath,  and  the 
Dittmarches,  after  long  discussion,  agreed 
*  Der  Himmel  ware  da  so  nahe  als  anderswo. 
— (L.  Opp.  xix.  330.) 


MOVEMENTS  IN  GERMANY. 


that,  considering  their  total  ignorance, 
further  measures  should  be  deferred  till 
Easter.  But  the  prior,  irritated  at  this, 
approached  certain  of  the  regents,  and 
stirred  up  their  zeal  afresh.  "  We  will 
write  to  him,"  said  they.  "  Have  nothing 
to  do  with  him,"  replied  the  prior  ;  "  if 
he  begins  to  speak,  we  shall  not  be  able 
to  withstand  him.  We  must  seize  him 
during  the  night,  and  burn  him  without 
giving  him  time  to  open  his  lips." 

Every  thing  was  arranged  accord- 
ingly. The  day  after  Conception  day, 
at  nightfall,  Ave  Maria  was  rung.  At 
the  signal,  all  the  peasants  of  the  adja- 
cent villages  assembled,  to  the  number 
of  five  hundred,  and  their  leaders  hav- 
ing broached  three  butts  of  Hamburg 
beer,  by  this  means  stimulated  their  re- 
solution. The  hour  of  midnight  struck 
as  the  party  entered  Mehldorf ;  the  pea- 
sants were  under  arms  ;  the  monks  car- 
ried torches  ;  all  went  forward  in  disor- 
der, exchanging  shouts  of  fury.  Ar- 
rived at  the  village,  there  was  a  deep 
silence  lest  Henry  receiving  intimation 
of  danger,  should  effect  his  escape. 

Of  a  sudden,  the  gates  of  the  parson- 
age were  burst  open — the  drunken  pea- 
santry rushed  within,  striking  everything 
in  their  way — tossing  pell-mell,  dishes, 
kettles,  cups,  and  articles  of  apparel.  They 
seized  any  money  that  they  could  find, 
and  then  rushing  on  the  poor  pastor, 
they  struck  him  down,  shouting  "  Kill 
him !  kill  him !"  and  then  threw  him 
into  the  mud.  But  Henry  was  their 
chief  object  in  the  attack.  They  pulled 
him  out  of  bed,  tied  his  hands  behind 
him,  and  dragged  him  after  them,  naked 
as  he  was,  in  the  piercing  cold.  "  What 
are  you  come  here  for?"  cried  they  ;  and 
as  Henry  answered  meekly,,  they  ex- 
claimed, "  Down  with  him  !  down  with 
him !  if  we  listen  to  him  we  shall  be- 
come heretics  like  himself."  They  had 
dragged  him  naked  over  ice  and  snow, 
his  feet  were  bleeding  profusely,  and  he 
begged  to  be  set  on  horseback.  "  A  fine 
thing  truly,"  said  they,  ':  for  us  to  furnish 
horses  for  heretics !  On,  on" — and  they 
continued  dragging  him  behind  them 
till  they  arrived  at  the  heath.  A  wo- 
man, who  stood  at  the  door  of  the  house 
just  as  the  servant  of  God  was  passing, 
burst  into  tears.  "My  good  woman," 
said  Henry,  "  weep  not  for  me."     The 


bailiff  pronounced  his  sentence.  Then 
one  of  his  ferocious  escort,  with  a  sword, 
smote  the  preacher  of  Jesus  Christ  on 
the  head.  Another  struck  him  with  a 
club.  A  monk  was  ordered  to  approach, 
and  receive  his  confession.  "  My  bro- 
ther," said  Henry,  "  have  I  done  you 
any  wrong?"  "None,"  replied  •  the 
monk.  "  Then,"  returned  Henry,  "  I 
have  nothing  to  confess  to  you,  and  you 
have  nothing  to  forgive."  The  monk 
retired  in  confusion.  Many  attempts 
were  made  to  set  fire  to  the  pile  ;  but 
the  wood  would  not  catch.  For  two 
hours  the  martyr  stood  thus  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  infuriated  peasantry — calm, 
and  lifting  his  eyes  to  heaven.  While 
they  were  binding  him,  that  they  might 
cast  him  into  the  flame,  he  began  to  con- 
fess his  faith.  "  First  burn,"  said  a 
countryman,  dealing  him  a  blow  with 
his  fist  on  the  mouth  ;  "  burn  ;  and  after 
that,  speak."  They  threw  him  on  the 
pile,  but  he  rolled  down  on  one  side. 
John  Holme,  seizing  a  club,  struck  him 
upon  the  breast,  and  laid  him  dead  upon 
the  burning  coals.  "  Such  is  the  true 
story  of  the  sufferings  of  that  holy  mar- 
tyr, Henry  Zuphten."* 

Whilst  the  Romanists  were,  on  all 
sides,  unsheathing  the  sword  against  the 
Reformation,  the  work  itself  was  passing 
through  new  stages  of  development. 
Not  to  Zurich — nor  Geneva,  but  to 
Wittemberg,  the  focus  of  Luther's  re- 
vival, must  we  go  to  find  the  beginnings 
of  that  Reformed  Church,  of  which 
Calvin  ranks  as  the  most  distinguished 
doctor.  There'  was  a  time  when  these 
two  great  families  of  believers  slept  in 
the  same  cradle.  Concord  ought  to 
have  crowned  their  matured  age  ;  but 
when  once  the  question  of  the  Supper 
was  raised,  Luther  threw  away  the 
proper  element  of  the  Reformation,  and 
took  his  stand  for  himself  and  his  church 
in  an  exclusive  Lutheranism.  The  mor- 
tification he  experienced  from  this  rival 
teaching  was  shown  in  his  loss  of  much 
of  that  kindness  of  manner  which  was 
so  natural  to  him,  and  communicated  in 
its  stead  a  mistrust,  an  habitual  dissatis- 
faction, and  an  irritability  which  he  had 
never  before  manifested. 

*  Das  ist  die  wahre  Historie,  etc. — (L.  Opp. 
(L.)  xix.  p.  333.) 


462 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


It  was  between  the  two  early  friends 
— the  two  champions  who,  at  Leipsic, 
had  fought  side  by  side  against  Rome, 
— between  Carlstadt  and  JLuther  that  the 
controversy  broke  forth.  Their  attach- 
ment to  contrary  views  was  the  result, 
with  each  of  them,  of  a  turn  of  mind 
that  has  its  value.  Indeed,  there  are 
two  extremes  in  religious  views  ;  the  one 
tends  to  materialize  all  things  ;  the  other, 
to  spiritualize  every  thing.  The  former 
characterized  Rome  ;  the  latter  is  seen 
in  the  Mystics.  Religion  resembles 
man  himself  in  this — namely,  that  it  con- 
sists of  a  body  and  a  soul ;  pure  idealists, 
equally  with  materialists  in  questions  of 
religion,  as  of  philosophy — both  err. 

This  was  the  great  question  which 
lay  hid  in  the  dispute  concerning  the 
Supper.  Whilst  a  superficial  observer 
sees  in  it  nothing  but  a  paltry  strife 
about  words,  a  deeper  observation  dis- 
cerns in  it  one  of  the  most  important 
controversies  that  can  engage  the  mind 
of  man. 

Here  the  Reformers  diverge,  and  form 
two  camps  ;  but  each  camp  carries  away 
a  portion  of  the  truth.  Luther,  with 
his  adherents,  think  they  are  resisting  an 
exaggerated  spiritualism.  Carlstadt,  and 
those  of  the  reformed  opinion,  believe 
they  are  opposing  a  detestable  material- 
ism. Each  turns  against  the  error 
which,  to  his  mind,  seems  most  noxious, 
and  in  assailing  it,  goes — it  may  be — 
beyond  the  truth.  But  this  being  ad- 
mitted, it  is  still  true  that  both  are  right 
in  the  prevailing  turn  of  their  thoughts, 
and,  though  ranking  in  different  hosts, 
the  two  great  teachers  are  nevertheless 
found  under  the  same  standard — that  of 
Jesus  Christ,  who  alone  is  truth  in  the 
full  import  of  that  word. 

Carlstadt  was  of  opinion  that  nothing 
could  be  more  prejudicial  to  genuine 
piety  than  to  lean  upon  outward  observ- 
ances, and  a  sort  of  mysterious  efficacy 
in  the  sacraments.  "  The  outward  par- 
ticipation in  the  Supper  brings  Salva- 
tion," had  been  the  language  of  Rome; 
and  that  doctrine  had  sufficed  to  mate- 
rialize religion.  Carlstadt  saw  no  bet- 
ter course  for  again  exalting  its  spiritual 
character  than  to  deny  all  presence  of 
Christ's  body;  and  he  taught  that  the 
Supper  was  simply  a  pledge  to  believers 
of  their  redemption. 


As  to  Luther,  he  now  took  an  exactly 
opposite  direction.  He  had  at  first  con- 
tended for  the  sense  we  have  endeavour- 
ed to  open.  In  his  tract  on  the  Mass, 
published  in  1520,  he  thus  expressed 
himself: — "I  can  every  day  enjoy  the 
advantages  of  the  Sacraments,  if  I  do 
but  call  to  mind  the  word  and  promise 
of  Christ,  and  with  them  feed  and 
strengthen  my  faith."  Neither  Carl- 
stadt, nor  Zwingle,  nor  Calvin  have  said 
any  thing  more  strong  than  this.  It  ap- 
pears, indeed,  that  at  that  period  the 
thought  would  often  occur  to  him,  that 
a  symbolical  explanation  of  the  Supper 
would  be  the  mightiest  engine  to  over- 
turn the  Papal  system  ;  for,  in  1525,  we 
find  him  saying,  that  five  years  before, 
he  had  gone  through  much  trial  of  mind 
on  account  of  this  doctrine  ;*  and  that 
any  one  who  could  then  have  proved  to 
him  that  there  is  only  the  bread  and 
wine  in  the  Supper  would  have  done 
him  the  greatest  service. 

But  new  circumstances  arose,  and 
threw  him  into  a  position  in  which  he 
was  led  to  oppose,  and  sometimes  with 
much  heat,  opinions  to  which  he  had 
made  so  near  an  approach.  The  fanati- 
cism of  the  Anabaptists  may  account  for 
the  turn  which  Luther  then  took.  These 
enthusiasts  were  not  content  with  dis- 
paraging what  they  termed  the  outward 
.Word — that  is,  the  Bible,  and  setting  up 
a  claim  to  special  communications  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  they  went  so  far  as  to  des- 
pise the  Sacrament  of  the  Supper  as  an 
external  act,  and  to  speak  of  the  inward 
as  the  only  true  communion.  From  that 
time,  in  every  attempt  to  exhibit  the 
symbolical  import  of  the  Supper,  Lu- 
ther saw  only  the  danger  of  weakening 
the  authority  of  the  Scriptures,  and  of 
admitting,  instead  of  their  true  meaning, 
mere  arbitrary  allegories  spiritualizing 
all  religion,  and  making  it  consist,  not 
in  the  gifts  of  God,  but  in  man's  impres- 
sions ;  and,  by  this  means,  substituting, 
in  place  of  genuine  Christianity,  a  mys- 
tic doctrine,  or  theosophy,  or  fanaticism 
which  would  be  sure  to  be  its  grave.  It 
must  be  confessed,  that,  but  for  the  ener- 
getic resistance  of  Luther,  this  tendency 
to  mysticism  (enthusiastic  and  subjective 
in  its  character,)  might  have  rapidly  ex- 

*  Ich  habe  wohl  so  harte  Anfechtungen  da 
erlitten. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  577.) 


MOVEMENTS  IN  GERMANY. 


463 


tended  itself,  and  turned  back  the  tide  of 
blessings  which  the  Reformation  was  to 
pour  upon  the  world. 

Carlstadt,  impatient  at  finding  himself 
hindered  from  opening  his  views  with- 
out reserve  in  Wittemberg  ;  and  having 
no  rest  in  his  spirit,  from  his  desire  to 
combat  a  system  which,  in  his  view, 
"  lowered  the  value  of  Christ's  death, 
and  set  aside  his  righteousness,"  resolved 
"  to  give  a  public  testimony  for  the  ad- 
vantage of  poor  deluded  Christians." 
He  left  Wittemberg,  in  the  beginning 
of  the  year  1524,  without  previous  inti- 
mation of  his  intention  to  the  university 
or  the  chapter,  and  repaired  to  the  small 
town  of  Orlamund,  the  church  of  which 
Avas  placed  under  his  superintendence. 
Dismissing  the  vicar,  he  procured  him- 
self to  be  appointed  its  pastor,  and  in  op- 
position to  the  wishes  of  the  chapter,  of 
the  university,  and  of  the  Elector,  estab- 
lished himself  in  his  new  office. 

He  soon  began  to  disseminate  his  doc- 
trines :  "  It  is  not  possible,"  said  he,  "  to 
name  any  advantage  derived  from  the 
real  presence,  which  does  not  already 
flow  from  faith — it  is,  therefore,  useless." 
To  explain  Christ's  words  in  the  institu- 
tion of  the  Supper,  he  resorted  to  an  in- 
.  terpretation  which  is  not  received  in  the 
Reformed  churches.  Luther,  during  the 
discussion  at  Leipsic,  had  explained  the 
words — "  Thou,  art  Peter,  and  on  this 
rock  I  will  build  my  church" — separating 
the  two  propositions,  and  applying  the 
latter  to  the  person  of  the  Saviour. 
"  Just  so,"  said  Carlstadt,  "  '  take  eaf  was 
spoken  in  reference  to  the  bread ;  but 
;  this  is  my  body1  is  to  be  understood  of 
Jesus  Christ,  who  then  pointed  to  him- 
self,— and  intimated  by  the  symbol  of 
the  broken  bread,  that  that  body  was 
about  to  be  broken." 

Carlstadt  did  not  stop  there.  Scarce 
had  he  emancipated  himself  from  Lu- 
ther's oversight,  when  he  felt  his  zeal  re- 
vive against  the  use  of  images.  His 
bold  addresses  and  enthusiastic  appeals 
were  but  too  likely  to  madden  the  minds 
of  men  in  these  agitated  times.  The 
people,  thinking  they  heard  a  second  Eli- 
jah, proceeded  to  throw  down  the  idols 
of  Baal.  The  excitement  soon  spread  to 
the  neighbouring  villages.  The  Elector 
interfered  ;  but  the  peasants  answered 
that  it  was  right  to  obey  God  rather  than 


men.  On  this,  the  Prince  decided  to 
despatch  Luther  to  Orlamund,  to  restore 
tranquillity.  Luther  looked  upon  Carl- 
stadt as  a  man  urged  on  by  a  love  of  no- 
toriety ;*  a  fanatic  who  would  even  go 
the  length  of  raising  war  against  Christ 
himself.  Perhaps  Frederic  might  have 
made  a  wiser  choice.  Luther,  however, 
set  forth  ;  and  Carlstadt  saw  his  trouble- 
some rival  once  more  appear  in  order  to 
baffle  his  projects  of  reform  and  arrest 
his  impetuosity. 

Jena  lay  in  the  road  to  Orlamund.  Ar- 
riving in  that  town  on  the  23rd  August, 
Luther  ascended  the  pulpit  on  the  24th, 
at  seven  in  the  morning.  He  preached 
an  hour  and  a  half  to  a  numerous  audi- 
tory against  fanatics,  rebels,  the  breakers 
of  images,  and  the  despisers  of  the  real 
presence,  protesting  with  vehemence 
against  the  innovations  -at  Orlamund. 
He  did  not  refer  to  Carlstadt  by  name, 
but  every  one  understood  whom  he  had 
in  his  eye. 

Either  by  accident  or  design,  Carlstadt 
was  then  at  Jena,  and  among  the  crowd 
of  Luther's  hearers.  He  lost  no  time  in 
calling  the  preacher  to  account.  Luther 
was  at  dinner  with  the  prior  of  Wittem- 
berg, the  burgomaster,  the  secretary,  the 
pastor  of  Jena,  and  several  officers  in  the 
service  of  the  Emperor  and  of  the  Mar- 
grave, when  a  letter  was  handed  to  him 
from  Carlstadt,  requesting  an  interview. 
He  passed  it  to  those  near  him,  and  re- 
turned a  message  by  the  bearer  :  "  If 
Doctor  Carlstadt  wishes  to  see  me,  let 
him  come  in  ; — if  not,  I  have  no  wish  to 
see  him."  Carlstadt  entered.  His  ap- 
pearance produced  a  lively  sensation  in 
the  whole  assembly.  The  majority,  ea- 
ger to  see  the  two  lions  encounter  one 
another,  suspended  their  repast,  and  were 
all  eyes,  while  the  more  timid  turned  pale 
with  apprehension. 

Carlstadt,  at  Luther's  invitation,  took  a 
seat  opposite  to  him,  and  then  said,  "  Doc- 
tor, you  have  in  your  sermon  of  this  day 
classed  me  with  those  who  inculcate  re- 
volt and  assassination.  I  declare  that 
such  a  charge  is  false." 

Luther. — "  I  did  not  name  you  ;  but 
since  the  cap  fits,  you  may  wear  it." 

A  momentary  pause  ensued. — Carl- 
stadt resumed :  "  I  am  prepared  to  show 

*  Hue  perpulit  eum  insana  glories  et  laudis  li- 
bido.— (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  551.) 


464 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


that  in  the  doctrine  of  the  sacrament  you 
have  contradicted  yourself,  and  that  from 
the  days  of  the  apostles,  no  one  has 
preached  that  doctrine  so  purely  as  I 
have  done." 

Luther.-"  Write  then — establish  your 
point." 

Carlstadt. — "I  offer  you  a  public  dis- 
cussion at  Wittemberg  or  at  Erfurth,  if 
you  promise  me  a  safe-conduct." 

Luther. — "  Never  fear,  Doctor  !" 

Carlstadt. — "  You  bind  me  hand 
and  foot,  and  when  you  have  deprived 
me  of  the  power  to  defend  myself,  you 
strike."  * 

Silence  ensued. — Luther  resumed  : — 

"  Write  against  me — but  openly — and 
not  in  secret." 

Carlstadt. — "  If  I  were  but  assured 
you  were  in  earnest  in  what  you  say,  I 
would  do  so."  • 

Luther. — "  Set  about  it ; — here — take 
this  florin." 

Carlstadt. — "  Where  is  it  ?  I  accept 
the  challenge." 

At  these  words,  Luther  thrust  his 
hand  in  his  pocket,  and  producing  a 
gold  florin,  said,  as  he  gave  it  to  Carl- 
stadt, "  Take  it,  and  attack  me  like  a 
man." 

Carlstadt,  holding  the  gold  florin  in 
his  hand,  and  turning  to  the  assembly, 
said,  "  Dear  brethren,  this  is  to  me  ara- 
bo,  a  pledge  that  I  have  authority  to  write 
against  Luther ;  I  call  you  all  to  witness 
this." 

Then  bending  the  florin  that  he 
might  know  it  again,  he  put  it  into  his 
purse,  and  held  out  his  hand  to  Luther. 
The  latter  pledged  him.  Carlstadt  re- 
turned his  civility.  "  The  more  vigor- 
ous your  attacks,  the  better  I  shall  like 
them,"  resumed  Luther. 

"  If  I  fail,"  answered  Carlstadt,  "  the 
fault  will  be  mine." 

They  once  more  shook  each  other  by 
the  hand,  and  Carlstadt  returned  to  his 
lodging. 

Thus,  says  an  historian,  as  from  a  sin- 
gle spark  a  fire  often  originates  which 
consumes  in  its  progress  the  vast  forest, 
so  from  this  small  beginning  a  great  divi- 
sion in  the  Church  took  its  rise.f 

*  Ihr  bandet  mir  Hiinde  et  Fiisse,  darnach 
echlugt  Ihr  mich. — (L.  Opp.  xix.  p.  150.) 

t  Sicut  una  scintilla  scepe  totam  sylvam  com- 
burit. — (M.  Adam,  Vit.  Carlst.  p.  83.)     Our  ac- 


Luther  set  forward  for  Orlamund,  and 
arrived  there  but  indifferently  prepared 
by  the  scene  at  Jena.  He  assembed  the 
council  and  the  church,  and  said,  "  Nei- 
ther the  Elector  nor  the  University  will 
acknowledge  Carlstadt  as  your  pastor." 
— "  If  Carlstadt  is  not  our  pastor,"  repli- 
ed the  treasurer  of  the  town-council,  "  why 
then,  St.  Paul  is  a  false  teacher,  and 
your  writings  are  mere  falsehood, — for 
we  have  chosen  him."* 

As  he  said  this,  Carlstadt  entered  the 
room.  Some  of  those  who  happened  to 
be  next  to  Luther  made  signs  to  him  to  be 
seated,  but  Carlstadt,  going  straight  up  to 


count  is  chiefly  derived  from  the  Acts  of  Rein- 
hard,  pastor  of  Jena,  an  eye-witness, — but  a 
friend  of  Carlstadt, — and  taxed  with  inaccuracy 
by  Luther. 

*  How  remarkable  is  this  incident !  On  this 
passage  the  translator  had  made  a  note  which 
he  will  here  insert  for  the  confirmation  of  thoso 
who,  though  only '  two  or  three'  in  any  one  place, 
are  acting  in  confidence  in  the  sufficiency  of 
'  God  and  the  word  of  His  grace'  to  'build  them 
up.' 

If  the  conference  had  been  really  carried  on 
in  the  reverential  sense  of  the  presence  of  the 
Spirit,  (Acts  i.  24,  Eph.  ii.  22.)  it  might  have 
been  asked,  and  so  have  come  down  to  us,  on 
what  passage  in  St.  Paul  these  persons  grounded 
their  choosing  of  their  pastor. 

But  would  not  the  recognition  of  His  presence 
have  led  to  the  acknowledgment  of  His  '  divi- 
ding' gifts  to  the  mutually  dependant  members, 
(1  Cor.  xii.  25.  xiv.  31.)  '  according  to  His  own 
will'? — (1  Cor.  xii.  11.)  and  so  have  prevented 
the  assertion  of  a  right  on  their  part  to  elect, — 
much  less  to  elect  to  exclusive  pastorship  ? 

Luther  was  a  brother,  and  one  not  meanly 
gifted  for  service  to  the  body  ; — might  it  not  have 
been  expected  that  Carlstadt,  calling  to  mind 
Romans  xii.  and  1  Cor.  xiv.  3,  31,  would  have 
welcomed  the  word  of  Luther  in  the  little  church 
of  Orlamund, — and  that  that  word  would  have 
been  just  the  very  corrective,  or  rather  comple- 
ment, needed  by  the  peculiarity  of  Carlstadt's 
teaching, — for  as  M.  D'Aubigne  has  observed, 
the  turn  of  mind  of  each  had  its  value. 

Instead  of  (his,  we  find  the  Great  Reformer 
saying,  "  The  Elector  and  the  University  will 
not  acknowledge  Carlstadt  as  your  pastor  ;"  and 
the  church  of  Orlamund  replying,  "  We  have 
chosen  him ;" — the  two  forms  of  disobedient  lim- 
iting of  the  teaching  of  the  Spirit,  with  which 
Christians  have  become  so  familiar, — and  which, 
in  their  want  of  faith,  almost  all  are  helping  to 
perpetuate. 

See  the  reflections  at  the  opening  of  the  Xlth 
Book  of  this  history.  The  heart  that  is  exercised 
by  these  things  should  consider  John  xiv.  16,  26  ; 
xvi.  7  ;  xvii.  21 ;  Acts  v.  3 ;  Rom.  viii.  9  ;  1  Cor. 
xi.  2  ;  xiv.  37  ;  Eph.  iv.  16  ;  1  Th.  iv.  18 ;  v.  11 ; 
Heb.  iii.  13. 


MOVEMENTS  IN  GERMANY. 


465 


Luther,  said,  "  Dear  Doctor,  if  you  will 
allow  me,  I  will  give  you  induction." 

Luther. — "  You  are  my  antagonist. 
I  have  fixed  you  by  the  pledge  of  a  flo- 
rin." 

Carlstadt. — "  I  will  be  your  antag- 
onist so  long  as  you  are  opposed  to  God 
and  his  truth." 

Luther. — "  Leave  the  room  ;  I  cannot 
allow  of  your  being  present." 

Carlstadt. — "  This  is  an  open  meet- 
ing)— if  your  cause  is  good,  why  fear 
me?" 

Luther,  to  his  attendant : — «  Go, — put 
the  horses  to  :  I  have  nothing  to  say  here 
to  Carlstadt ;  and  since  he  will  not  leave, 
I  shall  go."*  Luther  rose  from  his  seat, 
upon  which  Carlstadt  withdrew. 

After  a  moment's  silence,  Luther  re- 
sumed : — "  Only  prove  from  the  Scrip- 
ture that  it  is  our  duty  to  destroy  images." 
One  of  the  Town  Council. — "  Doc- 
tor, you  will  allow,  I  suppose,  that 
Moses  was  acquainted  with  God's  com- 
mandments." This  said,  he  opened  his 
Bible.  "  Well,  here  are  his  words, — 
'  Thou  shalt  not  make  to  thyself  any  gra- 
ven image,  nor  any  likeness  J  "  &c. 

Luther. — "  The  passage  refers  only 
to  images  for  idolatrous  worship.  If  [ 
hang  up,  in  my  chamber,  a  crucifix,  and 
do  not  worship  it ;  what  harm  can  it  do 
me?" 

A  Shoemaker.—"  I  have  often  touched 
my  hat  before  an  image  which  was  in 
my  room,  or  on  my  mantlepiece.  It  is 
an  act  of  idolatry  which  robs  God  of  the 
glory  due  to  him  alone." 

Luther. — "  Would  you  think  it  ne- 
cessary, then,  because  they  are  abused,  to 
put  your  women  to  death,  and  pour  your 
wine  into  the  gutter  ?"f 

Another  Member  of  the  Church. — 
"  No  :  they  are  God's  creatures,  which 
we  are  not  commanded  to  destroy." 

The  conference  had  lasted  some  time. 
Luther  and  his  attendant  returned  to 
their  carriage,  astonished  at  the  scene 
they  had  witnessed,  and  having  failed  to 
convince  the  inhabitants,  who  claimed 
for  themselves  the  right  of  interpreting 
and  freely  expounding  the  Scripture. 
Agitation  reigned  in  Orlamund.  The 
people  insulted  Luther ;  and  some  even 

*  Spann  an,  spann  an. — (L.  Opp.  xix.  p.  154.) 
t  So  muss  du  des  Missbrauchs  halber  auch. — 
(Ibid.  p.  155.) 

59 


called  after  him, — "  Begone  !  in  the  name 
of  all  the  devils ;  and  may  you  break 
your  neck  before  you  are  out  of  our 
town."*  Never  had  the  Reformer  had 
to  undergo  such  contemptuous  treatment. 

He  repaired  thence  to  Kale,  the  pas- 
tor of  which  place  had  also  embraced 
the  views  of  Carlstadt.  He  resolved  to 
preach  a  sermon  there  ;  but  on  entering 
the  pulpit,  he  found  the  broken  frag- 
ments of  a  crucifix.  At  first  his  emo- 
tion overcame  him  ;  but  recovering  him- 
self, he  gathered  up  the  pieces  into  one 
corner  of  the  pulpit,  and  delivered  a  dis- 
course in  which  he  made  no  allusion  to 
the  circumstance.  "  I  determined,"  said 
he,  speaking  of  it  in  after  life,  "  to  re- 
venge myself  on  the  devil  by  this  con- 
tempt for  him." 

The  nearer  the  Elector's  life  drew  to 
a  close,  the  more  did  he  appear  to  dread 
lest  men  should  go  too  far  in  the  work 
of  Reformation.  He  issued  orders  to  de- 
prive Carlstadt  of  his  appointments,  and 
banished  him,  not  only  from  Orlamund, 
but  from  the  states  of  the  Electorate.  It 
was  in  vain  that  the  Church  of  Orla- 
mund interceded  in  his  behalf, — in  vain 
did  they  petition  that  he  might  be  per- 
mitted to  reside  among  them  as  a  private 
citizen,  with  leave  occasionally  to  preach, 
— in  vain  did  they  represent  that  the 
word  of  God  was  dearer  to  them  than 
the  whole  world,  or  even  a  thousand 
worlds.!  Frederic  was  deaf  to  their  en- 
treaties, and  he  even  went  the  length  of 
refusing  the  unhappy  Carlstadt  the  funds 
necessarily  required  for  his  journey. 
Luther  had  nothing  to  do  with  this 
sternness  on  the  part  of  the  Prince  :  it 
was  foreign  to  his  disposition, — and  this 
he  afterwards  proved.  But  Carlstadt 
looked  at  him  as  the  author  of  his  dis- 
grace, and  filled  Germany  with  his  com- 
plaints and  lamentations.  He  wrote  a 
farewell  letter  to  his  friends  at  Orlamund. 
The  bells  were  tolled,  and  the  letter  read 
in  presence  of  the  sorrowing  Church.J 
It   was   signed — "  Andrew    Bodenstein, 


*  Two  of  the  most  distinguished  living-  histori- 
ans of  Germany  add,  that  Luther  was  pelted  by 
the  inhabitants  ;  but  Luther  tells  us  the  contrary: 
— "  Dass  ich  nit  mit  Steinen  und  Dreck  ausge- 
worffen  ward." — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  579.) 

f  Hoher  als  tausend  Welten. — (Seek.  p.  628.) 
t  Qua?  publice  vocatis  per  campanas  loct:e  sunt 
omnibus  simul  flenlibus. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  558.) 


466 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


expelled  by  Luther,  unconvicted,  and 
without  even  a  hearing." 

It  is  impossible  not  to  feel  a  pain  at 
contemplating  these  two  men,  once 
friends,  and  both  worthy  of  our  esteem, 
thus  angrily  opposed.  Sadness  took  pos- 
session of  the  souls  of  the  disciples  of 
the  Reformation.  What  would  be  the 
end  of  it,  when  thus  its  bravest  defend- 
ers turned  one  against  another  1  Luther 
could  discern  these  fears,  and  endeavour- 
ed to  allay  them.  "  Let  us  contend," 
said  he,  "  as  those  who  fight  for  another. 
It  is  God's  cause  :*  the  care  of  it  belongs 
to  God, — the  work,  the  victory,  and  the 
glory,  all  are  His.  He  will  fight  for  it, 
and  prevail,  though  we  should  stand  still. 
Whatever  He  decrees  should  fall,  let  it 
fall, — whatever  He  wills  should  stand, 
let  that  stand.  It  is  no  cause  of  our  own 
that  is  at  stake ;  and  we  seek  not  our 
own  glory." 

Carlstadt  sought  refuge  at  Strasburg, 
whore  he  published  several  writings. 
u  He  was  well  acquainted,"  says  Doctor 
Schcur,  "  with  Latin,  Greek,  and  He- 
brew ;"  and  Luther  acknowledged  him 
to  be  his  superior  in  learning.  Endow- 
ed Avith  great  powers  of  mind,  he  sacri- 
ficed to  his  convictions  fame,  station, 
country,  and  even  his  bread.  At  a  later 
period  of  his  life  he  visited  Switzerland. 
There,  it  might  seem,  he  ought  to  have 
commenced  his  teaching.  The  indepen- 
dence of  his  spirit  needed  the  free  air 
breathed  by  the  CEcolampadiuses  and 
Zwingles.  His  instructions  soon  at- 
tracted an  attention  nearly  equal  to  that 
which  had  been  excited  by  the  earliest 
theses  put  forth  by  Luther.  Switzerland 
seemed  almost  gained  over  to  his  doc- 
trine. Burer  and  Capito  also  appeared 
to  adopt  his  views. 

Then  it  was  that  Luther's  indignation 
rose  to  its  height ;  and  he  put  forth  one 
of  the  most  powerful  but  also  most  out- 
rageous of  his  controversial  writings, — 
his  book  "  Against  the  Celestial  Proph- 
ets." 

Thus  the  Reformation,  hunted  down  by 
the  Pope,  the  Emperor  and  the  Princes, 
began  to  tear  its  own  vitals.  It  seemed 
to  be  sinking  under  accumulated  evils ; 
and  surely  it  would  have  been  lost  if  it 

*  Causa  Dei  est,  cura  Dei  est,  opus  Dei  est, 
victoria  Dei  est,  gloria  Dei  est. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p. 
556.) 


ad  been  a  work  of  man.  But  soon 
from  the  very  brink  of  ruin  it  rose  again 
in  renewed  energy. 

The  Catholic  League  of  Ratisbon, 
and  the  persecutions  that  followed  close 
upon  it,  created  a  powerful  popular  re- 
action. The  Germans  were  not  disposed 
to  surrender  that  word  of  God  of  which 
they  had  recovered  possession ;  and  when 
orders  to  that  effect  came  to  them  from 
Charles  V.,  though  backed  by  papal 
bulls  and  the  faggots  of  Ferdinand,  and 
other  Catholic  Princes,  they  returned  for 
an  answer, — "  We  will  not  give  it  up." 

No  sooner  had  the  members  of  the 
League  taken  their  departure  from  Ra- 
tisbon, when  the  deputies  of  the  towns 
whose  bishops  had  taken  part  in  that  al- 
liance, surprised  and  indignant,  assem- 
bled at  Spires,  and  passed  a  law,  that, 
notwithstanding  the  episcopal  prohibi- 
tions, their  preachers  should  confine 
themselves  to  the  proclamation  of  the 
Gospel,  and  the  Gospel  only,  according 
to  the  doctrine  of  the  apostles  and  proph- 
ets. They  proceeded  to  prepare  a  re- 
port, couched  in  firm  and  consistent 
terms,  to  be  presented  to  the  assembly  of 
their  nation. 

The  Emperor's  letter,  dated  from  Bur- 
gos, came  unseasonably  to  disturb  their 
plans.  Nevertheless,  toward  the  close 
of  that  year,  the  deputies  of  the  towns 
and  many  nobles  assembling  at  Ulm, 
bound  themselves  by  solemn  oath  to  as- 
sist one  another,  in  case  of  an  attack. 

Thus  the  free  cities  opposed  to  the 
camp  that  had  been  formed  by  Austria, 
Bavaria,  and  the  bishops,  another,  in 
which  the  standard  of  the  Gospel  and  of 
the  national  liberties  was  unfurled. 

Whilst  the  cities  were  placing  them- 
selves in  the  van  of  the  Reformation,  seve- 
ral princes  were,  about  the  same  time,  gain- 
ed over  to  its  ranks.  In  the  beginning- 
of  June,  1524,  Melancthon  was  return- 
ing, on  horseback,  from  a  visit  to  his 
mother,  in  company  with  Camerarius 
and  some  other  friends,  when,  approach- 
ing Frankfort,  he  met  a  brilliant  retinue  ; 
— it  was  Philip,  Landgrave  of  Hesse, 
who,  three  years  previously,  had  visited 
Luther  at  Worms,  and  was  now  on  his 
way  to  the  games  of  Heidelberg,  where 
most  of  the  princes  of  Germany  were 
expected  to  be  present. 

Thus   did   Providence   bring  Philip 


MOVEMENTS  IN  GERMANY. 


467 


successively  in  contact  with  the  two  lead- 
ing Reformers.  It  was  known  that  the 
celebrated  Doctor  was  gone  on  a  journey 
to  his  birth-place.  One  of  the  horsemen 
who  accompanied  the  Landgrave  re- 
marked,— "  It  is  Melancthon,  I  think." 
Immediately  the  young  Prince  put  spurs 
to  his  horse,  and  coming  up  with  the 
Doctor,  enquired, — "  Is  your  name 
Philip?"  "  It  is/'  replied  he,  drawing 
back  timidly,  and  preparing  respectfully 
to  alight.*  "  Keep  your  saddle,"  said 
the  Prince,  "  turn  your  horse's  head,  and 
come  stay  one  night  with  me  ;  there  are 
some  things  1  want  to  speak  with  you 
about.  Fear  nothing."  "  What  can  I 
liar  from  a  prince  like  yourself!"  rejoin- 
ed the  Doctor.  "  Ah,  ah,"  said  the  Land- 
grave, laughing,  "  if  I  were  only  to  car- 
ry you  off,  and  hand  you  over  to  Cam- 
peggio,  he  would  not  be  a  little  pleased, 
I  suspect."  The  two  Philips  rode  on- 
ward side  by  side, — the  Prince  asking 
questions,  and  the  Doctor  answering ; 
and  the  Landgrave  delighted  with  the 
clear  and  impressive  views  that  were 
opened  before  him.  At  length,  Melanc- 
thon entreating  him  to  permit  him  to 
continue  his  journeyj  Philip  reluctantly 
parted  with  him.  '■  On  one  condition," 
said  he, ':  and  that  is,  that,  on  your  return 
home,  you  should  treat  fully  the  ques- 
tions we  have  discussed,!  and  send  me 
your  thoughts  in  writing."  Melancthon 
promised.  "  Go,  then,"  said  Philip, 
t;  and  pass  freely  through  my  states." 

Melancthon,  with  his  accustomed  ta- 
lent, prepared  an  Abridgment  of  the 
Reformed  Doctrine  of  Christianity  ;\  and 
this  tract,  remarkable  for  its  conciseness 
and  force  of  argument,  made  a  decided 
impression  upon  the  mind  of  the  Land- 
grave. Shortly  after  his  return  from  the 
Heidelberg  games,  this  Prince  issued  an 
edict,  in  which,  without  connecting  him- 
self with  the  free  towns,  he  opposed  the 
League  of  Ratisbon,  and  directed  that 
the  Gospel  should  be  preached  in  all  its 
purity.  He  embraced  it  himself,  with 
the  energy  that  marked  his  character. 
l-  Rather,"  exclaimed  he,  "  would  I  sacri- 
fice my  body,  my  life,  my   estates,  and 

*  Honoris  causa  de  equo  descensurus. — (Ca- 
merarius,  p.  94.) 

t  Ut  de  qua3stionibus  quas  audiisset  moveri, 
aliquid  diligenter  conscriptum  curaret. — (Ibid.) 

t  Epitome  renovatae  ecclesiasticoe  doctrinae. 


my  subjects,  than  the  word  of  God."  A 
Franciscan  friar,  named  Ferber,  perceiv- 
ing this  inclination  of  the  Prince  in  fa- 
vour of  the  Reformation,  wrote  him  a 
letter  filled  with  reproaches  and  entrea- 
ties to  continue  faithful  to  Rome.  "  I 
am  resolved,"  answered  Philip,  "  to  be 
faithful  to  the  ancient  doctrine, — but  as  I 
find  it  set  forth  in  the  Scriptures :"  and 
he  proceeded  to  prove,  with  much  clear- 
ness of  statement,  that  man  is  justified  by 
faith  alone.  The  monk,  confounded, 
made  no  reply.*  The  Landgrave  was 
commonly  spoken  of  as  "  the  disciple  of 
Melancthon.'' f 

Other  Princes  followed  the  same 
course.  The  Elector  Palatine  refused 
to  countenance  the  slighest  persecution  ; 
the  Duke  of  Luneburg,  nephew  of  the 
Elector  of  Saxony,  began  the  Reformation 
in  his  dominions;  and  the  King  of  Den- 
mark gave  orders  that,  throughout  Sles- 
wick  and  Holstein,  every  one  should  be 
at  liberty  to  worship  God  according  as 
his  conscience  dictated. 

The  Reformation  gained  a  victory 
yet  more  important.  A  Prince,  whose 
conversion  to  Gospel  truth  involved  con- 
sequences most  momentous  to  our  own 
times,  now  evinced  a  disposition  to  with- 
draw from  Rome.  One  day,  towards 
the  end  of  June,  shortly  after  the  return 
of  Melancthon  to  Wittemberg,  Albert, 
Margrave  of  Brandenburg,  and  Grand 
Master  of  the  Teutonic  Order,  entered 
Luther's  apartment.  This  chief  of  the 
monastic  knights  of  Germany,  who  then 
governed  Prussia,  had  repaired  to  the 
Diet  of  Nuremberg,  to  invoke  the  aid 
of  the  Empire  against  Poland.  He  re- 
turned broken  in  spirit.  On  one  hand, 
Osiander's  preaching,  and  the  reading 
of  the  New  Testament,  had  convinced 
him  that  his  monk's  vow  was  contrary 
to  the  word  of  God ;  on  the  other,  the 
suppression  of  the  national  government 
in  Germany  had  deprived  him  of  all 
hope  of  obtaining  the  assistance  which 
he  had  come  to  solicit.  What  was  to 
be  done.  .  .  .  1  The  Saxon  councillor, 
De  Planitz,  in  whose  company  he  had 
left  Nuremberg,  proposed  to  him  to  seek 
an  interview  with  the  Reformer.  "  What 
think  you,"  said  the  anxious  and  agitated 

*  Seckendorf,  p.  738. 

t  Princeps  ille  discipulus  Philippi  fuit  a  quibua- 
dam  appellatus. — (Oamer.  p.  95.) 


468 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


Prince  to  Luther,  "  of  the  rule  of  our 
order  ?,"  Luther  did  not  hesitate  ;  he 
saw  that  a  course  of  conduct  in  confor- 
mity with  the  Gospel  was,  also,  the  only 
means  of  saving  Prussia.  "  Look  to  God 
for  assistance,"  said  he,  to  the  Grand 
Master,  "  and  reject  the  senseless  and 
inconsistent  rule  of  your  order ;  put  an 
end  to  your  detestable  hermaphrodite 
principality,  neither  religious  nor  secu- 
lar ;*  away  with  mere  pretended  chas- 
tity, and  seek  that  which  is  the  true. 
Take  a  wife — and  become  the  founder 
of  a  legitimate  empire,  in  the  place  of 
that  anomalous  monster,  "f  These  words 
set  clearly  before  the  mind  of  the  Grand 
Master  a  state  of  things  which  he  had 
as  yet  seen  but  indistinctly.  A  smile 
lighted  up  his  countenance  ;  but  he  was 
too  prudent  to  give  utterance  to  his 
thoughts.  J  Melancthon,  who  was  pres- 
ent, spoke  to  the  same  effect  as  Luther, 
and  the  Prince  set  out  to  return  to  his 
dominions,  leaving  the  Reformers  in  the 
confident  hope  that  the  seed  which  they 
had  sown  would  sink  down  into  his 
heart,  and  one  day  bring  forth  fruit. 

Thus,  as  we  have  seen,  Charles  the 
Fifth  and  the  Pope  had  opposed  the  na- 
tional assembly  at  Spires,  fearing  lest  the 
Word  of  God  should  win  over  all  pres- 
ent ;  but  the  Word  of  God  was  not 
bound.  It  was  denied  a  hearing  in  a 
hall  of  a  town  of  the  Lower  Palatinate. 
But  what  then  ? — it  burst  forth  and 
spread  throughout  the  provinces,  stir- 
ring the  hearts  of  the  people,  enlighten- 
ing the  Princes  and  developing  that 
Divine  power,  of  which  neither  Bulls 
nor  Ordinances  can  ever  divest  it. 

Whilst  nations  and  their  rulers  were 
thus  coming  to  the  light,  the  Reformers 
were  endeavouring  to  remould  every 
thing  by  the  infusion  of  the  true  prin- 
ciples of  Christianity.  Public  worship 
first  engaged  their  attention.  The  mo- 
ment, anticipated  by  the  Reformer,  when 
returning  from  the  Wartburg,  had  ar- 
rived :  "  Now,"  said  he,  "  that  hearts 
have  been  fortified  by  Divine  Grace,  we 
must  put  away  those  things  which  defile 
the  Lord's  kingdom,  and  attempt  to  do 

*  Ut  loco  illius  abominabilis  principatus,  qui 
hermaphrodita  quidam. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  527.) 

t  Ut  contempta  istu  stulta  confusaque  regula, 
uxorem  duceret. — (Ibid.) 

t  Me  turn  arrisit,  sed  nihil  respondit. — (Ibid.) 


something  in  the  Name  of  Jesus."  He 
required  that  the  communion  should  be 
taken  under  both  kinds ;  that  the  Sup- 
per should  be  cleared  of  every  thing 
which  gave  to  it  the  character  of  a  sacri- 
fice ;*  that  Christians  should  never  as- 
semble themselves  together  without  hav- 
ing the  word  of  God  preached  to  them  |f 
that  the  flock,  or  at  least  the  priests  and 
students,  should  meet  every  morning  at 
four  or  five  o'clock,  to  read  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, and  every  evening  at  five  or  six 
o'clock,  to  read  the  New  Testament ; 
that  on  Sundays  the  whole  church 
should  meet  together,  morning  and  af- 
ternoon, and  that  the  great  object  of  the 
services  should  be  to  sound  abroad  the 
Word  of  God4 

The  church  of  All  Saints,  at  Wittem- 
berg,  especially  called  forth  his  indigna 
tion.  In  it,  (to  quote  the  words  of  Seck- 
endorf,)  9,901  masses  were  annually 
celebrated,  and  35,570  lbs.  of  wax  annu- 
ally consumed.  Luther  called  it  "  the 
sacrilege  of  Tophet."  "  There  are," 
said  he,  "  only  three  or  four  lazy  monks 
who  still  worship  this  shameful  Mam- 
mon ;  and  if  I  had  not  restrained  the 
people,  this  abode  of  all  Saints,  or  rather 
of  all  Devils,  would  have  been  brought 
down  with  a  crash  such  as  the  world 
has  never  yet  heard." 

It  was  in  connection  with  this  church 
that  the  conflict  began.  It  resembled 
those  ancient  sanctuaries  of  heathen 
worship  in  Egypt,  Gaul,  and  Germany, 
which  were  ordained  to  fall,  that  Chris- 
tianity might  be  established  in  their 
place. 

Luther,  earnestly  desiring  that  the 
mass  should  be  abolished  in  this  cathe- 
dral, addressed  to  the  chapter  on  the  1st 
March,  1523,  a  requisition  to  that  effect, 
following  it  up  by  a  second  letter  dated 
the  11th  July.§  The  canons  having 
pleaded  the  Elector's  orders, — "  What, 
in  this  case,  have  we  to  do  with  the 
prince's  orders  ?"  remarked  Luther :  "  he 
is  but  a  secular  prince  ;  his  business  is 
to  bear  the  sword,  and  not  to  interfere 


*  Weise  christliche  Messe  zu  halten. — (L. 
Opp.  (L.)  xxii.  p.  232.) 

t  Die  christliche  Gemeine  nimmer  soil  zusam- 
men  kommen,  es  werde  denn  daselbst  Gottes 
Wort  geprediget. — (L.  Opp.  xxii.  226.) 

t  Dass  das  Wort  im  Schwange  gehe. — (Ibid.) 

§  L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  308,  and  854. 


MOVEMENTS  IN  GERMANY. 


469 


in  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel."*  Luther 
here  clearly  marks  the  distinction  be- 
tween the  State  and  the  Church. 
"  There  is,"  said  he  again,  "  but  one 
sacrifice  to  put  away  sins, — Christ,  who 
has  offered  himself  once  for  all ;  and  we 
are  partakers  thereof,  not  by  any  works 
or  sacrifices  of  ours, — but  solely  through 
belief  of  the  word  of  God." 

The  Elector,  feeling  his  end  approach- 
ing, was  averse  from  further  change. 

But  entreaties  from  other  quarters 
came  in  aid  of  those  of  Luther.  "  It  is 
high  time  to  act,"  wrote  the  cathedral 
provost,  Jonas,  to  the  Elector :  "  such  a 
shining  forth  of  Gospel  truth,  as  that 
which  we  have  at  this  hour,  does  not 
ordinarily  last  longer  than  a  sunbeam. 
Let  us  then  lose  no  time."j" 

This  letter  of  Jonas,  not  having 
changed  the  Elector's  views,  Luther  be- 
came impatient  ;  he  judged  that  the 
time  had  come  to  strike  the  final  blow, 
and  he  addressed  a  letter  of  menace  to  the 
chapter.  "  I  beg  of  you,  as  a  friend ; — J 
desire  and  seriously  urge  it  upon  you  to 
put  an  end  to  this  sectarian  worship.  If 
you  refuse  to  do  so,  you  shall,  God  help- 
ing, receive  the  punishment  which  you 
will  have  deserved.  I  say  this  for  your 
guidance,  and  I  request  an  immediate 
reply — yes,  or  no — before  Sunday  next, 
in  order  that  I  may  consider  what  I  have 
to  do.  God  give  you  grace  to  follow 
His  light.:}: 

"  Martin  Luther, 
"  Preacher  at  Wittemberg. 
W  Thursday,  Dec.  8th,  1524." 

At  this  juncture  the  rector,  two  burgo- 
masters, and  ten  councillors,  waited  upon 
the  Dean,  and  begged  him,  in  the  name 
of  the  university,  of  the  council,  and  of 
the  commune  of  Wittemberg,  "  to  abolish 
the  great  and  horrible  impiety  committed 
against  the  majesty  of  God,  in  the  cele- 
bration of  mass." 

The  chapter  found  it  necessary  to  give 
way,  and  declared  that,  enlightened  by 
the  word  of  God,§  they  acknowledged 
the  abuses  which  had  been  denounced, 
and  published  a  new  order  of  service, 

*  Welchem  gebiihrt  das  Schwerd,  nicht  das 
Predigtamt  zuversorgen. — (L.  Opp.  xviii.  p.  497.) 

t  Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  636. 

t  L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  565. 

§  Durch  das  Licht  des  heiligen  gottlichen 
Wortes  . .  .  . — (L.  Opp.  xviii.  p.  502.) 


which  began  to  be  observed  on  Christ- 
mas Day,  1524. 

Thus  fell  the  Mass,  in  this  renowned 
sanctuary,  where  it  had  so  long  held  out 
against  the  reiterated  attacks  of  the  Re- 
formers. The  Elector  Frederic,  suffer- 
ing from  gout,  and  drawing  near  his  end, 
could  not,  by  any  efforts  of  his,  retard 
this  great  triumph  of  the  Reformation. 
He  saw  in  it  the  will  of  God,  and  sub- 
mitted to  it.  The  cessation  of  Romish 
observances,  in  the  church  of  All  Saints, 
hastened  their  abolition  in  many  of  the 
churches  of  Christendom.  In  all  quarters 
there  was  similar  resistance,  but  also  the 
like  victory.  Vainly  did  priests,  and 
even  princes  in  many  places,  try  to 
interpose  obstacles ;  they  could  effect 
nothing. 

It  was  not  alone  in  public  worship 
that  the  Reformation  was  ordained  to 
work  a  change.  Education  was  very 
early  associated  with  the  Reformed 
Church,  and  these  two  institutions,  in 
their  power  to  regenerate  mankind,  were 
alike  invigorated  by  its  influence.  It 
was  in  intimate  alliance  with  letters  that 
the  Reformation  had  made  its  appearance 
in  the  world ;  and,  in  the  hour  of  its 
triumph,  it  did  not  forget  its  ally. 

Christianity  is  not  a  mere  expansion 
of  Judaism ;  its  great  end  is  not  again  to 
envelop  man,  as  the  Papacy  seeks  to  do, 
in  the  swaddling  bands  of  outward  ordi- 
nances and  man's  teaching.  Christianity 
is  a  new  creation  ;  it  takes  possession  of 
the  inward  man,  and  transforms  him  in 
the  innermost  principles  of  his  nature ; 
so  that  he  needeth  not  human  teaching, 
but,  by  God's  help,  is  able,  of  himself, 
and  by  himself,  to  discern  that  which  is 
true,  and  to  do  that  which  is  right.* 

To  bring  man  to  that  maturity  which 
Christ  has  purchased  for  him,  and  to 
emancipate  him  from  the  tutelage  in 
which  Rome  had  so  long  held  him 
bound,  the  Reformation  must  needs  de- 
velop the  whole  man ;  and,  while  by 
the  Word  of  God  it  regenerated  his 
heart  and  will,  it  enlightened  his  under- 
standing by  the  study  of  sacred  and  pro- 
fane literature. 

Luther  understood  this ;  he  felt  that 
to  consolidate  the  Reformation,  he  must 
work  on  the  minds  of  the  rising  genera- 
tion, remodel  the  schools,  and  propagate 
*  Heb.  chap.  viii.  11. 


470 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


throughout  Christendom  the  knowledge 
necessary  for  a  deep  study  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures.  This,  therefore,  was  one  of 
the  objects  of  his  life.  He  was  especial- 
ly impressed  with  this  conviction,  at  this 
period  of  his  history,  and,  accordingly, 
he  addressed  a  letter  to  the  councillors 
of  all  the  towns  in  Germany,  urging 
them  to  found  Christian  schools.  "  Dear 
sirs,"  said  he,  "so  much  money  is  an- 
nually expended  in  arquebuses,  making 
roads,  and  constructing  dykes, — how  is 
it  that  a  little  is  not  expended  in  paying 
one  or  two  schoolmasters  to  instruct  our 
poor  children  %  God  stands  at  the  door, 
and  knocks ;  blessed  are  we  if  we  open 
to  Him !  Now-a-days,  there  is  no  famine 
of  God's  word.  My  dear  countrymen, 
buy,  buy,  whilst  the  market  is  opened 
before  your  dwellings.  The  Word  of 
God  and  His  grace  resembles  a  shower 
which  falls  and  passes  on.  It  fell  among 
the  Jews ;  but  it  passed  away,  and  now 
they  have  it  no  longer.  Paul  bore  it 
with  him  to  Greece  ;  but  there  also  it  is 
passed,  and  Mahometanism  prevails  in 
its  place.  It  came  to  Rome  and  the 
Latin  territories  ;  but  from  thence  it  like- 
wise departed,  and  now  Rome  has  the 
Pope.*  O  !  Germans,  think  not  that  you 
will  never  have  that  Word  taken  away 
from  you.  The  little  value  you  put  upon 
it  will  cause  it  to  be  withdrawn.  There- 
fore, he  who  would  have  it.  must  lay 
hold  upon  and  keep  it. 

"  Let  our  youth  be  the  objects  of  your 
care,"  he  continued,  addressing  the  mag- 
istrates, "  for  many  parents  are  like  the 
ostrich,  their  hearts  are  hardened  against 
their  young,  and,  satisfied  with  having 
laid  the  egg,  they  give  themselves  no 
further  trouble  about  it.  The  prosperity 
of  a  town  does  not  consist  in  amassing 
wealth,  erecting  walls,  building  man- 
sions, and  the  possession  of  arms.  If 
attacked  by  a  party  of  madmen,  its  ruin 
and  devastation  would  only  be  the  more 
terrible.  The  true  well-being  of  a  town, 
its  security,  its  strength,  is  to  number 
within  it  many  learned,  serious,  kind, 
and  well-educated  citizens.  And  who  is 
to  blame  that  there  are  found,  in  our 
days,  so  few  of  this  stamp,  but  you, 
magistrates,  who  have  suffered  our  youth 

*  Aber  bin  ist  hin  ;  sie  haben  nun  den  Papet. 
— (L.  Opp.  W.  x.  535.) 


to  grow  up  like  the  neglected  growth  of 
the  forest?" 

Luther  especially  insisted  on  the  ne- 
cesity  for  the  study  of  literature  and  lan- 
guages :  "  We  are  asked,"  says  he, "  what 
is  the  use  of  learning  Latin,  Greek,  and 
Hebrew,  when  we  can  read  the  Bible  in 
German  1  But  for  the  languages/'  he  re- 
plied, "  we  should  never  have  received  the 
Gospel .  . .  Languages  are  the  scabbard  in 
which  the  sword  of  the  Spirit*  is  found ; 
they  are  the  casket  which  holds  the  jew- 
els; they  are  the  vessels  which  contain 
the  new  wine ;  they  are  the  baskets  in 
which  are  kept  the  loaves  and  fishes 
which  are  to  feed  the  multitude.  If  we 
cease  to  study  languages,  we  shall  not 
only  lose  the  Gospel,  but,  eventually,  we 
shall  be  unable  either  to  speak  or  write  in 
Latin  or  in  German.  From  the  hour  we 
throw  them  aside,  Christianity  may  date 
its  decline,  even  to  falling  again  under 
the  dominion  of  the  Pope.  But  now  that 
languages  are  once  more  held  in  estima- 
tion, they  diffuse  such  light  that  all  man- 
kind are  astonished — and  that  every  one , 
may  see  that  the  Gospel  we  preach  is  al- 
most as  pure  as  that  of  the  Apostles 
themselves.  The  holy  Fathers  of  other 
days,  made  many  mistakes  by  reason  of 
their  ignorance  of  languages ;  in  our 
time,  some,  like  the  Vaudois  of  Pied- 
mont, do  not  attach  value  to  the  study  of 
them  ;  but  though  their  doctrine  may  be 
sound,  they  often  fail  of  the  real  meaning 
of  the  Sacred  Text ;  they  are  without  a 
safeguard  against  error,  and  I  much  fear 
that  their  faith  will  not  continue  pur*e.f 
If  a  knowledge  of  languages  had  not  giv- 
en me  the  certainty  of  the  true  sense  of  the 
Word,  I  might  have  been  a  pious  monk, 
quietly  preaching  the  Truth  in  the  ob- 
scurity of  the  cloister ;  but  I  should  have 
left  Pope,  sophists,  and  their  anti-chris- 
tian  power  in  the  ascendant.";}; 

But  Luther's  attention  was  not  limited 
to  the  education  of  ecclesiastics ; — he  was 
desirous  that  learning  should  no  longer 
be  confined  to  the  Church  alone  ;  and 
proposed  to  extend  it  to  the  laity,  who 

*  Die  Sprachen  sind  die  Scheide,  darinnen 
dies  Messer  des  Geistes  steeket. — (L.  Opp.  W. 
x.  p.  535.) 

t  Es  sey  oder  werde  nicht  lauter  bleiben. — 
(L.  Opp.  W.  x.  p.  535.) 

t  Ich  hatte  wohl  auch  konnen  fromm  seyn 
und  in  der  Stille  rechte  predigen. — (Ibid.) 


MOVEMENTS  IN  GERMANY. 


471 


had  hitherto  been  debarred  from  it.  He 
suggested  the  establishment  of  libraries, 
not  limited  merely  to  works  and  com- 
mentaries of  scholastic  divines  and  Fa- 
thers of  the  Church,  but  furnished  with  the 
productions  of  orators  and  poets,  even 
though  heathens,  as  also  with  books  of 
literature,  law,  medicine,  and  history. 
"Such  writings,"  said  he,  "are  of  use  to 
make  known  the  wonderful  works  of 
God." 

This  effort  of  Luther  is  one  of  the 
most  important  the  Reformation  produ- 
ced. It  wrested  learning  from  the  hands 
of  the  priests,  who  had  monopolised  it, 
like  those  of  Egypt  in  ancient  times, — 
and  rendered  it  accessible  to  all.  From 
this  impulse,  derived  from  the  Reforma- 
tion, some  of  the  greatest  developments 
of  later  ages  have  proceeded.  Literary 
men,  and  scholars  of  the  laity,  who  now- 
a-days  decry  the  Reformation,  forget  that 
they  are  themselves  its  offspring ;  and 
that,  but  for  its  influence,  they  would  at 
this  hour  be  like  half-educated  children, 
subject  to  the  tyrannical  authority  of  the 
clergy.  The  Reformation  recognised 
the  intimate  connection  of  all  branches  of 
learning,  receiving  all  to  learn,  and  open- 
ing all  the  avenues  to  learning.  "  They 
who  despise  general  literature,"  said  Me- 
lancthon,  "make  no  more  account  of  sa- 
cred theology.  Their  affected  contempt  is 
but  a  pretext  to  conceal  their  indolence."* 

The  Reformation  not  only  communi- 
cated a  mighty  impulse  to  literature,  but 
served  to  elevate  the  Arts,  although  Pro- 
testantism has  often  been  reproached  as 
their  enemy.  Many  Protestants  have 
willingly  taken,  up  and  borne  this  re- 
proach. We  will  not  examine  whether  or 
not  the  Reformation  ought  to  glory  in 
it ;  but  will  merely  remark,  that  impar- 
tial history  does  not  confirm  the  premises 
on  which  the  clergy  rests.  Let  Roman 
Catholicism  pride  itself  in  being  more 
favourable  than  Protestantism  to  the  arts. 
Be  it  so  :  Paganism  was  even  more  so  ; 
while  Protestantism  hath  somewhat  else 
to  glory  in.  There  are  some  religions 
in  which  the  disposition  in  man  to  a 
taste  for  the  fine  arts  has  a  place  assign- 
ed it  above  that  given  to  his  moral  na- 
ture. Christianity  is  distinguished  from 
these  by  the  fact  that  the  moral  element 

*  Hunc  titulum  ignaviae  suae  prsetextunt. — 
(Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  613.) 


is  its  essence.  Christian  principle  mani- 
fests itself,  not  in  productions  of  the  fine 
arts,  but  in  the  fruits  of  a  Christain  life. 
Every  sect  that  forgets  this  bearing  of 
Christianity  upon  morals,  forfeits  its  claim 
to  the  name  of  Christian.  Rome  has  not 
entirely  renounced  this  essential  charac- 
teristic, but  Protestantism  cherishes  it  in 
far  greater  purity.  It  takes  pleasure  in 
deep  acquaintance  with  morals,  discrimi- 
nating religious  actions  not  by  their  out- 
ward appearence  and  effect  upon  the  imag- 
ination, but  according  to  their  inherent 
worth,  and  their  bearing  upon  the  con- 
science ;  so  that,  if  the  Papacy  is  strongly 
marked  as  an  esthetic  system,  as  has 
been  proved  by  an  able  writer,*  Protes- 
tantism is  equally  characterised  as  a  mo- 
ral system. 

Nevertheless,  the  Reformation,  while 
primarily  appealing  to  the  moral  sense, 
addressed  the  whole  man.  We  have 
seen  how  it  spoke  to  his  understanding, 
and  what  it  did  for  literature :  it  spoke 
also  to  his  sensibility  and  imagination, 
and  thereby  contributed  to  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Arts.  The  Church  was  no 
longer  composed  exclusively  of  priests 
and  friars ;  it  was  the  assembly  of  the 
faithful ;  all  were  to  take  part  in  the  wor- 
ship ;  and  congregational  singing  was  to 
take  the  place  of  the  priests'  chaunting. 
Luther,  in  translating  the  Psalms,  had  in 
view  their  adaptation  to  be  sung  in  the 
churches.  Thus  a  taste  for  Music  was 
disseminated  throughout  the  nation. 

"  Next  to  theology,"  said  Luther, "  it  is 
to  Music  that  I  give  the  highest  place 
and  the  greatest  honour. f  A  schoolmas- 
ter," he  added,  "  ought  to  know  how  to 
sing  ;  without  this  qualification  I  would 
have  nothing  to  do  with  him." 

One  day,  when  some  fine  music  was 
performing,  he  exclaimed  in  transport, 
"  If  our  Lord  God  has  shed  forth  such 
wondrous  gifts  on  this  earth,  which  is  no 
better  than  a  dark  nook,  what  may  we 
not  expect  in  that  eternal  life  in  which 
we  shall  be  perfected."  From  the  days 
of  Luther,  the  congregated  worshippers 
have  taken  part  in  the  singing ;  the  Bi-: 
ble  has  been  the  great  theme  of  their 
songs,  and  the  impulse  communicated  at 

*  Chateaubriand,  Genie  du  Christianisme. 

t  Ich  gebe  nach  der  Theologie,  der  Musica 
den  nahestcn  Locum  und  hochste  Ehre. — (L. 
Opp.  W.  xxii.  p.  2253.) 


472 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


that  period  of  the  Reformation,  has  more 
recently  produced  those  noble  Oratorios, 
which  have  carried  the  art  to  its  highest 
point  of  attainment. 

Poetry  participated  in  the  movement. 
In  singing  the  praises  of  God,  Chris- 
tians were  not  willing  to  restrict  them- 
selves to  simple  renderings  of  ancient 
hymns.  The  souls  of  Luther  and  his 
contemporaries,  elevated  by  faith  to  the 
most  sublime  contemplations,  roused  to 
enthusiasm  by  the  dangers  and  struggles 
which  incessantly  threatened  the  infant 
Chuich,  inspired  by  the  poetry  of  the 
Old,  and  the  hope  of  the  New  Testament, 
soon  began  to  pour  out  their  feelings  in 
religious  songs,  in  which  poetry  and  mu- 
sic joined,  and  blended  th-eir  most  heav- 
enly accents  ;  and  thus  were  heard  revi- 
ving, in  the  sixteenth  century,  the  hymns 
which,  in  the  first  century,  soothed  the 
sufferings  of  the  martyrs.  In  1523,  Lu- 
ther, as  we  have  already  said,  consecra- 
ted it  to  commemorate  the  martyrs  of 
Brussels;  others  of  the  children  of  the 
Reformation  followed  his  example.  Many 
were  the  hymns  composed,  and  rapidly 
circulated  among  the  people,  and  greatly 
did  they  contribute  to  arouse  their  slum- 
bering minds.  It  was  in  this  same  year 
Hans  Sach  composed  the  "  Nightingale  of 
Wittenberg.'"  It  represented  the  teach- 
ing that  had  been  current  in  the  Church 
for  four  centuries  as  a  moonlight  time  of 
wandering  in  the  deserts.  But  the  night- 
ingale proclaimed  the  dawn,  and  soaring 
above  the  morning  mist,  sang  the  praise 
of  day. 

Whilst  lyric  poesy  was  thus  deriving 
from  the  Reformation  its  loftiest  inspira- 
tion, satirical  verses  and  dramas,  from 
the  pen  of  Hutten,  Murner,  and  Manuel 
were  attacking  the  most  flagrant  corrup- 
tions. 

It  is  to  the  Reformation  that  the  great 
poets  of  England,  Germany,  and  perhaps 
of  France,  are  indebted  for  the  highest 
flights  of  their  muse. 

Painting  was,  of  all  the  arts,  the  least 
affected  by  the  Reformation.  This,  nev- 
ertheless, was  renovated,  and,  as  it  were, 
hallowed  by  that  universal  movement 
which  was  then  communicated  to  all  the 
powers  of  man.  The  great  master  of 
that  age,  Lucas  Cranach,  settled  at  Wit- 
temberg,  and  became  the  painter  of  the 
Reformation.     We  have  seen  how   he 


represented  the  points  of  contrast  between 
Christ  and  Antichrist  (the  Pope,)  and 
was  thus  among  the  most  influential  in- 
struments in  that  change  by  which  the 
nation  was  transformed.  As  soon  as  he 
had  received  new  convictions,  he  devo- 
ted his  chastened  pencil  solely  to  paint- 
ings in  harmony  with  the  thoughts  of  a 
Christian,  and  gave  to  groups  of  children, 
represented  as  blessed  by  the  Saviour,  that 
peculiar  grace  with  which  he  had  previ- 
ously invested  legendary  saints. 

Albert  Durer  was  one  of  those  who 
were  attracted  by  the  Word  of  Truth,  and 
from  that  time,  a  new  impulse  was  given 
to  his  genius.  His  master-pieces  were 
produced  subsequently  to  conversion. 
It  might  have  been  discerned,  from  the 
style  in  which  he  thenceforward  depicted 
the  Evangelists  and  Apostles,  that  the  Bi- 
ble had  been  restored  to  the  people,  and 
that  the  painter  derived  thence  a  depth, 
power,  life,  and  dignity,  which  he  never 
would  have  found  within  himself* 

It  must,  however,  be  admitted,  that,  of 
all  the  arts,  Painting  is  that  one  whose 
influence  upon  religion  is  most  open  to 
well  founded  and  strong  objection.  We 
see  it  continually  connected  with  griev- 
ous immorality  or  pernicious  error  ;  and 
those  who  have  studied  history,  or  visit- 
ed Italy,  will  look  for  nothing  in  this  art 
of  benefit  to  human-kind.  Our  general 
remark  holds  good,  however,  notwith- 
standing this  exception. 

Thus  every  thing  progressed,  arts, 
literature,  purity  of  worship — and  the 
minds  of  prince  and  people.  But  this 
glorious  harmony,  which  the  Gospel,  in 
its  revival,  every  where  produced,  was 
on  the  eve  of  being  disturbed.  The 
melody  of  the  Wittemberg  Nightingale 
was  to  be  broken  in  upon  by  the  howl- 
ing of  the  tempest,  and  the  roaring  of  li- 
ons. In  a  moment  a  cloud  overspread 
Germany,  and  a  brilliant  day  was  suc- 
ceeded by  a  night  of  profound  darkness. 

A  political  ferment,  very  different  from 
that  which  the  Gospel  brings  with  it, 
had  long  been  secretly  working  in  the 
Empire.  Sinking  under  secular  and  ec- 
clesiastical oppression,  and,  in  some  of 
the  states,  forming  part  of  the  seigneuri- 
al  property  and  liable  to  sale  with  it,  the 
people  began  to  threaten  to  rise  in  insur- 
rection, and  burst  their  fetters.  This 
*  Ranke,  Deutsche  Geschichte,  ii.  p.  85. 


MOVEMENTS  IN  GERMANY. 


473 


spirit  of  resistance  had  shown  itself  long 
before  the  Reformation,  by  various  symp- 
toms ;  and  even  at  that  time  a  feeling  of 
religion  had  mingled  with  the  political 
elements  of  resistance.  It  was  impossible, 
in  the  sixteenth  century,  to  keep  asun- 
der two  principles  so  intimately  associa- 
ted with  the  existence  of  nations.  In 
Holland,  at  the  close  of  the  preceding 
century,  the  peasantry  had  made  an  in- 
surrection, representing  on  their  banners 
a  loaf  of  bread  and  a  cheese,  the  two  sta- 
ple articles  of  their  poor  country.  The 
"  alliance  of  the  shoes"  showed  itself  first 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  Spires,  in  1503  ; 
and  in  1513,  being  encouraged  by  the 
priests,  it  was  re-acted  at  Brisgau.  In 
1514,  Wurtemburg  was  the  scene  of"  the 
league  of  poor  Conrad,"  which  had  for 
its  object  to  sustain,  by  the  revolt,  "  the 
right  of  God."  In  1515,  Carinthia  and 
Hungary  had  been  the  theatre  of  terri- 
ble commotions.  These  seditious  move- 
ments had  been  arrested  by  torrents  of 
blood  ;  but  no  relief  had  been  afforded  to 
the  people.  A  political  reform  was:  there- 
fore, not  less  evidently  needed  than  reli- 
gious reform.  In  this  the  people  were 
right ;  but  it  must  be  admitted,  that  they 
were  not  ripe  for  its  enjoyment. 

Since  the  commencement  of  the  Ref- 
ormation these  popular  ferments  had  not 
been  repeated  ;  men's  minds  were  absorb- 
ed with  other  thoughts.  Luther,  whose 
penetrating  eye  had  discerned  the  condi- 
tion of  people's  minds,  had,  from  his  tow- 
er in  the  Wartburg,  addressed  to  them 
some  serious  exhortations,  of  a  nature  to 
pacify  their  agitated  feelings: — 

"Rebellion,"  he  observed,  "  never  ob- 
tains for  us  the  benefit  we  seek,  and  God 
condemns  it.  What  is  rebellion  ?  is  it  not 
to  revenge  oneself?  The  devil  tries  hard 
to  stir  up  to  rebellion  such  as  embrace 
the  Gospel,  that  it  may  be  covered  with 
reproach  ;  but  they  who  have  rightly  re- 
ceived the  truths  I  have  preached,  will 
not  be  found  in  rebellion."* 

The  aspect  of  things  gave  cause  to  fear 
that  the  popular  ferment  could  not  be 
much  longer  restrained.  The  govern- 
ment which  Frederic  of  Saxony  had  ta- 
ken pains  to  form,  and  which  possessed 
the  nation's  confidence,  was  broken  up. 

*  Luther's  treue  Ermahnung  an  alle  Christen 
sich  vor  Aufruhr  und  Emporung  zu  hiiten. — 
(Opp.  xviii.  p.  288.) 

6Q 


The  Emperor,  whose  energy  would  per- 
haps have  supplied  the  place  of  the  in- 
fluence of  the  national  administration,  was 
absent ;  the  princes,  whose  union  had  al- 
ways constituted  the  strength  of  Germany, 
were  at  variance;  and  the  new  manifestoes 
of  Charles  the  Fifth  against  Luther,  by 
excluding  all  hope  of  a  future  reconcilia- 
tion, deprived  the  Reformer  of  much  of 
the  moral  influence,  by  which,  in  1522, 
he  had  succeeded  in  calming  the  tempest. 
The  barrier,  which  had  hitherto  with- 
stood the  torrent,  being  swept  away,  its 
fury  could  no  longer  be  restrained. 

The  religious  movement  did  not  give 
birth  to  the  political  agitation  ;  but  in 
some  quarters  it  was  drawn  into,  and 
went  along  with  its  swelling  tide.  We 
might,  perhaps,  go  farther,  and  acknowl- 
edge that  the  movement  which  the  Ref- 
ormation communicated  to  the  popular 
mind,  added  strength  to  the  discontent 
which  was  everywhere  fermenting.  The 
vehemence  of  Luther's  writings,  his  bold 
words  and  actions,  and  the  stern  truth  he 
spake,  not  only  to  the  Pope  and  the  pre- 
lates, but  even  to  the  nobles,  must  needs 
have  contributed  to  inflame  minds  that 
were  already  in  a  state  of  considei'able 
excitement.  Thus  Erasmus  failed  not  to 
remind  him, — "  We  are  now  gathering 
the  fruits  of  your  teaching."*  More- 
over, the  animating  truths  of  the  Gospel, 
now  fully  brought  to  light,  stirred  all  bo- 
soms, and  filled  them  with  hopeful  antici- 
pations. But  there  were  many  unrenew- 
ed hearts  which  were  not  prepared  by  a 
change  of  thought  for  the  faith  and  lib- 
erty of  a  Christian.  They  were  quite 
willing  to  cast  off  the  yoke  of  Rome,  but 
they  had  no  desire  to  take  upon  them 
the  yoke  of  Christ.  Thus,  when  the 
Princes  who  espoused  the  cause  of  Rome 
endeavoured,  in  their  anger,  to  crush  the 
Reformation,  those  who  were  really 
Christians  were  enabled  patiently  to  en- 
dure those  cruel  persecutions, — while  the 
majority  were  roused  to  resistance,  and 
broke  forth  in  tumults ;  and,  finding  their 
desires  opposed  in  one  direction,  they 
sought  vent  for  them  in  another.  "  Why 
is  it,"  said  they,  "when  the  Church  in- 
vites all  men  to  a  glorious  liberty,  that 
servitude  is  perpetuated  in  the  state? 
When  the  Gospel  inculcates  nothing  but 

*  Habemus  fructum  tui  spiritus. — (Erasm. 
Hyperasp.  B.  4.) 


474 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


gentleness,  why  should  Governments 
rule  only  by  force  ?"  Unhappily,  at  the 
very  period  when  a  reformation  of  relig- 
ion was  hailed  with  joy,  alike  by  nobles 
and  people,  a  political  reformation,  on  the 
contrary,  encountered  the  opposition  of 
the  most  powerful  of  the  nation.  And 
whilst  the  former  had  the  Gospel  for  its 
rule  and  basis,  the  latter  had  ere  long  no 
principles  or  motives  but  violence  and  in- 
subjection.  Hence, — while  the  one  was 
kept  within  the  bounds  of  truth,  the  other 
rapidly  overpassed  all  bounds, — -like  an 
impetuous  torrent  bursting  its  banks.  But 
to  deny  that  the  Reformation  exerted  an 
indirect  influence  on  the  co^nmotions 
which  then  disturbed  the  Empire,  would 
subject  the  historian  to  the  charge  of 
partiality.  A  fire  had  been  lighted  up 
in  Germany  by  religious  discussions, 
from  which  it  was  scarcely  possible  but 
that  some  sparks  should  escape  which 
were  likely  to  inflame  the  popular  minds. 
The  pretensions  of  a  handful  of  fanatics 
to  divine  inspiration  added  to  the  danger. 
Whilst  the  Reformation  constantly  ap- 
pealed from  the  authority  claimed  by  the 
Church  to  the  real  authority  of  the  Sa- 
cred Word,  those  enthusiasts  rejected,  not 
only  the  authority  of  the  Church,  but 
that  of  Scripture  also ;  they  began  to 
speak  only  of  an  inward  Word — an  in- 
ternal revelation  from  God  ;  and  unmind- 
ful of  the  natural  corruption  of  their 
hearts,  they  abandoned  themselves  to  the 
intoxication  of  spiritual  pride,  and  imag- 
ined themselves  to  be  saints. 

"  The  Sacred  Writings,"  said  Luther, 
"were  treated  by  them  as  a  dead  letter, 
and  their  cry  was,  'the  Spirit!  the  Spirit!' 
But  assuredly,  I,  for  one,  will  not  follow 
whither  their  spirit  is  leading  them ! 
May  God,  in  His  mercy,  preserve  me 
from  a  Church  in  which  there  are  only 
such  saints.*  I  wish  to  be  in  fellowship 
with  the  humble,  the  weak,  the  sick, 
who  know  and  feel  their  sin,  and  sigh 
and  cry  continually  to  God  from  the  bot- 
tom of  their  hearts  to  obtain  comfort  and 
deliverance."  These  words  of  Luther 
have  a  depth  of  meaning,  and  indicate 
the  change  which  his  views  were  under- 
going as  to  the  nature  of  the  Church. 
They,  at  the  same  time,  show  how  op- 

*  Der  barmherzige  Gott  behiite  mich  ja  fiir 
der  christltehen  Kirche,  darin  eitel  heilige  sind. — 
(Upon  John  i.  2.  L.  Opp.  (W.)  vii.  p.  1469.) 


posed  the  religious  principles  of  the  reb- 
els were  to  the  religious  principles  of  the 
Reformation. 

The  most  noted  of  these  enthusiasts 
was  Thomas  Miinzer  ;  he  was  not  with- 
out talent ;  had  read  his  Bible,  was  of  a 
zealous  temperament,  and  might  have 
done  good,  if  he  had  been  able  to  gather 
up  his  agitated  thoughts,  and  attain  to 
settled  peace  of  conscience.  But  with 
little  knowledge  of  his  own  heart,  and 
wanting  in  true  humility,  he  was  taken 
up  with  the  desire  of  reforming  the  world, 
and,  like  the  generality  of  enthusiasts, 
forgot  that  it  was  with  himself,  he  should 
begin.  Certain  mystical  writings,  which 
he  had  read  in  his  youth,  had  given  a 
false  direction  to  his  thoughts.  He  made 
his  first  appearance  in  public  at  Zwickau; 
— quitted  Wittemberg  on  Luther's  re- 
turn thither, — not  satisfied  to  hold  a 
secondary  place  in  the  general  esteem, 
and  became  pastor  of  the  small  town  of 
Alstadt,  in  Thuringia.  Here  he  could 
not  long  remain  quiet,  but  publicly 
charged  the  Reformers  with  establishing 
by  their  adherence  to  the  written  Word, 
a  species  of  Popery,  and  with  forming 
churches  which  were  not  pure  and  holy. 
"  Luther,"  said  he,  "  has  liberated 
men's  consciences  from  the  Papal  yoke  ; 
but  he  has  left  them  in  a  carnal  liberty, 
and  has  not  led  them  forward  in  spirit 
towards  God."* 

He  considered  himself  as  called  of 
God  to  remedy  this  great  evil.  The 
revelations  of  the  Spirit,  according  to 
him,  were  the  means  by  which  the 
Reformation  he  was  charged  with  should 
be  effected.  "  He  who  hath  the  Spirit," 
said  he,  "hath  true  faith,  although  he 
should  never  once  in  all  his  life  see  the 
Holy  Scriptures.  The  heathen  and  the 
Turks  are  better  prepared  to  receive  the 
Spirit  than  many  of  those  Christians  who 
call  us  enthusiasts."  This  remark  was 
directed  against  Luther.  "  In  order  to 
receive  the  Spirit,"  continued  he,  "  we 
must  mortify  the  flesh — wear  sackcloth 
— neglect  the  body — be  of  a  sad  coun* 
tenance — keep  silencef  — forsake  the 
haunts  of  men — and  implore  God  to 
vouchsafe   to   us  an   assurance  of  His 

*  Fiihrote  sie  nicht  weiter  in  Geist  und  zu 
Gott.— (L  Opp.  xix.  294.) 

t  Saur  sehen,  den  Bart  nicht  abschneiden. — 
(L.  Opp.  xix.  p.  294.) 


MOVEMENTS  IN  GERMANY. 


475 


favour.  Then  it  is  that  God  will  come 
unto  us,  and  talk  with  us,  as  he  did  of 
old  with  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob.  If 
He  were  not  to  do  so,  He  would  not  de- 
serve our  regard.*  I  have  received  from 
God  the  commission  to  gather  together 
His  elect  in  a  holy  and  eternal  union." 

The  agitation  and  ferment  which  were 
Avorking  in  men's  minds  were  not  a  little 
favourable  to  the  spread  of  these  enthu- 
siastic ideas.  Men  love-  the  marvellous 
and  whatever  flatters  their  pride.  Mun- 
zer  having  inoculated  with  his  own 
views,  a  portion  of  his  flock,  abolished 
the  practice  of  chaunting,  and  all  the 
other  ceremonies  annexed  to  public  wor- 
ship. He  maintained  that  to  obey  princes 
"  devoid  of  understanding,"  was  to  serve, 
at  one  and  the  same  time,  God  and  Be- 
lial ;  and  then  setting  off  at  the  head  of 
his  parishioners  to  a  chapel  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Alstadt,  to  which  pilgrims 
were  accustomed  to  resort  from  all  quar- 
ters, he  totally  demolished  it.  After  this 
exploit,  being  obliged  to  leave  the  coun- 
try, he  wandered  from  place  to  place  in 
Germany,  and  came  as  far  as  Switzer- 
land, everywhere  carrying  with  him, 
and  communicating  to  all  who  gave  ear 
to  him,  the  project  of  a  general  revolu- 
tion. Wherever  he  went  he  found  men's 
minds  prepared.  His  words  were  like 
gunpowder  cast  upon  burning  coals,  and 
a  violent  explosion  quickly  ensued. 

Luther,  who  had  rejected  the  warlike 
enterprises  of  Sickingen,f  could  not  be 
led  away  by  the  tumultuous  movements 
of  the  peasantry.  Happily  for  social  or- 
der, the  Gospel  kept  him  from  falling 
into  this  error ;  for  what  would  have 
been  the  consequences,  had  he  cast  his 
extensive  influence  into  the  scale?  .  .  . 
He  resolutely  maintained  the  distinction 
between  spiritual  and  secular  matters ; 
constantly  affirming,  that  it  was  to  im- 
mortal souls  that  Christ  gave  liberty  by 
His  word ;  and  while  on  the  one  hand 
he  impugned  the  authority  of  the  Church, 
he  on  the  other,  with  equal  courage, 
stood  up  for  the  power  of  rulers.  "  A 
Christian,"  said  he,  "ought  to  suffer  a 
hundred  deaths,  rather  than  be  mixed  up 

*  The  expression  used  by  Miinzer  is  low  and 
irreverent :  Er  wollt  in  Gott  scheissen  wenn  er 
nicht  mit  ihm  redet,  wie  mit  Abraham. — (Hist. 
of  Miinzer,  by  Melancthon.— Ibid.  p.  295.) 

t  Book  i.  p.  57. 


in  the  least  degree  with  the  revolted 
peasantry."  He  wrote  to  the  Elector — 
"  It  gives  me  indescribable  satisfaction 
that  these  enthusiasts  themselves  boast, 
to  all  who  will  give  ear  to  them,  that  they 
do  not  belong  to  us.  '  It  is,'  say  they, '  the  ( 
Spirit  which  impels  us ;'  to  which  I 
reply,  '  that  it  must  be  an  evil  spirit,  that 
bears  no  other  fruits  than  the  pillage  of 
convents  and  churches  ;'  the  greatest  rob- 
bers on  this  earth  might  easily  do  as 
much  as  that." 

At  the  same  time,  Luther,  who  desired 
for  others  the  liberty  that  he  claimed  for 
himself,  was  dissuading  the  Prince  from 
resorting  to  severe  measures.  "  Let  ihem 
preach  what  they  will,  and  against  whom 
they  please,"  said  he,  "  for  it  is  the  Word 
of  God  alone  which  must  go  forth  and 
give  them  battle.  If  the  spirit  in  them  be 
the  true  Spirit,  any  severities  of  ours  will 
be  unavailing :  but  if  our  Spirit  be  the 
true,  He  will  not  fear  their  violence  \ 
Let  us  leave  the  Spirits  to  struggle  and 
contend.*  A  few,  perhaps,  may  be 
seduced.  In  every  battle  there  are  some 
wounded ;  but  he  who  is  faithful  in  the 
fight  shall  receive  the  crown.  Never- 
theless, if  they  have  recourse  to  the 
sword,  let  your  Highness  prohibit  it, 
and  command  them  to  quit  your  do- 
minions." 

The  insurrection  commenced  in  the 
districts  of  the  Black  Forest,  near  the 
sources  of  the  Danube,  a  country  that 
had  been  often  the  theatre  of  popular 
commotions.  On  the  19th  July,  1524, 
the  Thurgovian  peasantry  rose  against 
the  Abbot  of  Reichenau,  who  had  re- 
fused to  appoint  over  them  an  evangeli- 
cal preacher.  Shortly  after  this,  several 
thousands  of  them  collected  round  the 
small  town  of  Tenger, — their  object 
being  to  liberate  an  ecclesiastic  who 
was  there  imprisoned.  The  insurrection 
spread,  with  inconceivable  rapidity,  from 
Suabia  as  far  as  the  Rhenish  provinces, 
Franconia,  Thuringia,  and  Saxony.  In 
January,  1525,  all  these  countries  were 
in  a  state  of  open  insurrection. 

Towards  the  close  of  that  month,  the 
peasantry  put  forth  a  declaration  in 
twelve  articles,  wherein  they  claimed 
the  liberty  of  choosing  their  own  pastors, 
the  abolition  of  small  tithes,  servitude, 

*  Man  lasse  die  Ceister  auf  cinander  platzen 
und  treffen. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  547.) 


476 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


and  the  taxes  on  inheritance ;  the  right 
to  hunt,  fish,  cut  wood,  &c.  Each  de- 
mand was  backed  by  a  passage  from  the 
Bible :  and  they  concluded  with  the 
words, — "  If  \ve  are  wrong,  let  Luther 
set  us  right  by  the  Scriptures." 

They  requested  to  have  the  opinion  of 
the  divines  of  Wittemberg.  Melancthon 
and  Luther  each  gave  his  judgment  sep- 
arately ;  and  the  decision  of  each  re- 
minds us  of  the  difference  that  marked 
their  characters.  Melancthon,  who  re- 
garded any  disturbance  as  a  serious 
crime,  overstepped  the  limits  of  his  ha- 
bitual mildness,  and  seemed  to  labour  to 
express  the  strength  of  his  indignation. 
According  to  him,  the  peasantry  were 
public  criminals,  on  whom  he  invoked 
all  laws, — divine  and  human.  If  amica- 
ble communications  should  fail  of  effect, 
he  would  have  the  magistrates  to  pursue 
them,  as  they  would  robbers  and  assas- 
sins. "  Nevertheless,"  adds  he, — (and 
some  one  feature,  at  least,  we  need  to 
find,  that  shall  remind  us  of  Melanc- 
thon,)— "  think  of  the  orphans  before  you 
have  recourse  to  capital  punishment !" 

Luther  took  the  same  view  of  the 
revolt  as  Melancthon ;  but  he  had  a 
heart  which  deeply  felt  for  the  miseries 
of  the  people.  He  manifested,  on  this 
occasion,  a  noble  impartiality,  and  frank- 
ly spoke  truth  to  both  parties.  He  first 
addressed  the  princes, — and  more  par- 
ticularly the  bishops : — 

'•  It  is  you,"  said  he,  u  who  have 
caused  the  revolt ;  it  is  your  declama- 
tions against  the  Gospel,  it  is  your  guilty 
oppression  of  the  poor  of  the  flock, — 
which  have  driven  the  people  to  despair. 
My  dear  Lords,  it  is  not  the  peasants 
who  have  risen  against  you, — it  is  God 
Himself  who  is  opposing  your  madness.* 
The  peasants  are  but  instruments  He  is 
employing  to  humble  you.  Think  not 
you  can  escape  the  punishment  reserved 
for  you.  Even  though  you  should  suc- 
ceed in  exterminating  all  the  peasantry, 
God  could  from  these  stones  raise  up 
others  to  chastise  your  pride.  If  I  were 
bent  on  avenging  my  own  wrongs,  I 
might  laugh  in  my  sleeve, — and  quietly 
look  on,  while  the  peasantry  were  act- 
ing,— or  even  inflame  their  rage, — but 
the  Lord  keep  me  from  it !     My  dear 

*  Gott  ist's  selber  der  setzt  sich  wider  euch. — 
(L.  Opp.  xix.  p.  254.) 


Lords,  for  the  love  of  God !  calm  your 
irritation  ; — grant  reasonable  conditions 
to  these  poor  people,  as  phrenzied  and 
misled  persons  ; — appease  these  commo- 
tions by  gentle  methods,  lest  they  give 
birth  to  a  conflagration  which  shall  set 
all  Germany  in  a  flame.  Some  of  their 
twelve  articles  contain  just  and  reason- 
able demands." 

Such  an  exordium  was  calculated  to 
gain  for  Luther  the  confidence  of  the 
peasantry,  and  to  induce  them  to  listen 
to  the  truths  which  he  was  about  to 
press  upon  them.  After  admitting  that 
some  of  their  demands  were  founded 
in  justice,  he  declared  that  rebellion  was 
the  act  of  heathens :  that  Christians  were 
called  to  suffer,  not  to  fight :  that  if  they 
persisted  in  their  revolt  in  the  name  of 
the  Gospel,  but  contrary  to  the  very  pre- 
cepts of  the  Gospel,  he  should  consider 
them  as  worse  enemies  than  the  Pope. 
"  The  Pope  and  the  Emperor,"  con- 
tinued he,  "  combined  against  me ;  but 
the  more  the  Emperor  and  the  Pope 
stormed,  the  more  did  the  Gospel  make 
its  way.  Why  was  this  ?  Because  I 
neither  took  up  the  sword,  nor  called  for 
vengeance,  nor  had  recourse  to  tumult  or 
revolt ;  I  committed  all  to  God, — and 
waited  for  Him  to  interpose  by  His 
mighty  power.  The  Christian  conflict 
is  not  to  be  carried  on  by  sword  or 
arquebuss,  but  by  endurance  and  the 
cross.  Christ,  their  Captain,  would  not 
have  his  servants  smite  with  the  sword, 
— he  was  hanged  upon  a  tree." 

But  in  vain  did  Luther  inculcate  these 
Christian  precepts.  The  people,  under 
the  influence  of  the  inflammatory  har- 
angues of  the  leaders  of  the  revolt,  were 
deaf  to  the  words  of  the  Reformer.  "  He 
is  playing  the  hypocrite,"  said  they,  "and 
flatters  the  nobles : — he  has  himself  made 
war  against  the  Pope,  and  yet  expects 
that  we  should  submit  to  our  oppressors." 

Instead  of  subsiding,  the  insurrection 
grew  more  formidable.  At  Weinsberg, 
Count  Louis  of  Helfenstein,  and  the 
seventy  men  under  his  command,  were 
doomed  to  death.  A  body  of  peasantry 
drew  up  in  close  ranks,  with  advanced 
pikes,  whilst  others  drove  the  Count  and 
his  retainers  against  the  points  of  this 
forest  of  weapons.*     The  wife  of  the  ill- 

*  Und  jechten  ein  Grassen  durch  di» 
— (Mathesius,  p.  46.) 


MOVEMENTS   IN   GERMANY. 


477 


fated  Helfenstein,  a  natural  daughter  of 
the  Emperor  Maximilian,  holding  her 
infant  in  her  arms,  imploring  them,  on 
hended  knees,  to  spare  the  life  of  her 
husband,  and  vainly  endeavoured  to 
avert  this  barbarous  murder.  A  lad  who 
had  served  under  the  Count,  and  had 
afterwards  joined  the  rebels,  gamboled  in 
mockery  before  him,  and  played  the  dead 
march  upon  his  fife,  as  if  he  had  been 
leading  his  victims  io  a  dance.  All  per- 
ished ;  the  infant  was  wounded  in  its 
mother's  arms,  and  she  herself  thrown 
upon  a  dung-cart,  and  thus  conveyed  to 
Heilbronn. 

At  the  news  of  these  atrocities,  a  cry 
of  horror  was  uttered  by  the  friends  of 
the  Reformation,  and  Luther's  feeling 
heart  was  violently  agitated.  On  one 
hand,  the  peasantry,  ridiculing  his  coun- 
sel, asserted  that  they  had  a  revelation 
from  Heaven, — impiously  perverted  the 
threatenings  contained  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment,— proclaimed  an  equality  of  condi- 
tions, and  a  community  of  goods, — de- 
fended their  cause  with  fire  and  sword, 
and  rioted  in  barbarous  executions.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  enemies  of  the  Ref- 
ormation, with  malicious  sneer,  enquired 
if  the  Reformer  did  not  know  that  it  was 
easier  to  kindle  a  fire  than  to  extinguish 
it.  Indignant  at  these  excesses,  and 
alarmed  at  the  thought  that  they  might 
check  the  progress  of  the  Gospel,  Luther 
no  longer  hesitated  ;  he  laid  aside  his 
former  forbearance,  and  denounced  the 
rebels  with  all  the  energy  of  his  charac- 
ter, overpassing,  perhaps,  the  just  bounds 
within  which  he  should  have  contained 
himself. 

"  The  peasantry,"  said  he,  "  are  guilty 
of  three  horrible  crimes  against  God  and 
men  ;  and  thus  deserve  both  the  death 
of  the  body  and  that  of  the  soul.  In  the 
first  place,  they  rebel  against  their  rulers, 
to  whom  they  have  sworn  allegiance ; 
next,  they  xob  and  plunder  convents  and 
castles ;  and,  to  crown  all,  they  cloak 
their  crimes  under  the  profession  of  the 
Gospel !  If  you  neglect  to  shoot  a  mad 
dog,  yourself  and  all  your  neighbours 
will  perish.  He  who  dies  in  the  cause 
of  the  magistrates  will  be  a  true  martyr, 
provided  he  fight  with  a  good  con- 
science." 

Luther  then  proceeds  to  comment  se- 
verely upon  the  guilty  violence  of  the 


peasantry,  in  compelling  simple  and 
peaceable  men  to  join  their  ranks,  and 
thus  bringing  them  into  the  same  con- 
demnation. He  then  proceeds :  "  On 
this  account,  my  dear  Lords,  I  conjure 
you  to  interpose  for  the  deliverance  of 
these  poor  people.  I  say  to  him  who 
can  bear  arms,  strike,  and  kill.  If  thou 
shouldst  fall,  thou  canst  not  have  a  more 
blessed  end ;  for  thou  meetest  death  in 
the  service  of  God,  and  to  save  thy 
neighbour  from  hell."* 

Neither  gentle  nor  violent  measures 
could  arrest  the  popular  torrent.  The 
church  bells  were  rung-  no  longer  for 
divine  worship.  Whenever  their  deep 
and  prolonged  sounds  were  heard  in 
country  places,  it  was  known  as  the 
tocsin,  and  all  flew  to  arms 

The  people  of  the  Black  Forest  had 
enrolled  themselves  under  John  Muller 
of  Bulgenbach.  With  an  imposing  as- 
pect, wrapped  in  a  red  cloak,  and  wear- 
ing a  red  cap,  this  chief  daringly  pro- 
ceeded from  village  to  village,  followed 
by  his  peasantry.  Behind  him,  on  a 
waggon,  decorated  with  boughs  and 
ribands,  was  exhibited  a  tri-coloured  flag, 
black,  red,  and  white, — the  standard  of 
revolt.  A  herald,  similarly  decorated, 
read  aloud  the  twelve  articles,  and  in- 
vited the  people  to  join  in  the  insurrec- 
tion. Whoever  refused  to  do  so,  was 
banished  from  the  community. 

Their  progress,  which  at  first  was  pa- 
cific, became  more  and  more  alarming. 
i:We  must,"  they  exclaimed,  "compel 
the  lords  of  the  soil  to  submit  to  our  con- 
ditions"— and  by  way  of  bringing  them 
to  compliance  they  proceeded  to  break 
open  the  granaries,  empty  the  cellars, 
draw  the  fish-ponds,  demolish  the  castles 
of  the  nobles,  and  set  fire  to  the  convents. 
Opposition  had  inflamed  to  frenzy  these 
misguided  men  :  Equality  could  no 
longer  satisfy  them ; — they  thirsted  for 
blood  ;  and  swore  to  make  every  man 
who  wore  a  spur  bite  the  dust. 

At  the  approach  of  the  peasantry, 
those  towns  which  were  incapable  of 
withstanding  a  siege  opened  their  gates, 
and  made  common  cause  with  them.  In 
every  place  they  entered,  the  images  of 
the  saints  were  defaced — the  crucifixes 
broken  to  pieces, — while  women,  armed 

*  Deinen  Nehesten  zu  retten  aus  der  HoIIe. 
— (L.  Opp.  xix.  p.  266.) 


478 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


with  weapons,  passed  through  the  streets 
threatening  the  lives  of  the  monks. 
Beaten  and  repulsed  in  one  place,  they 
re-assembled  in  another,  and  braved  the 
most  formidable  regular  troops. 

A  committee  chosen  by  the  peasants 
stationed  themselves  at  Heilbrun.  The 
Counts  of  Lowenstein  were  captured, 
stript,  and  clothed  in  common  blouse, 
a  white  staff  was  placed  in  their  hands, 
and  they  were  compelled  to  swear  adhe- 
sion to  the  twelve  articles.  "  Brother 
George,  and  you,  brother  Albert,"  said  a 
brazier  to  the  Counts  of  Hohenlohe,  who 
visited  their  camp,  "  swear  to  us  to  act 
the  part  of  brothers — for  yourselves  are 
now  peasants  and  no  longer  lords." 
Equality  of  rank,  that  dream  of  demo- 
crats, was  established  in  aristocratic  Ger- 
many. 

Many  persons  of  the  upper  classes, 
some  from  fear,  and  some  from  motives 
of  ambition,  joined  the  insurrection. 
The  celebrated  Gotz  of  Berlichingen 
finding  himself  unable  to  maintain  his 
authority  over  his  vassals,  prepared  to 
seek  a  refuge  in  the  states  of  the  Elector 
of  Saxony,  but  his  wife,  who  was  then  in 
child-bed,  wishing  to  keep  him  at  home, 
concealed  from  him  the  Elector's  letter. 
Gotz,  hemmed  in  on  all  sides,  was  com- 
pelled to  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the 
rebel  forces.  On  the  7th  of  May,  the 
peasants  entered  Wurtzburg,  where  they 
were  received  with  acclamations.  The 
troops  of  the  princes  and  of  the  knights 
of  Suabia  and  Franconia,  who  were  sta- 
tion§d  in  that  city,  evacuated  it,  and 
withdrew  in  confusion  within  the  citadel, 
— the  last  refuge  of  the  nobility. 

But  already  had  the  commotion  spread 
to  other  parts  of  Germany.  Spires,  the 
Palatinate,  Alsace,  Hesse,  had  adopted 
the  twelve  articles,  and  the  peasants 
threatened  Bavaria,  Westphalia,  the  Ty- 
rol, Saxony,  and  Lorraine.  The  Mar- 
grave of  Baden,  having  scornfully  reject- 
ed the  articles,  was  compelled  to  seek 
refuge  in  flight.  The  Coadjutor  of  Ful- 
da  acceded  to  them  with  a  laugh.  The 
smaller  towns  submitted,  alleging  that 
they  had  no  spears  to  resist  the  insur- 
gents. Mentz,  Treves,  Frankfort,  obtain- 
ed the  immunities  on  which  they  had  in- 
sisted. 

Throughout    the    Empire,    a   wide- 
spreading  revolution  was  in  full  career. 


The  ecclesiastical  and  secular  privileges, 
which  bore  so  heavily  on  the  peasantry, 
were  to  be  suppressed ;  church  property 
was  to  be  diverted  to  secular  uses,  to  in- 
demnify the  chiefs,  and  meet  the  exigen- 
cies of  the  state  ;  taxes  were  to  be  abol- 
ished, with  exception  of  a  tribute  payable 
every  ten  years  ;  the  power  of  the  Em- 
peror, as  recognised  by  the  New  Testa- 
ment, was  to  be  maintained  supreme  ;  all 
other  reigning  princes  were  to  come 
down  to  the  level  of  citizens  ;  sixty-four 
free  courts  we>re  to  be  instituted,  and  men 
of  all  ranks  to  be  eligible  as  judges;  all 
conditions  were  to  return  to  their  primi- 
tive positions  ;  the  clergy  were  to  be  re- 
stricted to  the  pastorship  of  their  several 
churches  ;  princes  and  knights  were  to  be 
defenders  of  the  weak  ;  uniform  weights 
and  measures  were  to  be  introduced  ; 
and  one  coin  to  be  struck,  and  be  the 
only  currency  of  the  whole  Empire. 

Meanwhile,  the  nobles  were  recovering 
from  their  first  stupor,  and  George  Truch- 
sess,  commander-in-chief  of  the  Imperial 
forces,  advanced  in  the  direction  of  the 
lake  of  Constance.  On  the  7th  of  May, 
he  drove  back  the  peasants  at  Beblingen, 
and  directed  his  march  upon  the  town  of 
Weinsberg,  where  the  unfortunate  Count 
of  Helfenstein  had  lost  his  life.  He  set 
fire  to  it,  and  burned  it  to  the  ground, 
giving  orders  that  its  ruins  should  be  left 
as  a  lasting  memorial  of  the  treason  of 
its  inhabitants.  At  Furfeld,  he  effected 
a  junction  with  the  Elector  Palatine  and 
the  Elector  of  Treves,  and  the  combined 
army  advanced  upon  Franconia. 

The  Frauenberg,  the  citadel  of  Wurtz- 
burg, had  held  out  for'  the  cause  of  the 
nobles,  and  the  main  army  of  the  peas- 
ants still  lay  before  its  walls.  On  receiv- 
ing intelligence  of  the  approach  of  Truch- 
sess,  they  resolved  on  an  assault,  and  on 
the  15th  of  May,  at  nine  in  the  evening, 
the  trumpets  sounded,  the  tri-colour  flag 
was  unfurled,  and  the  psasants  rushed  to 
the  assault  with  frightful  shouts.  Sebas- 
tian Rotenhan,  one  of  the  staunchest 
partisans  of  the  Reformation,  was  com- 
mandant in  the  castle.  He  had  organ- 
ized the  means  of  defence  on  an  efficient 
footing,  and  when  he  harangued  the 
soldiers  and  exhorted  them  to  repel  the 
attack,  they  had  all  sworn  to  do  so,  rais- 
ing their  three  fingers  towards  heaven. 
A  fierce  struggle  ensued.     The  reckless 


MOVEMENTS  IN  GERMANY. 


479 


and  despairing  efforts  of  the  peasants 
were  answered  from  the  walls  of  the  for- 
tress by  petards  and  showers  of  sulphur 
and  boiling  pitch,  and  discharges  of  can- 
non. The  peasants,  thus  struck  by  their 
unseen  enemy  from  behind  the  ramparts, 
for  an  instant  faltered,  but  their  fury  rose 
above  it  all.  Night  closed  in,  and  the 
contest  still  raged.  The  fortress,  lighted 
up  by  a  thousand  battle-fires,  seemed,  in 
the  darkness  of  the  night,  to  resemble  a 
towering  giant  pouring  forth  flames,  and 
contending  in  the  midst  of  bursts  of  thun- 
der for  the  salvation  of  the  Empire  from 
the  savage  bravery  of  infuriated  hordes. 
At  two  in  the  morning,  the  peasants,  fail- 
ing in  all  their  efforts,  at  last  retreated. 

They  tried  to  open  negociations  with 
the  garrison,  on  the  one  side,  and  with 
Truchsess,  who  was  approaching  at  the 
head  of  his  army,  on  the  other.  But  ne- 
gociation  was  not  their  forte.  Violence 
and  conquest  offered  their  only  chance 
of  safety.  After  some  hesitation,  they  de- 
cided to  advance  against  the  Imperial  for- 
ces; but  the  cannon  and  charges  of  the 
Imperial  cavalry  made  fearful  havoc  in 
their  ranks.  On  reaching  Konigshofen, 
they  were  completely  routed.  Then  it 
was  that  the  princes,  nobles,  and  bishops, 
cruelly  abusing  their  victory,  gave  loose 
to  unheard-of  cruelties.  Those  who  were 
taken  prisoners,  were  hanged  at  the  road- 
side. The  bishop  of  Wurtzburg,  who 
had  taken  flight,  returning  to  his  diocese, 
passed  over  it,  attended  by  executioners, 
who  shed,  without  distinction,  the  blood 
of  rebels,  and  of  such  as  were  living  qui- 
etly in  subjection  to  God's  word.  Gotz 
de  Berlichingen  was  sentenced  to  impris- 
onment for  life.  The  Margrave  Casimir 
of  Anspach,  deprived  of  their  sight  no 
less  than  eighty  peasants,  who,  in  the  re- 
bellion, had  declared,  with  an  oath,  that 
their  eyes  should  never  look  upon  that 
prince, — casting  the  victims  of  his  cruel- 
ty on  the  wide  world,  blind,  and  holding 
each  other  by  the  hand,  to  grope  their 
way,  and  beg  their  bread.  The  unfor- 
tunate youth  who  had  played,  on  his  fife, 
the  death-march  of  Helfenstein,  was 
chained  to  a  stake,  and  a  fire  lighted 
round  him — the  knights  being  present, 
and  laughing  at  his  horrid  contortions. 

Everywhere  public  worship  was  re- 
stored, under  its  ancient  forms.  In  the 
most  flourishing  and  populous  districts 


of  the  Empire,  the  traveller  was  horror- 
struck  with  the  sight  of  heaps  of  dead 
bodies  and  smoking  ruins.  Fifty  thou- 
sand had  perished ;  and  almost  every- 
where the  people  lost  what  little  liberty 
they  had  previously  possessed.  Such, 
in  Southern  Germany,  was  the  dreadful 
result  of  the  Revolt. 

But  the  evil  was  not  confined  to  the 
south  and  west  of  Germany.     Miinzer, 
after  traversing  part  of  Switzerland,  Al- 
sace, and  Suabia,  had  again  turned  his 
steps  toward  Saxony.     Some  townsmen 
of    Mulhausen,    in    Thuringia,    invited 
him  to  their  town,  and  elected  him  as 
their  pastor.     The  Town-council  having 
offered  resistance,  Miinzer  degraded  it, 
— appointing*  another  in  its  stead,  com- 
posed of  his  own  friends,  and  presided 
over  by  himself.     Contemning  the  Christ 
full  of  grace,  whom    Luther   preached, 
and    resolved    on    recourse    to    violent 
means,  his  cry  was, — "  We  must  exter- 
minate with  the  sword,  like  Joshua,  the 
Canaanitish  nations."     He  set  on  foot  a 
community  of  goods,*  and  pillaged  the 
convents.     "  Miinzer,"  wrote  Luther  to 
Amsdorff,  on  the    11th  of  April,   1525, 
"  Miinzer  is  king,  and  emperor  of  Mul- 
hausen, and  no  longer  its  pastor."     The 
lowest  classes  ceased  to  work.     If  any 
one  wanted  a  piece  of  cloth,  or  a  supply 
of  corn,  he  asked  his  richer  neighbour : 
if  the    latter   refused,  the   penalty  was 
hanging.     Mulhausen  being  a  free  town, 
Miinzer  exercised  his  power,  unmolested 
for  nearly  a  year.     The  revolt  of  South- 
ern Germany  led  him  to  imagine  that 
the  time  was  come  to  extend  his  new 
kingdom.     He  cast  some  large  guns  in 
the  convent  of  the  Franciscans,  and  ex- 
erted himself  to  raise  the  peasantiy  and 
miners  of  Mansfeld.     "  When  will  you 
shake  off  your  slumbers,"  said  he,  in  a 
fanatical  address :   "  Arise,  and  fight  the 
battle  of  the  Lord  ! — The  time  is  come. 
— France,  Germany,  and  Italy,  are  up 
and   doing.      Forward,    Forward,    For- 
ward ! — Dran,  Dran,  Dran  !    Heed  not 
the   cries  of  the    ungodly.     They  will 
weep  like  children, — but  be  you  pitiless. 
— Dran,  Dran,  Dran ! — Fire  burns  ; — 
let  your   swords  be   ever   tinged   with 

*  Omnia  simul  communia. — (L.  Opp.  xix.  p 
292.) 


480 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


blood  !* — Dran,  Dran,  Dran  ! — Work 
while  it  is  day."  The  letter  was  signed 
"  Munzer,  God's  servant  against  the  un- 
godly." 

The  country  people,  eager  for  plun- 
der, flocked  in  crowds  to  his  standard. 
Throughout  the  districts  of  Mansfeld, 
Stolberg,  Schwarzburg,  Hesse,  and 
Brunswick,  the  peasantry  rose  en  masse. 
The  convents  of  Michelstein,  Ilsenburg, 
Walkenried,  Rossleben,  and  many  others 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Hartz  moun- 
tains, or  in  the  plains  of  Thuringia,  were 
plundered.  At  Reinhardsbrunn,  the 
place  which  Luther  had  once  visited, 
the  tombs  of  the  ancient  landgraves  were 
violated,  and  the  library  destroyed. 

Terror  spread  far  and  wide.  Even  at 
Wittemberg,  some  anxiety  began  to  be 
felt.  The  Doctors  who  had  not  feared 
Emperors  nor  Pope  felt  themselves  trem- 
ble in  presence  of  a  madman.  Curiosity 
was  all  alive  to  the  accounts  of  what  was 
going  on,  and  watched  every  step  in  the 
progress  of  the  insurrection.  Melancthon 
wrote — "  We  are  here  in  imminent  dan- 
ger. If  Munzer  be  successful,  it  is  all 
over  with  us  ;  unless  Christ  should  ap- 
pear for  our  deliverance.  Munzer's  prog- 
ress is  marked  by  more  than  Scythian 
cruelty.f  His  threats  are  more  dreadful 
than  I  can  tell  you." 

The  pious  Elector  had  hesitated  long 
what  steps  he  should  take.  Munzer  had 
exhorted  him,  as  well  as  the  other  reign- 
ing princes,  to  be  converted :  "  For,"  said 
he,  "their  time  is  come:"  and  he  had 
signed  his  letters — "  Munzer,  armed  with 
the  sword  of  Gideon."  It  was  Frederic's 
earnest  desire  to  try  gentle  methods  for 
reclaiming  these  deluded  men.  Dan- 
gerously ill,  he  had  written  on  the  1 4th 
of  April,  to  his  brother  John — "  Possibly, 
more  than  one  cause  for  insurrection  has 
been  given  to  these  wretched  people. 
Oh,  in  many  ways  are  the  poor  oppress- 
ed by  their  temporal,  as  well  as  by  their 
spiritual  rulers!"  And  when  his  coun- 
cillors adverted  to  the  humiliation,  con- 
fusions, and  dangers  to  which  he  would 
expose  himself  by  neglecting  to  stifle  the 
rebellion  in  its  infancy,  he  made  answer 
— "  In  my  time,  I  have  been  a  potent 

*  Lasset  euer  Schwerdt  nicht  kalt  werden 
von  Blut— (L.  Opp.  xix.  289.) 

t  Moncerus  plus  quam  Scythicam  crudelita- 
tera  prae  se  fert. — (Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  741.) 


Elector  with  horses  and  chariots  in  great 
abundance, — if,  at  this  time,  God  will 
take  them  away,  I  will  go  on  foot."* 

Philip,  the  young  Landgrave  of 
Hesse,  was  the  first  of  the  reigning 
princes  who  took  up  arms.  His  knights 
and  retainers  swore  to  live  or  die  with 
him.  Having  put  the  affairs  of  his 
states  in  order,  he  moved  towards  Sax- 
ony. On  their  side,  Duke  John,  the 
Elector's  brother,  Duke  George  of  Sax- 
ony, and  Duke  Henry  of  Brunswick,  ad- 
vancing, effected  a  junction  with  the 
Hessian  troops.  As  the  combined  force 
came  into  sight,  the  peasants,  in  alarm, 
took  their  station  on  a  hill,  and,  without 
observing  any  discipline,  set  about  con- 
structing a  sort  of  rampart,  composed  of 
their  waggons.  Munzer  had  not  even 
provided  powder  for  his  immense  guns. 
No  help  appeared — the  troops  hemmed 
them  in,  and  a  panic  spread  through  the 
rebel  host.  The  princes  from  motives 
of  humanity,  proposed  to  them  to  capitu- 
late— and  they  showed  signs  of  willing- 
ness to  do  so.  Then  it  was,  that  Mun- 
zer had  recourse  to  the  most  powerful 
lever  of  enthusiasm :  "  This  day,"  said 
he,  "  this  day  we  shall  behold  the  mighty 
arm  of  God,  and  destruction  shall  fall 
upon  our  enemies !"  Just  at  that  moment, 
a  rainbow  was  seen  in  the  clouds — and 
the  frantic  multitude,  whose  standard 
bore  the  representation  of  a  rainbow,  be- 
held in  it  a  sure  omen  of  the  Divine  pro- 
tection. Munzer  took  advantage  of  it : 
"  Never  fear,"  said  he,  to  the  burghers 
and  peasantry  ;  "  1  will  receive  all  their 
balls  in  my  sleeve  :"f  and  at  the  same 
moment,  he  gave  direction  that  a  young 
gentleman,  Maternus  Geholfen,  an  envoy 
from  the  princes,  should  be  cruelly  put 
to  death,  in  order  that  the  rebels  might 
thus  know  themselves  beyond  the  hope 
of  pardon. 

The  Landgrave  harangued  his  sol- 
diers— "I  well  know,"  said  he,  "that 
we  princes  are  often  to  blame — for  we 
are  but  men ;  but  it  is  God's  will  that 
the  powers  that  be  should  be  respected. 
Let  us  save  our  wives  and  children  from 
the  fury  of  these  murderers.  The  Lord 
will  give  us  the  victory,  for  hath  He  not 

*  So  wolle  er  hinhunftig  zu  fuss  gehen. — 
(Seek.  p.  685.) 

t  Ihr  sollt  6ehen  dass  ich  alio  Biichsensteine 
in  Ermel  fassen  will. — (L.  Opp.  xix.  p.  297.) 


MOVEMENTS  IN  GERMANY. 


481 


said,  '  He  that  resisteth  the  power,  resist- 
eth  the  ordinance  of  God.1  "  Philip  then 
gave  the  signal  for  the  attack.  It  was 
the  15th  of  May,  1525.  The  army  put 
itself  in  motion — but  the  crowd  of  peas- 
ants standing  still,  struck  up  the  hymn, 
"Come,  Holy  Spirit," — expecting  Heav- 
en to  interfere  in  their  behalf.  But  the 
artillery  soon  opened  a  breach  in  their 
rude  fortification,  and  scattered  confusion 
and  death  in  their  midst.  On  this,  their 
fanaticism  and  resolution  at  once  forsook 
them ;  a  panic  spread  throughout  their 
host,  and  breaking  from  their  ranks  they 
fled  in  the  utmost  disorder.  Five  thou- 
sand were  slain  in  the  pursuit.  After 
the  battle  the  princes  and  their  victorious 
troops  entered  Frankenhausen.  A  sol- 
dier, who  had  mounted  to  the  loft  of  the 
house  in  which  he  was  quartered,  per- 
ceived a  man  crouching  in  concealment.* 
"  Who  are  you  ?"  demanded  he  ;  ';  are 
you  one  of  the  rebels'?" — then  catching 
sight  of  a  writing-case,  he  opened  it,  and 
found  therein  letters  addressed  to  Thom- 
as Miinzer — "Is  that  your  name?"  in- 
quired the  trooper. — "  No,"  answered  the 
sick  man.  But  the  soldier,  uttering 
dreadful  threats,  Munzer — for  he  it  was 
— confessed  he  was  the  man.  "  You 
'are  my  prisoner,"  rejoined  the  other. 
Being  taken  before  Duke  George  and 
the  Landgrave,  Munzer  persisted  in 
maintaining  that  he  was  justified  in 
chastising  the  nobles,  since  they  were 
opposers  of  the  Gospel.  ■'  Wretch  !"  said 
they,  "  think  of  those  whose  death  thou 
hast  occasioned."  But  he  made  answer, 
smiling  in  the  midst  of  his  anguish, 
"  They  would  have  it  so."  He  took  the 
sacrament  under  one  kind,  and  was  be- 
headed on  the  same  day  as  his  lieuten- 
ant PfeifTer.  Mulhausen  was  taken,  and 
the  peasants  loaded  with  chains. 

One  of  the  nobles,  who  had  remarked 
in  the  crowd  of  prisoners  a  peasant  whose 
appearance  interested  him,  drew  near, 
and  said, — "  Well,  my  boy,  what  gov- 
ernment is  most  to  your  mind, — the 
peasants  or  the  princes?"  The  poor 
youth,  sighing  deeply,  replied, — "Ah, 
my  dear  lord,  no  edge  of  sword  inflicts 
such  suffering  as  the  rule  of  a  peasant 
over  his  fellow."! 

*  So  findet  er  einen  am  Bctt. 
t  Kein  Messer  scherpfer  schirrt  denn  wenn  ein 
Baur  des  andern  Herr  wird. — (Mathesius,  p.  48.) 
61 


What  remained  of  the  rebellion  was 
quenched  in  blood ,  Duke  George  was 
particularly  inflexible.  In  the  states  of 
the  Elector,  there  were  neither  execu- 
tions nor  punishments  ;*  God's  word, 
preached  in  its  purity,  had  been  proved 
sufficient  to  control  the  tumultuous  pas- 
sions of  the  people. 

In  truth,  Luther  had,  from  its  very  be- 
ginning, withstood  the  rebellion  ;  which 
to  him  appeared  the  forerunner  of  final 
judgments.  He  had  spared  neither  ad- 
vice, entreaties,  nor  irony.  To  the 
twelve  articles  which  the  rebels  had 
drawn  up  at  Erfurth,  he  had  subjoined 
as  a  thirteenth :  "  Item,  the  following 
article  omitted  above.  From  this  day 
forth  the  honourable  Council  shall  be 
powerless, — its  functions  shall  be  to  do 
nothing, — it  shall  sit  as  an  idol  or  as  a 
log, — the  commune  shall  chew  its  meat 
for  it,  and  it  shall  govern  bound  hand 
and  foot.  From  this  day,  the  waggon 
shall  guide  the  horses,  the  horses  shall 
hold  the  reins,  and  all  shall  go  on  pros- 
perously, in  conformity  with  the  glorious 
system  set  forth  in  the  foregoing  articles." 

Luther  was  not  satisfied  with  using 
his  pen.  Just  when  the  confusion  was 
at  its  height,  he  left  Wittemberg,  and 
traversed  some  of  the  districts  where  the 
agitation  was  greatest.  He  preached, 
he  laboured  to  soften  the  hearts  of  his 
hearers,  and  being  strengthened  from 
above  in  his  work,  he  guided,  quieted, 
and  brought  back  into  their  accustomed 
channels,  the  impetuous  and  overflowing 
torrents. 

The  reformed  teachers  everywhere  ex- 
erted a  similar  influence.  At  Halle, 
Brentz,  by  the  power  of  the  divine  prom- 
ises, revived  the  drooping  spirits  of  its 
inhabitants,  and  four  thousand  of  the 
peasants  fled  before  six  hundred  of  its 
citizens.!  At  Ichterhausen,  where  a 
body  of  peasants  had  met,  intending  to 
demolish  certain  castles,  and  put  their 
owners  to  death,  Frederic  Myconius 
ventured  alone  among  them,  and  such 
was  the  power  of  his  eloquence,  that 
they  at  once  abandoned  their  purpose.^ 

*  Hie  nulla  carnificina,  nullum  supplicium. — 
(Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  752.) 

t  Eorum  animos  fractos  et  perturbatos  verbo 
Dei  erexit. — (M.  Adam.  Vit.  Brentii,  p.  441.) 

t  Agmen  rustieorum  qui  convenerant  ad  de- 
moliendas  arces,  unica  oratione  sic  compescuit. 
— (M.  Adam.  Vit.  Fred.  Myconii,  p.  178.) 


482 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


Such  was  the  part  taken  by  the  Re- 
formers and  the  Reformation  during  the 
continuance  of  the  revolt.  They  con- 
tended, as  far  as  they  were  enabled,  by 
the  sword  of  the  Word,  and  boldly 
asserted  the  principles  which  alone  have 
power  at  all  times  to  preserve  order  and 
subjection  among  nations.  Hence  we 
find  Luther  asserting  that  if  the  whole- 
some influence  of  sound  doctrine  had  not 
withstood  the  madness  of  the  people,  the 
revolt  would  have  extended  its  ravages 
far  more  widely,  and  would  everywhere 
have  overturned  both  Church  and  State. 
Every  thing  inclines  us  to  believe  that 
this  melancholy  anticipation  would  have 
been  realised. 

If,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Reformers 
stood  up  against  sedition,  they  neverthe- 
less did  not  escape  without  being  wound- 
ed. That  moral  agony  which  Luther 
had  first  undergone  in  his  cell  at  Er- 
furth,  was  perhaps  at  its  height  after  the 
revolt  of  the  peasants.  On  the  side  of 
the  princes  it  was  repeated,  and  in  many 
quarters  believed,  that  Luther's  teaching 
had  been  the  cause  of  the  rebellion;  and 
groundless  as  was  the  charge,  the  Re- 
former could  not  but  feel  deeply  affected 
by  the  credit  attached  to  it.  On  the 
side  of  the  people,  Miinzer  and  all  the 
leaders  of  the  sedition  represented  him 
as  a  vile  hypocrite  and  flatterer  of  the 
great,*  and  their  calumnies  easily  ob- 
tained belief.  The  strength  with  which 
Luther  had  declared  against  the  rebels, 
had  given  offence  even  to  men  of  mode- 
rate opinions.  The  partisans  of  Rome 
exulted  ;f  all  seemed  against  him,  and 
he  bore  the  indignation  of  that  genera- 
tion :  but  what  most  grieved  him  was 
that  the  work  of  heaven  should  be  thus 
degraded  by  being  classed  with  the 
dreams  of  fanatics.  He  contemplated 
the  bitter  cup  presented  to  him,  and  fore- 
seeing that  ere  long  he  would  be  forsa- 
ken by  all,  he  exclaimed,  "  Soon  shall  I 
also  have  to  say,  '  All  ye  shall  be  offend- 
ed because  of  me  in  that  night !'  " 

Yet,  in  the  midst  of  this  bitter  experi- 
ence, his  faith  was  unshaken.  "  He," 
said  he,  "  who  has  enabled  me  to  tread 
the  enemy  under  foot  when   he   came 

*  Quod  adulator  principum  vocer. — (L.  Epp. 
ii.  p^  671.) 

t  Gaudent  papistse  de  nostro  dissidio. — (Ibid. 
p.  612.) 


against  me  as  a  roaring  lion,  will  not 
suffer  that  enemy  to  crush  me,  now  that 
he  approaches  with  the  treacherous  leer 
of  the  basilisk.*  I  mourn  over  the  late 
calamities.  Again  and  again  have  I 
asked  myself  whether  it  might  not  have 
been  better  to  have  allowed  the  Papacy 
to  pursue  its  course  unmolested,  rather 
than  be  a  witness  to  the  breaking  out  of 
such  commotions.  But  no  : — it  is  better 
to  have  extricated  a  few  from  the  jaws 
of  the  devil,  than  that  all  should  be  left 
under  his  murderous  fangs." \ 

At  this  period  we  must  note  the  com- 
pletion of  that  change  in  Luther's  views 
which  had  commenced  at  the  time  of  his 
return  from  the  Wartburg.  A  principle 
of  internal  life  no  longer  satisfied  him ;  the 
Church  and  her  institutions  assumed  a 
high  importance  in  his  estimate.  The 
fearlessness  with  which  he  had  thrown 
down  all  that  stood  in  the  way  of  his  re- 
forms, drew  back  in  the  prospect  of 
a  work  of  destruction,  far  more  radical 
and  sweeping :  he  felt  the  necessity  for 
preserving,  ruling,  building  up, — and  it 
was  in  the  centre  of  the  blood  watered 
ruins  with  which  the  war  of  the  peasants 
had  covered  Germany,  that  the  structure 
of  the  new  Church  rose  slowly  from  its 
foundations. 

The  troubles  we  have  been  narrating 
left  a  deep  and  enduring  impression  on 
the  minds  of  that  age.  Nations  were 
struck  with  consternation.  The  masses 
who  had  sought  in  the  Reformation 
nothing  but  political  freedom,  withdrew 
from  it  of  their  own  accord,  when  they 
saw  that  spiritual  liberty  was  the  only 
liberty  it  offered.  Luther's  opposition  to 
the  peasants  involved  the  renunciation  of 
the  inconstant  favour  of  the  people.  It 
was  not  long  before  a  seeming  tranquil- 
lity was  restored,  and  the  silence  of  ter- 
ror;}; succeeded  to  the  outbreaks  of  enthu- 
siasm and  sedition. 

Thus  the  popular  passions,  the  cause 
of  revolution,  and  radical  equality,  were 
quelled  and  passed  away :  but  the  Ref- 

*  Qui  cum  toties  hactenus  sub  pedibus  meis 
calcavit  et  contrivit  leonem  el  draconem,  non 
sinet  etjam  basiliscum  super  me  calcare. — (Ibid, 
p.  671.) 

t  Es  ist  besser  einige  aus  dem  Rachen  des 
Teufels  herausreissen. — (L.  Opp.  ii.  Ed.  ix.  p. 
961.) 

X  Ea  res  incussit  ....  vulgo  terrorem,  ut  ni- 
hil usquam  moveatur. — (Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  752.) 


MOVEMENTS  IN  GERMANY. 


483 


ormation  did  not  pass  away.  The  two 
movements,  by  many  confounded  with 
each  other,  were  exhibited  in  the  dis- 
tinctness of  their  character  by  the  diver- 
sity of  their  results.  The  revolt  was  a 
thing  of  earthly  origin,  the  Reformation 
was  from  above — some  cannon  and  sol- 
diers sufficed  to  put  down  the  former,  but 
the  latter  never  ceased  to  grow  and 
strengthen,  in  spite  of  the  reiterated  as- 
saults of  the  imperial  or  ecclesiastical 
powers. 

And  yet  the  cause  of  the  Reformation 
itself  seemed  likely  to  perish  in  the  gulph 
in  which  the  liberties  of  the  people  were 
lost.  A  melancholy  event  appeared  like- 
ly to  hasten  its  ruin.  At  the  time  the 
princes  were  in  full  march  against  Mun- 
zer,  and  ten  days  before  the  final  defeat 
of  the  peasants,  the  aged  Elector  of  Sax- 
ony, the  man  whom  God  had  raised  up 
to  defend  the  Reformation  against  exter- 
nal dangers,  descended  to  the  tomb. 

His  strength  had  been  daily  declining; 
and  his  feeling  heart  was  wrung  by  the 
atrocities  which  stained  the  progress  of 
the  war  of  the  peasants.  "  Oh  !"  cried 
he,  with  a  deep  sigh,  "  if  it  were  the  will 
of  God,  I  would  gladly  be  released  from 
this  life.  I  see  nothing  left,  neither  love, 
truth,  or  faith,  or  any  thing  good  upon 
this  earth."* 

Turning  from  the  thought  of  the  con- 
fusions that  prevailed  throughout  Ger- 
many, the  pious  prince  quietly  prepared 
himself  to  depart.  He  had  taken  up  his 
abode  in  his  castle  of  Lochau.  On  the 
4th  of  May,  he  asked  for  his  chaplain, 
the  faithful  Spalatin :  "  You  do  well  to 
visit  me,"  said  he  to  him  as  he  entered 
the  room,  "  for  it  is  well  to  visit  the  sick." 
Then  directing  that  his  couch  should  be 
moved  toward  the  table  where  Spalatin 
was  seated,  he  desired  his  attendants  to 
leave  the  room,  and  affectionately  taking 
his  friend's  hand,  spoke  to  him  familiarly 
of  Luther,  of  the  peasants,  and  of  his  ap- 
proaching end.  At  eight  that  same  even- 
ing Spalatin  returned :  the  aged  prince 
opened  his  mind  to  him,  and  confessed 
his  sins,  in  the  presence  of  God.  The 
next  morning,  the  5th,  he  received  the 
communion  under  both  kinds.  No  mem- 
ber of  his  family  was  present :  his  brother 

*  Noch  etwas  gutes  mehr  in  der  Welt. — 
(Seckend.  p.  702.) 


and  his  nephew  had  both  left  with  the 
army ;  but,  according  to  the  ancient  cus- 
tom of  those  times,  his  domestics  stood 
round  the  bed  gazing  in  tears*  upon  the 
venerable  prince  whom  it  had  been  their 
sweet  privilege  to  serve  :  "  My  little  chil- 
dren," said  he,  tenderly,  "  if  I  have  offend- 
ed any  one  of  you  forgive  me  for  the 
love  of  God  ;  for  we  princes  often  offend 
against  such  little  ones,  and  it  ought  not 
so  to  be."  In  this  way  did  Frederic  con- 
form himself  to  the  apostle's  direction 
that  the  rich  humble  himself  when  he  is 
brought  low,  "  because  as  the  flower  of 
the  grass  he  shall  pass  away."f 

Spalatin  never  left  him.  He  set  be- 
fore him  with  glowing  earnestness  the 
glorious  promises  of  the  Gospel ;  and  the 
pious  Elector  drank  in  its  strong  consola- 
tions with  unspeakable  peace.  That 
evangelic  doctrine  was  then  to  his  soul 
no  longer  a  sword,  turned  against  false 
teaching,  searching  it  in  all  its  refuges  of 
lies,  and  triumphing  over  it  at  every 
turn :  it  was  a  shower — a  gentle  dew, 
distilling  on  his  heart,  and  causing  it  to 
overflow  with  hope  and  joy.  God  and 
eternity  were  alone  present  to  his 
thought. 

Feeling  his  death  rapidly  drawing 
nigh,  he  destroyed  a  will  he  had  made 
some  years  before,  in  which  he  had  com- 
mended his  soul  to  "the  Mother  of  God," 
and  dictated  another  in  which  he  cast 
himself  on  the  spotless  and  availing 
merit  of  Jesus  Christ  "  for  the  forgive- 
ness of  his  sins,"  and  expressed  his  firm 
assurance  that  "he  was  redeemed  by  the 
precious  blood  of  his  beloved  Saviour."! 
This  done,  he  added, — "  My  strength 
fails  me,  I  can  say  no  more;"  and  at 
five  the  same  evening  he  "  fell  asleep." 
"  He  was  a  son  of  Peace,"  remarked 
his  physician,  "  and  in  peace  he  is  de- 
parted."— "Oh!"  said  Luther,  "how bit- 
ter to  his  survivors  was  that  death." § 

It  is  remarkable  that  Luther,  who  just 
at  that  time  was  on  a  mission  of  peace, 
trying  fo  allay  the  excitement  left,  by  re- 
cent events,  on  the  minds  of  the  people 
of  Thuringia,  had  never  seen  the  Elec- 
tor, but  at  a  distance, — as   at  Worms, 

*  Dass  alle  Umstehende  zum  weinen  bewegt. 
—(Ibid.) 

t  St.  James,  1  Eh.  10th  ver. 

t  Durch  das  theure  Blut  meines  allerliebsten 
Heylandes  erloset. — (Seek.  p.  703.) 

§  O  mors  amara! — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  659.) 


484 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


when  the  latter  was  seated  beside  Charles 
the  Fifth.  But  from  the  moment  the  Ref- 
ormation appeared,  these  two  remark- 
able men  had  been  together  in  spirit. 
Frederic  in  quest  of  the  national  interest 
and  independence, — Luther  in  quest  of 
truth  and  reformation.  It  cannot  be 
doubted  that  the  Reformation  was,  in 
principle,  a  work  of  the  Spirit ;  but,  in 
order  to  its  gaining  footing  on  the  earth, 
it  was,  perhaps,  necessary  that  it  should 
be  linked  with  a  something  connected 
with  the  interests  of  the  nation.  Hence, 
— no  sooner  had  Luther  stood  up  against 
indulgences,  than  the  alliance  between 
the  Monk  and  the  Prince  was  tacitly- 
concluded, — an  alliance  in  its  nature 
simply  moral,  without  form  of  contract, 
without  writing,  without  even  verbal 
communication, — an  alliance  in  which 
the  stronger  lent  no'  aid  to  the  weaker 
party,  but  that  which  consisted  in  leav- 
ing him  unmolested  to  his  work.  But 
now  that  the  mighty  oak,  under  the 
shelter  of  which  the  Reformation  had 
grown  up,  was  felled  to  the  dust, — now 
that  the  opposers  of  the  Gospel  gave 
more  free  expression  to  their  hatred,  and 
its  supporters  were  obliged  to  retire  or  to 
be  silent,  it  seemed  as  if  nothing  was 
left  to  defend  it  against  the  sword  of 
those  who  were  pursuing  it. 

The  confederates  of  Ratisbon,  after  the 
complete  defeat  of  the  peasants  of  the 
southern  and  western  provinces,  proceed- 
ed to  vent  their  revenge  on  the  Ref- 
ormation, as  well  as  on  those  who  had 
taken  part  in  the  revolt.  At  Wurtzburg, 
at  Bamberg,  inoffensive  citizens  were 
put  to  death, — including  some  who  had 
even  opposed  themselves  to  the  peasants. 
"  It  matters  not,"  it  was  openly  said, 
"they  were  of  the  Gospellers," — and 
they  were  beheaded.* 

Duke  George  sought  opportunity  to 
infuse  into  the  minds  of  the  Landgrave 
and  Duke  John  his  own  prejudices  and 
antipathies.  "See,"  said  he,  after  the 
rout  of  the  peasants,  pointing  to  the 
field  of  carnage,  "see  what  miseries 
Luther  has  occasioned."  John  and 
Philip  showed  signs  of  acquiescence. 
"  Duke"George,"  remarked  the  Reformer, 
"  flatters  himself  he  shall  succeed,  now 
that  Frederic  is  dead  ;  but  Christ  still 
reigns  in  the  midst  of  his  enemies. 
*  Ranke,  Deutsche  Gesch.  ii.  p.  226. 


Gnash   their    teeth    as    they   will,    the 
desire  of  them  shall  perish."* 

George  lost  no  time  in  forming,  in 
northern  Germany,  a  confederacy  similar 
to  that  of  Ratisbon.  The  Electors  of 
Mentz  and  Brandenburg, — Dukes  Hen- 
ry, Eric,  and  George,  assembled  at  Des- 
sau, and  there  concluded  a  treaty  of  alli- 
ance in  the  interest  of  Rome.f  In  the 
month  of  July,  George  urged  the  new 
Elector  and  his  son-in-law,  the  Land- 
grave, to  accede  to  it.  Then,  as  if  to 
give  intimation  of  the  objects  of  the  con- 
federation, he  beheaded  two  citizens  of 
Leipsic,  who  had  been  proved  to  have  in 
their  possession  the  Reformer's  writings. 

Just  at  this  time  letters  from  Charles 
the  Fifth,  dated  from  Toledo,  reached 
Germany,  by  which  another  Diet  was 
convoked  at  Augsburg.  Charles  wished 
to  give  the  Empire  such  a  constitution 
as  would  allow  him  to  dispose,  at  will, 
of  the  military  force  of  Germany.  The 
divisions  in  religion  favoured  his  design. 
He  had  but  to  let  loose  the  Catholics 
against  the  Gospellers ;  and  when  both 
should  have  exhausted  their  strength,  he 
might  gain  an  easy  victory  over  both. 
"  Away  with  the  Lutherans,"^:  was  there- 
fore the  cry  of  the  Emperor. 

Thus,  all  conspired  against  the  Ref- 
ormation. Never  could  Luther's  spirit 
have  been  bowed  down  by  such  mani- 
fold apprehensions.  The  surviving  sec- 
taries of  Miinzer  had  vowed  to  take  his 
life.  His  sole  protector  was  no  more. 
"  Duke  George,"  wrote  some,  "  intended 
to  arrest  him  in  Wittemberg  itself."^ 
The  Princes  who  could  have  defended 
him,  one  after  another  bowed  before  the 
storm,  and  seemed  to  be  abandoning  the 
cause  of  the  Gospel.  The  University, 
already  lowered  in  credit  by  the  recent 
confusions,  was,  according  to  rumour,  on 
the  point  of  being  suppressed  by  the  new 
Elector.  Charles,  after  his  victory  at 
Pavia,  had  just  convoked  another  Diet, 
that  a  finishing  blow  might  be  dealt 
against  the  Reformation.  What  dan- 
gers, then,  must  he  not  have  foreseen? 
The  anxious  mental  struggles  that  had  so 
often  drawn  sobs  from  his  bosom  again 

*  Dux  Gorgius,  mortuo  Frederico,  putat  se 
omnia  posse. — (L.  Epp.  iii.  p-  22 ) 

t  Habito  conciliabulo  conjuraverunt  restituros 
sese  esse  omnia  .  .  . — (Ibid.) 

X  Sleidan.  Hist,  de  la  Ref.  i.  p.  214. 

§  Keil.  Luther's  Leben,  p.  160 


MOVEMENTS  IN  GERMANY. 


485 


wrung  his  heart.  How  should  he  bear 
up  against  such  multiplied  enemies?  In 
the  very  crisis  of  this  agitation,  with  all 
these  accumulated  dangers  staring  him  in 
the  face, — the  corpse  of  Frederic  scarce- 
ly cold,  and  the  plains  of  Germany  still 
strewed  with  the  unburied  bodies  of  the 
peasants — Luther, — none  surely  could 
have  imagined  such  a  thing, — Luther 
married ! 

In  the  monastery  of  Nimptsch,  near 
Grimma,  in  Saxony,  resided,  in  the  year 
1523,  nine  nuns,  who  had  devoted  them- 
selves to  the  reading  of  God's  word,  and 
had  discerned  the  contrast  that  existed 
between  the  christian  life  and  the  daily 
routine  of  their  cloister.  The  names  of 
these  nuns  were  Magdalene  Staupitz, 
Elisa  Canitz,  Ave  Grossn,  Ave  and  Mar- 
garet Schonfeld,  Laneta  Golis,  Margaret 
and  Catherine  Zeschau,  and  Catherine 
Bora.  The  first  step  taken  by  these 
young  women,  after  their  minds  were  de- 
livered from  the  superstitions  of  their 
monastery,  was  to  write  to  their  relations 
— "  Our  continuance  in  a  cloister,"  said 
they,  "  is  incompatible  with  the  salvation 
of  our  souls."*  Their  parents,  dreading 
the  trouble  such  a  resolution  was  likely 
to  occasion  to  themselves,  repelled  with 
harshness  the  entreaties  of  their  children. 
The  poor  nuns  were  overwhelmed  with 
distress.  How  to  leave  their  nunnery ! 
their  timidity  took  alarm  at  so  desperate 
a  decision.  At  last,  their  horror  of  the 
Papal  services  prevailed,  and  they  mutu- 
ally promised  not  to  part  company,  but 
together  to  find  their  way  to  some  re- 
spectable quarter  with  decency  and  or- 
der, f  Two  respected  and  pious  citizens 
of  Torgau,  Leonard  Koppe  and  Wolff 
Tomitzch,  tendered  their  assistance! — 
they  welcomed  it  as  of  God's  sending, 
and  quitted  the  convent  of  Nimptsch 
without  any  hindrance  being  interposed, 
as  if  the  hand  of  the  Lord  had  set  open 
its  gates.  §  Koppe  and  Tomitzch  were 
in  waiting  to  receive  them  in  their  wag- 
gon— and  on  the  7th  of  April,  the  nine 

*  Der  Seelen  Seligkeit  halber. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p. 
323.) 

t  Mit  aller  Zucht  und  Ehre  an  redliche  Stiitte 
und  Orte  kommen. — (Ibid.  p.  322.) 

t  Per  honestos  cives  Torgavienses  adductae. — 
(Ibid.  p.  319.) 

§  Mirabiliter  evaserunt. — (Ibid.) 


nuns,  amazed  at  their  own  boldness, 
drew  up  in  deep  emotion  at  the  gate  of 
the  old  convent  of  the  Augustihes  where 
Luther  resided. 

"  This  is  not  my  doing."  said  Luther, 
as  he  received  them,  "  but  would  to  God 
I  could,  in  this  way,  give  liberty  to  en- 
slaved consciences,  and  empty  the  clois- 
ters of  their  tenants.  A  breach  is  made, 
however."*  Several  persons  proposed  to 
the  doctor  to  receive  the  nuns  into  their 
houses,  and  Catherine  Bora  found  a 
welcome  in  the  family  of  the  burgo- 
master of  Wittemberg. 

If  Luther  had  then  before  him  the 
prospect  of  any  solemn  event,  it  was  that 
he  should  be  called  to  ascend  the  scaffold, 
not  the  steps  of  the  altar.  Many  months 
after  this,  he  answered  those  who  spoke 
of  marriage — "  God  may  change  my 
purpose,  if  such  be  His  pleasure ;  but  at 
present  I  have  no  thought  of  taking 
a  wife :  not  that  I  am  insensible  to  the 
charms  of  a  married  life ;  I  am  neither 
wood  nor  stone  ;  but  I  every  day  expect 
death  and  the  punishment  of  a  heretic."f 

And  yet  all  was  moving  onward  in 
the  church.  The  habits  of  monastic  life, 
invented  by  man,  were  on  all  sides  giving 
place  to  the  habits  of  domestic  life,  insti- 
tuted by  God.  On  Sunday,  the  9th  of 
October,  Luther,  on  rising,  laid  aside  his 
monk's  gown,  assumed  the  garb  of  a 
secular  priest,  and  then  made  his  appear- 
ance in  the  church,  where  this  trans- 
formation caused  a  lively  satisfaction. 
Christianity,  in  its  renewed  youth,  hailed 
with  transport  everything  that  announced 
that  the  old  things  were  passed  away. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  last  monk 
quitted  the  convent.  Luther  remained 
behind  ;  his  footsteps  alone  re-echoed  in 
its  long  corridors — he  sat  silent  and  alone 
in  the  refectory,  so  lately  vocal  with  the 
babble  of  the  monks.  A  speaking  si- 
lence !  attesting  the  triumph  of  the  Word 
of  God.  The  convent  had,  indeed,  ceased 
to  have  any  existence.  Luther,  .toward 
the  end  of  December,  1524,  transmitted 
to  the  Elector  the  keys  of  the  monastery, 
together  with  a  message,  that  himself 
would  see  where  it  might  be  God's  will 

*  Und  alle  Kloster  ledig  machen. — (Ibid.  p. 
322.) 

+  Cum  expectam  quotidie  mortem  et  meritum 
haeretici  supplicium. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  570,  30th 
Nov.  1524.) 


486 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


to  feed  him.*  The  Elector  made  over 
the  convent  to  the  university,  and  desired 
Luther  to  continue  to  reside  in  it.  The 
abode  of  the  monks  was,  ere  long,  to  be- 
come the  home  of  a  Christian  family. 

Luther,  who  had  a  heart  happily  con- 
stituted for  relishing  the  sweetness  of  do- 
mestic life,  honoured  and  loved  the  mar- 
riage state.  It  is  even  likely  that  he 
had  some  preference  for  Catherine  Bora. 
For  a  long  while,  his  scruples  and  the 
thought  of  the  calumnies  which  such  a 
step  would  occasion,  had  hindered  his 
thinking  of  her  ;  and  he  had  offered  the 
hand  of  poor  Catherine  first  to  Baum- 
gartner  of  Nuremberg,!  and  afterwards 
to  Doctor  Glatz,  of  Orlamund.  But  when 
Baumgartner  declined,  and  Catherine 
herself  refused  Glatz,  he  began  more 
seriously  to  consider  whether  he  himself 
ought  not  to  think  of  making  her  his 
wife. 

His  aged  father,  who  had  been  so 
much  grieved  when  he  first  took  upon 
him  the  profession  of  an  ecclesiastic, 
urged  him  to  marry.};  But  one  thought 
above  all  was  present  in  much  power  to 
the  conscience  of  Luther.  Marriage  is 
God's  appointment — celibacy  is  man's. 
He  abhorred  whatever  bore  the  stamp 
of  Rome.  "  I  desire,"  said  he,  to  his 
friends,  "to  have  nothing  left  of  my 
papistic  life."§  Night  and  day  he  be- 
sought the  Lord  to  put  an  end  to  his  un- 
certainty. At  last  a  thought  came  to 
break  the  last  ties  which  held  him  back. 
To  all  the  considerations  of  consistency 
and  personal  obedience  which  taught 
him  to  apply  to  himself  that  word  of 
God — It  is  not  good  that  man  should  be 
alone\\ — was  added  a  higher  and  more 
powerful  motive.  He  recognized  that  if 
as  a  man  he  was  called  to  the  marriage 
state,  he  was  also  called  to  it  as  a 
Reformer.     This  thought  decided  him. 

"  If  that  monk  marries,"  said  his  friend 
Schurff  the  jurisconsult,  (i  he  will  cause 
men  and  devils  to  shout  with  laughter,!" 
and   bring   ruin   upon   all   that  he  has 

*  Muss  und  will  Ich  sehen  wo  mich  Gott  er- 
nahret.— (Ibid.  p.  582.) 

t  Si  vis  Ketam  tuam  a  Bora  tenere. — (L.  Epp. 
ii.  p.  553.) 

t  Aus  Begehren  meines  lieben  Vaters. — (Ibid. 
iii.  p.  2.) 

§  Ibid.  p.  1.  ||  Genesis  ii.  18. 

ff  Risuros  mundum  universum  et  diabolum  ip- 
sum._(M.  Ad.  Vit.  Luth.  p.  130.) 


hitherto  effected."  This  remark  had 
upon  Luther  an  effect  the  very  reverse 
of  what  might  have  been  expected.  To 
brave  the  world,  the  devil,  and  his  ene- 
mies, and,  by  an  act  in  man's  judgment 
the  most  likely  to  ruin  the  Reformation, 
make  it  evident  that  its  triumph  was  not 
to  be  ascribed  to  him,  was  the  very  thing 
he  most  of  all  desired.  Accordingly, 
lifting  up  his  head,  he  boldly  replied, — 
"  I'll  do  it !  I  will  play  this  trick  to  the 
world  and  the  devil! — I'll  content  my 
father  and  marry  Catherine  I"  Luther, 
by  his  marriage,  broke  even  more  irrev- 
ocably with  the  institutions  of  the  Papa- 
cy. He  sealed  his  doctrine  by  his  own 
example, — and  emboldened  the  timid  to 
an  entire  renunciation  of  their  delusions.* 
Rome  had  seemed  to  be  here  and  there 
recovering  the  ground  she  had  lost,  and 
might  have  been  indulging  in  dreams  of 
victory  ; — but  here  was  a  loud  explosion 
that  carried  wonder  and  terror  into  her 
ranks,  and  discovered,  more  clearly  than 
ever,  the  courage  of  the  enemy  she  had 
pictured  to  herself  defeated  and  depressed. 
"  I  am  determined,"  said  Luther,  "  to 
bear  witness  to  the  Gospel,  not  by  my 
words  alone,  but  by  my  actions.  I  am 
determined,  in  the  face  of  my  enemies, 
who  already  are  triumphing  and  exult- 
ing over  me,  to  marry  a  nun, — that  they 
may  know  that  they  have  not  conquered 
me.f  I  do  not  take  a  wife  that  I  may 
live  long  with  her;  but,  seeing  people 
and  princes  letting  loose  their  fury  against 
me, — in  the  prospect  of  death,  and  of 
their  again  trampling  my  doctrine  under 
foot,  I  am  resolved  to  edify  the  weak,  by 
leaving  on  record  a  striking  confirmation 
of  the  truth  of  what  I  have  taught."^ 

On  the  11th  of  June,  Luther  repaired 
to  the  house  of  his  friend  and  colleague 
Amsdorff.  He  requested  Pomeranus, 
whom  he  dignified  with  the  special 
character  of  the  Pastor,  to  give  them  the 
nuptial  benediction.  Lucas  Cranach  and 
Doctor  John  Apelles  witnessed  their  mar- 
riage.    Melancthon  was  not  present. 

*  Ut  confirmem  facto  quae  docui,  tarn  multoa 
invenio  pusillanimes  in  tanta  luce  Evangelii. — 
(L.  Epp.  iii.  p.  13.) 

t  Nonna  ducta  uxore  in  despectum  triumphan- 
tium  et  clamantium  Jo !  Jo !  hostium. — (Ibid, 
p.  21.) 

t  Non  duxi  uxorem  ut  diu  viverem,  sed  quod 
nunc  propiorem  finem  meum  suspicarer. — (Ibid, 
p.  32.) 


MOVEMENTS  IN  GERMANY. 


487 


No  sooner  Had  Luther's  marriage 
taken  place  than  all  Christendom  was 
roused  by  the  report  of  it.  On  all  sides 
accusations  and  calumnies  were  heaped 
upon  him.  "  It  is  incest,"  exclaimed 
Henry  the  Eighth.  "  A  monk  has  mar- 
ried a  vestal  !"*  said  some.  "  Antichrist 
must  be  the  fruit  of  such  a  union,"  said 
others ;  "  for  it  has  been  predicted  that 
he  will  be  the  offspring  of  a  monk  and  a 
nun."  To  which  Erasmus  made  an- 
swer, with  malicious  sneer,  "  If  that 
prophecy  be  true,  what  thousands  of  An- 
tichrists the  world  has  before  now  seen."f 
But  while  these  attacks  were  directed 
against  Luther,  some  prudent  and  mode- 
rate men,  in  the  communion  of  the 
Church  of  Rome,  undertook  his  defence. 
"  Luther,"  said  Erasmus,  "  has  taken  to 
wife  a  female  of  the  noble  house  of  Bora, 
— but  she  brought  him  no  dowry. "| 
One  whose  testimony  carries  still  more 
weight,  bore  witness  in  his  favour. 
Philip  Melancthon,  the  honoured  teacher 
of  Germany,  who  had  at  first  been 
alarmed  by  so  bold  a  step,  now  remarked 
with  that  grave  conscientiousness  which 
commanded  respect  even  from  his  ene- 
mies :  "  If  it  is  asserted  that  there  has 
been  anything  unbecoming  in  the  affair 
of  Luther's  marriage,  it  is  a  false  slan- 
der.*^ It  is  my  opinion,  that,  in  marry- 
ing, he  must  have  done  violence  to  his 
inclination.  The  marriage  state,  I  allow, 
is  one  of  humility, — but  it  is  also  one  of 
sanctity — if  there  be  any  sanctity  in  this 
world ;  and  the  Scriptures  everywhere 
speak  of  it  as  honourable  in  God's  sight." 

At  first  Luther  was  disturbed  by  the 
reproaches  and  indignities  showered  upon 
him.  Melancthon  showed  more  than  his 
usual  kindness  and  affection  towards 
him; |j  and  it  was  not  long  before  the 
Reformer  was  enabled  to  discern,  in 
men's  opposition,  one  mark  of  God's  ap- 
proval. "  If  the  uiorld  were  not  scan- 
dalized by  what  I  have  done,"  said  he, 

*  Monachus  cum  vestali  copularetur. — (M.  Ad. 
Vit.  Luth.  p.  131.) 

t  Quot  Antichristorum  millia  jam  olim  habet 
mundus. — (Er.  Epp.  p.  789.) 

X  Erasmus  adds : — Partu  mature-  sponsae  vanus 
erat  rumor.— (Er.  Epp.  p.  780,  789.) 

§  On  xpcvSoi  tovto  xal  SiafioXr)  can. — (Corp. 
Ref.  i.  p.  753  ad  Cam.) 

j|  Haoa  anovSn  koX  evvoia. — (Ibid.) 


"  I  should  have  reason  to  fear  that  it  was 
not  according  to  God's  mind."* 

Eight  years  had  elapsed  between  the 
period  when  Luther  first  preached  agayist 
indulgences,  and  the  time  of  his  union 
with  Catherine  Bora.  It  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  attribute,  as  is  sometimes  done, 
his  zeal  against  the  corruptions  of  the 
Church  to  an  eager  desire  to  enter  into 
the  marriage  state.  He  was  already 
turned  forty-two ;  and  Catherine  had 
passed  two  years  at  Wittemberg  since 
leaving  the  convent. 

Luther's  marriage  was  a  happy  one : 
':  The  greatest  of  earthly  blessings,"  said 
he,  "  is  a  pious  and  amiable  wile, — who 
fears  God  and  loves  her  family,  one  with 
whom  a  man  may  live  in  peace  and  in 
whom  he  may  repose  perfect  confidence." 

Some  time  after,  in  writing  to  one  of 
his  friends,  he  intimated  that  his  Cathe- 
rine might  soon  present  him  with  a 
child  ;f  and,  in  fact,  just  one  year  after 
their  marriage,  Catherine  was  delivered 
of  a  boy.:j;  '^  ^e  charms  of  domestic  life 
soon  dispelled  the  dark  clouds  raised 
around  him  by  the  wrath  of  his  adver- 
saries. His  Ketha,  as  he  called  her, 
manifested  towards  him  the  tenderest 
affection,  comforting  him,  when  cast 
down,  by  reciting  passages  of  the  Bible, 
relieving  him  from  the  cares  of  the 
household,  sitting  by  him  in  his  intervals 
of  leisure,  while  she  worked  his  portrait 
in  embroidery,  or  reminded  him  of  the 
friends  he  had  neglected  to  write  to,  and 
amused  him  by  the  simplicity  of  her 
questions.  A  sort  of  dignity  seems  to 
have  marked  her  deportment,  for  Luther 
occasionally  spoke  of  her  as  "  My  Lord 
Catherine."  On  one  occasion  he  said, 
jesting,  that  if  ever  he  had  to  marry 
again,  he  would  chisel  an  obedient  wife 
in  stone,  for,  added  he,  "  there  is  no  pos- 
sibility of  finding  a  real  one."  His-  let- 
ters were  full  of  tenderness  for  Catherine, 
whom  he  styled,  "  his  dear  and  gracious 
wife" — " his  dear  and  amiable  Ketha." 
Luther's  manner  acquired  more  playful- 

*  Offenditur  etiam  in  carne  ipsius  divinitatis  et 
creatoris,  he  adds. — (L.  Epp.  iii.  p.  32.) 

t  21st  Oct.  1525.  Catena  mea  simulat  vel 
vere  implet  illud  Genes  3.  Tu  dolore  gravida 
eris. — (L.  Epp.  iii.  p.  35.) 

t  Mir  meine  liebe  Kethe  einen  Hansen  Luther 
bracht  hat,  gestern  um  zwei. — (8th  June,  1526. 
Ibid.  p.  119.) 


48S 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


ness  from  the  society  of  his  Catherine ; 
and  that  happy  flow  of  spirits  continued 
from  that  time,  and  was  never  lost  even 
in  the  most  trying  circumstances. 

Such  was  the  almost  universal  corrup- 
tion of  the  clergy,  that  the  priestly  office 
had  fallen  into  almost  general  disrepute: 
the  isolated  virtue  of  a  few  faithful  ser- 
vants of  God  had  not  sufficed  to  redeem 
it  from  contempt.  Family  peace  and 
conjugal  fidelity  were  continually  being 
disturbed,  both  in  towns  and  rural  dis- 
tricts, by  the  gross  passions  of  priests  and 
monks ; — none  were  safe  from  their  se- 
ductions. The  free  access  allowed  them 
to  families,  and  sometimes  even  the  con- 
fidence of  the  confessional,  was  basely 
perverted  into  an  opportunity  of  instil- 
ling deadly  poison,  that  they  might 
gTatify  their  guilty  desires.  The  Ref- 
ormation, by  abolishing  the  celibacy  of 
the  ecclesiastics,  restored  the  sanctity  of 
wedlock.  The  marriage  of  the  clergy 
put  an  end  to  an  untold  amount  of  secret 
profligacy.  The  Reformers  became  ex- 
amples to  their  flocks  in  the  most  en- 
dearing and  -important  of  all  human  re- 
lationships,— and  it  was  not  long  before 
the  people  rejoiced  to  see  the  ministers  of 
religion  in  the  character  of  husbands  and 
fathers. 

On  a  hasty  view,  Luther's  marriage 
had  indeed  seemed  to  multiply  the  diffi- 
culties in  the  way  of  the  Reformation. 
It  was  still  suffering  from  the  effects  of 
the  revolt  of  the  peasants ;  the  sword  of 
the  Emperor  and  of  the  princes  was  un- 
sheathed against  it ;  and  its  friends,  the 
Landgrave  Philip,  and  the  new  Elector 
John,  appeared  discouraged  and  si- 
lenced. 

Nevertheless,  this  state  of  things  was 
of  no  long  duration.  The  young  Land- 
grave ere  long,  boldly  raised  his  head. 
Ardent  and  fearless  as  Luther,  the  manly 
spirit  of  the  Reformer  had  won  his  emu- 
lation. He  threw  himself  with  youth- 
ful daring  into  the  ranks  of  the  Refor- 
mation, while  he  at  the  same  time  stud- 
ied its  character  with  the  grave  intelli- 
gence of  a  thoughtful  mind. 

In  Saxony,  the  loss  of  Frederic's  pru- 
dence and  influence  was  but  ill  supplied 
by  his  successor  ;  but  the  Elector's  broth- 
er, Duke  John,  instead  of  confining  him- 
self to  the  office  of  a  protector,  inter- 
vened directly  and  courageously  in  mat- 


ters affecting  religion  :  "  I  desire,"  said 
he,  in  a  speech  communicated  to  the  as- 
sembled clergy,  on  the  16th  August, 
1525,  as  he  was  on  the  point  of  quitting 
Weimar,  "  that  you  will  in  future  preach 
the  pure  word  of  God,  apart  from  those 
things  which  man  has  added."  Some 
of  the  older  clergy,  not  knowing  how  to 
set  about  obeying  his  directions,  answer- 
ed with  simplicity, — "  But  we  are  not 
forbidden  to  say  mass  for  the  dead,  or  to 
bless  the  water  and  salt  ?" — "  Every 
thing, — no  matter  what," — replied  the 
Elector,  "  must  be  conformed  to  God's 
word." 

Soon  after,  the  young  Landgrave  con- 
ceived the  romantic  hope  of  converting 
Duke  George,  his  father-in-law.  Some- 
times he  would  demonstrate  the  suffi- 
ciency of  the  Scriptures — another  time  he 
would  expose  the  Mass,  the  Papacy,  and 
compulsory  vows.  His  letters  followed 
quick  upon  each  other,  and  the  various 
testimony  of  God's  word  was  all  brought 
to  bear  upon  the  old  Duke's  faith.* 

These  efforts  were  not  without  results. 
Duke  George's  son  was  won  to  the  new 
opinions.  But  Philip  failed  with  the  fa- 
ther.— "  A  hundred  years  hence,"  said 
the  latter,  "  and  you  will  see  who  is 
right." — "  Awful  speech  !"  observed  the 
Elector  of  Saxony  :  "  What  can  be  the 
worth,  I  pray  you,  of  a  faith  that  needs 
so  much  previous  reflection  ?f — P°or 
Duke  !  he  will  hold  back  long — I  fear 
God  has  hardened  his  heart,  as  Phara- 
oh's, in  old  time." 

In  Philip,  the  friends  of  the  Gospel 
possessed  a  leader,  at  once  bold,  intelli- 
gent, and  capable  of  making  head  against 
the  formidable  assaults  its  enemies  were 
planning.  But  is  it  not  sad  to  think, 
that  from  this  moment  the  leader  of  the 
Reformation  should  be  a  soldier,  and  not 
simply  a  disciple  of  God's  word  ?  Man's 
part  in  the  work  was  seen  in  due  ex- 
pansion, and  its  spiritual  element  was 
proportionably  contracted.  The  work 
itself  suffered  in  consequence,  for  every 
work  should  be  permitted  to  develop  it- 
self, according  to  the  laws  of  its  own  na- 
ture,— and  the  Reformation  was  of  a  na- 
ture essentially  spiritual. 

God  was   multiplying   external   sup- 

*  Rommels  Urkundenbuch.     I.  p.  2. 
t  Was  das  fur  ein  Glaube  sey,  der  eine  solche 
Erfahrung  erfordert. — (Seckend,  p.  739.) 


MOVEMENTS  IN  GERMANY. 


489 


ports.  Already  a  powerful  state  on  the 
German  frontier  —  Prussia  —  unfurled 
with  joy  the  standard  of  the  Gospel. 
The  chivalrous  and  religious  spirit  that 
had  founded  the  Teutonic  order,  had 
gradually  become  extinct  with  the  mem- 
ory of  the  ages  in  which  it  arose.  The 
knights,  intent  only  upon  their  private 
interests,  had  given  dissatisfaction  to  the 

f>eople  over  whom  they  presided.  Po- 
and  had  seized  the  opportunity  to  im- 
pose her  suzerainty  on  the  order.  Peo- 
ple, knights,  grand  master,  Polish  influ- 
ence, were  so  many  different  interests 
continually  conflicting,  and  rendering 
the  prosperity  of  the  country  impossi- 
ble. 

In  this  state  of  things,  the  Reforma- 
tion found  them,  and  all  men  saw  in  it 
the  only  way  of  deliverance  for  that 
unfortunate  people.  Brisman,  Speratus, 
Poliander,  (who  had  been  secretary  to 
Eck,  at  the  time  of  the  Leipsic  discus- 
sion,) and  others  besides,  preached  the 
Gospel  in  Prussia. 

One  .day  a  beggar,  coming  from  the 
lands  under  the  rule  of  the  Teutonic 
knights,  arrived  in  Wittemberg ;  and, 
stopping  before  the  residence  of  Luther, 
sang  slowly  that  noble  hymn  of  Polian- 
der's, 

"  At  length  redemption's  come."* 

The  Reformer,  who  had  never  heard 
this  Christian  hymn,  listened,  rapt  in  as- 
tonishment. The  foreign  accent  of  the 
singer  heightened  his  joy.  "  Again, 
again,"  cried  he,  when  the  beggar  had 
ended.  Afterwards  he  enquired  where 
he  had  learned  that  hymn,  and  tears 
filled  his  eyes,  when  he  heard  from  the 
poor  man  that  it  was  from  the  shores  of 
the  Baltic  that  this  shout  of  deliverance 
was  sounding  as  far  as  Wittemberg: — 
then,  clasping  his  hands,  he  gave  thanks 
to  Gocl.f 

In  truth  Redemption  was  come  even 
thither ! 

"  Take  compassion  on  our  weakness," 
said  the  people  of  Prussia  to  the  Grand 
Master,  "and  send  us  preachers  who 
may  proclaim  the  pure  Gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ."  Albert  at  first  gave  no  answer, 
but  he  entered  into  parley  with  Sigis- 
mund  king  of  Poland,  his  uncle  and 
suzerain  lord.  % 

*  Es  ist  das  Heyl  uns  kommen  her. 
t  Dankte  Gott  mit  Freuden. — (Seek.  p.  668.) 
62 


The  latter  acknowledged  him  as  he- 
reditary Duke  of  Prussia,*  and  the  new 
prince  made  his  entry  into  his  capital  of 
Konigsberg,  amidst  the  ringing  of  bells, 
and  acclamations  of  the  inhabitants,  who 
had  decorated  their  houses,  and  strewed 
their  streets  with  flowers.  "  There  is 
but  One  religious  order,"  said  Albert, 
"  and  it  is  as  comprehensive  as  Christian- 
ity itself!"  The  monastic  orders  vanish- 
ed, and  that  divinely  appointed  order- 
was  restored. 

The  bishops  surrendered  their  secular 
rights  to  the  new  Duke ;  the  convents 
were  converted  into  hospitals ;  and  the 
Gospel  carried  into  the  poorest  villages  ; 
and  in  the  year  following,  Albert  mar- 
ried Dorothy,  daughter  of  the  king  of 
Denmark,  whose  faith  in  the  one  Saviour 
was  unshaken. 

The  Pope  called  upon  the  Emperor 
to  take  measures  against  the  "  apostate" 
monk  ; — and  Charles  placed  Albert  un- 
der interdict. 

Another  prince  of  the  house  of  Bran- 
denburg, the  Cardinal-Archbishop  of 
Mentz,  was  just  then  on  the  point  of  fol- 
lowing his  relation's  example.  The  re- 
volt of  the  peasants  was  especially  men- 
acing in  its  aspect  toward  the  ecclesiasti- 
cal principalities;  the  Elector,  Luther, 
and  all  Germany  thought  a  great  revo- 
lution was  at  hand.  The  Archbishop 
seeing  no  better  way  to  preserve  his  prin- 
cipality than  to  render  it  secular,  pri- 
vately requested  Luther  to  sound  the 
minds  of  the  people  preparatory  to  so  de- 
cided a  step,f — which  Luther  accord- 
ingly did,  in  a  letter  written  with  a  view 
to  its  being  made  public,  wherein  he 
said  that  the  hand  of  God  was  heavy  on 
the  clergy,  and  that  nothing  could  save 
them.!  However  the  War  of  the  peas- 
ants having  been  brought  to  an  earlier 
termination  than  had  been  looked  for : 
the  cardinal  retained  possession  of  his 
temporalities — his  uneasiness  subsided, 
and  all  thoughts  of  secularizing  his  po- 
sition were  dismissed ! 

Whilst  John  of  Saxony,  Philip  of 
Hesse,  and  Albert  of  Prussia,  were 
openly  taking  part  with  the  Reformation, 
and  thus,  in  place  of  the  cautious  Fred- 
eric, three  princes  of  bold  and  decided 

*  Sleidan,  Hist,  de  la  Ref.  p.  220. 

t  Seckend.  p.  712. 

t  Er  muss  herunter. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  674.) 


490 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


character  were  standing  forward  in  its 
support,  the  blessed  Word  was  working 
its  way  in  the  Church,  and  among  the 
nations.  Luther  besought  the  Elector 
to  establish  generally  the  preaching  of 
the  Gospel  in  place  of  the  ministrations 
of  Romish  priests,  and  to  direct  a  gene- 
ral visitation  of  the  churches.*  About 
the  same  time  at  Wittemberg  they  began 
to  exercise  the  episcopal  function,  and 
ordain  ministers  :  "  Let  not  the  Pope,  the 
bishops,  or  the  monks,  exclaim  against  us," 
said  Melancthon,  "  we  are  the  Church  ; 
— he  who  separates  from  us  separates 
himself  from  the  Church.  There  is  no 
other  Church — save  the  assembly  of 
those  who  have  the  word  of  God,  and 
who  are  purified  by  iff 

All  this  could  not  be  said  and  done 
without  occasioning  a  strong  reaction. 
Rome  had  thought  the  Reformation  ex- 
tinguished in  the  blood  of  the  rebel 
peasants — but  in  all  quarters  its  flame 
was  rising  more  bright  and  powerful 
than  ever.  She  decided  on  making  one 
more  effort.  The  Pope  and  the  Empe- 
ror wrote  menacing  letters,  the  former 
from  Rome,  the  latter  from  Spain.  The 
Imperial  government  took  measures  for 
restoring  the  ancient  order  of  things,  and 
preparations  were  made  for  finally  crush- 
ing the  Reformation  at  the  approaching 
Diet. 

The  electoral  Prince  of  Saxony,  and 
the  Landgrave,  in  some  alarm,  met  on 
the  7th  of  November  in  the  castle  of 
Friedewalt,  and  came  to  an  agreement 
that  their  deputies  at  the  Diet  should  act 
in  concert.  Thus  in  the  forest  of  Sul- 
lingen  arose  the  earliest  elements  of  an 
evangelical  association  in  opposition  to 
the  leagues  of  Ratisbon  and  Dessau. 

The  Diet  opened  on  the  1 1th  of  De- 
cember, at  Augsburg.  The  princes  fa- 
vourable to  the  Gospel  were  not  present, 
but  the  deputies  from  Saxony  and  Hesse 
spoke  out  fearlessly  :  "  The  rising  of  the 
peasants,"  said  they,  "  was  the  effect  of 
impolitic  and  harsh  usage.  God's  truth 
is  not  to  be  torn  from  the  heart  by  fire 
and  sword :  if  you  are  bent  on  resorting 
to  violence  against  the  reformed  opinions, 
you  will  bring  down  upon  us  calamities 

*  L.  Epp.  iii.  p.  28,  38,  51,  &c. 

t  Dass  Kirche  sey  allein  diejenige,  so  Gottes 
Wort  haben  und  damit  gereiniget  werden. — 
(Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  766.) 


more  terrible  than  those  from  which  we 
have  but  just  escaped." 

It  was  felt  that  the  resolution  of  the 
Diet  must  be  most  important  in  its  re- 
sults. Every  one  desired,  by  postponing 
the  decisive  moment,  to  gain  time  to 
strengthen  his  own  position.  It  was  ac- 
cordingly resolved,  that  the  Diet  should 
re-assemble  at  Spires  in  the  month  of 
May  following ;  and  in  the  meanwhile 
the  rescript  of  Nuremberg  was  to  contin- 
ue in  force.  "  When  the  Diet  meet 
again,"  said  they,  "  we  will  go  fully  into 
the  questions  of  '  the  holy  faith, — public 
rights, — and  the  general  peace.'  " 

The  Landgrave  pursued  his  plan. 
Toward  the  end  of  February,  1526,  he 
had  a  conference  with  the  Elector  at  Go- 
tha.  The  two  princes  came  to  an  un- 
derstanding, that  if  attacked  on  account 
of  the  word  of  God,  they  would  unite 
their  forces  to  resist  their  adversaries. 
This  alliance  was  formally  ratified  at 
Torgau,  and  was  destined  to  be  fruitful 
in  important  consequences. 

However,  the  alliance  he  had  conclu- 
ded was  of  itself  not  enough  to  satisfy  the 
Landgrave.  Convinced  that  Charles  was 
at  work  to  compact  a  league  "against 
Christ  and  his  holy  word,"  he  addressed 
letter  after  letter  to  the  Elector,  urging 
upon  him  the  necessity  of  uniting  with 
other  states :  "  For  myself,"  said  he, 
"  rather  would  I  die  than  deny  the  word 
of  God,  and  allow  myself  to  be  driven 
from  my  throne."* 

At  the  Elector's  court  much  uncer- 
tainty prevailed.  In  fact,  a  serious  dif- 
ficulty stood  in  the  way  of  union  between 
the  princes  favourable  to  the  Gospel ; 
and  this  difficulty  originated  with  Lu- 
ther and  Melancthon.  Luther  insisted 
that  the  doctrine  of  the  Gospel  should  be 
defended  by  God  alone.  He  thought 
that  the  less  man  meddled  in  the  work, 
the  more  striking  would  "be  God's  inter- 
vention in  its  behalf.  All  the  politic 
precautions  suggested,  were  in  his  view 
attributable  to  unworthy  fear  and  sinful 
mistrust.  Melancthon  dreaded  lest  an 
alliance  between  the  evangelical  princes 
should  hasten  that  very  struggle  which 
it  was  their  object  to  avert. 

The  Landgrave  was  not  to  be  deterred 
by  such  considerations,  and  laboured  to 
gain  over  the  neighbouring  states  to  the 

*  Seckendorf,  p.  768. 


MOVEMENTS  IN  GERMANY. 


491 


alliance,  but  he  failed  in  his  endeavours. 
The  Elector  of  Treves  abandoned  the 
ranks  of  the  opposition,  and  accepted  a 
pension  from  the  Emperor.  Even  the 
Elector  Palatine,  whose  disposition  was 
known  to  be  favourable  to  the  Gospel, 
declined  Philip's  advances. 

Thus,  in  the  direction  of  the  Rhine, 
the  Landgrave  had  completely  failed ; 
but  the  Elector,  in  opposition  to  the  ad- 
vice of  the  reformed  divines,  opened  ne- 
gociations  with  the  princes  who  had  in 
all  times  gathered  round  the  standard  of 
the  powerful  chief  of  Saxony.  On  the 
12th  day  of  June,  the  Elector  and  his 
son,  the  Dukes  Philip,  Ernest,  Otho  and 
Francis  of  Brunswick  and  Lunenburg, 
Duke  Henry  of  Mecklenburg,  Prince 
Wolf  of  Anhalt,  Counts  Albert  and  Geb- 
hard  of  Mansfeld,  assembled  at  Magde- 
burg, and  there,  under  the  presidence  of 
the  Elector,  they  contracted  an  alliance 
similar  to  that  of  Torgau. 

"Almighty  God,"  said  the  princes, 
u  having  in  his  unspeakable  mercy  again 
brought  forward  among  men  his  holy 
and  eternal  word,  the  food  of  our  souls, 
and  our  richest  treasure  on  this  earth, — 
and  great  efforts  being  made  by  the  cler- 
gy and  their  adherents  to  suppress  and 
extirpate  it, — we, — being  well  assured 
that  He  who  has  sent  it  forth  to  glorify 
his  name  upon  earth,  will  know  how  to 
maintain  it,  mutually  engage  to  preserve 
that  blessed  word  to  our  people,  and  to 
employ  for  this  end  our  goods,  and  our 
lives,  the  resources  of  our  states,  and  the 
arms  of  our  subjects,  and  all  that  we  J 
have,  putting  our  trust  not  in  our  armies, 
but  solely  in  the  almighty  power  of  the 
Lord,  of  whom  we  desire  to  be  but  the 
instruments."*     So  spoke  the  princes. 

Two  days  after,  the  city  of  Magde- 
burg was  received  into  the  alliance,  and 
Albert  of  Brandenburg,  the  new  Duke 
of  Prussia,  acceded  to  it  by  a  separate 
convention. 

The  Evangelic  Union  was  formed; 
but  the  dangers  it  was  destined  to  ward 
off  seemed  every  day  to  become  more 
threatening.  The  priests,  and  such  of 
the  princes  as  adhered  to  the  Romish 
party,  had  seen  the  Reformation,  which 
they  had  thought  stifled,  suddenly  grow- 

*  Allein  auf  Gott  den  Allmiichtigen,  als  des- 
sen  Werkzeuge  sie  handeln. — (Hortleber,  Ur- 
sache  des  deutschen  Krieges,  i.  p.  1490.) 


ing  up  before  them  to  a  formidable 
height.  Already  the  partisans  of  the 
Reformation  were  nearly  as  numerous 
as  those  of  the  Pope.  If  they  should 
form  a  majority  in  the  Diet,  the  conse- 
quences to  the  ecclesiastical  states  might 
be  imagined.  Now  or  never !  It  was 
no  longer  a  heresy  to  be  refuted,  but 
a  powerful  party  to  be  withstood.  Victo- 
ries of  a  different  kind  from  those  of.Eck 
were  needed  on  this  occasion. 

Vigorous  measures  had  been  already 
taken.  The  metropolitan  chapter  of  the 
church  of  Mentz  had  convoked  an  as- 
sembly of  its  suffragans,  and  adopted  the 
resolution  to  send  a  deputation  to  the  Em- 
peror and  the  Pope,  entreating  them  to  in- 
terpose for  the  deliverance  of  the  Church. 

At  the  same  time,  Duke  George  of 
Saxony,  Duke  Henry  of  Brunswick,  and 
the  Cardinal-Elector  Albert,  had  met  at 
Halle,  and  addressed  a  memorial  to 
Charles.  "  The  detestable  doctrine  of 
Luther,"  said  they,  "  is  making  extensive 
progress ;  every  day  attempts  are  made 
to  seduce  ourselves,  and,  failing  to  per- 
suade us,  they  seek  to  compel  us  by  ex- 
citing our  subjects  to  revolt.  We  im- 
plore the  Emperors  intervention."*  On 
the  breaking  up  of  this  conference.  Bruns- 
wick himself  set  out  for  Spain  to  induce 
Charles  to  take  the  decisive  step. 

He  could  not  have  arrived  at  a  more 
favourable  juncture :  the  Emperor  had 
just  concluded  with  France  the  famous 
peace  of  Madrid.  He  seemed  to  have 
nothing  left  to  apprehend  from  that  quar- 
ter, and  his  undivided  attention  was 
now  directed  to  the  affairs  of  Germany. 
Francis  the  First  had  offered  to  defray 
half  the  expenses  of  a  war  either  against 
the  heretics  or  against  the  Turks  ! 

The  Emperor  was  at  Seville ; — he 
was  on  the  eve  of  marriage  with  a  prin- 
cess of  Portugal,  and  the  banks  of  the 
Guadalquiver  resounded  with  joyous 
festivity.  A  dazzling  train  of  nobles, 
and  vast  crowds  of  people  thronged  the 
ancient  capital  of  the  Moors.  The  pomp 
and  ceremonies  of  the  Church  were 
displayed  under  the  roofs  of  its  noble 
cathedral.  A  Legate  from  the  Pope 
officiated ;  and  never  before,  even  under 
Arabian  rule,  had  Andalusia  witnessed  a 
spectacle  of  more  magnificence  and  so- 
lemnity. 

*  Schmidt,  Deutsche  Gesch.  viii.  p.  202. 


492 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


Just  at  that  time,  Henry  of  Brunswick 
arrived  from  Germany,  and  solicited 
Charles  to  save  the  Church  .and  the 
Empire  from  the  attacks  of  the  monk  of 
Wittemberg.  His  request  was  immedi- 
ately taken  into  consideration,  and  the 
Emperor  resolved  on  vigorous  measures. 

On  the  23d  of  March,  1526,  he  ad- 
dressed letters  to  several  of  the  princes 
and  free  cities  that  still  adhered  to  Rome. 
He  also  specially  commissioned  the  Duke 
of  Brunswick  to  communicate  to  them 
that  he  had  learned  with  grief  that  the 
continued  progress  of  Luther's  heresy 
threatened  to  fill  Germany  with  sacri- 
lege, havoc,  and  bloodshed ;  and  at  the 
same  time,  to  express  the  great  pleasure 
he  felt  in  the  fidelity  of  the  majority  of 
the  States,  and  to  acquaint  them  that, 
laying  aside  all  other  business,  he  was 
about  to  leave  Spain  and  repair  to  Rome, 
to  concert  measures  with  the  Pope,  and 
from  thence  to  pass  into  Germany,  and 
there  oppose  that  abominable  Wittem- 
berg pest;  adding,  that  it  behoved  them 
to  continue  steadfast  in  their  faith,  and  in 
the  event  of  the  Lutherans  seeking  to 
seduce  or  oblige  them  to  a  renunciation 
of  it,  to  repel  their  attempts  by  a  united 
and  courageous  resistance  :  that  he  him- 
self would  shortly  be  among  them  and 
support  them  with  all  his  power.* 

When  Brunswick  returned  into  Ger- 
many, the  Catholic  party  joyfully  lifted 
up  their  heads.  The  Dukes  of  Bruns- 
wick, Pomerania,  Albert  of  Mecklen- 
burg, John  of  Juliers,  George  of  Saxony, 
the  Dukes  of  Bavaria,  and  all  the  digni- 
taries of  the  Church,  on  reading  the 
menacing  letters  of  the  conqueror  of 
Francis  the  First,  thought  their  triumph 
secure.  It  was  decided  they  should  at- 
tend the  approaching  Diet,  and  humble 
the  heretical  princes ;  and  in  the  event 
of  the  latter  resisting,  quell  them  with 
the  sword.     "  I  may  be  Elector  of  Saxo- 

*  Archives  of  Weimar. — (Seckend.  p.  768.) 


ny  any  day  I  please"*  was  an  expression 
ascribed  by  report  to  Duke  George — 
words  to  which  he  afterwards  endeav- 
oured to  attach  another  meaning.  "  The 
Lutheran  party  cannot  long  hold  to- 
gether," said  his  Chancellor  to  the  Duke, 
in  a  tone  of  exultation  ;  "  let  them  mind 
what  they  are  about :" — and  truly  Luther 
was  on  his  guard,  though  not  in  the 
sense  their  words  conveyed.  He  atten- 
tively observed  the  designs  of  the  op- 
posers  of  God's  word :  he,  like  Melanc- 
thon,  expected  that  thousands  of  swords 
would  ere  long  be  unsheathed  against 
the  Gospel.  But  he  sought  a  strength 
far  above  the  strength  of  men.  Writing 
to  Frederic  Myconius,  he  observed,  "  Sa- 
tan is  raging :  ungodly  priests  take  coun- 
sel together,  and  we  are  threatened  with 
war.  Exhort  the  people  to  contend 
earnestly  before  the  throne  of  the  Lord, 
by  faith  and  prayer,  that  our  adversaries, 
being  overcome  by  the  Spirit  of  God, 
may  be  constrained  to  peace.  The  most 
urgent  of  our  wants — the  very  first  thing 
we  have  to  do,  is  to  pray :  let  the  people 
know  that  they  are  at  this  hour  exposed 
to  the  edge  of  the  sword,  and  the  rage  of 
the  devil:  let  them  pray.vj 

Thus  every  thing  indicated  a  decisive 
conflict.  The  Reformation  had  on  its 
side  the  prayers  of  Christians,  the  sym- 
pathy of  the  people,  and  an  ascendant  in 
men's  minds  that  no  power  could  stay. 
The  Papacy  had  with  it  the  established 
order,  the  force  of  early  habit,  the  zeal 
and  hatred  of  powerful  princes,  and  the 
authority  of  an  Emperor  whose  domin- 
ion extended  over  both  hemispheres,  and 
who  had  just  before  deeply  humbled  the 
pride  of  Francis  the  First. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  affairs  when 
the  Diet  of  Spires  was  opened.  Let  us 
now  turn  our  attention  to  Switzerland. 

*  Ranke,  Deutsch  Gesch.  ii.  p.  349.  Rommel 
Urkunden,  p.  22. 

t  Ut  in  mediis  gladiis  et  furoribus  Satanse  po- 
sito  et  periclitanti. — (L.  Epp.  iii.  p.  100.) 


THE  SWISS.— 1522— 1527. 


493 


BOOK   II. 


THE  SWISS.— 1522— 1527. 


Spiritual  Slavery — Christian  Liberty — Effect  of  the  Gospel  on  Zwingle — Leo  Judah  at  Zurich — 
The  Challenge — Zwingle  and  Faber — Zwingle  Tempted  by  the  Pope — "  Zwingle's  Passion" — 
Tract  against  Images — Wooden  Idols — The  Unterwalders — Public  Meeting — Hoffman's  De- 
fence of  the  Pope — The  Mass — Schmidt  of  Kussnacht — Results  of  the  Conference — Oswald 
Myconius  at  Zurich — Thomas  Plater — The  Swiss  Aroused — Hottinger  Arrested — His  Martyr- 
dom— Persecution  Invoked — Swiss  and  German  Reformations — The  Jewish  and  Pagan  Ele- 
ments— Zwingle's  and  Luther's  Tasks — The  Council  and  the  People — Abduction  of  (Exlin — 
Riot  and  Conflagration — The  Wirths  arrested — The  Prisoners  Surrendered — A  Spectacle  to  the 
World — "  Cruel  Mockings" — "  Faithful  unto  Death" — Father  and  Son  on  the  Scaffold — Abo- 
lition of  the  Mass — The  Lord's  Supper — Brotherly  Love — Zwingle  on  Original  Sin — Attack 
upon  Zwingle — The  Gospel  at  Berne — Heirn  and  Haller — Ordinance  of  the  Government — St. 
Michael's  Nunnery — The  Convent  of  Konigsfeld — Margaret  Watt&ville's  Letter — Liberation 
of  the  Nuns — Pretended  Letter  of  Zwingle — Clara  May  and  Nicolas  Watteville — The  Seat  of 
Learning — OZcolampadius — Flight  from  the  Convent — OZcolampadius  at  Basle — Jealousy  of 
Erasmus — Hutten  and  Erasmus — Death  of  Hiitten — Vacillation  and  Decision — Erasmus's 
Quatrain — Luther's  Letter  to  Erasmus — Motives  of  Erasmus  in  Opposing  the  Reformation — 
Lamentations  of  Erasmus — Arguments  for  Free  Will — Premature  Exultation — A  Test — God's 
Working — Jansenism — The  Bible  and  Philosophy — The  Three  Days'  Battle — Character  of 
False  Systems — Conrad  Grebel — Extravagances — "  The  Little  Jerusalem" — The  Anabaptist 
Feast — Horrible  Tragedy — Discussion  on  Baptism — Opinions  not  Punishable — Popish  Immo- 
bility— Zwingle  and  Luther — Zwingle  on  the  Lord's  Supper — Consubstantiation — Luther's  Great 
Principle — Carlstadt's  Writings  Prohibited — Zwingle's  Commentary — The  Suabian  Syngramma 
— Need  of  Union  in  Adversity — Struggles  of  the  Reformation — Tumult  in  the  Tockenburg — 
Meeting  at  Ilantz — Comander's  Defence- -Doctrine  of  the  Sacrament — Proposed  Public  Dis- 
cussion— Decision  of  the  Diet — Zwingle  in  Danger — The  Disputants  at  Baden — Contrast  of 
the  Parties — Eck  and  fficolampadius — Zwingle's  Share  in  the  Contest — Murner  of  Lucerne — 
Haller  and  the  Council  of  Berne — Reformation  in  St.  Gall — Conrad  Pellican — The  Mountaineers 
— Alliance  with  Austria — Farel  Appears. 


We  are  about  to  contemplate  the  di- 
versities, or,  as  they  have  been  since  call- 
ed, variations  of  the  Reformation.  These 
diversities  are  among-  its  most  essential 
characters. 

Unity  in  diversity,  and  diversity  in 
unity — is  a  law  of  Nature,  and  also  of 
the  Church. 

Truth  may  be  compared  to  the  light 
of  the  Sun.  The  light  comes  from  heav- 
en colourless,  and  ever  the  same ;  and 
yet  it  takes  different  hues  on  earth,  va- 
rying according  to  the  objects  on  which 
it  falls.  Thus  different  formularies  may 
sometimes  express  the  same  christian 
Truth,  viewed  under  different  aspects. 

How  dull  would  be  this  visible  crea- 
tion, if  all  its  boundless  variety  of  shape 
and  colour  were  to  give  place  to  an  un- 
broken uniformity !  And  may  we  not 
add  how  melancholy  would  be  its  as- 
pect, if  all  created  beings  did  but  com- 
pose a  solitary  and  vast  Unity  ! 

The  unity  which  comes  from  Heaven 


doubtless  has  its  place, — but  the  diversity 
of  human  nature  has  its  proper  place  also. 
In  religion  we  must  neither  leave  out 
God  nor  man.  Without  unity  your  reli- 
gion cannot  be  of  God, — without  diver- 
sity, it  cannot  be  the  religion  of  man. 
And  it  ought  to  be  of  both.  Would  you 
banish  from  creation  a  law  that  its  Di- 
vine Author  has  imposed  upon  it,  namely, 
— that  of  boundless  diversity  1  i:  Things 
without  life  giving  sound,"  said  Paul, 
"  whether  pipe  or  harp,  except  they  give 
a  distinction  in  the  sounds,  how  shall  it 
be  known  what  is  piped  or  harped '?"* 
But,  if  in  religion  there  is  a  diversity, 
the  result  of  distinction  of  individuality, 
and  which,  by  consequence,  must  sub- 
sist even  in  heaven, — there  is  a  diversity 
which  is  the  fruit  of  man's  rebellion, — 
and  this  last  is  indeed  a  serious  evil. 

There  are  two  opposite  tendencies 
which  may  equally  mislead  us.  The 
one  consists 

*  1  Cor.  xiv.  7 


in   the  exaggeration  of  di- 


494 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


versity, — the  other,  in  extending  the 
unity.  The  great  doctrines  of  man's 
salvation  are  as  a  line  of  demarcation 
between  these  two  errors.  To  require 
more  than  the  reception  of  those  doc- 
trines, is  to  disallow  the  diversity :  to 
require  any  thing  less,  is  to  infringe  the 
unity. 

This  latter  departure  is  that  of  rash 
and  unruly  minds  looking  beyond,  or 
out  of  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  desire  to  set 
up  systems  and  doctrines  of  men. 

The  former  appears  in  various  exclu- 
sive sects,  and  is  more  especially  seen  in 
that  of  Rome. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  Church  to  reject 
Error  from  her  bosom.  If  this  be  neg- 
lected, Christianity  cannot  be  upheld  ; 
but,  pushed  to  an  extreme,  it  would  fol- 
low that  the  Church  should  take  pro- 
ceedings against  the  smallest  deviations, 
and  intervene  in  mere  disputes  about 
words ;  faith  would  be  silenced,  and 
christian  feeling  reduced  to  slavery.  Not 
such  was  the  condition  of  the  Church  in 
those  times  of  real  Catholicity, — the  first 
ages.  It  cast  out  the  sects  which  im- 
pugned the  fundamental  truths  of  the 
Gospel,  but  where  these  were  received, 
it  left  full  liberty  to  faith.  Rome  soon 
departed  from  these  wise  precedents,  and, 
in  proportion  as  an  authoritative  teaching 
of  man  established  itself  within  the 
Church,  there  appeared  a  Unity  of  man's 
'  imposing. 

A  system  of  human  appointment  be- 
ing once  devised,  rigour  went  on  increas- 
ing from  age  to  age.  Christian  liberty, 
respected  by  the  catholicity  of  the  ear- 
liest ages,  was  first  limited,  then  chained, 
and  finally  stifled.  Conviction,  which, 
by  the  laws  of  our  nature,  as  well  as  of 
God's  word,  should  be  freely  formed  in 
the  heart  and  understanding,  was  im- 
posed by  external  authority,  ready  fra- 
med and  squared  by  the  masters  of  man- 
kind. Thought,  will,  and  feeling,  all 
those  faculties  of  our  nature,  which,  once 
subjected  to  the  Word  and  Spirit  of  God, 
should  be  left  free  in  their  working,  were 
hindered  of  their  proper  liberty,  and  com- 
pelled to  find  vent  in  forms  that  had  been 
previously  settled.  The  mind  of  man 
became  a  sort  of  mirror  wherein  impres- 
sions to  which  it  was  a  stranger  were 
reproduced,  but  which,  of  itself,  presented 
nothing!     Doubtless   there   were   those 


who  were  taught  of  God — but  the  great 
majority  of  Christians  received  the  con- 
victions of  other  men  ; — a  personal  faith 
was  a  thing  of  rare  occurrence  :  the  Ref- 
ormation it  was  that  restored  this  treasure 
to  the  Church. 

And  yet  there  was,  for  a  while,  a 
space  within  which  the  human  mind 
was  permitted  to  move  at  large, — certain 
opinions,  at  least,  which  Christians  were 
at  liberty  to  receive  or  reject  at  will. 
But,  as  a  besieging  army,  day  by  day, 
contracts  its  lines,  compelling  the  garri- 
son to  confine  their  movements  within 
the  narrow  enclosure  of  the  fortress,  and, 
at  last,  obliging  it  to  surrender  at  discre- 
tion, just  so,  the  hierarchy,  from  age  to 
age,  and  almost  from  year  to  year,  has 
gone  on  restricting  the  liberty  allowed 
for  a  time  to  the  human  mind,  until,  at 
last,  by  successive  encroachments,  there 
remained  no  liberty  at  all.  That  which 
was  to  be  believed, — loved, — or  done, — 
wras  regulated  and  decreed  in  the  courts 
of  the  Roman  chancery.  The  faithful 
were  relieved  from  the  trouble  of  ex- 
amining, reflecting,  and  combating ;  all 
they  had  to  do  was  to  repeat  the  formu- 
laries that  had  been  taught 'them! 

From  that  period,  whenever,  in  the 
bosom  of  Roman  Catholicism,  a  man 
has  appeared  inheriting  the  Catholicity 
of  apostolic  times,  such  a  one,  feeling  his 
inability  to  act  out  the  life  imparted  to 
him,  in  the  "bonds  in  which  he  is  held, 
has  been  led  to  burst  those  bonds,  and 
give  to  the  astonished  world  another  ex- 
ample of  a  Christian  walking  at  liberty 
in  the  acknowledgment  of  no  law  but 
the  law  of  God. 

The  Reformation,  in  restoring  liberty 
to  the  Church,  must  therefore  restore  to 
it  its  original  diversity,  and  people  it 
with  families  united  by  the  great  features 
of  resemblance  derived  from  their  com- 
mon head,  but  varying  in  secondary  fea- 
tures, and  reminding  us  of  the  varieties 
inherent  in  human  nature.  Perhaps  it 
might  have  been  desirable  that  this 
diversity  should  have  been  allowed  to 
subsist  in  the  Universal  Church  without 
leading  to  sectarian  divisions,  and  yet  we 
must  remember  that  Sects  are  only  the 
expression  of  this  diversity. 

Switzerland,  and  Germany,  which 
had  till  now  developed  themselves  inde- 
pendently, came    in    contact  with  each 


THE  SWISS.— 1522— 1527. 


495 


other  in  the  years  we  are  about  to  re- 
trace, and  they  afforded  an  example  of 
that  diversity  of  which  we  have  spoken, 
and  which  was  to  be  one  of  the  charac- 
teristics of  Protestantism.  We  shall  have 
occasion  to  behold  men  perfectly  agree- 
ing in  the  great  doctrines  of  the  Faith, 
yet  differing  on  certain  secondary  ques- 
tions. True  it  is  that  human  passion 
found  an  entrance  into  these  discussions, 
but  while  deploring  such  minglings  of 
evil,  Protestantism,  far  from  seeking  to 
disguise  the  diversity,  publishes  and  pro- 
claims it.  Its  path  to  unity  is  indeed 
long  and  difficult,  but  the  unity  it  pro- 
poses is  real. 

Zwingle  was  advancing  in  the  chris- 
tian life.  Whilst  the  Gospel  had  to 
Luther  brought  deliverance  from  the 
deep  melancholy  in  which  he  had  been 
plunged  when  in  the  convent  of  Erfurth, 
and  developed  in  him  a  cheerfulness 
which  often  amounted  to  gaiety,  and  of 
which,  from  that  time,  the  Reformer 
gave  such*  repeated  evidence,  even  when 
exposed  to  the  greatest  dangers, — Chris- 
tianity had  had  quite  a  contrary  effect  on 
the  joyous  child  of  the  mountains  of  the 
Tockenburg.  Reclaiming  Zwingle  from 
his  thoughtless  and  worldly  career,  it  had 
stamped  upon  his  character  a  seriousness 
which  was  not  natural  to  him.  This 
seriousness  was  indeed  most  needed.  We 
have  seen  how,  toward  the  close  of 
1522,  numerous  enemies  appeared  to 
rise  against  the  Reformation.*  From 
all  sides  reproaches  were  heaped  upon 
Zwingle,  and  contentions  would  at  times 
take  place  even  in  the  churches. 

Leo  Juda,  who,  to  adopt  the  words  of 
an  historian,  was  a  man  of  small  stature,t 
with  a  heart  full  of  love  for  the  poor,  and 
zeal  against  false  teachers,  had  arrived  in 
Zurich  about  the  end  of  1522,  to  take 
the  duty  of  pastor  of  St.  Peter's  church. 
He  had  been  replaced  at  Einsidlen  by 
Oswald  Myconius4  His  coming  was  a 
valuable  acquisition  to  Zwingle  and  the 
Reformation. 

One  day,  sflbn  after  his  arrival,  being 
at  church,  he  heard  an  Augustine  monk 
preaching  with   great   earnestness   that 

*  See  Book  8,  to  the  end. 

t  Er  war  ein  kurzer  Mann.— (Fiisslin  Bey- 
triige,  iv.  p.  44.) 

\  Ut  post  abitum  Leonis,  monachis  aliquid  le- 
gam. — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  253.) 


man  was  competent  by  his  own  strength 
to  satisfy  the  righteousness  of  God. 
"  Reverend  father  Prior."  exclaimed  Leo, 
"  listen  to  me  for  an  instant ;  and  you, 
my  dear  fellow-citizens,  keep  your  seats, 
— I  will  speak  as  becomes  a  Christian :" 
and  he  proceeded  to  show  the  unscriptu- 
ral  character  of  the  teaching  he  had  just 
been  listening  to.*  A  great  disturbance 
ensued  in  the  church. — Instantly  several 
persons  angrily  attacked  the  "little  priest" 
from  Einsidlen.  Zwingle,  repairing  to 
the  Council,  presented  himself  before 
them,  and  requested  permission  to  give 
an  account  of  his  doctrine,  in  presence  of 
the  bishop's  deputies; — and  the  Council,* 
desiring  to  terminate  the  dissensions,  con-' 
voked  a  conference  for  the  29th  of  Janu- 
ary. The  news  spread  rapidly  through- 
out Switzerland.  "A  vagabond  diet," 
observed  his  mortified  adversaries,  "  is  to 
be  held  at  Zurich.  All  the  vagrants 
from  the  high-road  will  be  there." 

Wishing  to  prepare  for  the  struggle, 
Zwingle  put  forth  sixty-seven  theses.  In 
them  the  mountaineer  of  the  Tocken- 
burg boldly  assailed  the  Pope,  in  the 
face  of  all  Switzerland. 

"  They,"  said  he,  "  who  assert  that  the 
Gospel  is  nothing  until  confirmed  to  us 
by  the  Church,  blaspheme  God." 

"  Jesus  Christ  is  the  only  way  of  sal- 
vation for  all  who  have  been,  are,  oir 
shall  be." 

"  Christians  are  all  the  brethren  of 
Christ,  and  of  one  another ;  and  they 
have  no  'fathers,'  upon  earth; — away, 
therefore,  with  religious  orders,  sects,  and 
parties." 

"  No  compulsion  should  be  employed 
in  the  case  of  such  as  do  not  acknowl- 
edge their  error, — unless  by  their  sedi- 
tious conduct  they  disturb  the  peace  of 
others." 

Such  were  some  of  the  propositions 
put  forth  by  Zwingle. 

On  the  morning  of  Thursday,  the 
29th  January,  more  than  six  hundred 
persons  were  collected  in  the  hall  of  the 
Great  Council,  at  Zurich.  Many  from 
the  neighbouring  cantons,  as  well  as 
Zurichers,  the  learned,  the  higher  classes, 
and  the  clergy,  had  responded  to  the  call 
of  the  Council.     "  What  will  be  the  end 

*  J.  J.  Hottinger,  Helw.  Kirch.  Gesch.  iii.  p. 
105. 


496 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


of  all  this?'1*  was  the  question  asked. 
None  ventured  to  answer;  but  the  breath- 
less attention,  deep  feeling,  and  agitation, 
which  reigned  in  the  meeting,  sufficient- 
ly showed  that  important  results  were 
looked  for. 

The  Burgomaster  Roust,  who  had 
fought  in  the  battle  of  Marignan,  presided 
at  the  conference.  The  knight  James 
Anwyl,  grand  master  of  the  bishop's 
court  at  Constance,  Faber  the  vicar- 
general,  and  several  doctors  of  divinity, 
attended  on  the  part  of  the  bishop. 
Schaffhausen  had  deputed  Doctor  Se- 
bastian Hofmeister ;  he  was  the  only 
^deputy  from  the  cantons, — so  weak,  as 
yet,  was  the  Reformation  in  Switzerland. 
On  a  table  in  the  centre  of  the  hall  was 
deposited  a  Bible,  and  seated  before  it 
was  Zwingle.  *'  I  am  driven  and  beset 
on  all .  sides,"  he  had  said,  "  yet  I  stand 
firm,t  leaning  on  no  strength  of  my  own, 
but  on  Christ,  the  rock,  by  whose  help  I 
can  do  all  things." 

Zwingle  stood  up.  "  I  have  proclaim- 
ed," said  he,  "  that  salvation  is  to  be 
found  in  Christ  alone ;  and  it  is  for 
this  that,  throughout  Switzerland,  I  am 
charged  with  being  a  heretic,  a  seducer, 
and  rebellious  man.  Here,  then,  I  stand 
in  God's  name!":}; 

On  this,  all  eyes  were  turned  to  Fa- 
ber, who,  rising  from  his  seat,  thus  re- 
plied : — "  I  am  not  sent  to  dispute, — but 
to  report."  The  assembly  in  surprise, 
began  to  smile.  u  The  Diet  of  Nurem- 
berg," continued  Faber,  a  has  promised 
a  Council  within  one  year:  we  must 
wait  for  its  assembling." 

"  What !  "  said  Zwingle,  u  is  not  this 
large  and  intelligent  meeting  as  compe- 
tent as  a  council  V1  then  turning  to  those 
who  presided,  he  added,  —  "  Gracious 
Lords  ;  defend  the  word  of  God." 

A  solemn  silence  ensued  on  this  ap- 
peal. At  last  it  was  interrupted  by  the 
burgomaster.  "  If  any  one  present  has 
anything  to  say,"  said  he,  "  let  him  say 
on."  Still  all  were  silent.  "  I  implore 
all  those  who  have  accused  me, — and  I 

*  Ein  grosses  Verwunderen,  was  doch  uss  der 
Sach  werden  wollte. — (Bullinger,  Chron.  i.  p. 
97.) 

t  Imrnotns  tamen  maneo,  non  meis  nervis 
nixus,  sed  petra  Chnsto  in  quo  omnia  possum. — 
(Zw.  Epp.  p.  261.) 

X  Nun  wohlan  in  dem  Namen  Gottes,  hie  bin 
ich. — (Builinger,  Chron.  p.  98.) 


know  that  some  are  here  present,"  said 
Zwingle,  "  to  come  forward  and  rebuke 
me  for  the  truth's  sake."  Not  a  word! 
Again  and  again  Zwingle  repeated  his 
request,  but  to  no  purpose.  Faber,  thus 
brought  to  close  quarters,  lost  sight,  for 
an  instant,  of  the  reserve  he  had  impo- 
sed on  himself,  and  stated  that  he  had 
convicted  of  his  error  the  pastor  of  Filis- 
pach,  who  was  at  that  time  in  durance  ; 
but,  having  said  this,  he  again  relapsed 
into  silence.  It  was  all  in  vain  that  he 
was  urged  to  bring  forward  the  argu- 
ments by  which  he  had  convinced  that 
pastor  ;  he  would  give  no  answer.  This 
silence  on  the  part  of  the  Romish  doc- 
tors mortified  the  impatience  of  the  as- 
sembly. A  voice  from  the  further  end 
of  the  hall  was  heard  exclaiming, — 
"  Where  have  they  got*  to — those  brag- 
garts, whose  voices  are  so  loud  in  our 
streets.*  Come  forward :  there's  the 
man  you  want."  On  this  the  burgomas- 
ter observed,  smiling,  "  It  seems  that  the 
sharp-edged  sword  that  succeeded  against 
the  pastor  of  Filispach  is  fast  fixed  in  its 
scabbard  :" — and  he  proceeded  to  break 
up  the  meeting. 

In  the  afternoon,  the  parties  being 
again  assembled,  the  Council  resolved 
that  master  Ulric  Zwingle,  not  being  re- 
proved by  any  one,  was  at  liberty  to  con- 
tinue to  preach  the  Gospel ;  and  that  the 
rest  of  the  clergy  of  the  canton  should 
be  enjoined  to  advance  nothing  but  what 
they  could  establish  by  the  Scriptures. 

"  Thanks  be  to  God,  who  will  cause 
his  word  to  prevail  in  heaven  and  in 
earth !"  exclaimed  Zwingle.  On  this 
Faber  could  not  suppress  his  indigna- 
tion. "  The  theses  of  master  Ulric," 
said  he,  "are  incompatible  with  the 
honour  due  to  the  Church,  and  opposed 
to  the  doctrine  of  Christ, — and  I  can 
prove  it."  "  Do  so,"  retorted  Zwingle. 
But  Faber  declined,  except  it  should 
be  in  Paris,  Cologne,  or  Friburg.  "  I 
acknowledge  no  authority  but  that  of  the 
Gospel,"  said  Zwingle :  "  Before  you 
can  shake  one  word  of  that,  the  earth 
itself  will  open  before  you."f  "  That's 
always  the  cry,"  remarked  Faber;  "the 
Gospel. — nothing  but  the  Gospel !    Men 

*  u  e. — the  monks.  Wo  siud  nun  die  grossen 
Hansen  .  .  .  . — (Zw.  Opp.  i.  p.  124.) 

t  Eh  muss  das  Erdrych  brechen. — (Zw.  Opp. 
i.  p.  148.) 


THE  SWISS.— 1522— 1527. 


497 


might  lead  holy  lives  in  peace  and  char- 
ity if  there  were  no  Gospel  !"*  At  these 
words  the  auditors  indignantly  rose  from 
their  seats,  and  the  meeting  finally  broke 

The  Reformation  was  gaining  ground. 
It  was  at  this  period  called  to  new  con- 
quests. After  the  skirmish  at  Zurich,  in 
which  the  ablest  champions  of  the  Pa- 
pacy had  kept  silence,  who  would  be  so 
bold  as  to  oppose  the  new  doctrines? 
But  methods  of  another  kind  were  tried. 
The  firmness  of  Zwingle,  and  the  re- 
publican freedom  of  his  bearing,  over- 
awed his  enemies.  Accordingly,  re- 
course was  had  to  suitable  methods  for 
subduing  him.  Whilst  Rome  was  pur- 
suing Luther  with  anathemas,  she  la- 
boured to  win  the  Reformer  of  Zurich 
by  persuasions.  Scarcely  was  the  con- 
ference closed  over  when  Zwingle  was 
surprised  by  a  visit  from  the  captain  of 
the  Pope's  guards — the  son  of  the  bur- 
gomaster Roust,  accompanied  by  Einsius 
the  legate,  who  was  the  bearer  of  a 
brief  from  the  Pontiff, — in  which  Adrian 
addressed  Zwingle  as  his  "  well-belov- 
ed son,"  and  assured  him  of  his  spe- 
cial favour.  At  the  same  time  the  Pope 
set  others  upon  urging  Zink  to  influence 
Zwingle. f  "  And  what,"  enquired  Os- 
wald Myconius,  "  does  the  Pope  author- 
ise you  to  offer  him  ?"  "  Everything 
short  of  the  Pontiff's  chair,"  |  answered 
Zink,  earnestly* 

There  was  nothing,  whether  mitre, 
crozier,  or  cardinal's  hat,  which  the  Pope 
would  not  have  given  to  buy  over  the 
Reformer  of  Zurich.  But  Rome  alto- 
gether mistook  her  man — and  vain  were 
all  her  advances.  In  Zwingle,  the 
Church  of  Rome  had  a  fos  even  more 
determined  than  Luther.  He  had  less 
regard  for  the  long  established  notions 
and  the  ceremonies  of  former  ages — it 
was  enough  to  draw  down  his  hostility 
that  a  custom,  innocent  in  itself,  had  been 
connected  with  some  existing  abuses.  In 
his  judgment  the  word  of  God  alone  was 
to  be  exalted. 

*  Man  mocht  denocht  friintlich,  fridlich  und 
tugendlich  lilben,  wenn  glich  kein  Evangelium 
were. — (Bull.  Chron.  p.  107.  Zw.  Opp.  i.  p. 
152.) 

t  Cum  de  tua  egregia  virtute  specialiter  nobis 
Bit  oognitum. — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  266.) 

t  Serio  respondit :  Omnia  certe  praeter  sedem 
papalem. — (Vit.  Zwingli  per  Oaw.  Myc.) 
63 


But  if  Rome  had  so  little  understand- 
ing of  the  events  then  in  progress  in 
Christendom  she  wanted  not  for  counsel- 
lors to  give  her  the  needful  information. 

Faber,  irritated  at  the  Pope's  thus 
humbling  himself  before  his  adversary — 
lost  no  time  in  advising  him.  A  cour- 
tier, dressed  in  smiles,  with  honied  words 
upon  his  tongue,  those  who  listened  to 
him  might  have  thought  him  friendly 
toward  all,  and  even  to  those  whom  he 
charged  with  heresy, — but  his  hatred 
was  mortal.  Luther,  playing  on  his 
name  (Faber,)  was  accustomed  to  say — 
"  The  vicar  of  Constance  is  a  black- 
smith ...  of  lies.  Let  him  take 
up  arms  like  a  man,  and  see  how  Christ 
defends  us."* 

These  words  were  no  uncalled-for  bra- 
vado— for  all  the  while  that  the  Pope  in 
his  communications  with  Zwingle  was 
complimenting  him  on  his  distinguished 
virtues,  and  the  special  confidence  he  re- 
posed in  him,  the  Reformer's  enemies 
were  multiplying  throughout  Switzer- 
land. The  veteran  soldiers,  the  higher 
families,  and  the  herdsmen  of  the  moun- 
tains, were  combined  in  aversion  to  a 
doctrine  which  ran  counter  to  all  their 
inclinations.  At  Lucerne,  public  notice 
was  given  of  the  performance  of  Zwin- 
gle's  passion ;  and  the  people  dragged 
about  an  effigy  of  the  Reformer,  shout- 
ing that  they  were  going  to  put  the  her- 
etic to  death  ;  and  laying  violent  hands 
on  some  Zurichers  who  were  then  at 
Lucerne,  compelled  them  to  be  specta- 
tors of  this  mock  execution.  "  They 
shall  not  disturb  my  peace,"  observed 
Zwingle  ;  "  Christ  will  never  fail  those 
who  are  his."  Even  in  the  Diet  threats 
against  him  were  heard. t  "  Beloved 
Confederates,"  said  the  Councillor  of 
Mullinen,  addressing  the  cantons,  "  make 
a  stand  against  Lutheranism  while  there 
is  yet  time.  At  Zurich  no  man  is  mas- 
ter in  his  own  house." 

This  agitation  in  the  enemies'  ranks 
proclaimed,  more  loudly  than  any  thing 
else  could  have  done,  what  was  passing 
in  Zurich.  In  truth  victory  was  already 
bearing  fruits,  the  victorious  party  were 
gradually  taking  possession  of  the  coun- 

*  Prodeant  volo,  palamque  arma  capiant  .... 
— (Zw.  Epp.  p.  292.) 

t  Christum  suis  nunquam  defecturum. — (Zw. 
Epp.  p.  278.) 


498 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


try  ;  and  every  day  the  Gospel  made 
some  new  progress.  Twenty-four  canons, 
and  a  considerable  number  of  the  chap- 
lains came  of  their  own  accord  to  peti- 
tion the  Council  for  a  reform  of  their 
statutes.  It  was  decided  to  replace  those 
sluggish  priests  by  men  of  learning  and 
piety,  whose  duty  it  should  be  to  instruct 
the  youth  of  Zurich,  and  to  establish,  in- 
stead of  their  vespers  and  Latin  masses 


ligion  itself  had  been  overturned  with 
the  crucifix  of  Stadelhofen.  "  They  are 
sacrilegious  disturbers, — they  are  worthy 
of  death,"  exclaimed  the  partisans  of 
Rome.  The  Council  caused  the  icono- 
clasts to  be  arrested. 

"  No,"  exclaimed  Zwingle,  speaking 
from  his  pulpit,  ;'  Hottinger  and  his 
friends  have  not  sinned  against  God,  nor 
are  they  deserving  of  death* — but  they 


a  daily  exposition  of  a  chapter  in  the    may  be  justly  punished  for  having  re 
Bible    from   the    Hebrew,    and    Greek !  sorted  to  violence  without  the  sanction 
texts,  first  for  the  learned,  and  then  for  I  of  the  magistrates."! 
the  people 


Unhappily  there  are  found  in  every 
army  ungovernable  spirits,  who  leave 
their  ranks,  and  make  onset  too  early, 
on  points  which  it  would  be  better  for  a 
while  to  leave  unattacked.  Louis  Ket- 
zer,  a  young  priest,  having  put  forth  a 
tract  in  German,  entitled  the  Judgment 
of  God  against  Images,  a  great  sensation 
was  produced,  and  a  portion  of  the  peo- 
ple could  think  of  nothing  else.  It  is 
ever  to  the  injury  of  essentials  that  the 
mind  of  man  is  pre-occupied  with  see- 


Meanwhile  acts  of  a  similar  kind 
were  continually  recurring.  A  vicar  of 
St.  Peter's  one  day  observing  before  the 
porch  of  that  church  a  number  of  poor 
persons  ill  clad  and  famished,  remarked 
to  one  of  his  colleagues,  as  he  glanced 
at  the  images  of  the  saints  decked  in 
costly  attire — "  I  should  like  to  strip 
those  wooden  idols  and  clothe  those  poor 
members  of  Jesus  Christ."  A  few  days 
after,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
the  saints  and  their  fine  trappings  were 
missing-.     The  Council  sent  the  vicar  to 


ondary  matters.  Outside  one  of  the  city  prison,  although  he  protested  that  he 
gates  at  a  place  called  Stadelhofen,  was  had  no  hand  in  removing  them.  "  Is  it 
stationed  a  crucifix  elaborately  carved,  these  blocks  of  wood,"  exclaimed  the 
and  richly  ornamented.  The  more  ar-  people,  "  that  Jesus  enjoined  us  to 
dent  of  the  Reformed,  provoked  at  the  j  clothe  ?  Is  it  of  such  images  as  these 
superstitious  veneration  still  paid  this  j  that  he  will  say  to  the  righteous — "  1 
imao-e  could  not  suppress  their  indigna-   was  naked,  and  ye  clothed  Me  v'' 


tion  whenever  they  had  occasion  to  pass 
that  way.  A  citizen/ by  name  Claudius 
Hottinger,  "  a  man  of  family,"  says  Bul- 


Thus  the  Reformation,  when  resisted, 
rose  to  a  greater  height ;  and  the  more 
it  was  compressed,  with  the  more  force 


lino-er    "  and  well  acquainted  with  the  j  did  it  break  forth  and  threaten  to  carry 
Scriptures,"  meeting  the  miller  of  Stadel- 1  all^before  it. 
hofen,  to  whom  the  crucifix  belonged, 


These  excesses  conduced  to  some  ben- 
eficial   results.      Another   struggle  was 
his^  idols.      "  No   one    requires   you   to  j  needed  to  issue  in  further  progress — for 


enquired  when  he  meant  to  take  away 


worship  them,"  was  the  miller's  reply. 
"  But  do  you  not  know,"  retorted  Hot- 
tinger, "that  God's  word  forbids  us  to 
have  graven  images?"  "Very  well," 
replied  the  miller,  "  If  you  are  empow- 
ered to  remove  them,  I  leave  you  to  do 
so."  Hottinger  thought  himself  author- 
ized to  act,  and  he  was  soon  after  seen 
to  leave  the  city,  accompanied  by  a 
number  of  the  citizens.  On  arriving  at 
the  crucifix,  they  deliberately  dug  round 
the  image  until,"  yielding  to  their  efforts, 
it  came  down  with  a  loud  crash  to  the 
earth. 

This  daring  action  spread  alarm  far 
and  wide.     One  might  have  thought  re- 


in spiritual  things  as  in  the  affairs  of 
earthly  kingdoms,  there  can  be  no  con- 
quest without  a  struggle — and  since  the 
adherents  of  Rome  were  inert,  events 
were  so  ordered  that  the  conflict  was  be- 
gun by  the  irregular  soldiery  of  the 
Reformation.  In  fact,  the  magistrates 
were  perplexed  and  undecided  :  they 
felt  the  need  of  more  light  in  the  mat- 
ter ;  and  for  this  end  they  resolved  on 

*  The  same  principles  are  seen  in  the  speeches 
of  M.  M.  de  Broglie  and  Royer-Collard,  on  occa- 
sion of  the  celebrated  debates  on  the  law  of  Sac- 
rilege. 

t  Doram  habend  ir  unser  Herren  keiu  rticht 
zuinen,  sy  zu  toden. — (Bull.  Chr.  p.  127.) 


THE  SWISS— 1522— 1527. 


499    I 


appointing-  a  second  public  meeting,  to 
discuss  in  German,  and  on  grounds  of 
Scripture,  the  question  as  to  images. 

The  bishops  of  Coira,  Constance,  and 
Bale,  the  university  of  the  latter  city, 
and  the  twelve  cantons,  were  according- 
ly requested  to  send  deputies  to  Zurich. 
But  the  bishops  declined  compliance, 
recollecting  the  little  credit  their  depu- 
ties had  brought  them  on  occasion  of  the 
first  meeting,  and  having  no  wish  for  a 
repetition  of  so  humiliating  a  scene.  Let 
the  Gospel  party  discuss  if  they  will — 
but  let  it  be  among  themselves.  On  the 
former  occasion,  silence  had  been  their 
policy — on  this  they  will  not  even  add 
importance  to  the  meeting  by  their  pres- 
ence. Rome  thought  perhaps  that  the 
combat  would  pass  over  for  want  of  com- 
batants. The  bishops  were  not  alone  in 
refusing  to  attend.  The  men  of  Unter- 
wald  returned  for  answer  that  they  had 
no  philosophers  among  them — but  kind 
and  pious  priests  alone — who  would  per- 
severe in  explaining  the  Gospel  as  their 
fathers  had  done  ;  that  they  accordingly 
must  decline  sending  a  deputy  to  Zwin- 
gle  and  the  like  of  him  ;  but  that  only 
let  him  fall  into  their  hands,  and  they 
would  handle  him  after  a  fashion  to  cure 
him  of  his  inclination  for  such  irregular- 
ities. The  only  cantons  that  sent  repre- 
sentatives were  Schaffhausen*  and  Saint 
Gall. 

On  Monday,  the  26th  of  October, 
more  than  nine  hundred  persons — among 
whom  were  the  members  of  the  Grand 
Council — and  no  less  than  three  hundred 
and  fifty  priests,  were  assembled  after 
sermon  in  the  large  room  of  the  Town 
Hall.  Zwingle  and  Leo  .Tuda  were 
seated  at  a  table  on  which  lay  the  Old 
and  New  Testaments  in  the  originals. 
Zwingle  spoke  first,  and  soon  disposing 
of  the  authority  of  the  hierarchy  and  its 
councils,  he  laid  down  the  rights  of  ev- 
ery Christian  church,  and  claimed  the 
liberty  of  the  first  ages,  when  the  Church 
had  as  yet  no  council  either  oecumenical 
or  provincial.  "  The  Universal  Church," 
said  he,  "  is  diffused  throughout  the 
world,  wherever  faith  in  Jesus  Christ 
has  spread :  in  India  as  well  as  in  Zu- 
rich.     .     .     .      And    as    to    particular 

*  So  wollten  wir  Ihm  den  Lohn  geben,  dass 
er's  nimmer  mehr  thiite. — (Simmler  Samml. 
M.S.C.  ix.) 


churches,  we  have  them  at  Berne,  at 
Schaffhausen,  and  even  here.  But  the 
Popes,  with  their  cardinals  and  councils, 
are  neither  the  Universal  Church,  nor  a 
particular  Church.*  This  assembly 
which  hears  me,"  exclaimed  he,  with 
energy,  "is  the  church  of  Zurich — it 
desires  to  hear  the  word  of  God,  and 
can  rightfully  decree  whatever  it  shall 
see  to  be  conformable  to  the  Scriptures." 

Here  we  see  Zwingle  relying  on  the 
Church — but  on  the  true  Church, — not 
on  the  clergy,  but  on  the  assembly  of 
believers.  He  applied  to  particular 
churches  all  those  passages  of  Scripture 
that  speak  of  the  Church  Catholic.  He 
could  not  allow  that  a  church  that  listen- 
ed with  docility  to  God's  word  could  fall 
into  error.  The  Church  was,  in  his  judg- 
ment, represented  both  politically  and 
ecclesiastically  by  the  Great  Council.f 
He  began  by  explaining  each  subject 
from  the  pulpit ;  and  when  the  minds  of 
his  hearers  were  convinced,  he  proposed 
the  different  questions  to  the  Council, 
who,  in  conformity  with  the  ministers  of 
the  Church,  recorded  such  decisions  as 
they  called  for.| 

In  the  absence  of  the  bishops'  deputies, 
Conrad  Hoffman,  an  aged  canon,  under- 
took to  defend  the  Pope.  He  maintain- 
ed that  the  Church,  the  flock,  the  "  third 
estate,"  was  not  authorized  to  discuss 
such  matters.  "  I  resided,"  said  he,  "  for 
no  less  than  twelve  years  at  Heidelberg 
in  the  house  of  a  man  of  extensive  learn- 
ing, named  Doctor  Joss — a  kind  and 
pious  man — with  whom  I  boarded  and 
lived  quietly  for  a  long  time,  but  then  he 
always  said  that  it  was  not  proper  to 
make  such  matters  a  subject  of  discus- 
sion ;  you  see,  therefore!"  .  .  On  this 
every  one  began  to  laugh.  "  Thus," 
continued  Hoffman,  "  let  us  wait  for  a 
Council — at  present  I  shall  decline  taking 
part  in  any  discussion  Avhatever,  but  shall 
act  according  to  the  bishop's  orders,  even 
though  he  himself  were  a  knave !" 

*  Der  Pabste,  Cardinale  und  Bischdffe  Con- 
cilia sind  nicht  die  christliche  Kirche. — (Fiissl. 
Beytr.  III.  p.  20.) 

t  Diacosion  Senatus  summa  est  potestas  Ec- 
clesia?  vice. — (Zw.  Opp.  III.  p.  339.) 

I  Ante  omnia  multitudinem  de  quupstione  probtj 
docere  ita  factum  est,  ut  quidqnid  diacosii  (the 
grand  council,)  cum  verbi  ministris  ordinarent, 
jamdudum  in  animis  fidelium  ordinatum  esset. — 
(Zw.  Opp.  III.  p.  339.) 


500 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


"  Wait  for  a  Council !"  interrupted 
Zwingle,  "and  who,  think  you,  will 
attend  a  Council? — the  Pope  and  some 
sleepy  and  ill-taught  bishops,  who  will 
do  nothing  but  what  pleases  them.  No, 
that  is  not  the  Church  :  Hong  and  Kiiss- 
nacht  (two  villages  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Zurich,)  are  more  of  a  Church 
than  all  the  bishops  and  popes  put 
together." 

Thus  did  Zwingle  assert  the  rights  of 
Ghristians  in  general,  whom  Rome  had 
stript  of  their  inheritance.     The  assem- 
bly he  addressed  was  in  his  view  not  so 
much  the  church  of  Zurich  as  its  earliest 
representative.     Here  we  see  the  begin- 
nings of  the  Presbyterian  system.     Zwin- 
gle was  engaged  in  delivering   Zurich 
from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  bishops  of 
Constance — he  was  likewise  detaching 
it  from  the  hierarchy  of  Rome :  and  on 
this  thought  of  the  flock  and  the  assembly 
of  believers,  he  was  laying  the  founda- 
tions of  a  new  church  order  to  which 
other  countries  would  afterwards  adhere. 
The  discussion  was  continued.     Seve- 
ral priests  having  defended  the  use  of 
images,  without  deriving  their  arguments 
from  Scripture,  Zwingle,  and  the  rest  of 
the  Reformers,  refuted  them  by  passages 
from  the  Bible.     "  If,"  said  one   of  the 
presidents,  "  no  one  defends  the  images 
by  the  Scriptures,  we    shall  call   upon 
some  of  their  advocates  by  name."     No 
one  coming  forward,  the  curate  of  Wad- 
ischwyl   was    called.     "  He   is   asleep," 
exclaimed  one  of  the  crowd.     The  curate 
of  Horgen  was  next  called.     "  He  has 
sent  me  in  his  stead,"  said  his  vicar,  "but 
I  cannot  answer  for  him."     It  was  plain 
that  the  power  of  the  word  of  God  was 
felt  in  the  assembly.     The  partisans  of 
the  Reformation  were  buoyant  with  liber- 
ty and  joy  ;  their  adversaries,  on  the  con- 
trary, were  silent,  uneasy,  and  depressed. 
The  curates  of  Laufen,  Glattfelden,  and 
Wetzikon,  the  rector  and  curate  of  Pfaffi- 
kon,  the  dean  of  Elgg,  the  curate  of 
Baretschwyl,  the  Dominicans  and  Cor- 
deliers, known  for  their  preaching  in  de- 
fence of  image  worship  and  the  saints, 
were  one  after  another  invited  to  stand 
forward.     They  all  made  answer  that 
they  had  nothing  to  say  in  their  defence, 
and  that,  in  future,  they  would    apply 
themselves   to   the   study  of  the    truth. 
"  Until  to-day,"  said  one,  "  I  have  put 


my  faith  in  the  ancient  doctors,  but  now 
I  will  transfer  my  faith  to  the  new.?' — 
"  It  is  not  us,"  interrupted  Zwingle,  "that 
you  should  believe.  It  is  God's  word. 
It  is  only  the  Scriptures  of  God  that 
never  can  mislead  us."  The  sitting  had 
been  protracted, — night  was  closing  in. 
The  president,  Hofmeister  of  Schaff- 
hausen,  rose  and  said  :  "  Blessed  be  God 
the  Almighty  and  Eternal,  who,  in  all 
things,  giveth  us  the  victory," — and  he 
ended  by  exhorting  the  Town-Council 
of  Zurich  to  abolish  the  worship  of 
images. 

On  Tuesday,  the  assembly  again  met, 
Vadian  being  president,  to  discuss  the 
doctrine  of  the  Mass.  "  My  brethren  in 
Christ,"  said  Zwingle,  "  far  from  us  be 
the  thought  that  there  is  any  thing  un- 
real in  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ.* 
Our  only  aim  is  to  prove  that  the  Mass 
is  not  a  sacrifice  that  can  be  offered  to 
God  by  one  man  for  his  fellow,  unless 
indeed  any  will  be  bold  enough  to  say 
that  a  man  can  eat  and  drink  for  his 
friend." 

Vadian  having  twice  inquired  if  any 
of  those  present  had  any  thing  to  say  in 
defence  of  the  doctrine  impugned,  and 
no  one  coming  forward,  the  canons  of 
Zurich,  the  chaplains,  and  several  eccle- 
siastics declared  themselves  of  Zwingle's 
opinion. 

But  scarcely  had  the  Reformers  over- 
come the  partisans  of  the  ancient  doc- 
trines, when  they  were  called  to  contend 
against  the  impatient  spirits  of  men  clam- 
orously demanding  abrupt  and  violent 
changes,  instead  of  prudent  and  gradual 
reformation.  The  unfortunate  Conrad 
Grebel  rose,  and  said :  "  It  is  not  suffi- 
cient that  we  should  talk  about  the 
Mass  :  it  is  our  duty  to  do  away  with  the 
abuses  of  it." — "  The  Council,"  answered 
Zwingle,  "  will  put  forth  an  edict  on  the 
subject."  On  this,  Simon  Stumpf  ex- 
claimed, "  The  Spirit  of  God  has  already 
decided, — why  then  refer  the  matter  to 
the  Council's  decision?"! 

The  commandant  Schmidt,  of  Kuss- 
nacht,  rose  gravely,  and,  in  a  speech 
marked  by  much  wisdom,  said, — "  Let 

*  Dass  cinigerly  Betrug  oder  Falsch  syg  in 
dem  reinen  Blut  und  Fleisch  Christi. — (Zw.  Opp. 
i.  p.  498.) 

t  Der  Geist  Gottes  urtheilet.— (Zw.  Opp.  i.  p 
529.) 


THE  SWISS— 1522— 1527. 


501 


us  teach  Christians  to  receive  Christ  into 
their  hearts.*  Until  this  hour  you  have 
all  been  led  away  after  idols.  The 
dwellers  in  the  plain  have  made  pil- 
grimages to  the  hills, — those  of  the  hill 
country  have  gone  on  pilgrimage  to  the 
plain ;  the  French  have  made  journeys 
into  Germany,  and  the  Germans  into 
France.  You  now  know  whither  you 
qught  to  go.  God  has  lodged  all  things 
in  Christ.  Worthy  Zurichers,  go  to  the 
true  source,  and  let  Jesus  Christ  re-enter 
your  territory,  and  resume  his  ancient 
authority." 

This  speech  made  a  deep  impression, 
and  no  one  standing  up  to  oppose  it, 
Zwingle  rose  with  emotion,  and  spoke 
as  follows : — "  My  gracious  lords,  God  is 
with  us, — He  will  defend  His  own  cause. 
Now  then,  in  the  name  of  our  God,  let 
us  go  forward."  Here  Zwingle's  feel- 
ings overcame  him ; — he  wept,  and  many 
of  those  near  him  also  shed  tears. 

Thus  ended  the  conference.  The 
president  rose ; — the  burgomaster  thank- 
ed them,  and  the  veteran,  turning  to  the 
Council,  said  in  a  grave  tone,  with  that 
voice  that  had  been  so  often  heard  in  the 
field  of  battle, — "  Now  then,  let  us  take 
in  hand  the  sword  of  the  Word  .... 
and  may  God  prosper  his  own  work !" 

This  dispute,  which  took  place  in  the 
month  of  October,  1523,  was  decisive  in 
its  consequences.  The  greater  number 
of  the  priests,  who  were  present  at  it,  re- 
turned full  of  zeal  to  their  stations  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  canton  ;  and  the  effect 
of  those  memorable  days  was  felt  in  ev- 
ery corner  of  Switzerland.  The  church 
of  Zurich,  which,  in  its  connexion  with 
the  see  of  Constance,  had  always  main- 
tained a  certain  measure  of  independ- 
ence, was  now  completely  emancipated. 
Instead  of  resting,  through  the  bishop, 
on  the  Pope,  it  rested  henceforth, 
through  the  people,  on  the  Word  of  God. 
Zurich  had  recovered  the  rights  of 
which  Rome  had  deprived  her.  The 
city  and  its  rural  territory  vied  with 
each  other  in  zeal  for  the  work  of  the 
Reformation,  and  the  Great  Council 
merely  obeyed  the  impulse  of  the  people 
at  large.  On  every  important  occasion, 
the  city  and  the  villages  signified  the  re- 
sult of  their  separate  deliberations.     Lu- 

*  Wie  sy  Christum  in  iren  Herzen  sollind  bil- 
den  und  machen. — (Ibid.  p.  534.) 


ther  had  restored  the  Bible  to  the  Chris- 
tian community, — Zwingle  went  further 
— he  restored  their  rights.  This  is  a 
characteristic  feature  of  the  Reformation 
in  Switzerland.  The  maintenance  of 
sound  doctrine  was  entrusted,  under 
God,  to  the  people  ;  and  recent  events 
have  shown  that  the  people  can  dis- 
charge that  trust  better  than  priests  or 
pontiffs. 

Zwingle  did  not  allow  himself  to  be 
elated  by  victory  ;  on  the  contrary,  the 
Reformation,  under  his  guidance,  was 
carried  on  with  much  moderation.  "  God 
knows  my  heart,"  said  he,  when  the 
Council  demanded  his  opinion,  "  He 
knows  that  I  am  inclined  to  build  up, 
and  not  to  cast  down.  There  are  timid 
spirits  whom  it  is  needful  to  treat  tender- 
ly ;  let  the  mass,  therefore,  for  some  time 
longer,  be  read  on  Sundays  in  the 
churches,  and  let  those  who  celebrate  it 
be  carefully  protected  from  insult."* 

The  Council  issued  a  decree  to  this 
effect.  Hottinger  and  Hochrutiner,  one 
of  his  friends,  were  banished  from  the 
canton  for  two  years,  and  forbidden  to 
return  without  an  express  permission. 

The  Reformation  at  Zurich  proceeded 
thus  in  a  steady  and  Christian  course. 
Raising  the  city  day  by  day  to  a  higher 
pitch  of  moral  elevation,  it  cast  a  glory 
round  her  in  the  eyes  of  all  who  loved 
the  word  of  God.  Throughout  Switzer- 
land, therefore,  those  who  welcomed  the 
day-spring  which  had  visited  the  Church, 
felt  themselves  powerfully  attracted  to 
Zurich.  Oswald  Myconius,  after  his 
expulsion  from  Lucerne,  had  spent  six 
months  in  the  valley  of  Einsidlen,  when 
returning  one  day,  wearied  and  over- 
powered by  the  heat  of  the  weather,  from 
a  journey  to  Glaris,  he  was  met  on  the 
road  by  his  young  son,  Felix,f  who  had 
run  out  to  bring  him  tidings  of  his  hav- 
ing been  invited  to  Zurich,  to  take 
charge  of  one  of  the  schools  there.  Os- 
wald could  hardly  credit  the  happy  in- 
telligence, and  hesitated  for  a  while  be- 
tween hope  and  fear.J  "I  am  thine," 
was  the  reply  which,  at  length,  he  ad- 

*  Ohne  dass  jemand  sich  unterstehe  die  Mess- 
priester  zu  beschimpfen. — (Wirtz  H.  K.  G.  v.  p. 
208.) 

t  Incsperato  nuntio  excepit  me  Alius  redeun- 
tem  ex  Glareana. — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  322.) 

t  Inter  spem  ac  metum. — (Ibid.) 


502 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


dressed  to  Zwingle.  Geroldsek  dismiss- 
ed him  with  regret,  for  gloomy  thoughts 
had  taken  possession  of  his  mind. 
"  Ah  !"  said  he,  "  all  who  confess  Christ 
are  nocking  to  Zurich :  I  fear  that  one 
day  we  shall  all  perish  there  together."* 
A  melancholy  foreboding,  which  was 
but  too  fully  realized  when  Geroldsek, 
and  so  many  other  friends  of  the  Gospel 
lost  their  lives  on  the  plain  of  Cappel. 

At  Zurich  Myconius  had  at  last  found 
a  secure  retreat.  His  predecessor,  nick- 
named at  Paris,  on  account  of  his  stat- 
ure, "  the  tall  devil,"  had  neglected  his 
duty.  Oswald  devoted  his  whole  heart 
and  his  whole  strength  to  the  fulfilment 
of  his.  He  explained  the  Greek  and 
Latin  classics ;  he  taught  rhetoric  and 
logic  ;  and  the  youth  of  the  city  listened 
to  him  with  delight,  f  Myconius  was  to 
become,  to  the  rising  generation,  all  that 
Zwingle  was  already  to  those  of  maturer 
years. 

At  first  Myconius  felt  some  alarm  at 
the  number  of  full-grown  scholars  com- 
mitted to  his  care  ;  but  by  degrees  he 
gathered  courage,  and  it  was  not  long 
before  he  distinguished  among  his  pupils 
a  young  man  of  four-and-twenty,  whose 
intelligent  looks  gave  sufficient  indica- 
tion of  his  love  of  study.  This  young 
man,  whose  name  was  Thomas  Plater, 
was  a  native  of  the  Valais.  In  that 
beautiful  valley,  through  which  the  tor- 
rent of  the  Viege  rolls  its  tumultuous 
waters,  after  escaping  from  the  sea  of 
glaciers  and  snow  that  encircles  Mount 
Rosa, — seated  between  St.  Nicholas  and 
Standen,  upon  the  hill  that  rises  on  the 
right  of  the  river,  is  still  to  be  seen  the 
village  of  Grachen.  This  was  Plater's 
birth-place.  From  under  the  shadow  of 
those  colossal  Alps  emerged  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  of  all  the  characters 
that  figured  in  the  great  drama  of  the 
sixteenth  century.  At  the  age  of  nine 
he  had  been  consigned  to  the  care  of  a 
curate,  a  kinsman  of  his  own, — by  whom 
the  little  rustic  was  often  so  severely 
beaten,  that  his  cries,  he  tells  us  himself, 
were  like  those  of  a  kid  under  the  hands 
of  the  butcher.  One  of  his  cousins  took 
him  along  with  him  to  visit  the  schools 
of  Germany.    But  removing  in  this  way 

*  Ac  deinde  omnes  simul  pereamus. — (lb. 
p.  323.) 

t  Fuventus  ilium  lubens  audit. — (Ibid.  p.  264.) 


from  school  to  school,  when  he  had 
reached  the  age  of  twenty,  he  scarcely 
knew  how  to  read  !*  On  his  arrival  at 
Zurich,  he  made  it  his  fixed  determina- 
tion that  he  would  be  ignorant  no  long- 
er, took  his  post  at  a  desk  in  one  corner 
of  the  school  over  which  Myconius  pre- 
sided, and  said  to  himself,  "  Here  thou 
shalt  learn,  or  here  thou  shalt  die."  The 
light  of  the  Gospel  quickly  found  its 
way  to  his  heart.  One  morning,  when 
it  was  very  cold,  and  fuel  was  wanting 
to  heat  the  school-room  stove,  which  it 
was  his  office  to  tend,  he  said  to  himself, 
"  Why  need  I  be  at  a  loss  for  wood, 
when  there  are  so  many  idols  in  the 
church?"  The  church  was  then  emp- 
ty, though  Zwingle  was  expected  to 
preach,  and  the  bells  were  already  ring- 
ing to  summon  the  congregation.  Pla- 
ter entered  with  a  noiseless  step,  grap- 
pled an  image  of  St.  John,  which  stood 
over  one  of  the  altars,  carried  it  off,  and 
thrust  it  into  the  stove,  saying,  as  he  did 
so,  "  Down  with  thee, — for  in  thou  must 
go."  Certainly  neither  Myconius  nor 
Zwingle  would  have  applauded  such  an 
act. 

It  was  by  other  and  better  means  that 
unbelief  and  superstition  were  to  be 
driven  from  the  field.  Zwingle  and  his 
colleagues  had  stretched  out  the  hand  of 
fellowship  to  Myconius  ;  and  the  latter 
now  expounded  the  New  Testament  in 
the  Church  of  the  Virgin,  to  a  numer- 
ous and  eager  auditory.f  Another  pub- 
lic disputation,  held  on  the  13th  and  14th 
January,  1524,  terminated  in  renewed 
discomfiture  to  the  cause  of  Rome  ;  and 
the  appeal  of  the  canon  Koch,  who  ex- 
claimed, "  Popes,  cardinals,  bishops, 
councils, — these  are  the  church  for  me  !" 
awakened  no  sympathetic  response. 

Everything  was  moving  forward  at 
Zurich ;  men's  minds  were  becoming 
more  enlightened,  —  their  hearts  more 
stedfast.  The  Reformation  was  gaining 
strength.  Zurich  was  a  fortress  in 
which  the  new  doctrine  had  entrenched 
itself,  and  from  within  whose  enclosure 
it  was  ready  to  pour  itself  abroad  over 
the  whole  confederation. 

The  enemies  were  aware  of  this. 
They  felt  that  they  must  no  longer  de- 
lay to  strike  a  vigorous  blow.     They 

*  See  his  Autobiography. 

t  Weise  Fiisslin  Beyter.  iv.  p.  66. 


THE  SWISS.— 1522— 1527. 


503 


had  remained  quiet  long  enough.  The 
strong  men  of  Switzerland,  her  iron- 
sheathed  warriors, — were  up  at  last,  and 
stirring  ;  and  who  could  doubt,  when 
they  were  once  aroused,  that  the  strug- 
gle must  end  in  blood  1 

The  Diet  was  assembled  at  Lucerne. 
The  priests  made  a  strenuous  effort  to 
engage  that  great  council  of  the  nation 
in  their  favour.  Friburg  and  the  For- 
est Cantons  proved  themselves  their  do- 
cile instruments.  Berne,  Basle,  Soleure, 
Glaris,  and  Appenzel,  hung  doubtfully 
in  the  balance.  Schaffhausen  was  al- 
most decided  for  the  Gospel ;  but  Zu- 
rich alone  assumed  a  determined  attitude 
as  its  defender.  The  partisans  of  Rome 
urged  the  assembly  to  yield  to  their  pre- 
tensions and  adopt  their  prejudices.  "  Let 
an  edict  be  issued,"  said  they,  "  enjoining 
all  persons  to  refrain  from  inculcating  or 
repeating  any  new  or  Lutheran  doctrine, 
either  secretly  or  in  public  ;  and  from 
talking  or  disputing  on  such  matters  in 
taverns,  or  over  their  wine."*  Such  was 
the  new  ecclesiastical  law  which  it  was 
attempted  to  establish  throughout  the 
confederation. 

Nineteen  articles  to  this  effect  were 
drawn  up  in  due  form, — ratified,  on  the 
26th  January,  1523,  by  all  the  states — 
Zurich  excepted,  and  transmitted  to  all 
the  bailiffs,  with  injunctions  that  they 
should  be  strictly  enforced, — "  which 
caused,"  says  Bullinger,  "  great  joy 
among  the  priests,  and  great  grief  among 
the  faithful."  A  persecution,  regularly 
organized  by  the  supreme  authority  of 
the  confederation,  was  thus  set  on  foot. 

One  of  the  first  who  received  the  man- 
date of  the  Diet  was  Henry  Flackenstein 
of  Lucerne,  the  bailiff  of  Baden.  It  was 
to  his  district  that  Hottinger  had  retired 
when  banished  from  Zurich,  after  having 
overthrown  the  crucifix  at  Stadelhofen ; 
and  he  had  here  given  free  utterance  to 
his  sentiments.  One  day,  when  he  was 
dining  at  the  Angel  Tavern,  at  Zurzach, 
he  had  said  that  the  priests  expounded 
Holy  Scriptures  amiss,  and  that  trust 
ought  to  be  reposed  in  none  but  God 
alone. t     The  host,  who  was  frequently 

*  Es  soil  nieman  in  den  "VVirtzhuseren  oder 
sunst  hinter  dem  Wyn  von  Lutherischen  oder 
newen  Sachen  uzid  reden. — (Bull.  Chr.  p.  144.) 

t  Wie  wir  unser  pitt  Hoffnung  und  Trost  al- 
lein  uffGott—  (Bull.  Chr.  p.  146.) 


coming  into  the  room  to  bring  bread  or 
wine,  lent  an  attentive  ear  to  what  seem- 
ed to  him  very  strange  discourse.  On 
another  occasion,  when  Hottinger  was 
paying  a  visit  to  one  of  his  friends — John 
Schutz  of  Schneyssingen, — "  Tell  me," 
said  Schutz,  after  they  had  finished  their 
repast,  "  what  is  this  new  religion  that 
the  priests  of  Zurich  are  preaching  ?" — 
"  They  preach,"  replied  Hottinger,  "that 
Christ  has  offered  himself  up  once  only 
for  ail  believers,  and  by  that  one  sacrifice 
has  purified  them  and  redeemed  them 
from  all  iniquity;  and  they  prove  by 
Holy  Scripture  that  the  Mass  is  a  mere 
delusion." 

Hottinger  had  afterwards  (in  Februa- 
ry, 1523,)  quitted  Switzerland,  and  re- 
paired on  some  occasion  of  business,  to 
Waldshut,  on  the  other  side  of  the  Rhine. 
In  the  meanwhile,  measures  had  been 
taken  to  secure  his  person ;  and  when 
the  poor  Zuricher,  suspecting  no  danger, 
recrossed  the  Rhine  about  the  end  of 
February,  he  had  no  sooner  reached  Co- 
blentz,  a  village  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
river,  than  he  was  arrested.  He  was 
conveyed  to  Klingenau,  and  as  he  there 
fearlessly  confessed  his  belief,  Flacken- 
stein said,  in  an  angry  tone,  "  I  will  take 
you  to  a  place  where  you  shall  meet 
with  those  who  will  give  you  a  fitting 
answer."  Accordingly  the  bailiff  drag- 
ged his  prisoner  first  before  the  magis- 
trates of  Klingenau,  next  before  the  su- 
perior tribunal  of  Baden,  and  ultimately, 
since  he  could  not  elsewhere  obtain  a 
sentence  of  condemnation  against  him, 
before  the  Diet  assembled  at  Lucerne. 
He  was  resolved  that  in  one  quarter  or 
another  he  would  find  judges  to  pro- 
nounce him  guilty. 

The  Diet  was  prompt  in  its  proceed- 
ings, and  condemned  Hottinger  to  lose 
his  head.  When  this  sentence  was  com- 
municated to  him,  he  gave  glory  to  Jesus 
Christ.  "  Enough,  enough,"  cried  Jacob 
Troger,  one  of  the  judges,  "  we  do  not 
sit  here  to  listen  to  sermons — thou  shalt 
babble  some  other  time." — "  He  must 
have  his  head  taken  off  for  this  once," 
said  the  bailiff  Am-Ort,  with  a  laugh, 
"  but  if  he  should  recover  it  again,  we 
will  all  embrace  his  creed." — "  May  God 
forgive  those  who  have  condemned  me!" 
exclaimed  the  prisoner ;  and  when  a 
monk  presented  a  crucifix  to  his  lips,  "  It 


504 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


is  the  heart,"  said  he,  pushing  it  away, 
"that  must  receive  Jesus  Christ." 

When  he  was  led  forth  to  death,  there 
were  many  among  the  spectators  who 
could  not  restrain  their  tears.  He  turned 
towards  them,  and  said,  "  I  am  going  to 
everlasting  happiness."  On  reaching  the 
place  of  execution,  he  lifted  up  his  eyes 
to  heaven,  saying,  "Oh,  my  Redeemer, 
into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit !" — 
and  a  moment  after,  his  head  rolled 
upon  the  scaffold. 

No  sooner  had  the  blood  of  Hottinger 
been  shed  than  the  enemies  of  the  Ref- 
ormation seized  the  opportunity  of  in- 
flaming the  anger  of  the  confederates  to 
a  higher  pitch.  It  was  in  Zurich  that 
the  root  of  the  mischief  must  be  crushed. 
So  terrible  an  example  as  that  which  had 
now  been  set,  could  not  fail  to  intimidate 
Zwingle  and  his  followers.  One  vigor- 
ous effort  more. — and  the  Reformation 
itself  would  share  the  fate  of  Hottinger. 
The  Diet  immediately  resolved  that  a 
deputation  should  be  sent  to  Zurich,  to 
call  on  the  councils  and  the  citizens  to 
renounce  their  new  faith. 

The  deputies  were  admitted  to  an  au- 
dience on  the  21st  of  March.  "The 
ancient  unity  of  the  Christian  Church  is 
broken,"  said  they ;  "  the  evil  is  gaining 
ground;  the  clergy  of  the  four  Forest 
Cantons  have  already  intimated  to  the 
magistrates  that  aid  must  be  afforded 
them,  or  their  functions  must  cease. 
Confederates  of  Zurich  !  join  your  efforts 
to  ours  ;  root  out  this  new  religion  ;*  dis- 
miss Zwingle  and  his  disciples ;  and 
then  let  us  all  unite  to  remedy  the  abuses 
which  have  arisen  from  the  encroach- 
ments of  popes  and  their  courtiers." 

Such  was  the  language  of  the  adver- 
sary. How  would  the  men  of  Zurich 
now  demean  themselves  ?  Would  their 
hearts  fail  them?  Had  their  courage 
ebbed  away  with  the  blood  of  their 
fellow-citizens  1 

The  men  of  Zurich  left  neither  friends 
nor  enemies  long  in  suspense.  The  re- 
ply of  the  Council  was  calm  and  dignifi- 
ed. They  could  make  no  concessions  in 
what  concerned  the  word  of  God.  And 
their  very  next  act  was  a  reply  more  em- 
phatic still. 

It  had  been  the  custom  ever  since  the 

*  Zurich  selbigen  ausreuten  und  undertrucken 
helfe.— (Holt  Helv.  K.  G.  iii.  p.  170.) 


year  1351,  that,  on  Whit  Monday,  a 
numerous  company  of  pilgrims,  each 
bearing  a  cross,  should  go  in  procession 
to  Einsidlen,  to  worship  the  Virgin. 
This  festival,*  instituted  in  commemora- 
tion of  the  battle  of  Tatwyll,  was  com- 
monly attended  with  great  disorders.  It 
would  fall,  this  year,  on  the  7th  of  May. 
At  the  instance  of  the  three  pastors,  it 
was  now  abolished,  and  all  the  other 
customary  processions  were  successively 
brought  under  due  regulation. 

Nor  did  the  Council  stop  here.  The 
relics,  which  had  given  occasion  to  so 
many  superstitions,  were  honourably  in- 
terred.! And  then,  on  the  further  re- 
quisition of  the  three  pastors,  an  edict 
was  issued,  decreeing  that,  inasmuch  as 
God  alone  ought  to  be  honoured,  the 
images  should  be  removed  from  all  the 
churches  of  the  canton,  and  their  orna- 
ments applied  to  the  relief  the  poor. 
Accordingly,  twelve  councillors, — one  for 
each  tribe,  the  three  pastors,  and  the  city 
architect, — with  some  smiths,  carpenters, 
and  masons,  visited  the  several  churches; 
and  having  first  closed  the  doors,  took 
down  the  crosses,  obliterated  the  paint- 
ings, whitewashed  the  walls,  and  carried 
away  the  images,  to  the  great  joy  of  the 
faithful,  who  regarded  this  proceeding, 
Bullinger  tells  us,  as  a  glorious  act 
of  homage  to  the  true  God.  In  some  of 
the  country  parishes  the  ornaments  of 
the  churches  were  committed  to  the 
flames,  "  to  the  honour  and  glory  of 
God."  Soon  after  this,  the  organs  were 
suppressed,  on  account  of  their  connec- 
tion with  many  superstitious  observ- 
ances ;  and  a  new  form  of  baptism  was 
established,  from  which  everything  un- 
scriptural  was  carefully  excluded. % 

The  triumph  of  the  Reformation  threw 
a  joyful  radiance  over  the  last  hours  of 
the  burgomaster  Roust  and  his  colleague. 
They  had  lived  long  enough ;  and  they 
both  died  within  a  few  days  after  the 
restoration  of  a  purer  mode  of  worship. 

The  Swiss  Reformation  here  presents 
itself  to  us  under  an  aspect  rather  differ- 
ent from  that  assumed  by  the  Reforma- 
tion in  Germany.     Luther  had  severely 

*  Uff  einen  creitzgang  sieben  unehelicher  kin- 
den  uberkommen  wurdend. — (Bullinger  Chr.  p. 
160.) 

t  Und  es  eerlich  bestattet  hat. — (Bull.  Chr. 
p.  161.) 

t  Habend  die  nach  inen  zu  beschlossen. 


THE   SWISS.— 1522— 1527. 


505 


rebuked  the  excesses  of  those  who  broke 
down  the  images  in  the  churches  of 
Wittemberg ; — and  here  we  behold 
Zwingle,  presiding  in  person  over  the 
removal  of  images  from  the  temples  of 
Zurich.  This  difference  is  explained  by 
the  different  light  in  which  the  two  Re- 
formers viewed  the  same  object.  Lu- 
ther was  desirous  of  retaining  in  the 
Church  all  that  was  not  expressly  con- 
tradicted by  Scripture, — while  Zwingle 
was  intent  on  abolishing  all  that  could 
not  be  proved  by  Scripture.  The  Ger- 
man Reformer  wished  to  remain  united 
to  the  Church  of  all  preceding  ages,  and 
sought  only  to  purify  it  from  everything 
that  was  repugnant  to  the  word  of  God. 
The  Reformer  of  Zurich  passed  back 
over  every  intervening  age  till  he  reach- 
ed the  times  of  the  apostles ;  and,  sub- 
jecting the  Church  to  an  entire  trans- 
formation, laboured  to  restore  it  to  its 
primitive  condition. 

Zwingle's  Reformation,  therefore,  was 
the  more  complete.  The  work  which 
Divine  Providence  had  entrusted  to  Lu- 
ther,— the  re-establishment  of  the  doc- 
trine of  Justification  by  Faith,  was  un- 
doubtedly the  great  work  of  the  Ref- 
ormation ;  but  when  this  was  accom- 
plished, other  ends,  of  real,  if  not  of  pri- 
mary importance,  remained  to  be  achiev- 
ed ;  and  to  these,  the  efforts  of  Zwingle 
were  more  especially  devoted. 

Two  mighty  tasks,  in  fact,  had  been 
assigned  to  the  Reformers.  Christian 
Catholicism  taking  its  rise  amidst  Jewish 
Pharisaism,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
Paganism  of  Greece,  on  the  other,  had, 
by  degrees,  contracted  something  of  the 
spirit  of  each  of  those  systems,  and  had 
thus  been  transformed  into  Roman  Ca- 
tholicism. The  Reformation,  therefore, 
whose  mission  it  was  to  purify  the 
church,  had  to  clear  it  alike  from  the 
Jewish  and  the  Pagan  element. 

The  Jewish  element  had  incorporated 
itself  chiefly  with  that  portion  of  Chris- 
tian doctrine  which  relates  to  man. 
Catholicism  had  borrowed  from  Judaism 
the  pharisaic  notions  of  inherent  righte- 
ousness, and  salvation  obtainable  by  hu- 
man strength  or  works. 

The  Pagan  element  had  allied  itself 

principally  with  that   other   portion  of 

Christian  doctrine  which  relates  to  God. 

Paganism   had   corrupted   the   catholic 

64 


notion  of  an  infinite  Deity  whose  powerT 
being  absolutely  all-sufficient,  acts  every 
where  and  at  every  moment.  It  had  set 
up  in  the  church  the  dominion  of  sym- 
bols, images,  and  ceremonies  ;  and  the 
saints  had  become  the  demi-gods  of  Po- 
pery. 

The  Reformation,  in  the  hands  of  Lu- 
ther, was  directed  essentially  against  the 
Jewish  element.  With  this  he  had  been 
compelled  to  struggle  at  the  outset,  when 
an  audacious  monk,  on  behalf  of  the 
Pope,  was  bartering  the  salvation  of 
souls  for  paltry  coin. 

The  Reformation,  as  conducted  by 
Zwingle,  was  directed  mainly  against 
the  Pagan  element.  It  was  this  that  he 
had  first  encountered,  in  the  chapel  of 
the  Virgin  at  Einsidlen,  when  crowds 
of  worshippers,  benighted  as  those  of  old 
who  thronged  the  temple  of  Ephesian 
Diana,  were  gathered  from  every  side 
to  cast  themselves  down  before  a  gilded 
idol. 

The  Reformer  of  Germany  proclaim- 
ed the  great  doctrine  of  justification  by 
faith, — and,  in  so  doing,  inflicted  a  death 
blow  on  the  pharisaic  righteousness  of 
Rome.  The  Swiss  Reformer,  undoubt- 
edly, did  the  same.  The  inability  of 
man  to  save  himself  is  the  fundamental 
truth  on  which  all  reformers  have  taken 
their  stand.  But  Zwingle  did  something 
more.  He  brought  forward,  as  practical 
principles,  the  existence  of  God,  and  His 
sovereign,  universal,  and  exclusive  agen- 
cy ;  and  by  the  working  out  of  these 
principles,  Rome  was  utterly  bereft  of 
all  the  props  that  had  supported  her 
paganized  worship. 

Roman  Catholicism  had  exalted  man 
and  degraded  God:  Luther  reduced 
man  to  his  proper  level  of  abasement ; 
and  Zwingle  restored  God,  (if  we  may 
so  speak,)  to  his  unlimited  and  undivi- 
ded supremacy. 

Of  these  two  distinct  tasks,  which 
were  specially,  though  not  exclusively, 
allotted  to  the  two  Reformers,  each  was 
necessary  to  the  completion  of  the  other. 
It  was  Luther's  part  to  lay  the  founda- 
tion of  the  edifice — Zwingle's  to  rear 
the  superstructure. 

To  an  intellect  gifted  with  a  still  more 
capacious  grasp,  was  the  office  reserved 
of  developing  on  the  shores  of  the  Le- 
man,  the  peculiar  characters  of  the  Swiss 


506 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


and  the  German  Reformation, — blending 
them  together  and  imprinting  them  thus 
combined,  on  the  Reformation  as  a 
whole.* 

But  while  Zwingle  Was  thus  carrying 
on  the  great  work,  the  disposition  of  the 
cantons  was  daily  becoming  more  hostile. 
The  government  of  Zurich  felt  how  ne- 
cessary it  was  to  assure  itself  of  the  sup- 
port of  the  people.  The  people,  more- 
over,— that  is  to  say,  "  the  assembly  of 
believers,"  was,  according  to  Zwingle's 
principles,  the  highest  earthly  authority 
to  which  an  appeal  could  be  made.  The 
Council  resolved,  therefore,  to  test  the 
state  of  public  opinion,  and  instructed 
the  bailiffs  to  demand  of  all  the  town- 
ships, whether  they  were  ready  to  en- 
dure every  thing  for  the  sake  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  "  who  shed  his  pre- 
cious blood,'1  said  the  Council,  "  for  us 
poor  sinners."!  The  whole  canton  fol- 
lowed close  upon  the  city  in  the  career 
of  Reformation. — and,  in  many  places, 
the  houses  of  the  peasants  had  become 
schools  of  Christian  instruction,  in  which 
the  Holy  Scriptures  were  constantly 
read. 

The  proclamation  of  the  Council  was 
received  by  all  the  townships  with  en- 
thusiasm :  "  Only  let  our  magistrates 
hold  fast  and  fearlessly  to  the  word  of 
God,"  answered  they,  "we  will  help 
them  to  maintain  it ; I  and,  if  any  should 
seek  to  molest  them,  we  will  come  like 
brave  and  loyal  citizens  to  their  aid." 
The  peasantry  of  Zurich  showed,  on  that 
occasion,  as  they  have  recently  shown 
again,  that  the  strength  of  the  Church  is 
in  the  Christain  people. 

But  the  people  were  not  alone.  The 
man  whom  God  had  placed  at  their  head, 
answered  worthily  to  their  call.  Zwin- 
gle seemed  to  multiply  himself  for  the 
service  of  God.  Whosoever,  in  any  of 
the  cantons  of  Switzerland,  suffered  per- 
secution for  the  Gospel's  sake,  addressed 
himself  to  him.§     The  weight  of  busi- 

*  Litterarischer  Anzeiger,  1840,  No.  27. 

t  Der  sin  rosenfarw  blut  alein  fur  uns  arme 
sunder  vergossen  hat. — (Bull.  Chr.  p.  180.) 

t  Meine  Herrn  sollten  audi  nur  dapfer  bey 
dem  Gottsworte  verbleiben. — (Fiissl.  Beytr.  iv. 
p.  107.  where  the  answer  given  by  each  town- 
ship is  recorded.) 

§  Scribunt  e  Helvetiis  ferine  omnes  qui  prop- 
ter Christum  premuntur. — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  348.) 


ness,  the  care  of  the  churches,*  the  so- 
licitude inspired  by  that  glorious  struggle 
which  was  now  beginning  to  be  waged 
in  every  valley  of  his  native  land — all 
pressed  heavily  on  the  Evangelist  of 
Zurich.  At  Wittemberg,  the  tidings  of 
his  courageous  deportment  were  received 
with  joy.  Luther  and  Zwingle  were 
the  two  great  luminaries  of  Upper  and 
Lower  Germany ;  and  the  doctrine  of 
salvation,  which  they  proclaimed  so 
powerfully,  was  fast  diffusing  itself  over 
all  those  vast  tracts  of  country  that  stretch 
from  the  summit  of  the  Alps  to  the  shores 
of  the  Baltic  and  the  German  Ocean. 

While  the  word  of  God  was  pursuing 
its  victorious  course  over  these  spacious 
regions,  we  cannot  wonder  that  the  Pope 
in  his  palace,  the  inferior  clergy  in  their 
presbyteries,  the  magistrates  of  Switzer- 
land in  their  councils,  should  have  viewed 
its  triumphs  with  alarm  and  indignation. 
Their  consternation  increased  every  day. 
The  people  had  been  consulted  ; — the 
Christian  people  had  again  become  some- 
thing in  the  Christian  Church ;  their 
sympathies  and  their  faith  were  now  ap- 
pealed to,  instead  of  the  decrees  of  the 
Roman  chancery.  An  attack  so  formi- 
dable as  this  must  be  met  by  a  resistance 
more  formidable  still.  On  the  18th  April, 
the  Pope  addressed  a  brief  to  the  Con- 
federates ;  and,  in  the  month  of  July,  the 
Diet  assembled  at  Zug,  yielding  to  the 
urgent  exhortations  of  the  Pontiff,  sent 
a  deputation  to  Zurich,  Schaffhausen, 
and  Appenzel,  to  notify  to  those  states 
their  fixed  determination  that  the  new 
doctrine  should  be  entirely  suppressed, 
and  its  adherents  subjected  to  the  forfeit- 
ure of  property,  honours,  and  even  life 
itself.  Such  an  announcement  could  not 
fail  to  excite  a  strong  sensation  at  Zurich; 
but  a  resolute  answer  was  returned  from 
that  canton, — that  in  matters  of  faith,  the 
word  of  God  alone  must  be  obeyed. 
When  this  reply  was  communicated  to 
the  assembly,  the  liveliest  resentment 
was  manifested  on  the  part  of  Lucerne, 
Schwitz,  Uri,  Unterwalden,  Friburg,  and 
Zug,  and,  forgetting  the  reputation  and 
the  strength  which  the  accession  of  Zu- 
rich had  formerly  imparted  to  the  infant 
Confederation,  forgetting  the  precedence 

*  Negotiorum  strepitus  et  ecclesiarum  cur© 
ita  me  undique  quatiunt. — (Ibid.) 


THE  SWISS.— 1522— 1527. 


507 


which  had  been  assigned  to  her,  the  sim- 
ple and  solemn  oaths  of  fidelity  by  which 
they  were  bound  to  her, — -the  many  vic- 
tories and  reverses  they  had  shared  with 
her, — these  states  declared  that  they 
would  no  longer  sit  with  Zurich  in  the 
Diet.  In  Switzerland,  therefore,  as  well 
as  in  Germany,  the  partisans  of  Rome 
were  the  first  to  rend  asunder  the  federal 
union.  But  threats  and  breaches  of  al- 
liance were  not  enough.  The  fanaticism 
of  the  cantons  was  clamorous  for  blood  ; 
and  it  soon  appeared  what  were  the 
weapons  which  Popery  intended  to  wield 
against  the  word  of  God. 

The  excellent  CExlin,*  a  friend  of 
Zwingle,  was  the  pastor  of  Burg,  a  vil- 
lage in  the  vicinity  of  Stein,  upon  the 
Rhine.  The  bailiff  Am-Berg,  who  had 
previously  appeared  to  favour  the  cause 
of  the  Gospel,f  being  anxious  to  obtain 
that  bailiwick,  had  pledged  himself  to 
the  leading  men  of  the  canton  of  Schwitz, 
that  he  would  put  down  the  new  religion. 
CExlin,  though  not  resident  within  his 
jurisdiction,  was  the  first  object  of  his 
persecution. 

On  the  night  of  the  7th  July,  1524, 
near  midnight,  a  loud  knocking  was 
heard  at  the  pastor's  door;  it  was  open- 
ed ; — they  were  the  soldiers  of  the  bailiff 
They  seized  him  and  dragged  him  away 
prisoner,  in  spite  of  his  cries.  CExlin, 
believing  that  they  meant  to  put  him  to 
death,  shrieked  out  "  Murder  I"  The  in- 
habitants rose  from  their  beds  in  affright, 
and  the  whole  village  immediately  be- 
came a  scene  of  tumult,  the  noise  of 
which  was  heard  as  far  as  Stein.  «  The 
sentinel  posted  at  the  castle  of  Hohenk- 
lingen  fired  the  alarm  gun,  the  tocsin 
was  sounded,  and  the  inhabitants  of 
Stein,  Stammheim,  and  the  adjacent 
places,  were  shortly  all  a-foot  and  cluster- 
ing together  in  the  dark,  to  ask  each 
other  what  was  the  matter. 

Stammheim  was  the  residence  of  the 
deputy-bailiff  Wirth,  whose  two  eldest 
sons,  Adrian  and  John,  young  priests  full 
of  piety  and  courage,  were  zealously  en- 
gaged in  preaching  the  Gospel.  John 
especially  was  gifted  with  a  fervent  faith, 
and  stood  prepared  to  offer  up  his  life  in 
the  cause  of  his  Saviour.    It  was  a  house- 

*  See  page  333. 

t  Der  war  anfangs  dem  Evangelio  gunstig. — 
(Bull.  Chr.  p.  180.) 


hold  of  the  patriarchal  cast.  Anna,  the 
mother,  who  had  brought  the  bailiff  a 
numerous  family,  and  reared  them  up  in 
the  fear  of  God,  was  revered  for  her  vir- 
tues through  the  whole  country  round. 
At  the  sound  of  the  tumult  in  Burg,  the 
father  and  his  two  sons  came  abroad  like 
their  neighbours.  The  father  was  in- 
censed when  he  found  that  the  bailiff  of 
Frauenfeld  had  exercised  his  authority 
in  a  manner  repugnant  to  the  laws  of  his 
country.  The  sons  were  grieved  by  the 
tidings  that  their  friend  and  brother, 
whose  good  example  they  delighted  to 
follow,  had  been  carried  off  like  a  crimi- 
nal. Each  of  the  three  seized  a  halberd, 
and  regardless  of  the  fears  of  a  tender 
wife  and  mother,  father  and  sons  joined 
the  troop  of  townspeople  who  had  sallied 
out  from  Stein  with  the  resolute  purpose 
of  setting  their  pastor  at  liberty.  Unfor- 
tunately, a  band  of  those  ill-disposed  per- 
sons who  never  fail  to  make  their  ap- 
pearance in  a  moment  of  disorder,  had 
mingled  with  the  burghers  in  their 
march.  The  bailiff's  Serjeants  were 
hotly  followed ;  but  warned  by  the  tocsin 
and  the  shouts  of  alarm  which  echoed 
on  every  side,  they  redoubled  their  speed, 
dragging  their  prisoner  along  with  them, 
and  in  a  little  time  the  Thur  was  inter- 
posed between  them  and  their  pursuers. 

When  the  people  of  Stein  and  Stamm- 
heim reached  the  bank  of  the  river  and 
found  no  means  of  crossing  it,  they  halted 
on  the  spot,  and  resolved  to  send  a  depu- 
tation to  Frauenfeld.  "Oh!"  said  the 
bailiff  Wirth,  "  the  pastor  of  Stein  is  so 
dear  to  us  that  I  would  willingly  sacrifice 
all  I  possess, — my  liberty, — my  very 
heart's  blood — for  his  sake."*  The  rab- 
ble, meanwhile,  finding  themselves  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  convent  of  It- 
tingen,  occupied  by  a  community  of  Car- 
thusians, who  were  generally  believed  to 
have  encouraged  the  bailiff  Am-Berg  in 
his  tyranny,  entered  the  building  and 
took  possession  of  the  refectory.  They 
immediately  gave  themselves  up  to  ex- 
cess, and  a  scene  of  riot  ensued.  In  vain 
did  Wirth  entreat  them  to  quit  the  place  ;f 
he  was  in  danger  of  personal  ill  treat- 
ment among  them.     His  son  Adrian  had 

*  Sunder  die  kuttlen  in  Buch  fur  In  wagen. — 
(Bull. -Chr.  p.  193.) 

t  Und  badt  sy  um  Gottes  willen  uss  dem 
Kloster  zu  gand.— (Ibid.  p.  183.) 


508 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


remained  outside  of  the  monastery  ;  John 
entered  it,  but  shocked  by  what  he  be- 
held within,  came  out  again  immediate- 
ly.* The  inebriated  peasants  proceeded 
to  pillage  the  cellars  and  granaries,  to 
break  the  furniture  to  pieces,  and  to  burn 
the  books. 

As  soon  as  the  news  of  these  disorders 
reached  Zurich,  the  deputies  of  the 
Council  were  summoned  in  haste,  and 
orders  issued  for  all  persons  belonging  to 
the  canton  who  had  left  their  homes  to 
return  to  them  immediately.  These  or- 
ders were  obeyed.  But  a  crowd  of  Thur- 
govians,  drawn  together  by  the  tumult, 
now  established  themselves  in  the  con- 
vent for  the  sake  of  the  good  cheer  which 
they  found  there.  A  fire  suddenly  broke 
out,  no  one  could  tell  how, — and  the  edi- 
fice was  reduced  to  ashes. 

Five  days  after,  the  deputies  of  the 
cantons  were  convened  at  Zug.  Nothing 
was  heard  in  this  assembly  but  threats 
of  vengeance  and  death.  "  Let  us  march," 
said  they,  "with  our  banners  spread, 
against  Stein  and  Stammheim,  and  put 
the  inhabitants  to  the  sword."  The 
deputy-bailiff  and  his  two  sons  had  long 
been  objects  of  especial  dislike  on  ac- 
count of  their  faith.  "  If  any  one  is 
guilty,"  said  the  deputy  from  Zurich, 
"  he  must  be  punished  ;  but  let  it  be  by 
the  rules  of  justice,  not  by  violence." 
Vadian,  the  deputy  from  St.  Gall,  spoke 
to  the  same  effect.  Hereupon  the  avoyer 
John  Hug  of  Lucerne,  unable  any  longer 
to  contain  himself,  broke  out  into  fright- 
ful imprecations.!  "  The  heretic  Zwin- 
gle  is  the  father  of  all  these  rebellions ; 
and  you,  Doctor  of  St.  Gall,  you  favour 
his  hateful  cause,  and  labour  for  its 
advancement.  You  shall  sit  here  with 
us  no  longer!"  The  deputy  for  Zug 
endeavoured  to  restore  order,  but  in  vain. 
Vadian  retired;  and  knowing  that  his 
life  was  in  danger  from  some  of  the 
lower  order  of  the  people,  secretly  left 
the  town,  and,  by  a  circuitous  road, 
reached  the  convent  of  Cappel  in  safety. 

The  magistrates  of  Zurich,  intent  upon 
repressing  all  commotion,  resolved  upon 
a  provisional  arrest  of  the  individuals 
against  whom  the  anger  of  the  confeder- 
ates had  been  more  particularly  mani- 
fested.    Wirth  and  his  sons  were  living 

*  Dan  es  im  leid  was. — (Bull.  Chr.  p.  195.) 
t  Mit  fluchen  und  wiitien (Ibid.  p.  184.) 


quietly  at  Stammheim.  "Never,"  said 
Adrian  Wirth  from  the  pulpit,  "  can  the 
friends  of  God  have  any  thing  to  fear 
from  his  enemies."  The  father  was 
warned  of  the  fate  that  awaited  him,  and 
advised  to  make  his  escape  along  with 
his  sons.  "  No,"  he  replied,  "  I  put  my 
trust  in  God,  and  will  wait  lor  the 
Serjeants  here."  When  at  length  a 
party  of  soldiers  presented  themselves  at 
his  door — "  Their  worships  of  Zurich," 
said  he,  "  might  have  spared  themselves 
this  trouble  ; — had  they  only  sent  a  child 
to  fetch  me,  I  would  have  obeyed  their 
bidding."*  The  three  Wirths  were  car- 
ried to  Zurich  and  lodged  in  the  prison. 
Rutiman,  the  bailiff  of  Nussbaum,  shared 
their  confinement.  They  underwent  a 
rigid  examination  ;  but  the  conduct  they 
were  proved  to  have  held  furnished  no 
ground  of  complaint  against  them. 

As  soon  as  the  deputies  of  the  cantons 
were  apprized  of  the  imprisonment  of 
these  four  citizens,  they  demanded  that 
they  should  be  sent  to  Baden,  and  de- 
creed that,  in  case  of  a  refusal,  an  armed 
power  should  march  upon  Zurich,  and 
carry  them  off  by  force.  "  It  belongs  of 
right  to  Zurich,"  replied  the  deputies  of 
that  canton,  "  to  determine  whether  these 
men  are  guilty  or  not,  and  we  find  no 
fault  in  them."  Hereupon,  the  deputies 
of  the  cantons  cried  out,  "  Will  you  sur- 
render them  to  us,  or  not? — answer  yes 
or  no — in  a  single  word."  Two  of  the 
deputies  of  Zurich  mounted  their  horses 
at  once,  and  repaired  with  all  speed  to 
their  constituents. 

Their  arrival  threw  the  whole  town 
into  the  utmost  agitation.  If  the  authori- 
ties of  Zurich  should  refuse  to  give  up 
the  prisoners,  the  confederates  would 
soon  appear  in  arms  at  their  gates,  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  to  give  them  up,  was, 
in  effect,  to  consent  to  their  death.  Opin- 
ions were  divided.  Zwingle  insisted  on 
a  refusal.  "Zurich,"  said  he,  "must 
remain  faithful  to  its  ancient  laws."  At 
last  a  kind  of  compromise  was  suggested. 
"  We  will  deliver  up  the  prisoners,"  said 
they  to  the  Diet,  "  but  on  this  condition, 
that  you  shall  examine  them  regarding 
the  affair  of  Ittingen  only,  and  not  with 
reference  to  their  faith."  The  Diet 
agreed  to  this  proposition ;  and  on  the 

*  Dann  hattind  sy  mir  ein  kind  geschikt. — 
(Bull.  Chr.  p.  186.) 


THE  SWISS.— 1522— 1527. 


509 


Friday  before  St.  Bartholomew's  day, 
(August,  1524,)  the  three  Wirths  and 
their  friend  took  their  departure  from 
Zurich  under  the  escort  of  four  Coun- 
cillors of  State  and  a  few  soldiers. 

The  deepest  concern  was  manifested 
on  this  occasion  by  the  whole  body  of 
the  people.  The  fate  which  awaited  the 
two  old  men  and  the  two  brothers  was 
distinctly  foreseen.  Nothing  but  sobs 
was  heard  as  they  passed  along.  "  Alas !" 
exclaims  a  contemporary  writer,  "  what  a 
woeful  journey  was  that  !"*  The  church- 
es were  all  thronged.  "  God  will  punish 
us,"  cried  Zwingle, — "  He  will  surely 
punish  us.  Let  us  at  least  beseech  Him 
to  visit  those  poor  prisoners  with  com- 
fort, and  strengthen  them  in  the  true 
faith."  f 

On  the  Friday  evening,  the  prisoners 
arrived  at  Baden,  where  an  immense 
crowd  was  awaiting  to  receive  them. 
They  were  taken  first  to  an  inn,  and  af- 
terwards to  the  jail.  The  people  pressed 
so  closely  round  to  see  them  that  they 
could  scarcely  move.  The  father,  who 
walked  first,  turned  round  towards  his 
sons,  and  meekly  said, — "  See,  my  dear 
children,  we  are  like  those  of  whom  the 
Apostle  speaks,  —  men  appointed  to 
death,  a  spectacle  to  the  world,  to  angels, 
and  to  men." — (1  Cor.  iv.  9.)  Just  then 
he  chanced  to  observe,  among  the  crowd, 
the  bailiff*  Am-Berg,  his  mortal  enemy, 
and  the  prime  author  of  all  his  misfor- 
tunes. He  went  up  to  him,  held  out  his 
hand,  and,  grasping  Am-Berg's, — though 
the  bailiff*  would  have  turned  away, — 
said,  with  much  composure,  "  There  is 
a  God  above  us,  and  He  knows  all 
things." 

The  examination  began  the  next 
morning.  Wirth,  the  lather,  was  the 
first  who  was  brought  before  the  tribu- 
nal. Without  the  least  consideration  for 
his  character  or  for  his  age,  he  was  put 
to  the  torture  ;  but  he  persisted  in  de- 
claring that  he  was  innocent  both  of  the 
pillage  and  the  burning  of  lttingen.  A 
charge  was  then  brought  against  him  of 
having  destroyed  an  image  representing 
St.  Anne.  As  to  the  other  prisoners, — 
nothing  could  be  substantiated  against 

*  O  weh!  was  elender  Fahrt  war  das!^ 
(Bern.  Weyss.  Fiissl.  Beyt.  iv.  p.  56.; 

t  Sy  troste  und  in  warem  glouben  starckte. — 
(Bull.  Chr.  p.  188.) 


them,  except  that  Adrian  Wirth  was 
married,  and  that  he  was  accustomed  to 
preach  after  the  manner  of  Zwingle  and 
Luther ;  and  that  John  Wirth  had  given 
the  holy  sacrament  to  a  sick  man  with- 
out candle  or  bell  !* 

But  the  more  conclusively  their  inno- 
cence was  established,  the  more  furious 
became  the  excitement  of  their  adversa- 
ries. From  morning  till  noon  of  that 
day,  the  old  man  was  made  to  endufc  all 
the  severity  of  torture.  His  tears  were 
of  no  avail  to  soften  the  hearts  of  his 
judges.  John  Wirth  was  still  more  cru- 
elly tormented.  "  Tell  us,"  said  they, 
in  the  midst  of  his  agonies,  "  from  whom 
didst  thou  learn  thy  heretical  creed? 
Was  it  Zwingle,  or  who  else,  that  taught 
it  thee  ?"  And  when  he  was  heard  to 
exclaim,  "O  merciful  and  everlasting 
God  !  grant  me  help  and  comfort !" 
"  Aha !"  said  one  of  the  deputies,  "  where 
is  your  Christ  now?"  When  Adrian 
was  brought  forward,  Sebastian  von 
Stein,  a  deputy  of  Berne,  addressed 
him  thus : — "  Young  man,  tell  us  the 
truth,  for  if  you  refuse  to  do  so,  I  swear 
by  my  knighthood, — the  knighthood  I 
received  on  the  very  spot  where  God 
suffered  martyrdom, — we  will  open  all 
the  veins  in  your  body,  one  by  one." 
The  young  man  was  then  hoisted  up  by 
a  cord,  and  while  he  was  swinging  in 
the  air,  "  Young  master,"  said  Stein, 
with  a  fiendish  smile,-]-  "  this  is  our  wed- 
ding gift;"  alluding  to  the  marriage 
which  the  youthful  ecclesiastic  had  re- 
cently contracted. 

The  examination  being  now  con- 
cluded, the  deputies  returned  to  their 
several  cantons  to  make  their  report,  and 
did  not  assemble  again  until  four  weeks 
had  expired.  The  bailiff's  wife, — the 
mother  of  the  two  young  priests,— re- 
paired to  Baden,  carrying  a  child  in  her 
arms,  to  appeal  to  the  compassion  of  the 
judges.  John  Escher,  of  Zurich,  ac- 
companied her  as  her  advocate.  The 
latter  recognized  among  the  judges  Je- 
rome Stocker,  the  landamman  of  Zug, 
who  had  twice  been  bailiff  of  Frauen- 
feld.     "  Landamman,"  said  he,  accosting 

*  On  Kerzen,  schellen  und  anders  so  bisshar 
geiipt  ist. — (Bull.  Chr.  p.  196.) 

t  Alls  man  inn  am  folter  seyl  uffzog,  sagt  der 
zum  Stein:  Herrli,  das  ist  die  gaabdiewiruch  zu 
iiwer  Hussfrowen  schanckend. — (Ibid.  p.  190.) 


510 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


him,  "  you  remember  the  bailiff  Wirth  ; 
you  know  that  he  has  always  been  an 
honest  man."  "  It  is  most  true,  my  good 
friend  Escher,"  replied  Stocker ;  "  he 
never  did  anyone  an  injury:  country- 
men and  strangers  alike  were  sure  to 
find  a  hearty  Avelcome  at  his  table  ;  his 
house  was  a  convent, — inn, — hospital, 
all  in  one.*  And  knowing  this,  as  I  do, 
had  he  committed  a  robbery  or  a  mur- 
der, I  would  have  spared  no  effort  to  ob- 
tain his  pardon  ;  but  since  he  has  burned 
St.  Anne,  the  grandmother  of  Christ,  it 
is  but  right  that  he  should  die !" — 
"  Then  God  take  pity  on  us!"  ejaculated 
Escher. 

The  gates  were  now  shut,  (this  was 
on  the  28th  of  September,)  and  the  dep- 
uties of  Berne,  Lucerne,  Uri,  Schwitz, 
Underwald,  Zug,  Glaris,  Friburg,  and 
Soleure,  having  proceeded  agreeably  to 
usage,  to  deliberate  on  their  judgment 
with  closed  doors,  sentence  of  death  was 
passed  upon  the  bailiff  Wirth,  his  son 
John,  who,  of  all  the  accused,  was  the 
firmest  in  his  faith,  and  who  appeared  to 
have  gained  over  the  others,  and  the 
bailiff  Rutiman.  They  spared  the  life 
of  Adrian,  the  younger  of  Wirth's  sons, 
as  a  boon  to  his  weeping  mother. 

The  prisoners  were  now  brought  forth 
from  the  tower  in  which  they  had  been 
confined.  "  My  son,"  said  the  father  to 
Adrian,  "  we  die  an  undeserved  death, 
but  never  do  thou  think  of  avenging  it." 
Adrian  wept  bitterly.  "  My  brother," 
said  John,  "  where  Christ's  word  comes 
his  cross  must  follow."! 

After  the  sentence  had  been  read  to 
them,  the  three  christian  sufferers  were 
led  back  to  prison  ;  John  Wirth  walk- 
ing first,  the  two  bailiffs  next,  and  a  vic- 
ar behind  them.  As  they  crossed  the 
castle  bridge,  on  which  there  was  a 
chapel  dedicated  to  St.  Joseph,  the  vicar 
called  out  to  the  two  old  men — "  Fall  on 
your  knees  and  invoke  the  saints."  At 
these  words,  John  Wirth,  turning  round, 
said,  "  Father,  be  firm !  You  know 
there  is  but  one  Mediator  between  God 
and  man — Christ  Jesus." — "  Assuredly, 
my  son,"  replied  the  old  man,  "  and  by 
the  help  of  His  grace,  I  will  continue 
faithful  to  Him,  even  to  the  end."     On 

*  Sin  huss  ist  allwey  gsin  wie  ein  Kloster, 
wirtshuss  und  Spitall.— (Bull.  Chr.  p.  198.) 
t  Doch  allwag  das  criitz  darbey. — (Ibid.) 


this,  they  all  three  began  to  repeat  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  "Our  Father  who  art 
in  heaven."  .  .  .  And  so  they  crossed 
the  bridge. 

They  were  next  conducted  to  the 
scaffold.  John  Wirth,  whose  heart  was 
filled  with  the  tenderest  solicitude  for  his 
father,  bade  him  a  solemn  farewell. 
"  My  beloved  father,"  said  he,  "  hence- 
forth thou  art  my  father  no  longer,  and 
I  am  no  longer  thy  son  ; — but  we  are 
brothers  still '  in  Christ  our  Lord,  for 
whose  name's  sake  we  are  doomed  to 
suffer  death.*  So  now,  if  such  be  God's 
will,  ray  beloved  brother,  let  us  depart  to 
be  with  Him  who  is  the  father  of  us  all. 
Fear  nothing  !" — "  Amen  !"  answered 
the  old  man,  "  and  may  God  Almighty 
bless  thee,  my  beloved  son,  and  brother 
in  Christ." 

Thus,  on  the  threshold  of  eternity  did 
father  and  son  take  their  leave  of  each 
other,  with  joyful  anticipations  of  that 
unseen  state  in  which  they  should  be 
united  anew  by  imperishable  ties.  There 
were  but  few  among  the  multitude 
around  whose  tears  did  not  flow  profuse- 
ly. The  bailiff  Rutiman  prayed  in  si- 
lence, t  All  three  then  knelt  down  "  in 
Christ's  name," — and  their  heads  were 
severed  from  their  bodies. 

The  crowd,  observing  the  marks  of 
torture  on  their  persons,  uttered  loud  ex- 
pressions of  grief.  The  two  bailiffs  left 
behind  them  twenty-two  children,  and 
forty-five  grandchildren.  Anna  was 
obliged  to  pay  twelve  golden  crowns  to 
the  executioner  by  whom  her  husband 
and  son  had  been  deprived  of  life. 

Now  at  length  blood  had  been  spilt — 
innocent  blood.  Switzerland  and  the 
Reformation  were  baptized  with  the 
blood  of  the  martyrs.  The  great  enemy 
of  the  Gospel  had  effected  his  purpose  ; 
but  in  effecting  it  he  had  struck  a  mor- 
tal blow  against  his  own  power.  The 
death  of  the  Wirths  was  an  appointed 
means  of  hastening  the  triumph  of  the 
Reformation. 

The  Reformers  of  Zurich  had  ab- 
stained from  abolishing  the  mass  when 
they  suppressed  the  use  of  images  ;  but 

*  Furohin  bist  du  nitt  me  min  Vatter  und  ich 
din  sun,  sondern  wir  sind  briidern  in  Christo. — 
(Bull.  Chr.  p.  204.) 

t  Des  gnadens  weyneten  vil  Liithen  herzlicli. 
—(Ibid.) 


THE  SWISS.— 1522— 1537. 


ffii 


the  moment  for  doing  so  seemed  now  to 
have  arrived. 

Not  only  had  the  light  of  the  Gospel 
been  diffused  among  the  people — but 
the  violence  of  the  enemy  called  upon 
the  friends  of  God's  word  to  reply  by 
some  striking  demonstration  of  their  un- 
shaken constancy.  As  often  as  Rome 
shall  erect  a  scaffold,  and  heads  shall 
drop  upon  it,  so  often  shall  the  Reforma- 
tion exalt  the  Lord's  holy  Word,  and 
crush  some  hitherto  untouched  corrup- 
tion. When  Hottinger  was  executed, 
Zurich  put  down  the  worship  of  images, 
and  now  that  the  Wirths  have  been  sac- 
rificed, Zurich  shall  reply  by  the  aboli- 
tion of  the  Mass.  While  Rome  fills  up 
the  measure  of  her  severities,  the  Ref- 
ormation shall  be  conscious  of  a  perpet- 
ual accession  of  strength. 

On  the  11th  of  August,  1525,  the 
three  pastors  of  Zurich,  accompanied  by 
Megander,  and  Oswald  and  Myconius, 
presented  themselves  before  the  Great 
Council,  and  demanded  the  re-establish- 
ment of  the  Lord's  Supper.  Their  dis- 
course was  a  weighty  one,*  and  was  lis- 
tened to  with  the  deepest  attention  ; — 
every  one  felt  how  important  was  the  de- 
cision which  the  Council  was  called  up- 
on to  pronounce.  The  mass — that  mys- 
terious rite  which  for  three  successive 
centuries  had  constituted  the  animating 
principle  in  the  worship  of  the  Latin 
Church — was  now  to  be  abrogated, — 
the  corporeal  presence  of  Christ  was  to 
be  declared  an  illusion,  and  of  that  illu- 
sion, the  minds  of  the  people  were  to  be 
dispossessed ;  some  courage  was  needed 
for  such  a  resolution  as  this,  and  there 
were  individuals  in  the  Council  who 
shuddered  at  the  contemplation  of  so  au- 
dacious a  design.  Joachim  Am  Grut, 
the  under-secretary  of  state,  was  alarmed 
by  the  demand  of  the  pastors,  and  op- 
posed it  with  all  his  might.  "  The 
words,  This  is  my  bod]/,"  said  he,  "prove 
beyond  all  dispute  that  the  bread  is  the 
very  body  of  Christ  himself."  Zwingle 
argued  that  there  is  no  other  word  in  the 
Greek  langaage  than  can.  (is)  to  express 
signifies,  and  he  quoted  several  instances 
of  the  employment  of  that  word  in  a 
figurative  sense.  The  Great  Council  was 
convinced   by  his  reasoning,  and  hesi- 

*  Und  vermantend  die  ernstlich. — (Bull.  Chr. 
p.  263.) 


tated  no  longer.  The  evangelical  doc- 
trine had  sunk  deep  into  every  heart, 
and  moreover,  since  a  separation  from 
the  Church  of  Rome  had  taken  place, 
there  was  a  kind  of  satisfaction  felt  in 
making  that  separation  as  complete  as 
possible,  and  digging  a  gulf  as  it  were 
between  the  Reformation  and  her.  The 
Council  decreed  therefore  that  the  mass 
should  be  abolished,  and  it  was  deter- 
mined that  on  the  following  day.  which 
was  Maundy  Thursday,  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per should  be  celebrated  in  conformity  to 
the  apostolic  model. 

Zwingle's  mind  had  been  deeply  en- 
gaged in  these  proceedings  ;  and  at 
night,  when  he  closed  his  eyes,  he  was 
still  searching  for  arguments  with  which 
to  confront  his  adversaries.  The  subject 
that  had  occupied  him  during  the  day, 
presented  itself  to  him  again  in  a  dream. 
He  thought  that  he  was  disputing  with 
Am-Grut,  and  could  not  find  an  answer 
to  his  principal  objection.  Suddenly 
some  one  stood  before  him  in  his  dream 
and  said,  "  Why  dost  not  thou  quote  the 
11th  verse  of  the  12th  chapter  of  Exo- 
dus :  Ye  shall  eat  the  La7nb  in  haste  ;  it 
is  the  Lord's  Passover?"  Zwingle 
awoke,  rose  from  his  bed,  took  up  the 
Septuagint  translation,  and  turning  to 
the  verse,  found  the  same  word  £0t<  (is) 
whose  import  in  that  passage,  by  univer- 
sal admission,  can  be  no  other  than  sig- 
nifies. 

Here  then,  in  the  very  constitution  of 
the  paschal  feast  under  the  old  covenant, 
was  the  phrase  employed  in  that  identi- 
cal sense  which  Zwingle  assigned  to  it 
— who  could  resist  the  conclusion  that 
the  two  passages  are  parallel  ? 

On  the  following  day,  Zwingle  took 
the  verse  just  mentioned  as  the  text  of 
his  discourse,  and  reasoned  so  forcibly 
from  it  that  the  doubts  of  his  hearers 
were  dispelled. 

The  incident  which  has  now  been  re- 
lated, and  which  is  so  naturally  explain- 
ed— and  the  particular  expression*  used 
by  Zwingle  to  intimate  that  he  had  no 
recollection  of  the  aspect  of  the  person 
whom  he  saw  in  his  dream,  have  given 
rise  to  the  assertion  that  the  doctrine  pro- 
mulgated by  the  Reformer  was  delivered 
to  him  by  the  devil ! 

*  Ater  fuerit  an  albus  nihil  memini,  somnium 
enim  narro. 


512 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


The  altars  disappeared ;  some  plain 
tables,  covered  with  the  sacramental 
bread  and  wine,  occupied  their  places, 
and  a  crowd  of  eager  communicants  was 
gathered  round  them.  There  was  some- 
thing exceedingly  solemn  in  that  assem- 
blage. Our  Lord's  death  was  commem- 
orated on  three  different  days,  by  differ- 
ent portions  of  the  community  : — on 
Maunday  Thursday,  by  the  young  peo- 
ple ;  on  Good  Friday,  the  day  of  his 
passion,  by  those  who  had  reached  the 
middle  stage  of  life  •  on  Easter  Sunday, 
by  the  aged.* 

After  the  deacons  had  read  aloud  such 
passages  of  Scripture  as  relate  to  this 
sacrament,  the  pastors  addressed  their 
flock  in  the  language  of  pressing  admo- 
nition,— charging  all  those  whose  wilful 
indulgence  in  sin  would  bring  dishonour 
on  the  body  of  Christ  to  withdraw  from 
that  holy  feast.  The  people  then  fell  on 
their  knees  •  the  bread  was  carried 
round  on  large  wooden  dishes  or  plat- 
ters, and  every  one  broke  off  a  morsel 
for  himself;  the  wine  was  distributed  in 
wooden  drinking  cups  ;  the  resemblance 
to  the  primitive  Supper  was  thought  to 
be  the  closer.  The  hearts  of  those  who 
celebrated  this  ordinance  were  affected 
with  alternate  emotions  of  wonder  and 

j°yt 

Such  was  the  progress  of  the  Refor- 
mation at  Zurich.  The  simple  com- 
memoration of  our  Lord's  death  caused 
a  fresh  overflow  in  the  Church,  of  love  to 
God,  and  love  to  the  brethren.  The 
words  of  Jesus  Christ  were  once  more 
proved  to  be  '  spirit  and  life.'  Whereas 
the  different  orders  and  sections  of  the 
Church  of  Rome  had  kept  up  incessant 
disputes  among  themselves,  the  first  ef- 
fect of  the  Gospel,  on  its  re-appearance 
in  the  Church,  was  the  revival  of  broth- 
erly charity.  The  Love  which  had 
glowed  so  brightly  in  the  first  ages  of 
Christianity,  was  now  kindled  anew. 
Men,  who  had  before  been  at  variance, 
were  found  renouncing  their  long-cher- 
ished enmity,  and  cordially  embracing 
each  other,  after  having  broken  bread 
together  at  the  table  of  the  Lord.  Zwin- 
gle  rejoiced  at  these  affecting  manifesta- 

*  Fusslin  Beytr.  iv.  p.  64. 

t  Mit  grossem  verwundern  viler  Luthen  und 
noch  mit  vil  grossern  frouden  gloubigen. — (Bull. 
Chr.  p.  264.) 


tions  of  grace,  and  returned  thanks  to 
God  that  the  Lord's  Supper  was  again 
working  those  miracles  of  charity,  which 
had  long  since  ceased  to  be  displayed 
in  connection  with  the  sacrifice  of  the 
mass.* 

"  Our  city,"  said  he,  "  continues  at 
peace.  There  is  no  fraud,  no  dissen- 
sion, no  envy,  no  wrangling  among  us. 
Where  shall  we  discover  the  cause  of 
this  agreement  except  in  the  Lord's 
good  pleasure,  and  the  harmlessness  and 
meekness  of  the  doctrine  we  profess?"! 

Charity  and  unity  were  there — but 
not  uniformity.  Zwingle,  in  his  "  Com- 
mentary on  true  and  false  religion"^ 
which  he  dedicated  to  Francis  the  First, 
in  March,  1525,  the  year  of  the  battle 
of  Pavia,  had  stated  some  truths  in  a 
manner  that  seemed  adapted  to  recom- 
mend them  to  human  reason,  following 
in  that  respect  the  example  of  several  of 
the  most  distinguished  among  the  scho- 
lastic theologians.  In  this  way  he  had 
attached  to  original  corruption  the  ap- 
pellation of  a  disease,  reserving  the  name 
of  sin  for  the  actual  violation  of  law .^ 
But  these  statements,  though  they  gave 
rise  to  some  objections,  yet  occasioned  no 
breach  of  brotherly  charity ;  for  Zwin- 
gle, while  he  persisted  in  calling  origi- 
nal sin  a  disease,  added,  by  that  disease, 
all  men  were  ruined,  and  that  the  sole 
remedy  was  in  Jesus  Christ.  ||  Here 
then  was  no  taint  of  Pelagian  error. 

But  whilst  in  Zurich  the  celebration 
of  the  sacrament  was  followed  by  the 
re-establishment  of  Christian  brother- 
hood, Zwingle  and  his  friends  had  to 
sustain  a  harder  struggle  than  ever 
against  their  adversaries  without.  Zwin- 
gle was  not  only  a  Christian  teacher, 
he  was  a  true  patriot  also  ;  and  we 
know  how  zealously  he  always  opposed 
the  capitulations,  and  foreign  pensions, 
and  alliances.     He  was  persuaded  that 

*  Expositio  fidei. — (Zvv.  Opp.  ii.  p.  241.) 

t"  Ut  tranquillitatis  et  innocentiae  studiosos  red- 
dat— (Zw.  Epp.  p.  390.) 

t  De  vera,  et  falsa,  religions  commentarius. — 
(Zw.  Opp.  iii.  p.  145,  325.) 

§  Peccatum  ergo  morbus  est  eognatus  nobis, 
quo  fugimus  aspera  et  gravia,  sectamur  jucunda 
et  voluptuosa :  secundo  loco  accipitur  peccatum 
pro  eo  quod  contra  legem  fit. — (Ibid.  p.  204.) 

||  Originali  morbo  perdimur  omnes ;  remedio 
verb  quod  contra  ipsum  invenit  Deus,  incolumi- 
tati  restituimur. — (De  peccato  originali  declaratio 
ad  Urbanum  Rhegium. — (Ibid.  p.  632.) 


\ 


THE  SWISS.— 1522— 1527. 


513 


this  extraneous  influence  was  destructive 
to  piety,  contributed  to  the  maintenance 
of  error,  and  was  a  fruitful  source  of 
civil  discord.  But  his  courageous  pro- 
tests on  this  head  were  destined  to  im- 
pede the  progress  of  the  Reformation. 
In  almost  every  canton,  the  leading  men, 
who  received  the  foreign  pensions,  and 
the  officers  under  whose  command  the 
youth  of  Switzerland  were  ied  out  to 
battle,  were  knit  together  in  powerful 
factions  and  oligarchies,  which  attacked 
the  Reformation,  not  so  much  in  the 
spirit  of  religious  animosity,  as  in  the 
belief  that  its  success  would  be  detri- 
mental to  their  own  pecuniary  and  po- 
litical interests.  They  had  already 
gained  a  triumph  in  Schwitz,  and  that 
canton,  in  which  Zwingle,  Leo  Juda, 
and  Oswald  Myconius  had  preached  the 
truth,  and  which  seemed  disposed  to  fol- 
low the  example  of  Zurich,  had,  on  a 
sudden,  renewed  the  mercenary  capitu- 
lations, and  closed  the  door  against  the 
Gospel. 

In  Zurich  itself,  a  few  worthless  per- 
sons, instigated  to  mischief  by  foreign 
agency,  made  an  attack  upon  Zwingle, 
in  the  middle  of  the  night,  throwing 
stones  at  his  house,  breaking  the  win- 
dows, and  calling  aloud  for  "  red  haired 
Uli,  the  vulture  of  Glaris," — so  that 
Zwinode  started  from  his  sleep,  and 
caught  up  Ins  sword.*  The  action  is 
characteristic  of  the  man. 

But  these  desultory  assaults  could  not 
counteract  the  impulse  by  which  Zurich 
was  carried  onward,  and  which  was  be- 
ginning to  vibrate  throughout  the  whole 
of  Switzerland.  They  were  like  pebbles 
thrown  to  check  the  course  of  a  torrent. 
The  waters  of  the  torrent  meanwhile 
were  swelling,  and  the  mightiest  of  its 
obstacles  were  likely  soon  to  be  swept 
away. 

The  people,  of  Berne  having  intimated 
to  the  citizens  of  Zurich,  that  several  of 
the  cantons  had  refused  to  sit  with  them 
any  longer  in  the  Diet: — ';  Well,"  re- 
plied the  men  of  Zurich,  with  calm  dig- 
nity, raising  (as  in  times  past  the  men 
of  Rutli  had  done)  their  hands  towards 
heaven,  "we  are  persuaded  that  God  the 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  in  whose 
name  the  Confederation  has  been  formed, 

*  Interea  sur^ere  Zwinglius  adensem  suum. — 
(Zw.  Opp.  iii.  pr411.) 

65 


will  not  forsake  us,  and  will,  at  last,  in 
his  mercy,  make  us  to  sit  at  the  right 
hand  of  His  majesty."* 

With  such  a  faithful  spirit,  there  was 
nothing  to  fear  for  the  Reformation. 
But  would  it 'make  similar  progress  in 
die  other  states  of  the  Confederation? 
Might  not  Zurich  be  single  on  the  side 
of  the  word  of  God  1  Berne,  Basle,  and 
other  cantons,  would  they  remain  in  their 
subjection  to  Rome  ?  It  is  this  we  are 
now  to  see.  Let  us  then  turn  towards 
Berne,  and  contemplate  the  march  of 
the  Reformation  in  the  most  influential 
of  the  confederated  states. 

No  where  was  the  contest  likely  to  be 
so  sharp  as  at  Berne,  for  the  Gospel  had 
there  both  powerful  friends  and  deter- 
mined opponents.  At  the  head  of  the 
reforming  party  was  the  banneret  John 
Weingarten,  Bartholomew  May,  mem- 
ber of  the  lesser  Council,  his  sons  Wolf-  • 
gang  and  Claudius,  his  grandsons,  James 
and  Benedict,  and,  above  all,  the  family 
of  the  Wattevilles.  James  W'atteville, 
the  magistrate,  who,  since  1512,  had  pre- 
sided over  the  republic,  had  read  the 
writings  of  Luther  and  Zwingle,  at  the 
time  of  their  publication,  and  had  often 
conversed  concerning  the  Gospel  with 
John  Haller,  pastor  at  Anseltingen, 
whom  he  had  protected  from  his  per- 
secutors. 

His  son,  Nicholas,  then  thirty-one 
years  of  age,  had,  for  two  years,  filled 
the  office  of  provost  in  the  church  of 
Berne  ;  and,  as  such,  by  virtue  of  papal 
ordinances,  enjoyed  distinguished  privi- 
leges; so  that,  Berthold  Haller,  in  speak- 
ing of  him,  would  eall  him  '■  our 
Bishop."f 

The  prelates  and  the  pope  used  every 
effort  to  bind  him  to  the  interests  of 
Rome.};  and  the  circumstances  in  which 
he  was  placed,  seemed  likely  to  keep 
him  from  the  knowledge  of  the  Gospel; 
but  the  workings  of  God's  Spirit  were 
more  powerful  than  the  flatteries  of  man. 
"  Watteville,"     says     Zwingle, §     w  was 

*  Bey  ihm  zuletzt  sitzen. — (Kirchhofer.  Ref. 
v.  Bern.  p.  55.) 

t  Episcepus  noster  Vadivillius. — (Zw.  Epp. 
p.  285.) 

t  Tantum  favoris  et  amicitiae  quce  tibi  cum 
tanto  summorum  pontificum  et  potentissimorum 
episcoporiim  coetu  hactenus  iutercessit. — (Zw. 
Opp.  i.  ed.  lat.  p.  305.) 

§  Ex  obscuris  ignoranliae  tenebris  in  amoenam 


514 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


turned  from  darkness  to  the  sweet  light 
of  the  Gospel."  As  the  friend  of  Ber- 
thold  Haller,  he  was  accustomed  to  read 
the  letters  which  he  received  from  Zwin- 
gle,  for  whom  he  expressed  the  highest 
admiration.* 

It  was  natural  to  suppose  that  the  in- 
fluence of  the  two  Wattevilles,  the  one 
being  at  the  head  of  the  state,  and  the 
other  of  the  church,  would  draw  after  it 
the  republic  over  which  they  presided. 
But  the  opposite  party  was  scarcely  less 
powerful. 

Among  its  chiefs  were  the  schultheiss 
of  Erlach,  the  banneret  Willading,  and 
many  persons  of  high  family,  whose 
interests  were  identified  with  those  of 
the  convents  placed  under  their  adminis- 
tration. Backing  these  influential  lead- 
ers was  an  ignorant  and  corrupted  clergy, 
who  went  the  length  of  calling  Gospel 
truth,  "  an  invention  of  hell."  "  Be- 
loved colleagues,"  said  the  counsellor  of 
Mullinen,  at  a  full  conference,  held  in 
the  month  of  July,  "  be  on  your  guard, 
lest  this  Reformation  should  creep  in 
upon  us.  There  is  no  safety  at  Zurich 
in  one's  own  house :  people  are  obliged 
to  have  soldiers  to  guard  them."  In 
consequence,  they  invited  to  Berne  the 
lecturer  of  the  Dominicans  at  Mentz, 
John  Heim,  who,  taking  his  stand  in  the 
pulpit,  poured  forth  all  the  eloquence  of 
St.  Thomas  Aquinas  against  the  Ref- 
ormation.! 

Thus,  then,  the  two  parties  were  in 
presence  of  each  other  ;  a  struggle  seem- 
ed inevitable,  but  already  there  were 
indications  with  whom  the  victory  would 
remain.  In  fact,  a  common  faith  united 
a  part  of  the  people  to  those  distinguished 
families  who  espoused  the  Reformation. 
Berthold  Haller  exclaimed,  full  of  confi- 
dence in  the  future,  "  Unless,  indeed,  the 
wrath  of  God  should  show  itself  against 
us,  it  is  not  possible  that  the  word  of  the 
Lord  should  be  banished  from  the  city, 
for  the  Bernese  are  hungering  after  it",| 

Two  acts  of  the  government  soon  ap- 
peared to  incline  the  balance  in  favour 

Evangelii  lucem  productum. — (Zw.  Opp.  i.  ed. 
lat.  p.  305.) 

*  Epistolas  tuas  et  eruditionis  et  humauitatis 
testes  locupletissimas. — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  287.) 

t  Suo  Thomistico  Marte  omnia  invertere. — 
(Ibid.) 

t  Famem  verbi  Bernates  habent. — (Zw.  Epp. 
p.  295.) 


of  the  new  opinions.  The  Bishop  of 
Lausanne  had  given  notice  of  an  episco- 
pal visitation ;  the  Council  sent  a  mes- 
sage to  him  by  the  provost,  Watteville, 
desiring  him  to  abstain  from  it.*  And, 
in  the  mean  time,  the  government  put 
forth  an  ordinance,  which,  whilst  in 
appearance  it  left  the  enemies  of  the 
truth  in  possession  of  some  of  their  ad- 
vantages, at  the  same  time  sanctioned  the 
principles  on  which  the  Reformation  was 
founded.  They  directed  that  the  minis- 
ters should  preach,  clear  of  all  additions, 
— freely  and  openly, — the  Gospel  and 
the  doctrine  of  God,  as  it  is  found  in  the 
books  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments ; 
and  that  they  should  not  allude  to  any 
doctrine,  disputation,  or  writing  coming 
from  Luther  or  other  teachers. f 

Great  was  the  surprise  of  the  enemies 
of  the  truth,  when  they  saw  the  minis- 
ters of  the  Gospel  appealing  with  confi- 
dence lo  this  decree.  This  ordinance, 
which  was  to  furnish  the  ground  for  all 
those  that  succeeded,  was,  legally  speak- 
ing, the  commencement  of  the  Reforma- 
tion at  Berne.  From  that  time,  there  was 
more  decision  in  the  progress  of  this 
canton  ;  and  Zwingle,  who  attentively 
observed  all  that  was  passing  in  Switzer- 
land, was  able  to  write  to  the  provost  de 
Watteville,  "  Christians  are  all  exulting 
on  account  of  the  faith  which  the  pious 
city  of  Berne  has  just  received. "t  ':  The 
cause  is  that  of  Christ,"  exclaimed  the 
friends  of  the  Gospel,  and  they  exerted 
themselves  to  advance  it  with  increased 
confidence. §  The  enemies  of  the  Ref- 
ormation, alarmed  at  these  first  advan- 
tages, closed  their  ranks,  and  resolved  on 
striking  a  blow  which  should  ensure 
victory  on  their  side.  They  conceived 
the  project  of  getting  rid  of  those  minis- 
ters whose  bold  preaching  was  turning 
all*  the  ancient  customs  upside  down  ; 
and  a  favourable  occasion  was  not  long 
wanting.  There  was,  at  Berne,  in  the 
place  where  now  stands  the  hospital  de 
1'Ile,  a  convent  of  nuns  of  the  Dominican 

*  Ut  nee  oppidum,  nee  pagos  Bernatum  visi- 
tare  pratendat  omnino. — (Ibid.) 

t  Alein  das  heilig  Evangelium  mid  die  leer 
Gottes  frey,  offentlich  und  unverborgen. — (Bull. 
Chr.  p.  111.) 

t  Alle  Christen  sich  allenthalben  frouwend  des 
Glaubens — (Zw.  Opp.  i.  p.  426.) 

§  Christi  negotium  agitur. — (Zw.  Epp.  9  th 
May,  1523.) 


THE  SWISS.— 1522— 1527. 


515 


order,  consecrated  to  St.  Michael.  St. 
Michael's  day,  (29th  of  September,)  was 
always  a  solemn  festival  to  the  inmates 
of  the  nunnery.  On  this  anniversary, 
many  of  the  clergy  were  present,  and, 
among-  others,  Wittembach  de  Bienne, 
Sebastian  Meyer,  and  Berthold  Haller. 
This  latter,  having  entered  into  conver- 
sation with  the  nuns,  among  whom  was 
Clara,  the  daughter  of  Claudius  May, 
(one  of  those  who  maintained  the  new 
doctrines,)  he  remarked  to  her,  in  the 
presence  of  her  grandmother,  "  the  merits 
of  the  monastic  state  are  but  imaginary, 
whilst  marriage  is  honourable,  and  insti- 
tuted by  God  himself."  Some  nuns,  to 
whom  Clara  related  this  conversation  of 
Berthold,  received  it  with  outcries.  It 
was  soon  rumoured  in  the  city  that  Hal- 
ler had  asserted  that  "  the  nuns  were  all 
children  of  the  devil."  The  opportunity 
that  the  enemies  of  the  Reformation  had 
waited  for,  was  now  arrived :  and  they 
presented  themselves  before  the  lesser 
Council.  Referring  to  an  ancient  law, 
which  enacted  that  whosoever  should 
carry  off  a  nun  from  her  convent  should 
lose  his  head,  they  proposed  that  the 
"sentence  should  be  mitigated"  so  far,  as 
that,  without  hearing  the  three  accused 
ministers  in  their  defence,  they  should  be 
banished  for  life !  The  lesser  Council 
granted  the  petition,  and  the  matter 
was  immediately  carried  to  the  grand 
Council. 

Thus,  then,  Berne  was  threatened  with 
the  loss  of  her  Reformers.  The  in- 
trigues of  the  Popish  party  seemed  suc- 
cessful. But  Rome,  triumphant  when 
she  played  her  game  with  the  higher 
orders,  was  beaten  when  she  had  to  do 
with  the  people  or  their  representatives. 
Hardly  were  the  names  of  Haller,  of 
Meyer,  of  Wittembach — those  names 
held  in  veneration  by  all  the  Swiss, — 
pronounced  in  the  grand  Council,  before 
an  energetic  opposition  was  manifested 
against  the  lesser  Council  and  the  clergy. 
"We  cannot,"  said  Tillman,  "condemn 
the  accused  unheard  !  .  .  .  Surely  their 
own  testimony  may  be  received  against 
that  of  a  few  women."  The  ministers 
were  called  up.  There  seemed  no  way 
of  settling  matters.  "  Let  us  admit  the 
statements  of  both  parties,"  said  John 
Weingarten.  They  did  so,  and  dis- 
charged the  accused  ministers, — at  the 


same  time  desiring  them  to  confine  them- 
selves to  the  duties  of  their  pulpits,  and 
not  to  trouble  themselves  concerning  the 
cloisters.  But  the  pulpit  was  all  they 
wanted:  their  accusers  had  taken  nothing 
by  their  motion.  It  was  counted  a  great 
victory  gained  by  the  Reforming  party, 
insomuch  that  one  of  the  leading  men 
exclaimed,  "  It  is  all  over  now — Luther's 
work  must  go  forward."* 

And  go  forward  it  did, — and  that  in 
places  where  it  could  least  have  been 
expected.  At  Konigsfeld  upon  the  river 
Aar,  near  the  castle  of  Hapsburg,  stood 
a  monastery  adorned  with  all  the  mag- 
nificence of  the  middle  ages,  and  in 
which  reposed  the  ashes  of  many  of  that 
illustrious  house  which  had  so  often 
given  an  Emperor  to  Germany.  To 
this  place  the  noble  families  of  Switzer- 
land and  of  Suabia  used  to  send  their 
daughters  to  take  the  veil.  It  was  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  this  convent  that 
the  Emperor  Albert  had  fallen  by  the 
hand  of  his  nephew,  John  of  Suabia,  on 
the  1st  of  May,  13U8  ;  and  the  beautiful 
stained  windows  of  the  church  at  Konigs- 
feld  represented  the  horrible  tortures 
which  had  been  inflicted  upon  the  rela- 
tions and  dependants  of  the  perpetrators 
of  the  murder.  Catherine  of  Waldburg- 
Truchsess,  abbess  of  the  convent  at  the 
period  of  the  Reformation,  numbered 
among  her  nuns  Beatrice  Landenberg, 
sister  of  the  Bishop  of  Constance,  Agnes 
Mullinen,  Catherine  Bonnstetten,  and 
Margaret  Watteville,  sister  of  the  provost. 
The  liberty  enjoyed  in  this  convent,  a 
liberty  which  in  earlier  times  had  given 
occasion  to  scandalous  disorders,  had 
favoured  the  introduction  not  only  of  the 
Bible,  but  of  the  writings  of  Luther  and 
Zwingle ;  and  soon  a  new  spring  of  life 
and  joy  changed  the  aspect  of  its  interior. 
Nigh  to  that  cell  to  which  Glueen  Agnes, 
daughter  of  Albert,  had  retired,  after 
bathing  121  torrents  of  blood  "  as  in  May- 
dews;"  and  where,  dividing  her  time 
between  spinning  wool  and  embroider- 
ing tapestry  for  the  church,  she  had 
mingled  thoughts  of  vengeance  with  de- 
votional exercises, — Margaret  Watteville 
had  only  thoughts*  of  peace, — read  the 
Scriptures, — and  found  time,  in  her  spare 

*  Es  ist  nun  gethan.  Der  Lutherische  Han- 
del muss  vorgehen. — (Anshelm.  Wirtz.  K.  G.  V 
p.  290.) 


516 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


moments,  to  compound,  of  certain  saluta- 
ry ingredients,  an  excellent  electuary. 
Retiring  to  her  cell,  the  youthful  nun 
took  courage  to  write  to  the  Reformer  of 
Switzerland.  Her  letter  discovers  to  us, 
better  than  any  reflections  could  do,  the 
Christian  spirit  whicl*  existed  among 
those  pious  women, — still,  even  in  our 
days,  so  much  calumniated. 

"  Grace  and  peace,  in  the  Lord-Jesus 
Christ,  be  given  and  multiplied  towards 
you  always,  by  God  our  heavenly 
Father,"  was  the  language  of  the  nun 
of  Konigsfeld  to  Zwingle  :  "  Very  learn- 
ed, reverend,  and  most  dear  Sir,  I  pray 
you  to  take  in  good  part  this  letter  which 
I  now  address  to  you.  The  love  of 
Christ  constrains  me  ; — especially  since  I 
have  learned  that  the  doctrines  of  grace 
are  spreading  from  day  to  day  through 
your  preaching  of  the  word  of  God.  For 
this  cause  I  give  thanks  to  the  Eternal 
God,  for  that  he  has  enlightened  us 
anew,  and  has  sent  us,  by  His  Holy 
Spirit,  so  many  heralds  of  His  blessed 
word;  and  at  the  same  time  I  present 
before  him  my  earnest  prayers,  that  He 
will  be  pleased  to  clothe  with  His 
strength,  both  you  and  all  those  who 
publish  His  glad  tidings, — and  that  arm- 
ing you  against  all  enemies  of  the  truth, 
He  will  cause  His  Divine  Word  to  grow 
in  all  men.  Most  learned  Sir,  I  take  the 
liberty  of  sending  to  your  reverence  this 
little  mark  of  my  affection  ;  I  pray  you 
do  not  despise  it,  for  it  is  an  offering  of 
Christian  love.  If  this  electuary  should 
be  useful  to  you,  and  you  should  wish  to 
have  more,  pray  let  me  know,  'for  it 
would  be  a  joy  to  my  heart  to  do  any- 
thing that  would  be  agreeable  to  you. 
I  am  writing  not  my  own  feelings  only, 
but  those  of  all  in  our  convent  of  Konigs- 
feld who  love  the  Gospel.  They  salute 
you  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  we  together 
cease  not  to  commend  you  to  His  Al- 
mighty protection.* 

"Saturday  before  Lalare,  1523." 

Such  was  the  pious  letter  which  the 
nun  of  Konigsfeld  wrote  to  the  Reformer 
of  Switzerland. 

A  convent  into  which  the  light  of  the 
Gospel  had  penetrated  in  such  power, 
could  not   long   continue  to   adhere  to 

*  Cujus  proesidio  auxilioque  preescntissimo,  nos 

vestram   dignitatem    assidue   commendamus 

(Zw.  Epp.  p.  280.) 


monastic  observances.  Margaret  Watte- 
ville  and  her  sisters,  persuaded  that  they 
should  better  serve  God  in  their  families 
than  in  a  cloister,  solicited  permission  to 
leave  it.  The  Council  of  Berne,  in  some 
alarm,  took  measures  to  bring  the  nuns 
to  reason,  and  the  provincial  and  abbess 
alternately  tried  promises  and  threats,  but 
the  sisters,  Margaret,  Agnes,  and  Cathe- 
rine, and  their  friends,  could  not  be  dis- 
suaded. On  this,  the  discipline  of  the 
convent  was  relaxed, — the  nuns  being 
exempted  from  fasting  and  matins,  and 
their  allowance  increased.  "  We  desire," 
said  they,  in  reply  to  the  Council,  "  not 
'  the  liberty  of  the  flesh]  but  that  of  the 
spirit.  We,  your  poor,  unoffending  pris- 
oners, beseech  you  to  take  compassion 
on  us." — "  Our  prisoners  !  our  prisoners," 
exclaimed  the  banneret,  Krauchthaler ; 
"  /  have  no  wish  to  detain  them  prison- 
ers !"  This  speech,  coming  from  a  firm 
defender  of  the  convents,  decided  the 
Council.  The  gates  were  opened  ;  and 
a  short  time  afterwards  Catherine  Bonn- 
stetten  married  William  von  Diesbach. 

Nevertheless,  Berne,  instead  of  openly 
taking  part  with  the  Reformation,  did 
but  hold  a  middle  course,  and  pursue  a 
system  of  vacillation.  An  incident  soon 
occurred  which  made  this  apparent.  Se- 
bastian Meyer,  lecturer  of  the  Francis- 
cans, put  forth  a  recantation  of  Romish 
errors,  which  produced  an  immense  sen- 
sation ;  and,  in  which,  depicting  the  con- 
dition of  the  inmates  of  convents,  he  said, 
"  The  living  in  them  is  more  impure,  the 
falls  more  frequent,  the  recoveries  more 
tardy,  the  habitual  walk  more  unsteady, 
the  moral  slumber  in  them  more  danger- 
ous, the  grace  toward  offenders  more 
rare,  and  the  cleansing  from  sin  more 
slow,  the  death  more  despairing,  and  the 
condemnation  more  severe."*  At  the 
very  time  when  Meyer  was  thus  declar- 
ing himself  against  the  cloisters,  John 
Heim,  lecturer  of  the  Dominicans,  ex- 
claimed from  the  pulpit,  "  No !  Christ 
has  not,  as  the  Evangelicals  tell  us, 
made  satisfaction  once  for  all,  to  his 
Father.  God  must  still  further  every 
day  be  reconciled  to  men  by  good  works 
and  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass."  Two 
burghers,  who   happened  to  be  in  the 

*  Langsamer  gereiniget,  verzweifelter  stirbt, 
hiirter  verdammet. — (Kirchhofer  Referm.  v. 
Bern.  p.  48.) 


THE  SWISS.— 1522— 1527. 


517 


church,  interrupted  him  with  the  words, 
"  That's  not  true.'1  The  interruption 
caused  a  great  disturbance  in  the  church  j 
and  Heim  remained  silent.  Some  pressed 
him  to  go  on  ;  but  he  left  the  pulpit  with- 
out finishing  his  sermon.  The  next  day 
the  Grand  Council  struck  a  blow  at  once 
against  Rome  and  the  Reformation ! 
They  banished  from  the  city  the  two 
leading  controversialists,  Meyer  and 
Heim.  It  was  remarked  of  the  Bernese, 
"  They  are  neither  clear  nor  muddy,"* — 
taking  in  a  double  sense  the  name  of 
Luther,  which  in  old  German  signified 
clear.] 

*  Dass  sie  weder  luther  noch  trub  seyen. — 
(Ibid.  p.  50.) 

t  Romish  writers,  and  particularly  M.  de  Hal- 
ler,  have  mentioned,  following  Salat  and  Tschudi, 
enemies  of  the  Reformation,  a  pretended  letter 
of  Zwingle,  addressed,  at  this  juncture,  to  Kolb 
at  Berne.  It  is  as  follows: — "  Health  and  bless- 
ing from  God  our  Saviour.  Dear  Francis,  move 
gently  in  the  matter.  At  first  only  throw  one 
sour  pear  to  the  bear,  amongst  a  great  many 
sweet  ones  ;  afterwards  two,  then  three  ;  and  as 
soon  as  he  begins  to  eat  them,  throw  more  and 
more, — sweet  and  bitter  all  together.  Empty 
the  sack  entirely.  Soft,  hard,  sweet,  bitter,  he 
will  eat  them  all,  and  will  no  longer  allow  either 
that  they  be  taken,  or  he  driven  away. — Zurich, 
Monday  before  St.  George,  1525. 

"  Your  servant  in  Christ, 

"  Ulrich  Zwingle." 

We  can  oppose  convincing  arguments  against 
the  authenticity  of  this  letter.  First, — In  1525, 
Kolb  was  pastor  at  Wertheimer.  He  did  not 
come  to  Berne  until  1527.— (See  Zw.  Epp.  526.) 
M.  de  Haller  substitutes,  indeed,  but  quite  arbi- 
trarily, 1527  for  1525.  This  correction,  doubt- 
less, had  its  object ;  but,  unfortunately,  in  ma- 
king it,  M.  de  Haller  puts  himself  in  direct  con- 
tradiction of  Salat  and  Tschudi,  who,  though 
they  do  not  agree  as  to  the  day  on  which  this 
letter  was  mentioned  in  the  diet,  agree  as  to  the 
year,  which,  with  both  is  clealry  1525.  Second- 
ly,— There  is  no  agreement  as  to  the  way  in 
which  the  letter  itself  got  abroad.  According  to 
one  account,  it  was  intercepted ;  another  ver- 
sion tells  us  that  Kolb's  parishioners  communica- 
ted it  to  an  inhabitant  of  the  small  cantons,  who 
happened  to  be  at  Berne.  Thirdly, — The  origi- 
nal is  in  German.  Now  Zwingle  wrote  always 
in  Latin  to  his  friends  who  could  understand  that 
language :  moreover,  he  used  to  salute  them  as 
brother,  and  not  as  servant.  Fourthly, — In 
reading  Zwingle's  correspondence  it  is  impossible 
not  to  perceive  that  his  style  is  quite  different 
from  that  of  the  pretended  letter.  Zwingle  never 
would  have  written  a  letter  to  say  so  little.  His 
letters  in  general  are  long  and  full  of  news.  To 
call  the  little  jeu  d' esprit  picked  up  by  Salat  a 
letter,  is  but  trifling.  Fifthly, — Salat  deserves 
but  little  confidence  as  an  historian  ;  and  Tschudi 
appears  to  have  copied  him,  with  a  few  variations. 


But  it  was  in  vain  to  attempt  to 
smother  the  Reformation  at  Berne.  It 
made  progress  on  all  sides.  The  nuns 
of  the  convent  de  l'lle  had  not  forgotten 
Haller's  visit.  Clara  May,  and  many  of 
her  friends,  pressed  in  their  consciences 
to  know  what  to  do,  wrote  to  the  learned 
Henry  Bullinger.  In  answer,  he  said, 
"  Saint  ^aul  enjoins  young  women  not 
to  take  upon  them  vows,  but  to  marry, 
instead  of  living  in  idleness,  under  a  false 
show  of  piety.  (1  Tim.  v.  13,  14.)  Fol- 
low Jesus  in  humility,  charity,  patience, 
purity,  and  kindness."*  Clara,  looking 
to  heaven  for  guidance,  resolved  to  act 
on  the  advice,  and  renounce  a  manner  of 
life  at  variance  with  the  word  of  God, — 
of  man's  invention, — and  beset  with 
snares.  Her  grandfather  Bartholomew, 
who  had  served  for  fifty  years  in  the  field 
and  the  council-hall,  heard  with  joy  of 
the  resolution  she  had  formed.  Clara 
quitted  the  convent. 

The  provost,  Nicholas  Watteville,  con- 
nected by  strong  ties  of  interest  to  the 
Roman  hierarchy,  and  who  was  to  have 
been  nominated  to  the  first  vacant  bish- 
opric in  Switzerland,  also  gave  up  his 
titles,  revenues,  and  expectations,  that  he 
might  keep  a  clear  conscience ;  and, 
breaking  through  all  the  entanglements 
in  which  the  popes  had  sought  to  bind 
him,  he  too  entered  into  that  state,  which 
had  been,  from  the  beginning,  instituted 
by  God.  Nicholas  Watteville  took  to 
wife  Clara  May ;  and  his  sister  Marga- 
ret, the  nun  of  Konigsfeld,  was,  about 
the  same  time,  united  to  Lucius  Tschar- 
ner  of  Coira.f 

Everything  gave  intimation  of  the 
victory  which  the  Reformation  would 
soon  obtain  at  Berne.  A  city  not  less 
important,  and  which  then  ranked  as 
the  Athens  of  Switzerland — Basle,  was 

Possibly  a  man  of  the  small  cantons  may  have 
had  communication,  from  some  inhabitant  of 
Berne,  of  the  letter  from  Zwingle  to  Haller, 
which  we  have  before  mentioned,  wherein  Zwin- 
gle employs,  with  a  good  deal  of  dignity,  the 
comparison  of  the  bears, — which  is  found  in 
all  authors  of  that  age.  This  may  have  given 
the  idea  to  some  wit  to  invent  this  letter,  which 
has  been  supposed  to  have  passed  from  Zwingle 
to  Kolb. 

*  Euerem  Herrn  Jesu  nachfolget  in  Demuth. 
— (Kirchh.  Ref.  v.  B.  60.) 

t  Zw.  Epp.  annotatio,  p.  451.  It  is  from  this 
union  that  the  Tscharners  of  Berne  derive  their 
descent. 


518 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


also  beginning  to  take  part  in  the 
memorable  struggle  of  the  sixteenth 
century. 

Each  of  the  cities  of  the  Confedera- 
tion had  its  own  peculiar  character. 
Berne  was  distinguished  as  the  place  of 
residence  of  the  chief  families  ;  and  the 
question  was  one  that  seemed  likely  to 
be  decided  by  the  part  taken  by  certain 
of  the  leading  nobles.  At  Zurich,  the 
ministers  of  the  Word,  such  men  as 
Zwingle,  Leo  Juda,  Myconius,  and 
Schmidt,  exercised  a  commanding  influ- 
ence over  a  powerful  middle  class  of  so- 
ciety. Lucerne  was  the  city  of  arms, — 
a  centre  of  military  organization.  Basle 
was  the  seat  of  learning,  and  its  accom- 
paniment,— printing-presses.  Erasmus, 
the  acknowledged  head  of  the  republic 
of  letters  in  the  sixteenth  century,  had 
there  fixed  his  residence,  and  preferring 
the  liberty  it  afforded  him  to  the  flatter- 
ing invitations  of  popes  and  kings,  he 
had  become  a  centre  of  attraction  to  a 
concourse  of  men  of  learning. 

However,  a  man  inferior  to  Erasmus 
in  natural  genius,  but  humble,  gentle, 
and  pious,  was,  ere  long,  to  exercise,  in 
that  very  city,  an  influence  more  power- 
ful than  that  possessed  by  this  prince  of 
scholars.  Christopher  von  Utenheim, 
bishop  of  Basle,  who  agreed  in  judg- 
ment with  Erasmus,  sought  to  surround 
himself  with  men  disposed  to  co-operate 
in  a  sort  of  half-way  Reformation.  With 
this  view  he  had  called  to  his  aid  Capito 
and  (Ecolampadius.  The  latter  had  a 
something  savouring  of  monkery  in  his 
habit  of  mind,  and  this  often  clashed 
with  the  views  of  the  philosopher. 
CEcolampadius,  however,  on  his  part, 
soon  became  enthusiastically  attached  to 
Erasmus ;  and  it  is  probable  he  would 
have  lost  all  independence  of  mind  in 
this  intimacy,  if  Providence  had  not 
separated' him  from  his  idol.  He  re- 
turned, in  1517,  to  his  native  city, 
Weinsberg.  Here  he  was  disgusted 
with  the  disorders  and  the  profanity 
which  prevailed  among  the  priests ;  and 
he  has  left  a  noble  record  of  the  serious 
spirit  which  from  that  time  actuated 
him,  in  his  work  entitled  "  The  Hu- 
mours of  Easter,"  which  appears  to  have 
been  written  about  this  period.* 

Called  to  Augsburg,  towards  the  end 
*  Herzog.  Studien  -und  Kritiken,  1840.  p.  334. 


of  1518,  to  fill  the  post  of  preacher  in 
its  cathedral,  he  found  that  city  still  un- 
der the  effects  of  the  memorable  discus- 
sion which  had  been  held  there,  in  the 
previous  May,  between  Luther  and  the 
Pope's  legale.  It  was  necessary  that  he 
should  choose  his  side,  and  CEcolampa- 
dius did  not  hesitate  to  declare  himself 
on  the  side  of  the  Reformer.  Such  can- 
dour on  his  part  soon  drew  down  upon  him 
much  opposition,  and  being  convinced 
that  his  natural  timidity,  and  the  feeble- 
ness of  his  voice,  rendered  it  impossible 
for  him  to  succeed  in  public,  he  looked 
around  him  for  a  place  of  retreat,  and 
his  thoughts  rested  on  a  convent  of 
monks  of  Saint  Bridget,  near  Augsburg, 
renowned  for  the  piety,  as  well  as  for 
the  profound  and  liberal  studies  of  its 
monks.  Feeling  the  need  of  repose,  of 
leisure,  and,  at  the  same  time,  of  quiet 
occupation  and  prayer,  he  addressed 
himself  to  this  community,  and  inquired, 
"  Can  I  live  in  your  convent  according 
to  the  word  of  God  ?"  The  answer  be- 
ing in  the  affirmative,  CEcolampadius 
entered  its  gates  on  the  23d  April,  1520, 
having  expressly  stipulated  that  he 
should  be  free,  if  ever  the  ministry  of 
the  word  of  God  should  require  his  ser- 
vice elsewhere. 

It  was  well  that  the  Reformer  of  Basle 
should,  like  Luther,  become  acquainted 
with  that  monastic  life,  which  presented 
the  fullest  exhibition  of  the  working  of 
Roman  Catholicism.  But  rest  was  what 
he  could  not  find  there  ;  his  friends 
blamed  the  step  ;  and  he  himself  de- 
clared frankly  that  Luther  was  nearer  to 
the  truth  than  his  adversaries.  No 
wonder,  therefore,  that  Eck  and  other 
Romish  doctors  pursued  him  with  mena- 
ces even  in  this  his  quiet  retreat. 

At  the  time  we  are  recording,  CEco- 
lampadius was  neither  one  of  the  Re- 
formed, nor  yet  a  blind  follower  of 
Rome  ;  what  he  most  desired  was  a  sort 
of  purified  Catholicism,  which  is  no 
where  to  be  found  in  history, — but  the 
idea  of  which  has,  to  many,  served  as  a 
bridge  of  passage  to  better  things.  He 
set  himself  to  correct,  by  reference  to  the 
word  of  God,  the  statutes  of  his  order. 
"  I  conjure  you,"  said  he,  to  the  confra- 
ternity, "  not  to  think  more  highly  of 
your  statutes,  than  of  the  ordinances 
and  commandments  of  the  Lord."    "We 


THE  SWISS.— 1522— 1527. 


519 


have  no  wish,"  replied  his  brethren,  "for 
other  rules  than  those  of  the  Saviour. 
Take  our  books,  and  mark,  as  in  the 
presence  of  Christ  himself,  whatever  you 
find  therein  contrary  to  his  word." 
(Ecolampadius  began  the  task  imposed  ; 
but  he  was  almost  wearied  by  it.  "  O 
Almighty  God !"  he  exclaimed,  "  what 
abominations  has  not  Rome  sanctioned 
in  these  statutes." 

Hardly  had  he  pointed  out  some  of 
them,  when  the  anger  of  the  fraternity 
was  aroused.  "  Thou  heretic  —  thou 
apostate,"  was  their  cry,  "  thou  deservest 
to  be  thrown  into  a  lonesome  dungeon 
for  the  rest  of  thy  days."  They  would 
not  allow  him  to  come  to  prayers. 
Meanwhile,  outside  the  walls,  still  great- 
er danger  awaited  him.  Eck,  and  his 
party,  had  not  relinquished  their 
schemes.  "  In  three  days,'*  it  was  told 
him,  "  they  will  be  here  to  arrest  you." 
"  Do  you  intend,"  asked  he,  "  to  deliver 
me-  up  to  assassins  V  The  monks  were 
silent  and  irresolute  .  .  .  ;  neither  will- 
ing to  save  him,  nor  yet  to  give  him 
up.  At  this  juncture,  some  friends  of 
(Ecolampadius  approached  the  convent, 
bringing  with  them  horses  to  conduct 
him  to  a  place  of  safety.  At  the  news,  the 
monks  decided  to  allow  the  departure  of 
one  who  had  brought  the  seeds  of  trou- 
ble into  their  convent.  "  Farewell" 
said  he.     Behold  him  at  liberty  ! 

He  had  remained  nearly  two  years  in 
the  convent  of  Saint  Bridget. 

(Ecolampadius  was  saved — he  began 
to  breathe.  "  I  have  sacrificed  the 
monk,"  said  he,  writing  to  a  friend,  "  and 
have  regained  the  Christian."  But  his 
flight  from  the  convent,  and  his  heretical 
writings,  were  everywhere  proclaimed. 
People  on  all  sides  drew  back  at  his  ap- 
proach. He  knew  not  which  way  to 
turn,  when  Sickingen  offered  him  an 
asylum.  This  was  in  the  spring  of  the 
year  1522.     He  accepted  it. 

His  mind,  oppressed  during  his  con- 
finement within  the  monastery,  recover- 
ed its  elasticity  amongst  the  noble  war- 
riors of  Ebernburg.  "  Christ,  is  our 
liberty !"  burst  from  his  lips,  "  and  that 
which  men  consider  as  their  greatest 
misfortune, — death  itself, — is  for  us  a 
real  gain."  He  directly  commenced 
reading  to  the  people  the  Gospels  and 
Epistles  in  German.     "  No  sooner  will 


these  trumpets  sound  abroad,"  said  he, 
"  than  the  walls  of  Jericho  will  crumble 
to  the  ground." 

Thus  the  most  humble  man  of  his 
time  was  preparing,  in  a  fortress  on  the 
banks  of  the  Rhine,  in  the  midst  of  un- 
polished warriors,  for  that  change  of 
worship  which  Christianity  was  shortly 
to  undergo.  Nevertheless,  Ebernburg 
was  not  a  field  large  enough  for  his 
plans  ;  besides,  he  felt  the  need  of  other 
society  than  such  as  he  was  in  the  midst 
of.  Cratander,  the  bookseller,  invited 
him  to  take  up  his  abode  at  Basle ; 
Sickingen  offered  no  impediment ;  and 
(Ecolampadius,  glad  at  the  the  thought 
of  seeing  his  old  friends,  arrived  there 
on  the  16th  November,  1522.  After 
having  lived  there  some  time,  simply  as 
a  man  of  learning,  without  any  public 
vocation,  he  was  nominated  vicar  of  the 
church  of  St.  Martin,  and  his  acceptance 
of  this  humble  engagement*  perhaps  de- 
cided the  Reformation  at  Basle.  When- 
ever (Ecolampadius  was  to  preach  a 
great  crowd  filled  the  church. f  At  the 
same  time,  the  publid  lectures  given  by 
him,  and  by  Pellican,  were  crowned 
with  so  much  success,  that  Erasmus 
himself  felt  constrained  to  exclaim, 
"  (Ecolampadius  triumphs  !"J 

"  In  fact,  this  gentle,  and  firm  man," 
says  Zwingle,  "  diffused,  all  around  him, 
the  sweet  savour  of  Christ ;  and  all  who 
assembled  about  him  grew  in  the  truth."^ 
Often  a  report  prevailed  that  he  was  on 
the  point  of  being  obliged  to  quit  Basle, 
and  begin  again  his  hazardous  flights.  On 
these  occasions  his  friends, — and  above  all 
Zwingle, — would  be  in  consternation  ; 
but  then  came  tidings  of  fresh  advanta- 
ges gained  by  (Ecolampadius,  dissipat- 
ing their  fears,  and  raising  their  hopes. 
The  renown  of  his  labours  spread  even 
to  Wittemberg,  and  rejoiced  Luther, 
who  would  often  talk  with  Melancthon 
concerning  him.  But  the  Saxon  Re- 
former was  not  without  anxiety  on  his 
account.     Erasmus  was  at  Basle, — and 

*  Meis  sumtibus  nonsine  contemptu  etinvidia. 
— (CEcol.  ad  Pirckh  de  Eucharistia.) 

t  Dass  er  kein  Predigt  thate,  er  hatte  ein 
machtig  Volk  darinn, — says  Peter  Kyf,  his  con- 
temporary.— (Wirtz.  v.  350.) 

}  (Ecolampadius  apud  nos  triumphat. — (Eras, 
ad  Zwing.  Zw.  Epp.  p.  312.) 

§  Ilii  magis  ac  magis  in  omni  bono  augescunt. 
— (Eras,  ad  Zwing.  Zw.  Epp.  p.  312.) 


520 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


Erasmus  was  the  friend  of  (Ecolampa- 
dius.  .  .  .  Luther  thought  it  his  duty  to 
put  one  whom  he  loved  on  his  guard. 
"  I  fear  much,"  wrote  he,  "  that  like 
Moses,  Erasmus  will  die  in  the  country 
of  Moab,  and  never  lead  us  into  the  land 
of  promise."* 

Erasmus  had  retired  to  Basle,  as  to  a 
quiet  city,  situated  in  the  centre  of  the 
intellectual  activity  of  the  age, — from 
whence,  by  means  of  the  printing-press 
of  Frobenius,  he  could  act  upon  France, 
Germany,  Switzerland,  Italy,  and  Eng- 
land. But  he  liked  not  to  be  interfered 
with ;  and  if  the  neighbourhood  of 
(Ecolampadius  was  not  entirely  agree- 
able to  him,  another  man  there  was 
whose  presence  inspired  him  with  still 
more  apprehension.  Ulric  Hutten  had 
followed  (Ecolampadius  to  Basle.  For 
some  time  he  had  been  attacking  the 
Pope,  as  one  knight  tilts  with  another. 
"  The  axe,"  said  he,  "  is  already  laid  at 
the  root  of  the  tree.  Faint  not,  my  coun- 
trymen, in  the  heat  of  the  battle  :  the  lot 
is  cast ;  the  charge  is  begun  .  .  .  Hurrah 
for  liberty!"  He  laid  aside  the  Latin, 
and  now  wrote  only  in  German ;  for  his 
object  was  to  get  at  the  hearts  of  the 
people. 

His  views  were  grand  and  generous. 
According  to  his  plan,  there  was  to  be 
a  yearly  meeting  of  bishops,  to  regulate 
the  interests  of  the  church.  Christian 
institutions,  and  above  all,  a  Christian 
spirit,  was  to  go  forth  from  Germany,  as 
formerly  from  Judea,  and  spread  through 
the  whole  world.  Charles  V.  was  the 
young  hero  destined  to  realise  this  gold- 
en age  ;  but  Hutten's  hopes  having  been 
blasted  in  that  quarter,  he  turned  towards 
Sickingen,  and  sought  from  knighthood 
that  which  the  Imperial  authority  re- 
fused him. 

Sickingen,  as  a  leading  chieftain,  had 
acted  a  distinguished  part  in  Germany  ; 
but  soon  after  the  nobles  had  besieged 
him  in  the  castle  of  Landstein,  and 
the  ancient  walls  of  that  fortress  had 
yielded  to  the  strange  power  of  cannon 
and  musketry, — then  only  recently  in- 
vented. The  taking  of  Landstein  had 
been  the  final  defeat  of  the  power  of  the 
knights, — the  triumph  of  the  art  of  mod- 
ern warfare  over  that  of  the  middle  ages. 

*  Et  in  lerram  promissionis  ducere  non  potest. 
— (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  353.) 


Thus,  the  last  exploits  of  the  knights  had 
been  on  the  side  of  the  Reformation, 
while  the  earliest  use  of  the  newly-in- 
vented engines  was  against  it.  The 
steel-clad  warriors,  whose  bodies  fell  be- 
neath the  unlooked-for  storm  of  balls, 
made  way  for  other  soldiery.  Other 
conflicts  were  opening.  A  spiritual 
knighthood  was  taking  the  place  of  the 
Du  Guesclins  and  Bayards ;  and  those 
battered  ramparts,  broken  walls,  and  ex- 
piring warriors,  told,  more  plainly  than 
Luther  had  been  able  to  do,  that  it  was 
not  by  such  allies  or  such  weapons  that 
the  Gospel  of  the  Prince  of  Peace  was 
destined  to  prevail. 

The  hopes  of  Hutten  had  died  with 
the  fall  of  Landstein,  and  the  ruin  of  the 
power  of  the  knights.  As  he  stood  by 
the  corpse  of  his  friend  Sickingen,  he 
bade  adieu  to  his  dream  of  brighter  days 
to  come,  and  losing  all  confidence  in 
men,  he  sought  only  for  retirement  and 
repose.  In  quest  of  these,  he  visited 
Erasmus  in  Switzerland.  An  early 
friendship  had  subsisted  between  them ; 
but  the  rough  and  overbearing  knight, 
regardless  of  the  opinions  of  others, 
quick  to  grasp  the  sword,  and  dealing 
his  blows  on  all  sides,  wherever  he 
came,  could  scarcely  be  expected  to 
'  walk  together  '  with  the  fastidious  and 
timid  Erasmus,  with  all  his  refinement, 
politeness,  love  of  praise,  his  readiness  to 
sacrifice  all  for  the  sake  of  it,  and  his 
fear,  above  all,  of  controversy. 

On  his  arrival  at  Basle,  Hutten,  poor, 
suffering  in  bodily  health,  and  a  fugitive, 
immediately  sought  out  his  old  friend. 
But  Erasmus  shrunk  from  the  thought 
of  receiving  at  his  table  a  man  who  was 
placed  under  ban  by  the  Pope  and  the 
Emperor, — a  man  who,*  in  his  conver- 
sation, would  spare  no  one,  and,  besides 
borrowing  money  of  him,  would  no  doubt 
be  followed  by  others  of  the  "  Gospel 
party,"  whom  Erasmus  dreaded  more 
and  more.  He  declined  to  see  him, — 
and  the  magistrates  of  Basle  desired  Hut- 
ten to  leave  the  city.     Wounded  to   the 

*  Ille  egens  et  omnibus  rebus  destitutus  qurere- 
bat  nidum  aliquem  ubi  moveretur.  Erat  mini 
g-loriosus  ille  miles  cum  sua  scabie  in  sedes  reei- 
piendus,  simulque  recipiendus  ille  chorus  titulo 
Evangelicorum,  writes  Erasmus  to  Melancthon 
in  a  letter  in  which  he  seeks  to  excuse  himself. — 
(Er.  Epp.  p.  949.) 


THE   SWISS.— 1522— 1527. 


521 


quick,  and  irritated  by  the  timid  pru- 
dence of  his  friend,  Hutten  repaired  to 
Mulhausen.  and  there  circulated  a  violent 
diatribe  against  Erasmus, — to  which  the 
latter  put  forth  a  reply  replete  with 
talent.  The  knight  had,  as  it  were,  with 
both  hands,  seized  his  sword,  and  felled 
his  adversary  to  the  earth;  the  philoso- 
pher, recovering  his  feet,  had  replied  to 
the  strokes  of  his  adversary  by  peckings 
with  his  beak.* 

Hutten  was  again  compelled  to  flight. 
He  reached  Zurich,  and  there  found  a 
kind  reception  at  the  hospitable  hearth 
of  Zwingle.  Intrigues  again  obliged 
him  to  quit  that  city ;  and  after  passing 
some  time  at  the  baths  of  Pfeffers,  he  re- 
paired, provided  with  a  letter  from  the 
Swiss  Reformer,  to  the  pastor,  John 
Schnapp,  who  resided  in  the  little  island 
of  Uffnan,  on  the  lake  of  Zurich.  That 
humble  minister  of  God's  word  received 
the  sick  and  homeless  knight  with  the 
tenderest  charity.  And  in  that  tranquil 
and  unknown  seclusion,  Ulric  Hutten, 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  his 
age,  expired  about  the  end  of  August, 
after  an  agitated  life,  in  the  course  of 
which  he  had  been  expelled  by  one 
party,  persecuted  by  another,  and  desert- 
ed by  nearly  all ; — having  all  his  life 
contended  against  superstition,  without, 
as  it  would  seem,  ever  arriving  at  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth.  The  poor  min- 
ister, who  had  gained  some  experience  in 
the  healing  art,  had  bestowed  upon  him 
the  utmost  attention.  He  left  behind 
him  neither  money  nor  furniture,  nor 
books, — nothing,  save  his  pen.f  So 
broken  was  that  steel-clad  arm  that  he 
had  dared  to  put  forward  to  support  the 
ark  of  God. 

But  there  was  one  man  in  Germany 
more  formidable  in  the  eyes  of  Erasmus 
than  the  ill-fated  knight, — and  that  man 
was  Luther.  The  time  had  come  when 
the  two  great  combatants  of  the  age  were 
to  measure  their  strength  in  the  lists. 
They  were  the  leaders  of  two  very  differ- 
ent reformations.  Whilst  Luther  was 
bent  on  a  complete  reformation,  Erasmus, 
as  the  advocate  of  a  middle  course,  was 
seeking  certain  concessions  from  the 
hierarchy,  that  might  have  the  effect  of 

*  Expostulatio  Hutteni. — Erasmi  spongia. 
t  Libros  nullos  habuit,  supellectilem  nullam, 
prater  calamum. — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  313.) 
66 


conciliating  the  opposing  parties.  Lu- 
ther was  disgusted  with  the  vacillation 
and  inconsistency  of  Erasmus.  "  You 
are  trying  to  walk  on  eggs  without 
breaking  them,"  said  he.* 

At  the  same  time,  he  met  these  vacil- 
lations of  Erasmus  with  the  most  entire 
and  unfaltering  decision.  "  We  Chris- 
tians," said  he,  "  ought  to  be  well  per- 
suaded of  what  we  teach,  and  to  be  able 
to  say  yes  and  no.  To  object  to  our  affirm- 
ing with  full  conviction  what  we  believe, 
is  to  strip  us  of  our  faith  itself.  The 
Holy  Spirit  is  no  spirit  of  doubt,  f  And 
he  has  written  in  our  hearts  a  firm  and 
peaceful  assurance,  which  makes  us  as 
sure  of  the  object  of  faith  as  we  are  of 
our  existence." 

These  words  suffice  to  show  on  which 
side  strength  was  to  be  found.  To  effect 
a  change  in  religion,  there  is  need  of 
firm  and  living  faith.  A  salutary  revo- 
lution in  the  Church  is  never  to  be 
derived  from  philosophic  views  and 
thoughts  of  man.  To  restore  fertility  to 
the  earth  after  a  long  drought,  the  light- 
ning must  strike  the  cloud,  and  the 
windows  of  heaven  must  be  opened. 
Critical  acuteness,  philosophy,  and  even 
history,  may  prepare  the  ground  for  a 
true  faith,  but  never  can  they  fill  its 
place.  Vainly  would  you  cleanse  the 
aqueduct  or  build  up  your  embankments, 
so  long  as  the  rain  cometh  not  down  from 
heaven.  The  learning  of  man  without 
faith  is  but  as  the  dry  channel. 

Much  and  essentially  as  Luther  and 
Erasmus  differed  one  from  the  other, 
a  hope  was  long  cherished  by  Luther's 
friends,  and  even  by  himself,  that  both 
would  one  day  be  united  in  resistance  of 
Rome.  Expressions,  dropt  in  his  caustic- 
humour,  were  commonly  reported,  which 
showed  the  philosopher  dissenting,  in  his 
opinion,  from  the  most  devoted  adherents 
of  Catholicism.  For  instance,  it  is  re- 
lated, that,  when  in  England,  he  was 
one  day  in  earnest  conversation  with  > 
Thomas  More  on  the  subject  of  transub-  \ 
stantiation.  "  Only  believe,"  said  More, 
"  that  you  receive  the  body  of  Christ,  and 
you  really  have  it."  Erasmus  was  silent. 
Shortly  after  this,  when  Erasmus  was 

*  Auf  Eyern  gehen  und  keines  zutreten. — (L. 
Opp.  xix.  p.  11.) 

t  Der  heilige  Geist  ist  kein  Scepticus. — (Ibid. 
p.  8.) 


522 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


leaving  England,  More  lent  him  a  horse 
to  convey  him  to  the  port  where  he  was 
to  embark ;  but  Erasmus  took  it  abroad 
with  him.  When  More  heard  of  it,  he 
reproached  him  with  much  warmth  ;  but 
the  only  answer  Erasmus  gave  him  was 
in  the  following  quatrain  : — * 

"  Only  believe  thou  sharest  Christ's  feast,  say 
you, 
And  never  doubt  the  fact  is  therefore  true : 
So  write  I  of  thy  horse ; — if  thou  art  able 
But  to  believe  it,  he  is  in  thy  stable.t" 

Erasmus's  sentiments  having  got  wind, 
not  only  in  Germany  and  England,  but 
in  other  countries,  it  was  said  at  Paris 
that  "  Luther  wanted  to  force  open  the 
door  of  which  Erasmus  had  already 
picked  the  lock."| 

The  position  taken  by  Erasmus  was  a 
difficult  one.  "  I  will  not  be  unfaithful 
to  the  cause  of  Christ,"  wrote  he  to 
Zwingle,  "  at  least  so  far  as  the  times 
will  ailow."^  Just  in  proportion  as  he 
saw  Rome  rising  up  against  the  favourers 
of  the  Reformation,  he  prudently  drew 
back  from  them.  All  parties  looked  to  him. 
Pope,  emperor,  kings,  nobles,  men  of 
learning,  and  even  his  most  intimate 
friends,  entreated  him  to  take  up  his  pen 
against  the  Reformer. ||  "You  cannot 
possibly  undertake  a  work  more  accepta- 
ble to  God  and  more  worthy  of  your 
genius,"  wrote  the  Pope. "ft 

Erasmus  for  a  long  time  held  out 
against  these  solicitations.  He  could  not 
conceal  from  himself  that  the  cause  of 
the  Reformation  was  that  of  Religion  as 
well  as  of  Learning.  Moreover,  Luther 
was  an  adversary  he  dreaded  to  find 
himself  opposed  to.  "  It  is  an  easy  thing 
for  you  to  say,  Write  against  Luther," 

*  There  is  surely  profanity  as  well  as  levity  in 
this.     May  the   reader  be  preserved  from   any 
sympathy  with  such  a  way  of  dealing  with  a  be- 
lief which,  right  or  wrong,  is  reverential. — Tr. 
t  "  Quod  mihi  dixisti  nuper  de  corpore  Christi : 
Crede  qucd  habes  et  habes : 
Hoc  tibi  rescribo  tantum  de  tuo  caballo : 
Crede  quod  habes  et  habes." 

(Pallavicini,  Singularia,  p.  71.) 
t  Histoire  Cathol.  denotre  temps,  par  S.  Fon- 
taine de  l'ordre  de  St.  Francois,  Paris,  1562. 

§  Quantum  hoc  seculum  patitur. — (Zw.  Epp. , 
p.  221.) 

||  A  Pontifice,  aCfEsare,  a  regibus  et  principus, 
a  doctissimis  etiam  et  carissimis  amicis  hue  pro- 
vocor. — (Erasm.  Zw.  Epp.  p.  308.) 

11  Nulla  te  et  ingenio,  eruditione,  eloquentiaque 
tua  dignior  esse  potest. — (Adrianus  Papa,  Epp. 
Er.  p.  1202.) 


said  he  to  a  Romish  divine,  "but  the 
matter  is  full  of  hazard."*  He  knew 
not  which  way  to  move. 

This  hesitation  on  the  part  of  Eras- 
mus drew  upon  him  the  most  violent  of 
both  parties.  Luther  himself  scarcely 
knew  how  to  make  his  respect  for  Eras- 
mus's learning  consist  with  the  indigna- 
tion his  timid  policy  awakened  in  him. 
He  resolved  to  break  through  the  pain- 
ful restraint  he  had  hitherto  imposed  on 
himself  and  wrote  to  him,  in  April, 
1524,  a  letter  which  he  commissioned 
Camerarius  to  deliver  to  him. 

"  You,  have  not  yet  received  from  the 
Lord  the  courage  requisite  for  marching 
side  by  side  with  us  against  the  Papists. 
We  bear  with  your  weakness.  If  learn- 
ing prospers,  and  if,  by  its  means,  the 
treasury  of  Scripture  is  unlocked  to  all 
comers,  it  is  a  gift  which  God  has  given 
us  by  you — a  noble  gift,  for  which  our 
praise  ascends  to  heaven.  But  do  not 
desert  the  post  assigned  you,  to  take  up 
your  quarters  in  our  camp.  No  doubt 
your  eloquence  and  genius  might  be  use- 
ful to  us ;  but,  since  your  courage  fails 
you,  remain  where  you  are.  If  I  could 
have  my  will,  those  who  are  acting  with 
me  should  leave  your  old  age  in  peace, 
to  fall  asleep  in  the  Lord.  The  great- 
ness of  our  cause  has  long  ago  surpassed 
your  strength.  But  then,  dear  Erasmus, 
cease,  I  pray  you,  to  scatter,  with  open 
hands,  the  biting  satire  you  are  so  skilled 
to  clothe  in  flowery  rhetoric,  for  the 
slightest  stroke  of  your  pen  inflicts  more 
pain  than  the  being  ground  to  powder 
by  all  the  Papists  put  together.  Be 
satisfied  to  be  a  spectator  of  our  tragedy;! 
only  abstain  from  writing  against  me, 
and  I  will  not  attack  you." 

Here  we  see  Luther,  whose  spirit 
breathed  the  breath  of  conflict,  asking 
for  peace  and  amity !  Erasmus,  the 
man  of  peace,  broke  it. 

This  communication  of  the  Reformer 
was  received  by  Erasmus  as  the  keenest 
of  insults,  and  if  he  had  not  previously 
resolved  on  publishing  against  Luther,  it 
is  probable  that  resolution  was  then  ta- 
ken. "  Perhaps,"  was  his  reply,  "  per- 
haps Erasmus  will  better  serve  the  Gos- 
pel by  writing  against  you,  than  certain 


*  Res  est  periculi  plena. — (Er.  Epp.  p.  758.) 
+  Spectator  tantum  sis  tragcedise  nostra. — (L. 
Epp.  ii.  p.  501.) 


THE  SWISS— 1522— 1527. 


5'23 


senseless  writers  on  your*  own  side, 
whose  doctrines  do  not  allow  me  to  be 
any  longer  a  mere  spectator  of  the  tra- 
gedy." 

But  other  motives  were  not  wanting. 
Henry  VIII.  and  the  leading  nobility  of 
England,  pressed  him  to  declare  him- 
self openly  against  the  Reformation,  and 
Erasmus,  in  a  moment  of  more  than 
usual  boldness,  gave  a  promise  to  that 
effect.  His  questionable  position  had, 
besides,  become  a  source  of  continual 
trouble  to  him  ;  he  loved  ease,  and  the 
necessity  he  was  continually  brought 
under  of  vindicating  his  conduct  was  a 
constant  disturbance.  He  loved  the 
praise  of  men,  and  he  heard  himself 
charged  with  fearing  Luther,  and  being 
unable  to  answer  him — he  clung  to  the 
uppermost  seat. — and  the  plain  monk  of 
Wittemberg  had  dethroned  the  powerful 
Erasmus  from  his  pre-eminence.  It  was 
his  aim,  by  a  bold  step,  to  regain  the 
place  he  had  lost.  The  established 
Christianity  of  his  age,  with  one  voice, 
invited  him  to  the  attempt.  A  man  of 
large  capacity,  and  of  the  highest  repu- 
tation in  that  age,  was  wanted  to  oppose 
to  the  Reformation.  Erasmus  gave  him- 
self to  the  work. 

But  with  what  weapons  will  he  arm 
for  the  encounter  ?  Will  he  call  forth 
the  former  thunders  of  the  Vatican  1 
Will  he  undertake  the  vindication  of  the 
corruptions  which  are  the-  disgrace  of 
the  Papacy  1  Erasmus  could  not  act 
such  a  part.  The  grand  movement 
which  then  swelled  all  hearts,  after  the 
death-like  stupor  of  so  many  centuries, 
filled  him  with  joy,  and  he  would  have 
shrunk  from  shackling  its  progress. 
Unable  to  be  the  champion  of  Roman 
Catholicism  in  that  which  it  has  added 
to  Christianity,  he  undertook  the  defence 
of  it  in  the  particulars  wherein  it  has 
taken  away  from  it.  Erasmus  chose  for 
the  ground  of  his  attack  upon  Luther, 
that  point  wherein  Catholicism  makes 
common  cause  with  Rationalism,  the 
doctrine  of  Free  Will,  or  the  power  of 
man  by  nature.  Accordingly,  although 
undertaking  thus  to  defend -the  Church, 
Erasmus  was  also  gratifying  the  men  of 
this  world ;  and,  although  fighting  the 
battle  on  behalf  of  the  Pope,  he  was  also 

*  Quidam  stolidi  scrtbentes.pro  te. — (Unschul- 
dige  Nachricht,  p.  545.) 


contending  on  the  side  of  the  philoso- 
phic party.  It  has  been  said  that  he 
acted  injudiciously  in  thus  restricting 
himself  to  an  intricate  and  unprofitable 
question.*  Luther,  —  the  Reformers 
generally, — and,  indeed,  that  age  werd 
of  a  different  opinion  ;  and  we  agree 
with  them.  ';  I  must  acknowledge," 
said  Luther,  "  that,  in  this  great  contro- 
versy, you  alone  have  taken  the  bull  by 
the  horns.  I  thank  you  with  all  my 
heart,  for  I  prefer  to  be  occupied  with 
that  theme  rather  than  such  secondary 
questions  as  Pope,  purgatory,  and  indul- 
gences, with  which  the  enemies  of  the 
Gospel  have  hitherto  dogged  my  steps."! 

His  own  experience,  and  the  attentive 
study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  of  St. 
Augustine,  had  convinced  Luther  that 
the  powers  of  man's  nature  are  so 
strongly  inclined  to  evil,  that,  in  his  own 
strength,  he  can  attain  no  more  than  an 
outward  decency,  of  no  value  or  suffi- 
ciency in  the  sight  of  God.  He  had,  at 
the  same  time,  recognised  that  it  was 
God,  who,  by  his  Holy  Spirit,  bestowing 
freely  on  man  the  gift  of  '  faith,'  commu- 
municated  to  him  a  real  righteousness. 
This  doctrine  had  become  the  vital  prin- 
ciple of  his  religion,  the  predominating 
tenet  of  his  theology,  and  the  pivot  on 
which  the  entire  Reformation  turned. 

Whilst  Luther  maintained  that  every 
thing  good  in  man  came  down  from 
God,  Erasmus  sided  with  those  who 
thought  that  this  good  came  out  from 
man  himself.  God  or  man — good  or 
evil — these  are  no  unimportant  themes  ; 
and  if  there  is  '  triviality,1  it  is  assuredly 
not  in  such  solemn  questions. 

It  was  in  the  autumn  of  1524,  that 
Erasmus  published  his  famous  tract,  en- 
titled, "  Diatribe  on  the  Freedom  of  the 
Will,"  and  as  soon  as  it  saw  the  light, 
the  philosopher  could  hardly  credit  his 
own  boldness.  With  his  eyes  riveted  on 
the  arena,  he  watched,  with  trembling, 
the  gauntlet  he  had  flung  to  his  adver- 
sary. "  The  die  is  cast,"  he  wrote  to 
Henry  VIII.,  with  emotion  ;  "  the  book 
on  free  will  is  published.     I  have  done 

*  "  It  is  humbling  to  mankind,"  says  M.  Ni- 
sard — see  Revue  des  deux  mondes,  iii.  p.  411, — 
"  to  contemplate  men  capable  of  grasping-  eternal 
truths,  fencing  and  debating  in  such  trivialities, 
like  gladiators  righting  with  flies." 

t  L.  Opp.  xix.  p.  146. 


524 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


a  bold  thing,  believe  me.  I  expect 
nothing  less  than  to  be  stoned  for  it. 
But  I  take  comfort  from  your  majesty's 
example,  whom  the  rage  of  these  people 
has  not  spared."* 

His  alarm  soon  increased  to  such  a 
degree,  that  he  bitterly  lamented  the 
step  he  had  taken.  "  Why,"  he  ejacu- 
lated, u  why  was  I  not  permitted  to  grow 
old  in  the  mount  of  the  Muses !  Here 
am  I,  at  sixty  years  of  age,  forcibly 
thrust  forward  into  the  arena,  and  I  am 
throwing  the  cestus  and  the  net,  instead 
of  handling  the  lyre  !  I  am  aware," 
said  he  to  the  Bishop  of  Rochester, 
"  that  in  writing  upon  free  will,  I  was 
going  out  of  my  sphere  ;  you  congratu- 
late me  on  my  triumphs.  Ah  !  I  do  not 
know  over  whom.  The  faction  (the 
Reformation)  gathers  strength  daily. t 
Was  it  then  my  fate,  at  my  time  of  life, 
to  pass  from  my  place  as  a  friend  of  the 
Muses,  to  that  of  a  miserable  gladi- 
ator !" 

Doubtless  it  was  no  small  matter  for 
the  timid  Erasmus  to  have  stood  forth 
against  Luther  :  nevertheless,  he  had  not 
spoken  out  with  any  extraordinary  bold- 
ness. He  seems,  in  his  book,  to  ascribe 
but  little  to  man's  will,  and  to  leave  to 
Grace  the  greater  part  of  the  work  ;  but 
then  he  chooses  his  arguments  so  as  to 
make  it  seem  as  if  man  did  every  thing, 
and  God  nothing.  Not  daring  openly 
to  express  his  opinions,  he  seems  to  af- 
firm one  thing,  and  to  prove  another ;  so 
that  one  may  be  allowed  to  suppose  that 
he  believed  what  he  proved,  not  what 
he  asserted. 

He  distinguishes  three  several  senti- 
ments opposed  to  different  degrees  of  Pe- 
lagianism :  "  Some  think,"  said  he, 
"  that  man  can  neither  will,  nor  begin, 
still  less  perform  any  thing  good,  with- 
out the  special  and  constant  aid  of  Di- 
vine grace  ;  and  this  opinion  seems  prob- 
able enough.  Others  teach  that  the 
will  of  man  has  no  power  but  for  evil, 
and  that  it  is  grace  alone  that  works  any 
good  in  us ;  and  lastly,  there  are  some 
who  assert  that  there  never  has  been  any 
free  will,  either  in  angels,  or  in  Adam, 

*  Jacta  est  alea  .  .  .  audax,  mihi  crede,  faci- 
lius  .  .  .  expecto  lapidationem. — (Er.  Epp.  p. 
811.) 

t  Quomodo  triumphans  neseio  .  .  .  Factio 
crescit  in  dies  latius. — (Ibid.  p.  809.) 


or  in  us,  whether  before  or  after  grace 
received ;  but  that  God  works  in  man 
whether  it  be  good  or  evil,  and  that 
every  thing  that  happens,  happens  from 
an  absolute  necessity."* 

Erasmus,  whilst  seeming  to  admit  the 
first  of  these  opinions,  uses  arguments 
that  are  opposed  to  it,  and  which  might 
be  employed  by  the  most  determined 
Pelagian.  It  is  thus  that,  quoting  the 
passages  of  Scripture,  in  which  God  of- 
fers to  man  the  choice  between  good  and 
evil,  he  adds :  "  Man  then  must  needs 
have  a  power  to  will  and  to  choose  ;  for 
it  would  be  folly  to  say  to  any  one, 
Choose  !  were  it  not  in  his  power  to  do 
so?" 

Luther  feared  nothing  from  Erasmus : 
"  Truth,"  said  he,  "  is  more  powerful 
than  words.  The  victory  will  remain 
with  him  who  with  stammering  lips 
shall  teach  the  truth,  and  not  to  him 
who  eloquently  puts  forward  a  lie."y 
But  when  he  received  Erasmus'  book  in 
the  month  of  October,  1524,  he  consider- 
ed it  to  be  so  feebly  argued,  that  he  hes- 
itated whether  to  answer  it.  "  What !" 
he  exclaimed,  "  all  this  eloquence  in  so 
bad  a  cause !  It  is  as  if  a  man  should 
serve  up  mud  on  gold  and  silver  dishes. \ 
One  cannot  get  any  hold  upon  you. 
You  are  like  an  eel  that  slips  through 
one's  fingers ;  or,  like  the  fabled  Pro- 
teus, who  changes  his  form  when  in 
the  very  arms  of  him  who  would  stran- 
gle him." 

Luther  making  no  reply,  the  monks 
and  theologians  of  the  schools  broke  forth 
in  exultation  :  "Well,  where  is  your  Lu- 
ther now?  Where  is  the  great  Mac- 
cabeus ?  Let  him  enter  the  lists !  let 
him  come  forward  !  Ah  !  ah  !  he  has 
at  last  found  his  match  !  He  Jias  had  a 
lesson  to  keep  in  the  back  ground !  he 
has  learnt  to  be  silent."^ 

Luther  saw  that  he  must  answer  Eras- 
mus ;  but  it  was  not  till  the  end  of  the 
year  1525  that  he  prepared  to  do  soj 

*  De  libero  arbitrio  Aiarpitlfi. — (Erasmi.  Opp. 
ix.  p.  1215,  sq.) 

t  Victoria  est  penes  balbutientem  veritatemv 
non  apud  mendacem  eloquentiam. — (L.  Epp.  ii. 
p.  200.) 

\  Als  wenn  einer  in  silbern  oder  guldern  Schus- 
seln  wolte  mist  und  Unflath  Auftragen. — (L. 
Opp.  xix.  p.  4.) 

§  Sehet,  sehet  nun  da  zu !  wo  ist  nua  Luther. 
—(Ibid.  p.  3.) 


THE  SWISS.— 1522— 1527. 


525' 


and  Melancthon  having  told  Erasmus 
that  Luther  would  write  with  modera- 
tion, the  philosopher  was  greatly  alarm- 
ed. "  If  I  write  with  moderation,"  said 
he,  "it  is  my  natural  character;  but 
there  is  in  Luther's  character  the  indig- 
nation of  the  son  of  Peleus.  And  how 
can  it  be  otherwise?  The  vessel  that 
braves  such  a  storm  as  that  which  rages 
round  Luther,  needs  anchor,  ballast,  and 
rudder  to  keep  it  from  bearing  down  out 
of  its  course — If  therefore  he  should 
answer  more  temperately  than  suits  his 
character — the  sycophants  will  exclaim 
that  we  understand  one  another." — We 
shall  see  that  Erasmus  was  soon  relieved 
from  this  last  fear. 

The  doctrine  of  God's  election  as  the 
sole  cause  of  man's  salvation,  had  long 
been  dear  to  the  Reformer : — but  hitherto 
he  had  only  considered  its  practical  influ- 
ence. In  his  answer  to  Erasmus  he  in- 
vestigated it  especially  in  a  speculative 
point  of  view,  and  laboured  to  establish, 
by  such  arguments  as  seemed  to  him 
most  conclusive,  that  God  works  every 
thing  in  man's  conversion,  and  that  our 
heart  is  so  alienated  from  the  love  of 
God,  that  it  can  only  have  a  sincere 
desire  after  righteonsness  by  the  regen- 
erating action  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

"  To  call  our  will  a  Free  will,"  said 
he,  "  is  to  imitate  those  princes  who 
accumulate  long  titles,  styling  themselves 
sovereigns  of  this  or  that  kingdom,  prin- 
cipality, and  distant  island,  (of  Rhodes, 
Cyprus,  and  Jerusalem,)  over  which  they 
do  not  exercise  the  least  authority." 
Nevertheless,  Luther  here  makes  an  im- 
portant distinction  which  shows  that  he 
by  no  means  participated  in  the  third 
opinion  which  Erasmus  had  raised  to 
notoriety  by  attributing  it  to  him.  "  Man's 
will,"  said  he,  "  may  indeed  be  said  to  be 
free,  not  indeed  in  relation  to  what  is 
above  him, — that  is.  to  God, — but  in  re- 
lation to  what  is  beneath  him, — that  is, 
to  the  things  of  this  world.  In  any  mat- 
ter affecting  my  property,  my  lands,  my 
house,  or  my  farm,  I  find  myself  able  to 
act,  do,  and  manage  freely ;  but  in  every- 
thing that  has  reference  to  his  salvation, 
man  is  a  captive ;  he  is  subject  to  the 
will  of  God, — or  rather  to  that  of  the 
devil.*  Show  me,"  cries  he,  "only  one 
*  L.  Opp.  xix.  p.  33. 


among  all  those  who  teach  the  doctrine 
of  free  will,  who  has  been  able  in  himself 
,to  find  strength  to  endure  a  slight  insultr 
a  passionate  assault,  nay,  even  the  hostile 
look  of  his  enemy,  and  that  joyfully, — 
and  without  so  much  as  asking  whether 
he  is  willing  to  give  up  his  body,  his  life, 
his  goods,  his  honour,  and  all  that  he 
has, — I  will  acknowledge  that  you  have 
gained  your  cause."* 

Luther  had  too  much  penetration  not 
to  discern  the  contradictions  into  which 
his  adversary  had  fallen.  He,  therefore, 
in  his  answer,  laboured  to  enclose  the 
philosopher  in  the  net  in  which  he  had 
entangled  himself.  "If  the  passages  you 
quote,"  said  he,  "establish  the  principle 
that  it  is  easy  for  us  to  do  good,  where- 
fore is  it  that  we  are  disputing  ?  And 
what  need  can  we  have  of  Christ,  or  the 
<Holy  Spirit  ?  Christ  would  then  have 
shed  his  blood  without  necessity  to  ob- 
tain for  us  a  power  which  we  already 
had  in  our  own  nature."  In  truth  the 
passages  quoted  by  Erasmus  are  to  be 
understood  in  quite  a  different  sense. 
This  much  debated  question  is  more  sim- 
ple than  it  at  first  sight  appears.  When 
the  Bible  says  to  man,  '  Choose,'  it  is  be- 
cause it  assumes  the  assistance  of  God's 
grace,  by  which  alone  he  can  obey  the 
command.  God,  in  giving  the  com- 
mandment, gives  also  the  strength  to  ful- 
fil it.  If  Christ  said  to  Lazarus,  '  Come 
forth,'  it  was  not  that  Lazarus  could  re- 
store himself  to  life,  but  that  Christ,  in 
commanding  him  to  come  forth,  gave 
him  the  ability  to  do  so,  and  accompanied 
his  word  with  his  creative  power.  He 
speaks,  and  it  is  done.  Moreover  it  is 
quite  true  that  the  man  to  whom  God 
speaks,  must  will  to  do  ;  it  is  he  himself, 
and  not  another,  that  must  will ; — he 
can  receive  this  will  from  none  but  God  ; 
but  surely  in  him  it  must  be  ;  and  the 
very  command  which  God  brings  to 
him,  and  which,  according  to  Erasmus, 
proves  the  power  to  be  in  man,  is  so 
perfectly  reconcilable  with  God's  work- 
ing, that  it  is,  in  fact,  the  very  means 
by  which  that  work  of  God  is  wrought 
out.  It  is  by  saying  to  the  man,  "  Be 
converted,"  that  God  converts  him. 

But  the  idea  which  Luther  especially 
kept  in  view  in  his  answer  is,  that  the 
passages  quoted  by  Erasmus  are  design- 
*  Ibid.  p.  33. 


526 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


ed  not  to  make  known  to  men  this  pre- 
tended power  which  is  attributed  to 
them,  but  to  show  them  their  duty,  and 
their  total  inability  to  fulfil  it.  "  How 
often  does  it  happen,"  says  Luther,  "that 
a  father  calls  to  him  his  feeble  child, 
saying,  '  Will  you  come,  my  son  ?  come 
then,'  —  in  order  that  the  child  may 
learn  to  call  for  his  assistance  and  allow 
himself  to  be  carried  "* 

After  having  combated  Erasmus's  ar- 
guments in  favour  of  free  will,  Luther 
defends  his  own  against  the  attacks  of 
his  opponent.  "  Dear  Diatribe,",  says 
he,  ironically,  "  mighty  heroine,  you 
who  pride  yourself  on  having  explained 
away  those  words  of  our  Lord  in  St. 
John's  Gospel,  '  Without  me  ye  can  do 
nothing,'  although  you  acknowledge 
their  force  and  call  them  Luther's 
Achilles,  listen  to  me  —  Unless  you 
prove  that  this  word  nothing  not  only 
may,  but  must  signify  a  little.,  all  your 
sounding  words,  all  your  famous  exam- 
ples, have  no  more  effect  than  if  a  man 
were  to  attempt  to  oppose  a  mighty  con- 
flagration with  a  handful  of  straw. 
What  matter  to  us  such  assertions  as, 
This  may  mean,  this  may  be  thus  under- 
stood, whilst  you  ought  to  prove  to  us 
that  it  must  be  so  understood.  Unless 
you  do  this  we  take  the  declaration  in 
its  literal  meaning,  and  laugh  at  all  your 
examples,  your  fine  exordiums,  and  self- 
complacent  boastings."! 

Subsequently,  Luther  shows,  still  from 
the  Scriptures,  that  the  grace  of  God 
does  all  in  Conversion.  He  concludes 
thus  :  "  In  short,  since  the  Scripture 
every  where  contrasts  Christ  with  that 
which  has  not  the  spirit  of  Christ ;  since 
it  declares  that  every  thing  which  is  not 
Christ,  and  in  Christ,  is  under  the  power 
of  delusion,  darkness,  the  devil,  death, 
sin,  and  the  wrath  of  God  ;  it  follows 
that  every  passage  in  the  Bible  which 
speaks  of  Christ  is  against  your  doctrine 
of  free  will.  Now  such  passages  are  in- 
numerable, the  Holy  Scriptures  are  full 
of  them.";}; 

We  perceive  that  the  discussion  which 
arose  between  Luther  and  Erasmus,  is 
the  same  as  that  which  occurred  a  cen- 
tury later  between  the  Jansenists   and 


*  L.  Opp.  xix.  p.  55. 
t  L.  Opp.  xix.  p.  116. 
t  Ibid.  p.  143. 


Jesuits, — between  Pascal  and  Molina.* 
Wherefore,  then,  while  the  Reformation 
has  had  such  immense  results,  did  Jan- 
senism, though  adorned  by  the  finest  ge- 
niuses, go  out  in  weakness  ?  It  is  be- 
cause Jansenism  went  back  to  St.  Au- 
gustine, and  rested  for  support  on  the 
Fathers ;  whilst  the  Reformation  went 
back  to  the  Bible,  and  was  based  on  the 
word  of  God  ; — because  Jansenism  made 
a  compromise  with  Rome,  and  would 
have  pursued  a  middle  course  between 
truth  and  error ;  whereas,  the  Reforma- 
tion, relying  on  God  alone,  cleared  the 
soil,  swept  away  the  incrustations  of  past 
ages,  and  laid  bare  the  primitive  rock. 
To  stop  half  way  in  any  work  is  use- 
less ;  in  every  undertaking  we  must  go 
through.  Hence,  while  Jansenism  has 
passed  away,  Evangelical  Christianity 
presides  over  the  destinies  of  the  world. 

After  having  energetically  refuted  the 
errors  of  Erasmus,  Luther  renders  a 
high  sounding,  but  perhaps  somewhat 
malicious,  homage  to  his  genius.  "  I 
confess,"  says  he,  "  that  you  are  a  great 
man :  in  whom  have  we  ever  beheld 
more  learning,  intelligence,  or  readiness, 
both  in  speaking  and  writing  1  As  to 
me,  I  possess  none  of  these  qualities ;  in 
one  thing  only  can  1  glory — I  am  a 
Christian.  May  God  raise  you  infinitely 
above  me  in  the  knowledge  of  His  Gos- 
pel, so 'that  you  may  surpass  me  in  that 
respect  as  much  as  you  already  do  in 
every  other."! 

Erasmus  was  incensed  beyond  mea- 
sure by  the  perusal  of  Luther's  answer, 
and  looked  upon  his  encomiums  as  the 
honey  of  a  poisoned  cup,  or  the  embrace 
of  a  serpent  at  the  moment  he  fixes  his 
deadly  fang.  He  immediately  wrote  to 
the  Elector  of  Saxony,  demanding  jus- 
tice ;  and,  when  Luther  wished  to  ap- 
pease him,  he  lost  his  usual  temper,  and, 
in  the  words  of  one  of  his  most  zealous 
apologists,  began  "  to  pour  forth  invec- 
tives in  a  feeble  voice  and  with  hoary 
hairs."| 

Erasmus  was  conquered.  Moderation 
had,  till  this  occasion,  been  his  strength  ; 

*  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  I  do  not 
speak  of  personal  discussions  between  these  two 
men,  of  whom,  the  one  died  in  1600,  and  the 
other  was  not  born  till  1623. 

t  L.  Opp.  xix.  p.  146,  147. 

t  M.  Nisard.  Erasme,  p.  41. 


THE  SWISS.— 1522— 1527. 


527 


and  now  this  left  him.  Anger  was  the 
only  weapon  he  could  oppose  to  Luther's 
energy.  The  wisdom  of  the  philosopher, 
on  this  occasion,  failed  him.  He  replied, 
publicly  in  his  H//perapistes,  in  which 
he  accuses  the  Reformer  of  barbarism, 
falsehood,  and  blasphemy.  The  philos- 
opher even  ventured  on  prophecy  ;  "  I 
predict,"  said  he,  "  that  no  name  under 
heaven  will  hereafter  be  more  execrated 
than  Luther's."  The  jubilee  of  1817 
has  replied  to  this  prophecy,  after  a  lapse 
of  three  centuries,  by  the  enthusiasm 
and  acclamations  of  the  entire  Protestant 
world. 

Thus,  while  Luther,  with  the  Bible  in 
his  hand,  was  placing  himself  in  the  van 
of  his  age,  Erasmus,  in  opposition  to 
him,  sought  that  station  for  himself  and 
philosophy.  Of  these  two  chiefs,  which 
has  been  followed  %  Both,  undoubtedly. 
Nevertheless,  Luther's  influence  on  the 
nations  of  Christendom  has  been  infi- 
nitely greater  than  that  of  Erasmus. 
Even  those  who  did  not  well  compre- 
hend the  matter  in  dispute,  seeing  Jjje 
full  conviction  of  one  antagonist,  and  the 
doubts  of  the  other,  could  not  refrain 
from  believing  that  the  former  had  truth 
on  his  side,  and  that  the  latter  was  in  the 
wrong.  It  has  been  said  that  the  three 
last  centuries,  the  16th,  17th  and  18lh, 
may  be  considered  as  a  protracted  battle 
of  three  days'  duration.*  We  willingly 
adopt  the  comparison,  but  not  the  part 
that  is  allotted  to  each  of  these  days. 
The  same  struggle,  it  is  said,  marked 
the  sixteenth  and  the  eighteenth  centu- 
ries. On  the  first  day,  as  on  the  last,  we 
are  told  that  it  was  philosophy  that 
broke  the  ranks.  The  sixteenth  century 
philosophical !  Strange  mistake !  No, 
each  of  those  days  had  its  marked  and 
peculiar  characteristic.  On  the  first,  the 
Word  of  God,  the  Gospel  of  Christ  tri- 
umphed, and  Rome  was  defeated  :  and 
Philosophy,  in  the  person  of  Erasmus, 
and  her  other  champions,  shared  in  the 
defeat.  On  the  second,  we  admit  that 
Rome,  her  authority,  her  discipline,  and 
her  doctrine,  are  again  seen  on  the  point 
of  obtaining  the  victory,  through  the  in- 
trigues of  a  far-famed  society,  and  the 
power  of  the  scaffold,  aided  by  certain 
leaders  of  eminent  character,  and  others 
of  lofty  genius.     The  third  day,  human 

*  Port  Royal,  par  Sainte  Beuve,  vol.  i.  p.  20. 


Philosophy  arises  in  all  its  pride,  and 
finding  the  battle  field  occupied,  not  by 
the  Gospel,  but  by  Rome,  it  quickly 
storms  every  entrenchment,  and  gains  an 
easy  conquest.  The  first  day's  battle 
was  for  God,  the  second  for  the  Priest, 
the  third  for  Reason — what  shall  the 
fourth  be?  .  .  .  .  The  confused  struggle, 
the  hard  fought  conflict,  as  we  believe, 
of  all  these  powers  together,  which  will 
end  in  the  triumph  of  Him  to  whom  tri- 
umph belongs 

But  the  battle  which  the  Reformation 
fought  in  the  great  day  of  the  sixteenth 
century  was  not  one  and  single, — but 
manifold.  The  Reformation  had  to  com- 
bat at  once  several  enemies ;  and  after 
having  protested  against  the  decretals 
and  the  sovereignty  of  the  Popes — then 
against  the  cold  apothegms  of  ration- 
alists, philosophers,  and  school-men, — it 
took  the  field  against  the  reveries  of  en- 
thusiasm and  the  hallucinations  of  mysti- 
cism ;  opposing  alike  to  these  three  pow- 
ers the  sword  and  the  buckler  of  God's 
Holy  Revelation. 

We  cannot  but  discern  a  great  resem- 
blance, —  a  striking  unity,  —  between 
these  three  powerful  adversaries.  The 
false  systems  which,  in  every  age,  have 
been  the  most  adverse  to  evangelical 
Christianity,  have  ever  been  distinguish- 
ed by  their  making  religious  knowledge 
to  emanate  from  man  himself.  Ration- 
alism makes  it  proceed  from  reason ; 
Mysticism  from  a  certain  internal  illu- 
mination ;  Roman  Catholicism  from  an 
illumination  derived  from  the  Pope. 
These  three  errors  look  for  truth'  in 
man  ;  Evangelical  Christianity  looks  for 
it  in  God  alone :  and  while  Rationalism, 
Mysticism,  and  Roman  Catholicism  ac- 
knowledge a  permanent  inspiration  in 
men  like  ourselves,  and  thus  make  room 
for  every  species  of  extravagance  and 
schism, — Evangelical  Christianity  rec- 
ognises this  inspiration  only  in  the  wri- 
tings of  the  Apostles  and  Prophets,  and 
alone  presents  that  great,  noble,  and  liv- 
ing unity  which  continues  to  exist  un- 
changed throughout  all  ages. 

The  office  of  the  Reformation  has 
been  to  re-establish  the  rights  of  the 
word  of  God,  in  opposition,  not  only  to 
Roman  Catholicism,  but  also  to  Ration- 
alism and  Mysticism 


528 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


The  fanaticism  of  the  Anabaptists, 
which  had  been  extinguished  in  Ger- 
many, by  Luther's  return  to  Wittem- 
berg,  reappeared  in  vigour  in  Switzer- 
land, where  it  threatened  the  edifice 
which  Zwingle,  Haller,  and  CEcolam- 
padius  had  erected  on  the  foundation 
of  the  word  of  God.  Thomas  Munzer, 
obliged  to  quit  Saxony  in  1521,  had 
reached  the  frontiers  of  Switzerland. 
Conrad  Grebel,  whose  ardent  and  rest- 
less disposition  we  have  already  remark- 
ed, had  joined  him,  as  had  also  Felix 
Mantz,  a  canon's  son,  and  several  other 
natives  of  Zurich.  Grebel  endeavoured 
to  gain  over  Zwingle.  It  was  in  vain 
that  the  latter  had  gone  further  than 
Luther  ;  he  saw  a  party  spring  up 
which  desired  to  proceed  to  yet  greater 
lengths.  "  Let  us,"  said  Grebel,  "  form 
a  community  of  true  believers  ;  for  it  is 
to  them  alpne  that  the  promise  belongs  ; 
and  let  us  establish  a  church,  which 
shall  be  without  sin."*  "  It  is  not  pos- 
sible," replied  Zwingle,  "  to  make  a 
heaven  upon  earth  ;  and  Christ  has 
taught  us  to  let  the  tares  grow  among 
the  wheat"! 

Grebel,  unsuccessful  with  the  Reform- 
er, wished  to  appeal  from  him  to  the 
people.  "  The  whole  community  of 
Zurich,"  said  he,  "  is  entitled  to  decide 
finally  in  all  matters  of  faith."  But 
Zwingle  dreaded  the  influence  which 
violent  enthusiasts  might  exercise  in  a 
popular  assembly.  He  believed  that, 
except  on  some  extraordinary  occasions, 
where  the  people  might  be  called  on  to 
give  their  support,  it  was  more  desirable 
to  confide  the  interests  of  religion  to  a 
college,  which  might  be  considered  the 
chosen  representatives  of  the  church. 
Consequently,  the  Council  of  Two 
Hundred,  which  then  exercised  the  su- 
preme political  authority  in  Zurich,  was 
also  entrusted  with  the  ecclesiastical 
power,  on  the  express  condition  that  it 
should  conform,  in  all  things,  to  the  rule 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Undoubtedly 
it  would  have  been  preferable  to  have 
organised  the  church  complete,  and  call- 
ed on  it  to  name  representatives,  to 
whom  no  interests  save  the  religious  in- 
terests of  the  people  should  be  confided  ; 

*  Vermeintend  ein  Kirchen  zu  versammlen 
die  one  Siind  war. — (Zw.  Opp.  ii.  p.  231.) 
t  Zw.  Opp.  iii.  p.  362. 


for  he  who  is  qualified  for  affairs  of 
state,  may  be  very  unskilful  in  adminis- 
tering those  of  the  church, — just  as  the 
reverse  of  this  is  also  true.  Neverthe- 
less, the  inconvenience  was  not  then  so 
serious  as  it  would  be  in  our  days,  for 
the  members  of  the  Grand  Council  had 
heartily  embarked  in  the  religious  move- 
ment. However  this  may  be,  Zwingle, 
in  his  appeal  to  the  church,  would  not 
bring  it  too  prominently  forward  ;  and 
preferred  a  system  of  representation  to 
the  active  sovereignty  of  the  general 
body.  It  is  the  same  policy  which,  after 
three  centuries,  the  states  of  Europe 
have  adopted,  in  reference  to  earthly 
politics. 

Meeting  with  a  repulse  from  Zwingle, 
Grebel  turned  in  another  direction. 
Roubli,  an  aged  minister  of  Basle, 
Brodtlein,  minister  at  Zollikon,  and 
Lewis  Herzer,  welcomed  his  advances. 
They  resolved  on  forming  an  indepen- 
dent body  in  the  centre  of  the  general 
community,  —  a  church  within  the 
church.  A  new  baptism  was  to  be  their 
instrument  for  gathering  their  congrega- 
tion, which  was  to  consist  exclusively  of 
true  believers.  "  The  baptism  of  in- 
fants," said  they,  "  is  a  horrible  abomi- 
nation,— a  flagrant  impiety,  invented  by 
the  evil  spirit  and  by  Pope  Nicholas  II."* 

The  Council  of  Zurich,  in  some 
alarm,  directed  that  a  public  discussion 
should  be  held  ;  and  as  the  Anabaptists 
still  refused  to  relinquish  their  errors, 
some  of  them,  who  were  natives  of  Zu- 
rich, were  imprisoned,  and  others,  who 
were  foreigners,  were  banished.  But 
persecution  only  inflamed  their  zeal. 
"  It  is  not  by  words  alone,"  cried  they, 
"  but  by  our  blood,  that  we  are  ready  to 
bear  testimony  to  the  truth  of  our 
cause."  Some  of  them,  girding  them- 
selves with  ropes  or  rods  of  osier,  ran 
through  the  streets,  crying,  "  Yet  a  few 
days  and  Zurich  will  be  destroyed ! 
Woe  to  thee,  Zurich !  woe !  woe !" 
Several  there  were  who  uttered  blas- 
phemies :  "  Baptism,"  said  they,  "  is  but 
the  washing  of  a  dog.  To  baptize  a 
child  is  of  no  more  use  than  baptizing  a 
cat."f     Fourteen  men,  including  Felix 

*  Impietatem  manifestissiman,  a  caco  da>mone> 
a  Nicolao  II.  esse. — (Hottinger,  iii.  p.  219.) 

+  Nulzete  eben  so  viel  als  wenn  man  eine 
Katze  taufet.— (Fussl.  Beytr.  i.  243.) 


THE  SWISS.— 1522— 1527. 


529 


Mantz,  and  seven  women,  were  arrested, 
and,  in  spite  of  Zwingle's  entreaties,  im- 
prisoned, on  an  allowance  of  bread  and 
water,  in  the  heretics'  tower.  After  a 
fortnight's  confinement  they  managed, 
by  removing  some  planks  in  the  floor,  to 
effect  their  escape  during  the  night. 
"An  angel,'1  they  said,  "had  opened 
their  prison  doors,  and  set  them  free."* 

They  were  joined  by  George  Jacob 
of  Coira,  a  monk,  who  had  absconded 
from  his  convent,  and  who  was  surnam- 
ed  Blaurock,  as  it  would  seem  from  his 
constantly  wearing  a  blue  dress.  His 
eloquence  had  obtained  for  him  the  ap- 
pellation of  a  second  Paul.  This  intrep- 
id monk  travelled  from  place  to  place, 
constraining  many,  by  the  fervour  of  his 
appeals,  to  receive  his  baptism.  One 
Sunday,  at  Zollikon,  whilst  the  deacon 
was  preaching,  the  impetuous  Anabap- 
tist, suddenly  interrupting  him,  exclaim- 
ed in  a  voice  of  thunder,  "  It  is  written, 
My  house  is  a  house  of  prayer,  but  ye 
have  made  it  a  den  of  thieves."  Then, 
raising  the  staff  he  carried  in  his  hand, 
he  struck  it  four  times  violently  on  the 
ground. 

"  I  am  a  door,"  exclaimed  he  ;  "  by  me 
if  any  man  enter  in  he  shall  find  pasture. 
I  am  a  good  shepherd.  My  body  I  give 
to  the  prison ;  my  life  to  the  sword,  the 
axe,  and  the  wheel.  I  am  the  begin- 
nig  of  the  baptism  and  of  the  bread  of 
the  Lord."f 

While  Zwingle  was  attempting  to 
stem  the  torrent  of  Anabaptism  at  Zu- 
rich, it  quickly  inundated  St.  Gall. 
Grebel  arrived  there,  and  was  received 
by  the  brethren  with  acclamations  ;  and 
on  Palm  Sunday  he  proceeded  to  the 
banks  of  the  Sitter,  attended  by  a  great 
number  of  his  adherents,  whom  he 
there  baptized. 

The  news  soon  spread  through  the 
neighbouring  cantons,  and  a  great  mul- 
titude from  Zurich,  Appenzell,  and  va- 
rious other  places,  flocked  to  "  the  little 
Jerusalem." 

Zwingle  was  deeply  afflicted  by  this 
agitation.  He  saw  a  storm  descending 
on  the  land  where  the  seeds  of  the  Gos- 


*  Wie  die  Apostel  von  dem  Engel  Gottes  ge- 
lediget.— (Bui.  Chr.  p.  261.) 

t  Ich  bin  ein  Anfanger  der  Taufe  und  des 
Herra  Brodes. — (Fiissl.  Beytr.  i.  p.  264.) 
67 


pel  had  as  yet  scarcely  begun  to  take 
root.*  Resolving  to  oppose  these  disor- 
ders, he  composed  a  tract  "  on  Bap- 
tism,"! which  the  Council  of  St.  Gall, 
to  whom  he  dedicated  it,  caused  to  be 
read  in  the  church  in  the  hearing  of  the 
people. 

"  Dear  brethren  in  the  Lord,"  said 
Zwingle,  "  the  waters  of  the  torrftnts 
which  rush  from  our  rocks  hurry  with 
them  every  thing  within  their  reach. 
At  first,  small  stones  only  are  put  in  mo- 
tion, but  these  are  driven  violently 
against  larger  ones,  until  the  torrent  ac- 
quires such  strength  that  it  carries  away 
every  thing  it  encounters  in  its  course, 
leaving  behind  lamentations,  vain  re- 
grets, and  fertile  meadows  changed  into 
a  wilderness.  The  spirit  of  disputation 
and  self-righteousness  acts  in  a  similar 
manner,  it  occasions  disturbances,  ban- 
ishes charity,  and  where  it  found  fair 
and  prosperous  churches,  leaves  behind 
it  nothing  but  mourning  and  desolate 
flocks." 

Thus  wrote  Zwingle — the  child  of 
the  mountains  of  the  Tockenburg. 
"  Give  us  the  word  of  God,"  exclaimed 
an  Anabaptist  who  was  present  in 
church,  "  and  not  the  word  of  Zwingle." 
Immediately  confused  voices  arose  : 
"  Away  with  the  book  !  away  with  the 
book !"  cried  the  Anabaptists.  Then 
rising,  they  quitted  the  church,  exclaim- 
ing, "  Do  you  keep  the  doctrine  of 
Zwingle  ;  as  for  us,  we  will  keep  the 
word  of  God."t 

Then  it  was  that  this  fanaticism  broke 
forth  in  lamentable  disorders.  Alleging, 
in  excuse,  that  the  Saviour  had  exhorted 
us  to  become  as  little  children,  these 
poor  creatures  began  to  go  dancing 
through  the  streets,  clapping  their  hands, 
footing  it  in  a  circle,  seating  themselves 
on  the  ground  together,  and  tumbling 
each  other  in  the  sand.  Some  there 
were  who  threw  the  New  Testament 
into  the  fire,  exclaiming,  "  The  letter 
killeth,  the  spirit  giveth  life  ;"  and  seve- 
ral, falling  into  convulsions,  pretended  to 
have  revelations  from  the  Holy  Spirit. 

*  Mich  beduret  seer  das  ungewitter. — (Zw.  to 
the  Council  of  St.  Gall,  ii.  p.  230.) 

t  Vom  Tauf,  vom  Widertauf,  und  vom  Kin- 
dertauf.— (Zw.  Opp.  ii.  p.  230.) 

t  So  wollen  wir  Gottes  Wort  haben. — (Zw. 
Opp.  ii.  p.  237.) 


530 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


In  a  solitary  house  situated  on  the 
Mullegg,  near  St.  Gall,  lived  an  aged 
farmer,  John  Schucker,  with  his  five 
sons.  The  whole  family,  including  the 
servants,  had  received  the  new  baptism  ; 
and  two  of  the  sons,  Thomas  and  Leon- 
ard, were  distinguished  for  their  fanati- 
cism. On  the  7th  of  February,  1526, 
being  Shrove  Tuesday,  they  invited  a 
large  party  of  Anabaptists  to  their  house, 
and  the  father  had  a  calf  killed  for  the 
feast.  The  good  cheer,  the  wine,  and 
their  numbers  altogether,  heated  their 
imaginations  ;  and  they  spent  the  whole 
night  in  fanatical  excitement,  convul- 
sions, visions,  and  revelations.* 

In  the  morning,  Thomas,  still  agitated 
by  that  night  of  disorder,  and  having 
even,  —  as   it   would    seem,  —  lost    his 
senses,  took  the  calf's  bladder,  and  pla- 
cing part  of  the  gall  in  it,  in  imitation  of 
the  symbolical  language  of  the  prophets, 
approached    his   brother   Leonard,   and 
said  to  him  gloomily,  "  Thus  bitter  is 
the  death  thou  art  to  suffer  !"     Then  he 
added,  "  Brother    Leonard,  fall  on  thy 
knees  ;"  Leonard  knelt  down  ; — present- 
ly, "  Brother  Leonard,  arise  !"    Leonard 
arose.     Their  father,  brothers,  and  the 
other  Anabaptists,  looked  on  with  aston- 
ishment, asking  themselves  what  God 
would    do.      Soon    Thomas    resumed : 
"  Leonard,  kneel  down  again  !"  Leonard 
obeyed.     The  spectators,  terrified  at  the 
gloomy    countenance    of   the    wretched 
Thomas,  said  to  him,  "  Reflect  on  what 
thou  art  about  to  do  ;  take  care  that  no 
mischief    happens." — "  Fear    not,"    an- 
swered Thomas.  "  nothing  will  happen 
without   the  will  of  the   Father."     At 
the  same  moment  he  hastily  snatched  a 
sword,  and  bringing  it  down  with  all  his 
force  on  the  neck  of  his  brother,  who 
was  kneeling  before  him,  like  a  crimi- 
nal before  the  executioner,  he  severed 
his   head   from    his   body,   crying    out, 
"  Now  is  the  will  of  the  Father  accom- 
plished !"     The  bystanders  recoiled  in 
horror ;  the  farm  resounded  with  shrieks 
and   lamentations.      Thomas,  who  had 
nothing  on  him  but  his  shirt  and  draw- 
ers, rushed  out  of  the  house  bare-footed, 
and  with  his  head  uncovered,  and  run- 
ning  towards   St.    Gall,    with   frenzied 

*  Mit  wunderbaren  geperden  und  gespriichen, 
verzucken,  gesichten,  und  ofFenbarungen. — (Bul- 
ling. Chr.  i.  p.  324.) 


gestures,  entered  the  house  of  the  burgo- 
master, Joachim  Vadian,  with  haggard 
looks,  shouting,  "  I  proclaim  to  thee  the 
day  of  the  Lord.'1''  The  dreadful  tidings 
spread  throughout  St.  Gall — "  He  has 
killed  his  brother  as  Cain  killed  Abel," 
said  the  crowd.*  The  criminal  was 
seized. — "  True,"  he  repeated  continual- 
ly, "  I  did  it,  but  it  was  God  who  did  it 
by  my  hand."  On  the  16th  of  February, 
the  unhappy  wretch  was  beheaded  by 
the  executioner.  Fanaticism  had  run 
its  course  to  the  utmost.  Men's  eyes  were 
opened,  and,  to  adopt  the  words  of  an 
early  historian,  "  the  same  blow  took  oft 
the  head  of  Thomas  Schucker,  and  of 
Anabaptism  in  St.  Gall." 

At  Zurich,  however,  it  still  prevailed. 
On  the  6th  of  November,  in  the  prece- 
ding year,  a  public  discussion  had  taken 
place,  in  order  to  content  the  Anabap- 
tists, who  were  constantly  complaining 
that  the  innocent  were  condemned  un- 
heard. The  three  following  theses  were 
put  forth  by  Zwingle  and  his  friends,  as 
subjects  of  the  conference,  and  triumph- 
antly maintained  by  them  in  the  Coun- 
cil hall. 

"  The  children  of  believing  parents  are 
childrenof  God,  even  as  those  who  were 
born  under  the  Old  Testament ;  and 
consequently  they  may  receive  Baptism." 
"  Baptism  is,  under  the  New  Testa- 
ment, what  Circumcision  was  under  the 
Old.  Consequently,  Baptism  is  now  to 
be  administered  to  children,  as  Circum- 
cision was  formerly." 

"  The  custom  of  repeating  Baptism 
cannot  be  justified  either  by  examples, 
precepts,  or  arguments  drawn  from  Scrip- 
ture ;  and  those  who  are  re-baptized,  cru- 
cify Jesus  Christ  afresh." 

But  the  Anabaptists  did  not  confine 
themselves  to  questions  purely  religious; 
they  demanded  the  abolition  of  tithes, 
"  since,"  said  they,  "  they  are  not  of  divine 
appointment."  Zwingle  replied  that  the 
tithes  were  necessary  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  churches  and  schools.  He  desired 
a  complete  religious  reformation,  but  he 
was  resolved  not  to  allow  the  least  inva- 
sion of  public  order  or  political  institu- 
tions. This  was  the  limit  at  which  he 
discerned,  written  by  the  hand  of  God, 
that  word  from  heaven,  "  Thus  far  shalt 

*  GLych  wie  Kain  den  Abel  sinen  bruder  er- 
mort  hat !— (Bull.  Chr.  i.  p.  324.) 


THE  SWISS— 1522— 1527. 


531 


thou  go,  and  no  farther."*  Somewhere, 
it  was  necessary  to  make  a  stand ;  and  it 
was  at  this  point  that  Zwingle  and  the 
Reformers  took  their  stand,  in  spite  of 
the  efforts  made  by  rash  and  impetuous 
men  to  hurry  them  beyond  it. 

But  when  the  Reformers  themselves 
stopped,  they  could  not  stop  the  enthusi- 
asts, who  seem  as  if  brought  into  contact 
with  them  in  order  to  set  off  by  contrast 
their  wisdom  and  sobcrmindedness.  It 
was  not  enough  for  the  Anabaptists  to 
have  formed  their  church  ; — in  their  eyes 
that  church  was  itself  the  State.  Did 
any  one  summon  them  before  the  trib- 
unals,— they  refused  to  recognise  the  ci- 
vil authority,  maintaining  that  it  was  a 
remnant  of  Paganism,  and  that  they 
would  obey  no  power  but  that  of  God ! 
They  taught  that  it  was  unlawful  for 
Christians  to  fill  public  offices  or  bear  the 
sword, — and,  resembling  in  another  res- 
pect certain  irreligious  enthusiasts  of  our 
own  days,  they  esteemed  a  '  community 
of  goods'  as  the  perfection  of  humanity,  f 

Thus  the  evil  was  increasing  ;  Civil 
Society  was  endangered.  It  arose  to 
cast  out  from  its  bosom  those  elements 
that  threatened  it  with  destruction.  The 
Government,  in  its  alarm,  suffered  itself 
to  be  hurried  into  strange  measures. 
Resolved  on  making  an  example,  they 
condemned  Mantz  to  be  drowned.  On 
the  5th  January.  1527,  he  was  put  into 
a  boat;  his  mother,  (the  aged  concubine 
of  his  father,  the  canon,)  together  with 
his  brother,  mingled  in  the  crowd  which 
accompanied  him  to  the  water's  edge. 
"  Be  faithful  unto  death,"  was  their  ex- 
hortation. At  the  moment  when  the  ex- 
ecutioner prepared  to  throw  Mantz  into 
the  lake,  his  brother  burst  into  tears ; 
but  his  mother,  cairn  and  undaunted, 
witnessed,  with  eyes  dry  and  flashing 
fire,  the  martyrdom  of  her  son  J 

The  same  day,  Blaurock  was  scourged 
with  rods.  As  he  was  led  outside  the 
city,  he  shook  his  blue  dress,  and  the 
dust  from  off  his  feet,  against  it.§     This 


*  Job  xxxviii.  11. 

t  Fussl.  Beytr.  i.  p.  229—258  ;  ii.  p.  263. 

t  Ohne  dass  er  oder  die  Mutter,  sondern  nur 
der  Bruder  geweinet. — CHott.  Hel\».  K.  Gesch. 
iii.  p.  385.) 

§  Und  schiittlet  sinen  blauen  rock  und  sine 
echiih  uber  die  Statt  Zurich. — (Bull.  Chr.  i.  p. 
382.) 


unhappy  man  was,  it  would  appear, 
burnt  alive  two  years  after  this  by  the 
Roman  Catholics  of  the  Tyrol. 

Undoubtedly,  a  spirit  of  rebellion  ex- 
isted among  the  Anabaptists ;  undoubt- 
edly, the  ancient  ecclesiastical  law,  which 
condemned  heretics  to  capital  punish- 
ments, was  still  in  force,  and  the  Refor- 
mation could  not,  in  the  space  of  one  or 
two  years,  reform  every  thing  ;  nor  can 
we  doubt  that  the  Catholic  states  would 
have  accused  their  Protestant  neighbours 
of  encouraging  insubjection,  if  the  latter 
had  not  resorted  to  severe  measures 
against  these  enthusiasts ;  but  though 
such  considerations  serve  to  account  for 
the  rigour  of  the  magistrate,  they  never 
can  justify  it.  Measures  might  be  taken 
against  an  infringement  of  the  civil  con- 
stitution, but  religious  errors,  being  com- 
bated by  the  teachers  of  religion,  should 
be  altogether  exempt  from  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  civil  tribunals.  Such  opinions 
are  not  to  be  expelled  by  whippings,  nor 
are  they  drowned  in  the  waters  into 
which  those  who  profess  them  may  be 
cast :  they  again  come  forth  from  the 
depth  of  the  abyss ;  and  the  fire  but 
serves  to  kindle  in  those  who  adhere  to 
them  a  fiercer  enthusiasm,  and  thirst  for 
martyrdom.  Zwingle,  whose  sentiments 
on  this  subject  we  have  already  seen, 
took  no  part  in  these  severities.* 

But  it  was  not  only  on  the  subject  of 
baptism  that  dissensions  were  to  arise; 
yet  more  serious  differences  appeared, 
touching  the  doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per. 

The  human  mind,  freed  from  the  yoke 
which  had  so  long  weighed  it  down, 
made  use  of  its  liberty ;  and,  if  Roman- 
ism is  hemmed  in  by  the  shoals  of  des- 
potic authority,  Protestantism. has  to  steer 
clear  of  those  of  anarchy.  One  charac- 
teristic distinction  of  Protestantism  is 
progress,  while  that  of  Romanism  is  im- 
mobility. — 

Roman  Catholicism,  possessing  in  the 
papal  authority  a  means  of,  at  any  time, 
establishing  new  doctrines,  appears,  at 
first  view,  to  have  in  it  a  principle  emi- 
nently favourable  to  change.     It  has,  in- 

*  Quod  homines  seditiosi,  rei-publicas  turba- 
tores,  magistratuum  hostes,  justa  Senatus  sen- 
tentia,  damnati  sunt,  num  id  Zwinglio  fraudi  esse 
poterit? — (Rod.  Gualtheri  Epist.  ad  lectorem, 
Opp.  1544.  ii.) 


532 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


deed,  largely  availed  itself  of  this  power, 
and,  century  after  century,  we  see  Rome 
bringing  forward,  or  confirming  new 
dogmas.  But  its  system  once  completed, 
Roman  Catholicism  has  declared  itself 
the  champion  of  immobility.  Therein 
lies  its  safety :  it  resembles  a  shaky 
building,  from  which  nothing  can  be 
taken  without  bringing  the  whole  down 
to  the  ground.  Permit  the  priests  to 
marry,  or  strike  a  blow  against  the  doc- 
trine of  transubstantiation,  and  the  whole 
system  totters — the  entire  edifice  falls  to 
pieces. 

It  is  not  thus  with  Evangelical  Chris- 
tianity. Its  principle  is  much  less  fa- 
vourable to  change,  much  more  so  to  pro- 
gress and  life.  On  the  one  hand,  it  rec- 
ognises no  other  fountain  of  truth  than 
Scripture,  one  and  immutably  the  same, 
from  the  very  beginning  of  the  Church 
to  the  end  of  time ;  how,  then,  should  it 
vary,  as  Popery  has  varied  1  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  every  individual  Chris- 
tian is  to  draw  for  himself  from  this 
fountain  ;  and  hence  spring  progress  and 
liberty.  Accordingly,  Evangelical  Chris- 
tianity, although  in  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury the  same  that  it  was  in  the  six- 
teenth, and  in  the  first,  is, — at  all  times, — 
full  of  spontaneity  and  action  ;  and  is,  at 
this  moment,  filling  the  wide  world  with 
its  researches  and  its  labours,  its  Bibles 
and  its  missionaries,  with  light,  salva- 
tion, and  life ! 

It  is  a  gross  error  which  would  class 
together,  and  almost  confound  rational- 
ism and  mysticism  with  Christianity, 
and,  in  so  doing,  charge  upon  it  the  ex- 
travagances of  both.  Progress  belongs  to 
the  nature  of  Christian  Protestantism  :  it 
has  nothing  in  common  with  immobility 
and  a  state  of  deadness-  but  its  move- 
ment is  that  of  healthful  vitality,  and  not 
the  aberration  of  madmen,  or  the  rest- 
lessness of  disease.  We  shall  see  this 
character  manifesting  itself  in  relation  to 
the  doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 

What  ensued  might  have  been  ex- 
pected. This  doctrine  had  been  under- 
stood in  very  various  ways  in  the  early 
ages  of  the  Church :  and  the  difference 
of  opinion  continued  up  to  the  time  when 
the  doctrine  of  transubstantiation  and  the 
scholastic  theology  began,  at  about  the 
same  period,  their  reign  over  the  mind 
of  the  middle  ages.     But  that  dominion 


was  noAV  shaken  to  its  base,  and  the  for- 
mer differences  were  again  to  appear. 

Zwingle  and  Luther,  who  had  at  first 
gone  forward,  each  in  his  separate  course, 
— the  one  in  Switzerland,  the  other  in 
Saxony, — were  one  day  to  find  them- 
selves brought,  as  it  were,  face  to  face. 
The  same  mind,  and,  in  many  respects, 
the  same  character,  might  be  discerned 
in  them.  Both  were  full  of  love  for  truth 
and  hatred  of  injustice ;  both  were  nat- 
urally violent ;  and  in  both  that  violence 
was  tempered  by  sincere  piety.  But 
there  was  one  feature  in  the  character  of 
Zwingle  which  tended  to  carry  him  be- 
yond Luther.  He  loved  liberty,  not  only 
as  a  man,  but  as  a  republican,  and  the 
fellow-countryman  of  Tell.  Accustomed 
to  the  decision  of  a  free  state,  he  was  not 
stopped  by  considerations  before  which 
Luther  drew  back.  He  had,  moreover, 
given  less  time  to  the  study  of  the  theol- 
ogy of  the  schools,  and  found  himself,  in 
consequence,  less  shackled  in  his  modes 
of  thinking.  Both  ardently  attached  to 
their  own  convictions, — both  resolute  in 
defending  them, — and  little  accustomed 
to  bend  to  the  convictions  of  others,  they 
were  now  to  come  in  contact,  like  two 
proud  chargers  rushing  from  opposite 
ranks  and  encountering  on  the  held  of 
battle. 

A  practical  tendency  predominated  in 
the  character  of  Zwingle  and  of  the  Ref- 
ormation which  he  had  begun,  and  this 
tendency  was  directed  to  two  great  ends 
— simplicity  in  worship  and  sanctification 
in  life.  To  adapt  the  form  of  worship  to 
the  wants  of  the  soul,  seeking  not  out- 
ward ceremonies,  but  things  invisible, 
was  Zwingle's  first  object.  The  idea  of 
Christ's  real  presence  in  the  Eucharist, 
which  had  given  rise  to  so  many  cere- 
monies and  superstitions  in  the  Church, 
must,  therefore,  be  abolished.  But  the 
other  great  desire  of  the  Swiss  Reformer 
led  him  directly  to  the  same  result.  He 
judged  that  the  Romish  doctrine  respect- 
ing the  Supper,  and  even  that  held  by 
Luther,  implied  a  belief  of  a  certain  mys- 
tical influence,  which  belief,  he  thought, 
stood  in  the  way  of  sanctification  ; — he 
feared  lest  the  Christian,  thinking  that 
he  received  Christ  jn  the  consecrated 
bread,  should  no  longer  earnestly  seek  to 
be  united  to  him  by  faith  in  the  heart. 
"Faith,"  said   he,  "is   not   knowledge, 


THE  SWISS.— 1522— 1527. 


533 


opinion,  imagination  ; — it  is  a  reality.* 
It  involves  in  it  a  real  participation  in 
divine  things."  Thus,  whatever  the  ad- 
versaries of  Zwingle  may  have  asserted, 
it  was  no  leaning  towards  rationalism, 
but  a  deep  religious  view  of  the  subject 
which  conducted  him  to  the  doctrines  he 
maintained. 

The  result  of  Zwingle's  studies  were 
in  accordance  with  these  tendencies.  In 
studying  the  Scriptures,  not  only  in  de- 
tached passages,  but  as  a  whole,  and 
having  recourse  to  classical  antiquity  to 
solve  the  difficulties  of  language,  he  ar- 
rived at  the  conviction,  that  the  word 
"is"  in  the  words  of  institution  of  this 
sacrament,  should  be  taken  in  the  sense 
of " signifies  ~;v  and,  as  early  as  the  year 
1523,  he  wrote  to  a  friend,  that  the  bread 
and  wine  in  the  Lord's  Supper  are  ex- 
actly what  the  water  is  in  baptism,  f  "  In 
vain,"  added  he,  "  would  you  plunge  a 
thousand  times  under  the  water  a  man 
who  does  not  believe.  Faith  is  the  one 
thing  needful." 

Luther,  at  first,  set  out  from  principles 
nearly  similar  to  those  of  the  Reformer 
of  Zurich.  "  It  is  not  the  sacrament 
which  sanctifies,"  said  he,  "  it  is  faith  in 
the  sacrament."  But  the  extravagances 
of  the  Anabaptists,  whose  mysticism 
spiritualized  every  thing,  produced  a 
great  change  in  his  views.  When  he 
saw  enthusiasts,  who  pretended  to  inspi- 
ration, destroying  images,  rejecting  bap- 
tism, and  denying  the  presence  of  Christ 
in  the  Eucharist,  he  was  affrighted  ;  he 
had  a  kind  of  prophetic  presentiment  of 
the  dangers  which  would  threaten  the 
Church  if  this  tendency  to  over-spiritual- 
ize, should  gain  the  ascendant ;  hence 
he  took  a  totally  different  course,  like 
the  boatman,  who,  to  restore  the  balance 
of  his  foundering  skiff,  throws  all  his 
weight  on  the  side  opposed  to  the  storm. 

Thenceforward  Luther  assigned  to  the 
sacraments  a  higher  importance.  He 
maintained  they  were  not  only  signs  by 
which  Christians  were  outwardly  distin- 
guished, but  evidences  of  the  Divine  will, 
adapted  to  strengthen  our  faith.   He  went 

*  Fidem  rem  esse,  non  6cientiam,  opinionem 
vel  imaginationem. — (Comment  de  vera  relig. 
Zw.  Opp.  iii.  p.  230.) 

t  Haud  aliter  hie  panem-  et  vinum  esse  puto 
quam  aqua  est  in  baptismo. — (Ad  Wittenbachium 
Epp.  15th  June,  1523.) 


farther  :  Christ,  according  to  him,  desired 
to  give  to  believers  a  full  assurance  of 
salvation,  and,  in  order  to  seal  this  prom- 
ise to  them  with  most  effect,  had  added 
thereto  his  real  body  in  the  bread  and 
wine.  "Just,"  continued  he,  "as  iron 
and  fire,  though  two  different  substances, 
meet  and  are  blended  in  a  red  hot  bar, 
so  that  in  every  part  of  it  there  is  at  once 
iron  and  fire  ;  so,  a  fortiori,  the  glorified 
body  of  Christ  exists  in  every  part  of  the 
bread." 

Thus,  at  this  period  of  his  career,  Lu- 
ther made,  perhaps,  a  partial  return  to  the 
scholaslic  theology.  He  had  openly  di- 
vorced himself  from  it  on  the  doctrine  of 
justification  by  faith  ;  but  on  the  doctrine 
of  this  Sacrament,  he  gave  up  but  one 
point,  viz.  transubslantiation.  and  retained 
the  other,  the  real  'presence.  He  even 
went  so  far  as  to  say  that  he  would  rather 
receive  the  mere  blood  with  the  Pope 
than  the  mere  wine  with  Zwingle. 

Luther's  great  principle  was  never  to 
depart  from  the  doctrines  or  customs  of 
the  Church,  unless  the  words  of  Scrip- 
ture absolutely  required  him  to  do  so. 
"  Where  has  Christ  commanded  us  to 
elevate  the  host,  and  exhibit  it  to  the 
people  ?"  had  been  Carlstadt's  question. 
"  Where  has  he  forbidden  it  ?"  was  Lu- 
ther's reply.  Herein  lies  the  difference 
of  the  two  Reformations  we  are  consid- 
ering. The  traditions  of  the  Church 
were  dear  to  the  Saxon  Reformer.  If 
he  separated  from  them  on  many  points, 
it  was  not  till  after  much  conflict  of 
mind,  and  because,  above  all,  he  saw  the 
necessity  of  obeying  the  word  of  God. 
But  wherever  the  letter  of  God's  word 
appeared  to  him  in  accordance  with  the 
tradition  and  practice  of  the  Church,  he 
adhered  to  it  with  unalterable  resolution. 
Now  this  was  the  case  in  the  question 
concerning  the  Lord's  Supper.  He  did 
not  deny  that  the  word  "  is  "  might  be 
taken  in  the  sense  ascribed  to  it  by 
Zwingle.  He  admitted,  for  example, 
that  it  must  be  so  understood  in  the  pas- 
sage, "  That  rock  was  Christ;"*  but 
what  he  did  deny  was  that  the  word 
should  be  taken  in  this  sense  in  the  in- 
stitution of  the  Lord's  Supper. 

In  one  of  the  later  schoolmen,  Occam, 
whom  he  preferred   to   all  others,f   he 

*  1  Cor.  x.  4. 

t  Diu  multumque  legit  scripta  Occam  cujus 


534 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


found  an  opinion  which  he  embraced. 
With  Occam,  he  gave  up  the  continually 
repeated  miracle,  in  virtue  whereof,  ac- 
cording to  the  Romish  Church,  the  body 
and  blood  take  the  place  of  the  bread 
and  wine  after  every  act  of  consecration 
by  the  priest, — and  with  Occam,  substi- 
tuted for  it  a  universal  miracle,  wrought 
once  for  all, — that  is,  the  ubiquity  or 
omnipresence  of  Christ's  body.  "  Christ," 
said  he,  "is  present  in  the  bread  and 
wine,  because  he  is  present  everywhere, 
— and  in  an  especial  manner  where  he 
wills  to  be."* 

The  inclination  of  Zwingle  was  the 
reverse  of  Luther's.  He  attached  less 
importance  to  the  preserving  a  union,  in 
a  certain  sense,  with  the  universal 
church,  and  thus  maintaining  our  hold 
upon  the  tradition  of  past  ages.  As  a 
theologian,  he  looked  to  Scripture  alone  ; 
and  thence  only  would  he  freely,  and 
without  any  intermediary  channel,  de- 
rive his  faith  ;  not  stopping  to  trouble 
himself  with  what  others  had  in  former 
times  believed.  As  a  republican,  he 
looked  to  the  commune  of  Zurich.  His 
mind  was  occupied  with  the  idea  of  the 
church  of  his  own  time,  not  with  that 
of  other  days.  He  relied  especially  on 
the  words  of  St.  Paul, — "  Because  there 
is  but  one  bread,  we  being  many  are  One 
body  ;"f  and  he  saw  in  the  supper  the 
sign  of  a  spiritual  communion  between 
Christ  and  all  Christians.  "  Whoever," 
said  he,  "  acts  unworthily,  is  guilty  of  sin 
against  the  body  of  Christ,  of  which  he 
is  a  member."  Such  a  thought  had  a 
great  practical  power  over  the  minds  of 
communicants;  and  the  effects  it  wrought 
in  the  lives  of  many,  was  to  Zwingle 
the  confirmation  of  it. 

Thus  Luther  and  Zwingle  had  insen- 
sibly separated  from  one  another.  Nev- 
ertheless peace,  perhaps,  might  have 
continued  between  them,  if  the  turbulent 
Cavlstadt,  who  spent  some  time  in  pass- 
ing to  and  fro  between  Germany  and 
Switzerland,  had  not  inflamed  their  con- 
flicting opinions. 

A  step,  taken  with  a  view  to  preserve 

acumen  anteferebat  Thomae  et  Scoto. — (Me- 
lancth.  Vita  Luth.) 

*  Occam  und  Luther. — Studien  und  Kritiken. 
1839,  p.  69. 

t  The  passage  referred  to  is  1  Cor.  x.  17,  and 
the  original  stands  thus: — -"On  c?s  apros,  tv  o-wfia 
oi  ttoAXol  hopey- — (Tr.) 


peace,  led  to  the  explosion.  The  Coun- 
cil of  Zurich-,  wishing  to  put  a  stop  to 
controversy,  prohibited  the  sale  of  Carl- 
stadt's  writings.  Zwingle,  though  he 
disapproved  the  violence  of  Carlstadt. 
and  blamed  his  mystic  and  obscure  ex- 
pressions,* upon  this,  thought  it  right  to 
defend  his  doctrine,  both  from  the  pulpit 
and  before  the  Council ;  and  soon  after- 
wards he  wrote  a  letter  to  the  minister, 
Albert  of  Reutlingen,  in  which  he  said  : 
"  Whether  or  not  Christ  is  speaking  of 
the  sacrament  in  the  sixth  chapter  of  St. 
John's  gospel,  it  is,  at  least,  evident,  that 
he  therein  teaches  a  mode  of  eating  his 
flesh  and  drinking  his  blood,  in  which 
there  is  nothing  corporeal."!  He  then 
endeavoured  to  prove  that  the  Supper  of 
the  Lord,  by  reminding  the  faithful,  ac- 
cording to  Christ's  design,  of  his  body 
which  '  was  broken '  for  them,  is  the 
procuring  cause  of  that  spiritual-mandu- 
cation,  which  is  alone  truly  beneficial  to 
them. 

Nevertheless,  Zwingle  still  shrunk 
from  a  rupture  with  Luther.  He  trem- 
bled at  the  thought  that  distressing  dis- 
cussions would  rend  asunder  the  little 
company  of  believers  forming  in  the 
midst  of  effete  Christendom.  Not  so 
with  Luther.  He  did  not  hesitate  to  in- 
clude Zwingle  in  the  ranks  of  those  en- 
thusiasts with  whom  he  had  already 
broken  so  many  lances.  He  did  not  re- 
flect that  if  images  had  been  removed 
from  the  churches  of  Zurich,  it  had 
been  done  legally,  and  by  public  author- 
ity. Accustomed  to  the  forms  of  the 
German  principalities,  he  knew  but  lit- 
tle of  the  manner  of  proceeding  in  the 
Swiss  republics  ;  and  he  declared  against 
the  grave  Swiss  divines,  just  as  he  had 
done  against  the  Miinzers  and  the  Carl- 
stadts. 

Luther  having  put  forth  his  discourse 
"  against  celestial  prophets"  Zwingle's 
resolution  was  taken ;  and  he  published 
almost  immediately  after,  his  Letter  to 
Albert,  and  his  Commentary  on  true  and 
false  Religion,  dedicated  to  Francis  T. 
In  it  he  said,  "  Since  Christ,  in  the  sixth 

*  Quod  morosior  est  (Carlstadius)  in  cceremo- 
niis  non  ferendis,  non  admodum  probo. — (Zw. 
Epp.  p.  369.) 

t  A  manducatione  cibi,  qui  ventrem  implet, 
transiit  ad  verbi  manducationem,  quam  cibum 
vocat  ccelestem,  qui  mundum  vivificet. — (Zw. 
Opp.  iii.  p.  573.) 


'\ 


THE  SWISS— 1522— 1527. 


535 


of  John,  attributes  to  faith  the  power  of 
communicating  eternal  life,  and  uniting 
the  believer  to  him  in  the  most  intimate 
of  all  unions,  what  more  can  we  need  1 
Why  should  we  think  that  he  would  af- 
terwards attribute  that  efficacy  to  His 
flesh,  when  He  himself  declares  that  the 
flesh  profiteth  nothing?  So  far  as  the 
suffering  death  for  us,  the  flesh  of  Christ 
is  of  unspeakable  benefit  to  us, — for  it 
saves  us  from  perdition  ; — but  as  being 
eaten  by  us,  it  is  altogether  useless." 

The  contest  began.  Pomeranus,  Lu- 
ther's friend,  took  the  field,  and  attacked 
the  Evangelist  of  Zurich  somewhat  too 
contemptuously.  Then  it  was  that  (Eco- 
lampadius  began  to  blush  that  he  had  so 
long  struggled  with  his  doubts,  and 
preached  doctrines  which  were  already 
giving  way  in  his  own  mind.  Taking 
courage,  he  wrote  from  Basle  to  Zwin- 
gle.  "  The  dogma  of  the  '  real  presence' 
is  the  fortress  and  strong  hold  of  their 
impiety;  so  long  as  they  cleave  to  this 
idol,  none  can  overcome  them."  After 
this,  he,  too,  entered  the  lists,  by  publish- 
ing a  tract  on  the  import  of  the  Lord's 
words,  "  This  is  my  body.'1* 

The  bare  fact  that  (Ecolampadius  had 
joined  the  Reformer  of  Zurich,  excited 
an  immense  sensation,  not  only  at  Basle, 
but  throughout  all  Germany.  Luther 
was  deeply  affected  by  it.  Brentz, 
Schnepff,  and  twelve  other  ministers  in 
Suabia,  to  whom  (Ecolampadius  had  ded- 
icated his  tract,  and  who  had  almost  all 
been  disciples  under  him,  testified  the 
most  lively  sorrow.  In  taking  up  the 
pen  to  answer  him,  Brentz  said,  "  Even 
at  this  moment,  when  I  am  separating 
from  him  for  just  reasons,  I  honour  and 
admire  him  as  much  as  it  is  possible  to 
do.  The  tie  of  love  is  not  severed  be- 
cause we  differ  in  judgment."  And  he 
proceeded,  in  concert  with  his  friends,  to 
publish  the  celebrated  Suabia/b  Syngram- 
ma,  in  which  he  replied  to  the  arguments 
of  (Ecolampadius  with  boldness,  but  with 
respect  and  affection.  "  If  an  emperor," 
say  the  authors  of  the  Syngramma, 
"  were  to  give  a  baton  or  a  wand  to  a 
judge,  saying, '  Take — this  is  the  power 
of  judging :' — the  wand,  no  doubt,  is  a 
mere  sign  ;  but,  the  words  being  added 

*  He  retained  the  usual  signification  of  the 
word  is,  but  he  understood,  by  body,  a  sign  of 
the  body. 


thereto,  the  judge  has  not  merely  the 
sign  of  the  power,  he  has  the  power  it- 
self." 

The  true  children  of  the  Reformation 
might  admit  this  illustration.  The  Syn- 
gramma  was  received  with  acclamations, 
and  its  authors  were  looked  upon  as  the 
defenders  of  the  truth.  Several  divines, 
and  even  some  laymen,  in  their  desire 
to  share  in  their  glory,  undertook  the 
defence  of  the  doctrine  that  was  assailed, 
and  wrote  against  (Ecolampadius. 

Then  it  was  Strasburg  interposed,  and 
sought  to  mediate  between  Switzerland 
and  Germany.  Capito  and  Bucer  were 
disposed  for  peace  ;  and,  in  their  view, 
the  question  under  discussion  was  of  se- 
condary importance.  Accordingly  step- 
ping between  the  two  parties,  they  sent 
George  Cassel,  one  of  their  colleagues,  to 
Luther,  to  conjure  him  not  to  snap  the 
link  of  brotherhood  which  united  him 
with  the  Swiss  divines. 

No  where  does  Luther's  character  dis- 
play itself  more  strikingly  than  in  this 
controversy  on  the  Lord's  Supper.  Never 
did  it  more  clearly  appear  with  what 
firmness  he  maintained  the  convictions 
he  believed  to  be  those  of  a  Christian, — 
with  what  faithfulness  he  established 
them  on  the  authority  of  Scripture  alone, 
— his  sagacity  in  defending  them,  and  his 
animated,  eloquent,  and  often  overpower- 
ing argumentation.  But,  on  the  other 
hand,  never  was  there  a  more  abundant 
exhibition  of  the  obstinacy  with  which 
he  brought  up  every  argument  for  his 
own  opinion,  the  little  attention  he  gave 
to  his  opponents'  reasoning,  and  the  un- 
charitable haste  with  which  he  attributed 
their  errors  to  the  wickedness  of  their 
hearts,  and  the  machinations  of  the  devil. 
To  the  mediator  of  Strasburg  he  said, — 
"  Either  the  one  party  or  the  other, — 
either  the  Swiss  or  we, — must  be  minis- 
ters of  Satan." 

Such  were  what  Capito  termed  "  the 
furies  of  the  Saxon  Orestes ;"  and  these 
furies  were  succeeded  by  exhaustion. 
Luther's  health  suffered.  One  day  he 
fainted  in  the  arms  of  his  wife  and 
friends  ;  and,  for  a  whole  week,  he  was 
as  if  "  in  death  and  hell."*  He  had  lost 
Jesus  Christ,  he  said,  and  was  driven 
hither  and  thither  by  tempests  of  despair. 

*  In  mortd  et  in  inferno  jactatus. — (L.  Epp.  iii- 
p.  132.) 


536 


HISTORY  OF   THE   REFORMATION. 


The  world  was  about  to  pass  away,  and 
prodigies  announced  that  the  last  day- 
was  at  hand. 

But  these  divisions  among-  the  friends 
of  the  Reformation  were  to  have  after 
consequences  yet  more  to  be  deplored. 
The  Romish  divines  in  Switzerland  espe- 
cially boasted  of  being  able  to  oppose  Lu- 
ther to  Swingle.  And  yet,  if, — now  that 
three  centuries  have  passed  away, — the 
recollection  of  these  divisions  should 
teach  Evangelical  Christians  the  precious 
lesson  of  Unity  in  diversity,  and  Love  in 
liberty,  they  will  not  have  happened  in 
vain.  Even  at  the  time, — the  Reform- 
ers, by  thus  opposing  one  another,  proved 
that  they  were  not  governed  by  blind 
hatred  of  Rome,  but  that  Truth  was  the 
great  object  of  their  hearts.  It  must  be 
admitted  that  there  is  something  gener- 
ous in  such  conduct ;  and  its  disinterest- 
edness did  not  fail  to  produce  some  fruit, 
and  extort  from  enemies  themselves  a 
tribute  of  interest  and  esteem. 

But  we  may  go  further,  and  here 
again  we  discern  the  Sovereign  hand 
which  governs  all  events,  and  allows  no- 
thing to  happen  but  what  makes  part  of 
its  own  wise  plan.  Notwithstanding  his 
opposition  to  the  Papacy,  Luther  had  a 
strong  conservative  instinct.  Zwingle, 
on  the  contrary,  was  predisposed  to  radi- 
cal reforms.  Both  these  divergent  ten- 
dencies were  needed.  If  Luther  and  his 
followers  had  been  alone  in  the  work,  it 
would  have  stopped  short  in  its  progress  ; 
and  the  principle  of  Reformation  would 
not  have  wrought  its  destined  effect.  If, 
on  the  other  hand,  Zwingle  had  been 
alone, — the  thread  would  have  been 
snapped  too  abruptly  and  the  Reforma- 
tion would  have  found  itself  isolated  from 
the  ages  which  had  gone  before. 

These  two  tendencies,  which,  on  a  su- 
perficial view,  might  seem  present  only 
to  conflict  together,  were,  on  the  contra- 
ry, ordained  to  be  the  complement  of  each 
other, — and  now  that  three  centuries 
have  passed  away,  we  can  say  that  they 
have  fulfilled  their  mission. 

Thus,  on  all  sides,  the  Reformation 
had  to  encounter  resistance ;  and,  after 
combating  the  rationalist  philosophy  of 
Erasmus,  and  the  fanatical  enthusiasm 
of  the  Anabaptists,  it  had,  in  addition,  to 
settle  matters  at  home.  But  its  great  and 
lasting  struggle  was  against  the  Papa- 


cy ; — and  the  assault,  commenced  in  the 
cities  of  the  plain,  was  now  carried  to  the 
most  distant  mountains. 

The  summits  of  Tockenburg  had 
heard  the  sound  of  the  Gospel,  and  three 
ecclesiastics  were  prosecuted  by  order  of 
the  bishop,  as  tainted  with  heresy.  "  Only 
convince  us  by  the  word  of  God,"  said 
Militus,  Doring,  and  Farer,  "  and  we  will 
humble  ourselves,  not  only  before  the 
chapter,  but  before  the  very  least  of  the 
brethren  of  Jesus  Christ.  Otherwise,  we 
will  obey  no  one  ;  not  even  the  greatest 
among  men."* 

The  genuine  spirit  of  Zwingle  and  of 
the  Reformation  speaks  out  in  these 
words.  It  was  not  long  before  a  new  in- 
cident occurred  to  inflame  the  minds  of 
the  mountaineers.  A  meeting  of  the 
people  took  place  on  St.  Catherine's  day ; 
the  townsmen  gathered  in  groups,  and 
two  men  of  Schwitz,  whose  business  had 
called  them  to  the  Tockenburg,  were 
seated  together  at  one  of  the  tables. 
They  entered  into  conversation  : — "  Ulric 
Zwingle,"  exclaimed  one  of  them,  "is  a 
heretic  and  a  robber."  The  Secretary 
Steiger  defended  the  Reformation.  Their 
loud  voices  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
meeting.  George  Bruggman,  uncle  to 
Zwingle,  who  was  seated  at  an  adjoining 
table,  angrily  left  his  seat,  exclaiming, 
"  Surely  they  are  speaking  of  Master  Ul- 
ric ;"  on  which  the  guests  all  rose  up  and 
followed,  apprehending  a  disturbance.! 
The  tumult  increased  ;  the  bailiff  hastily 
collected  the  Town-council  in  the  open 
street,  and  Bruggman  was  requested,  for 
the  sake  of  peace,  to  content  himself  with 
saying,  "  If  you  do  not  retract  your 
words,  it  is  yourselves  who  are  liars  and 
thieves."  "  Recollect  what  you  have  just 
said,"  answered  the  men  of  Schwitz,  "we 
will  not  forget  it."  This  said,  they 
mounted  their  horses,  and  set  forward  at 
full  speed  for  Schwitz.J 

The  government  of  Schwitz  addressed 
to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Tockenburg,  a 
letter,  which  spread  terror  wherever  it 
came.     "  Stand  firm  and  fear  nothing,"^ 

*  Ne  poteirtissimo  quidem,  sed  soli  Deo  ejusque 
verbo. — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  370.) 

+  Totumque  convivium  sequi,  grandem  con- 
flictum  timentes. — (Ibid.  p.  371.) 

t  Auf  solches,  ritten  sie  wieder  heim. — (Ibid, 
p.  374.) 

§  Macti  animo  este  et  interriti. — (Zw.  Epp.  p. 
351.) 


THE  SWISS.— 1522— 1527. 


537 


wrote  Zwingle  to  the  Council  of  his  na- 
tive place :  "  Let  not  the  lies  they  circu- 
late concerning  me  disturb  you.  There 
is  no  brawler  but  has  the  power  to  call 
me  heretic ;  but  do  you  avoid  all  insult- 
ing language,  tumults,  excesses,  and  mer- 
cenary war.  Relieve  the  poor  j  espouse 
the  cause  of  the  oppressed  ;  and  what- 
ever insults  may  be  heaped  upon  you, 
hold  fast  your  confidence  in  Almighty 
God."* 

Zwingle's  exhortations  had  the  desired 
effect.  The  Council  were  still  hesita- 
ting ;  but  the  people  gathering  together 
in  their  several  parishes,  unanimously 
resolved  that  the  Mass  should  be  abol- 
ished and  the  word  of  God  adhered  to.f 

The  progress  of  the  work  was  not  less 
marked  in  Rhetia,  from  whence  Salan- 
dronius  had  been  compelled  to  take  his 
departure,  but  where  Comander  was 
preaching  with  much  boldness.  It  is 
true  that  the  Anabaptists,  by  their  fanati- 
cal preachings  in  the  country  of  the  Gri- 
sons,  had  at  first  been  a  great  hindrance 
to  the  progress  of  the  Reformation.  The 
people  had  split  into  three  parties.  Some 
had  embraced  the  doctrines  of  those  pre- 
tended prophets:  others  in  silent  aston- 
ishment meditated  with  anxiety  on  the 
schism  that  had  declared  itself.  And, 
lastly,  the  partisans  of  Rome  were  loud 
in  their  exultations^ 

A  meeting  was  held  at  Ilantz,  in  the 
Grison  league,  for  the  purpose  of  a  dis- 
cussion. The  supporters  of  the  Papacy, 
on  one  hand,  the  favourers  of  the  Ref- 
ormation on  the  other,  collected  their 
forces.  The  bishop's  vicar  at  first  la- 
boured to  avoid  the  dispute.  '•  Such  dis- 
putations are  attended  with  considerable 
expenses,"  said  he  ;  "  I  am  ready  to  put 
down  ten  thousand  florins,  in  order  to 
defray  them,  but  I  expect  the  opposite 
party  to  do  as  much."  "  If  the  bishop 
has  ten  thousand  florins  at  his  disposal," 
exclaimed  the  rough  voice  of  a  country- 

*  Verbis  diris  abstinete  ....  opem  ferte  ege- 
nis  ....  spem  certissimam  in  Deo  reponatis 
omnipotente. — (Ibid.)  Either  the  date  of  one  of 
the  letters,  14th  and  23d  of  1524,  must  be  a  mis- 
take, or  one  letter  from  Zwingle  to  his  fellow- 
countrymen  of  the  Tockenburg  must  be  lost. 

t  Parochias  uno  consensu  statuerunt  in  verbo 
Dei  manere. — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  423.) 

t  Pars  tertia  papistarum  est  in  immensum  glo- 
riantium  de  schismate  inter  uos  facto. — (Ibid.  p. 
400.) 

68 


man  in  the  crowd,  "  it  is  from  us  he  has 
extorted  them  ;  to  give  such  poor  priests 
as  much  more  would  be  a  little  too  bad." 
"  We  are  a  poor  set  of  people,"  said  Co- 
mander, the  pastor  of  Coira ;  "  we  can 
scarcely  pay  for  our  soup,  where  then  can 
we  raise  ten  thousand  florins."*  Every 
one  laughed  at  this  stratagem,  and  the 
business  proceeded. 

Among  those  present  were  Sebastian 
Hofmeister  and  James  Amman  of  Zurich. 
They  held  in  their  hands  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  in  Hebrew  and  Greek.  The 
bishop's  vicar  moved  that  strangers  be 
desired  to  withdraw.  Hofmeister  under- 
stood this  to  be  directed  against  him. 
"  We  have  come  provided,"'  said  he, 
"  with  a  Hebrew  and  Greek  Bible,  in 
order  that  none  may  in  any  way  do  vi- 
olence to  the  Scripture.  However,  soon- 
er than  stand  in  the  way  of  the  confer- 
ence, we  are  willing  to  retire  "  "  Ah  !" 
cried  the  curate  of  Dintzen,  as  he  glan- 
ced at  the  books  the  two  Zurichers  held 
in  their  hands,  "  if  the  Hebrew  and 
Greek  languages  had  never  obtained 
entrance  into  our  country,  there  would 
be  fewer  heresies  among  us."f  "  St.  Je- 
rome," observed  another,  "  has  translated 
the  Bible  for  us,  and  we  don't  want  the 
Jewish  books."  "  If  the  Zurichers  are 
excluded,"  said  the  banneret  of  Ilantz, 
"  the  commune  will  move  in  the  affair." 
"Well,"  replied  the  others,  "let  them 
listen,  but  let  them  be  silent."  The  Zu- 
richers were  accordingly  allowed  to  re- 
main, and  their  Bible  with  them. 

Comander,  rising  in  his  place,  read 
from  the  first  of  his  published  theses — 
"  The  Christian  Church  is  born  of  the 
word  of  God.  Its  duty  is  to  hold  fast 
that  Word,  and  not  to  give  ear  to  any 
other  voice."  He  proceeded  to  establish 
what  he  advanced  by  numerous  passages 
j  from  the  Scriptures.  "  He  went  boldly 
forward,"  says  an  eye-witness,  "  planting 
his  foot,  at  every  step,  with  the  firmness 
of  an  ox's  tread."|  "  This  will  last  all 
day,"  said  the  vicar. — '•'•  When  he  is  at 
table  with  his  friends,  listening  to  those 

*  Sie  waren  gute  arme  Gesellen  mit  Ieeren 
Secklen.— (Fiissl.  Beytr.  i.  p.  358.) 

t  Ware  die  Griechische  und  Hebraische 
Sprache  nicht  in  das  Land  gekommen. — (Ibid. 
p.  360.) 

X  Satze  den  Fuss  wie  ein  miider  Ochs. — ■ 
(Fiissl.  Beytr.  i.  p.  362.) 


538 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


who  play  the  flute,  he  does  not  grudge 
the  time,"*  remarked  Hofmeister. 

Just  then  one  of  the  spectators  left  his 
seat,  and  elbowing  his  passage  through 
the  crowd,  forced  his  way  up  to  Coman- 
der,  waving  his  arms,  scowling  on  the 
Reformer,  and  knitting  his  brows.  He 
seemed  like  one  beside  himself;  and 
as  he  bustled  up  to  Comander,  many 
thought  he  was  going  to  strike  him.f 
He  was  a  schoolmaster  of  Coira.  "  I 
have  written  down  various  questions  for 
you  to  answer,"  said  he  to  Comander : 
"  answer  them  directly."  "  I  stand  here," 
said  the  Reformer  of  the  Grisons,  "  to 
defend  my  teaching.  Do  you  attack  it, 
and  I  will  answer  you;  or,  if  not,  go 
back  to  your  place.  I  will  reply  to  you 
when  I  have  done."  The  schoolmaster 
deliberated  for  an  instant.  u  Well,"  said 
he,  at  last, — and  returned  to  his  seat. 

It  was  proposed  to  proceed  to  consider 
the  doctrine  of  the  Sacrament.  The 
abbot  of  St.  Luke's  declared  that  it  was 
not  without  awe  that  he  approached  such 
a  subject ;  and  the  vicar  devoutly  cross- 
ed himself  in  fear. 

The  schoolmaster  of  Coira,  who  had 
before  showed  his  readiness  to  attack 
Comander,  with  much  volubility  began 
to  argue  for  the  received  doctrine  of  the 
Sacrament,  grounding  what  he  said  on 
the  words, — "  This  is  my  body."  "  My 
dear  Berre,"  said  Comander  to  him, 
"  how  do  you  understand  these  words, — 
John  is  Elias  ?"  "  I  understand,"  replied 
Berre,  who  saw  Comander's  object  in  the 
question,  "  I  understand  that  he  was 
truly  and  essentially  Elias."  "  And  why 
then,"  continued  Comander,  "  did  John 
the  Baptist  himself  say  to  the  Pharisees 
that  he  was  not  Elias  ?"  The  school- 
master was  silent ;  and  at  last  ejaculated, 
— "  It  is  true."  All  laughed, — even  the 
friends  who  had  urged  him  to  speak. 

The  abbot  of  Saint  Luke's  spoke  at 
much  length  on  the  Supper ;  and  the 
conference  was  finally  closed.  Seven 
priests  embraced  the  Gospel.  The  most 
perfect  religious  liberty  was  proclaimed  ; 
and  in  several  of  the  churches,  the 
Romish  worship  was  abolished.  "  Christ," 
to  use  the  words  of  Salandronius,  "  grew 

*  Den  Pfeiffern  zuzuhoren,  die  .  .  wie  den 
Fiirsten  hofierten. — (Ibid.j 

t  Blintzete  mit  den  Augen,  rumpfete  die 
Stirne.— (Fussl.  Beytr.  i.  p.  368.) 


up  every  where  in  the  mountains,  like 
the  tender  grass  of  the  spring,  and  his 
ministers  were  like  living  fountains, 
watering  those  Alpine  pastures."* 

The  Reformation  was  advancing,  with 
yet  more  rapid  strides,  in  Zurich.  Domin- 
icans, Augustines,  Capuchins,  so  long 
opposed  to  each  other,  were  reduced  to 
the  necessity  of  living  together  ; — an  an- 
ticipated purgatory  for  these  poor  monks. 
In  place  of  those  degenerated  institutions 
were  founded  schools,  an  hospital,  a  the- 
ological seminary.  Learning  and  char- 
ity everywhere  took  the  place  of  sloth 
and  selfishness. 

These  triumphs  of  the  Reformation 
could  not  escape  notice.  The  monks, 
the  priests,  and  their  prelates,  hot  know- 
ing how  to  move,  everywhere  felt  that 
the  ground  was  passing  from  under  their 
feet ;  and  that  the  Church  was  on  the 
point  of  sinking  under  its  unprecedented 
dangers.  The  oligarchs  of  the  cantons, 
— the  hired  supporters  of  foreign  capitu- 
lations, perceived  there  was  no  time  to 
be  lost,  if  they  wished  to  preserve  their 
own  privileges  ;  and  at  the  moment  when 
the  Church,  in  her  terror,  was  sinking 
into  the  earth,  they  again  tendered  her 
the  support  of  their  arms  bristling  with 
steel.  A  John  Faber  was  reinforced  by 
a  Stein  or  John  Hug  of  Lucerne,  and 
the  civil  authority  came  forward  to  assist 
that  power  of  the  hierarchy  which  opens 
his  mouth  to  blaspheme  and  makes  war 
against  the  saints. f 

Public  opinion  had  for  a  long  while 
demanded  a  conference.  No  other  way 
appeared  of  quelling  the  people  \  "  Only 
convince  us  from  the  Scriptures,"  said 
the  Council  of  Zurich  to  the  Diet,  "  and 
we  will  fall  in  with  your  desires."  "  The 
Zurichers,"  said  the  people, "  have  given 
you  their  promise  ;  if  you  are  able  to 
refute  them  from  the  Scriptures,  why  not 
do  it  1  And  if  not  able,  why  not  your- 
selves conform  to  the  Bible?" 

The  conferences  at  Zurich  had  had  a 
mighty  influence  ;  it  seemed  politic  to 
oppose  to  them  a  conference  held  in  a 
city  in  the  interest  of  Rome  ;  taking  at 

*  Vita,  moribus  et  doctrina  herbescenti  Christo 
apud  Rhoetos  fons  irrigans. — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  485.) 

t  Rev.  xiii. 

%  Das  der  gmein  man,  one  eine  offne  disputa- 
tion, nitt  zu  stillenj  was. — (Bulling.  Chr.  i.  p. 
331.) 


THE   SWISS.— 1522— 1527. 


539 


the  same  time  all  necessary  precautions 
to  secure  the  victory  to  the  Pope's  party. 

It  is  true  that  the  same  party  had  de- 
clared such  discussions  unlawful, — but  a 
door  of  evasion  was  found  to  escape  that 
difficulty  ;  for,  said  they,  all  that  it  is 
proposed  to  do  is  to  declare  and  condemn 
the  pestilent  doctrine  of  Zwingle.*  This 
difficulty  obviated,  they  looked  about 
them  for  a  sturdy  disputant,  and  Doctor 
Eck  offered  himself.  He  had  no  fear 
of  the  issue.  "  Zwingle,  no  doubt,  has 
more  knowledge  of  cows  than  of  books,"f 
observed  he,  as  Hofmeister  reports. 

The  Grand  Council  of  Zurich  de- 
spatched a  safe-conduct  for  Eck  to  repair 
direct  to  Zurich ;  but  Eck  answered 
that  he  would  await  the  answer  of  the 
Confederation.  Zwingle,  on  this,  pro- 
posed to  dispute  at  St.  Gall,  or  at  Schaff- 
hausen,  but  the  Council,  grounding  its 
decision  on  an  article  in  the  federal  com- 
pact, which  provided  that  any  person  ac- 
cused of  misdemeanor  should  be  tried  in 
the  place  of  his  abode,  enjoined  Zwingle 
to  retract  his  offer. 

The  Diet  at  length  came  to  the  decis- 
ion that  a  conference  should  take  place 
at  Baden,  and  appointed  the  16th  of 
May,  1526.  This  meeting  promised  im- 
portant consequences  ;  for  it  was  the  re- 
sult and  the  seal  of  that  alliance  that 
had  just  been  concluded  between  the 
power  of  the  Church,  and  the  aristocrats 
of  the  Confederation.  "  See,"  said 
Zwingle  to  Vadian,  "  what  these  oli- 
garchs and  Faber|  are  daring  enough 
to  attempt." 

Accordingly,  the  decision  to  be  ex- 
pected from  the  Diet  was  a  question  of 
deep  interest  in  Switzerland.  None 
could  doubt  that  a  conference  held  under 
such  auspices  would  be  anything  but 
auspicious  to  the  Reformation.  Were 
not  the  five  cantons  most  devoted  to  the 
Pope's  views  paramount  in  influence  in 
Baden  ?  Had  they  not  already  con- 
demned Zwingle's  doctrine,  and  pursu- 
ed it  with  fire  and  sword?  At  Lucerne 
had  he  not  been  burnt  in  effigy  with 
every  expression  of  contempt  ?  At  Fri- 
burg  had  not  his  writings  been  consigned 

*  Diet  of  Lucerne,  13th  of  March,  1526. 

t  Er  habe  wohl  mehr  Kiihe  gemolken  als  Bii- 
cher  gelesen. — (Zvv.  Opp.  ii.  p.  405.) 

X  Vide  nunc  quid  audeant  oligarch!  atque  Fa- 
ber.— (Zw.  Epp.  p.  484.) 


to  the  flames?  Throughout  the  five 
cantons  was  not  his  death  demanded  by 
popular  clamour  ?  The  cantons  that  ex- 
ercised a  sort  of  suzerainty  in  Baden, 
had  they  not  declared  that  Zwingle 
should  be  seized  if  he  set  foot  on  any 
part  of  their  territory?*  Had  not  Uber- 
linger,  one  of  their  chiefs,  declared  that 
he  only  wished  he  had  him  in  his  power 
that  he  might  hang  him,  though  he 
should  be  called  an  executioner  as  long 
as  he  lived  ?f  And  Doctor  Eck  himself, 
had  he  not  for  years  past  called  for  fire 
and  sword  as  the  only  methods  to  be 
resorted  to  against  heretics? — What  then 
must  be  the  end  of  this  conference,  and 
what  result  can  it  have  but  the  death  of 
the  Reformer? 

Such  were  the  fears  that  agitated  the 
commission  appointed  at  Zurich,  to  ex- 
amine into  the  matter.  Zwingle,  behold- 
ing their  agitation,  rose  and  said,  "  You 
know  what  happened  at  Baden  to  the 
valiant  men  of  Stammheim,  and  how  the 
blood  of  the  Wirths  stained  the  scaffold 
— and  yet  we  are  summoned  to  the  very 
place  of  their  execution !  Let  Zurich, 
Berne,  Saint  Gall,  or,  if  they  will,  Basle, 
Constance,  or  Schaff hausen  be  chosen 
for  the  conference  ;  let  it  be  agreed  that 
none  but  essential  points  shall  be  discuss- 
ed, that  the  word  of  God  shall  be  the 
only  standard  of  authority  which  nothing 
shall  be  allowed  to  supersede,  and  then  I 
am  ready  to  come  forward. "| 

Meanwhile,  fanaticism  was  already 
aroused  and  was  striking  down  her  vic- 
tims. On  the  10th  of  May,  1526,  that  is, 
about  a  week  before  the  discussion  at 
Baden,  a  consistory,"  headed  by  the  same 
Faber  who  challenged  Zwingle,  con- 
demned to  the  flames,  as  a  heretic,  an 
evangelical  minister  named  John  Htigle, 
pastor  of  Lindau,^  who  sang  the  Te  Devm 
while  walking  to  the  place  of  execution. 
At  the  same  time,  another  minister,  na- 
med Peter  Spengler,  was  drowned  at  Fri- 
burg,  by  order  of  the  bishop  of  Constance. 

*  Zwingli  in  ihrem  Gebiet,  wo  er  betreten 
werde,  gefangen  zu  nehmen. — (Zw.  Opp.  ii.  p. 
422.) 

t  Da  wollte  er  gern  all  sein  Lebtag  ein  Henker 
genannt  werden. — (Ibid.  p.  454.) 

X  Wellond  wir  ganz  geneigt  syn  ze  erschynen. 
— (Zw.  Opp.  ii.  423.) 

\  Hunc  hominem  haereticum  damnamus,  pro- 
jicimus  et  conculcamus. — (Hotting.  Helv.  K. 
Gesch.  iii.  p>.  300. 


540 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


Gloomy  tidings  reached  Zwingle  from 
all  sides.  His  brother-in-law,  Leonard 
Tremp,  wrote  to  him  from  Berne :  "  I 
conjure  you  as  you  value  your  life,  not  to 
repair  to  Baden.  I  know  that  they  will 
not  respect  your  safe-conduct."* 

It  was  confidently  asserted  that  a  proj- 
ect had  been  formed  to  seize,  gag,  and 
throw  him  into  a  boat  which  should  car- 
ry him  off  to  some  secret  place. f  Taking 
into  consideration  these  threats  of  danger 
and  death,  the  Council  of  Zurich  resolv- 
ed that  Zwingle  should  not  go  to  Ba- 
den, i 

The  day  for  the  discussion  being  fixed 
for  the  19th  of  May,  the  disputants  and 
representatives  of  the  cantons  and  bish- 
ops slowly  collected.  First,  on  the  side 
of  the  Roman  Catholics,  appeared  the 
pompous  and  boastful  Eek  ;  on  the  Pro- 
testant side,  the  modest  and  gentle  CEco- 
lampadius.  The  latter  was  fully  sensi- 
ble of  the  perils  attending  this  discussion  : 
— "  Long  had  he  hesitated,"  says  an  an- 
cient historian,  "  like  a  timid  stag,  wor- 
ried by  furious  dogs  ;"  at  length  he  de- 
cided on  proceeding  to  Baden  ;  first  ma- 
king this  solemn  protestation — "  I  recog- 
nize no  other  rule  of  judgment  than  the 
word  of  God."  He  had,  at  first,  much 
wished  that  Zwingle  should  share  his 
perils  :§  but  he  soon  saw  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  if  the  intrepid  doctor  had  shown 
himself  in  that  fanatical  city,  the  anger 
of  the  Roman  Catholics,  kindling  at  the 
sight  of  him,  would  have  involved  them 
both  in  destruction. 

The  first  step  was  to  determine  the 
laws  which  should  regulate  the  contro- 
versy. Eck  proposed  that  the  deputies  of 
the  Forest  Cantons  should  be  authorized 
to  pronounce  the  final  judgment — a  propo- 
sal which,  if  it  had  been  adopted,  would 
have  decided  beforehand  the  condemna- 
tion of  the  reformed  doctrines.  Thomas 
Plater,  who  had  come  from  Zurich  to  at- 
tend the  conference,  was  despatched  by 
CEcolampadius  to  ask  Zwingle's  advice. 
Arriving  at  night,  he  was  with  difficulty 
admitted    into    the    Reformer's    house. 

*  Caveatis  per  caput  vestrum. — (Zw.  Epp.  p. 
483.) 

t  Navigio  captum,  ore  mox  obturato,  clam 
fuisse  deportandum. — (Osw.  Myc.  Vit.  Zw.) 

t  Zwinglium  Senatus  Tigurinus  Badenam  di- 
mittere  recusavit. — (Ibid.) 

§  Si  periclitaberis,  periclitabimur  omnes  tecum. 
— (Zw.  Epp.  p.  312.) 


Zwingle,  waking  up  and  rubbing  his 
eyes,  exclaimed,  "  You  are  an  unseason- 
able visitant, — what  news  do  you  bring  ? 
For  these  six  weeks  past,  I  have  had  no 
rest ;  thanks  to  this  dispute."*  Plater 
stated  what  Eck  required.  "  And  how," 
replied  Zwingle,  "  can  those  peasants  be 
made  to  understand  such  matters  ?  they 
would  be  much  more  at  home  in  milk- 
ing their  cows."t 

On  the  21st  of  May  the  conference  be- 
gan. Eck  and  Faber,  accompanied  by 
prelates,  magistrates,  and  doctors,  robed 
in  damask  and  silk,  and  bedizened  with 
rings,  chains,  and  crosses,^  repaired  to  the 
church.  Eck  haughtily  ascended  a  pul- 
pit superbly  decorated,  whilst  the  humble 
CEcolampadius,  meanly  clad,  sat  facing 
his  adversary  upon  a  rudely  constructed 
platform.  "  During  the  whole  time  the 
conference  lasted,"  says  the  chronicler 
Bullinger,  "  Eck  and  his  party  were 
lodged  in  the  parsonage  house  of  Baden, 
faring  sumptuously,  living  gaily  and  dis- 
orderly, drinking  freely  the  wine  with 
which  they  were  supplied  by  the  abbot 
of  Wettingen.fy  Eck,  it  was  said,  takes 
the  baths  at  Baden,  but  it  is  in  wine  that 
he  bathes.  The  Reformers,  on  the  con- 
trary, made  but  a  sorry  appearance,  and 
were  scoffed  at  as  a  troop  of  mendicants. 
Their  manner  of  lffe  afforded  a  striking 
contrast  to  that  of  the  Pope's  champions. 
The  landlord  of  the  Pike,  the  inn  at 
which  CEcolampadius  lodged,  curious  to 
see  how  the  latter  spent  his  time  in  his 
room,  reported  that  whenever  he  looked 
in  on  him,  he  found  him  either  reading 
or  praying.  It  must  be  confessed,  said 
he,  that  he  is  a  very  pious  heretic  " 

The  discussion  lasted  eighteen  days  ; 
and  every  morning  the  clergy  of  Baden 
went  in  solemn  procession,  chaunting 
litanies,  in  order  to  ensure  victory.  Eck 
was  the  only  one  who  spoke  in  defence 
of  the  Romish  doctrines.  He  was  at  Ba- 
den exactly  what  he  was  at  Leipsic,  with 
the  same  German  twang,  the  same  broad 
shoulders  and  sonorous  voice,  reminding 
one  of  a  town-crier,  and  in  appearance 
more  like  a  butcher  than  a  divine.     He 

*  Ich  bin  in  6  Wochen  nie  in  das  Beth  Kom- 
men. — (Plater's  Leben.  p.  263.) 

t  Sie  verstunden  sich  bas  auf  Kuh  malken. — 
(Ibid.) 

t  Mit  Syden,  Damast  und  Sammet  bekleydet 
—(Bull.  Chr.  i.  p.  351.) 

§  Verbruchten  vil  wyn. — (Ibid.) 


THE  SWISS— 1522— 1527. 


541 


was  vehement  in  disputing-,  according  to 
his  usual  custom  ;  trying  to  wound  his 
opponents  by  insulting  language,  and 
even  now  and  then  breaking  out  in  an 
oath.*  The  president  never  called  him 
to  order — 

Eck  stamps  his  feet,  and  claps  his  hands, 
He  raves,  he  swears,  lie  scojds  ; 

"  I  do,"  cries  he,  "  what  Rome  commands, 
And  teach  whate'er  she  holds„"t 

(Ecolampadius,  on  the  contrary,  with 
his  serene  countenance, x  his  noble  and 
patriarchal  ai  r,  spoke  with  so  much  mild- 
ness, but  at  the  same  time  with  so  much 
ability  and  courage,  that  even  his  antag- 
onists, affected  and  impressed,  whispered 
to  one  another,  "  Oh  that  the  tall  sallow 
man  were  on  our  side. "J  Sometimes,  in- 
,  deed,  he  was  moved  at  beholding  the  ha- 
tred and  violence  of  his  auditors  :  "  Oh," 
said  he,  "  with  what  impatience  do  they 
listen  to  me  ;  but  God  will  not  forego 
His  glory,  and  it  is  that  only  that  we 
seek."§ 

(E colampadius  having  combated  Eck's 
first  thesis,  which  turned  on  the  real  pres- 
ence, Haller,  who  had  reached  Baden 
after  the  commencement  of  the  discussion, 
entered  the  lists  against  the  second.  Lit- 
tle used  to  such  discussions,  constitution- 
ally timid,  fettered  by  the  instructions  of 
his  government,  and  embarrassed  by  the 
presence  of  its  chief  magistrate,  Gaspard 
Mullinen,  a  bitter  enemy  of  the  Refor- 
mation, Haller  had  none  of  the  confident 
bearing  of  his  antagonist ;  but  he  had 
more  real  strength.  When  Haller  had 
concluded,  (Ecolampadius  again  entered 
the  lists,  and  pressed  Eck  so  closely,  that 
the  latter  was  compelled  to  fall  back  upon 
the  custom  of  the  church.  "  In  our 
Switzerland,"  answered  (Ecolampadius, 
"  custom  is  of  no  force  unless  it  be  accord- 
ing to  the  constitution  ;  now,  in  ail  mat- 
ters of  faith,  the  Bible  is  our  constitution." 

The  third  thesis,  regarding  invocation 
of  saints  ;  the  fourth,  on  images;  the  fifth, 
on  purgatory,  were  successively  discussed. 

*  So  entwuscht  imm  ettwan  ein  Schiir. — 
(Bull.  Chr.  i.  p.  381.) 

t       Egg  zablet  mit  fussen  mid  henden 
Fing  an  schelken  und  schenden,  etc. 
(Contemporaneous  Poems  of  Nicholas  Manuel  of 
Berne.) 

t  O  were  der  lange  gal  man  uff  unser  syten. 
—(Bull.  Chr.  i.  p.  353.) 

§  Domino  suam  gloriam,  quam  salvam  cupi- 
mus  ne  utiquam  desestuor. — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  511.) 


No  one  came  forward  to  dispute  the  two 
last  theses,  which  bore  reference  to  orig- 
inal sin  and  baptism. 

Zwingle  took  an  important  part  in 
the  whole  of  the  discussion.  The  Cath- 
olic parly  had  appointed  four  secretaries, 
and  prohibited  all  other  persons  from  ta- 
king notes  on  pain  of  death.*  Never- 
theless, a  student  from  the  Valais,  named 
Jerome  Walsch,  gifted  with  a  retentive 
memory,  carefully  impressed  upon  his 
mind  all  that  he  heard,  and  upon  leav- 
ing the  assembly  privately  committed  his 
recollections  to  writing.  Thomas  Plater, 
and  Zimmermann  of  Winterthur,  carried 
these  notes  to  Zwingle  every  day,  as  also 
letters  from  (Ecolampadius,  and  brought 
back  the  Reformer's  answers.  The  gates 
of  Baden  were  guarded  by  halberdiers, 
and  it  was  only  by  inventing  different 
excuses  that  the  two  messengers  could 
evade  the  questions  of  the  soldiers,  who 
were  at  a  loss  to  comprehend  why  these, 
youths  so  frequently  entered  and  quitted 
the  city.-f-  Thus  Zwingle,  though  ab- 
sent from  Baden  in  bodily  presence,  was 
with  them  in  spirit. 

He  advised  and  strengthened  his 
friends,  and  refuted  his  adversaries. 
"  Zwingle,"  says  Oswald  Myconius, 
"has  laboured  more  in  meditating  upon 
and  watching  the  contest,  and  transmit- 
ting his  advice  to  Baden,  than  he  could 
have  done  by  disputing  in  person  in  the 
midst  of  his  enemies."  J 

During  the  whole  time  of  the  confer- 
ence the  Roman  Catholics  were  in  a  fer- 
ment, publishing  abroad  the  report  of 
advantages  gained  by  them.  "  (Ecolam- 
padius," cried  they,  "  vanquished  by  Eck, 
lies  prostrate  on  the  field,  and  sues  for 
quarter  ;§  the   Pope's  authority  will  be 

*  Man  sollte  einem  ohne  aller  weiter  Urtheil- 
en,  den  Kopf  abhauen. — (Thorn.  Platerl.  Leben8 
Beschreib.  p.  262.) 

t  When  I  was  asked,  "What  are  you  going 
to  do?"  I  replied,"!  am  carrying  chickens  to- 
sell  to  the  gentlemen  who  are  come  to  the  baths :" 
— the  chickens  were  given  me  at  Zurich,  and 
the  guards  could  not  understand  how  it  was 
lhat  I  always  got  them  so  fresh,  and  in  so  short 
a  time. — (Plater's  Autobiography.) 

t  Quam  laborasset  disputando  vel  inter  medios 
hostes. — (Osw.  Myc.  Vit.  Zw.)  See  the  various 
writings  composed  by  Zwingle  relative  to  the 
Baden  conference. — (Opp.  ii.  p.  398,  520.) 

§  (Ecolampadius  victus  jacet  in  arena  prostra- 
tus  ab  Eccio,  herbam  porrexit. — (Zw.  Epp.  p. 
514.) 


542 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


every  where  restored."*  These  state 
merits  were  industriously  circulated 
throughout  the  cantons,  and  the  many, 
prompt  to  believe  every  rumour,  gave 
credit  to  these  vauntings  of  the  partisans 
of  Rome. 

The  discussion  being  concluded,  the 
monk  Murner  of  Lucerne,  nicknamed 
the  atom-cat,;'  came  forward  and  read 
forty  articles  of  accusation  against  Zwin- 
gle.  "I  thought,"  said  he,  "that  the 
dastard  would  appear  and  answer  for 
himself,  but  he  has  not  done  so  :  I  am 
therefore  justified  by  every  law,  both  hu- 
man and  divine,  in  declaring  forty  times 
over,  that  the  tyrant  of  Zurich  and  all 
his  partisans  are  rebels,  liars,  perjured 
persons,  adulterers,  infidels,  thieves,  rob- 
bers of  temples,  fit  only  for  the  gallows  ; 
and  that  any  honest  man  must  disgrace 
himself  if  he  hold  any  intercourse  with 
them,  of  what  kind  soever."  Such  was 
the  opprobrious  language  which,  at  that 
time,  was  honoured  with  the  name  of 
"  Christian  con  troversy,"  by  divines  whom 
the  Church  of  Rome  herself  might  well 
blush  to  acknowledge. 

Great  agitation  prevailed  at  Baden  ; 
the  general  feeling  was  that  the  Reform- 
ers were  overcome  not  by  force  of  argu- 
ments,- but  by  power  of  lungs,  f  Only 
CEcolampadius  and  ten  of  his  friends 
signed  a  protest  against  the  theses  of 
Eck,  whilst  they  were  adopted  by  no 
less  than  eighty  persons,  including  those 
who  had  presided  at  the  discussion,  and 
all  the  monks  of  Wittengen.  Haller 
had  left  Baden  before  the  termination  of 
the  conference. 

The  majority  of  the  Diet  then  decreed, 
that  as  Zwingle,  the  leader  in  these  per 
nicious  doctrines,  refused  to  appear,  and 
as  the  ministers  who  had  come  to  Baden 
hardened  themselves  against  conviction, 
both  the  one  and  the  others  were  in  con- 
sequence cast  out  from  the  bosom  of  the 
church.  J 

But  this  celebrated  contest,  which  had 
originated  in  the  zeal  of  the  oligarchs 
and  the  clergy,  was  yet  in  its  effects  to 
be  fatal  to  both.     Those  who  had  con- 

*  Spem  concipiunt  lastam  fore  ut  regnum  ip- 
sorum  restituatur. — (Ibid.  p.  513.) 

t  Die  Evangelische  weren  wol  uberschryen, 
uicht  aber  vberdisputiert  worden. — (Hotting. 
Helv.  K.  Gesch.  iii.  p.  320.) 

X  Von  gemeiner  Kyrchen  ussgestossen. — (Bull. 
Chr.  p.  355.) 


tended  for  the  Gospel,  returning  to  their 
homes,  infused  into  their  fellow-citizens 
an  enthusiasm  for  the  cause  they  had 
defended ;  and  Berne  and  Basle,  two  of 
the  most  influential  cantons  of  the  Hel- 
vetic confederation,  began  thenceforth  to 
fall  away  from  the  ranks  of  the  Papacy. 

It  was  to  be  expected  that  CEcolampa- 
dius would  be  the  first  to  suffer,  the  ra- 
ther as  he  was  not  a  native  of  Switzer- 
land ;  and  it  was  not  without  some  fear 
that  he  returned  to  Basle.  But  his  alarm 
was  quickly  dissipated.  His  gentle 
words  had  sunk  deeply  into  those  un- 
prejudiced minds  which  had  been  closed 
against  the  vociferations  of  Eck  ;  and  he 
was  received  with  acclamations  by  all 
men  of  piety.  His  adversaries,  it  is  true, 
used  all  their  efforts  to  exclude  him  from 
the  pulpit,  but  in  vain  :  he  taught  and 
preached  with  greater  energy  than  be- 
fore, and  never  had  the  people  manifest- 
ed a  more  ardent  thirst  for  the  word  of 
the  Lord.* 

The  course  of  events  at  Berne  was  of 
a  similar  character.  The  conference  at 
Baden,  which  it  had  been  hoped  would 
stifle  the  Reformation,  gave  to  it  a  new 
impulse  in  this  the  most  powerful  of  the 
Swiss  cantons.  No  sooner  had  Haller 
arrived  in  the  capital,  than  the  inferior 
Council  summoned  him  before  them,  and 
commanded  him  to  celebrate  mass.  Hal- 
ler asked  leave  to  answer  before  the 
Grand  Council ;  and  the  people  came 
together,  thinking  it  behoved  them  to 
defend  their  pastor.  Haller,  in  alarm, 
declared  that  he  would  rather  quit  the 
city  than  be  the  innocent  occasion  of  dis- 
orders. Upon  this,  tranquillity  being  re- 
stored, "  If,"  said  the  Reformer,  "  1  am 
required  to  perform  mass  I  must  resign 
my  office :  the  honour  of  God  and  the 
truth  of  His  holy  Word  lie  nearer  to  my 
heart  than  any  care  what '  I  shall  eat,  or 
wherewithal  I  shall  be  clothed.'  "  Hal- 
ler uttered  these  words  with  much  emo- 
tion ;  the  members  of  the  Council  were 
affected ;  even  some  of  his  opponents 
were  moved  to  tears,  f  Once  more  was 
moderation  found  to  be  strength.  To 
meet  in  some  measure  the  requirements 
of  Rome,  Haller  was  removed  from  his 
office  of  canon,  but  appointed  preacher. 

*  Plebe  Verbi    Domini  admodum  sitiente. — 
(Zw.  Epp.  p.  518.) 
t  Tillier,  Gesch.  v.  Bern.  iii.  p.  242. 


THE  SWISS.— 1522— 1527. 


543 


His  most  violent  enemies,  Lewis  and 
Anthony  von  Diesbach  and  Anthony 
von  Erlach,  indignant  at  this  decision, 
immediately  withdrew  from  the  Council 
and  the  city,  and  threw  up  their  rank  as 
citizens.  "  Berne  stumbled,"  said  Hal- 
ler,  "  but  she  has  risen  up  in  greater 
strength  than  ever."  This  firmness  of 
the  Bernese  mado  a  powerful  impression 
in  Switzerland.* 

But  the  effects  of  the  conference  of 
Baden  were  not  confined  to  Berne  and 
Basle.  While  these  events  were  occur- 
ring in  those  powerful  cities,  a  move- 
ment more  or  less  of  the  same  character 
was  in  progress  in  several  other  states  of 
the  Confederation.  The  preachers  of 
St.  Gall,  on  their  return  from  Baden, 
proclaimed  the  Gospel,  f  At  the  conclu- 
sion of  a  public  meeting,  the  images 
were  removed  from  the  parish  church  of 
St.  Lawrence,  and  the  inhabitants  parted 
with  their  costly  dresses,  jewels,  rings, 
and  gold  chains,  that  they  might  employ 
the  money  in  works  of  charity.  The 
Reformation  did,  it  is  true,  strip  men  of 
their  possessions,  but  it  was  in  order  that 
the  poor  might  be  clothed  ;  and  the  only 
worldly  goods  it  claimed  the  surrender 
of  were  those  of  the  Reformed  them- 
selves. | 

At  Mulhausen  the  preaching  was  con- 
tinued with  unwearied  boldness.  Thur- 
govia  and  the  Rhenish  provinces  daily 
drew  nearer  to  the  doctrine  held  in  Zu- 
rich. Immediately  after  the  conference, 
Zurzach  abolished  the  use  of  images  in 
its  churches,  and  almost  the  whole  dis- 
trict of  Baden  received  the  Gospel. 

Nothing  can  show  more  clearly  than 
such  facts  as  these  which  party  had  re- 
ally triumphed.  Hence  we  find  Zwin- 
gle,  contemplating  what  was  passing 
around  him,  giving  thanks  to  God: — 
"  Manifold  are  their  attacks,"  said  he, 
"  but  the  Lord  is  above  all  their  threat- 
enings  and  all  their  violence ; — a  won- 
derful unanimity  in  behalf  of  the  Gos- 
pel prevails  in  the  city  and  canton  of 
Zurich — we   shall  overcome  all  things 

*  Profuit  hie  nobis  Bernates  tarn  dextre  in 
servando  Berchtoldo  suo  egisse. — (Ecol.  ad.  Zw. 
Epp.  p.  518.) 

t  San  Gallenses  officiis  suis  restitutos. — (Zw. 
Epp.  p.  518.) 

t  Kostbare  Kleider,  Kleinodien,  Ring,  Ketten, 
etc.  freywillig  verkauft. — (Hott.  iii.  p.  338.) 


by  the  prayer  of  faith."*  Shortly  af- 
terwards, writing  ifi  Haller,  he  expressed 
himself  thus  :  "  Every  thing  here  below 
follows  its  appointed  course  : — after  the 
rude  northern  blast  comes  the  gentle 
breeze.  The  scorching  heat  of  summer 
is  succeeded  by  the  treasures  of  autumn. 
And  now  after  stern  contests,  the  Creator 
of  all  things,  whom  we  serve,  has  opened 
for  us  a  passage  into  the  enemy's  camp. 
We  are  at  last  permitted  to  receive 
among  us  the  Christian  doctrine,  that 
dove  so  long  denied  entrance,  but  which 
has  never  ceased  to  watch  for  the  hour 
when  she  might  return.  Be  thou  the 
Noah  to  receive  and  shelter  her." 

This  same  year  Zurich  made  an  im- 
portant acquisition.  Conrad  Pellican, 
superior  of  the  Franciscan  convent  at 
Basle,  professor  of  theology  when  only 
twenty-four  years  of  age,  had,  through 
the  interest  of  Zwingle,  been  chosen  to 
fill  the  office  of  Hebrew  professor  at 
Zurich.  On  his  arrival  he  said,  "  I  have 
long  since  renounced  the  Pope,  and  de- 
sired to  live  to  Christ."!  Pellican's  crit- 
ical talents  rendered  him  one  of  the 
most  useful  labourers  in  the  great  work 
of  the  Reformation. 

Early  in  1527,  Zurich,  still  excluded 
from  the  Diet  by  the  Romish  cantons, 
and  wishing  to  take  advantage  of  the 
more  favourable  disposition  manifested 
by  some  of  the  confederates,  convened 
an  assembly  within  her  own  walls.  It 
was  attended  by  deputies  from  Berne, 
Basle,  Schaffhausen,  Appenzell  and 
Saint  Gall.  "  We  require,"  said  the 
deputies  of  Zurich,  "»that  God's  word, 
which  alone  leads  us  to  Christ  crucified, 
be  the  one  thing  preached,  taught,  and 
exalted.  We  renounce  all  doctrines  of 
men,  whatever  may  have  been  the  cus- 
tom of  our  forefathers  ;  being  well  as- 
sured that  if  they  had  been  visited  by 
this  divine  light  of  the  Word,  which  we 
enjoy,  they  would  have  embraced  it  with 
more  reverence  than  we,  their  unworthy 
descendants."!  The  deputies  present 
promised  to  take  into  consideration  the 

*  Fideli  enim  oratione  omnia  superabimus. — 
(Zw.  Epp.  p.  519.) 

t  Jamdudum  papse  renuntiavi  et  Christo  vivere 
conenpivi. — (Ibid.  p.  455.) 

t  Mit  hoherem  Werth  und  mehr  Dankbarkeit 
daim  wir  angenommen. — (Zurich  Archiv.  Absch. 
Sonntag  nach  Lichtmesse.) 


544 


HISTORY  OF  THE  "REFORMATION. 


representations  made  by  their  brethren 
of  Zurich 

Thus  the  breach  in  the  walls  of  Rome 
was  every  day  widened.  The  Baden 
conference  it  was  hoped  would  have  re- 
paired it ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  from  that 
time  forward  the  cantons  that  had  hith- 
erto been  only  doubtful  appeared  willing 
to  make  common  cause  with  Zurich. 
The  Reformation  was  already  spreading 
among  the  inhabitants  of  the  plain,  and 
beginning  to  ascend  the  sides  of  the 
mountains; — and  the  more  ancient  can- 
tons, which  had  been  as  the  cradle  and 
are  still  the  citadel  of  Switzerland — 
seemed  in  their  alpine  inclosures  alone 
to  adhere  faithfully  to  the  religion  of 
their  fathers.  These  mountaineers,  con- 
stantly exposed  to  violent  storms,  avalan- 
ches, and  overflowing  torrents,  are  all 
their  lives  obliged  to  struggle  against 
these  formidable  enemies,  and  to  sacri- 
fice every  thing  for  the  preservation  of 
the  pastures  where  their  flocks  graze,  and 
the  roofs  which  shelter  them  from  the 
tempest,  and  which  at  any  moment  may 
be  swept  away  by  an  inundation.  Hence 
a  conservative  principle  is  strikingly  de- 
veloped among  them,  and  has  been 
transmitted  from  generation  to  generation. 
With  these  children  of  the  mountains, 
wisdom  consists  in  preserving  what  they 
have  inherited  from  their  fathers. 

At  the  period  we  are  recording  these 
rude  Helvetians  struggled  against  the 
Reformation  that  came  to  change  their 
faith  and  worship,  as  at  this  very  hour 
they  contend  against  the  roaring  waters 
which  tumble  from  their  snow-clad  hills, 
or  against  those  modern  notions  and  pol- 
itics which  have  established  themselves 
in  the  adjoining  cantons.  They  will 
probably  be  the  very  last  to  lay  down 
their  arms  before  that  twofold  power 
which  has  already  planted  its  standard  on 
the  adjacent  hills,  and  is  steadily  gaining 
ground  upon  these  conservative  commu- 
nities. 

Accordingly,  these  cantons,  yet  more 
irritated  against  Berne  than  against  Zu, 
rich,  and  trembling  lest  that  powerful 
state  should  desert  their  interests,  assem- 
bled their  deputies  in  Berne  itself,  eight 
days  after  the  conference  at  Zurich. 
They  called  on  the  Council  to  deprive 
the  innovating  teachers  of  their  office,  to 
proscribe  their  doctrines,  and  to  maintain 


the  ancient  and  true  Christian  faith,  as 
confirmed  by  past  ages  and  sealed  by  the 
blood  of  martyrs.  "  Convene  all  the 
bailiwicks  of  the  canton,"  added  they, 
"  if  you  refuse  to  do  this,  we  will  take  it 
upon  ourselves."  The  Bernese  were 
irritated,  and  replied,  "We  require  no 
assistance  in  the  directing  of  those  who 
hold  authority  under  us." 

This  answer  only  inflamed  the  anger 
of  the  Forest  Cantons ;  and  those  very 
cantons,  which  had  been  the  cradle  of 
the  political  liberty  of  Switzerland,  af- 
frighted at  the  progress  of  religious  liber- 
ty, began  to  seek  even  foreign  alliances' 
in  order  to  destroy  it.  In  opposing  the 
enemies  of  the  capitulations  it  seemed  to 
them  reasonable  to  seek  the  aid  of  capitu- 
lations ;  and  if  the  oligarchs  of  Switzer- 
land were  not  sufficiently  powerful,  it  was 
natural  to  have  recourse  to  the  princes 
their  allies.  Austria,  who  had  found  it 
impossible  to  maintain  her  own  authority 
in  the  Confederation,  was  ready  to  inter- 
fere to  strengthen  the  power  of  Rome. 
Berne  learnt  with  terror  that  Ferdinand, 
brother  of  Charles  V.,  was  preparing  to 
march  against  Zurich,  and  all  those  who 
look  part  with  the  Reformation.* 

Circumstances  were  becoming  more 
trying.  A  succession  of  events,  more  or 
less  adverse,  such  as  the  excesses  of  the 
Anabaptists,  the  disputes  with  Luther 
concerning  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  other 
causes,  seemed  to  have  compromised  the 
prospects  of  the  Reformation  in  Switzer- 
land. The  conference  at  Baden  had  dis- 
appointed the  hopes  of  the  Papists,  and 
the  sword  which  they  had  brandished 
against  their  opponents  had  been  shiver- 
ed in  their  hands ;  but  their  animosity 
and  rage  did  but  increase,  and  they  be- 
gan to  prepare  for  a  fresh  effort.  The 
Imperial  power  was  in  motion  ;  and  the 
Austrian  bands,  which  had  been  com- 
pelled to  shameful  flight  from  the  defiles 
of  Morgarten  and  the  heights  of  Sem- 
pach,  stood  ready  to  enter  Switzerland 
with  flying  banners,  to  confirm  the  tot- 
tering authority  of  Rome.  The  moment 
was  critical :  it  was  no  longer  possible  to 
halt  between  two  opinions ; — to  be  ''  nei- 
ther clear  nor  muddy."  Berne  and  other 
cantons  which  had  so  long  hesitated  were 
reduced  to  the  necessity  of  decision,  either 

*  Berne  a  Zurich,  le  lundi  apres  Misericorde. 
— (Kirchoff,  B.  Haller.  p.  85.) 


THE  FRENCH.— 150O— 152S. 


545 


to  return  without  loss  of  time  to  the  Pa- 
pal ranks,  or  to  take  their  stand  with 
boldness  on  the  side  of  Christ. 

Just  then  William  Farel,  a  French- 
man from  the  mountains  of  Dauphiny, 
communicated  a  powerful  impulse  to 
Switzerland, — decided  the  reformation  of 
the  western  cantons,  hitherto  sunk  in  a 
profound  slumber,  and  so  caused  the  bal- 
ance to  incline  in  favour  of  the  new  doc- 
trines throughout  the  Confederation.  Fa- 
rel's  coming  resembled  the  arrival  of 
those  fresh   troops,  who,  just  when  the 


battle  hangs  doubtfully,  appear  upon  the 
field,  throw  themselves  into  the  thick  of 
the  fight  and  decide  the  victory.  He  led 
the  way  in  Switzerland  for  another 
Frenchman,  whose  austere  faith  and 
commanding  genius  were  ordained  to 
terminate  the  Reformation,  and  render 
the  work  complete.  In  the  persons  of 
these  distinguished  men  France  took  her 
part  in  that  vast  commotion  which  agi- 
tated Christendom.  It  is  therefore  time 
that  we  should  turn  our  attention  to 
France. 


BOOK    III. 


THE  FRENCH— 1500— 1526. 


The  Reformation  in  France — Persecution  of  the  Vaudois— Birthplace  of  Farel — La  Saint  Croix — 
The  Priest's  Wizard— Farel's  Superstitious  Faith — The  Chevalier  Bayard — Louis  XII. — The 
Two  Valois — Lefevre — His  Devotion — Farel's  Reverence  for  the  Pope — Farel  and  the  Bible — 
Gleams  of  Light — Lefevre  turns  to  St.  Paul — Lefevre  on  Works — University  Amusements — 
Faith  and  Works — Paradoxical  Truth — Farel  and  the  Saints— Allman  Refutes  Dovio — Pierre 
Olivetan — Happy  Change  in  Farel — Independence  and  Priority — Of  the  Reformation  in  France 
— Francis  of  Angouleme — Two  Classes  of  Combatants — Margaret  of  Valois — Talents  of  the 
Queen  of  Navarre — The  Bishop  and  the  Bible — Francis  Encourages  Learning — Margaret  Em- 
braces the  Gospel — Poetical  Effusions — Of  the  Duchess  of  Atencon — Margaret's  Danger — Vio- 
lence of  Beda — Louis  Berquin — Opposition  to  the  Gospel — The  Concordat — The  Concordat  Re- 
sisted— Fanaticism  and  Timidity — The  Three  Maries— Beda  and  the  University — The  King 
and  the  Sorbonne — Briconnet  in  His  Diocese — The  Bishop  and  the  Curates — Martial  Mazurier 
— Margaret's  Sorrows— Strength  Under  Trial — Death  of  Philibert  of  Nemours — Alone,  Not 
Lonely — The  Wandering  Sheep — Briconnet's  Hope  and  Prayer — Sufficiency  of  the  Scriptures 
— Lefevre's  French  Bible — The  People  "  Turned  Aside" — Church  of  Landouzy — The  Gospel 
and  the  French  Court — Margaret's  Lamentations — Briconnet  Preaches  Against  the  Monks — 
Two  Despotisms — Briconnet  Draws  Back — Leclerc  the  Wool-Comber — Leclerc's  Zeal  and  Suf- 
ferings— A  Mother's  Faith  and  Love — Secret  Meetings  for  Worship — Berquin  Imprisoned  by  the 
Parliament — Charges  Against  Berquin — Liberated  by  the  King — Pavanne's  Recantation"  and 
Remorse — Zeal  of  Leclerc  and  Chatelain — Peter  Toussainl — Leclerc  Breaks  the  Images — Up- 
roar among  the  People — Martyrdom  of  Leclerc  and  Chatelain — The  Gospel  Expelled  from  Gap 
— Anemond's  Zeal — Farel  Preaches  to  His  Countrymen — Pierre  De  Sebville — Anemond  Visits 
Luther — Luther's  Letter  to  the  Duke  of  Savoy — Farel's  Arrival  in  Switzerland — fficolampadius 
and  Farel — Cowardice  of  Erasmus — French  Frankness — "  Balaam" — Farel's  Propositions — 
Faith  and  Scripture — The  Reformation  Defended — Visits  Strasburg — Ordination  of  Farel — 
Apostolical  Succession — Farel  at  Montbeliard — The  Gospel  at  Lyons — Anthony  Papillon — 
Sebville  Persecuted — Secret  Meetings  at  Grenoble — Effects  of  the  Battle  of  Pavia — Trial  and 
Arrest  of  Maigret — Evangelical  Association — Need  of  Unity — Christian  Patriotism — Influence 
of  Tracts — The.  New  Testament  in  French — Bible  and  Tract  Societies — Farel  at  Montbeliard 
— Oil  and  Wine — Toussaint's  Trials — Farel  and  Anemond — The  Image  of  Saint  Anthony — 
Death  of  Anemond — Defeat  and  Captivity  of  Francis  I. — Consternation  of  the  French — Oppo- 
sers  of  the  Faith — The  Queen-Mother  and  the  Sorbonne — Cry  for  '•  Heretical"  Blood — Parlia- 
ment Establishes  the  Inquisition — Charges  Against  Briconnet — Cited  Before  the  Inquisition — 
Dismay  of  the  Bishop — Refused  a  Trial  by  His  Peers — Briconnet's  Temptation  and  Fall — Re- 
tractation of  Brigonnet — Compared  with  Lefevre — Beda  Attacks  Lefevre — Lefevre  at  Strasburg 
— Meets  Farel — Berquin  Imprisoned — Erasmus  Attacked  by  the  Monks  and  the  Sorbonne — 
Appeals  to  the  Parliament  and  the  King — More  Victims  in  Lorraine — Bonaventure  Reunel — 

69 


546 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


Courage  of  Pastor  Schuch — Martyrdom  of  Schuch — Peter  Caroli  and  Beda — The  Martyrdom 
of  James  Pavanne — The  Hermit  of  Livry — Seized  and  Condemned — Resources  of  Providence 
John  Calvin — The  Family  of  Mommor — Calvin's  Parentage — Calvin's  Childhood — His  De- 
votion to  Study — Infant  Ecclesiastics — Calvin  Proceeds  to  Paris — Reformation  of  Language — 
Protestant  France — System  of  Terror — The  "  Babylonish  Captivity" — Toussaint  Goes  to  Paris 
— Toussaint  in  Prison — "  Not  accepting  Deliverance" — Spread  of  Persecution — Project  of  Mar- 
garet— For  the  Deliverance  of  Francis — Margaret's  Resolution — She  Sails  for  Spain. 


One  essential  character  of  Christianity, 
is  its  Universality.  Very  different  in 
this  respect  are  the  religions  of  particular 
countries  that  men  have  invented.  Adapt- 
ing themselves  to  this  or  that  nation,  and 
the  point  of  progress  which  it  has  reached, 
they  hold  it  fixed  and  motionless  at  that 
point — or  if  from  any  extraordinary  cause 
the  people  are  carried  forward,  their  re- 
ligion is  left  behind,  and  so  becomes  use- 
less to  them. 

There  has  been  a  religion  of  Egypt — 
of  Greece — of  Rome,  and  even  of  Judea. 
Christianity  is  the  only  religion  of  Man- 
kind. 

It  has  for  its  origin  in  man — Sin  ;  and 
this  is  a  character  that  appertains  not 
merely  to  one  race,  but  which  is  the  in- 
heritance of  all  mankind.  Hence,  as 
meeting-  the  hip-hest  necessities  of  our 
common  nature,  the  Gospel  is  received 
as  from  God,  at  once  by  the  most  barbar- 
ous nations,  and  the  most  civilized  com- 
munities. Without  deifying  national 
peculiarities,  like  the  religions  of  anti- 
quity, it  nevertheless  does  not  destroy 
them,  as  modern  cosmopolism  aims  to 
do.  It  does  better,  for  it  sanctifies,  en- 
nobles, and  raises  them  to  a  holy  one- 
ness, by  the  new  and  living  principle  it 
communicates  to  them. 

The  introduction  of  the  Christian  reli- 
gion into  the  world  has  produced  an  in- 
calculable change  in  history.  There  had 
previously  been  only  a  history  of  nations, 
— there  is  now  a  -history  of  mankind  : 
and  the  idea  of  an' education  of  human 
nature  as  a  whole, — an  education,  the 
work  of  Jesus  Christ  himself, — is  become 
like  a  compass  for  the  historian,  the  key 
of  history,  and  the  hope  of  nations. 

But  the  effects  of  the  Christian  religion 
are  seen  not  merely  among  all  nations, 
but  in  all  the  successive  periods  of  their 
progress. 

When  it  first  appeared,  the  world  re- 
sembled a  torch  about  to  expire  in  dark- 
ness, and  Christianity  called  forth  anew 
a  heavenly  flame. 

In  a  later  age,  the  barbarian  nations 


had  rushed  upon  the  Roman  territories, 
carrying  havoc  and  confusion  wherever 
they  came  ;  and  Christianity,  holding  up 
the  cross  against  the  desolating  torrent, 
had  subdued,  by  its  influence,  the  half- 
savage  children  of  the  north,  and  mould- 
ed society  anew. 

Yet  an  element  of  corruption  lay  hid- 
den in  the  religion  carried  by  devoted 
missionaries  among  these  rude  popula- 
tions. Tbeir  faith  had  come  to  them  al- 
most as  much  from  Rome  as  from  the 
Bible.  Ere  long  that  element  expanded; 
man  every  where  usurped  the  place  of 
God, — the  distinguishing  character  of  the 
church  of  Rome  ;  and  a  revival  of  reli- 
gion became  necessary.  This  Chris- 
tianity gave  to  man  in  the  age  of  which 
we  are  treating. 

The  progress  of  the  Reformation  in 
the  countries  we  have  hitherto  surveyed 
has  shown  us  the  new  teaching  rejecting 
the  excesses  of  the  Anabaptists,  and  the 
newly  arisen  prophets  :  but  it  is  the  shal- 
lows of  Incredulity  which  it  especially 
encountered  in  the  country  to  which  Ave 
are  now  to  turn  our  attention.  Nowhere 
had  bolder  protests  been  heard  against 
the  superstitions  and.  abuses  of  the 
Church.  Nowhere  had  there  been  a 
more  striking  exhibition  of  that  love  of 
learning,  apart  from,  or  independent  of, 
Christianity,  which  often  leads  to  irre- 
ligion.  France  bore  within  it  at  once 
two  reformations-, — the  one  of  man,  the 
other  of  God.  "  Two  nations  were  in 
her  womb,  and  two  manner  of  people 
were  to  be  separated  from  her  bowels."* 

In  France  not  only  had  the  Reforma- 
tion to  combat  incredulity  as  well  as  su- 
perstition, it  found  a  third .  antagonii-.,. 
which  it  had  not  encountered,  at  least  in 
so  much  strength,  among  the  Germanic 
population,  and  this  was  immorality. 
Profligacy  in  the  church  was  great.  De- 
bauchery sat  upon  the  throne  of  Francis 
the  First  and  Catherine  de  Medicis ;  and 
the  rigid  virtues  of  the  Reformers  pro- 

*  Gen.  xxv.  23. 


THE  FRENCH.— 1500— 1526. 


547 


voked  the  anger  of  the  Sardanapaluses.* 
Wherever  it  came,  doubtless, — but  espe- 
cially in  France — the  Reformation  was 
necessarily  not  only  dogmatic  and  eccle- 
siastical, but,  moreover,  moral. 

These  violent  opposing  influences, 
which  the  Reformation  encountered  at 
one  and  the  same  moment  among  the 
French  people,  gave  to  it  a  character  al- 
together peculiar.  Nowhere  did  it  so 
often  have  its  dwelling  in  dungeons,  or 
bear  so  marked  a  resemblance  to  the 
Christianity  of  the  first  ages  in  faith  and 
love,  and  in  the  number  of  its  martyrs. 
If  in  those  countries  of  which  we  have 
heretofore  spoken  the  Reformation  was 
more  illustrated  by  its  triumphs,  in  those 
we  are  about  to  speak  of  it  was  more  glo- 
rious in  its  reverses  !  If  elsewhere  it  might 
point  to  more  thrones  and  council  cham- 
bers, here  it  could  appeal  to  more  scaf- 
folds and  hill-side  meetings.  Whoever 
knows  in  what  consists  the  real  glory  of 
Christianity  upon  earth,  and  the  features 
that  assimilate  to  its  Author,  will  study 
with  a  deep  feeling  of  veneration  and  af- 
fection the  history,  often  marked  with 
blood,  which  we  are  now  to  recount. 

Of  those  who  have  afterwards  shone  on 
the  stage  of  life,  the  greater  number  have 
been  born  and  have  grown  up  in  the 
provinces.  Paris  is  like  a  tree  which 
spreads  out  to  view  its  flowers  and  its 
fruit,  but  of  which  the  roots  draw  from 
a  distance  and  from  hidden  depths  of 
the  soil  the  nutritive  juices  which  they 
transform.  The  Reformation  followed 
this  law. 

The  Alps,  which  had  witnessed  the 
rise  of  fearless  Christian  men  in  every 
canton,  and  almost  in  every  valley  of 
Switzerland,  were  destined  in  France 
also  to  shelter,  with  their  lengthened 
shadows,  the  infancy  of  some  of  the  ear- 
liest Reformers.  For  ages  they  had  pre- 
served their  treasure  more  or  less  pure  in 
their  lofty  valleys,  among  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Piedmontese  districts  of  .Luzerne, 
Angrogne,  and  Peyrouse.  The  truth, 
which  Rome  had  not  been  able  to  wrest 
from  them,  had  spread  from  the  heights 
to  the  hollows  and  base  of  the  mountains 
in  Provence  and  in  Dauphiny. 

The  year  after  the  accession  of  Charles 
VIII.,  the  son  of  Louis  XI.  and  a  youth 

*  Sardanapalus  (Henry  II.)  inter  6Corta. — 
(Calvini  Epp.  M.S.) 


of  feeble  health  and  timid  character — In- 
nocent VIII.  had  been  invested  with  the 
Pontiff's  tiara,  (1484.)  He  had  seven 
or  eight  sons  by  different  women  : — 
hence,  according  to  an  epigram  of  that 
age,  the  Romans  unanimously  gave  him 
the  name  of  Father* 

There  was,  at  this  time,  on  the  south- 
ern declivities  of  the  Alps  of  Dauphiny 
and  along  the  banks  of  the  Durance,  an 
after-growth  of  the  ancient  Vaudois  opin- 
ions. "  The  roots,"  says  an  old  chroni- 
cler, "  were  continually  putting  forth  fresh 
shootsin  all  directions. !'f  Bold  men  were 
heard  to  designate  the  Church  of  Rome 
the  '  church  of  evil  spirits,'  and  to  main- 
tain that  it  was  quite  as  profitable  to  pray 
in  a  stable  as  in  a  church. 

The  clergy,  the  bishops,  and  the  Ro- 
man legates  were  loud  in  their  outcries, 
and  on  the  5th  of  May,  1487,  Innocent 
VIII.  the  '  Father'  of  the  Romans,  issued 
a  bull  against  these  humble  Christians. 
"  To  arms,"  said  the  Pontiff,  "  to  arms ! 
and  trample  those  heretics  under  your 
feet  as  you  would  crush  the  venomous  ser- 
pent."! 

At  the  approach  of  the  Legate,  at  the 
head  of  an  army  of  eighteen  thousand 
men,  and  a  host  of  voluntaries,  drawn  to- 
gether by  the  hope  of  sharing  in  the 
plunder  of  the*  Vaudois,  the  latter  aban- 
doned their  dwellings  and  retired  to  the 
mountains,  caverns,  and  clefts  of  the 
rocks,  as  the  birds  flee  for  shelter  when 
a  storm  is  rising.  '  Not  a  valley,  a  thick- 
et, or  a  rock  escaped  their  persecutor's 
search.  Throughout  the  adjacent  Alps, 
and  especially  on  the  side  of  Italy,  these 
defenceless  disciples  of  Christ  were  track- 
ed like  hunted  deer.  At  last  the  Pope's 
satellites  were  worn  out  with  the  pur- 
suit ;  their  strength  was  exhausted,  their 
feet  could  no  longer  scale  the  inaccessi- 
ble retreats  of  the  ':  heretics,"  and  their 
arms  refused  their  office. 

In  these  Alpine  solitudes,  then  disturb- 
ed by  Romsn  fanaticism,  three  leagues 

*  Octo  nocens  pueros  genuit  totidemque  pu- 
ellas. 
Htmc  merito  poterit  dicere  Roma  Patrem. 

+  In  Ebreduncnsi  archiepiscopatu  veteres  Wa!- 
densium  hiereticorum  fibra  repullularunt. — (Ray- 
nald.     Annates  Ecclesiast.  ad.  ann.  1487.) 

t  Armis  insurgaut,  eosque  veluti  aspides  vene- 
nosos  .  .  .  conculcent. — (Bull  of  Innocent  VIII. 
preserved  at  Cambridge.  Leger  Histoire  des 
Egliaes  Vaudoises,  ii.  p.  8.) 


548 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


from  the  ancient  town  of  Gap,*  in  the  di- 
rection of  Grenoble,  not  far  from  the 
flowery  turf  that  clothes  the  table  land  of 
Bayard's  mountain,  at  the  foot  of  the 
Mont  de  l'Aiguille,  and  near  to  the  Col 
de  Glaize,  toward  the  source  of  the  Buzon, 
stood,  and  stili  stands,  a  group  of  houses, 
half  hidden  by  surrounding  trees,  and 
known  by  the  name  of  Farel,  or,  in  pa- 
tois, Farcau.j  On  an  extended  plain 
above  the  neighbouring  cottages,  stood  a 
house  of  the  class  to  which,  in  France, 
the  appellation  of  "  gentilhommiere"  is  at- 
tached— a  country  gentleman's  habita- 
tion.;}; It  was  surrounded  by  an  orchard, 
which  formed  an  avenue  to  the  village. 
Here,  in  those  troublous  times,  lived  a 
family  bearing  the  name  of  Farel,  of  long- 
established  reputation  for  piety,  and,  as  it 
would  seem,  of  noble  descent. §  In  the 
year  1489,  at  a  time  when  Dauphiny 
was  groaning  under  a  weight  of  papal 
oppression,  exceeding  what  it  had  ever 
before  endured,  a  son  was  born  in  this 
modest  mansion,  who  received  the  name 
of  William.  Three  brothers,  Daniel, 
Walter,  and  Claude,  and  a  sister,  grew 
up  with  William,  and  shared  his  sports 
on  the  banks  of  the  Buzon,  and  at  the 
foot  of  Mount  Bayard. 

His  "infancy  and  boyhood  were  passed 
on  the  same  spot.  His  "parents  were 
among  the  most  submissive  thralls  of 
Popery.  "  My  father  and  mother  believ- 
ed every  thing-,"  j|  he  tells  us  himself;  and 
accordingly  they  brought  up  their  chil- 
dren in  the  strictest  observances  of  Ro- 
mish devotion. 

God  had  endowed  William  Farel  with 

*  Principal  town  of  the  High  Alps. 

t  Revue  du  Dauphine\  July  1837,  p.  35. 

t  Grenoble  to  Gap,  distant  a  quarter  of  an 
hour's  journey  from  the  last  posthouse,  and  a 
stone's  throw  to  the  right  from  the  high  road  is 
the  village  of  the  Farels.  The  site  of  the  house 
which  belonged  to  the  father  of  the  Farel  is  still 
pointed  out.  Though  it  is  now  occupied  by  a 
cottage  only,  its  dimensions  are  sufficient  to  prove 
that  the  original  structure  must  have  been  a  dwel- 
ling of  a  superior  order.  The  present  inhabitant 
of  the  cottage  bears  the  name  of  Farel.  For 
these  particulars  I  am  indebted  to  M.  Blanc,  the 
pastor  of  Mens. 

§  Gulielmum  Farellum  Delphinatem,  nobili  fa- 
milia  ortum. — (Bezre  Icones.)  Calvin,  writing  to 
Cardinal  Sadolet,  dwells  upon  the  disinterested- 
ness of  Farel, — a  man  of  such  noble  birth. — 
(Opuscula,  p.  148.) 

||  Du  vray  usage  de  la  croix,  par  Guillaume 
Farel,  p.  237. 


many  exalted  qualities,  fitted  to  give  him 
an  ascendancy  over  his  fellow-men.  Gift- 
ed at  once  with  a  penetrating  judgment, 
and  a  lively  imagination,  sincere  and  up- 
right in  his  deportment,  characterised  by 
a  loftiness  of  soul  which  never,  under  any 
temptation,  allowed  him  to  dissemble  the 
convictions  of  his  heart ; — he  was  still 
more  remarkable  for  the  earnestness,  the 
ardour,  the  unflinching  courage  which 
bore  him  up  and  carried  him  forward  in 
spite  of  every  hindrance.  But,  at  the 
same  time,  he  had  the  faults  allied  to 
these  noble  qualities,  and  his  parents 
found  frequent  occasion  to  repress  the 
violence  of  his  disposition. 

William  threw  himself  with  his  whole 
soul  into  the  same  superstitious  course 
which  his  credulous  family  had  followed 
before  him.  "  I  am  horror  struck,"  said 
he,  at  a  later  period,  "  when  I  think  on 
the  hours,  the  prayers,  the  divine  honours, 
which  I  have  offered  myself,  and  caused 
others  to  offer,  to  the  cross,  and  such  like 
vanities."* 

Four  leagues  distant  from  Gap/  to 
the  south,  near  Tallard,  on  a  hill  which 
overlooks  the  impetuous  waters  of  the 
Durance,  was  a  place  in  high  repute  at 
that  time,  called  La  Sainte  Croix.  Wil- 
liam was  but  seven  or  eight  years  old 
when  his  parents  thought  fit  to  take  him 
thither  on  a  pilgrimage. f  "  The  cross 
you  will  see  there,"  said  they,  "  is  made 
of  the  wood  of  the  very  cross  on  which 
Jesus  Christ  was  crucified." 

The  family  set  forth  on  their  journey, 
and,  on  reaching  the  object  of  their  ven- 
eration, cast  themselves  prostrate  before 
it.  After  they  had  gazed  awhile  on  the 
holy  wood  of  the  cross,  and  the  copper 
appertaining  to  it, — the  latter,  as  the 
priest  told  them,  "  made  of  the  basin  in 
which  our  Saviour  washed  the  feet  of 
his  disciples," — the  pilgrims  cast  their 
eyes  on  a  little  crucifix  which  was  at- 
tached to  the  cross.  "  When  the  devils 
send  us  hail  and  thunder,"  resumed  the 
priest,  "  this  crucifix  moves  so  violently, 
that  one  would  think  it  wanted  to  get 
loose  from  the  cross  to  put  the  devils  to 
flight,  and  all  the  while  it  keeps  throw* 

*  Du  vray  usage  de  la  croix,  par  Guillaume 
Farel,  p.  232. 

t  J'estoye  fort  petit  et  a  peine  je  savoye  lire. — 
(Ibid.  p.  237.)  Le  premier  pelerinage  auquel 
i'ai  este  a  este  a  la  saincte  croix. — (Ibid,  p  233.) 


THE  FRENCH— 1500— 1526. 


549 


ing  out  sparks  of  fire  against  the  storm  ; 
were  it  not  for  this,  the  whole  country 
would  be  swept  bare."* 

These  pious  pilgrims  were  greatly  af- 
fected at  the  recital  of  such  prodigies. 
"  Nobody,"  continued  the  priest,  "  sees  or 
knows  any  thing  of  these  things  except 
myself  and  this  man  here  .  .  .  ."  The 
pilgrims  turned  their  heads,  and  saw  a 
strange  looking  man  standing  beside 
them.  "  It  would  have  frightened  you 
to  look  at  him,"  says  Farel :  "  the  pupils 
of  both  his  eyes  seemed  to  be  covered 
with  white  specks ;  whether  they  were 
so  in  reality,  or  that  Satan  gave  them 
that  appearance. "f  This  uncouth  look- 
ing man,  whom  the  unbelieving  called 
the  "priest's  wizard,"  on  being  appealed 
to  by  the  latter,  bore  testimony  at  once 
to  the  truth  of  the  miracle.  J 

A  new  episode  was  now  accidentally 
introduced  to  complete  the  picture,  and 
mingle  suggestions  of  guilty  excess  with 
the  dreams  of  superstition.  "  Up  comes 
a  young  woman  on  some  errand  very 
different  from  devotion  to  the  cross,  car- 
rying a  little  child  wrapped  in  a  cloak. 
And,  behold,  the  priest  goes  to  meet  her, 
and  takes  hold  of  her  and  the  child,  and 
carries  them  straight  into  the  chapel : 
never,  believe  me,  did  couple  in  a  dance 
amble  off  more  lovingly  than  did  these  two. 
But  so  blinded  were  we  that  we  took  no 
heed  of  their  gestures  or  their  glances,  and 
even  had  their  behaviour  been  still  more 
unseemly,  we  should  have  deemed  it  alto- 
gether right  and  reverent : — of  a  truth, 
both  the  damsel  and  the  priest  under- 
stood the  miracle  thoroughly,  and  how 
to  turn  a  pilgrim  visit  to  fair  account."  § 

Here  we  are  presented  with  a  faithful 
picture  of  the  religion  and  manners  of 
France  at  the  commencement  of  the 
Reformation.  Morals  and  belief  had 
alike  been  vitiated,  and  each  stood  in 
need  of  a  thorough  renovation.  In  pro- 
portion as  a  higher  value  was  attached 
to  outward  rites,  the  sanctification  of  the 
heart  had  become  less  and  less  an  object 
of  concern  ; — dead  ordinances  had  every 

*  Du  vray  usage  de  la  croix,  par  Guillaume 
Farel,  p. .235— 239. 

t  Ibid.  p.  237.  t  Ibid.  p.  238. 

§  Du  vray  usage  de  la  croix,  par  Guillaume 
Farel,  p.  235.  Some  phrases  of  this  narrative 
have  been  a  little  softened. 


where  usurped  the  place  of  a  christian 
life  :  and,  by  a  revolting  yet  natural  al- 
liance, the  most  scandalous  debauchery 
had  been  combined  with  the  most  super- 
stitious devotion.  Instances  are  on  rec- 
ord of  theft  committed  at  the  altar, — se- 
duction practised  in  the  confessional, — 
poison  mingled  with  the  eucharist, — 
adultery  perpetrated  at  the  foot  of  a 
cross !  Superstition,  while  ruining 
Christian  doctrine,  had  ruined  morality 
also. 

There  were,  however,  numerous  ex- 
ceptions to  this  pitiable  state  of  things  in 
the  Christianity  of  the  middle  ages. 
Even  a  superstitious  faith  may  be  a  sin- 
cere one.  William  Farel  is  an  example 
of  this.  The  same  zeal  which  afterwards 
urged  him  to  travel  incessantly  from 
place  to  place,  that  he  might  spread  the 
knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ,  then  incited 
him  to  visit  every  spot  where  the  church 
exhibited  a  miracle,  or  exacted  a  tribute 
of  adoration.  Dauphiny  could  boast  of 
her  seven  wonders,  which  had  long  been 
sanctified  in  the  imagination  of  the  peo- 
ple.* But  the  beauties  of  nature,  by 
which  he  was  surrounded,  had  also  their 
influence  in  raising  his  thoughts  to  the 
Creator. 

The  magnificent  chain  of  the  Alps, 
— the  pinnacles  covered  with  eternal 
snow, — the  enormous  rocks,  sometimes 
rearing  their  pointed  summifs  to  the  sky, 
sometimes  stretching  their  naked  ridges 
on-and-on  above  the  level  clouds,  and 
presenting  the  appearance  of  an  island 
suspended  in  the  air, — all  these  wonders 
of  creation,  which,  even  then,  were  dila- 
ting the  soul  of  Ulric  Zwingle,  in  the 
Tockenburg,  spoke  with  equal  force  to 
the  heart  of  William  Farel,  among  the 
mountains  of  Dauphiny.  He  thirsted 
for  life, — for  knowledge — for  light ;  he 
aspired  to  be  something  great:  he  asked 
permission  to  study. 

It  was  an  unwelcome  surprise  to  his 
father,  who  thought  that  a  young  noble 
should  know  nothing  beyond  his  rosary 
and  his  sword.  The  universal  theme  of 
conversation  at  that  time  was  the  prowess 
of  a  young  countryman  of  William's,  a 
native  of  Dauphiny,  like  himself,  named 
Du  Terrail,  but  better  known  by  the 
name  of  Bayard,  who  had  recently  per- 

*  The  boiling  spring,  the  cisterns  of  Sassenage, 
the  manner  of  Briancon,  &c. 


550 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


formed  astonishing  feats  of  valour  in  the 
battle  of  Tar,  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Alps.  "  Such  sons  as  he,"  it  was  cur- 
rently remarked,  "  are  like  arrows  in 
the  hand  of  a  mighty  man.  Blessed  is 
the  man  who  lias  his  quiver  full  of 
them!"  Accordingly,  Farel's  father  re- 
sisted his  wish  to  become  a  scholar.  But 
the  youth's  resolution  was  not  to  be 
shaken.  God  designed  him  for  nobler 
conquests  than  any  that  are  to  be  achieved 
by  such  as  Bayard.  He  urged  his  re- 
quest with  repeated  importunity,  and  the 
old  gentleman  at  length  gave  way.* 

Fare]  immediately  applied  himself  to 
study  with  surprising  ardour.  The  mas- 
ters whom  he  found  in  Dauphiny  were 
of  little  service  to  him;  and  he  had  to 
contend  with  all  the  disadvantages  of 
imperfect  methods  of  tuition  and  incapa- 
ble teachers. f  But  difficulties  stimulated 
instead  of  discouraging  him  ;  and  he 
soon  surmounted  these  impediments. 
His  brothers  followed  his  example.  Dan- 
iel subsequently  entered  on  the  career  of 
politics,  and  was  employed  on  some  im- 
portant negociations concerning  religion.:}: 
Walter  was  admitted  into  the  confidence 
of  the  Count  of  Furstemberg. 

Farel,  ever  eager  in  the  pursuit  of 
knowledge,  having  learned  all  that  was 
to  be  learned  in  his  native  province,  turn- 
ed his  eyes  elsewhere.  The  fame  of 
the  university  of  Paris  had  long  re- 
sounded through  the  Christian  world. 
He  was  anxious  to  see  "  this  mother  of 
all  the  sciences,  this  true  luminary  of  the 
Church,  which  never  knew  eclipses, — 
this  pure  and  polished  mirror  of  the  faith, 
dimmed  by  no  cloud,  sullied  by  no  foul 
touch. §  He  obtained  permission  from 
his  parents,  and  set  out  for  the  capital 
of  France. 

In  the  course  of  the  year  1510,  or 
shortly  after  the  close  of  that  year,  the 
young  Dauphinese  arrived  in  Paris. 
His  native  province  had  sent  him  forth  a 
devoted   adherent  of  the  Papacy, — the 

*  Cum  a  parentibus  vix  impetrassem  ad  litter- 
as  concessum. — (Farel  Natali  Galeoto,  1527. 
MS.     Letters  of  the  conclave  of  Neuchatel.) 

t  A  prreceptoribus  praecipue  in  Latina  lingua 
ineptissimis  institutus. — (Farelli  Epist.) 

t  Life  of  Farel,  MS.  at  Geneva. 

§  Universitatem  Parisiensem  matrem  omnium 
scientiarum  ....  speculum  fidei  tersum  et  poli- 
tum  .  .  . — (Prima  Apellat  Universit.  an.  1396, 
Bulceus,  iv.  p.  806.) 


capital  was  to  convert  him  into  something 
far  different.  In  France,  the  Reforma- 
tion was  not  destined,  as  in  Germany,  to 
take  its  rise  in  a  petty  city.  By  what- 
ever movement  the  population  of  the" 
former  country  may  at  any  time  be  agi- 
tated, the  impulse  is  always  to  be  traced 
to  the  metropolis.  A  concurrence  of 
providential  circumstances  had  made 
Paris,  at  the  commencement  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  the  focus  from  which  a 
spark  of  vivifying  fire  might  easily  be 
emitted.  The  stranger  from  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Gap,  who  had  just  found 
his  way  to  the  great  city,  an  obscure  and 
ill-instructed  youth,  was  to  receive  that 
spark  into  his  bosom,  and  to  share  it  with 
many  around  him. 

Louis  XII.,  the  father  of  his  people,  had 
just  convened  an  assembly  of  the  represen- 
tatives of  the  French  clergy  at  Tours.  This 
prince  seems  to  have  anticipated  the  times 
of  the  Reformation,  so  that  if  that  great 
revolution  had  taken  place  during  his 
reign,  all  France,  probably,  would  have 
become  Protestant.  The  assembly  at 
Tours  had  declared  that  the  King  had  a 
right  to  make  war  against  the  Pope,  and 
to  carry  into  effect  the  decrees  of  the 
Council  of  Basle.  These  decisions  were 
the  subject  of  general  conversation  in 
the  colleges,  as  well  as  in  the  city,  and 
at  the  court,  and  they  could  not  fail  to 
make  a  deep  impression  on  the  mind  of 
young  Farel. 

Two  children  of  royal  blood  were 
then  growing  up  in  the  court  of  Louis. 
The  one  was  a  young  prince  of  tall  sta- 
ture, and  a  striking  cast  of  features,  who 
evinced  little  moderation  of  character,  and 
yielded  himself  unreflectingly  to  the  mas- 
tery of  his  passions,  so  that  the  king  was 
often  heard  to  say,  "  That  great  boy  will 
spoil  all."*  This  was  Francis  of  Angou- 
leme,  Duke  of  Valois,  the  king's  cousin. 
Boisy,  his  governor,  had  taught  him, 
however,  to  show  great  respect  to  letters. 
The  companion  of  Francis  was  his 
sister  Margaret,  who  was  two  years  old- 
er than  himself.  "  A  princess,"  says 
Brantome,  "  of  vigorous  understanding, 
and  great  talents,  both  natural  and  ac- 
quired."! Accordingly,  Louis  had 
spared  no  pains  in  her  education,  and 
the  most  learned  men  in  the  kingdom 

*  Mezeray,  vol.  iv.  p.  127. 

t  Brant.  Dames  Illustres,  p.  331. 


THE  FRENCH— 1500— 1526. 


551 


were  prepared  to  acknowledge  Margaret 
as  their  patroness. 

Already,  indeed,  a  group  of  illustri- 
ous men  was  collected  round  the  two 
Valois.  William  Bude,  -who,  in  his 
youth,  had  given  himself  up  to  self-in- 
dulgence of  every  kind,  and  especially 
to  the  enjoyment  of  the  chase, — living 
among  his  hawks,  and  horses,  and 
hounds  ;  and  who,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
three,  had  suddenly  altered  his  course  of 
life,  sold  off  his  equipage,  and  applied 
himself  to  study  with  all  the  eagerness 
he  had  formerly  displayed  when  cheer- 
ing on  his  pack  to  follow  the  scent 
through  field  and  forest,* — Cop,  the 
physician, — Francis  Vatable,  whose  pro- 
ficiency in  Hebrew  learning  was  ad- 
mired by  the  Jewish  doctors  themselves, 
— James  Tusan,the  celebrated  Hellenist ; 
— these  and  other  men  of  letters  besides. 
— encouraged  by  Stephen  Poncher,  the 
bishop  of  Paris,  Louis  Ruze,  the  "  Lieu- 
tenant-Civil," and  Francis  de  Luynes, 
and  already  protected  by  the  two  young 
Valois, — maintained  their  ground  against 
the  violent  attacks  of  the  Sarbonne,  who 
regarded  the  study  of  Greek  and  He- 
brew as  the  most  fearful  heresy.  At 
Paris,  as  in  Germany  and  Switzerland, 
the  restoration  of  religious  truth  was 
preceded  by  the  revival  of  letters.  But 
in  France  the  hands  that  prepared  the 
materials  were  not  appointed  to  construct 
the  edifice. 

Among  all  the  doctors  who  then 
adorned  the  French  metropolis,  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  was  a  man  of  dimin- 
utive stature,  of  mean  appearance,  and 
humble  birth  ;f  whose  wit,  erudition, 
and  eloquence  had  an  indescribable 
charm  for  all  who  approached  him.  The 
name  of  this  doctor  was .  Lefevre ;  he 
was  born  in  1455  at  Etables,  a  little 
town  in  Picardy.  He  had  received  only 
an  indifferent  education, — a  barbarous 
one,  Theodore  Beza  calls  it ;  but  his 
genius  had  supplied  the  want  of  masters ; 
and  his  piety,  his  learning,  and  the' no- 
bility of  his  soul  shone  with  a  lustre  so 
much  the  brighter.  He  had  been  a 
great  traveller, — it  would  even  appear 
that  his  desire  to  acquire  knowledge  had 

*  His  wife  and  sons  came  to  Geneva  in  1540, 
after  his  death. 

t  Homunculi  unius  neque  genere  insignis. — 
(Bezse  Icones.) 


led  him  into  Asia  and  Africa.*  So  early 
as  the  year  1493,  Lefevre,  being  then  a 
doctor  of  theology,  occupied  the  station 
of  a  professor  in  the  University  of  Paris. 
He  immediately  assumed  a  distinguished 
place  among  his  colleagues,  and  in  the 
estimation  of  Erasmus  ranked  above 
them  all.  f 

Lefevre  soon  discovered  that  he  had 
a  peculiar  task  to  fulfil.  Though  at- 
tached to  the  practices  of  the  Romish 
church,  he  conceived  a  desire  to  reform 
the  barbarous  system  which  then  pre- 
vaild  in  the  University  ;J  he  accordingly 
began  to  teach  the  various  branches  of 
philosophy  with  a  precision  hitherto  un- 
known. He  laboured  to  revive  the 
study  of  languages  and  classical  antiqui- 
ties. He  went  further  than  this ;  he 
perceived  that  when  a  mental  regenera- 
tion is  aimed  at,  philosophy  and  litera- 
ture are  insufficient  instruments.  Aban- 
doning, therefore,  the  scholastic  theology, 
which  for  so  many  ages  had  held  an  un- 
disputed sway  in  the  seats  of  learning, 
he  applied  himself  to  the  Bible,  and 
again  introduced  the  study  of  the  Ho- 
ly Scriptures  and  evangelical  science. 
They  were  no  barren  researches  to 
which  he  addicted  himself;  he  went 
straight  to  the  heart  of  the  Bible.  His 
eloquence,  his  candour,  his  affability,  cap- 
tivated every  heart.  Earnest  and  fer- 
vent in  the  pulpit, — in  his  private  inter- 
course with  his  pupils  he  condescended 
to  the  most  engaging  familiarity.  "  He 
loves  me  exceedingly,"  was  the  lan- 
guage of  Glareanus,  one  of  the  number, 
when  writing  to  his  friend  Zwingle ; 
"  he  is  all  frankness  and  kindness, — he 
sings,  he  plays,  he  disputes,  and  then 
laughs  with  me."§  Accordingly,  a  great 
number  of  disciples  from  every  country 
were  gathered  around  his  chair. 

This  man,  learned  as  he  was,  submit- 
ted himself  all  the  while,  with  childlike 

*  In  the  2nd  chapter  of  his  Commentary  on 
the  Second  Epistle  to  the  Thessalonians  is  a  cu- 
rious story  regarding  Mecca  and  the  temple 
there,  which  he  relates  in  the  style  of  a  traveller. 

t  Fabro,  viro  quo  vix  in  multis  millibus  repe- 
rias  vel  integriorem  vel  humaniorem,  says  Eras- 
mus.—(Er.  Epp.  p.  174.) 

t  Barbariem  nobilissimse  academias 

incumbentem  detrndi. — (Bezse  Icones.) 

§  Supra  modum  me  amat  totus  integer  et  can- 
didus,  mecum  cantillat  ludit,  disputat,  ridet  me- 
cum. — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  26.) 


552 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


simplicity,  to  the  ordinances  of  the  church. 
He  passed  as  much  time  in  the  churches 
as  in  his  closet, — so  that  a  sympathetic 
union  seemed  established  beforehand  be- 
tween the  old  doctor  of  Picardy  and  the 
young  student  of  Dauphiny.  When  two 
natures,  so  congenial  as  these,  are  brought 
within  the  same  sphere,  though  it  be  the 
wide  and  agitated  circle  of  a  capital  city, 
their  reciprocal  attraction  must  at  last  place 
them  in  contact  with  each  other.  In  his 
pious  pilgrimages,  young  Farel  soon  ob- 
served an  old  man,  by  whose  devotion 
he  was  greatly  interested.  He  remark- 
ed how  he  fell  on  his  knees  before  the 
images,  how  long  he  remained  in  that 
posture,  how  fervently  he  seemed  to  pray, 
and  how  devoutly  he  repeated  his  hours. 
"  Never,"  says  Farel,  "  had  I  heard  a 
chanter  chant  the  mass  more  reverent- 
ly."* This  was  Lefevre.  Farel  imme- 
diately felt  a  strong  desire  to  become  ac- 
quainted with  him  ; — and  great,  indeed, 
was  his  joy  when  the  venerable  man  met 
his  approaches  with  kindness.  He  had 
now  found  what  he  had  come  to  the  ca- 
pital to  seek.  Henceforth  his  chief  de- 
light was  to  converse  with  the  doctor  of 
Etaples,  to  listen  to  his  instructions,  to 
practise  his  admirable  precepts,  and  to 
kneel  with  him  in  pious  adoration  at  the 
same  shrine.  Often  were  the  aged  Le- 
fevre and  his  youthful  disciple  seen  as- 
sisting each  other  to  adorn  the  image  of 
the  Virgin  with  flowers, — while  far  re- 
moved from  Paris,  far  removed  from  the 
throng  of  the  collegiate  hall,  they  mur- 
mured in  concert  their  earnest  prayers 
to  the  blessed  Mary.f 

The  attachment  of  Farel  to  Lefevre 
was  generally  noticed,  and  the  respect 
inspired  by  the  old  doctor  was  reflected 
on  his  pupil.  This  illustrious  connection 
was  the  means  of  withdrawing  the  young 
Dauphinese  from  his  obscurity.  He 
soon  acquired  a  reputation  for  his  zeal ; 
and  many  pious  persons  of  the  wealthier 
order  entrusted  him  with  sums  of  money,  to 
be  applied  to  the  support  of  poor  students. :{: 

Some  time  elapsed  before  Lefevre  and 
his  disciple  attained  to  a  clear  perception 

*  Ep.  de  Farel  a  tous  seigneurs,  peuples  et 
pasteurs. 

+  Floribus  jubebat  Marianum  idolum,  dumuna 
soli  murmuraremus  preces  Marianas  ad  idolum, 
ornari. — (Farellus  Pellicano,  an  1556.) 

X  Manuscript  at  Geneva. 


of  the  truth.  It  was  neither  the  hope  of 
a  rich  benefice,  nor  any  propensity  to  an 
irregular  life,  that  bound  Farel  so  firmly 
to  the  cause  of  Popery  :  a  spirit  like  his 
was  not  to  be  influenced  by  motives  so 
sordid.  The  Pope,  in  his  eyes,  was  the 
visible  chief  of  the  church, — a  sort  of  di- 
vinity, at  whose  bidding  souls  were  res- 
cued from  perdition.  If  any  one,  in  his 
hearing,  presumed  to  say  a  word  against 
the  venerated  Pontiff,  he  gnashed  his 
teeth  like  a  raging  wolf,  and,  if  he  could, 
would  have  called  down  thunder  from 
heaven  to  overwhelm  the  guilty  wretch 
in  ruin  and  confusion.  "  I  believe,"  he 
said,  "  in  the  cross,  in  pilgrimages,  in 
images,  in  vows,  in  relics.  What  the 
priest  holds  in  his  hands,  shuts  up  in  the 
box,  eats  himself,  and  gives  to  be  eaten 
by  others, — that  is  my  only  true  God, — 
and  to  me  there  is  no  God  beside,  in 
heaven  or  on  earth  !"*  "  Satan,"  he 
says  afterwards,  "  had  lodged  the  Pope, 
and  Popery,  and  all  that  is  of  himself, 
so  deeply  in  my  heart,  that,  even  in  the 
Pope's  own  heart,  they  could  have  sunk 
no  deeper." 

And  thus  it  was,  that  while  Farel 
seemed  to  be  seeking  God,  his  piety  de- 
cayed, and  superstition  gathered  strength 
in  his  soul.  He  has  himself,  in  forcible 
language,  described  his  condition  at  that 
time.f  "  Oh  I"  says  he,  "  how  I  shudder 
at  myself  and  my  sins,  when  I  think  on 
it  all ;  and  how  great  and  wonderful  a 
work  of  God  it  is,  that  man  should  ever 
be  delivered  from  such  an  abyss  !" 

The  deliverance  in  his  own  case  was 
wrought  by  little  and  little.  In  the  course 
of  his  reading,  his  attention  had  at  first 
been  engaged  by  profane  authors;  but, 
finding  no  food  for  his  piety  in  these,  he 
had  set  himself  to  study  the  lives  of  the 
saints  :  infatuation  had  led  him  to  these 
legends,  and  he  quitted  them  more  miser- 
ably infatuated  still.  %  He  then  addressed 
himself  to  several  of  the  celebrated  doc- 
tors of  the  age  ;  but  these,  instead  of  im- 
parting tranquillity  to  his  mind,  only  ag- 
gravated   his    wretchedness.      He   next 

*  Epp.  de  Farel, — a  tous  seigneurs,  peuples 
et  pasteurs. 

t  Quo  plus  pergere  et  promovere  adnitebar, 
eo  amplius  retrocedebam. — (Far.  Galeoto,  MS. 
Letters  at  Neuchatel.) 

X  Quae  de  Sanctis  conscripta  offendebam,  ve- 
rum  ex  stulto  insanum  faciebant. — (Ibid.) 


THE  FRENCH.— 1500— 1526. 


553 


resolved  to  study  the  ancient  philoso- 
phers, and  attempted  to  learn  Christianity 
from  Aristotle  ;  but  again  his  hopes  were 
frustrated.  Books,  images,  relics,  Aris- 
totle, the  Virgin,  and  the  saints, — all 
were  unavailing.  His  eager  spirit  wan- 
dered from  one  broken  cistern  of  human 
wisdom  to  another,  and  turned  away 
from  each  in  succession,  unrelieved  of 
the  thirst  that  consumed  it. 

At  last,  remembering  that  the  Pope 
allowed  the  writings  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testament  to  be  called  the  "  Holy  Bible," 
Farel  betook  himself  to  the  perusal  of 
these,  as  Luther,  in  the  cloister  of  Erfurth, 
had  done  before  him ;  and  then,  to  his 
dismay,*  he  found  that  the  existing  state 
of  things  was  such  as  could  in  no  way 
be  reconciled  with  the  rule  of  Scripture. 
He  was  now,  we  might  think,  on  the 
very  point  of  coming  at  the  truth,  when, 
all  at  once,  the  darkness  rolled  back  upon 
him  with  redoubled  weight,  and  the 
depths  closed  over  him  again.  "  Satan," 
says  he,  ''started  up  in  haste,  that  he 
might  not  lose  his  possession,  and  wrought 
in  me  as  he  was  wont."f  A  terrible 
struggle  between  the  word  of  God  and 
the  word  of  the  Church  now  ensued  in 
his  heart.  If  he  fell  in  with  any  passage 
of  Scripture  opposed  to  the  practice  of 
the  Romish  Church,  he  cast  down  his 
eyes  in  perplexity,  not  daring  to  credit 
what  he  read.|  "Ah!"  he  would- say, 
shrinking  away  from  the  Bible,  "  I  do 
not  well  understand  these  things ; — I 
must  put  a  different  construction  on  these 
passages  from  that  which  they  seem  to 
me  to"  bear.  I  must  hold  to  the  interpre- 
tation of  the  Church, — or  rather,  of  the 
Pope !" 

One  day,  when  he  was  reading  the 
Bible,  a  doctor,  who  chanced  to  come  in, 
rebuked  him  sharply.  "  No  one,"  said 
he,  "  ought  to  read  the  Holy  Scriptures 
until  he  has  studied  philosophy,  and  ta- 
ken his  degree  in  arts."  This  was  a 
preparation  the  Apostles  had  never  re- 
quired ; — but  Farel  believed  him.  "  I 
was  the  most  unhappy  of  men,"  he  tells 
us,  "  for  I  turned  away  my  eyes  from  the 
light."§ 

The  young  Dauphinese  was  now  visit- 

*  Farel  a  tous  seigneurs.  t  Ibid. 

t  Oculos  demittens,  visis  non  credebam.— 
(Farel  Natali  Galeoto.) 

§  Oculos  a  luce  avertebam. 
70 


ed  with  a  fresh  paroxysm  of  Romish  fer- 
vor. His  imagination  was  inflamed  by 
the  legends  of  the  saints.  The  severities 
of  monastic  discipline  were  to  him  a 
powerful  attraction.  There  was  a  clus- 
ter of  gloomy  cells  in  a  wood  not  far 
distant  from  Paris  occupied  by  an  es- 
tablishment of  Carthusians:  hither  he 
often  repaired  as  an  humble  visitor,  and 
took  part  in  the  austerities  of  the  monks. 
"  I  was  busied  day  and  night,"  he  says, 
'•in  serving  the  devil  after  the  fashion 
of  the  Pope, — that  man  of  sin.  1  had 
my  Pantheon  in  my  heart,  and  so  many 
intercessors,  so  many  saviours,  so  many 
gods,  that  I  might  well  have  passed  for 
a  Popish  register." 

The  darkness  could  never  grow  thick- 
er,— but  now  the  morning  star  was  to 
arise  ;  and  the  voice  of  Lefevre  was  to 
give  the  signal  of  its  appearance.  The 
Doctor  of  Etaples  had  already  caught 
some  gleams  of  light :  an  inward  con- 
viction assured  him  that  the  Church 
could  not  remain  in  the  state  in  which 
she  then  was  ; — and  often  on  his  way 
homeward,  after  chanting  the  mass,  or 
paying  adoration  to  an  image,  the  old 
man  would  turn  to  his  youthful  disciple, 
and  say  in  a  solemn  tone,  as  he  grasped 
him  by  the  hand  : — "  My  dear  William, 
God  will  change  the  face  of  the  world, — 
and  you  will  see  it  !"*  Farel  did  not 
properly  conceive  his  meaning.  But 
Lefevre  did  not  stop  at  these  mysterious 
words  ;  and  the  great  change  which  was 
wrought  in  his  mind  about  this  time  was 
appointed  to  produce  a  similar  change  in 
the  mind  of  his  pupil. 

The  old  Doctor  had  undertaken  a  task 
of  immense  labour;  he  was  carefully 
collecting  the  legends  of  the  saints  and 
martyrs,  and  arianging  them  in  the  or- 
der in  which  their  names  are  inserted  in 
the  calendar.  Two  months  had  already 
been  printed,  when  one  of  those  rays  of 
light  that  come  from  on  high  flashed  on 
a  sudden  into  his  soul.  He  could  no 
lono-er  overcome  the  disgust  which  su- 
perstitions so  puerile  must  ever  excite  in 
a  christian  heart.  The  grandeur  of  the 
word  of  God   made   him   perceive  the 

*  A  tous  seigneurs. — See  also  his  letter  to 
Pellican.  Ante  annos  plus  minus  quadraginta, 
me  manu  apprehensum  ita  alloquebatur : — 
"  Guillelme,  oportet  orbem  immutari  et  tu  vide- 
bis !" 


554 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


wretched  folly  of  such  fables.  They  now 
appeared  to  him  hut  as  "  brimstone,  fit 
only  to  kindle  the  fire  of  idolatry."*  He 
abandoned  his  work,  and  casting  aside 
all  these  legends,  turned  affectionately  to 
the  Holy  Scriptures.  At  that  moment, 
when  Lefevre,  forsaking  the  marvellous 
histories  of  the  saints,  laid  his  hand  on 
the  word  of  God,  a  new  era  opened  in 
France, — and  the  Reformation  com- 
menced its  course. 

Weaned,  as  we  have  seen,  from  the 
fictions  of  the  Breviary,  Lefevre  began 
to  study  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul:  the 
light  grew  rapidly  in  his  heart,  and  he 
soon  communicated  to  his  disciples  that 
knowledge  of  the  truth,  which  we  find  in 
his  Commentaries. f  Those  were  strange 
doctrines  for  the  schools  and  for  the 
world  around  him,  which  were  then  first 
heard  in  Paris,  and  disseminated  by  print- 
ing presses  through  all  Christendom. 
We  may  imagine  that  the  young  stu- 
dents who  listened  were  aroused,  im- 
pressed, and  changed ;  and  that  in  this 
way  the  aurora  of  a  brighter  day  had 
dawned  upon  France  prior  to  the  year 
1512. 

The  great  truth  of  Justification  by 
Faith,  which  at  once  overturns  the  sub- 
tilties  of  the  schools  and  the  Popish  doc- 
trine of  the  efficacy  of  works,  was  boldly 
proclaimed  in  the  very  bosom  of  Sor- 
bonne  itself.  "  It  is  God  alone,"  said  the 
teacher,  (and  it  might  have  seemed  as  if 
the  very  roofs  of  the  university  would  cry 
out  against  such  new  sounds,)  "  It  is  God 
alone,  who  by  His  grace  justifies  unto 
eternal  life.\  There  is  a  righteousness 
of  our  own  works,  and  a  righteousness 
which  is  of  grace, — the  one  a  thing  of 
man's  invention,  the  other  coming  from 
God, — the  one  earthly  and  passing  away, 
the  other  divine  and  everlasting, — the 
one  the  shadow  and  semblance,  the  other 
the  liffht  and  the  truth. — the  one  discov- 


*  A  tons  seigneurs,  peuples  et  pasteurs. 

t  The  first  edition  of  his  Commentary  on  the 
Epistles  of  St.  Paul  bears  the  date,  if  I  mistake 
not,  of  1512.  There  fs  a  copy  of  it  in  the  Royal 
Library  at  Paris.  The  second  edition  is  that  to 
which  my  citations  refer.  The  learned  Simon, 
in  his  observations  on  the  New  Testament,  says, 
"  James  Lefevre  must  be  ranked  among  the 
most  able  commentators  of  his  age." 

%  Solus  enim  Deus  est  qui  hanc  justitiam  per 
fidem  tradit,  qui  sola  gratia  ad  vitam  justificat 
aeternam. — (Fabri  Comm.  in  Epp.  Pauli,  p.  70.) 


ering  sin  and  bringing  the  fear  of  death 
— the  other  revealing  grace  for  the  at- 
tainment of  life  !"* 

"What  will  you  then  say?"  enquired 
the  hearers,  to  whom  such  sounds  ap- 
peared to  contradict  the  teaching  of  four 
centuries,  "  will  you  say  that  any  one 
man  was  ever  justified  without  works?" 
— "  One,  do  you  ask  V  returned  Lefevre, 
"  why  they  are  innumerable.  How  many 
shameful  sinners  have  eagerly  asked  to 
be  baptized,  having  nothing  but  faith  in 
Christ  alone,  and  who,  if  they  died  the 
moment  after,  entered  into  the  life  of  the 
blessed  without  works." — "  If,  then,  we 
are  not  justified  by  works,  it  is  in  vain 
that  we  should  do  them,"  replied  some. 
To  this  the  Doctor  made  answer, — and 
possibly  the  other  Reformers  might  not 
have  altogether  gone  with  him  in  his  re- 
ply : — "  Quite  the  contrary, — it  is  not  in 
vain.  If  I  hold  up  a  mirror  to  the  Sun, 
it  receives  in  it  his  image  :  the  more  I 
polish  and  clean  the  mirror,  the  brighter 
does  the  reflection  of  the  sun  shine  in  it ; 
but  if  I  suffer  it  to  tarnish  and  dull,  the 
solar  brilliancy  is  lost.  So  it  is  with  Justi- 
fication in  those  who  lead  an  unholy 
life."  In  this  passage,  Lefevre,  like  St. 
Augustin,  in  several  parts  of  his  writings, 
does  not  perhaps  sufficiently  mark  the 
distinction  between  justification  and  sanc- 
tification.  •  The  Doctor  of  Etaples  often 
reminds  us  of  him  of  Hippone.  Those 
who  lead  an  unholy  life  have  never  re- 
ceived justification, — hence  such  cannot 
lose  it.  But  Lefevre  perhaps  intended 
to  say  that  the  Christian,  when  he  falls 
into  any  sin,  loses  the  assurance  of  his 
salvation,  and  not  his  salvation  itself. f 
To  this  way  of  stating  it  there  would  be 
nothing  to  object. 

Thus  a  new  life  and  a  new  character 
of  teaching  had  penetrated  within  the 
University  of  Paris.  The  doctrine  of 
Faith,  which  in  the  first  ages  had  been 

*  Ilia  umbratile  vestigium  atque  signum,  heec 
lux  et  Veritas  est. — (Fabri  Comm.  in  Epp.  Pauli, 
p.  700 

t  The  believer  may  well  bless  God  for  this 
truth,  namely,  that  he  may  lose  the  ('sentiment') 
assurance  of  his  salvation  without  his  salvation 
being  endangered.  The  cloud  may,  and  it  is 
believed  often  has,  involved  the  vessel  during  the 
greater  part  of  her  course,  which  is  not  the  less 
advancing  unto  the  haven  where  she  would  be. 
Is  Christ  in  the  vessel  ? — is  that  which  concerns 
us.— Tr. 


THE  FRENCH.— 1500— 1526. 


555 


preached  in  Gaul  by  Pontius  and  Ire- 
nseus,  was  again  heard.  Thenceforward 
there  were  two  different  parties  and  two 
different  peoples  in  that  celebrated  school. 
The  instructions  given  by  Lefevre, — the 
zeal  of  his  disciples,  formed-  a  striking 
contrast  to  the  dry  teaching  of  the  majori- 
ty of  its  doctors,  and  the  frivolous  conver- 
sation of  the  generality  of  the  students. 
In  the  colleges,  more  time  was  lost  in 
committing  to  memory  different  parts  in 
comedies,  masquerading,  and  mounte- 
bank farces,  than  was  given  to  the  study 
of  God's  word.  In  such  farces  it  not  un- 
frequently  happened  that  the  respect  due 
to  the  higher  classes,  the  nobility,  and 
even  royalty  itself,  was  forgotten.  At  the 
very  time  we  are  writing  of,  the  Parlia- 
ment intervened,  and  summoning  before 
them  the  principals  of  several  of  the  col- 
leges, prohibited  those  indulgent  tutors 
from  suffering  such  comedies  to  be  acted 
in  their  houses".* 

But  a  mightier  intervention  than  the 
mandates  of  Parliament  came  to  the  cor- 
rection of  these  disorders  in  the  Univer- 
sity :  Christ  was  preached  among  its  in- 
mates. Great  was  the  comznotion  on  its 
benches ;  and  the  minds  of  the  students 
were  almost  as  generally  occupied  with 
discussions  of  the  doctrines  of  the  Gos- 
pel, as  in  scholastic  subtilties  or  theatri- 
cal exhibitions.  Some  of  those  fcwhose 
lives  were  least  able  to  bear  the  light, 
were  yet  heard  taking  the  part  of  works, 
and  feeling  instinctively  that  the  doctrine 
of  Faith  condemned  the  licentiousness  of 
their  lives, — they  maintained  that  St. 
James,  in  his  epistle,  was  at  variance 
with  the  writings  of  St.  Paul.  Lefevre, 
resolving  to  stand  by  and  protect  the 
treasure  he  had  found,  showed  how  the 
two  Apostles  agreed :  "  Does  not  St. 
James  say,"  asked  he,  "  that  every  good 
and  perfect  gift  cometh  down  from  above, 
— and  who  will  contest  that  justification 
is  the  perfect  gift,  the  excellent  grace  ? 
...  If  we  see  a  man  moving,  the 
breathing  we  see  in  him  is  to  us  the  sign 
of  life.  Thus  works  are  necessary,  but 
only  as  signs  of  that  living  faith  which 
is  accompanied  by  justification  f  Is  it 
the  eye-salve  or  lotion  which  gives  light 
to  the  eye  %     No ;  it  is  the  light  of  the 

*  Crevier  Hist,  de  l'Universite,  V.p.  95. 
t  Opera  signa  viva?  fidei,  quam  jastificatio  se- 
quitur. — (Fabri  Coram,  in  Epp.  Pauli,  p.  73.) 


sun.  Just  so  our  works  are  but  as  eye- 
salves  and  lotions  ;  the  beam  that  the  sun 
sends  forth  from  above  is  justification  it- 
self."* 

Farel  hung  upon  these  sounds  with  in- 
tense interest.  Instantly  this  word  of  a 
Salvation  by  Grace  had  upon  his  soul  an 
unspeakable  power  of  attraction.  Eveiy 
objection  fell, — every  difficulty  vanished. 
Scarcely  had  Lefevre  brought  forward 
this  doctrine,  when  Farel  embraced  it 
with  all  his  heart  and  mind.  He  had 
known  enough  of  labour  and  conflict  to 
be  convinced  that  he  had* no  power  to 
save  himself ;  therefore,  when  he  saw  in 
God's  word  that  God  saves  freely,  he 
believed  God.  "  Lefevre,"  exclaimed  he, 
"  extricated  me  from  the  delusive  thought 
of  human  deservings,  and  taught  me  how 
that  all  is  of  Grace, — which  I  believed 
as  soon  as  it  was  spoken. "t  Thus  was 
gained  to  the  faith  by  a  conversion  as 
prompt  and  decisive  as  that  of  St.  Paul 
himself,  that  Farel  who,  to  use  the  words 
of  Theodore  Beza,  undismayed  by 
threatening,  despising  the  shame  and  en- 
during his  cross,  won  for  Christ, — Mont- 
belliard,  Neufchatel,  Lausanne,  Aigle, 
and  at  last  Geneva  itself! 

Meanwhile  Lefevre,  following  up  his 
teaching,  and  taking  delight  in  employ- 
ing contrasts  and  paradoxes,  embodying 
weighty  truths,  extolled  the  sublime  mys- 
teries of  redemption.  "  Oh  !"  he  ex- 
claimed, "  the  unspeakable  greatness  of 
that  exchange, — the  sinless  One  is  con- 
demned, and  he  who  is  guilty  goes  free, 
— the  Blessing  bears  the  curse,  and  the 
cursed  is  brought  into  blessing, — the  Life 
dies,  and  the  dead  live, — the  Glory  is 
whelmed  in  darkness,  and  he  who  knew 
nothing  but  confusion  of  face  is  clothed 
with  glory."^  The  pious  teacher, going 
yet  deeper  into  his  theme,  recognised 
that  all  salvation  emanates  from  the  sov- 
ereignty of  God's  love  :  "  They  who  are 
saved,"  said  he,  w  are  saved  by  the  elect- 
ing grace  and  will  of  God,  not  by  their 
own  will.  Our  election,  our  will,  our 
working  is  all  in  vain  ;  the  alone  elec- 

*  Sed  radius  desuper  a  sole  vibratus,  justifica- 
tio  est.— <Ibid.  p.  73.) 

t  Farel.     A  tous  seigneurs. 

t  Nullis  difficultatibus  fractus,  nnllis  minis, 
convitiis,  verberibus  denique  inflictis  territus. — 
(Beza?  Icones.) 

§  O  ineffabile  commereiam!  .  .  . — (Fabri 
Comm.  145  verso.) 


556 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


tion  of  God  is  all  powerful !  When  we 
are  converted,  it  is  not  our  conversion 
which  makes  us  the  elect  of  God,  but  it 
is  the  grace,  will,  and  election  of  God 
which  work  our  conversion."* 

But  Lefevre  did  not  stop  short  in  doc- 
trines ;  if  he  gave  to  God  the  glory, — he 
turned  to  man  for  "  the  obedience,"  and 
urged  the  obligations  flowing  from  the 
exceeding  privileges  of  the  Christian. 
"  If  thou  art  a  member  of  Christ's  church," 
said  he,  "  thou  art  a  member  of  his  body ; 
if  thou  art  of  his  body,  then  thou  art  full 
of  the  Divinfc  nature,  for  the  '  fulness  of 
the  Godhead  dwelleth  in  him  bodily.' 
Oh !  if  men  could  but  enter  into  the  un- 
derstanding of  this  privilege,  how  purely, 
chastely,  and  holily  would  they  live,  and 
how  contemptible,  when  compared  with 
the  glory  within  them, — that  glory 
which  the  eye  of  flesh  cannot  see, — 
would  they  deem  all  the  glory  of  this 
world."f 

Lefevre  felt  that  the  office  of  a  teacher 
in  heavenly  things  was  a  high  distinc- 
tion: he  discharged  that  office  with  un- 
varying fidelity.  The  dissolute  morals 
of  the  age,  and  more  especially  of  the 
clergy,  roused  his  indignation,  and  was 
the  theme  of  many  a  stern  rebuke : 
"  What  a  reproach,"  said  he,  "  to  heara 
bishop  asking  persons  to  drink  with  him, 
gambling,  shaking  the  dice,  and  spend- 
ing his  whole  time  in  hawking,  sporting, 
hunting,  hallooing  in  the  chase  of  wild 
beasts,  and  sometimes  with  his  feet  in 
houses  of  ill-fame.|  .  .  .  O  men  worthy 
of  a  more  signal  retribution  than  Sar- 
danapalus  himself!" 

Such  was  the  preaching  of  Lefevre. 
Farel  listened,  trembling  with  emotion, 
— received  all  into  his  soul,  and  went  for- 
ward in  that  new  path  now  suddenly 
made  plain  before  him.  Nevertheless 
there  was  one  article  of  his  former  creed 
which  he  could  not  as  yet  entirely  relin- 
quish ;  it  was  the  invocation  of  the 
saints.  The  noblest  minds  have  often 
these  lingering  remains  of  darkness  after 
the  light  has  broken  in  upon  them.  Fa- 
rel heard  with  astonishment  the  teacher 

*  Inefficax  est  ad  hoc  ipsum  nostra" voluntas, 
nostra  electio  ;  Dei  autem  electio  efficacissima  et 
potentissima,  &c. — (Ibid.  p.  89.  verso.) 

t  Si  de  corpore  Christi,  divinitate  repletus  es. — 
(Fabri  Comm.  p.  176.  verso.) 

X  Et  virgunculas  gremio  tenentem,  cum  sua- 
viis  sermones  miscentem. — (Ibid.  p.  208.) 


declare  that  Christ  alone  should  be  in- 
voked: "Our  religion,"  said  Lefevre, 
"  has  only  one  foundation,  one  object,  one 
head,  Jesus  Christ,  blessed  for  ever!  he 
hath  trodden  the  winepress  alone.  Let 
us  not  then  take  the  name  of  Paul,  of 
Apollos,  or  of  Peter.  The  cross  of  Christ 
alone  opens  heaven,  and  shuts  the  gate 
of  hell."  These  words  wakened  a  strug- 
gle in  the  soul  of  Farel.  On  the  one 
hand  he  beheld  the  whole  army  of  saints 
with  the  Church, — on  the  other,  Jesus 
Christ  and  His  preacher.  One  moment 
he  inclined  to  the  one  side,  the  next  to 
the  other.  It  was  the  last  hold  of  an- 
cient error,  and  his  final  struggle.  He 
hesitated  ;  still  clinging  to  those  vene- 
rated names  before  which  Rome  bends 
adoringly.  At  last  the  decisive  blow  was 
struck  from  above ;  the  scales  fell  from 
his  eyes ;  Jesus  was  seen  by  him  as  the 
only  object  of  adoration.  "  From  that 
moment,"  said  he,  "  the  Papacy  was  de- 
throned from  my  mind.  I  began  to  ab- 
hor it  as  devilish,  and  the  holy  word  of 
God  held  the  supreme  place  in  my 
heart."* 

Events  in  the  great  world  accelerated 
the  advance  of  Farel  and  his  friends. 
Thomas  De  Vio,  who  was  subsequently 
opposed  at  Augsburg  against  Luther, 
having  contended  in  a  printed  work  that 
the  Pope  was  absolute  monarch  of  the 
Church,  Louis  XII.  called  the  attention 
of  the  University  of  Paris  to  the  work  in 
February,  1512.  James  Allman,  one  of 
the  youngest  of  its  doctors,  a  man  of  rare 
genius  and  unwearied,  application,  read 
at  one  of  the  meetings  of  the  faculty  of 
theology  a  refutation  of  the  Cardinal's 
arguments,  which  drew  forth  the  plau- 
dits of  the  assembly.f 

What  must  have  been  the  effect  of 
such  discussions  on  the  young  disciples 
of  Lefevre  1  Could  they  hesitate  when 
the  university  itself  manifested  an  impa- 
tience of  the  Papal  yoke  1  If  the  main 
body  were  in  motion,  should  not  they  be 
skirmishing  at  the  advanced  posts  1  "  It 
was  necessary,"  said  Farel,  "  that  the  Pa- 
pal authority  should  be  very  gradually 
expelled  from  my  mind,  for  the  first  shock 
did  not  bring  it  down.";};     He  contem- 


81. 


*  Farel.     A  tous  seigneurs. 
t  Crevier  Hist,  de  l'Universite-  de  Paris,  v  p 
I. 
X  Farel.     A  tous  seigneurs. 


THE  FRENCH.— 1500— 1526. 


557 


plated  the  abyss  of  superstitions  in  which 
he  had  been  plunged ;  standing  on  its 
brink,  he  again  surveyed  its  gloomy 
depths,  and  drew  back  with  a  feeling  of 
terror : — "Oh  !"  ejaculated  he, "  what  hor- 
ror do  I  feel  for  myself  and  my  sins  when 
I  think  of  the  past.*  Lord,"  he  con- 
tinued, "  would  that  my  soul  served  Thee 
with  living  faith  after  the  example  of  thy 
faithful  servants?  Would  that  I  had 
sought  after  and  honoured  Thee  as  I 
have  yielded  my  heart  to  the  mass,  and 
served  that  magic  wafer, — giving  all 
honour  to  that !"  Grieving  over  his  past 
life,  he  with  tears  repeated  those  words 
of  St.  Augustine,  "  I  have  come  too  late 
to  the  knowledge  of  Thee  !  too  late  have 
I  begun  to  love  Thee !" 

Farel'  had  found  Christ ;  and  safe  in 
harbour  he  reposed  in  peace  after  the 
storm. f  "Now,"  said  her  " every  thing 
appears  to  me  to  wear  a  different  aspect.^ 
Scripture  is  elucidated,  prophecy  is  open- 
ed, and  the  epistles  carry  wonderful  light 
into  my  soul.§  A  voice  before  unknown 
— the  voice  of  Christ,  my  shepherd  and 
my  teacher,  speaks  to  me  with  power/' [| 
So  great  was  the  change  in  him  that 
"instead  of  the  murderous  heart  of  a 
ravening  wolf,"  he  came  back,  as  he  him- 
self tells  us,  "  like  a  gentle  and  harmless 
lamb,  with  his  heart  entirely  withdrawn 
from  the  Pope  and  given  to  Jesus 
Christ."! 

Escaped  from  so  great  an  evil,  he 
turned  toward  the  Bible,**  and  applied 
himself  zealously  to  the  acquirement  of 
Greek  and  Hebrew. ft  He  was  unre- 
mitting in  his  study  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, esteeming  them  more  and  more, 
and  daily  receiving  more  light.  He  con- 
tinued to  resort  to  the  churches  of  the 
established  worship — but  what  did  he 
there  hear? — Responses  and  chauntings 
innumerable,  words  spoken  without  un- 


*  Ibid. 

t  Animus  per  varia  jactatus,  verum  nactus 
portum,  soli  hoesit. — (Farel  Galeoto.) 

t  Jam  rerum  nova  facies. — (Ibid.) 

§  Notior  scriptura,  apertiores  prophetas,  lucidi- 
ores  apostoli. — (Ibid.) 

||  Agnita  pastoris,  magistri  et  praeceptoris 
Christi  vox. — (Ibid.) 

IT  Farel.     A  tous  seigneurs. 

**  Lego  sacra  ut  causam  inveniam. — (Farel 
Galeoto.) 

tt  Life  of  Farel.  MSS.  of  Geneva  and  of 
Choupard 


derstanding.*  Often,  when  standing 
among  the  throng  that  gathered  round 
an  image  or  an  altar,  he  would  exclaim, 
— "  Thou  alone  art  God  !  Thou  alone 
art  wise  !  Thou  alone  art  good  '  f  No- 
thing should  be  taken  away — nothing 
added  to  thy  holy  law — for  Thou  only 
art  the  Lord,  and  it  is  Thou  alone  who 
claimest  and  hast  a  right  to  our  obe- 
dience." 

Thus  all  human  teachers  were  brought 
down  from  the  height  to  which  his  im- 
agination had  raised  them,  and  he  rec- 
ognized no  authority  but  God  and  his 
word.  The  doctors  of  Paris,  by  their 
persecution  of  Lefevre,  had  long  since 
lost  all  place  in  his  esteem  ;  but  ere  long 
Lefevre  himself,  his  well-beloved  guide 
and  counsellor,  was  no  more  to  him  than 
his  fellow-man  :  he  loved  and  venerated 
him  as  long  as  he  lived — but  God  alone 
was  become  his  teacher.    . 

Of  all  the  Reformers,  Farel  and  Lu- 
ther are  the  two  best  known  to  us  in 
their  early  spiritual  history,  and  most 
memorable  for  the  struggles  they  had  to 
pass  through.  Earnest  and  energetic, 
men  of  conflict  and  strife,  they  bore  the 
brunt  of  many  an  onset  before  they 
were  permitted  to  be  at  peace.  Farel  is 
the  pioneer  of  the  Reformation  in  Swit- 
zerland and  in  France.  He  threw  him- 
self into  the  wood,  and  with  his  axe 
cleared  a  passage  through  a  forest  of 
abuses.  Calvin  followed,  as  Luther  was 
followed  by  Melancthon,  resembling  him 
in  his  office  of  theologian  and  "  master- 
builder."  These  two  men, — who  bear 
some  resemblance  to  the  legislators  of 
antiquity,  the  one  in  its  graceful,  the 
other  in  its  severer  style, — settle,  establish, 
and  give  laws  to  the  territory  won  by 
the  two  former.  And  yet  if  Farel  re- 
minds us  of  Luther,  we  must  allow  that 
it  is  only  in  one  aspect  of  the  latter  that 
we  are  reminded  of  him.  Luther,  be- 
sides his  superior  genius,  had,  in  all  that 
concerned  the  Church,  a  moderation  and 
prudence,  an  acquaintance  with  past  ex- 
perience, a  comprehensive  judgment, 
and  even  a  power  of  order,  which  was 
not  found  in  an  equal  degree  in  the  Re- 
former of  Dauphiny. 

Farel  was  not  the  only  young  French- 

*    Clamores    multi,   cantionea    innumerae. — 
(Farel  Galeoto,  MSS.  of  Neufchatel.) 
t  Vere  tu  solus  Deus ! — (Ibid.) 


558 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


man  into  whose  soul  a  new  light  was,  at 
this  time,  introduced.  The  doctrines 
which  flowed  from  the  lips  of  the 
far-famed  doctor  of  Etaples  fermented 
among  the  crowd  of  his  hearers  ;  and  in 
his  school  were  formed,  and  trained  the 
bold  men  who  were  ordained  to  struggle, 
even  to  the  very  foot  of  the  scaffold. 
They  listened,  compared,  discussed,  and 
argued  with  characteristic  vivacity.  It 
is  a  probable  conjecture,  that  we  may 
number  among  the  handful  of  scholars 
who  then  espoused  the  Truth,  young 
Pierre  Olivetan,  born  at  Noyon,  at  the 
end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  who  after- 
wards revised  Lefevre's  translation  of 
the  Bible  into  French,  and  seems  to  have 
been  the  first  who  so  presented  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Gospel  as  to  draw  the  atten- 
tion of  a  youth  of  his  family,  also  a  na- 
tive of  Noyon,  who  became  the  most  dis- 
tinguished of  all  the  leaders  of  the  Ref- 
ormation.* 

Thus,  before  1512,  at  a  time  when 
•Luther  had  made  no  impression  on  the 
world,  but  was  taking  a  journey  to  Rome 
on  some  business  touching  the  interests 
of  some  monks,  and  when  Zwingle  had 
not  even  begun  to  apply  himself  in  ear- 
nest to  Biblical  studies,  but  was  travers- 
ing the  Alps,  in  company  with  the  con- 
federated forces,  to  fight  under  the  Pope's 
banner — Paris  and  France  heard  the 
sound  of  those  life-giving  truths,  whence 
the  Reformation  was  destined  to  come 
forth — and  there  were  found  souls  pre- 
pared to  propagate  those  sounds,  who  re- 
ceived them,  with  holy  affection.  Ac- 
cordingly, Theodore  Beza,  in  speaking 
of  Lefevre  of  Etaples,  observes  that  "  it 
was  he  who  boldly  began  the  revival  of 
the  holy  religion  of  Jesus  Christ:"!  and 
he  remarks  that,  "  as  in  ancient  times, 
the  school  of  Isocrates  had  the  reputation 
of  furnishing  the  best  orators,  so,  from 
the  lecture-rooms  of  the  doctor  of  Eta- 
ples, went  forth  many  of  the  best  men 
of  the  age,  and  of  the  Church."! 

The  Reformation  was  not,  therefore, 
in  France,  an  importation  from  strangers  ; 
it  took  its  birth  on  the  French  territory. 
Its  seed  germinated  in  Paris — its  earliest 

*  Biographie  Universale,  Article  Olivetan. 
Histoire  du  Calvinisme,  par  Maimbourg,  53. 

t  Et  purioris  religionis  instaurationem  fortiter 
agressus. — (Beza?  Icones.) 

t  Sic  ex  Stap  ulensis  auditorio  praestantissimi 
viri  plurimi  prodierint. — (Ibid.) 


|  shoots  were  struck  in  the  University  it- 
'  self,  that  ranked  second  in  power  in 
Romanized  Christendom.  God  deposited 
the  first  principles  of  the  work  in  the 
kindly  hearts  of  some  inhabitants  of 
|  Picardy  and  Dauphiny,  before  it  had  be- 
'  gun  in  any  other  country  of  the  globe. 
The  Swiss  Reformation  was,  as  we  have 
seen,*  independent  of  that  of  Germany  ; 
|  the  French  Reformation  was,  in  like 
manner,  independent  of  that  of  Switzer- 
land, and  that  of  Germany.  The  work 
sprung  up  in  these  different  countries  at 
one  and  the  same  time,  without  commu- 
nication between  them,  as  in  a  field  of  bat- 
tle, the  various  divisions  that  compose  the 
army  are  seen  in  motion  at  the  same  in- 
stant, although  the  order  to  advance  has 
not  passed  from  one  to  the  other,  but  all 
have  heard  the  word  of  command  pro- 
ceeding from  a  higher  authority.  The 
time  had  come — the  nations  were  ripe, 
and  God  was  everywhere  beginning  the 
revival  of  His  Church. 

If  we  regard  dates,  we  must  then  con 
fess  that  neither  to  Switzerland  nor  to 
Germany  belongs  the  honour  of  having 
been  first  in  the  work,  although,  hither- 
to, only  those  countries  have  contended 
for  it.  That  honour  belongs  to  France. 
This  is  a  fact  that  we  are  the  more  care* 
ful  to  establish,  because  it  has  possibly, 
until  now,  been  overlooked.  Without 
dwelling  upon  the  influence  exercised  by 
Lefevre,  directly  or  indirectly,  on  many 
persons,  and  especially  on  Calvin. — let  us 
consider  that  which  he  had  on  one  of  his 
disciples,  Fare!  himself, — and  the  energy 
of  action  which  that  servant  of  God  from 
that  hour  manifested.  Can  we,  after 
that,  withhold  our  conviction  that  even 
though  Zwingle  and  Luther  should 
never  have  been  born,  there  would  still 
have  been  a  movement  of  Reformation 
in  France  ?  It  is,  of  course,  impossible 
to  estimate  how  far  it  might  have  ex- 
tended :  we  must  even  acknowledge  that 
the  report  of  what  was  passing  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Rhine  and  the  Jura,  af- 
terwards accelerated  and  animated  the 
progress  of  the  Reformers  of  France. 
But  it  was  they  who  were  first  awakened 
by  the  voice  of  that  trumpet  which 
sounded  from  heaven  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  and  who  were  earliest  in  the 
field,  on  foot,  and  under  arms. 

*  See  page  318. 


THE  FRENCH— 1500— 1526. 


559 


Nevertheless,  Luther  is  the  great  work- 
man of  the  sixteenth  century,  and,  in  the 
fullest  import  of  the  term,  the  first  Re- 
former. Lefevre  is  not  as  complete  as 
Calvin,  Farel,  or  Luther.  There  is 
about  him  that  which  reminds  us  of 
Wittemberg — of  Geneva — but  a  some- 
thing besides,  that  tells  of  the  Sorbonne  ; 
he  is  the  foremost  Catholic  in  the  Ref- 
ormation movement,  and  the  latest  of 
the  Reformers  in  the  Catholic  movevent. 
To  the  last,  he  continues  a  go  between, 
— a  mediator, — not  well  understood  ;  re- 
minding us  that  there  is  some  connection 
between  the  old  things  and  the  new, 
which  might  seem  for  ever  separated  as 
by  a  great  gulf.  Repulsed  and  persecu- 
ted by  Rome,  he  yet  holds  to  Rome,  by 
a  slender  thread  which  he  is  unwilling 
to  sever.  Lefevre  of  Etaples  has  a 
place  to  himself  in  the  theology  of  the 
sixteenth  century :  he  is  the  connecting 
link  between  ancient  and  modern  times, 
and  the  man  in  whom  the  theology  of 
the  middle  ages  passed  into  the  theology 
of  the  Reformation. 

Thus,  in  the  University,  the  truth  was 
already  working.  But  the  Reformation 
was  not  to  be  an  affair  of  college  life. 
It  was  to  establish  its  power  among  the 
great  ones  of  the  earth,  and  to  have  some 
witnesses  even  at  the  King's  court. 

The  young  Francis  of  Angouleme, 
cousin-german  and  son-in-law  to  Louis 
XII.,  succeeded  him  on  the  throne. 
His  manly  beauty  and  address,  his  cour- 
age, and  his  love  of  pleasure,  rendered 
him  the  most  accomplished  knight  of  his 
time.  His  ambition,  however,  rose  high- 
er ;  it  was  his  aim  to  be  a  great  and 
even  a  gracious  prince ;  provided  only 
that  all  should  bend  before  his  sovereign 
authority.  Valour,  taste  for  literature, 
and  gallantry,  are  three  words  that  well 
express  the  genius  of  Francis,  and  of  the 
age  in  which  he  figured.  At  a  some- 
what later  period,  the  like  features  ap- 
pear in  Henry  IV.  and  Louis  XIV. 
These  princes  wanted  that  which  the 
Gospel  communicates ;  and,  although 
there  has  been  no  time  when  the  nation 
did  not  contain  in  it  the  elements  of 
sanctity  and  of  Christian  elevation,  it  may 
be  said  that  these  great  monarchs  of 
modern  France  have,  in  a  measure, 
stamped  upon  that  people  the  impress  of 
their  own  characters,  if  it  be  not  more 


correct  to  say  that  they  themselves  were 
the  faithful  expression  of  the  character 
of  the  nation  over  which  they  presided. 
If  the  evangelic  doctrine  had  entered 
France  under  the  auspices  of  the  most 
famed  of  the  Valois  princes,  it  might 
have  brought  with  it  to  the  nation  that 
which  France  has  not, — a  spiritual  turn 
of  mind,  a  christian  purity,  and  an  intel- 
ligence in  heavenly  things,  which  would 
have  been  the  completion  of  the  national 
character  in  what  most  contributes  to 
the  strength  and  greatness  of  a  people. 

It  was  under  the  r^le  of  Francis  I. 
that  Europe,  as  well  as  France,  passed 
from  the  middle  ages  to  the  range  of 
modern  history.  It  was  then  that  that 
new  world  which  was  bursting  forth  on 
all  sides  when  that  prince  ascended  the 
throne,  grew  and  entered  upon  possession. 
Two  different  classes  of  men  exercised 
an  influence  in  moulding  the  new  order 
of  society.  On  the  one  hand  were  the 
men  of  faith,  who  were  also  men  of  wis- 
dom and  moral  purity,  and  close  to  them, 
the  writers  of  the  court, — the  friends  of 
this  world  and  its  profligacy, — who,  by 
their  licentious  principles,  contributed  to 
the  depravation  of  morals  as  much  as  the 
former  served  to  reform  them. 

If,  m  the  days  of  Francis  the  First, 
Europe  had  not  witnessed  the  rise  of  the 
Reformers,  but  had  been  given  up  by 
God's  righteous  judgment  to  the  uncon- 
trolled influence  of  unbelieving  innova- 
tors, her  fate  and  that  of  Christianity  had 
been  decided.  The  danger  seemed  great. 
For  a  considerable  time,  the  two  classes 
of  combatants,  the  opposers  of  the  Pope, 
and  those  who  opposed  the  Gospel,  were 
mixed  up  together ;  and  as  both  claimed 
liberty,  they  seemed  to  resort  to  the  same 
arms  against  the  same  enemies.  In  the 
cloud  of  dust  raised  on  the  field,  an  un- 
practised eye  could  not  distinguish  be- 
tween them.  If  the  former  had  allowed 
themselves  to  be  led  away  by  the  latter, 
all  would  have  been  lost.  Those  who 
assailed  the  hierarchy  passed  quickly 
into  extremes  of  impiety,  urging  on  the 
people  to  a  frightful  catastrophe.  The 
Papacy  itself  contributed  to  bring  about 
that  catastrophe,  accelerating  by  its  am- 
bition and  disorders  the  extinction  of  any 
truth  and  life  still  left  in  the  Church. 

But  God  called  forth  the  Reformation, 
— and  Christianity  was  preserved.     The 


560 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


Reformers  who  had  shouted  for  liberty, 
were,  ere  long,  heard  calling  to  obedi- 
ence. The  very  men  who  had  cast  down 
that  throne  whence  the  Roman  Pontiff 
issued  his  oracles,  prostrated  themselves 
before  the  '  word  of  the  Lord.'  Then 
was  seen  a  clear  and  definite  separation, 
and  war  was  declared  between  the  two 
divisions  of  the  assailants.  The  one  party 
had  desired  liberty  only  that  themselves 
might  be  free, — the  others  had  claimed 
it  for  the  word  of  God.  The  Reforma- 
tion became  the  most  formidable  antago- 
nist of  that  incredulity  to  which  Rome 
can  show  leniency.  Having  restored 
liberty  to.  the  Church,  the  Reformers  re- 
stored religion  to  society;  and  this  last 
was,  of  the  two,  the  gift  most  needed. 

The  votaries  of  incredulity,  for  a  while, 
hoped  to  reckon  among  their  number 
Margaret  of  Valois,  Duchess  of  Alencon, 
whom  Francis  loved  with  especial  ten' 
derness,  and,  as  Brantome  informs  us, 
used  to  call  his  "darling."*  The  same 
tastes  and  general  information  distin- 
guished both  brother  and  sister.  Of  fine 
person  like  Francis,  Margaret  united  to 
those  eminent  qualities,  which  in  their 
combination  constitutes  remarkable  char- 
acters, those  gentler  virtues  which  win 
the  affection.  In  the  gay  world,  the  fes- 
tive entertainment,  the  royal,  the  imperial 
court,  she  shone  in  queenly  splendour, 
charming  and  captivating  all  hearts. 
Passionately  fond  of  literature  and  gifted 
with  no  ordinary  genius,  it  was  her  de- 
light to  shut  herself  in  her  apartment, 
and  there  indulge  in  the  pleasures  of  re- 
flection, study,  and  meditation.  But  her 
ruling  desire  was  to  do  good  and  prevent 
evil.  When  ambassadors  from  foreign 
countries  had  presented  themselves  be- 
fore the  king,  they  were  accustomed  af- 
terwards to  pay  their  respects  to.  Marga- 
ret, and  "  they  were  greatly  pleased  with 
her,1'  observes  Brantome, "  and  returning 
to  their  homes,  noised  abroad  the  fame 
of  her :  and  he  adds  that  " the  king 
would  often  hand  over  to  her  matters  of 
importance,  leaving  them  for  her  to  de- 
cide."! 

This  celebrated  princess  was  through 
life  distinguished  by  her  strict  morals; 
but  whilst  many  who  carry  austerity  on 
their  lips,  indulge  laxity  in  conduct,  the 

*  Vie  des  Dames  Illustres,  p.  333,  Have  1740. 
t  Ibid.  p.  337. 


very  reverse  of  this  was  seen  in  Marga- 
ret. Blameless  in  conduct,  she  was  not 
altogether  irreproachable  in  the  use  of 
her  pen.  Far  from  wondering  at  this, 
we  might  rather  wonder  that  a  woman 
dissolute  as  was  Louisa  of  Savoy,  should 
have  a  daughter  so  pure  as  Margaret. 
Attending  the  court,  in  its  progress 
through  the  provinces,  she  employed  her- 
self in  describing  the  manners  of  the 
time,  and  especially  those  of  the  priests 
and  monks.  "  On  these  occasions,"  says 
Brantome,  "  I  often  used  to  hear  her  re- 
count stories  to  my  grandmother,  who 
constantly  accompanied  her  in  her  litter, 
as  dame  cPhonneur,  and  had  charge  of 
her  writing  desk."*  According  to  some, 
we  have  here  the  origin  of  the  Heptame- 
ron  ;  but  more  recent  and  esteemed  crit- 
ics have  satisfied  themselves  that  Marga- 
ret had  no  hand  in  forming  that  collec- 
tion, in  some  parts  chargeable  with  worse 
than  levity,  but  that  it  was  the  work  of 
Desperiers,  her  gentleman  of  the  cham- 
ber.! 

This  Margaret,  so  charming,  so  full  of 
wit,  and  living  in  so  polluted  an  atmos- 
phere, was  to  be  one  of  the  first  won  over 
by  the  religious  impulse  just  then  com- 
municated to  France.  But  how,  in  the 
centre  of  so  profane  a  court,  and  amid 
the  sounds  of  its  licentious  gossip,  was  the 
Duchess  of  Alencon  to  be  reached  by 
the  Reformation?  Her  soul,  led  to  look 
to  heaven,  was  conscious  of  wants  that 
the  Gospel  alone  could  meet.  Grace  can 
act  in   every  place,  and  Christianity, — 

*  Vie  des  Dames  Illustres,  p.  346. 

t  This  is  proved  by  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished critics  of  the  age.  M.  Ch.  Nodier,  in 
the  Revue  des  Deux  Mondes,  t.  xx.  wherein  he 
observes,  p.  350 — "  Desperiers  is  in  reality  and 
almost  exclusively  author  of  the  Heptameron.  I 
scruple  not  to  say  I  have  no  doubt  of  this,  and  en- 
tirely coincide  in  the  opinion  of  Bouistuan,  who, 
solely  on  this  account,  omitted  and  withheld  the 
name  of  the  Queen  of  Navarre."  If,  as  I  think, 
Margaret  did  compose  some  tales,  doubtless  the 
most  harmless  of  those  in  the  Heptameron,  it 
must  have  been  in  her  youth — just  after  her 
marriage  with  the  Duke  of  Alencon  (1509). 
The  circumstances  mentioned  by  Brantome,  p. 
346,  that  the  king's  mother  and  Madame  de  Sa- 
voy "  being  young,"  wished  to  "  imitate"  Mar- 
garet, is  a  proof  of  this.  To  this  may  be  added 
the  evidence  of  De  Thou,  who  says,  "  Si  tem- 
pera et  juvenilem  setatem  in  qua  scriptum  est 
respicias,  non  prorsus  damnandum,  certe  gravi- 
tate tantoe  heroinae  et  extrema  vita  minus  dig- 
num." — (Thuanus,  t.  vi.  p.  117.)  Brantome  and 
De  Thou  are  two  unobjectionable  witnesses. 


THE  FRENCH.— 1500— 1526. 


561 


which  even  before  an  apostle  had  ap- 
peared in  Rome,  had  some  followers 
among  the  household  of  Narcissus,  and 
in  the  palace  of  Nero,* — in  the  day  of  its 
revival  rapidly  made  its  way  to  the  court 
of  Francis  the  First.  There  were  ladies 
and  lords  who  spoke  to  that  princess  con- 
cerning the  things  of  faith,  and  the  sun 
which  was  then  rising  on  France,  sent 
forth  one  of  its  earliest  beams  on  a  man 
of  eminent  station  by  whom  its  light  was 
immediately  reflected  on  the  Duchess  of 
Alencun. 

Among  the  most  distinguished  lords 
of  the  court  was  Count  William  of  Mont- 
brun,  a  son  of  Cardinal  Briqonnet  of  St. 
Malo,  who  had  entered  the  church  on  his 
being  left  a  widower.  Count  William, 
devoted  to  studious  pursuits,  himself  also 
took  orders,  and  was  bishop,  first  of  Lo- 
deva,  and  afterwards  of  Mcaux.  Al- 
though twice  sent  on  an  embassy  to 
Rome,  he  returned  to  Paris  unseduced 
by  the  attractions  and  splendours  of 
Leo  X. 

At  the  period  of  his  return  to  France, 
a  ferment  was  beginning  to  manifest  it- 
self. Farel,  as  Master  of  Arts,  was  lec- 
turing in  the  college  of  Cardinal  Le- 
moine,  one  of  the  four  leading  establish- 
ments of  the  faculty  of  theology  of  Paris, 
ranking  equal  with  the  Sorbonne.  Two 
countrymen  of  Lefevre,  Arnaud  and  Ge- 
rard Roussel,  and  some,  others,  enlarged 
this  little  circle  of  free  and  noble  spirits. 
Briqonnet.  who  had  so  recently  quitted 
the  festivals  of  Rome,  was  all  amazement 
at  what  had  been  doing  in  Paris  during 
his  absence.  Thirsting  after  the  truth, 
he  renewed  his  former  intercourse  with 
Lefevre,  and  soon  passed  precious  hours 
in  company  with  the  Doctor  of  the  Sor- 
bonne, Farel,  the  two  Roussels,  and  their 
friends. f  Full  of  humility,  the  illustri- 
ous prelate  sought  instruction  from  the 
very  humblest,  but,  above  all,  he  sought 
it  of  the  Lord  himself.  "  J  am  all  dark," 
said  he,  "  waiting  for  the  grace  of  the 
divine  favour,  from  which  my  sins  have 
banished  me."  His  mind  was  as  if  daz- 
zled by  the  glory  of  the  Gospel.  His 
eye-lids  sunk  under  its  unheard-of  bright- 
ness.    "  The  eyes  of  all  mankind,"  ex- 


*  Romans  xvi.  11.     Phil.  iv.  22. 
t  Histoire  de  la  Re'vocat.  de  1'edit  de  Nantes, 
vol.  i.  p.  7.     Maimbourg.  Hist,  du  Calv.  p.  12. 
71 


claimed  he,  "  cannot  take  in  the  whole 
light  of  that  sun!"* 

Lefevre  had  commended  the  Bishop  to 
the  Bible, — he  had  pointed  to  it  as  that 
guiding  clue  which  ever  brings  us  back 
to  the  original  truth  of  Christianity,  such 
as  it  existed  before  all  schools,  sects,  or- 
dinances, and  traditions,  and  as  that 
mighty  agent  by  means  of  which  the  re- 
ligion of  Jesus  Christ  is  renewed  in 
power.  Briqonnet  read  the  Scriptures. 
"  Such  is  the  sweetness  of  that  heavenly 
manna,"  said  he,  "  that  it  never  cloys ; 
the  more  we  taste  of  it,  the  more  we  long 
for  it."t  The  simple  and  prevailing 
truth  of  Salvation  filled  him  with  joy  ; 
— he  had  found  Christ,  he  had  found 
God  Himself.  "  What  vessel,"  he  ex- 
claimed, "is  capable  of  receiving  into  it 
such  vast  and  inexhaustible  grace.  But 
the  mansion  expands  with  our  desire  to 
lodge  the  good  guest.  Faith  is  the 
quarter-master  who  alone  can  find  room 
for  him,  or  rather  who  alone  can  enable 
us  to  dwell  in  hiviP  But,  at  the  same 
time,  the  excellent  bishop  grieved  to  see 
that  living  word  which  the  Reformation 
gare  to  the  world  so  slighted  at  court,  in 
the  city,  and  among  the  people ;  and 
he  exclaimed,  "  Singular  innovation,  so 
worthy  of  acceptation,  and  yet  so  ill  re- 
ceived !" 

Thus  did  evangelic  truth  open  itself  a 
way  into  the  midst  of  the  frivolous,  disso- 
lute, and  literary  court  of  Francis  I.    Sev- 
eral of  those  who  composed  it  and  en- 
joyed the  unlimited  confidence  of  that 
prince, — as  John  du   Bellay,  du  Bud6, 
Cop,  the  court  physician,  and  even  Petit, 
the   king's  confessor,  seemed  favourable 
|  to  the  views  of  Briqonnet  and  Lefevre. 
'  Francis,  who  loved  learning,  and  invited 
|  to  his  court  scholars  "  suspected"  of  Lu- 
;  theranism,  "  in    the    thought."   observes 
j  Erasmus,  "  that  he  should,  in  that  way, 
!  adorn  and  illustrate  his  reign  better  than 
he  could   do  by  trophies,  pyramids,  or 
buildings," — was  himself  persuaded  by 
his  sister,  by  Briqonnet,  and  the  learned 
of  his  court  and  colleges.     He  was  pres- 

*  These  expressions  of  Bri^onnet  are  from  a 
manuscript  in  the  Royal  Library  at  Paris — enti- 
tled Letters  of  Margaret  Queen  of  Navarre,  and 
which  is  marked  S.  F.  337.  I  shall  more  than 
once  have  occasion  to  quote  this  manuscript, 
which  I  found  not  easy  to  decipher.  I  quote 
the  language  of  the  time. 

t  Ibid. 


562 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


ent  at  the  discussions  of  the  learned, — 
enjoyed  listening  to  their  discourse  at  ta- 
ble,— and  would  call  them  "  hischildren." 
He  assisted  to  prepare  the  way  for  the 
word  of  God,  by  founding  professorships 
of  Hebrew  and  Greek, — accordingly, 
Theodore  Beza  thus  speaks,  when  pla- 
cing his  portrait  at  the  head  of  the  Re- 
formers,— ';  Pious  Reader !  do  not  shud- 
der at  the  sight  of  this  adversary.  Ought 
not  he  to  have  his  part  in  this  honour  who 
banished  barbarism  from  society,  and 
with  firm  hand  established  in  its  place 
the  cultivation  of  three  languages  and 
profitable  studies  that  should  serve  as  the 
portals  of  that  new  structure  that  was 
shortly  to  arise."* 

But  there  was  at  the  court  of  Francis 
I.  one  soul  which  seemed  prepared  for 
the  reception  of  the  evangelic  doctrines 
of  the  teachers  of  Etaples  and  of  Meaux. 
Margaret,  hesitating  and  not  knowing 
on  what  to  lean  in  the  midst  of  the  prof- 
ligate society  that  surrounded  her,  sought 
somewhat  on  which  her  soul  might  rest, 
— and  found  it  in  the  Gospel.  She  turn- 
ed toward  that  fresh  breath  of  life  which 
was  then  reviving  the  world,  and  inhaled 
it  with  delight  as  coming  from  heaven. 
She  gathered  from  some  of  the  ladies- of 
her  court  the  teaching  of  the  new  preach- 
ers. Some  there  were  who  lent  her  their 
writings,  and  certain  little  books,  called, 
in  the  language  of  the  time,  u  tracts  ]'' — 
they  spoke  of  "  the  primitive  church,  of 
the  pure  word  of  God,  of  a  worship  '  in 
spirit  and  truth,'  of  a  Christian  liberty 
that  rejected  the  yoke  of  human  traditions 
and  superstitions,  that  it  might  adhere 
singly  to  God.';f  It  was  not  long  before 
this  princess  sought  interviews  with  Le- 
fevre,  Farel,  and  Roussel.  Their  zeal, 
piety,  and  walk,  and  all  she  saw  of  them, 
impressed  her, — but  it  was  her  old  friend, 
the  bishop  of  Meaux,  who  was  her  guide 
in  the  path  of  faith. 

Thus,  at  the  glittering  court  of  Fran- 
cis I. — and  in  the  dissolute  house  of 
Louisa  of  Savoy,  was  wrought  one  of 
those  conversions  of  the  heart  which  in 
every  age  are  the  work  of  the  word  of 
God.     Margaret  subsequently  recorded 

*  Neque  rex  potentissime  pudeat  .  .  .  quasi 
atrienses  hujus  sedis  futuras. — (Bezae  Icones.)— 
Disputationibus  eorum  ipse  interfuit. — (Flor.  Rae- 
mundi,  Hist,  de  ortu  haeresum.  vii.  p.  2.) 

+  Maimbourg.  Hist,  du  Calvinisme,  p.  16. 


in  her  poetical  effusions  the  various  emo- 
tions of  her  soul  at  this  important  period  of 
her  life,  and  we  may  there  trace  the  course 
by  which  she  was  led.  We  see  that  the 
sense  of  sin  had  taken  strong  hold  upon 
her,  and  that  she  bewailed  the  levity 
with  which  she  had  once  viewed  the 
scandals  of  the  court. 

Is  there  in  the  abyss's  lowest  depth 
A  punishment  that  equals  e'en  the  tenth 
Of  all  my  sin. 

The  corruption  which  she  had  so  long 
overlooked,  now  that  her  eyes  were  open- 
ed, was  seen  in  every  thing  about  her — 

Surely  in  me  there  dwells  that  evil  root 

That  putteth  forth  in  others  branch  and  fruit.* 

But  amid  all  the  horror  she  felt  at  her 
own  state  of  heart,  she  yet  acknowledged 
that  a  God  of  Peace  had  manifested  him- 
self to  her  soul — 

Thou,  O  my  God,  hast  in  thy  Grace  come  down 
To  me,  a  worm  of  earth,  who  strength  hath  none.t 

And  soon  a  sense  of  the  love  of  God 
in  Christ  was  shed  abroad  in  her  heart: — 

My  Father,  then, — but  what  a  Father  thou, 
Unseen, — that  changest  not, — endless  of  days, 

Who  graciously  forgivest  all  my  sins. 
Dear  Lord  Emanuel,  behold  me  fall 
Low  at  thy  sacred  feet,  a  criminal  ! 

Pity  me,  Father, — perfect  in  Thy  love  ! 
Thou  art  the  sacrifice,  and  mercy-seat, 
And  Thou  hast  made  for  us  an  offering  meet, 

Well  pleasing  unto  Thee,  oh  God  above.! 

Margaret  had  found  the  faith,  and  her 
soul  in  its  joy  gave  free  expression  to 
holy  delight, — 

Oh  Saviour  Jesus — oh  most  holy  Word — 

Only  begotten  of  thy  Father  God — 

The  First — the  Last — for  whom  all  things  were 

made — 
Bishop  and  King,  set  over  all  as  Head, 
Through  death,  from  fear  of  death  thou  sett'st 

us  free ! 
Making  us  children  by  our  faith  in  Thee, 
Righteous  and  pure  and  good  by  faith  to  be. 
Faith  plants  our  souls  in  innocence  again, 


*  Marguerites  de  la  Marguerite  des  princesses 
(Lyon  1547)  tome  ler,  Miriordel'ame  pecheresse, 
p.  15.  The  copy  I  have  used  seems  to  have  be- 
longed to  the  Queen  of  Navarre  herself,  and 
some  notes  appearing  in  it  are,  it  is  said,  in  her 
handwriting.  It  is  now  in  tb»  possession  of  a 
friend. 

t  Ibid.  p.  18,  19. 

X  Ibid.     Oraison  a  J.  C,  p.  143. 


THE  FRENCH— 1500— 1526. 


563 


Faith  makes  us  kings   with  Christ  as  kings  to 

reign, 
Faith  gives  us  all  things  in  our  Head  to  gain.* 

From  that  time  a  great  change  was 
seen  in  the  Duchess  of  Alencon — 

Though  poor,  untaught,  and  weak  I  be, 
Yet  feel  I  rich,  wise,  strong  in  Thee.t 

However,  the  power  of  sin  was  not  yet 
subdued — Her  soul  was  still  conscious 
of  a  want  of  blessed  harmony,  and  of  a 
degree  of  inward  struggle  that  perplexed 
her, — 

By  spirit  noble,  yet  by  nature  serf, 

Of  heavenly  seed, — begotten  here  on  earth  ; 

God's    temple, — wherein    things    unclean    find 

room  ; 
Immortal, — and  yet  hastening  to  the  tomb  ; 
Though  fed  by  God, — in  earthly  pastures  roving  ; 
Shrinking  from  ill, — yet  sinful  pleasures  loving  ; 
Cherishing  truth — yet  not  to  truth  conformed  ; 
Long  as  my  days  on  earth  prolonged  are, 
Life  can  have  nought  for  me  but  constant  war.t 

Margaret,  seeking  in  nature  symbols 
that  might  express  the  felt  want  and  de- 
sire of  her  soul,  chose  for  her  emblem, 
says  Brantome,  the  marigold,  "  which  in 
its  flower  and  leaf  has  most  resemblance 
to  the  sun,  and,  turning,  follows  it  in  its 
course. "§  She  added  this  device,  Non 
inferiora  secutus — I  seek  not  things  be- 
low— "signifying,"  continues  the  annal- 
ist of  the  court,  "  that  her  actions, 
thoughts,  purposes,  and  desires  were  di- 
rected to  that  exalted  Sun,  namely  God, 
— whereupon  it  was  suspected  that  she 
had  imbibed  the  religion  of  Luther."  || 

In  fact,  the  princess  shortly  after  ex- 
perienced the  truth  of  that  word,  "  All 
that  will  live  godly  in  Jesus  Christ  shall 
suffer  persecution."  The  new  opinions 
of  Margaret  were  the  subject  of  conver- 
sation at  court,  and  great  was  the  sensa- 
tion ; — What !  could  the  king's  sister  be 
one  of  those  people? — For  a  moment  it 
might  have  been  feared  that  Margaret's 
disgrace  was  certain.  But  the  king,  who 
loved  his  sister,  affected  to  disregard  the 
rumour  of  the  court.  The  conduct  of 
Margaret  gradually  dissipated  the  oppo- 
sition : — "  Every   one    loved    her,    for," 

*  Marguerites  de  la  Marguerite  des  princesses 
(Lyon  1547),  tome  1  ,  Mirior  de  l'ame  peche- 
resse,  p.  15.  Discord  de  l'Esprit  et  de  la  chair, 
p.  73. 

t  Ibid.     Mirior  de  Fame,  p.  22. 

X  Ibid.  Discord  de  l'Esprit  et  de  la  chair,  p. 
71. 

§  Vies  des  Femmes  Illustres.  p.  33. 

|!  Ibid.  p.  33. 


says  Brantome,  "  she  was  very  kind, 
gentle,  condescending,  and  charitable, 
very  easy  of  access,  giving  away  much 
in  alms,  overlooking  no  one,  but  winning 
all  hearts  by  her  gracious  deportment."* 

In  the  midst  of  the  corruption  and  frivol- 
ity of  that  age,  the  mind  may  joyfullycon- 
template  this  elect  soul,  which  the  grace 
of  God  gathered  from  beneath  all  its 
pomps  and  vanities.  But  her  feminine 
character  held  her  back.  If  Francis  the 
First  had  had  the  convictions  of  his  sis- 
ter, we  can  hardly  doubt  he  would  have 
followed  them  out.  The  fearful  heart  of 
the  princess  trembled  at  the  thought  of 
facing  the  anger  of  her  king.  She  con- 
tinued to  fluctuate  between  her  brother 
and  her  Saviour,  unwilling  to  give  up 
either  one  or  the  other.  We  do  not  rec- 
ognise in  her  the  Christian  who  has  at- 
tained to  the  .perfect  liberty  of  God's 
children,  but  the  exact  type  of  those 
souls — at  all  times  so  numerous,  and  es- 
pecially among  her  sex, — who,  drawn 
powerfully  to  look  to  heaven,  have  not 
strength  sufficient  to  disengage  them- 
selves entirely  from  the  bondage  of 
earth. 

Nevertheless,  such  as  she  is  here  seen,  \ 
her  appearance  is  a  touching  vision  on 
the  stage  of  history.  Neither  Germany 
nor  England  presents  such  a  picture  as 
Margaret  of  Valois.  She  is  a  star, 
slightly  clouded,  doubtless,  but  shedding 
a  peculiarly  soft  light.  And  at  the  pe- 
riod we  are  contemplating,  her  light 
even  shines  forth  with  much  radiance. 
Not  till  afterwards,  when  the  angry 
glance  of  Francis  the  First  denounces  a 
mortal  hatred  of  the  Gospel,  will  his  sis- 
ter spread  a  veil  over  her  holy  faith. 
But  at  this  period  she  is  seen  erect  in  the 
midst  of  a  degraded  court,  and  moving 
in  it  as  the  bride  of  Jesus  Christ.  The 
respect  paid  to  her,  the  high  opinion  en- 
tertained of  her  understanding  and  cha- 
racter, pleads,  more  persuasively  than 
any  preacher,  the  cause  of  the  Gospel 
at  the  court  of  France,  and  the  power 
of  this  gentle  female  influence  gains  ad- 
mission for  the  new  doctrines.  Perhaps 
it  is  to  this  period  we  may  trace  the  dis- 
position of  the  noblesse  to  embrace  Pro- 
testantism. If  Francis  had  followed  in 
the  steps  of  his  sister,  if  the  entire  nation 
had  opened  its  arms  to  Christianity,  the 
*  Vies  des  Femmes  Illustres,  p.  341. 


564 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


conversion  of  Margaret  might  have  been 
the  channel  of  salvation  to  France. 
But  whilst  the  nobles  welcomed  the  Gos- 
pel, the  throne  and  the  people  adhered 
faithful  to  Rome, — and  a  day  came  when 
it  was  a  source  of  heavy  misfortune  to 
the  Reformation  to  have  numbered  in  its 
ranks  the  names  of  Navarre  and  Conde. 

Thus  already  had  the  Gospel  made 
converts  in  France.  Lefevre,  Briconnet, 
Farel,  Margaret,  in  Paris,  joyfully  fol- 
lowed in  the  direction  of  the  movement. 
It  seemed  as  if  Francis  himself  was  more 
attracted  by  the  light  of  learning  than 
repelled  by  the  purity  of  the  Gospel. 
The  friends  of  God's  word  encouraged 
the  most  hopeful  anticipations,  and  were 
pleasing  themselves  with  the  thought 
that  the  heavenly  doctrine  would  spread, 
unresisted,  through  their  country,  when 
suddenly  a  powerful  opposition  was  con- 
cocted in  the  Sorbonne,  and  at  the  court. 
France,  which  was  to  signalize  herself 
among  Roman  Catholic  states  by  three 
centuries  of  persecution  of  the  Re- 
formed opinions,  arose  against  the  Ref- 
ormation with  pitiless  sternness.  If  the 
seventeenth  century  was,  in  France,  an 
age  of  bloody  persecution,  the  sixteenth 
was  that  of  cruel  struggle.  In  no  coun- 
try, perhaps,  have  those  who  professed 
the  reformed  faith  met  with  more  merci- 
less opposers  on  the  very  spots  where 
they  brought  the  Gospel.  In  Germany 
the  anger  of  the  enemy  came  upon  them 
from  other  states,  where  the  storm  had 
been  gathering.  In  Switzerland,  it  fell 
upon  them  from  the  neighbouring  can- 
tons ;  but  in  France  it  everywhere,  met 
them  face  to  face.  A  dissolute  woman 
and  a  rapacious  minister  then  took  the 
lead  in  the  long  line  of  enemies  of  the 
Reformation. 

Louisa  of  Savoy,  mother  of  the  king 
and  of  Margaret,  notorious  for  her  gal- 
lantries, of  overbearing  temper,  and  sur- 
rounded by  ladies  of  honour,  whose  li- 
centiousness was  the  beginning  of  a  long 
train  of  immorality  and  infamy  at  the 
court  of  France,  naturally  ranged  herself 
on  the  side  of  the  opposers  of  God's 
word.  What  rendered  her  more  formi- 
dable was  the  almost  unbounded  influ- 
ence she  possessed  over  her  son.  But 
the  Gospel  encountered  a  still  more  for- 
midable enemy  in  Anthony  Duprat, 
Louisa's  favourite,  and,  by  her  influence, 


elevated  to  the  rank  of  chancellor  of  the 
kingdom.  This  man,  whom  a  contem- 
porary historian  has  designated  as  the 
most  vicious  of  bipeds,*  was  yet  more 
noted  for  avarice  than  Louisa  for  her  dis- 
solute life.  Having  begun  with  enrich- 
ing himself  by  perverting  justice,  he 
sought  to  add  to  his  wealth  at  the  cost  of 
religion  ;  and  took  orders  with  a  view  to 
get  possession  of  the  richest  benefices. 

Luxury  and  avarice  thus  characterized 
these  two  persons,  who,  being  both  de- 
voted to  the  Pope,  sought  to  cover  the  in- 
famy of  their  lives  by  shedding  the  blood 
of  heretics.f 

One  of  their  first  steps  was  to  hand 
over  the  kingdom  to  the  ecclesiastical 
supremacy  of  the  Pope.  The  king,  af- 
ter the  battle  of  Marignan,  had  a  meet- 
ing with  Leo  X.  at  Bologna,  and  in  that 
place  was  concluded  the  memorable  Con- 
cordat, in  virtue  of  which  those  two 
princes  divided  between  them  the  spoils 
of  the  Church.  They  annulled  the 
supremacy  of  Councils  to  ascribe  su- 
premacy to  the  Poj)e,  and  took  from  the 
respective  churches  the  power  of  nom- 
inating to  bishoprics,  to  give  that  power 
to  the  king.  After  this,  Francis  the 
First,  supporting  the  Pontiff's  train,  re- 
paired publicly  to  the  cathedral  church  of 
Bologna  to  ratify  the  treaty.  Sensible  of 
the  iniquity  of  the  Concordat,  he  turned 
to  Duprat,  and  whispered  in  his  ear, — 
"  There  is  enough  in  this  to  damn  us 
both."!'  But  what  signified  to  him  sal- 
vation,— money  and  the  Pope's  alliance 
was  what  he  sought. 

The  Parliament  met  the  Concordat 
with  a  vigorous  resistance.  The  king, 
after  keeping  its  deputies  waiting  for 
some  weeks  at  Amboise,  sent  for  them 
one  day  into  his  presence,  upon  rising 
from  table,  and  said :  "  There  is  a  king 
in  France,  and  I  don't  at  all  understand 
that  any  men  should  form  a  senate  after 
the  manner  of  Venice."  He  then  or- 
dered them  to  depart  before  sunset.  From 
such  a  prince,  Gospel  liberty  had  nothing 
to  hope.  Three  days  afterwards,  the 
Grand  Chamberlain-  la  Tremouille  ap- 
peared in  Parliament,  and  directed  that 
the  Concordat  should  be  enregistered. 

*  Bipedum  omnium  nequissimus. — (Belcarius, 
xv.  p.  435.) 

t  Sismondi.  Hist,  des  Fran^ais,  xvi.  p.  387. 
t  Mathieu,  i.  p.  16. 


THE  FRENCH— 1500— 1526. 


565 


On  this,  the  University  was  in  motion. 
On  the  18th  of  March,  1518,  a  solemn 
procession,  at  which  were  present  the 
whole  body  of  students  and  bachelors  in 
their  corps,  repaired  to  the  church  of  St. 
Catherine  of  Scholars,  to  implore  God  to 
preserve  the  liberties  of  the  Church  and 
kingdom.*  "  The  halls  of  the  different 
colleges  were  closed  ;  strong  bodies  of 
students  went  armed  through  the  streets, 
threatening  and  in  some  instances  mal- 
treating consequential  persons,  engaged 
pursuant  to  the  king's  directions,  in  ma- 
king known  the  Concordat  and  carry- 
ing it  into  effect."!  However,  in  the  re- 
sult, the  University  allowed  the  compact 
to  be  fulfilled,  but  without  rescinding  the 
resolutions  in  which  their  opposition  to 
it  was  declared  ;  and  "  from  that  time," 
says  the  Venetian  ambassador  Correro, 
"  the  king  began  to  give  away  bishoprics 
at  the  solicitation  of  the  ladies  of  the 
court,  and  to  bestow  abbey  lands  on  his 
soldiers,  so  that  at  the  French  court  bish- 
oprics and  abbeys  were  counted  mer- 
chandise, just  as  among  the  Venetians 
they  trade  in  pepper  and  cinnamon. "| 

Whilst  Louisa  and  Duprat  were  ta- 
king their  measures  to  root  up  the  Gos- 
pel by  the  destruction  of  the  Gallican 
Church,  a  powerful  party  of  fanatics 
were  gathering  together  against  the  Bi- 
ble. The  truth  of  the  Gospel  has  ever 
had  two  great  adversaries, — the  profli- 
gacy of  the  world,  and  the  fanaticism  of 
the  priests.  The  soholastic  Sorbonne  and 
a  shameless  court,  were  now  about  to  go 
forward  hand  in  hand  against  the  con- 
fessors of  Jesus  Christ.  The  unbeliev- 
ing Sadducees  and  hypocritical  Phari- 
sees, in  the  early  days  of  the  Gospel, 
were  the  fiercest  enemies  of  Christianity, 
and  they  are  alike  in  every  age.  At 
their  head  stood  Noel  Bedier,  commonly 
called  Beda,  a  native  of  Picardy,  syndic 
of  the  Sorbonne,  who  had  the  reputa- 
tion of  the  first  blusterer  and  most  fac- 
tious disturber  of  his  time.  Educated  in 
the  dry  maxims  of  scholastic  morality,  he 
had  grown  up  in  the  constant  hearing  of 
the  theses  and  antitheses  of  his  college, 
and  had  more  veneration  for  the  hair- 
breadth distinctions  of  the  school,  than 

*  Crevier,  v.  p.  110. 

t  Fontaine,  Hist.  Cathol.     Paris,  1562,  p.  16. 

t  Raumer.  Gesch.  Europ  i.  p.  270. 


for  God's  word,  so  that  his  anger  was 
readily  excited  whenever  any  one  ven- 
tured to  give  utterance  to  other  thoughts. 
Of  a  restless  disposition,  that  required 
continually  to  be  engaged  in  pursuit  of 
new  objects,  he  was  a  torment  to  all 
about  him ;  his  very  element  was  trou- 
ble ;  he  seemed  born  for  contention ;  and 
when  adversaries  were  not  at  hand,  he 
would  fall  upon  his  friends.  Boastful 
and  impetuous,  he  filled  the  city  and  the 
university  with  the  noise  of  his  disputa- 
tion,— with  his  invectives  against  learn- 
ing and  the  innovations  of  that  age, — as 
also  against  those,  who,  in  his  opinion, 
did  not  sufficiently  oppose  them.  Some 
laughed,  others  gave  ear  to  the  fierce 
talker,  and  in  the  Sorbonne  his  violence 
gave  him  the  mastery.  He  seemed  to  be 
ever  seeking  some  opponent,  or  some  vic- 
tim to  drag  to  the  scaffold — hence,  before 
the  "  heretics"  began  to  show  themselves, 
his  imagination  had  created  them,  and 
he  had  required  that  the  vicar-general  of 
Paris,  Merlin,  should  be  brought  to  the 
stake,  on  the  charge  of  having  defended 
Origen.  But  when  he  caught  sight  of 
the  new  teachers,  he  bounded  like  a  wild 
beast  that  suddenly  comes  within  view 
of  its  unsuspecting  prey.  "  There  are 
three  thousand  monks  in  one  Beda,"  re- 
marked the  wary  Erasmus.* 

Yet  his  violence  injured  the  cause  he 
laboured  to  advance.  "  What !  can  the 
Romish  Church  rest  for  her  support  on 
such  an  Atlas  as  that?f  Whence  all 
this  commotion  but  from  the  insane  vio- 
lence of  Beda  ?"  was  the  reflection  of  the 
wisest. 

In  truth  the  invectives  that  -terrified 
the  weak,  revolted  nobler  minds.  At  the 
court  of  Francis  the  First,  was  a  gentle- 
man of  Artois,  by  name  Louis  Berquin, 
about  thirty  years  of  age,  who  was  never 
married.  The  purity  of  his  life,|  his  ac- 
curate knowledge,  which  had  won  him 
the  appellation  of  "  most  learned  among 
the  noble,"  §  his  ingenuousness,  compas- 
sion for  the  poor,  and  unbounded  attach- 
ment to  his  friends,  distinguished  him 

*  In  uno  Beda  sunt  tria  millia  monachorum. 
— (Erasmi  Epp.  p.  373.) 

t  Talibus  Atlantibus  nititur  Ecclesia  romana. 
—(Ibid.  p.  113.) 

t  Ut  ne  rumusculus  quidem  impudicitise  sit  un- 
quam  in  ilium  exortus. — (Erasmi  Epp.  p.  1278.) 

§  Gaillard  Hist,  de  Francis  ler. 


566 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


above  his  equals.*  The  rites  of  the 
Church,  its  fasts,  festivals,  and  masses, 
had  not  a  more  devout  observer,!  and  he 
held  in  especial  horror  every  thing  heret- 
ical. His  devotion  was  indeed  the  won- 
der of  the  whole  court. 

It  seemed  as  if  nothing  could  have 
given  this  man  a  turn  in  favour  of  the 
Reformation  ;  nevertheless,  some  points 
of  his  character  disposed  him  toward  the 
Gospel.  He  had  a  horror  of  all  dissimu- 
lation, and  having  himself  no  ill-will  to 
any,  he  could  not  endure  injustice  in  oth- 
ers. The  overbearing  violence  of  Beda 
and  other  fanatics,  their  shuffling  and 
persecutions  disgusted  his  generous  heart, 
and  as  he  was  accustomed  in  every  thing 
to  go  heartily  to  work,  he,  ere  long, 
wherever  he  came,  in  the  city  and  at 
court,  even  in  the  first  circles,!  was  heard 
vehemently  protesting  against  the  tyran- 
ny of  those  doctors,  and  pursuing  into 
their  very  holes  the  pestilent  hornets  who 
then  kept  the  world  in  fear.$ 

But  this  was  not  all :  for  his  opposi- 
tion to  injustice  led  Berquin  to  enquire 
after  the  truth.  He  resolved  on  know- 
ing more  of  that  Holy  Scripture  so  dear 
to  the  men  against  whom  Beda  and  his 
parly  were  conspiring  ; — and  scarcely 
had  he  begun  to  study  it,  than  his  heart 
was  won  by  it.  Berquin  immediately 
sought  the  intimacy  of  Margaret,  Briqon- 
net,  Lefevre,  and  those  who  loved  the 
truth  ;  and  in  their  society  tasted  of  the 
purest  delight.  He  became  sensible  that 
he  had  something  else  to  do  than  to  stand 
up  against  the  Sorbonne,  and  gladly 
would  he  have  communicated  to  all 
France  the  new  convictions  of  his  soul. 
With  this  view  he  sat  down  to  compose 
and  translate  into  French  certain  chris- 
tian writings.  To  him  it  seemed  as  if 
every  one  must  confess  and  embrace  the 
truth  as  promptly  as  he  himself  had  done. 
The  impatient  zeal  that  Beda  brought  to 
the  service  of  traditions  of  men,  Berquin 
employed  in  the  cause  of  God's  truth. 
Somewhat  younger  than  the  syndic  of 
the  Sorbonne,  less  wary,  less  acute,  he 

*  Mirere  benignus  in  egenos  et  amicos. — (Er. 
Epp.  p.  1238.) 

t  Constitutionum  ac  rituum  ecclesiasticorum 
observantissimus  .  .  .  . — (Ibid.) 

t  Actes  des  Martyrs  de  Crespin,  p.  103. 

§  Ut  maxime  omnium  tunc  metuendos  era- 
bones  in  ipsis  eorum  cavis  . . . . — (Bezee  Icones.) 


had  in  his  favour  the  noble  incentive  of 
a  love  of  truth.  Berquin  had  a  higher 
object  than  victory  over  his  antagonist 
when  he  stood  up  against  Beda.  It  was 
his  aim  to  let  loose  the  flood  of  truth 
among  his  countrymen.  On  this  account, 
Theodore  Beza  observes,  "  that  if  Francis 
the  First  had  been  another  Elector,  Ber- 
quin might  have  come  down  to  us  as  an- 
other Luther."* 

Many  were  the  obstacles  in  his  way. 
Fanaticism  finds  disciples  everywhere, — 
it  is  a  contagious  infection.  The  monks 
and  ignorant  priests  sided  with  the  syn- 
dic of  the  Sorbonne.  An  esprit  de  corps 
pervaded  their  whole  company,  governed 
by  a  few  intriguing  and  fanatical  leaders, 
who  knew  how  to  work  upon  the  credu- 
lity and  vanity  of  their  colleagues,  and 
by  that  means  communicate  to  them  their 
own  animosities.  At  all  their  meetings 
these  persons  took  the  lead,  lording  it 
over  others,  and  reducing  to  silence  the 
timid  and  moderate  of  their  body.  Hard- 
ly could  they  propose  any  thing,  when 
this  party  exclaimed,  in  an  overbearing 
tone,  "  Now  we  shall  see  who  are  of  Lu- 
ther's faction."!  If  the  latter  offered  any 
reasonable  suggestion,  instantly  a  shud- 
der passed  from  Beda  to  Lecouturier, 
Duchesne,  and  the  rest,  and  all  exclaim- 
ed, "  Why  they  are  worse  than  Luther." 
The  manoeuvre  answered  their  purpose, 
and  the  timid,  who  prefer  quiet  to  dis- 
putation, and  are  willing  to  give  up  their 
own  opinion  for  their  own  ease, — those 
who  do  not  understand  the  very  simplest 
questions, — and,  lastly,  such  as  are  easily 
turned  round  by  mere  clamour,  were  led 
away  by  Beda  and  his  followers.  Some 
silently,  and  some  assenting  aloud,  sub- 
mitted to  the  influence  exercised  over  or- 
dinary spirits  by  one  proud  and  tyranni- 
cal mind.  Such  was  the  state  of  this 
association,  regarded  as  venerable,  and 
which,  at  this  time,  was  found  among  the 
most  determined  opposers  of  the  Chris- 
tianity of  the  Gospel.  Often  would  one 
glance  within  the  interior  of  such  bodies 
suffice  to  enable  us  to  estimate  at  its  true 
value  the  war  they  wage  against  truth. 

Thus  the  University  which,  under 
Louis  XII..  had  applauded  the  first  ink- 

*  Gallia  fortassis  alteram  esset  Lutherum 
nacta. — (Bezse  Icones.) 

t  Hie  inquiunt,  apparebit  qui  sint  Lutheranae 
factionis.— (Er.  Epp.  p.  889.) 


THE  FRENCH.— 1500— 1526. 


567 


lings  of  independence  in  Allman,  ab- 
ruptly plunged  once  more,  under  the 
guidance  of  Duprat  and  Louisa  of  Savoy, 
into  fanaticism  and  servility.  If  we  ex- 
cept the  Jansenists,  and  a  few  others,  no 
where  in  the  Gallican  clergy  do  we  find 
a  noble  and  genuine  independence.  It 
has  done  no  more  than  vibrate  between 
servility  to  the  court,  and  servility  to  the 
Pope.  If,  under  Louis  XII.  or  Louis 
XIV.,  we  notice  some  faint  semblance  of 
liberty,  it  is  because  its  master  in  Paris 
was  at  strife  with  its  master  in  Rome. 
Herein  we  have  the  solution  of  the 
change  we  have  noticed.  The  Univer- 
sity and  the  Bishops  forgot  their  rights 
and  obligations,  the  moment  the  King 
ceased  to  enjoin  the  assertion  of  them ! 

Beda  had  long  cherished  ill-will 
against  Lefevre.  The  renown  of  the 
doctor  of  Picardy  irritated  and  ruffled  the 
pride  of  his  countryman,  who  would 
gladly  have  silenced  him.  Once  before, 
Beda  had  attacked  the  doctor  of  Eiaples, 
and,  having  as  yet  but  little  discernment 
of  the  true  point  of  the  evangelic  doc- 
trines, he  had  assailed  his  colleague  on  a 
point  which,  strange  as  it  must  to  us  ap- 
pear, was  very  near  sending  Lefevre  to 
the  scaffold.*  The  doctor  had  asserted 
that  Mary  the  sister  of  Lazarus,  Mary 
Magdalen,  and  the  woman  who  was  a 
sinner,  (mentioned  by  Luke  in  his  sev- 
enth chapter,)  were  three  distinct  per- 
sons. The  Greek  fathers  had  considered 
them  as  distinct,  but  the  fathers  of  the 
Latin  Church  had  spoken  of  them  as  one 
and  the  same.  This  shocking  heresy, 
in  relation  to  the  three  Maries,  set  Beda 
and  all  his  clique  in  motion.  Christen- 
dom itself  was  roused.  Fisher,  bishop 
of  Rochester,  and  one  of  the  most  emi- 
nent prelates  of  the  age,  wrote  against 
Lefevre,  and  the  whole  church  declared 
against  a  judgment  that  is  now  univer- 
sally received  among  Roman  Catho- 
lics themselves.  Already,  Lefevre,  con- 
demned by  the  Sorbonne,  was  prosecuted 
by  the  Parliament  on  the  charge  of  here- 
sy, when  Francis  I.,  not  sorry  to  have  an 
opportunity  of  striking  a  blow  at  the 
Sorbonne,  and  humbling  the  monks,  in- 
terfered, and  rescued  him  from  the  hands 
of  his  persecutors. 

Beda,  enraged  at   seeing  his  victim 

*  Gaillard  Hist,  de  Francis  Ier.  iv.  p.  228. 


thus  snatched  from  his  grasp,  resolved 
on  taking  his  next  measures  more  cun- 
ningly. The  name  of  Luther  was  be- 
ginning to  be  noised  in  France.  The 
Reformer,  after  disputing  against  Eck  at 
Leipsic,  had  agreed  to  acknowledge  the 
universities  of  Erfurth  and  of  Paris  as  his 
judges.  The  zeal  displayed  by  the  Uni- 
versity against  the  Concordat  doubtless 
led  him  to  expect  an  impartial  verdict. 
But  a  change  had  taken  place,  and  the 
more  decided  their  opposition  to  the  en- 
croachments of  Rome,  the  more  did  the 
members  of  the  University  seem  to  have 
it  at  heart  to  make  proof  of  their  ortho- 
doxy. Beda,  accordingly,  found  them 
quite  disposed  to  enter  into  all  his  views. 

On  the  20th  of  January,  1520,  the 
questor  of  France  purchased  twenty  cop- 
ies of  Luther's  conference  with  Eck,  to 
distribute  them  among  the  members  of  the 
commission  charged  to  make  its  report 
on  the  matter.  More  than  a  year  was 
taken  up  in  the  investigation.  The  Ger- 
man Reformation  was  beginning  to  pro- 
duce a  strong  sensation  in  France.  The 
several  universities,  then  truly  Catholic 
institutions,  resorted  to  from  all  parts  of 
Christendom,  maintained  a  more  direct 
and  intimate  intercourse,  on  topics  of 
theology  and  philosophy,  between  Ger- 
many, France,  and  England,  than  exists 
in  our  own  day.  The  report,  brought  to 
Paris,  of  Luther's  labours  and  success, 
strengthened  the  hands  of  such  men  as 
Lefevre,  Briqonnet,  and  Farel.  Some  of 
the  divines  of  the  Sorbonne  were  struck 
by  the  truths  they  saw  in  the  writings  of 
the  Wittemberg  monk.  Now  and  then 
a  bold  confession  was  heard ;  but  there 
was  also  fierce  opposers.  "  Europe," 
says  Crevier,  "was  all  expectation  of 
the  decision  of  the  University  of  Paris." 
The  issue  seemed  doubtful, — but  Beda 
finally  triumphed.  In  April,  1521,  the 
University  decreed  that  the  writings  of 
Luther  should  be  publicly  committed  to 
the  flames,  and  that  the  author  should 
be  compelled  to  retract. 

Further  measures  were  resolved  on. 
Luther's  disciples  had  crossed  the  Rhine, 
even  before  his  writings.  Maimbourg 
tells  us  that  the  University  was  quickly 
filled  with  foreigners,  who,  having  ob- 
tained a  reputation  on  the  strength  of 
some  knowledge  of  Hebrew,  and  more 
of  Greek,  crept  into  the  houses  of  per- 


568 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


sons  of  distinction,  and  took  upon  them 
the  liberty  of  explaining  the  Scriptures.* 
The  faculty,  therefore,  sent  a  deputation 
to  the  king  to  call  attention  to  these  dis- 
orders. 

Francis  the  First,  caring  little  for  the- 
ological dissensions,  was  then  pursuing 
the  career  of  his  pleasures.  Passing  from 
one  chateau  to  another,  in  company  with 
his  gentlemen  and  the  ladies  of  his  moth- 
er's and  his  sister's  court,  he  indulged  in 
every  species  of  dissolute  excess,  out  of 
the  range  of  the  troublesome  observation 
of  his  capital.  In  this  way  he  passed 
through  Britainy,  Anjou,  Guienne,  An- 
goumois,  Poitou,  requiring,  in  villages 
and  forests,  the  same  attention  and  luxu- 
ry as  if  he  had  been  in  the  Chateau  des 
Tournelles  at  Paris.  Nothing  was  heard 
of  but  tournaments,  single  combats,  mas- 
querades, shows,  and  feastings,  "  such," 
says  Brantome,  u  that  Lucullus  himself 
never  saw  the  like."t 

Suspending  for  a  moment  the  course 
of  his  pleasures,  he  gave  audience  to  the 
grave  deputies  of  the  Sorbonne  ;  but  he 
saw  only  men  of  learning  in  those  whom 
the  faculty  designated  as  heretics;  and 
should  a  prince,  who  boasts  of  having 
eclipsed  and  put  hors  de  page  the  kings 
of  France,  stoop  to  humour  a  clique  of 
fanatical  doctors.  "  I  command  you," 
was  his  answer,  "  not  to  molest  those  peo- 
ple. To  persecute  those  who  teach  us 
would  prevent  able  scholars  from  settling 
in  our  country."  % 

The  deputation  quitted  the  royal  pres- 
ence in  a  rage.  What  then  is  to  be  the 
consequence  1  The  danger  is  every  day 
greater,  already  the  heretical  sentiments 
are  counted  as  those  of  the  best  informed 
classes, — the  devouring  flame  is  circu- 
lating between  the  rafters, — the  confla- 
gration will  presently  burst  forth,  and 
the  structure  of  the  established  faith  will 
fall,  with  sudden  crash,  to  the  earth. 

Beda  and  his  party,  failing  to  obtain 
the  king's  permission  to  resort  to  scaf- 
folds, had  recourse  to  more  quiet  perse- 
cution. There  was  no  kind  of  annoy- 
ance to  which  the  evangelic  teachers 
were  not  subjected.  Every  day  brought 
with  it  new  rumours  and  new  charges. 
The  aged  Lefevre,  wearied  out  by  these 

*  Histoire  du  Calvinisme,  p.  10. 

r  Vie  des  Hommes  Illustres,  i.  p.  326. 

X  Maimbourg,  p.  11. 


ignorant  zealots,  panted  for  quiet.  The 
pious  Briconnet,  who  was  unremitting  in 
his  attentions  to  the  Doctor  of  Etaples,* 
offered  him  an  asylum.  Lefevre,  there- 
fore, took  leave  of  Paris,  and  repaired  to 
Meaux.  It  was  a  first  advantage  gained 
by  the  enemies  of  the  Gospel,  and  thence- 
forth it  was  seen  that  if  the  party  cannot 
enlist  the  civil  power  on  its  side,  it  has 
ever  a  secret  and  fanatical  police,  which 
it  knows  how  to  use,  so  as  to  ensure  the 
attainment  of  its  ends. 

Thus  Paris  was  beginning  to  rise 
against  the  Reformation,  and  to  trace,  as 
it  were,  the  first  lines  of  that  enclosure 
which,  for  three  centuries,  was  to  bar  the 
entrance  of  the  Reformation.  God  had 
appointed  that  in  Paris  itself  its  first  glim- 
mering should  appear;  but  men  arose 
who  hastily  extinguished  it ; — the  spirit 
of  the  sixteen  chiefs  was  already  work- 
ing, and  other  cities  in  the  kingdom  were 
about  to  receive  that  light  which  the  cap- 
ital itself  rejected. 

Briconnet,  on  returning  to  his  diocese, 
there  manifested  the  zeal  of  a  Christian 
and  of  a  bishop.  He  visited  all  the  par- 
ishes, and  having  called  together  the 
deans,  curates,  vicars,  church-wardens, 
and  principal  parishioners,  he  made  en- 
quiries respecting  the  teaching  and  man- 
ner of  life  of  the  preachers.  "At  the 
time  of  the  gathering,"  they  replied, 
"  the  Franciscans  of  Meaux  sally  forth  ; 
a  single  preacher  goes  over  four  or  five 
parishes  in  one  day  ;  repeating  as  many 
times  the  same  sermon,  not  to  feed  the 
souls  of  his  hearers,  but  to  fill  his  belly, 
and  enrich  his  convent,  f  The  scrip  once 
replenished,  the  object  is  answered  ;  the  ' 
preaching  is  at  an  end,  and  the  monks 
are  not  seen  again  in  the  churches  until 
begging  time  comes  round  again.  The 
only  thing  these  shepherds  attend  to  is 
the  shearing  of  their  flocks."^ 

The  majority  of  the  curates  lived  upon 
their  incomes  at  Paris.  "  Oh  !"  exclaimed 
the  pious  bishop,  on  finding  the  presbyte- 
ry he  had  come  to  visit  deserted,  "  must 

*  Pro  innumerfs  beneficiis,  pro  tantis  ad  studia 
commodis. — (Epist.  dedicatoria  Epp.  Pauli.) 

t  Eo  solum  doceri  quae  ad  coenobium  illoram 
ac  ventrem  explendum  pertinerent. — (Acta  Mart, 
p.  334.) 

X  MS.  de  Meaux.  I  am  indebted  to  M.  La- 
deveze,  pastor  of  Meaux,  for  the  communication 
of  a  copy  of  this  MS.  preserved  in  that  city. 


THE  FRENCH.— 1500— 1526. 


569 


we  not  regard  those  who  thus  forsake  the 
service  of  Christ,*  traitors  to  him  ?"  Bri- 
connet resolved  to  apply  a  remedy  to  these 
evils,  and  convoked  a  synod  of  all  his 
clergy  for  the  13th  of  October,  1519. 
But  these  worldly  priests,  who  gave  but 
little  heed  to  the  remonstrances  of  their 
bishop,  and  for  whom  Paris  possessed 
so  many  attractions,  took  advantage  of  a 
custom,  by  virtue  of  which  tl\ey  were  al- 
lowed to  substitute  one  or  more  vicars  to 
look  after  their  flocks  in  their  absence. 
Out  of  a  hundred  and  twenty-seven  vic- 
ars, Briconnet,  upon  examination,  found 
only  fourteen  whom  he  could  approve. 

Earthly-minded  curates,  imbecile  vic- 
ars, monks  whose  God  was  their  belly, 
such,  then,  was  the  state  of  the  church. 
Briconnet  forbade  the  pulpit  to  the  Fran- 
ciscans,f  and,  being  persuaded  that  the 
only  method  of  supplying  able  ministers 
in  his  diocese,  was  himself  to  train  them, 
he  determined  to  found  a  school  of  theol- 
ogy at  Meaux,  under  the  superintendence 
of  pious  and  learned  doctors.  It  became 
necessary  to  look  around  for  such  per- 
sons. Beda,  however,  supplied  him  with 
them. 

This  fanatic  and  his  troop  continued 
their  efforts,  and  complaining  bitterly 
against  the  government  for  tolerating  the 
new  teachers,  declared  they  would  wage 
war  against  their  doctrines  without,  and 
even  against  its  orders.  Lefevre  had  in- 
deed quitted  the  capital,  but  were  not 
Farel  and  his  friends  still  there.  Farel, 
it  is  true,  did  not  preach,  for  he  was  not 
in  priest's  orders ;  but  in  the  university, 
in  the  city,  with  professors,  priests,  stu- 
dents, and  citizens,  he  boldly  maintained 
the  cause  of  the  Reformation.  Others, 
emboldened  by  his  example,  circulated 
more  freely  the  word  of  God.  Martial 
Mazurier,  president  of  St.  Michael's  col- 
lege, and  distinguished  as  a  preacher, 
unsparingly  depicted  the  disorders  of  the 
time,  in  the  darkest  and  yet  the  truest 
colours,  and  it  seemed  scarce  possible  to 
withstand  the  force  of  his  eloquence.  | 
The  rage  of  Beda,  and  those  divines  who 
acted  with  him,  was  at  its  height.     "  If 

*  MS.  de  Meaux. 

t  Eis  in  universa  diocesi  sua  praedicationem 
interdixit— (Act.  Mart.  p.  334.) 

t  Frequentissimas  de  reformandis  hominum 
moribus  condones  habuit. — (Lannoi,  Navarrae 
gymnasii  Hist.  p.  261.) 

72 


we  suffer  these  innovators,"  said  Beda, 
"  they  will  spread  through  our  whole 
company,  and  there  will  be  an  end  of  our 
teaching  and  tradition,  as  well  as  of  our 
places,  and  the  respect  France  and  all 
Christendom  have  hitherto  paid  us." 

The  doctors  of  the  Sorbonne  were  the 
stronger  party.  Farel,  Mazurier,  Gerard 
Roussel,  and  his  brother  Arnaud,  soon 
found  their  active  service  every  where 
counteracted.  The  Bishop  of  Meaux 
pressed  his  friends  to  rejoin  Lefevre, — 
and  these  worthy  men,  persecuted  and 
hunted  by  the  Sorbonne,  and  hoping  to 
form  with  Briconnet  a  sacred  phalanx  for 
the  triumph  of  truth,  accepted  the  bish- 
op's invitation,  and  repaired  to  Meaux.* 
Thus,  the  light  of  the  Gospel  was  grad- 
ually withdrawn  from  the  capital  where 
Providence  had  kindled  its  first  sparks. 
"  This  is  the  condemnation,  that  light  is 
come  into  the  ivorld,  and  men  love  dark- 
ness rather  than  light,  because  their  deeds 
are  evilP\  It  is  impossible  not  to  discern 
that  Paris  then  drew  down  upon  it  that 
judgment  of  God  which  is  here  conveyed 
in  the  words  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Margaret  of  Valois,  successively  de- 
prived of  Briconnet,  Lefevre,  and  their 
friends,  found  herself  alone  in  the  centre 
of  Paris,  and  of  the  dissolute  court  of 
Francis  I.  A  young  princess,  sister  to 
her  mother,  Philibert  of  Savoy,  lived  on 
intimacy  with  her.  Philibert,  whom  the 
king  of  France  had  given  in  marriage  to 
Julian  the  Magnificent,  brother  of  Leo 
X.,  in  confirmation  of  the  Concordat,  had, 
after  her  nuptials,  repaired  to  Rome, 
where  the  Pope,  delighted  with  so  illus- 
trious an  alliance,  had  expended  no  less 
than  150,000  ducats  in  festive  entertain- 
ments on  the  occasion. ;£  In  1516,  Julian, 
who  then  commanded  the  Papal  forces, 
died,  leaving  his  widow  only  eighteen. 
She  attached  herself  to  Margaret,  being 
attracted  by  the  influence  which  the 
character  and  virtues  of  that  princess 
ffave  her  over  all  about  her.  The  grief 
of  Philibert  unclosed  her  heart  to  the 
voice  of  religion.  Margaret  imparted  to 
her  the  fruit  of  her  reading,  and  the  wid- 
ow of  the  lieutenant-general  of  the  Church 

*  It  was  the  persecution  which  arose  against 
them  in  Paris,  in  1521,  which  compelled  them 
to  leave  that  city. — (Vie  de  Farel,  par  Chaupard.) 

t  St.  John  iii.  19. 

X  Guichemon.  Hist.  gen.  de  Savoie,  ii.  p.  18Q. 


570 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


began  to  taste  the  sweetness  of  the  saving 
truth.  But  Philibert  had  as  yet  too  little 
experience  to  be  a  support  to  her  friend, 
and  often  did  Margaret  tremble  at  the 
thought  of  her  own  extreme  weakness. 
If  the  love  she  bore  her  king,  and  her 
fear  of  offending  him,  led  her  to  any  ac- 
tion contrary  to  her  conscience,  instantly 
her  soul  was  troubled,  and,  turning  in 
sorrow  to  the  Lord,  she  found  in  him  a 
master  and  brother  more  gracious  and 
sweet  to  her  heart  than  Francis  himself. 
It  was  in  such  a  season  she  breathed  forth 
those  feelings : — 

Sweet  Brother,  who  in  place  of  chastenings  meet, 
Lead'st  gently  home  thy  wandering  sister's  feet, 
Giving  thy  Grace  and  Love  in  recompense 
Of  murmurings,  presumption,  and  offence. 
Too  much,  my  Brother, — too  much  hast  thou 

done: 
The  blessing  is  too  vast  for  such  an  one.* 

When  she  saw  all  her  friends  retiring 
to  Meaux,  Margaret  turned  after  them  a 
look  of  sorrow  from  the  midst  of  the  fes- 
tivities of  the  court.  She  seemed  desert- 
ed of  all, — her  husband  the  Duke  of 
Alencon  was  setting  out  for  the  army, — 
her  young  aunt  Philibert  was  returning 
to  Savoy.  The  Duchess  wrote  to  Bri- 
connet,  as  follows  : — 

"  Monsieur  de  Meax, — Knowing  that 
God  is  all-sufficient,  I  apply  to  you  to 
ask  your  prayers  that  He  will  conduct  in 
safety,  according  to  His  holy  will,  M. 
d'Alenqon,  who  is  about  to  take  his  de- 
parture, by  order  of  the  king,  as  lieuten- 
ant-general of  his  army,  which  I  appre- 
hend will  not  break  up  without  a  war ; 
and,  thinking  that,  besides  the  public 
good  of  the  kingdom,  you  have  an  inter- 
est in  all  that  concerns  his  and  my  salva- 
tion, I  request  your  spiritual  aid.  To- 
morrow, my  aunt  leaves  Nemours  for  Sa- 
voy. I  must  be  mixed  up  with  many 
things  which  I  dread.  Therefore,  if  you 
should  know  that  master  Michael  could 
make  a  journey  hither,  it  would  be  a 
comfort  to  me,  which  I  desire  only  for 
the  honour  of  God."f 

Michael  Arand,  whose  counsel  Mar- 
garet desired,  was  one  of  the  members 
of  the  evangelic  assembly  at  Meaux, 
who,  at  a  later  period,  exposed  himself 

*  Miroir  de  l'ame  pe"cheresse.  Marguerites 
de  la  Marguerite,  &c.  i.  p.  36. 

t  Lettres  de  Marguerite,  reine  de  Navarre. — 
(Bibl.  Royale  Manuscript,  S.  F.  337.     1521.) 


to  many  dangers  in  preaching  the  Gos- 
pel. 

The  pious  princess  trembled  to  see  an 
opposition  gathering  strength  against  the 
truth.  Duprat  and  the  retainers  of  the 
government,  Beda  and  those  who  ad- 
hered to  the  University,  inspired  her  with 
terror.  Bri<jonnet  wrote  cheeringly — "  It 
is  the  war  which  the  gentle  Jesus  said 
he  was  come  to  send  upon  earth, — the 
fire,  the  fierce  fire  which  transforms 
earthliness  into  that  which  is  heavenly. 
With  all  my  heart  do  I  desire  to  help  you, 
Madam ;  but  do  not  expect  from  my 
weakness  any  more  than  the  will  to 
serve  you.  Whoever  has  faith,  hope, 
love,  has  all  that  is  necessary,  and  need- 
eth  not  any  other  help  or  protection.  God 
will  be  all, — and  out  of  Him  we  can 
hope  for  nothing.  Take  with  you  into 
the  conflict  that  mighty  giant,  uncon- 
querable Love.  The  war  is  led  on  by 
Love.  Jesus  requires  to  have  our  hearts 
in  his  presence  :  woe  befals  the  Christian 
who  parts  company  from  Him.  He  who 
is  present  in  person  in  the  battle  is  sure 
of  victory  ;  but  if  the  battle  is  fought  out 
of  His  own  presence,  he  will  often  lose 
ground."* 

The  Bishop  of  Meaux  was  then  be- 
ginning to  experience  what  it  is  to  con- 
tend for  the  word  of  God.  The  theolo- 
gians and  monks,  irritated  by  the  shelter 
he  had  afforded  to  the  friends  of  the  Ref- 
ormation, vehemently  accused  him,  so 
that  his  brother,  the  Bishop  of  St.  Malo, 
came  to  Paris  to  enquire  into  the  charges 
brought  against  him.f  Hence  Margaret 
was  the  more  touched  by  the  comfortings 
which  Briqonnet  addressed  to  her ;  and 
she  answered  by  offering  him  her  assist- 
ance. 

"  If  in  any  thing,"  wrote  she,  "  you 
think  that  I  can  be  of  service  to  you  or 
your's,  be  assured  that  I  shall  find  com- 
fort in  doing  all  I  can.  Everlasting 
Peace  be  given  to  you  after  the  long 
struggles  you  have  waged  for  the  faith — 
in  the  which  cause  pray  that  you  may 
live  and  die. 
"Your  devoted  daughter,  Margaret."! 


*  Lettres  de  Marguerite,  reine  de  Navarre. — 
(Bibl.  Royale  Manuscript,  S.F.  337.  12th  June, 
1521.) 

t  MS.  de  Meaux. 

X  MS.  S.F.  227,  de  la  Bibl.  royale. 


THE  FRENCH— 1500— 1526. 


571 


Happy  would  it  have  been  if  Briton- 
net  had  died  while  contending  for  the 
truth.  Yet  was  he  still  full  of  zeal. 
Philibert  of  Nemours,  universally  re- 
spected for  her  piety,  charity,  and  blame- 
less life,  read  with  increasing  interest  the 
evangelical  writings  sent  her  from  time 
to  time  by  the  Bishop  of  Meaux.  "  I 
have  received  all  the  tracts  you  forward- 
ed," wrote  Margaret  to  Bri^onnet,  "  of 
which  my  aunt  of  Nemours  has  taken 
some,  and  I  mean  to  send  her  the  last, 
for  she  is  now  in  Savoy,  called  thither  by 
her  brother's  marriage.  Her  absence  is 
no  small  loss  to  me  ; — think  of  my  lone- 
liness in  your  prayers."  Unhappily, 
Philibert  did  not  live  to  declare  herself 
openly  in  favour  of  the  Reformation. 
She  died,  in  1524,  at  the  castle  of  Virieu 
le  Grand  in  Bugey,  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
six.*  Margaret  was  deeply  sensible  of 
the  loss  of  one  who  was  to  her  a  friend 
— a  sister ;  one  who  could,  indeed,  enter 
into  her  thoughts.  Perhaps  no  loss  by 
death  was  the  occasion  of  more  sorrow 
to  her,  if  we  except  that  of  her  brother. 

Alas !  nor  earth  nor  heaven  above  appears 
To  my  sad  eyes,  so  ceaseless  are  the  tears 
That  from  them  flow.t 

Margaret,  feeling  her '  own  weakness 
to  bear  up  under  her  grief,  and  against 
the  seductions  of  the  court,  applied  to 
Briqonnet  to  exhort  her  to  the  love  of 
God  : — "  The  gentle  and  gracious  Jesus, 
who  wills,  and  who  alone  is  able  to  work 
that  which  he  wills,  in  his  infinite  mer- 
cy, visit  your  heart,  and  lead  it  to  love 
him  with  an  undivided  love.  None  but 
He,  Madam,  hath  power  to  do  this,  and 
we  must  not  seek  light  from  darkness, 
nor  warmth  from  cold.  When  he  draws, 
he  kindles,  and  by  the  warmth  draws  us 
after  him,  enlarging  our  hearts.  You 
write  to  me  to  pity  you  because  you  are 
alone  ;  I  do  not  understand  that  word. 
The  heart  that  is  in  the  world,  and  rest- 
ing in  it,  is  indeed  lonely, — for  many  and 
evil  are  they  who  compass  it  about.  But 
she  whose  heart  is  closed  against  the 
world  and  awake  to  the  gentle  and  gra- 
cious Jesus,  her  true  and  faithful  spouse, 

is  really  alone,  living  on  supplies  from 

• 

*  Guichemon.  Hist,  de  la  maison  de  Savoie, 
ii.  p.  181. 

t  Chanson  spirituelle  apres  la  mort  du  Roi. — 
(Marguerites,  i.  p.  473.) 


One  who  is  all  to  her, — and  yet  not  alone, 
because  never  left  by  Him  who  replen- 
ishes and  preserves  all.  I  cannot  and 
ought  not  to  pity  such  solitude  as  this, 
which  is  more  to  be  prized  than  the 
whole  world  around  us,  from  which  I  am 
confident  that  God  hath  in  his  love  de- 
livered you,  so  that  you  are  no  longer 
its  child.  Continue,  Madam, — alone, — 
abiding  in  Him  who  is  your  all,  and  who 
humbled  himself  to  a  painful  and  igno- 
minious death. 

"  In  commending  myself  to  your  fa- 
vour, I  humbly  entreat  you  not  to  use 
the  words  of  your  last  letters.  You  are 
the  daughter  and  the  spouse  of  God  only. 
No  other  father  hath  any  claim  upon 
you.  I  exhort  and  admonish  you  to  be 
to  Him  such  and  so  good  daughter  as  He 
is  to  you  a  Father  ;  and  since  you  can- 
not attain  to  this,  by  reason  that  finite 
cannot  compare  with  infinite,  I  pray  Him 
to  strengthen  you,  that  you  may  love  and 
serve  Him  with  all  your  heart."* 

Notwithstanding  these  counsels,  Mar- 
garet was  not  yet  comforted.  She  grieved 
over  the  loss  of  those  spiritual  guides  who 
had  been  removed  from  her.  The  new 
pastors  set  over  her  to  reclaim  her,  did 
not  possess  her  confidence  ;  and  notwith- 
standing what  the  bishop  had  said,  she 
felt  alone  amidst  the  court,  and  all  around 
her  seemed  like  a  desolate  wilderness. 
She  wrote  to  Briqonnet  as  follows  : — "As 
a  sheep  wandering  in  a  strange  land,  and 
turning  from  her  pasture  in  distrust  of 
her  new  shepherds,  naturally  lifts  her 
head  to  catch  the  breeze  from  that  quar- 
ter of  the  field  where  the  chief  shepherd 
once  led  her  to  the  tender  grass,  just  so 
am  I  constrained  to  implore  your  love. 
Come  down  from  your  mountain,  and 
look  in  pity  on  the  blindest  of  all  your 
fold,  astray  among  a  people  living  in 
darkness. 

(Signed)         "  MARGrjERiTE."f 

The  Bishop  of  Meaux,  in  his  reply, 
taking  up  the  comparison  of  a  wandering 
sheep,  under  which  Margaret  had  pic- 
tured herself,  uses  it  to  depict  the  myste- 
ries of  Salvation  under  the  figure  of  a 
wood.  "  The  sheep,"  says  he,  "  on  en- 
tering this  wood  under  the  guidance  of 

*  MSC,  S.F.  337,  de  la  Bibl.  royale,  10th 
July, 
t  Ibid. 


572 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


the  Holy  Spirit,  is  at  once  charmed  by 
the  goodness,  beauty,  height,  length, 
breadth,  depth,  and  refreshing  odours  of 
the  forest,  and  looking  round  about,  sees 
only  Him  in  all,  and  all  in  Him  ;  and 
hastening  onward  through  its  green  al- 
leys, finds  it  so  sweet,  that  the  way  be- 
comes life,  joy,  and  consolation."*  The 
bishop  then  describes  the  sheep  trying  in 
vain  to  penetrate  to  the  bounds  of  the  for- 
est (as  a  soul  would  fathom  the  deep 
things  of  God,)  meeting  with  mountains 
which  it  in  vain  endeavours  to  ascend, 
being  stopped  on  all  sides  by  "  inaccessi- 
ble heights."  He  then  shows  the  way 
by  which  the  soul,  inquiring  after  God, 
surmounts  the  difficulties,  and  how  the 
sheep  among  all  the  hirelings,  finds  out 
"  the  Chief  Shepherd's  nook,"  and  "  en- 
ters on  the  wing  of  meditation  by  faith  ;" 
then  all  is  made  plain  and  easy,  and  she 
begins  to  sing,  "  I  have  found  him  whom 
my  soul  loveth." 

Thus  wrote  the  Bishop  of  Meaux.  In 
the  fervour  of  his  zeal  he  would  at  this 
time  have  rejoiced  to  see  France  regen- 
erated by  the  Gospel. f  Often  would  he 
dwell  especially  on  those  three  individu- 
als who  seemed  called  to  preside  over  the 
destinies  of  his  country;  namely,  the 
king,  his  mother,  and  his  sister.  He 
thought  that  if  the  royal  family  were  but 
enlightened,  the  whole  nation  would  be 
so  ;  and  that  the  clergy,  aroused  to  emu- 
lation, would  awake  from  their  deathlike 
stupor.  "  Madam,"  wrote  he  to  Marga- 
ret, "  I  humbly  pray  God  that  He  will 
please,  in  His  goodness,  to  kindle  a  fire 
in  the  hearts  of  the  king,  his  mother,  and 
yourself,  so  that  from  you  three  a  flame 
may  go  forth  through  the  nation,  and  re- 
animate especially  that  class,  which,  by 
its  coldness,  chills  all  the  others." 

Margaret  did  not  share  in  these  hopes. 
She  says  nothing  of  her  mother,  nor  yet 
of  her  brother.  These  were  themes  she 
did  not  dare  to  touch  ;  but  in  her  answer 
to  the  bishop,  in  January,  1522,  oppressed 
at  heart  by  the  indifference  and  worldli- 
ness  all  around  her,  she  said, — "  The 
times  are  so  cold,  the  heart  so  frozen 
up ;"  and  she  signed  herself — "  Your 
cold-hearted,  hungering  and  thirsting 
daughter,  "Margaret." 

*  Ibid. 

t  Studio  veritatis  aliis  declarandee  inflamma- 
tus. — (Act.  Martyrum,  p.  334.) 


This  letter  did  not  discourage  Bri^on- 
net,  but  it  put  him  upon  reflection  ;  and 
feeling  how  much  he  who  sought  to  re- 
animate others  required  to  be  reanimated 
himself,  he  asked  the  prayers  of  Mar- 
garet and  of  Madame  de  Nemours. 
"  Madam,"  said  he,  with  perfect  simplici- 
ty, "1  pray  you  to  re-awaken  by  your 
prayers  the  poor  drowsy  one."* 

And  such,  in  1521,  were  the  expres- 
sions interchanged  at  the  court  of  France. 
Strange  words,  doubtless ;  and  which 
now,  after  a  lapse  of  above  three  centu- 
ries, a  manuscript  in  the  Royal  Library 
reveals  to  us.  Was  this  influence  in  high 
places  favourable  to  the  Reformation,  or 
adverse  to  it?  The  spur  of  truth  was 
felt  indeed  at  the  court,  but  perhaps  did 
but  arouse  the  slumbering  beast, — exci- 
ting him  to  rage, — and  causing  him  to 
dart  more  furiously  on  the  weak  ones  of 
the  flock. 

In  truth  the  time  was  drawing  nigh 
when  the  storm  was  to  burst  upon  the 
Reformation  ;  but  first  it  was  destined  to 
scatter  some  seeds  and  gather  in  some 
sheaves.  This  city  of  Meaux,  which  a 
century  and  a  half  later  was  to  be 
honoured  by  the  residence  of  the  noble 
defender  of  the  Gallican  church  against 
the  claims  of  Rome,  was  called  to  be  the 
first  town  in  France  wherein  regenerated 
Christianity  should  establish  its  hold.  It 
was  at  this  time  the  field  on  which  the 
labourers  profusely  scattered  their  seed, 
and  into  which  they  had  already  put  the 
sickle.  Bric.onnet,  less  given  to  slumber 
than  he  had  said,  cheered,  watched,  and 
directed  every  thing.  His  fortune  was 
equal  to  his  zeal.  Never  did  any  one 
make  a  more  noble  use  of  his  means — 
and  never  did  so  noble  a  devotion  promise 
at  first  to  yield  such  abundant  fruit.  As- 
sembled at  Meaux,  the  pious  teachers 
took  their  measures  thenceforward  with 
more  liberty.  The  word  of  God  was  not 
bound ;  and  the  Reformation  made  a 
great  advance  in  France.  Lefevre,  with 
unwonted  energy,  proclaimed  that  Gos- 
pel with  which  he  would  gladly  have 
filled  the  world — "Kings,  princes,  no- 
bles, the  people,  and  all  nations,"  he  ex- 
claimed, "  ought  to  think  and  aspire  only 
after  Jesus  Christ. f     Every  priest  should 

*  MSC.  de  la  Bibl.  royale. 
t  Reges,  principes,  magnates  omnes  et  subinde 
omnium  natiouum  populi,  ut  nihil  aliud  cogitent 


THE  FRENCH.— 1500— 1526. 


573 


resemble  that  angel  seen  by  John  in  the 
Apocalypse,  flying  through  the  air,  hav- 
ing in  his  hand  the  everlasting  Gospel, 
to  preach  to  every  nation,  and  kindred, 
and  tongue,  and  people.  Draw  near,  ye 
pontiffs,  kings,  and  generous  hearts. 
Awake,  ye  nations,  to  the  light  of  the 
Gospel,  and  receive  the  breath  of  eternal 
life.*     Sufficient  is  the  word  of  God  !"f 

Such,  in  truth,  was  the  motto  of  the 
new  school :  sufficient  is  the  word  of  God. 
The  whole  Reformation  is  embodied  in 
that  truth.  "  To  know  Christ  and  his 
word,"  said  Lefevre,  Roussel,  Farel,  "  is 
the  only  true,  living,  and  universal  The- 
ology. He  who  knows  that,  knows 
everything.  "J 

The  truth  produced  a  deep  impression 
at  Meaux.  At  first  private  meetings  took 
place,  then  conferences,  and  lastly  the 
Gospel  was  proclaimed  in  the  churches. 
But  a  yet  more  formidable  blow  was 
struck  against  the  authority  of  Rome. 

Lefevre  resolved  to  put  it  in  the  power 
of  the  Christians  of  France  to  read  the 
Scriptures.  On  the  30th  of  October  he 
published  the  French  translation  of  the 
four  Gospels ;  on  the  6th  of  November 
the  remaining  books  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment ;  and  on  the  12th  of  November, 
1524,  the  whole  of  these  collected  in  one 
volume  at  Meaux  ;  and  in  1525  a  French 
version  of  the  Psalms  fy  Thus  in  France, 
and  almost  at  the  same  time  as  in  Ger- 
many, we  have  the  commencement  of 
that  publication  of  the  Scriptures,  in  the 
vernacular  tongue,  which,  after  a  lapse 
of  three  .centuries,  was  to  receive  such 
wonderful  development.  In  France,  as 
in  the  countries  beyond  the  Rhine,  the 
Bible  produced  a  decided  effect.  Many 
there  were  who  had  learned  by  experi- 
ence that  when  they  sought  the  know- 
ledge of  divine  things,  darkness  and 
doubt  encompassed  them  on  all  sides. 
How  many  were  the  passing  moments, 
— perhaps  even  years, — in  which  they 
had  been  tempted  to  regard  the  most  cer- 
tain truths  as  mere  illusions.     We  want 

.  .  .  ac  Christum  .  .  .— (Fabri  Comment,  in 
Evang.  prafat.) 

*  Ubivis  gentium  expergiscimini  ad  Evangelii 
lucem  .  .  . — (Ibid.) 

t  Verbum  Dei  sufficit. — (Ibid.) 

$  Hsec  est  universa  et  sola  vivifica  Theologia 
.  .  .  Christum  et  verbum  ejus  esse  omnia. — (Ibid. 
in  Ev.  Johan.  p.  271.) 

$  Le  Long.  Biblioth.  sacree,  2  edit.  p.  42. 


a  ray  from  heaven  to  enlighten  our  dark- 
ness. Such  was  the  longing  desire  of 
many  souls  at  the  period  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. With  feelings  of  this  sort  many 
received  the  Scriptures  from  the  hands 
of  Lefevre.  They  read  them  in  their 
families  and  in  private.  The  Bible  be- 
came increasingly  the  subject  of  conver- 
sation. Christ  appeared  to  these  souls, 
so  long  misled,  as  the  sun  and  centre  of 
all  discovery.  No  longer  did  they  want 
evidence  that  Scripture  was  of  the  Lord : 
they  knew  it,  for  it  had  delivered  them 
from  darkness  into  light. 

Such  was  the  course  by  which  some 
remarkable  persons  in 'France  were  at 
this  time  brought  to  know  God.  But 
there  were  yet  humbler  and  more  ordi- 
nary steps  by  which  many  of  the  poorer 
sort  arrived  at  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth.  The  city  of  Meaux  was  almost 
entirely  peopled  with  artizans  and  deal- 
ers in  woollen  cloth.  "Many,"  says  a 
chronicler  of  the  sixteenth  century,  "  were 
taken  with  so  ardent  a  desire  to  know 
the  way  of  salvation,  that  artisans,  card- 
ers, fullers,  and  combers,  while  at  work 
with  their  hands,  had  their  thoughts  en- 
o-asred  in  conversation  on  the  word  of 
God,  and  getting  comfort  from  thence. 
On  Sunday  and  on  festivals,  especially, 
they  employed  themselves  in  reading  the 
Scriptures  and  inquiring  into  the  good 
pleasure  of  the  Lord."* 

Briconnet  rejoiced  to  see  true  piety 
take  the  place  of  superstition  in  his  dio- 
cese. "  Lefevre,  availing  himself  of  his 
great  reputation  for  learning,"  observes  a 
contemporary  historian,!  "  managed  so 
to  cajole  and  impose  upon  Messire  Guil- 
laume  Briconnet  by  his  specious  words, 
that  he  turned  him  aside  into  gross  error, 
so  that  it  has  been  found  impossible  to 
cleanse  the  town  and  diocese  of  Meaux 
from  that  wicked  doctrine  from  that  time 
to  this,  when  it  has  marvellously  spread 
abroad.  The  subverting  of  that  good 
bishop  was  a  sad  event,  for  he  had,  be- 
fore that,  been  very  devout  in  his  service 
to  God  and  the  Virgin  Mary."  How- 
ever, not  all  had  been  so  grossly  '  turned 
aside,'  to  adopt  the  expression  of  the 
Franciscan.     The  townspeople  were  di* 


*  Act.  des  Mart.  p.  182. 
t  Hist.  Cathol.  de  notre  temps,  par  Fontaine, 
de  l'ordre  de  Saint  Francois.     Paris,  1562. 


574 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


vided  in  twc  parties.  On  one  side  were 
the  Franciscan  monks,  and  the  partisans 
of  Romanism  :  on  the  other,  Bricnnnet, 
Lefevre,  Farel,  and  those  who  loved  the 
new  preaching.  A  man  of  low  station, 
named  Leclerc,  was  one  of  the  most  ser- 
vile adherents  of  the  monks ;  but  his  wife 
and  his  two  sons,  Peter  and  John,  had 
joyfully  received  the  Gospel ;  and  John, 
who  was  by  trade  a  wool-carder,  soon  at- 
tracted notice  among  the  infant  congre- 
gations. James  Pavanne,  a  native  of 
Picardy,  a  young  man  of  open  and  up- 
right character,  evinced  an  ardent  zeal 
for  the  Reformed  opinions.  Meaux  was 
become  a  focus  of  light.  Persons  called 
thither  by  business,  and  who  there  heard 
the  Gospel,  returning,  bore  it  with  them 
to  their  respective  homes.  It  was  not 
merely  in  the  city  that  the  Scripture  was 
the  subject  of  inquiry  ;  "  many  of  the  ad- 
jacent villages  were  awakened,1'  says  a 
chronicler,  "  so  that  in  that  diocese 
seemed  to  shine  forth  a  sort  of  image  of 
the  regenerated  church." 

The  environs  of  Meaux  were,  in  au- 
tumn, clothed  with  rich  harvests,  and  a 
crowd  of  labouring  people  resorted  thith- 
er from  the  surrounding  countries.  Rest- 
ing themselves,  in  the  heat  of  the  day, 
they  would  talk  with  the  people  of  those 
parts  of  a  seed-time  and  harvest  of  an- 
other kind.  Certain  peasantry,  who  had 
come  from  Thierachia.  and  more  partic- 
ularly from  Landouzy,  after  their  return 
home  continued  in  the  doctrine  they  had 
heard,  and,  ere  long,  an  evangelic  church 
was  formed  in  this  latter  place,* — a  church 
which  is  among  the  most  ancient  in  the 
kingdom.  "  The  report  of  this  unspeak- 
able blessing  spread  through  France, 
says  the  chronicler. f  Briconnet  himself 
preached  the  Gospel  from  the  pulpit,  and 
laboured  to  diffuse,  far  and  wide,  that 
"  free,  gracious,  true,  and  clear  light, 
which  dazzles  and  illuminates  every 
creature  capable  of  receiving  it ;  and, 
while  it  enlightens  him,  raises  him  by 
adoption  to  the  dignity  of  a  child  of 
God."±     He  besought  his  hearers  not  to 


*  These  facts  are  derived  from  old  and  much 
damaged  papers  discovered  in  the  church  of  Lau- 
douzy-la-Ville  (Aisne),  by  M.  Colany,  during 
the  time  he  filled  the  office  of  pastor  in  that 
town. 

t  Actes  des  Mart.  p.  182. 

J  MS.  in  the  Royal  Library,  S.F.,  No.  337. 


listen  to  those  who  would  turn  them 
aside  from  the  Word.  "  Though  an  an- 
gel from  heaven,"  exclaimed  he, "should 
preach  any  other  Gospel,  do  not  give  ear 
to  him."  At  times  melancholy  thoughts 
presented  themselves  to  his  mind.  He 
did  not  feel  confident  in  his  own  stedfast- 
ness,  and  he  recoiled  from  the  thought  of 
the  fatal  consequences  that  might  result 
from  any  failure  of  faith  on  his  part. 
Forewarning  his  hearers,  he  would  say, 
"  Though  I,  your  bishop,  should  change 
my  voice  and  doctrine,  take  heed  that 
you  change  not  with  me."*  At  that 
moment  nothing  foreboded  such  a  calam- 
ity. "  Not  only,"  says  the  chronicler, 
"  the  word  of  God  was  preached,  but  it 
was  practised :  all  kinds  of  works  of 
charity  and  love  were  visible  ;  the  morals 
of  the  city  were  reformed,  and  its  super- 
stitions disappeared."! 

Still  indulging  in  the  thought  of  gain- 
ing over  the  king  and  his  mother,  the 
bishop  sent  to  Margaret  a  translation  of 
St.  Paul's  Epistles,  richly  illuminated, 
humbly  soliciting  her  to  present  it  to  the 
king,  "  which,  coming  through  your 
hands,"  added  he,  "  cannot  fail  to  be  ac- 
ceptable. They  make  a  truly  royal 
dish,"  continued  the  worthy  bishop,  "  of 
a  fatness  that  never  corrupts,  and  having 
a  power  to  restore  from  all  manner  of 
sickness.  The  more  we  taste  them  the 
more  we  hunger  after  them,  with  desires 
that  are  ever  fed  and  never  cloyed. "J 
•  What  dearer  commission  could  Mar- 
garet receive  .  .  .  .  1  The  moment  seem- 
ed auspicious.  Michel  d'Arande  was  sft 
Paris,  detained  there  by  command  of  the 
king's  mother,  for  whom  he  was  transla- 
ting portions  of  the  Scriptures.  §  But 
Margaret  would  have  preferred  that  Bri- 
connet should  himself  present  St.  Paul 
to  her  brother:  "You  would  do  well  to 
come,''  wrote  she,  "for  you  know  the 
confidence  the  king  and  his  mother  have 
in  you."|| 

Thus  at  this  time  (in  1522  and  1523) 
was  God's  word  placed  before  the  eyes 
of  Francis  the  First  and  Louisa  of  Savoy. 

*  Hist.  Cathol.  de  Fontaine. 

t  Actes  des  Mart.  p.  182. 

t  MS.,  in  the  Royal  Library,  S.F.  No.  337. 

§  Par  le  commandement  de  Madame  a  quy  il 
a  lyvre  quelque  chose  de  la  saincte  Escripture 
qu'elle  desire  parfairc. — (Ibid.) 

||  Ibid. 


$ 


THE  FRENCH— 1500— 1526. 


575 


They  were  thus  brought  in  contact  with 
that  Gospel  of  which  they  were  after- 
wards to  he  the  persecutors.  We  see 
nothing  to  indicate  that  that  Word  made 
on  them  any  saving  impression  ;  curiosi- 
ty led  them  to  unclose  that  Bible  which 
was  the  subject  of  so  much  discussion  ; 
but  they  soon  closed  it  again  as  they  had 
opened  it. 

Margaret  herself  with-  difficulty  strug- 
gled against  the  worldliness  which  sur- 
rounded her.  Her  tender  regard  for  her 
brother,  respect  for  her  mother,  the  flat- 
tery of  the  court,  all  conspired  against 
the  love  she  had  vowed  to  Jesus  Christ. 
Many  indeed  were  her  temptations.  At 
times,  the  soul  of  Margaret,  assailed  by 
so  many  enemies,  and  dizzy  with  the 
tumult  of  life,  turned  aside  from  her 
Lord.  Then  becoming  conscious  of  her 
sin,  the  princess  shut  herself  in  her  apart- 
ments, and  gave  vent  to  her  grief  in 
sounds  very  different  from  those  with 
which  Francis  and  the  young  lords  who 
were  the  companions  of  his  pleasures, 
filled  the  royal  palaces  in  their  carous- 
ings  :— 

I  have  forsaken  thee,  for  pleasure  erring: 
In  place  of  thee,  my  evil  choice  preferring ; 
And  from  thee  wandering,  whither  am  I  come? 
Among  the  cursed, — to  the  place  of  doom. 
I  have  forsaken  thee,  oh  Friend  sincere ; 
And  from  thy  love,  the  better  to  get  free, 
Have  clung  to  things  most  contrary  to  thee.* 

After  this,  Margaret,  turning  in  the 
direction  of  Meaux,  wrote,  in  her  distress, 
— "  I  again  turn  toward  you,  Mons.  '  Fa- 
bry,' and  your  companions,  desiring  you 
in  your  prayers  to  entreat  of  the  un- 
speakable mercy  an  alarum  that  shall 
rouse  the  unwatchful  weak  one  from  her 
heavy  and  deathlike  slumbers."! 

The  friends  of  the  Reformation  were 
beginning  to  indulge  in  cheering  antici- 
pations. Who  would  be  able  to  resist 
the  Gospel  if  the  authority  of  Francis 
the  First  should  open  the  way  for  it. 
The  corrupting  influence  of  the  court 
would  be  succeeded  by  a  sanctifying  ex- 
ample, and  France  would  acquire  a  mo- 
ral power  which  would  constitute  her  the 
benefactress  of  nations. 

But  the  Romish  party  on  their  side 
had   caught  the   alarm.     One   of  their 

*  Les  Marguerites,  i.  p.  40. 

t  MS.  in  the  Royal  Library,  S.  F.  No.  337. 


party  at  Meaux,  was  a  Jacobin  monk,  of 
the  name  of  Roma.  One  day,  when  Le- 
fevre,  Farel,  and  their  friends  were  in 
conversation  with  him,  and  certain  other 
partisans  of  the  Papacy,  Lefevre  incau- 
tiously gave  utterance  to  his  hopes :  "  Al- 
ready," said  he,  "  the  Gospel  is  winning 
the  hearts  of  the  nobles  and  the  common 
people,  and  ere  long  we  shall  see  it 
spreading  throughout  France,  and  cast- 
ing down  the  inventions  that  men  have 
set  up."  The  aged  doctor  was  warmed 
by  his  theme,  his  eyes  sparkled,  and  his 
feeble  voice  seemed  to  put  forth  new 
power,  resembling  the  aged  Simeon  giv- 
ing thanks  to  the  Lord  because  his  eyes 
had  seen  His  salvation.  Lefevre's  friends 
partook  of  his  emotion  ;  the  opposers  were 
amazed  and  silent  ....  Suddenly  Roma 
rose  from  his  seat,  exclaiming,  "  Then  I 
and  all  the  monks  will  preach  a  crusade 
— we  will  raise  the  people,  and  if  the 
king  suffers  the  preaching  of  your  Gos- 
pel, we  will  expel  him  from  his  kingdom 
by  his  own  subjects."*  Thus  did  a  monk 
venture  to  stand  up  against  the  knightly 
monarch.  The  Franciscans  applauded 
his  boldness.  It  was  necessary  to  pre- 
vent the  fulfilment  of  the  aged  doctor's 
predictions.  Already  the  mendicant  friars 
found  their  daily  gatherings  fall  off  The 
Franciscans  in  alarm  distributed  them- 
selves in  private  families.  "  Those  new 
teachers  are  heretics,"  said  they,  "they 
call  in  question  the  holiest  practices,  and 
deny  the  most  sacred  mysteries."  Then, 
growing  bolder,  the  more  violent  of  the 
party,  sallying  forth  from  their  cloister, 
presented  themselves  at  the  bishop's  resi- 
dence, and  being  admitted, — "  Make 
haste,"  said  they,  "to  crush  this  heresy, 
or  the  pestilence  which  now  afflicts 
Meaux  will  extend  its  ravages  through 
the  kingdom." 

Briconnet  was  roused,  and  for  a  mo- 
ment disturbed  by  this  invasion  of  his 
privacy  ;  but  he  did  not  give  way.  Des- 
pising the  interested  clamour  of  a  set  of 
ignorant  monks,  he  ascended  the  pulpit 
and  preached  in  vindication  of  Lefevre, 
designating  the  monks  as  pharisees  and 
hypocrites.  Still  this  opposition  from 
without  had  already  awakened  anxiety 
and  conflict  in  his  soul.  He  tried  to 
quiet  his  fears  by  persuading  himself 
that  it  was  necessary  to  pass  through 

*  Farel.  Epitre  au  Due  de  Lorraine.  Gen.  1634- 


576 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


such  spiritual  struggles.  "  By  such  con- 
flict," said  he,  in  expressions  that  sound 
mystical  to  our  ears,  "  we  are  brought  to 
a  death  that  ushers  into  life,  and,  while 
ever  mortifying  life, — living  we  die,  and 
dying,  live."*  The  way  had  been  more 
sure,  if,  turning  to  the  Saviour,,  as  the 
apostles,  when  "  driven  by  the  winds  and 
tossed,"  he  had  cried  out, — "  Lord  !  save 
us,  or  we  perish." 

The  monks  of  Meaux,  enraged  at  this 
repulse,  resolved  to  carry  their  complaint 
before  a  higher  tribunal.  An  appeal  lay 
open  to  them  ;  and  if  the  bishop  should 
be  contumacious,  he  may  be  reduced  to 
compliance.  Their  leaders  set  forth  for 
Paris,  and  concerted  measures  with  Beda 
and  Duchesne.  They  presented  them- 
selves before  the  Parliament,  and  lodged 
information  against  the  bishop  and  the 
heretical  teachers.  "  The  town,"  said 
they,  "  and  all  the  neighbouring  country, 
is  infected  with  heresy,  and  the  muddy 
waters  go  forth  from  the  bishop's  palace." 

Thus  France  began  to  hear  the  cry  of 
persecution  raised  against  the  Gospel. 
The  priestly  and  the  civil  power, — the 
Sorbonne  and  the  Parliament  laid  their 
hands  upon  the  sword,  and  that  sword 
was  destined  to  be  stained  with  blood. 
Christianity  had  taught  men  that  there 
are  duties  anterior  to  all  civil  relation- 
ships ;  it  had  emancipated  the  religious 
mind,  laid  the  foundations  of  liberty  of 
conscience,  and  wrought  an  important 
change  in  society  ;  for  Antiquity,  every- 
where recognizing  the  citizen  and  no- 
where the  man,  had  made  of  religion  a 
matter  of  mere  state  regulation.  But 
scarcely  had  these  ideas  of  liberty  been 
given  to  the  world  when  the  Papacy  cor- 
rupted them.  In  place  of  the  despotism 
of  the  prince,  it  substituted  that  of  the 
priest.  Often,  indeed,  had  both  prince 
and  priest  been  by  it  stirred  up  against 
the  Christian  people.  A  new  emanci- 
pation was  needed :  the  sixteenth  centu- 
ry produced  it.  Wherever  the  Reforma- 
tion established  itself,  the  yoke  of  Rome 
was  thrown  off,  and  liberty  of  conscience 
restored.  Yet  is  there  such  a  proneness 
in  man  to  exalt  himself  above  the  truth, 
that  even  among  many  Protestant  na- 
tions of  our  own  time,  the  Church,  freed 
from  the  arbitrary  power  of  the  priest,  is 

*  MS.  in  the  Royal  Library,  S.  F.  No.  337. 


near  falling  again  into  subserviency  to 
the  civil  authority  ;  thus,  like  its  divine 
Founder,  bandied  from  one  despotism  to 
another ;  still  passing  from  Caiaphas  to 
Pilate,  and  from  Pilate  to  Caiaphas ! 

Bri^onnet,  who  enjoyed  a  high  repu- 
tation at  Paris,  easily  cleared  himself. 
But  in  vain  did  he  seek  to  defend  his 
friends ;  the  monks  were  resolved  not  to 
return  to  Meaux  empty  handed.  If  the 
bishop  would  escape,  he  must  sacrifice 
his  brethren.  Of  a  character  naturally 
timid,  and  but  little  prepared  for  '  Christ's 
sake'  to  give  up  his  possessions  and  stand- 
ing,— alarmed,  agitated,  and  desponding, 
he  was  still  further  misled  by  treacherous 
advisers :  "  If  the  evangelical  divines 
should  leave  Meaux,"  said  some,  "  they 
will  carry  the  Reformation  elsewhere." 
His  heart  was  torn  by  a  painful  struggle. 
At  length  the  wisdom  of  this  world  pre- 
vailed :  on  the  12th  of  April,  1523,  he 
published  an  ordonnance  by  which  he  de- 
prived those  pious  teachers  of  their 
licence  to  preach.  This  was  the  first 
step  in  Briqonnet's  downward  career. 

Lefevre  was  the  chief  object  of  enmity. 
His  commentary  on  the  four  Gospels, 
and  especially  the  epistle  "  to  Christian 
readers,"  which  he  had  prefixed  to  it,  in- 
flamed the  wrath  of  Beda  and  his  fel- 
lows. They  denounced  the  work  to  the 
faculty — "  Has  he  not  ventured,"  said  the 
fiery  syndic,  "to  recommend  to  all  the 
faithful  the  reading  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures ?  Does  he  not  affirm  that  whoso- 
ever loves  not  the  word  of  Christ  is  no 
Christian  ;*  and  again,  that  the  word  of 
God  is  sufficient  of  itself  to  lead  us  to 
eternal  life  ?" 

But  Francis  I.  saw  nothing  more  in 
this  accusation  than  a  theological  squab- 
ble. He  appointed  a  commission,  before 
which  Lefevre  successfully  defended  him- 
self, and  was  honourably  acquitted. 

Farel,  who  had  fewer  protectors  at 
court,  found  himself  obliged  to  quit 
Meaux.  It  appears  that  he  at  first  re- 
paired to  Paris,!  and  thai  having  thejre 
unsparingly  assailed  the  errors  of  Rome, 
he  again  found  himself  obliged  to  re- 
move, and  left  that  city,  retiring  to  Dau- 

*  Qui  verbum  ejus  hoc  modo  non  diligunt,  quo 
pacto  hi  Christian!  essent. — (Prsef.  Comm.  in 
Evang.) 

t  "  Farel,  apres  avoir  subsist^  tant  qu'il  put  a 
Paris."— (Bezae  Hist.  Eccles.i.  6.) 


THE  FRENCH.— 1500— 1526. 


577 


phiny,  whither  he  was  desirous  of  carry- 
ing the  Gospel. 

To  have  intimidated  Lefevre,  and 
caused  Bric,onnet  to  draw  back,  and  Fa- 
rel  to  seek  refuge  in  flight,  was  a  victory 
gained,  so  that  the  Sorbonne  already  be- 
lieved they  had  mastered  the  movement. 
Monks  and  doctors  exchanged  congratu- 
lations ;  but  enough  was  not  done  in 
their  opinion, — blood  had  not  flowed. 
They  went,  therefore,  again  to  their 
work,  and  blood,  since  they  were  bent  on 
shedding  it,  was  now  to  slake  the  thirst 
of  Roman  fanaticism. 

The  evangelical  Christians  of  Meaux, 
seeing  their  pastors  dispersed,  sought  to 
edify  one  another.  A  wool-carder,  John 
Leclerc,  who  had  imbibed  the  true  chris- 
tian doctrine  from  the  instructions  of  the 
divines,  the  reading  of  the  Bible,  and 
some  tracts,*  distinguished  himself  by 
his  zeal  and  his  expounding  of  the  Scrip- 
ture. He  was  one  of  those  men  whom 
the  Spirit  of  God  inspires  with  courage,! 
and  places  in  the  foremost  rank  of  a  re- 
ligious movement.  The  Church  of 
Meaux  soon  came  to  regard  him  as  its 
minister. 

The  idea  of  one  universal  priesthood, 
known  in  such  living  power  to  the  first 
Christians,  had  been  revived  by  Luther| 
in  the  sixteenth  century.  But  this  idea 
seems  then  to  have  dwelt  only  in  theory 
in  the  Lutheran  Church,  and  was  really 
acted  out  only  anions'  the  congregations 
of  the  Reformed  Churches.  The  Lu- 
theran congregations  (agreeing  in  this 
point  with  the  Anglican  Church)  took, 
it  seems,  a  middle  course  between  the 
Romish  and  the  Reformed  Churches. 
Among  the  Lutherans,  everything  pro- 
ceeded from  the  pastor  or  priest ;  and 
nothing  was  counted  valid  in  the  Church 
but  what  was  regularly  conveyed  through 
its  rulers.  But  the  Reformed  Churches, 
while  they  maintained  the  divine'  ap- 
pointment of  the  ministry. — by  some  sects 
denied, — approached  nearer  to  the  primi- 
tive condition  of  the  apostolical  commu- 
nities. From  this  time  forward,  they  re- 
cognized and  proclaimed  that  the  flock 
are  not  to  rest  satisfied  with  receiving 
what  the  priest  gives  out ;  that,  since  the. 

*  Aliis  pauculislibellis  diligenter  lectis. — (Bezae 
Icones.) 

1   Animosae  fidei  plenus. — (Ibid.) 
t  Vide  vol.  ii.  pp.  87,  88 
73 


Bible  is  in  the  hands  of  every  one,  the 
members  of  the  Church,  as  well  as  those 
who  take  the  lead,  possess  the  key  of 
that  treasury  whence  the  latter  derive 
their  instructions ;  that  the  gifts  of  God, 
the  spirit  of  faith,  of  wisdom,  of  consola- 
tion, and  of  knowledge  are  not  imparted 
to  the  minister  alone  ;  but  that  each  is 
called  upon  to  employ  for  the  good  of  all 
whatever  gift  he  has  received  :  and  that 
it  may  often  happen  that  some  gift  need- 
ful for  the  edification  of  the  Church  may 
be  denied  to  the  pastor,  and  granted  to 
some  member  of  his  flock.  Thus  the 
mere  passive  state  of  the  Churches  was 
changed  into  one  of  general  activity ; 
and  it  was  in  France  especially  that  this 
transformation  took  place.  In  other 
countries,  the  Reformers  are  found  al- 
most exclusively  among  the  ministers  and 
doctors ;  but  in  France,  the  men  who 
had  read  or  studied  had  for  fellow-labour- 
ers men  of  the  lowest  class.  Among 
God's  chosen  servants  in  that  country  we 
have  a  doctor  of  the  Sorbonne  and  a 
wool-comber. 

Leclerc  began  to  visit  from  house  to 
house,  strengthening  and  confirming  the 
disciples  in  their  faith.  But  not  resting 
satisfied  with  these  ordinary  labours,  he 
longed  to  see  the  papal  edifice  over- 
thrown, and  France  coming  forward  to 
embrace  the  Gospel.  His  ungovernable 
zeal  was  such  as  to  remind  an  observer 
of  Hottinger  at  Zurich,  and  Carlstadt  at 
Wittemberg.  He  wrote  a  proclamation 
against  the  Antichrist  of  Rome,  in  which 
he  announced  that  the  Lord  was  about  to 
consume  that  wicked  one  with  the  spirit 
of  his  mouth,  and  proceeded  boldly  to 
post  his  placard  at  the  very  door  of  the 
cathedral.*  Soon  all  was  confusion  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  ancient  edifice. 
The  faithful  were  amazed,  the  priests  en- 
raged. What !  shall  a  base  wool-comber 
be  allowed  to  assail  the  Pope?  The 
Franciscans  were  furious.  They  insisted 
that  at  least  on  this  occasion  a  terrible 
example  should  be  made, — Leclerc  was 
thrown  into  prison. 

His  trial  took  place  in  the  presence  of 
Briconnet  himself,  who  was  now  to  wit- 
ness and  endure  all  that  was  done.     The 

*  Cet  herctique  e"erivit  des  pancartes  qu'il  at- 
tacha  aux  portes  de  la  grande  eglise  de  Meaux. 
(MS.  de  Meaux.)  See  also  BeztE  Icones,  Crespin, 
Actes  des  Martyrs,  &c. 


578 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


wool-comber  was  condemned  to  be  pub- 
licly whipped  through  the  city,  three 
successive  days,  and  on  the  third  day  to 
be  branded  on  the  forehead.  The  mourn- 
ful spectacle  began.  Leclerc  was  led 
through  the  streets,  his  hands  bound,  his 
back  bare,  and  receiving  from  the  exe- 
cutioners the  blows  he  had  drawn  upon 
himself  by  his  opposition  to  the  bishop 
of  Rome.  A  great  crowd  followed  the 
martyr's  progress,  which  was  marked  by 
his  blood  :  some  pursued  the  heretic  with 
yells:  others,  by  their  silence,  gave  no 
doubtful  signs  of  sympathy  with  him ; 
and  one  woman  encouraged  the  martyr 
by  her  looks  and  words — she  was  his 
mother. 

At  length,  on  the  third  day,  when  the 
bloody  procession  was  over,  Leclerc  was 
made  to  stop  at  the  usual  place  of  exe- 
cution. The  executioner  prepared  to 
fire,  heated  the  iron  which  was  to  sear 
the  flesh  of  the  minister  of  the  Gospel, 
and  approaching  him  branded  him  as  a 
heretic  on  his  forehead.  Just  then  a 
shriek  was  uttered — but  it  came  not  from 
the  martyr.  His  mother,  a  witness  of 
the  dreadful  sight,  wrung  with  anguish, 
endured  a  violent  struggle  between  the 
enthusiasm  of  faith  and  maternal  feel- 
ings; but  her  faith  overcame,  and  she 
exclaimed  in  a  voice  that  made  the  ad- 
versaries tremble,  "  Glory  be  to  Jesus 
Chvist  and  his  witnesses."*  Thus  did 
this  Frenchwoman  of  the  16th  century 
have  respect  to  that  word  of  the  Son  of 
God, — "  Whosoever  loveth  his  son  more 
than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me."  So  da- 
ring a  courage  at  such  a  moment  might 
have  seemed  to  demand  instant  punish- 
ment ;  but  that  Christian  mother  had 
struck  powerless  the  hearts  of  priests  and 
soldiers.  Their  fury  was  restrained  by  a 
mightier  arm  than  theirs.  The  crowd 
falling  back  and  making  way  for  her, 
allowed  the  mother  to  regain,  with  fal- 
tering step,  her  humble  dwelling.  Monks, 
and  even  the  town-serjeants  themselves, 
gazed  on  her  without  moving  ;  "  not  one 
of  her  enemies,"  says  Theodore  Beza, 
"  dared  put  forth  his  hand  against  her." 
After  this  punishment,  Leclerc,  being  set 
at  liberty,  withdrew,  first  to  Rosay  en 
Brie,  a  town  six  leagues  from  Meaux, 

*  Hist  Eccle"s.  de  Th.  de  Bezee,  p.  4.  Hist- 
des  Martyrs  de  Crespin,  p.  92. 


and   subsequently   to    Metz,  where   we 
shall  again  meet  with  him. 

The  enemy  was  triumphant.  "  The 
Cordeliers  having  regained  possession  of 
the  pulpit,  propagated  their  accustomed 
falsehoods  and  absurdities."*  But  the 
poor  working-people  of  Meaux,  no  longer 
permitted  to  hear  the  word  of  God  in 
regular  assemblies,  began  to  hold  their 
meetings  in  private,  "  imitating,"  says 
the  chronicler,  "  the  sons  of  the  prophets 
in  the  days  of  Ahab,  and  the  Christian's 
of  the  early  church  ;  assembling,  as  op- 
portunity offered,  at  one  time  in  a  house, 
at  another  in  a  cavern,  and  at  times  in  a 
vineyard  or  a  wood.  On  such  occasions, 
he  among  them  who  was  most  conver- 
sant with  the  Holy  Scriptures,  exhorted 
the  rest ;  and  this  being  done,  they  all 
prayed  together  with  much  fervency, 
cheered  by  the  hope  that  the  Gospel 
would  be  received  in  France,  and  the 
tyranny  of  Antichrist  be  at  an  end."f 
Where  is  the  power  can  arrest  the  prog- 
ress of  truth  ? 

One  victim,  however,  did  not  satisfy 
the  persecutors ;  and  if  the  first  against 
whom  their  anger  was  let  loose  was  but 
a  wool-comber,  the  second  was  a  gentle- 
man of  the  court.  It  was  become  neces- 
sary to  overawe  the  nobles  as  well  as  the 
people.  The  Sorbonne  of  Paris  was  un- 
willing to  be  outstripped  by  the  Francis- 
cans of  Meaux.  Berquin,  "the  most 
learned  among  the  nobles,"  continuing 
to  gather  more  confidence  from  the  Scrip- 
tures, had  composed  certain  epigrams 
against  the  "  drones  of  the  Sorbonne :" 
and  had  afterwards  gone  so  far  as  to 
charge  them  with  impiety,  t 

Beda  and  Duchesne,  who  had  not  ven- 
tured any  reply  in  their  usual  style  to  the 
witticisms  of  a  gentleman  of  the  court, 
adopted  a  different  line  of  conduct  when 
they  discerned  that  serious  convictions 
were  at  the  bottom  of  these  attacks.  Ber- 
quin had  become  a  Christian  ;  his  ruin 
was  therefore  decided  on.  Beda  and  Du- 
chesne having  seized  some  of  his  trans- 
lations, found  in  them  sufficient  to  bring 
more  than  one  heretic  to  the  stake  :  "  He 
asserts,"  they  exclaimed,  "that  it  is  wrong 
to  invoke  the  Virgin  Mary  in  place  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  and  to  call  her  the  source 

*  Actes  des  Martyrs,  p.  183.  t  Ibid. 

t  Impietatis  etiam  accusatos,  turn  voce,  turn 
scriptis. — (Beza?  Icones.) 


THE  FRENCH.— 1500— 1526. 


579 


of  all  grace  !*  He  declares  himself  against 
the  custom  of  speaking  of  her  as  our  hope 
and  our  life,  and  says  that  these  titles  be- 
long only  to  the  Son  of  God."  There 
were  other  charges  against  Berquin, — 
his  closet  was  as  it  were  a  library,  whence 
the  supposed  tainted  works  were  diffused 
through  the  kingdom.  Above  all,  Me- 
lancthon's  Loci  Communes  served  to  stag- 
ger the  more  learned.  The  man  of  pie- 
ty, entrenched  amid  his  folios  and  tracts, 
had,  in  his  christian  love,  made  himself 
translator,  corrector,  printer,  and  book- 
seller ....  It  seemed  indispensable  to 
stop  the  stream  at  its  source. 

Accordingly,  one  day,  while  Berquin 
was  quietly  engaged  in  his  studies,  the 
house  was  of  a  sudden  surrounded  by 
armed  men,  demanding  admittance.  The 
Sorbonne  and  its  agents,  armed  with  au- 
thority from  the  Parliament,  were  at  his 
door.  Beda,  the  dreaded  syndic,  was  at 
their  head,  and  never  did  inquisitor  more 
perfectly  perform  his  function.  Followed 
by  his  satellites,  he  made  his  way  to  Ber- 
quin's  study,  communicated  the  object  of 
his  mission,  and  desiring  his  followers  to 
keep  an  eye  upon  him,  commenced  his 
search.  Not  a  volume  escaped  his  no- 
tice, and  an  exact  inventory  was  made 
under  his  direction.  Here  lay  a  treatise 
by  Melancthon  ;  there  a  pamphlet  by 
Carlstadt ;  farther  on  a  work  of  Luther's  ; 
— here  '  heretical'  books  which  Berquin 
had  translated  from  Latin  into  French ; 
there — others  of  his  own  composition. 
With  two  exceptions,  all  the  books  seized 
abounded  with  Lutheran  doctrine,  and 
Beda  quitted  the  house,  carrying  away 
his  booty,  and  more  elated  than  a  gen- 
eral laden  with  the  spoil  of  conquered 
nations.f 

Berquin  perceived  that  a  violent  storm 
had  burst  upon  his  head,  but  his  courage 
did  not  falter ; — he  had  too  much  con- 
tempt for  his  adversaries  to  fear  them. 
Meanwhile,  Beda  lost  no  time.  On  the 
31st  May,  1523,  the  Parliament  decreed 
that  all  the  books  seized  at  Berquin's 
house  should  be  laid  before  the  faculty 
of  theology.  Its  decision  was  soon  made 
known,  and  on  the  25th  of  June,  it  con- 
demned all  the  works,  except  the  two  al- 

*  Incongrue  beatam  Virginem  invocari  pro 
Spiritu  Sancto. — (Erasmi  Epp.  1279.) 

t  Gaillard  Hist,  de  Francois  I.  iv.  241.  Cre"- 
vier,  Univ.  de  Paris,  v.  p.  171. 


ready  mentioned,  to  be  burnt  as  heretical; 
and  enjoined  that  Berquin  should  be  re- 
quired to  abjure  his  errors.  The  Parlia- 
ment ratified  the  decision.  Berquin  ap- 
peared at  the  bar  of  this  formidable  body ; 
he  knew  that  the  next  step  beyond  it 
might  be  to  the  scaffold  ;  but,  like  Lu- 
ther at  Worms,  he  stood  firm.  It  was  in 
vain  that  the  Parliament  insisted  on  his 
retracting  ;  he  was  not  of  those  who  fall 
away  after  being  made  partakers  of  the 
Holy  Ghost.  He  that  is  begotten  of  God 
keepeth  himself  and  that  wicked  one  touch- 
ed him  not.*  Every  such  fall  proves  that 
conversion  has  either  been  only  apparent, 
or  else  partial  ;f  now  Berquin's  was  a 
real  conversion.  He  answered  the  court 
before  which  he  stood  with  decision  ;  and 
the  Parliament,  using  more  severity  than 
the  Diet  of  Worms,  directed  its  officers  to 
take  the  accused  into  custody,  and  lead 
him  away  to  prison.  This  took  place  on 
the  1st  of  August,  1523.  On  the  5th, 
the  Parliament  handed  over  the  heretic 
to  the  Bishop  of  Paris,  in  order  that  that 
prelate  might  take  cognizance  of  the  af- 
fair, and  jointly  with  the  doctors  and 
counsellors,  pass  sentence  on  the  culprit. 
Berquin  was  forthwith  transferred  to  the 
official  prison. \ 

Beda,  Duchesne,  and  their  companions 
had  their  victim  in  their  clutches ;  but  the 
court  bore  no  favour  to  the  Sorbonne,  and 
Francis  was  more  powerful  than  Beda. 
A  feeling  of  indignation  spread  among 
the  nobles :  what  do  these  monks  and 
priests  mean,  not  to  respect  the  rank  of  a 
gentleman  ?  What  charge  do  they  bring 
against  him  ? — was  the  question  asked 
in  the  presence  of  Francis.  Is  it  that  he 
blames  the  practice  of  invoking  the  Vir- 
gin instead  of  the  Holy  Spirit?  But 
Erasmus  and  many  more  have  censured 
it.  Is  it  on  such  frivolous  charges  they 
go  the  length  of  imprisoning  an  officer 
of  the  king?§  This  attack  of  theirs  is  a 
blow  struck  against  knowledge  and  true 
religion  ;  an  insult  to  jiobles,  knights, 
and  royalty  itself.     The  king  decided  on 

*  Hebrews  vi.  4.     1  John  v.  18. 

t  This  is  believed  to  be  a  faithful  rendering 
of  the  original.  The.  interpretation  and  the  ap- 
plication may  be  open  to  question. — (TV.) 

I  Ductus  est  in  carcerem,  reus  hajreseos  peri- 
clitatus. — (Erasmi  Epp.  1279.  Crevier,  Gaillard, 
loc.  cit.) 

§  Ob  hujusmodi  noenias. — (Erasm.  Epp.  1279.) 


580 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


again  making-  the  Sorbonne  feel  the 
weight  of  his  authority.  He  issued  let- 
ters summoning  the  parties  in  the  cause 
before  his  council,  and  on  the  8th  of  Au 
gust  a  messenger  presented  himself  at 
the  official  prison,  bearing  a  royal  man- 
date enjoining  that  Berquin  should  be  at 
liberty. 

It  seemed  at  first  doubtful  whether  the 
monks  would  yield  compliance.  Francis 
had  anticipated  some  difficulty,  and,  in 
charging  the  messenger  with  the  execu- 
tion of  his  orders,  had  added,  "  If  you 
meet  with  any  resistance,  I  authorize  you 
to  break  open  the  doors."  There  was 
no  misunderstanding  these  words.  The 
monks  and  the  Sorbonne  submitted  to 
the  affront  put  upon  them  ;  and  Berquin, 
released  from  durance,  appeared  before 
the  king's  council,  and  was  there  ac- 
quitted* 

Thus  did  Francis  I.  humble  the  eccle- 
siastical power.  Under  his  reign  Ber- 
quin fondly  hoped  that  France  might 
free  herself  from  the  Papal  yoke  ;  and  he 
began  to  meditate  a  renewal  of  hostili- 
ties. With  this  intent,  he  opened  com- 
munications with  Erasmus,  who  at  once 
acknowledged  his  right  intentions,  t  But 
the  philosopher,  ever  timid  and  temporiz- 
ing, replied, — "Remember  to  avoid  irri- 
tating the  drones ;  and  pursue  your 
studies  in  peace.^  Above  all,  do  not  im- 
plicate me  in  your  affairs,  for  that  will  be 
of  no  service  to  either  of  us."§ 

Berquin  was  not  discouraged.  If  the 
great  genius  of  the  age  draws  back,  he 
will  put  his  trust  in  God  who  never  de- 
serts His  work.  God's  work  will  be 
effected, — either  by  humble  instrument- 
ality, or  without  it.  Erasmus  himself  ac- 
knowledged that  Berquin,  like  the  palm 
tree,  rose  in  renewed  vigour  from  every 
new  gust  of  persecution  that  assailed 
him.  j| 

Not  such  were  all  who  had  embraced 
the  Evangelical  doctrines.  Martial  Ma- 
zurier  had  been  one  of  the  most  zealous 

*  At  judices,  ubi  viderunt  causam  esse  nullius 
tnomenti,  absolverunt  hominem. — (Ibid  ) 

t  Ex  epistola  visus  est  mihi  vir  bonus. — (Ibid.) 
t  Sineret  crabrones  et  suis  se  studiis  oblectaret. 
— (Erasmi  Epp.  1279.) 

(j  Deinde  ne  me  involveret  suae  causae. — (Ibid.) 
||  Ille,  ut  habebat  quiddam  cum  palma  com- 
mune,  adversus  deterrentem  tollebat  animos. — 
(Ibid.)     There  is  probably  an  allusion  to  Pliny, 
Hist.  Naturalis,  xvi.  42. 


of  preachers.  He  was  accused  of  having 
advocated  very  erroneous  opinions  ;*  and 
even  of  having  committed,  while  at 
Meaux,  certain  acts  of  violence.  "  This 
Martial  Mazurier,  being  at  Meaux," — 
such  are  the.  words  of  a  manuscript  pre- 
served in  that  city,  and  which  we  have 
already  had  occasion  to  quote, — "  enter- 
ing the  church  of  the  reverend  Fathers, 
the  Cordeliers,  and  seeing  the  statue  of 
St.  Francis,  in  high  relief,  outside  the 
door  of  the  convent,  where  that  of  St. 
Roch  is  now  placed,  struck  it  down  and 
broke  it."  Mazurier  was  arrested,  and 
thrown  into  prison,  where  he  at  once  fell 
back  upon  his  own  reflections  and  the 
keenest  perplexity.f  It  was  the  Gospel 
rule  of  morals,  rather  than  its  great  doc- 
trines, that  had  won  him  over  to  the 
ranks  of  the  Reformers ;  and  that  rule, 
taken  alone,  brought  with  it  no  strength. 
Terrified  at  the  prospect  of  the  stake 
awaiting  him,  and  believing  that,  in 
France,  the  victory  would  be  sure  to  re- 
main with  Rome,  he  easily  persuaded 
himself  that  he  should  have  more  influ- 
ence and  honour  by  going  back  to  the 
Papacy.  Accordingly,  he  recanted  his 
former  teaching,  and  directed  that  doc- 
trines altogether  opposed  to  those  as- 
cribed to  him  should  be  preached  in  his 
parish ;  J  and  uniting,  at  a  later  period, 
with  the  most  fanatical  of  the  Romish  par- 
ty,— and  particularly  with  the  celebrated 
Ignatius  Loyola,^ — he  became  thence- 
forward the  most  zealous  supporter  of  the 
Papal  cause.  From  the  days  of  the  Em- 
peror Julian,  apostates  have  ever  been 
among  the  sternest  enemies  of  the  doc- 
trines which  they  once  professed. 

An  occasion  soon  offered  for  Mazurier 
to  make  proof  of  his  zeal.  The  youthful 
James  Pavanne  had  also  been  thrown 
into  prison.  Martial  hoped  to  cover  his 
own  shame  by  involving  another  in  the 
like  fall.  The  youth,  the  amiable  dis- 
position, the  learning,  and  the  integrity 
of  Pavanne,  created  a  general  interest  in 
his  favour ;  and  Mazurier  imagined  that 
he  himself  should  be  deemed  less  culpa- 
ble if  he  could  but  persuade  Master 
James  to  a  similar  course.     Visiting  him 

*  Histoire  I'TJniversite  par  Crcvier,  v.  p.  203. 

t  Gaillard,  Hist,  de  Francois  I.  v.  p.  234. 

X  "  Comme  il  etait  homme  adroit,  il  esquiva 
la  condamnation,"  says  Crcvier,  v.  p.  203. 

§  Cum  Ignatio  Loyola  init  amicitiam. — (Lau- 
noi  Navarrte  gymnasii  historia,  p.  621.) 


THE  FRENCH.— 1500— 1526. 


581 


in  his  cell,  he  began  by  pretending  that 
he  had  advanced  further  in  inquiry  into 
the  truth  than  Pavanne  had  done.  "  You 
are  under  a  mistake,  James,"  he  often  re- 
peated to  him  :  "  You  have  not  gone  deep 
into  these  matters:  you  have  made  ac- 
quaintance only  with  the  agitated  sur- 
face of  them."*  Sophisms,  promises, 
threats,  were  freely  resorted  to.  The  un- 
fortunate youth,  deceived,  disturbed,  and 
perplexed,  yielded  to  these  perfidious  ad- 
vances ;  and  on  the  morrow  of  Christ- 
mas day,  1524,  he  publicly  abjured  his 
pretended  errors.  But  from  that  hour  a 
spirit  of  melancholy  and  remorse  sent  by 
the  Almighty,  weighed  heavy  on  his 
soul.  Deep  sadness  consumed  him,  and 
his  sighs  were  unceasing.  "  Ah !"  he 
repeated,  "for  me  life  has  nothing  left 
but  bitterness."  Such  are  the  mournful 
consequences  of  apostacy. 

Nevertheless,  among  those  French- 
men who  had  received  the  word  of  God 
were  found  men  of  more  intrepid  hearts 
than  Pavanne  and  Mazurier.  Towards 
the  end  of  1523,  Leclerc  settled  at  Metz, 
in  Lorraine,  "  and  there,"  says  Theodore 
Beza.  "  he  acted  on  the  example  of  St. 
Paul,  who,  while  labouring  at  Corinth 
as  a  tent-maker,  persuaded  both  the  Jews 
and  the  Greeks."!  Leclerc,  while  pur- 
suing his  industry  as  a  wool-comber,  in- 
structed those  of  his  own  condition  ;  and 
among  these  last  there  had  been  several 
instances  of  real  conversion.  Thus  did 
this  humble  artizan  lay  the  foundations 
of  a  church  which  afterwards  became 
celebrated. 

But  at  Metz,  Leclerc  did  not  stand 
alone  Among  the  ecclesiastics  of  that 
city  was  one  John  Chatelain,  an  Augus- 
tine monk  of  Tournay,  and  doctor  of 
theology,  who  had  been  brought  to  the 
knowledge  of  God,  J  through  his  acquaint- 
ance with  the  Augustihes  of  Antwerp. 
Chatelain  had  gained  the  reverence  of 
the  people  by  the  strictness  of  his  mor- 
als ;§  and  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  when 
preached  by  him,  attired  in  cope  and 
stole,  appeared  less  strange  to  the  inhab- 

*  Actes  des  Martyrs,  p.  99. 

t  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  xviii.  3,  4.  Apostoli 
apud  Corinthios  exemplum  secutus.  —  (Beza? 
Icones.) 

t  Vocatus  ad  cognitionem  Dei. — (Act.  Mart. 
180.) 

§  Gaillard,  Hist,  de  Francois  I.  v.  p.  232. 


itants  of  Metz,  than  when  it  proceeded 
from  the  lips  of  a  poor  artizan,  laying 
aside  the  comb  with  which  he  carded  his 
wool,  to  take  up  and  explain  a  French 
version  of  the  Gospels. 

By  the  active  zeal  of  these  two  men 
the  light  of  evangelical  truth  began  to  be 
diffused  throughout  the  city.  A  very 
devout  woman  named  Toussaint,  one  of 
the  middle  class  of  the  people,  had  a  son 
called  Peter,  with  whom,  in  the  hours  of 
his  childish  sports,  she  would  often  speak 
of  serious  things.  Every  one,  even  to 
the  humblest,  lived  then  in  expectation 
of  some  extraordinary  event.  One  day 
the  child  was  amusing  himself  in  riding 
on  a  stick,  in  a  room  where  his  mother 
was  conversing  with  some  friends  on  the 
things  of  God,  when  she  said,  in  a  voice 
of  emotion,  "Antichrist  will  soon  come 
with  great  power,  and  will  destroy  such 
as  shall  have  been  converted  by  the 
preaching  of  Elias."*  These  words  be- 
ing frequently  repeated,  arrested  the  at- 
tention of  the  child,  and  he  afterwards 
recalled  them.  At  the  time  when  the 
doctor  of  theology  and  the  wool-comber 
were  engaged  in  preaching  the  Gospel 
at  Metz,  Peter  Toussaint  was  grown  up. 
His  relations  and  friends,  wondering  at 
his  precocious  genius,  conceived  the  hope 
of  seeing  him  in  an  exalted  station  in  the 
Church.  An  uncle  on  his  father's  side 
was  primicier,  or  head  of  the  chapter  of 
Metz.f  The  cardinal  John  of  Lorraine, 
son  of  Duke  Rene,  who  kept  a  large  es- 
tablishment, expressed  much  regard  for 
the  primicier  and  his  nephew,  the  latter 
of  whom,  notwithstanding  his  youth,  had 
just  before  obtained  a  prebend,  when  his 
attention  was  drawn  to  the  study  of  the 
Gospel.  Why  may  not  the  preaching 
of  Chatelain  and  Leclerc  be  that  of 
Elias?  It  is  true,  Antichrist  is  every- 
where arming  against  it.  But  what  mat- 
ter? "Let  us,"  said  he,  "lift  up  our 
heads,  looking  to  the  Lord,  who  will 
come  and  will  not  tarry. "J  The  light 
of  truth  was  beginning  to  find  entrance 
among   the   principal  families  of  Metz. 

*  Cum  equitabam  in  arundine  longa,  memini 
sffipe  audisse  me  a  matre,  venturum  Antichris- 
tum  cum  potentiS.  magna,  perditurumque  eos  qui 
essent  ad  Elise  pradicationem  conversi. — (Tossa- 
nus  Farello,  4  Sept.  1525,  from  a  MS.  of  the 
conclave  of  Neufchatel.) 

t  Tossanus  Farello,  21st  July,  1525. 

t  Ibid.  4th  Sept.  1525. 


582 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


The  knight  Esch,  an  intimate  friend  of 
the  primicier,  or  dean,  and  much  respect- 
ed, had  been  recently  converted.*  The 
friends  of  the  Gospel  were  rejoicing 
in  this  event : — Pierre  was  accustom- 
ed to  term  him  "  our  worthy  master  the 
knight ;"  adding  with  noble  candour,  "  if 
we  may  be  allowed  to  call  any  man  mas- 
ter on  earth."f 

Thus  Metz  was  about  to  become  a  fo- 
cus of  light  when  the  rash  zeal  of  Le- 
clerc  abruptly  arrested  its  slow  but  sure 
progress,  and  excited  a  commotion  which 
threatened  ruin  to  the  infant  church. 
The  populace  of  Metz  had  continued  to 
observe  their  accustomed  superstitions, 
and  Leclerc's  spirit  was  stirred  within 
him  at  the  sight  of  the  city  almost  whol- 
ly given  to  idolatry.  One  of  their  high 
festivals  drew  nigh.  About  a  league  dis- 
tant from  the  city  stood  a  chapel  inclosing 
statues  of  the  Virgin  and  of  the  most  ven- 
erated saints  of  the  surrounding  country, 
whither  the  people  of  Metz  were  in  the 
habit  of  resorting  in  pilgrimage  on  a  cer- 
tain day  in  the  year,  to  worship  these  im- 
ages and  obtain  the  pardon  of  their  sins. 

On  the  eve  of  this  festival  the  pious 
and  the  courageous  spirit  of  Leclerc  was 
deeply  agitated.  Had  not  God  said — 
"  Thou  shalt  not  bow  down  to  their  gods, 
but  thou  shalt  utterly  overthrow  them,  and 
quite  break  down  their  images?%  Leclerc 
understood  the  words  as  addressed  to 
himself,  and  without  conferring  with 
Chatelain,  Esch,  or  any  of  those  who  he 
may  have  expected  would  dissuade  him, 
quitted  the  city,  and  approached  the  chap- 
el'. There  he  collected  his  thoughts  as 
he  sat  silently  before  these  statues.  As 
yet  the  way  was  open  to  him  to  retire  ; 
but  to-morrow — in  a  few  hours — the  en- 
tire population  of  a  city,  which  ought  to 
be  worshipping  God  alone,  will  be  bow- 
ing before  these  blocks  of  wood  and  stone. 
A  struggle  ensued  in  the  heart  of  the 
humble  wool-carder,  similar  to  that  which 
was  so  often  endured  in  the  hearts  of  the 
early  Christians.  What  signified  the  dif- 
ference, that  here  it  was  the  images  of 
the  saints  of  the  neighbouring  country, 
and  not  of  heathen  gods  and  goddesses 

*  Clarissimum  ilium  equitem  .  .  .  cui  multum 
familiaritae  et  amicitias,  cum  primicerio  Metensi, 
patruo  meo. — (Toss.  Farello,  2d  Aug.  1524.) 

t  Ibid.  21st  July,  1525.     MS.  of  Neufchatel. 

X  Exodus  xx.  4  ;  xxiii.  24. 


— did  not  the  worship  rendered  to  mese 
images  belong  of  right  to  God  alone? 
Like  Polyeucte  before  the  idols  of  the 
temple,  his  heart  shuddered,  and  his 
courage  was  roused : 

Ne  perdons  plus  le  temps,  le  sacrifice  est  pret, 
Allons  y  du  vrai  Dieu  soutenir  l'inte>et ; 
Allons  fouler  aux  pieds  ce  foudre  ridicule 
Dont  arme  un  bois  pourri  ce  peuple  trop  credule 
Allons  en  e"clairer  l'aveuglement  fatal, 
Allons  briser  ces  dieux  de  pierre  et  de  me"tal 
Abandonnons  nos  jours,  a.  cette  ardeur  celeste — 
Faisons  triompher  Dieu ;  qu'il  dispose  du  reste. 
Corneille,  Polyeucte.* 

Leclerc  accordingly  rose  from  his  seat, 
and  approaching  the  images,  removed 
and  broke  them,  in  his  holy  indignation 
scattering  the  fragments  before  the  altar. 
He  did  not  doubt  that  this  action  was  by 
special  inspiration  of  the  spirit  of  the 
Lord,  and  Theodore  Beza  was  of  the 
same  judgment.! — This  done,  Leclerc 
returned  to  Metz,  re-entering  it  at  day- 
break, and  noticed  only  by  a  {ew  persons 
at  the  moment  of  his  passing  the  gate  of 
the  city. | 

Meanwhile  all  were  in  motion  in  the 
ancient  city  of  Metz.  The  bells  rang, 
the  various  religious  bodies  mustered, 
and  the  entire  population,  headed  by  the 
priests  and  monks,  left  the  city,  reciting 
prayers  and  chanting  hymns  to  the  saints 
whom  they  were  on  their  way  to  worship. 
Crosses  and  banners  went  forward  in  or- 
derly procession,  and  drums  and  instru- 
ments of  music  mingled  with  the  hymns 
of  the  faithful.  After  an  hour's  march, 
the  procession  reached  the  place  of  pil- 
grimage. But  what  was  the  astonish- 
ment of  the  priests,  when  advancing  with 
censers  in  hand,  they  beheld  the  images 
they  had  come  to  worship  mutilated,  and 
their  fragments  strewed  upon  the  earth. 
They  drew  back  appalled, — and  an- 
nounced to  the  crowd  of  worshippers  the 
sacrilege  that  had  been  committed.  In- 
stantly the  hymns  were  hushed — the  mu- 
sic stopped — the  banners  were  lowered, 
and  agitation  pervaded  the  assembled 
multitude.  Canons,  curates,  and  monks, 
laboured  still  further  to  inflame  their  an- 
ger and  excited  them  to  search  out  the 

*  Polyeucte,  by  P.  Corneille.  What  many 
admire  in  poetry,  they  pass  condemnation  on  in 
history. 

t  Divini  spiritus  afflatu  impulsus. — (Bezas 
Icones.) 

t  Mane  apud  urbis  portam  deprehensus. 


THE  FRENCH— 1500— 1526. 


583 


guilty  person,  and  require  that  he  should 
be  put  to  death.*  A  shout  was  raised  on 
all  sides.  "  Death — Death  to  the  sacri- 
legious wretch."  They  returned  in  haste 
and  disorder  to  the  city. 

Leclerc  was  known  to  all ;  several 
times  he  had  been  heard  to  call  the 
images  idols;  moreover  he  had  been  ob- 
served at  day-break  returning  from  the 
direction  of  the  chapel.  He  was  appre- 
hended, and  at  once  confessed  the  fact,  at 
the  same  time  conjuring  the  people  to 
worship  God  alone.  But  his  appeal  only 
the  more  inflamed  the  rage  of  the  multi- 
tude, who  would  have  dragged  him  to 
instant  execution.  Placed  before  his 
judges,  he  courageously  declared  that 
Jesus  Christ — God  manifest  in  the  flesh 
— ought  to  be  the  sole  object  of  worship; 
— and  was  sentenced  to  be  burnt  alive  ! 
He  was  conducted  to  the  place  of  exe- 
cution. 

Here  an  awful  scene  awaited  him  :  his 
persecutors  had  been  devising  all  that 
could  render  his  sufferings  more  dread- 
ful. At  the  scaffold  they  were  engaged 
heating  pincers,  as  instruments  of  their 
cruelty.  Leclerc  heard  with  calm  com- 
posure the  savage  yells  of  monks  and 
people.  They  began  by  cutting  off*  his 
right  hand ;  then  taking  up  the  red  hot 
pincers,  they  tore  away  his  nose  ;  after 
this,  with  the  same  instrument,  they  lace- 
rated his  arms,  and  having  thus  mangled 
him  in  many  places,  they  ended  by  ap- 
plying the  burnings  to  his  breasts,  t  All 
the  while  that  the  cruelty  of  his  enemies 
was  venting  itself  on  his  body,  his  soul 
was  kept  in  perfect  peace.  He  ejacu- 
lated solemnly,^ — "  Their  idols  are  silver 
and  gold,  the  work  of  metis  hands.  They 
have  mouths,  but  they  speak  not :  eyes  have 
they,  but  they  see  not :  they  have  ears,  but 
thev  hear  not :  noses  have  they,  but  they 
smell  not :  they  have  hands,  but  they  han- 
dle not :  feet  have  they,  but  they  walk  not : 
neither  speak  they  through  their  throat. 
They  that  make  them  are  like  unto  them  ; 
so  is  every  one  that  trusteth  in  them.     O 

*  Totam  civitatem  concitarunt  ad  auctorem 
ejus  facinoris  quajrendum. — (Act.  Mart.  lat.  p. 
189.) 

t  Naso  candentibus  forcipibus  abrepto,  iisdem- 
que  brachio  utroque,  ipsis  que  mammis  crudelis- 
sime  perustis. — (Bezre  Icones.)  MS.  of  Meaux  ; 
Crespin,  &c. 

X  Altissima  voce  recitans. — (Bezre  Icones.) 
Psalm  cxv.  4 — 9. 


Israel,  trust  thou  in  the  Lord  ;  lie  is  their 
help  and  their  shield.1'  The  enemies 
were  awed  by  the  sight  of  so  much  com- 
posure,— believers  were  confirmed  in 
their  faith,*  and  the  people,  whose  in- 
dignation had  vented  itself  in  the  first 
burst  of  anger,  were  astonished  and  af- 
fected, f  After  undergoing  these  tortures, 
Leclerc  was  burned  by  a  slow  fire  in 
conformity  to  the  sentence.  Such  was 
the  death  of  the  first  martyr  of  the  Gos- 
pel in  France. 

But  the  priests  of  Metz  did  not  rest 
there :  in  vain  had  they  laboured  to 
shake  the  fidelity  of  Chatelain — "  He  is 
like  the  deaf  adder,"  said  they,  "  he  re- 
fuses to  hear  the  truth."!  He  was  ar- 
rested by  the  servants  of  the  Cardinal  of 
Lorraine,  and  transferred  to  the  castle  of 
Nommeny. 

After  this  he  was  degraded  by  the  offi- 
cers of  the  bishop,  who  stripped  him  of 
his  vestments,  and  scraped  the  tips  of  his 
fingers  with  a  piece  of  broken  glass,  say- 
ing, "  Thus  do  we  take  away  the  power 
to  sacrifice,  consecrate,  and  bless,  which 
thou  didst  formerly  receive  by  the  anoint- 
ing of  thy  hands." §  Then  throwing 
over  him  the  habit  of  a  layman,  they 
handed  him  over  to  the  secular  power, 
which  doomed  him  to  be  burnt  alive. 
The  fire  was  quickly  lighted,  and  the 
servant  of  Christ  consumed  in  the  flames. 
"  Nevertheless,"  observe  the  historians  of 
the  Gallican  Church,  who,  in  other  re- 
spects, are  loud  in  commendation  of  these 
acts  of  rigour,  "  Lutheranism  spread 
through  all  the  district  of  Metz." 

From  the  moment  this  storm  had  de- 
scended on  the  church  of  Metz,  distress 
and  alarm  had  prevailed  in  the  house- 
hold of  Touissaint.  His  uncle,  the  dean, 
without  taking  an  active  part  in  the  mea- 
sures resorted  to  against  Leclerc  and 
Chatelain,  shuddered  at  the  thought  that 
his  nephew  was  one  among  those  people. 
His  mother's  fears  were  still  more 
aroused  :  not  a  moment  was  to  be  lost : 
all  who  had  given  ear  to  the  evangelic 
doctrine  felt  their  liberty  and  lives  to  be 

*  Adversariis  territis,  piis  magnopere  confir- 
matis. — (Ibid.) 

t  Nemo  qui  non  commoveretur,  attonitus. — 
(Act.  Mart.  lat.  p.  189.) 

t  Instar  aspidis  serpentis  aures  omni  surditate 
affectas.— (Act.  Mart.  lat.  p.  183.) 

§  Utri  usque  man  us  digitos  lamina  vitrea  erasit 
—(Ibid.  p.  66.) 


584 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


in  danger.  The  blood  shed  by  the  in- 
quisitors had  but  increased  their  thirst  for 
more.  New  scaffolds  would  ere  long  be 
erected:  Pierre  Touissaint,  the  knight 
Esch,  and  others  besides,  hastily  quitted 
Metz,  and  sought  refuge  at  Basle. 

Thus  violently  did  the  storm  of  perse- 
cution rage  at  Meaux  and  at  Metz.  Re- 
pulsed from  the  northern  provinces,  the 
Gospel  for  a  while  seemed  to  give  way ; 
but  the  Reformation  did  but  change  its 
ground,  and  the  south-eastern  provinces 
became  the  basis  and  theatre  of  the  move- 
ment. 

Farel,  who  had  retired  to  the  foot  of 
the  Alps,  was  labouring  actively  in  his 
work.  It  was  a  small  thing  to  him  to  en- 
joy in  the  bosom  of  his  family  the  sweets 
of  domestic  life.  The  report  of  the  events 
that  had  taken  place  at  Meaux  and  at 
Paris  had  communicated  a  degree  of  ter- 
ror to  his  brothers;  but  a  secret  influ- 
ence attracted  them  towards  those  new 
and  wondrous  truths  which  their  brother 
William  was  in  the  habit  of  dwelling 
upon.  The  latter,  with  all  the  earnest- 
ness of  his  character,  besought  them  to 
be  converted  to  the  Gospel  ;*  and  Daniel, 
Walter,  and  Claude  were  at  length  won 
over  to  that  God  whom  their  brother  de- 
clared to  them.  They  did  not  at  first  re- 
linquish the  worship  of  their  forefathers, 
but  when  persecution  arose,  they  boldly 
suffered  the  loss  of  friends,  property,  and 
country,  for  the  liberty  to  worship 
Christf 

The  brothers  of  Luther  and  Zwingle 
do  not  appear  to  have  been  so  decidedly 
converted  to  the  Gospel.  The  Reforma- 
tion in  France  had  from  its  outset  a  pe- 
culiarly domestic  character. 

Farel's  exhortations  were  not  confined 
to  his  brothers.  He  made  known  the 
truth  to  his  relatives  and  friends  at  Gap 
and  its  vicinity.  It  would  even  appear, 
if  we  give  credit  to  one  manuscript,  that, 
availing  himself  of  the  friendship  of  cer- 
tain ecclesiastics,  he  began  to  preach  the 
Gospel  in  some  of  the  churches  ;J  but 
other  authorities  affirm  that  he  did  not  at 

*  MS.  of  Choupard. 

+  Farel,  says  a  French  MS.  preserved  at  Gene- 
va, was  a  gentleman  in  station  of  ample  fortune, 
which  he  gave  up  for  the  sake  of  his  religion, — 
as  did  also  three  of  his  brothers. 

t  II  precha  l'Evangile  publiquement  avec  une 
grande  liberte\ — (MS.  of  Choupard.) 


this  time  occupy  the  pulpit.  However 
that  may  be,  the  opinions  he  professed 
were  noised  abroad,  and  both  priests  and 
people  insisted  that  he  should  be  silenced: 
"  What  new  and  strange  heresy  is  this  ?" 
said  they ;  "  how  can  we  think  that  all 
the  practices  of  devotion  are  useless? 
The  man  is  neither  monk  nor  priest :  he 
has  no  business  to  preach."* 

It  was  not  long  before  the  whole  of  the 
authorities,  civil  and  ecclesiastical,  were 
combined  against  Farel.  It  was  suffi- 
ciently evident  he  was  acting  with  that 
sect  which  was  everywhere  spoken 
against.  "  Let  us  cast  out  from  amongst 
us,"  cried  they,  "  this  firebrand  of  dis- 
cord." Farel  was  summoned  before  the 
judges,  roughly  handled,  and  forcibly  ex- 
pelled the  city.  :'f 

Yet  he  did  not  forsake  his  country, — 
the  open  plains  and  villages, — the  banks 
of  the  Durance, — of  the  Guisanne, — of 
the  lsere, — was  there  not  many  a  soul  in 
those  localities  that  stood  in  need  of  the 
Gospel?  and  if  he  should  run  any  risk, 
were  not  those  forests,  caverns,  and  steep 
rocks,  which  had  been  the  familiar 
haunts  of  his  childhood,  at  hand  to  afford 
him  their  shelter  ?  He  began  therefore 
to  traverse  the  country,  preaching  in  pri- 
vate dwellings  and  secluded  meadows, 
and  retiring  for  shelter  to  the  woods  and 
overhanging  torrents.};  It  was  a  train- 
ing by  which  God  was  preparing  him 
for  other  trials :  "  Crosses,  persecutions, 
and  the  lyings-in-wait  of  Satan,  of  which 
I  had  intimation,  were  not  wanting," 
said  he ;  u  they  were  even  much  more 
than  I  could  have  borne  in  my  own 
strength,  but  God  is  my  father  :  He  has 
ministered,  and  will  for  ever  minister 
to  me  all  needful  strength."^  Very  many 
of  the  inhabitants  of  these  countries  re- 
ceived the  truth  from  his  lips ;  and  thus 
the  same  persecution  that  drove  Farel 
from  Paris  and  Meaux  was  the  means  of 
diffusing  the  Reformation  in  the  coun- 
tries of  the  Saone,  the  Rhone,  and  the 
Alps.    In  all  ages,  it  has  been  found  that 

*  Ibid.     Hist,  des  Eveq.  de  Nismes,  1738. 

t  II  fut  chasse,  voire  fort  rudement,  tant  par 
l'eveque  que  par  ceux  de  la  ville. — (MS.  of  Chou- 
pard.) 

t  Olim  errabundus  in  sylvis,  in  nemoribus,  in 
aquis  vagatus  sum — (Farel  ad  Capit.  de  Bucer. 
Basil  25th  Oct.  1526.     MS.  of  Neufchatel.) 

§  Non  defuere  crux,  persecutio  et  Satanee 
machinamenta  .  .  .  — (Farel  Galeoto.) 


THE  FRENCH.— 1500— 1526 


585 


they  who  have  heen  scattered  abroad, 
have  gone  everywhere  preaching  the  word 
of  God.* 

Among  the  Frenchmen  who  were  at 
this  time  gained  over  to  the  Gospel,  was 
a  Dauphinese  gentleman,  the  Knight 
Anemond  de  Coct,  the  younger  son  of 
the  auditor  of  Coct,  the  lord  of  Chatelard. 
Active,  ardent,  truly  pious,  and  opposed 
to  the  generally  received  veneration  of 
relics,  processions  and  clergy,  Anemond 
readily  received  the  evangelic  doctrine, 
and  was  soon  entirely  devoted  to  it.  He 
could  not  patiently  endure  the  formality 
that  reigned  around  him,  and  it  was  his 
wish  to  see  all  the  ceremonies  of  the 
Church  abolished.  The  religion  of  the 
heart,  the  inward  worship  of  the  Spirit, 
was  everything  in  his  estimation  :  "  Nev- 
er," said  he,  ':  has  my  mind  found  any 
rest  in  externals.  The  sum  of  Chris- 
tianity is  in  that  text, — '  John  truly  bap- 
tized with  water,  but  ye  shall  be  baptized 
with  the  Holy  Ghost.'  We  must  become 
'new  creatures.'  "f 

Coct,  endued  with  the  vivacity  of  his 
nation,  spoke  and  wrote  one  day  in 
French,  the  next  in  Latin.  He  read  and 
quoted  Donatus,  Thomas  Aquinas,  Juve- 
nal, and  the  Bible  !  His  style  was  brief, 
and  marked  by  abrupt  transitions  Ever 
restless,  he  would  present  himself  wherev- 
er a  door  seemed  to  be  opened  to  the 
Gospel,  or  a  famous  teacher  was  to  be 
heard.  His  cordiality  won  the  affection 
of  all  his  acquaintances.  "  He  is  a  man 
of  distinction,  both  for  his  birth  and  his 
learning,"  observed  Zwingle,  at  a  later 
period,  "  but  yet  more  distinguished  for 
his  piety  and  obliging  disposition."^  An- 
emond is  a  sort  of  type  of  many  French- 
men of  the  Reformed  opinions :  vivacity, 
simplicity,  a  zeal  which  passes  readily 
into  imprudence, — such  are  the  qualities 
often  recurring  among  those  of  his  coun- 
trymen who  have  embraced  the  Gospel. 
But  at  the  very  opposite  extreme  of  the 
French  character,  we  behold  the  grave 
aspect  of  Calvin,  serving  as  a  weighty 
counterpoise  to  the  light  step  of  Coct. 
Calvin  and   Anemond  are    as  the  two 

*  Acts  viii. 

t  Nunquam  in  externis  quievit  spiritus  mens. 
— (Coctus  Farello,  MS.  of  the  Conclave  of  Neuf- 
chatel.) 

X  Virum  est  genere,  doctrinaque  clarum,  ita 
pietate  humaniteque  longe  clariorem. — (Zw.  Epp. 
p.  319.) 

74 


poles  between  whom  the  religious  world 
of  France  revolves. 

No  sooner  had  Anemond  received  from 
Farel  the  knowledge  of  Jesus  Christ* 
than  he  set  about  winning  souls  to  that 
doctrine  of  '  spirit  and  life.'  His  father 
was  no  more.  His  elder  brother, — of  a 
stern  and  haughty  temper, — disdainfully 
repulsed  his  advances.  Laurent, — the 
youngest  of  the  family,  and  affectionately 
attached  to  him, — seemed  but  half  to  en- 
ter into  the  understanding  of  his  words, 
and  Anemond,  disappointed  in  his  own 
family,  turned  his  activity  in  another  di- 
rection. 

Hitherto  it  was  among  the  laity  only 
that  this  awakening  in  Dauphiny  had 
been  known.  Farel,  Anemond,  arid  their 
friends,  wished  much  to  see  a  priest  ta- 
king the  lead  in  the  movement,  which 
promised  to  make  itself  felt  throughout 
the  Alps.  There  dwelt  at  Grenoble  a 
curate, — a  minorite,  by  name  Pierre  de 
Sebvilie,  famed  for  the  eloquence  of  his 
preaching,  right-minded  and  simple, — 
"  conferring  not  with  flesh  and  blood," — 
and  whom  God.  by  gradual  process,  was 
drawing  to  the  knowledge  of  Himself,  f 
It  was  not  long  before  Sebville  was 
brought  to  the  acknowledgment  that 
there  is  no  unerring  Teacher  save  the 
word  of  the  Lord ;  and,  relinquishing 
such  teaching  as  rests  only  on  the  wit- 
ness of  men,  he  determined  in  his  heart 
to  preach  a  Gospel,  at  once  "  clear,  pure, 
and  holy."!  These  three  words  exhibit 
the  complete  character  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. Coct  and  Farel  rejoiced  to  hear 
this  new  preacher  of  Grace,  raising  his 
powerful  voice  in  their  country ;  and 
they  concluded  that  their  own  presence 
would  thenceforth  be  less  necessary. 

The  more  the  awakening  spread,  the 
more  violently  did  opposition  arise.  Ane- 
mond, longing  to  know  more  of  Luther, 
Zwingle,  and  of  the  countries  which  had 
been  the  birth-place  of  the  Reformation, 
— and  indignant  at  finding  the  Gospel 
rejected  by  his  own  countrymen,  resolv- 
ed to  bid  farewell  to  his  country  and 
family.     He  made  his  will, — settling  his 

*  In  a  letter  to  Farel,  he  signs : — Filius  tuus 
humilis.—{%  Sept.  1524.) 

t  Pater  coelestis  animum  sic  tuum  ad  se  traxit. 
— (Zwinglius  Sebvilte,  Epp.  p.  320.) 

t  Nitide,  pure,  sancteque  prcedicare  in  animum 
inducis. — (Ibid.) 


586 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


property,  then  in  the  hands  of  his  elder 
brother,  the  lord  of  Chatelard,  on  his 
brother  Laurent.*  This  done,  he  quitted 
Dauphiny  and  France,  and  passing  over, 
with  impetuous  haste,  countries  which 
were  then  not  traversed  without  much 
difficulty,  he  went  through  Switzerland, 
and  scarcely  stopping  at  Basle,  arrived  at 
Wittemberg,  where  Luther  then  was.  It 
was  shortly  after  the  second  diet  of  Nu- 
remberg. The  French  gentleman  ac- 
costed the  Saxon  Doctor  with  his  accus- 
tomed vivacity,— spoke  with  enthusiastic 
warmth  concerning  the  Gospel, — and 
dwelt  largely  on  the  plans  he  had  formed 
for  the  propagation  of  the  truth.  The 
grave  Saxon  smiled  as  he  listened  to  the 
southern  imagination  of  the  speaker ; 
and  Luther,f  who  had  some  prejudices 
against  the  national  character  of  the 
French, — was  won,  and  carried  away  by 
Anemond.  The  thought  that  this  gen- 
tleman had  made  the  journey  from 
France  to  Wittemberg,  for  the  Gospel's 
sake,  affected  him.|  "  Certainly,"  re- 
marked the  Reformer  to  his  friends, 
"  that  French  knight  is  an  excellent 
man,  and  both  learned  and  pious,§"  and 
Zwingle  formed  a  similar  opinion  of 
him. 

Anemond  having  seen  what  had  been 
effected  by  the  agency  of  Luther  and 
Zwingle,  imagined  that  if  they  would 
but  take  in  hand  France  and  Savoy,  no- 
thing could  stand  against  them  ;  and  ac- 
cordingly, failing  to  persuade  them  to 
remove  thither,  he  earnestly  desired  of 
them  that,  at  least,  they  would  write. 
He  particularly  besought  Luther  to  ad- 
dress a  letter  to  Charles  Duke  of  Savoy, 
brother  of  Louisa  and  of  Philibert,  and 
uncle  to  Francis  the  First  and  Margaret. 
"  That  prince,"  observed  he  to  Luther, 
"  is  much  drawn  to  piety  and  true  reli- 
gion, ||  and  he  takes  pleasure  in  convers- 

*  "  My  brother  Anemond  Coct,  when  setting 
forth  from  this  country,  made  me  his  heir." — 
(MS.  Letters  in  the  Library  at  Neufchatel.) 

t  "  Mire  ardens  in  Evangelium,"  said  Luther 
to  Spalatin. — (Epp.  ii.  p.  340.)  "  Sehr  briinstig 
in  der  Herrlichkeit  des  Evangelii,"  said  he  to  the 
Duke  of  Savoy.— (Ibid.  p.  401.) 

t  Evangelii  gratia  hue  profectus  e  Gallia. — 
(L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  340.) 

§  Hie  Gallus  eques  .  .  .  optimus  vir  est,  erudi- 
tus  ac  pius. — (Ibid.) 

||  Ein  grosser  Leibhaber  der  wahren  Religion 
und  Gottseligkeit— (Ibid.  p.  401.) 


ing  concerning  the  Reformation  with 
certain  persons  at  his  court.  He  is  just 
the  one  to  enter  into  your  views, — for  his 
motto  is,  '  Nihil  deest  timentibus  Deum  ;'* 
and  that  is  your  own  maxim.  Assailed 
alternately  by  the  Empire  and  by  France, 
humbled,  broken  in  spirit,  and  continu- 
ally in  danger,  his  heart  knows  its  need 
of  God  and  His  grace :  all  he  wants  is 
to  be  impelled  to  action  :  once  gained 
over  to  the  Gospel,  his  influence  would 
be  immense  in  Switzerland,  Savoy,  and 
France.     Pray  write  to  him." 

Luther  was  a  thorough  German,  and 
would  not  have  been  at  ease  beyond  the 
frontier  of  his  own  nation.  Yet,  in  true 
catholicity  of  heart,  his  hand  was  imme- 
diately put  out  where  he  recognised  breth- 
ren ;  and  wherever  a  word  might  be  spo- 
ken with  effect,  he  took  care  to  make  it 
heard.  Sometimes  on  the  same  day  he 
would  write  letters  to  countries  separated 
by  the  widest  distances, — as  the  Nether- 
lands, Savoy,  Livonia. 

"  Assuredly,"  he  answered  Anemond, 
"  a  love  for  the  Gospel  is  a  rare  and  in- 
estimable jewel  in  a  prince's  crown. "t 
And  he  proceeded  to  write  to  the  Duke 
a  letter  which  Anemond  probably  carried 
with  him  as  far  as  Switzerland. 

"  I  beg  your  Highness's  pardon,"  wrote 
Luther,  "  if  I,  a  poor  and  unfriended  monk, 
venture  to  address  you  ;  or  rather  I  would 
ask  of  your  Highness  to  ascribe  this  bold- 
ness of  mine  to  the  glory  of  the  Gospel, 
— for  I  cannot  see  that  glorious  light  arise 
and  shine  in  any  quarter,  without  exult- 
ing at  the  sight  ....  My  hope  is,  that 
my  Lord  Jesus  Christ  may  win  over 
many  souls  by  the  power  of  your  Serene 
Highness's  example.  Therefore  it  is  I 
desire  to  instruct  you  in  our  teaching. 
We  believe  that  the  very  beginning  of 
salvation  and  the  sum  'of  Christianity 
consists  in  faith  in  Christ,  who,  by  his 
blood  alone, — and  not  by  any  works  of 
ours, — has  put  away  Sin,  and  destroyed 
the  power  of  death.  We  believe  that 
this  faith  is  God's  gift,  formed  in  our 
hearts  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  not  at- 
tained by  any  effort  of  our  own ; — for 


*  "  They  that  fear  God  shall  want  no  good 
thing." — (Hist.  Gen.  de  la  Maison  de  Savoie  par 
Guichenon,  ii.  p.  228.) 

t  Eine  seltsame  Gabe  und  hohes  Kleinod  un- 
ter  den  Fursten. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  401.) 


THE  FRENCH— 1500— 1526. 


587 


faith  is  a  principle  of  life,*  begetting  man 
spiritually,  and  making  him  a  new  crea- 
ture." 

Luther  passed  thence  to  the  effects  of 
faith,  and  showed  that  it  was  not  possible 
to  be  possessed  of  that  faith  without  the 
superstructure  of  false  doctrine  and  hu- 
man merits, — built  up  so  laboriously  by 
the  Church, — being  at  once  swept  away. 
"  If  Grace,"  said  he,  "  is  the  purchase  of 
Christ's  blood,  it  follows  that  it  is  not  the 
purchase  of  works  of  ours.  Hence  the 
Avhole  train  of  works  of  all  the  cloisters 
in  the  world  are, — for  this  purpose, — use- 
less ;  and  such  institutions  should  be 
abolished,  as  opposed  to  the  blood  of  Je- 
sus Christ,  and  as  leading  men  to  trust  in 
their  own  good  works.  Ingrafted  in 
Christ,  nothing  remains  for  us  but  to  do 
good  ;  because  being  become  good  trees, 
we  ought  to  give  proof  of  it  by  bearing 
good  fruits." 

"  Gracious  Prince  and  Lord,"  said  Lu- 
ther, in  conclusion  :  "  May  your  High- 
ness, having  made  so  happy  a  beginning, 
help  to  spread  this  doctrine, — not  by  the 
sword,  which  would  be  a  hindrance  to 
the  Gospel, — but  by  inviting  to  your 
states  teachers  who  preach  the  Word.  It 
is  by  the  breath  of  His  mouth  that  Jesus 
will  destroy  Antichrist ;  so  that,  as  Daniel 
describes,  he  may  be  broken  without 
hand.  Therefore,  most  Serene  Prince, 
let  your  Highness  cherish  that  spark  that 
has  been  kindled  in  your  heart.  Let  a 
flame  go  forth  from  the  house  of  Savoy, 
as  once  from  the  house  of  Joseph,  f  May 
all  France  be  as  stubble  before  that  fire. 
May  it  burn,  blaze,  purify, — that  so  that 
renowned  kingdom  may  truly  take  the 
title  of  '  Most  Christian,' — which  it  has 
hitherto  received  only  in  reward  of  blood 
shed  in  the  cause  of  Antichrist." 

Thus  did  Luther  endeavour  to  diffuse 
the  Gospel  in  France.  We  have  no 
means  of  knowing  the  effect  of  this  letter 
on  the  Prince ;  but  we  do  not  find  that 
he  ever  gave  signs  of  a  wish  to  detach 
himself  from  Rome.  In  1523,  he  re- 
quested Adrian  VI.  to  be  godfather  to 
his  first-born  son  ;  and  at  a  later  period, 
we  find  the  Pope  promising  him  a  car- 
dinal's hat  for  his  second  son.      Ane- 

*  Der  Glaube  ist  ein  lebendig  Ding  ...  — 
(Ibid.  p.  502.)     The  Latin  is  wanting. 

t  Das  ein  Feuer  von  dem  Hause  Sophoy  aus- 
gehe. — (L.  Epp.  ii.  p.  406.) 


mond,  after  making  an  effort  to  be  ad- 
mitted to  see  the  court  and  Elector  of  Sax- 
ony,* and,  for  this  purpose,  providing 
himself  with  a  letter  from  Luther,  re- 
turned to  Basle,  more  than  ever  resolved 
to  risk  his  life  in  the  cause  of  the  Gospel. 
In  the  ardour  of  his  purpose  he  would 
have  roused  the  entire  nation.  "  All 
that  I  am,  or  ever  can  be,"  said  he, — 
"  All  I  have  or  ever  can  have,  it  is  my 
earnest  desire  to  devote  to  the  glory  of 
God."t 

At  Basle  Anemond  found  his  country- 
man Farel.  The  letters  of  Anemond 
had  excited  in  him  a  great  desire  to  be 
personally  acquainted  with  the  Swiss  and 
German  Reformers.  Moreover,  Farel  felt 
the  need  of  a  sphere  in  which  his  activi- 
ty might  be  more  freely  put  forth.  He 
accordingly  quitted  France,  which  al- 
ready offered  only  the  scaffold  to  the 
preachers  of  a  pure  Gospel.  Taking  to 
bye-paths,  and  hiding  in  the  woods,  he 
with  difficulty  escaped  out  of  the  hands 
of  his  enemies.  Often  had  he  mistaken 
the  direction  in  which  his  route  lay. 
"  God,"  observes  he,  "  designs,  by  my 
helplessness  in  these  little  matters,  to 
teach  me  how  helpless  I  am  in  greater 
things."^  -^t  length  he  entered  Switzer- 
land in  the  beginning  of  1524.  There 
he  was  destined  to  spend  his  life  in  the 
service  of  the  Gospel, — and  then  it  was 
that  France  began  to  pour  into  Switzer- 
land those  noble  heralds  of  the  Gospel 
who  were  to  seat  the  Reformation  in  Ro- 
mane  Switzerland,  and  communicate  to 
it  a  new  and  powerful  impulse  through- 
out and  far  beyond  the  limits  of  the  con- 
federated cantons. 

The  catholicity  of  the  Reformation  is 
a  beautiful  character  in  its  history.  The 
Germans  pass  into  Switzerland — the 
French  into  Germany — and,  at  a  some- 
what later  period,  we  see  the  English 
and  the  Scotch  passing  to  the  Continent, 
and  the  Continental  teachers  to  Great 
Britain.  The  Reformations  of  the  seve- 
ral countries  take  their  rise  independent- 
ly of  each  other — but  as  soon  as  they 

*  Vult  videre  aulam  et  faciem  Principis  nostri. 
—(Ibid.  p.  340.) 

t  Quidquid  sum,  habeo,  ero,  habebove,  ad  Dei 
gloriam  insumere  mens  est. — (Coct.  Epp.  MS. 
of  Neufchatel.) 

t  Voluit  Dominus  per  infirmahsec,  docere  quid 
possit  homo  in  majoribus.— (Farel  CapitonL 
Ibid.) 


588 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


look  around  them,  their  hands  are  held 
out  to  each  other.  To  them  there  is  one 
Faith,  one  Spirit,  one  Lord.  It  is  an  er- 
ror to  treat  the  history  of  the  Reforma- 
tion in  connection  with  any  single  coun- 
try ; — the  work  was  one  and  the  same  in 
all  lands ;  and  the  Protestant  Churches 
were  from  the  very  beginning,  a  "  whole 
body  fitly  joined  together."* 

Certain  persons  who  had  fled  from 
France  and  Lorraine  at  this  time,  formed 
in  the  city  of  Basle  a  French  Church, 
whose  members  had  escaped  from  the 
scaffold.  These  persons  had  spread  the 
report  of  Lefevre,  Farel,  and  the  events 
that  had  occurred  at  Meaux  ;  and  when 
Farel  entered  Switzerland  he  was  al- 
ready known  as  one  of  the  most  fearless 
heralds  of  the  truth. 

He  was  immediately  introduced  to 
CEcolampadius,  who,  some  time  before 
this,  had  returned  to  Basle.  Seldom  does 
it  happen  that  two  characters  more  op- 
posite are  brought  together.  CEcolam- 
padius charmed  by  his  gentleness — Fa- 
rel carried  away  his  hearers  by  his  ear- 
nestness— but  from  the  moment  they  met 
these  two  men  felt  themselves  one  in 
heart,  t  It  resembled  the  first  meeting 
of  Luther  and  Melancthon.  CEcolam- 
padius bade  him  welcome,  gave  him  an 
apartment  in  his  house,  received  him  at 
his  table,  and  introduced  him  to  his 
friends ;  and  it  was  not  long  before  the 
learning,  piety,  and  courage  of  the  young 
Frenchman  won  the  hearts  of  his  new 
friends.  Pellican,  Imelia,  Wolfhard,  and 
others  of  the  preachers  of  Basle,  were 
fortified  in  their  faith  by  the  energy  of 
his  exhortations.  CEcolampadius  was 
just  then  suffering  under  depression  of 
spirits: — "Alas,"  he  wrote  to  Zwingle, 
"  it  is  in  vain  I  preach — I  see  no  hope  of 
any  effect  being  produced.  Perhaps 
among  the  Turks  I  might  succeed  bet- 
ter."! "  Oh,"  added  he,  sighing,  "  I  as- 
cribe the  failure  to  myself  alone."  But 
the  more  he  saw  of  Farel  the  more  his 
heart  felt  encouragement ;  and  the  cou- 
rage he  derived  from  the  Frenchman 
laid  the  ground  of  an  undying  affection. 
"  Dear  Farel,''  said  he  to  him,  "  I  trust 

*  Eph.  iv.  16. 

t  Amicum  semper  habui  a  primo  colloquio. — 
(Farel  ad  Bulling.  27th  May,  1556.) 

X  Fortasse  in  mediis  Turcis  felicius  docuissem. 
— (Zw.  et.  Ecol.  Epp.  p.  200.) 


the  Lord  will  make  ours  a  friendship  for 
all  eternity — and  if  we  are  parted  below, 
our  joy  will  only  be  the  greater  when  we 
shall  be  gathered  in  presence  of  Christ 
in  the  heavens  !"*  Pious  and  affecting 
thoughts.  The  coming  of  Farel  was  evi- 
dently help  from  above. 

But  whilst  the  Frenchman  took  de- 
light in  the  society  of  CEcolampadius,  he 
drew  back  with  cool  independence  from 
a  man  at  whose  feet  the  principal  na- 
tions of  Christendom  paid  homage.  The 
prince  of  scholars — the  man  whose  smile 
and  words  were  objects  of  general  ambi- 
tion— the  teacher  of  that  age — Erasmus 
— was  passed  over  by  Farel.  The  young 
Dauphinese  had  declined  to  pay  his  re- 
spects to  the  venerated  philosopher  of 
Rotterdam — having  no  relish  for  those 
who  are  never  more  than  half-hearted 
for  truth,  and  who  in  the  clear  under- 
standing of  the  consequences  of  error,  are 
nevertheless  full  of  allowances  for  those 
who  propagate  it.  Accordingly  we  have 
in  Farel  that  decision  which  has  become 
one  of  the  distinguishing  characters  of 
the  Reformation  in  France,  and  in  those 
cantons  of  Switzerland  bordering  on 
France — characters  which  have  been  by 
some  deemed  stiffness,  exclusiveness,  and 
intolerance.  A  controversy  had  com- 
menced between  Erasmus  and  Lefevre, 
arising  out  of  the  commentaries  put  forth 
by  the  latter, — and  in  all  companies  par- 
ties were  divided  for  the  one  and  against 
the  other.f  Farel  had  unhesitatingly 
ranged  himself  on  the  side  of  his  teacher. 
But  that  which  chiefly  roused  his  indig- 
nation was  the  cowardly  course  pursued 
by  the  philosopher  toward  the  evangeli- 
cal party  ; — Erasmus's  doors  were  closed 
against  them.  That  being  the  case,  Fa- 
rel will  not  enter  them ! — to  him  this 
was  felt  to  be  no  loss;  convinced  as  he 
was  that  the  very  ground  of  a  true  theol- 
ogy— the  piety  of  the  heart — was  want- 
ing to  Erasmus.  "  Frobenius'swuje  knows 
more  of  theology  than  he  does,"  remarked 
Farel ;  and  stung  by  the  intelligence 
that  Erasmus  had  written  to  the  Pope, 

*  Mi  Farelle,  spero  Dominum  conservaturum 
amicitiam  nostram  immortalem  ;  et  si  hie  con- 
jungi  nequimus,  tanto  beatius  alibi  apud  Chris- 
tum erit  contubernium. — (Zw.  et  GDcol.  Epp.  p. 
201.) 

t  Nullum  est  pene  convivium  .  . .  — (Er.  Epp. 
p.  179.)  ■ 


THE  FRENCH— 1500— 1526. 


589 


advising  him  how  to  set  about  "  extin- 
guishing the  spread  of  Lutheranism,"*  he 
publicly  declared  that  Erasmus  was  en- 
deavouring to  stifle  the  Gospel. 

This  independence  of  young  Farel  dis- 
turbed the  composure  of  the  man  of  learn- 
ing. Princes,  kings,  learned  men,  bish- 
ops, priests,  and  men  of  the  world,  all 
were  ready  to  offer  him  the  tribute  of 
their  admiration  : — Luther  himself  had 
treated  him  with  respect,  so  far  as  he  was 
personally  mixed  up  in  this  controversy ; 
and  this  Dauphinese — a  nameless  ref- 
ugee— ventured  to  brave  his  power.  So 
insolent  a  freedom  caused  Erasmus  more 
annoyance  than  the  homage  of  the  world 
at  large  could  give  him  joy,  and  hence 
he  lost  no  opportunity  of  venting  his 
spite  against  Farel.  Moreover,  in  assail- 
ing him  he  contributed  to  clear  himself, 
in  the  judgment  of  the  Roman  Catholics, 
of  the  suspicion  of  heresy, — "  I  never  met 
with  such  a  liar, — -such  a  restless  sedi- 
tious spirit  as  that  man,"f  observed  he ; 
"his  heart  is  full  of  vanity,  and  his 
tongue  charged  with  malice."|  But  the 
anger  of  Erasmus  did  not  stop  at  Farel 
— it  was  directed  against  all  the  French- 
men who  had  sought  refuge  at  Basle, 
and  whose  frankness  and  decision  were 
an  offence  to  him.  They  paid  evidently 
no  respect  to  persons  ;  and  wherever  the 
truth  was  not  frankly  confessed,  they  took 
no  notice  of  the  man,  how  great  soever 
his  genius  might  be.  Wanting,  perhaps, 
in  the  graciousness  of  the  Gospel,  there 
was  in  their  faithfulness  that  which  re- 
minds one  of  the  prophets  of  old — and  it 
is  truly  delightful  to  contemplate  men 
who  stand  erect  before  that  to  which  the 
world  bows  down.  Erasmus,  astonished 
bv  this  lofty  disdain,  complained  of  it  in 
all  companies.  "  What  mean  we,"  wrote 
he  to  Melancthon,  li  to  reject  pontiffs  and 
bishops,  only  to  submit  to  the  insolence 
of  more  cruel  ragamuffin  tyrants  and 
madmen, §  for  such  it  is  that  France  has 
o-iven  us." — "  There  are  some  French- 
men," he  wrote  to  the  Pope's  secretary 
(at  the  same  time  sending  him  his  book 
on  Free  Will),  "  who  are  even  more  in- 

*  Consilium  quo  sic  extinguatur  inceqftm 
Lutheranum. — (Er.  Epp.  p.  179.) 

t  Quo  nihil  vidi  mendacius,  virulentius,  et  se- 
ditiosius. — (Ibid.  p.  798.) 

t  Acidae  linguee  et  vanissimus. — (Ibid.  p.  2129.) 

§  Scabiosos  .  . .  rabiosos  .  .  .  nam  nuper  nobis 
misit  Gallia.— (Ibid.  p.  350.) 


sane  than  the  Germans  themselves.  They 
have  ever  on  their  lips  these  five  words 
— Gospel —  Word  of  God — Faith — Christ 
— Holy  Spirit — and  yet  I  doubt  not  but 
that  it  is  the  spirit  of  Satan  that  urges 
them  on."*  In  place  of  Farellus  he  often 
wrote  Fallicus,  thus  designating  as  a 
cheat  and  deceiver  one  of  the  most  frank- 
hearted  men  of  his  age. 

The  rage  and  anger  of  Erasmus  were 
at  their  height,  when  information  arrived 
that  Farel  had  termed  him  a  Balaam. 
Farel  thought  that  Erasmus,  like  that 
prophet,  was  (perhaps  unconsciously) 
swayed  by  gifts  to  curse  the  people  of 
God.  The  man  of  learning,  no  longer 
able  to  restrain  himself,  resolved  to  chas- 
tise the  daring  Dauphinese :  and  one 
day,  when  Farel  was  discussing  certain 
topics  of  Christian  doctrine  with  some 
friends,  in  the  presence  of  Erasmus,  the 
latter  rudely  interrupted  him  with  the 
question, — K  On  what  ground  do  you  call 
me  Balaam?"!  Fafel,  who  was  at  first 
disconcerted  by  the  abruptness  of  the 
question,  soon  recovered  himself,  and 
made  answer  that  it  was  not  he  who  had 
given  him  that  name.  Being  pressed  to 
say  who  it  was,  he  mentioned  Du  Blet 
of  Lyons,  who  like  himself  had  sought 
refuge  at  Basle. %  "  Perhaps  he  may 
have  made  use  of  the  expression,"  re- 
plied Erasmus,  "  but  it  is  yourself  who 
taught  it  him."  Then  ashamed  to  have 
lost  his  temper,  he  hastily  changed  the 
subject : — "  Why  is  it,"  asked  he,  "  that 
you  assert  that  we  are  not  to  invoke  the 
saints?  Is  it  because  Holy  Scripture 
does  not  enjoin  the  practice  ?" — "  It  is," 
answered  the  Frenchman.  "  Well,"  said 
the  man  of  learning,  "  I  call  on  you  to 
show  from  Scripture  that  we  should  in- 
voke the  Holy  Ghost?"  Farel  gave  this 
clear  and  solid  answer :  ':  If  He  be  God, 
we  must  invoke  Him."§  "  I  dropt  the 
conversation,"  said  Erasmus,  "  for  the 
night  was  closing  in.:,||     From  that  time, 

*  Non  duitem  quin  agantur  spiritu  Satanse. 
— (Er.  Epp.  p.  350.) 

t   Diremi  disputationem  .  .  .  — (Ibid.  p.  804.) 

X  Utdiceretnegotiatorem  quemdam  Dupletum 
hoc  dixisse.— (Ibid.  p.  2129.) 

§  Si  Deus  est,  inquit,  invocandus  est. — (Er. 
Epp.  p.  804.) 

||  Oinissa  disputatione,  nam  imminebat  nox. 
— (Ibid.)  We  have  only  Erasmus'  account  of 
this  conversation  ;  he  himself  reports  that  Farel 
gave  a  very  different  account  of  it. 


590 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


whenever  Farel's  name  came  under  his 
pen,  the  opportunity  was  taken  to  repre- 
sent him  as  a  hateful  person,  on  every 
account  to  be  shunned.  The  Reformer's 
letters  are,  on  the  contrary,  marked  by 
moderation  as  regards  Erasmus.  Even 
in  those  most  constitutionally  hasty,  the 
Gospel  is  a  more  gracious  thing  than 
Philosophy. 

The  Evangelic  doctrine  had  already 
many  friends  in  Basle,  in  the  town-coun- 
cil, and  among  the  people ;  but  the  Doc- 
tors and  the  University  opposed  it  to  the 
utmost  of  their  power.  (Ecolampadius 
and  Stor,  pastor  at  Liestal,  had  maintain- 
ed certain  theses  against  them.  Farel 
thought  it  well  to  assert  in  Switzerland 
also  the  great  maxim  of  the  Evangelic 
school  of  Paris  and  of  Meaux, — God's 
Word  is  all-svfficicnt.  He  requested  per- 
mission of  the  University  to  maintain 
some  theses, — "  the  rather,"  he  modestly 
added,  "  to  be  reproved  if  I  am  in  error, 
than  to  teach  others."*  But  the  Univer- 
sity refused  its  permission. 

Farel  then  appealed  to  the  Council, 
and  the  Council  issued  public  notice, 
that  a  Christian  man,  by  name  William 
Farel,  having,  by  the  inspiration  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  prepared  certain  articles  con- 
formable to  the  Gospel,!  leave  was  given 
him  to  maintain  the  same  in  Latin.  The 
University  forbade  all  priests  and  stu- 
dents to  be  present  at  the  conference,  and 
the  Council  met  the  prohibition  by  one 
of  an  opposite  tenor. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  thirteen 
propositions  that  Farel  put  forth  : — 

"  Christ  has  left  us  the  most  perfect 
rule  of  life  ;  no  one  can  lawfully  take 
away,  or  add  anything  thereto." 

"  To  shape  our  lives  by  any  other  pre- 
cepts than  those  of  Christ,  leads  directly 
to  impiety." 

"  The  true  ministry  of  priests  is  to  at- 
tend only  to  the  ministry  of  the  Word  ; 
and  for  them  there  is  no  higher  dignity." 

"  To  take  from  the  certainty  of  the 
Gospel  of  Christ,  is  to  destroy  it." 

"  He  who  thinks  to  be  justified  by  any 
strength  or  merits  of  his  own,  and  not  by 
faith,  puts  himself  in  the  place  of  God." 

"  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  head  over  all 

*  Damit  er  gelehrt  werde,  ob  er  irre. — (Fussli 
Beytr.  iv.  p.  244.) 

t  Aus  Eingiessung  des  heiligen  Geistes  ein 
christlicher  Mensch  und  Bruder. — (Ibid.) 


things,  is  our  polar  star,  and  the  only 
guide  we  ought  to  follow."* 

Thus  did  this  native  of  France  stand 
up  at  Basle. f  .A  child  of  the  mountains 
of  Dauphiny,  brought  up  at  Paris,  at  the 
feet  of  Lefevre,  thus  boldly  proclaimed  in 
the  celebrated  Swiss  University,  and  in 
presence  of  Erasmus,  the  great  principles 
of  the  Reformation.  Two  leading  ideas 
pervaded  Farel's  theses, — the  ope  involv- 
ed a  return  to  the  Scripture,  the  other  a 
return  to  the  Faith, — two  movements 
distinctly  condemned  by  the  Papacy  at 
the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century 
as  heretical  and  impious,  in  the  celebra- 
ted constitution  Unigenitus,  and  which, 
ever  closely  connected  with  each  other, 
in  reality  overturn  the  whole  of  the  Papal 
system.  If  Faith  in  Christ  is  the  begin- 
ning and  end  of  Christianity,  the  word  of 
Christ,  and  not  the  voice  of  the  Church, 
is  that  to  which  we  must  adhere.  Nor 
is  this  all ;  for  if  Faith  unites  in  one  the 
souls  of  believers,  what  signifies  an  ex- 
ternal bond  ?  Can  that  holy  union  de- 
pend for  its  existence  on  croziers,  bulls, 
or  tiaras  ?  Faith  knits  together  in  spirit- 
ual and  true  oneness  all  those  in  whose 
hearts  it  has  taken  up  its  abode.  Thus 
at  one  blow  disappeared  the  triple  delu- 
sion of  human  deservings,  traditions  of 
men,  and  simulated  unity.  And  these 
compose  the  sum  of  Roman  Catholicism. 

The  discussion  was  opened  in  Latin.J 
Farel  and  (Ecolampadius  stated  and  es- 
tablished their  articles,  calling  repeatedly 
upon  those  who  differed  from  them  to 
make  answer  ;  but  none  answered  to  the 
call.  The  sophists,  as  CEcolampadius 
terms  them,  boldly  denied  them, — but 
from  their  skulking  corners.^  The 
people  therefore  began  to  look  with 
contempt  upon  the  cowardice  of  their 
priests,  and  learned  to  despise  their  tyr- 
anny. || 

Thus  did  Farel  take  his  stand  among 
the  defenders  of  the   Reformation.     So 

*    Guilelmus  Farellus  Christianis  lectoribus, 
die  Martis  post  Reminiscere. — (Fussli  Beytr.  iv.  p. 
217.)     Fussli  does  not  give  the  Latin  text, 
t  Schedam  conclusionum  a  Gallo  illo. — (Zw. 
>.  p.  333.) 

Schedam  conclusionum  latine  apud  nos  dis- 
putatam. — (Ibid.) 

§  Agunt  tamen  inagnos  interim  thrasones,  sed 
in  angulis  lucifugae. — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  333.) 

|]  Incipit  tamen  plebs  paulatim  iliorum  ignaviam 
et  tyrannidem  verbo  Dei  agnoscere. — (Ibid.) 


THE  FRENCH.— 1500— 1526. 


591 


much  learning  and  piety  rejoiced  the 
hearts  of  observers,  and  already  more 
signal  victories  were  looked  forward  to. — 
"  He  is  singly  more  than  a  match  for  all 
the  Sorbonne  put  together,"*  said  they. 
His  openness,  sincerity,  and  candour, 
charmed  all.f  But  in  the  very  height 
of  his  activity  he  did  not  forget  that  every 
mission  must  begin  at  our  own  souls. 
The  mild  CEcolampadius  made  with  the 
earnest  hearted  Farel  an  agreement,  by 
which  they  mutually  engaged  to  exercise 
themselves  in  humility  and  gentleness  in 
their  familiar  intercourse.  Thus  on  the 
very  field  of  contention  were  these  cou- 
rageous men  engaged  in  composing  their 
souls  to  peace. — The  impetuous  zeal  of 
Luther  and  of  Farel  were  not  unfrequent- 
ly  necessary  virtues  ;  for  a  degree  of  effort 
is  required  to  move  society  and  recast  the 
Church.  In  our  days  we  are  very  apt  to 
forget  this  truth,  which  then  was  ac- 
knowledged by  men  of  the  mildest  char- 
acter. "  Some  there  are,"  said  CEcolam- 
padius to  Luther,  in  introducing  Farel  to 
him,  "  who  would  moderate  his  zeal 
against  the  opposers  of  the  truth ;  but  I 
cannot  help  discerning  in  that  same  zeal 
a  wonderful  virtue,  and  which,  if  but 
well  directed,  is  not  less  needed  than  gen- 
tleness itself. "J  Posterity  has  ratified 
the  judgment  of  CEcolampadius. 

In  the  month  of  May,  1524,  Farel, 
with  some  friends  from  Lyons,  repaired 
to  Schaff  hausen,  Zurich,  and  Constance. 
Zwiffgle  and  Myconius  welcomed  with 
the  liveliest  joy  the  French  refugee,  and 
Farel  never  forgot  the  kindness  of  that 
welcome.  But  on  his  return  to  Basle  he 
found  Erasmus  and  others  of  his  enemies 
at  work,  and  received  an  order  to  quit 
the  city.  His  friends  loudly  expressed 
their  displeasure  at  this  stretch  of  authori- 
ty— but  in  vain,  and  he  was  driven  from 
that  Swiss  territory  which  was  even  then 
regarded  as  an  asylum  for  signal  misfor- 
tunes.— "  Such  is  our  hospitality  !"  ejac- 
ulated CEcolampadius  in  indignation  : 
"We  are  a  people  like  unto  Sodom." § 

At  Basle  Farel  had  contracted  a  close 

*  Ad  totam  Sorbonicam  afnigendam  si  non  et 
perdendam. — (CEcol.  Luthero,  Epp.  p.  200.) 

t  Farello  nihil  candidius  est. — (Ibid.) 

X  Verum  ego  virtutem  illam  admirabilem  et 
non  minus  placiditate,  si  tempestive  fuerit,  neces- 
sarian!.— (Ibid.) 

§  Adeo  hospitum  habemus  rationem,  veri  Sod- 
omitae. — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  434.) 


friendship  with  the  knight  D'Esch — the 
latter  resolved  to  bear  him  company,  and 
they  set  forth,  provided  by  CEcolampa- 
dius with  letters  for  Capito  and  Luther, 
to  whom  the  doctor  of  Basle  commended 
Farel  as  the  same  William  who  had  la- 
boured so  abundantly  in  the  work  of 
God.*  At  Strasburg  Farel  formed  an 
intimacy  with  Capito,  Bucer,  and  Hedio 
— but  we  have  no  account  of  his  having 
gone  to  Wittemberg. 

When  God  withdraws  his  servants 
from  the  field  of  combat,  it  is  commonly 
that  they  may  be  again  brought  forward 
in  increased  strength  and  more  complete- 
ly armed  for  the  conflict.  Farel  and  his 
companions  from  Meaux,  from  Metz, 
from  Lyons,  and  from  Dauphiny,  driven 
by  persecution  from  France,  had  been 
tempered  with  new  firmness  in  Switzer- 
land and  in  Germany,  in  the  society  of 
the  earlier  Reformers;  and  now,  like 
soldiers  scattered  by  the  first  charge  of 
the  enemy,  but  instantly  collecting  again 
their  force,  they  were  about  to  turn  round 
and  go  forward  in  the  name  of  the  Lord. 
Not  only  on  the  frontiers,  but  in  the  in- 
terior of  France,  the  friends  of  the  Gos- 
pel were  beginning  to  take  courage.  The 
signal  was  made — the  combatants  were 
arming  for  the  assault — the  word  was 
given.  "  Jesus,  his  truth  and  grace" — a 
word  of  more  power  than  the  clang  of 
arms  in  the  tug  of  war,  filled  all  hearts 
with  enthusiasm,  and  all  gave  omen  of 
a  campaign  pregnant  with  new  victories 
and  new  and  more  wide-spreading  ca- 
lamities. 

Montbeliard  at  this  time  stood  in  need 
of  a  labourer  in  the  Gospel.  Duke  Ulric 
of  Wurtemberg — young,  impetuous,  and 
cruel — having  been  dispossessed  of  his 
hereditary  states  in  1519  by  the  Suabian 
league,  had  retired  to  that  province,  his 
last  remaining  possession.  In  Switzer- 
land he  became  acquainted  with  the  Re- 
formers. His  misfortunes  had  a  whole- 
some effect,  and  he  listened  to  the  truth,  f 
CEcolampadius  apprized  Farel  that  a 
door  was  opened  at  Montbeliard,  and  the 
latter  secretly  repaired  to  Basle. 

Farel  had  not  regularly  entered  on 
the  ministry  of  the  word  ;  but  at  this  pe- 

*  Gulielmus  ille  qui  tarn  probe  navavit  operam. 
— (Zw.  et  CEcol.  Epp.  p.  175.) 

t  Le  prince  qui  avoit  cognoissance  de  l'Evan- 
gile. — (Farel.  Summaire.) 


592 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


riod  of  his  life  we  see  in  him  all  the 
qualifications  of  a  servant  of  the  Lord.  It 
was  not  lightly  or  rashly  that  he  entered 
the  service  of  the  Church.  "  If  I  con- 
sidered my  own  qualifications,"  said  he, 
"  I  would  not  have  presumed  to  preach, 
hut  would  have  preferred  to  wait  till  the 
Lord  should  send  more  gifted  persons."* 
But  he  received  at  this  time  three  several 
calls.  No  sooner  had  he  reached  Basle 
than  CEcolampadius,  moved  by  the  wants 
of  France,  besought  him  to  give  himself 
to  the  work  there.  "  Consider,"  said  he, 
*  how  little  Jesus  is  made  known  in  their 
language — will  you  not  teach  them  a 
little  in  their  own  dialect,  to  enable  them 
to  understand  the  Scriptures." f  At  the 
same  time  the  inhabitants  of  Montbe- 
Jiard  invited  him  among  them,  and  last- 
ly, the  prince  of  that  country  gave  his 
assent  to  the  invitation. |  Was  not  this 
a  thrice  repeated  call  from  God  %  .  .  "  I 
did  not  see,"  said  he,  "how  I  could  re- 
fuse to  act  upon  it.§  It  was  in  obedience 
to  God  that  I  complied  with  it."  Con- 
cealed in  the  house  of  CEcolampadius, 
little  disposed  to  take  the  responsible  post 
offered  to  him,  and  yet  constrained  to 
yield  to  so  manifest  an  indication  of  God's 
will,  Farel  undertook  the  task — and 
CEcolampadius,  calling  upon  the  Lord, 
ordained  him,U  giving  him  at  the  same 
time  some  wise  counsels. — "The  more 
you  find  yourselves  inclined  to  vehe- 
mence," said  he,  "  the  more  must  you  ex- 
ercise yourself  to  maintain  a  gentle  bear- 
ing ; — temper  your  lion  heart  with  the 
softness  of  the  dove."!"  The  soul  of  Fa- 
rel responded  to  such  an  appeal. 

Thus  Farel, — once  the  devoted  adhe- 
rent of  the  ancient  Church, — was  about 
to  enter  on  the  life  of  a  servant  of  God, 
and  of  the  Church  in  its  renewed  youth. 
If,  in  order  to  a  valid  ordination,  Rome 
requires  the  imposition  of  the  hands  of  a 
bishop  deriving  uninterrupted  succession 
and  descent  from  the  Apostles,  she  does 
so — because  she  sets  the  tradition  of  men 

*  Summaire  c'est  a  dire,  brieve  declaration  de 
G.  Farel,  dans  l'epilogue. 

t  Ibid. 

t  Etant  requis  et  demande  du  peuple  et  du 
consentement  du  prince. — (Ibid.) 

§  Summaire,  c'est  a  dire,  brieve  declaration  de 
G.  Farel,  dans  l'epilogue. 

||  Avec  l'invocation  du  nom  de  Dieu. — (Ibid.) 

If  Leoninam  magnanimitatem  columbina  rao- 
deetia  frangas. — (QScol.  Epp.  p.  198.; 


above  the  authority  of  the  word  of  God. 
Every  church  in  which  the  supremacy 
of  the  Word  is  not  acknowledged,  must 
needs  seek  authority  from  some  other 
source  ; — and  then,  what  more  natural 
than  to  turn  to  the  most  revered  servants 
of  God,  and  ask  of  them  what  we  do  not 
know  that  we  have  in  God  himself?  If 
we  do  not  speak  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ,  is  it  not  at  least  something  gained 
to  be  able  to  speak  in  the  name  of  St. 
John  or  of  St.  Paul  1  One  who  has  with 
him  the  voice  of  antiquity  is  indeed  more 
than  a  match  for  the  rationalist,  who 
speaks  only  his  own  thought.  But 
Christ's  minister  has  a  yet  higher  au- 
thority. He  preaches, — not  because  he 
is  the  successor  of  St.  Chrysostom  or  St. 
Peter, — but  because  the  Word  which  he 
proclaims  is  from  God.  Successional  au- 
thority,— venerable  as  it  may  appear, — is 
yet  no  more  than  a  thing  of  man's  inven- 
tion, in  place  of  God's  appointment.  In 
Farel's  ordination,  we  see  nothing  of 
successionally  derived  sanction.  Nay 
more,  we  do  not  see  in  it  that  which  be- 
comes the  congregations  of  the  Lord, — 
among  whom  everything  should  be  done 
"  decently  and  in  order"  and  whose  God 
is  "  not  the  God  of  confusion."  In  his 
case  there  was  no  setting  apart  by  the 
Church ;  but  then  extraordinary  emer- 
gencies justify  extraordinary  measures. 
At  this  eventful  period,  God  himself  was 
interposing,  and  Himself  ordaining,  by 
marvellous  dispensations,  those  whom  he 
called  to  bear  a  part  in  the  regeneration 
of  society ;  and  that  was  an  ordination 
that  abundantly  compensated  for  the  ab- 
sence of  the  Church's  seal.  In  Farel's 
ordination  we  see  the  unchanging  word 
of  God,  entrusted  to  a  man  of  God,  to 
bear  it  to  the  world  ; — the  calling  of 
God,  and  of  the  people,  and  the  consecra- 
tion of  the  heart.  And  perhaps  no  minis- 
ter of  Rome  or  of  Geneva  was  ever  more 
lawfully  ordained  for  that  holy  ministry. 
Farel  took  his  departure  for  Montbeliard, 
in  company  with  the  knight  D'Esch. 

Thus  did  Farel  find  himself  occupying 
an  advanced  post.  Behind  him  were 
Basle  and  Strasburg,  assisting  him  by 
their  advice  and  by  the  productions  of 
their  printing  presses.  Before  him  lay 
the  provinces  of  Franchecomte,  Burgun- 
dy, Lorraine,  Lyons,  and  other  districts 
of  France  ;  wherein  men  of  God  were 


THE  FRENCH.— 1500— 1526. 


593 


beginning  to  stand  up  against  error,  in 
the  thick  darkness.  He  set  himself  im- 
mediately to  preach  Christ, — exhorting 
believers  not  to  suffer  themselves  to  be 
turned  aside  from  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
either  by  threatenings  or  artifice.  Ta- 
king the  part  long  afterwards  taken  by 
Calvin  on  a  grander  scale,  Farel,  at 
Montbeliard,  was  like  a  general  stationed 
on  a  height,  surveying,  with  searching 
vigilance,  the  field  of  battle,  cheering 
those  who  were  actively  engaged,  rally- 
ing those  whom  the  enemy's  charge  had 
forced  to  give  way,  and  by  his  courage 

animating:  those  who  hung-  back.*    Eras- 
es o 

mus  wrote  directly  to  his  Roman  Catho- 
lic friends,  informing  them  that  a  French- 
man, escaped  out  of  France,  was  making 
a  great  noise  in  these  regions.! 

The  efforts  of  Farel  were  not  without 
effect.  People  wrote  to  him :  "  On  all 
sides  seem  to  multiply  men  who  devote 
their  lives  to  the  extension  of  Christ's 
kingdom."^:  The  friends  of  the  Gospel 
gave  thanks  to  God  for  the  daily  increas- 
ing brilliancy  in  which  the  Gospel  shone 
in  France.  §  Gainsayers  were  confound- 
ed, and  Erasmus,  writing  to  the  bishop 
of  Rochester,  observed, — "  The  faction  is 
every  day  spreading,  and  has  penetrated 
into  Savoy,  Lorraine,  and  France."|| 

For  a  considerable  time  Lyons  seemed 
the  centre  of  the  Evangelic  movement  in 
the  interior,  as  Basle  was  of  that  beyond 
the  frontiers.  Francis  the  First,  called 
to  the  south,  on  an  expedition  against 
Charles  V.,  arrived  in  those  countries, 
attended  by  his  mother  and  sister,  and 
by  his  court.  Margaret  had  with  her,  in 
her  company,  certain  men  who  had  em- 
braced the  Gospel.  "  The  rest  of  her 
people  she  left  behind,"  remarks  a  letter 

*  The  comparison  is  in  the  words  of  a  friend 
who  was  acquainted  with  Fare!,  during-  his  abode 
at  Mcntbeliard  : — Strenuum  et  oculatum  impera- 
torem,  qui  iis  etiam  anirnum  facias  qui  in  acie 
versantur. — (Tossanus  Farello,  MS.  de  Neufcha- 
tel,  2d  Sept.  1524.) 
-  t  .  ...  Tumultuatur  et  Burgundia  nobis  prox- 
imo, per  Phalucum  quemdam  Galium  qui  e 
Gallia  profugus. — (Er.  Epp.  p.  80!).) 

t  Suppullulare  qui  omues  conatus  adferant, 
quo  possit  Christi  regnum  quam  lalissime  patere. 
—(MS.  de  Neufchatel,  2  Aug.  152!.) 

§  Quod  in  Galliis  omnibus  sacrossanctum  Dei 
vcrbum  in  dies  magis  acmagis  elucescat. — (Ibid.) 

||  Faetio  crescit  in  dies  latins,  propagata  in  Sa- 
baudiam,  Lothoringiam,  Franciam. — (Er.  Epp. 
p.  809.) 

75 


written  at  the  time.*  Whilst  under  the 
eyes  of  Francis,  14,000  Swiss,  6,000 
Frenchmen,  and  1,500  noble  knights, 
were  defiling  through  Lyons,  on  their 
way  to  repel  the  Imperial  army  that  had 
invaded  Provence,  and  that  great  city  re- 
sounded with  the  clang  of  arms,  the  tramp 
of  cavalry  and  the  sound  of  trumpets, — 
the  friends  of  the  Gospel  were  on  their 
way  to  the  more  peaceful  triumphs. 
They  were  intent  on  attempting,  at  Ly- 
ons, what  they  had  not  been  able  to  real- 
ize at  Paris.  Remote  from  the  Sorbonne 
and  the  Parliament,  a  freer  course  might 
be  open  to  God's  word.  Perhaps  the 
second  city  of  the  kingdom  was  destined 
to  be  the  first  wherein  the  Gospel  should 
be  received.  Was  it  not  there  that  the 
excellent  Peter  Waldo  had  begun  to 
make  known  the  divine  Word  ?  In  that 
earlier  age  he  had  roused  the  national 
mind.  Now  that  God  had  made  all 
things  ready  to  emancipate  His  Church, 
was  there  not  ground  to  hope  for  more 
extensive  and  decisive  results?  Accord- 
ingly the  Lyonese,  who  in  general  were 
not,  it  must  be  confessed,  '  poor  men,' 
began  to  handle,  with  more  confidence, 
the  -  sword  of  the  Spirit  which  is  the 
word  of  God." 

Among  those  about  Margaret's  person, 
was  her  almoner,  Michel  d'Arande.  The 
Duchess  gave  direction  that  the  Gospel 
should  be  publicly  preached  in  Lyons, 
and  master  Michel  boldly  proclaimed  the 
pure  word  of  God  to  a  numerous  audi- 
tory,— attracted  partly  by  the  good  ti- 
dings, and  partly  by  the  favour  with 
which  the  preacher  and  his  preaching 
were  regarded  by  the  sister  of  their  king.f 

Anthony  Papillon.  a  man  of  cultivated 
mind,  an  accomplished  Latinist,  a  friend 
of  Erasmus,  the  earliest  of  his  country- 
men thoroughly  instructed  in  the  Gospel,! 
accompanied  the  Princess.  At  Marga- 
ret's request  he  had  translated  Luther's 
tract  on  the  monks'  vows,  "  on  which 
account  he  was  often  called  in  question 
by  that  vermin  of  the  city  of  Paris,"  re- 
marks  Sebville.  §      But    Margaret   had 

*  De  Sebville  a  Coct  du  28th  Dec.  1524.— 
(MS.  du  Conclave  de  Neufchatel.) 

t  Elle  a  une  docteur  de  Paris  appele"  maitre 
Michel  Eleymosinarius,  lequel  ne  preche  devant 
elle  que  purement  l'Evangile. — (Sebville  ti  Coct 
MS.  de  Neufchatel.) 

X  Ibid.  §  Ibid. 


594 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


protected  the  scholar  from  the  enmity  of 
the  Sorbonne,  and  had  obtained  for  him 
the  appointment  of  chief  master  of  re- 
quests to  the  Dauphin,  with  a  seat  in  the 
council.*  He  was  almost  equally  useful 
to  the  Gospel  by  the  sacrifices  he  made 
for  its  cause  as  by  his  great  prudence. 
Vaugris,  a  merchant,  and  Anthony  Du 
Blet,  a  gentleman,  and  a  friend  of  Farel, 
were  the  principal  persons  who  took  part 
with  the  Reformation  at  Lyons.  The 
latter,  whose  activity  was  untiring,  served 
as  a  sort  of  connecting  link  between  the 
Christians  scattered  throughout  those 
countries,  and  was  the  medium  of  their 
intercourse*  with  Basle.  The  armed 
bands  of  Francis  the  First  had  done  no 
more  than  traverse  Lyons,  whilst  the 
spiritual  soldiery  of  Jesus  Christ  had 
paused  within  it,  and  leaving  the  former 
*  to  carry  was  into  Provence,  they  com- 
menced the  '  fight  of  faith'  in  the  city  of 
Lyons  itself. 

But  their  efforts  were  not  confined  to 
Lyons.  Casting  their  eyes  over  the  sur- 
rounding country,  their  operations  were 
carried  on,  at  one  and  the  same  time,  at 
4  different  points ;  and  the  Christians  of 
Lyons  supported  and  encouraged  the 
confessors  of  Christ  in  the  adjacent  prov- 
0  inces,  and  bore  His  name  where  as  yet 
it  was  not  known.  The  new  teaching 
reascended  the  banks  of  the  Saone,  and 
the  voice  of  one  "  bringing  the  glad  ti- 
dings" was  heard  in  the  narrow  and  ir- 
regular streets  of  Macon.  Michel  d'A- 
rande,  the  almoner  of  the  king's  sister, 
himself  visited  that  place  in  1524,  and. 
by  Margaret's  intercession,  obtained  li- 
cense to  preach  in  a  townf  which  was 
afterwards  deluged  with  blood,  and  be- 
came for  ever  memorable  for  its  saute- 
ries. 

After  extending  their  travels  in  the  di- 
rection of  the  Saone,  the  Christians  of 
Lyons,  ever  looking  for  an  open  door,  re- 
ascended  the  acclivities  of  the  Alps. 
There  was,  at  Lyons,  a  Dominican 
named  Maigret,  who  had  been  expelled 
from  Dauphiny,  where  he  had  preached 
the  new  doctrine  with  singular  boldness, 
and  who  earnestly  requested  that  some 
one  would  go  over  and  help  his  brethren 
of  Grenoble  and  Gap.     Papillon  and  Du 

*  Ibid. 

t  Arandius  preche  a  Mascon. — (Coct  a  Farel, 
Dec.  1524,  MS.  de  Neufchatel.) 


Blet  repaired  thither.*  A  violent  storm 
had  just  broken  out  there  against  Seb- 
ville  and  his  preaching.  The  Domin- 
icans moved  heaven  and  earth,  and,  in 
their  rage  at  the  escape  of  Farel,  Ane- 
mond,  Maigret,  and  the  other  preachers, 
sought  to  crush  such  as  were  within 
their  clutches. f  They,  therefore,  insist- 
ed that  Sebville  should  be  arrested.^ 

The  friends  of  the  Gospel  at  Grenoble 
caught  the  alarm.  Was  Sebville,  also, 
on  the  eve  of  being  lost  to  them  ?  Mar- 
garet interceded  with  her  brother.  Some 
persons  of  distinction  at  Grenoble,  inclu- 
ding the  king's  advocate,  either  secretly 
or  avowedly  favourable  to  the  Gospel, 
exerted  themselves  in  his  behalf:  and  he 
was  happily  rescued  from  the  fury  of  his 
enemies.^ 

His  life  indeed  was  saved,  but  his 
mouth  was  stopped.  "  Remain  silent," 
said  his  friends,  "  or  you  will  be  brought 
to  the  scaffold."  "  Only  think  what  it  is," 
wrote  he  to  De  Coct,  u  to  have  silence  im- 
posed upon  rne,  under  pain  of  death."  || 
Some,  whose  firmness  had  been  most  re- 
lied on,  were  overawed  by  these  threat- 
enings.  The  king's  advocate,  and  others, 
exhibited  marked  coldness,!  and  many 
returned  to  the  Roman  Catholic  com- 
munion, alleging  that  they  would  still 
offer  to  God  a  spiritual  worship  in  the 
privacy  of  their  hearts,  and  give  to  the 
outward  "observances  of  Catholicism  a 
spiritual  interpretation  ; — a  melancholy 
snare,  and  one  that  leads  men  from  one 
act  of  unfaithfulness  to  another.  There 
is  no  false  system  adhesion  to  which  may  • 
not  in  this  way  be  justified.  The  unbe- 
liever, taking  up  with  fancied  myths  and 
allegories,  will  preach  Christ  from   .the 

*  II  y  a  eu  deux  grands  personages  a  Greno- 
ble.—(Coct  a  Farel,  Dec.  1524,  MS.  de  Neuf- 
chatel.) The  title  Messire  is  given  to  Dn  Blet, 
indicating  a  person  of  rank.  I  incline  to  think 
that  that  of  negotiator,  elsewhere  given  him, 
refers  to  his  activity  :  yet  he  might  be  a  mer- 
chant of  Lyons. 

t  Conjicere  potes  ut  post  Macretum  et  me  in 
Sebivillam  exarserint. — (Anemond  a  Farel,  7th 
Sept.  1524,  MS.  de  Neufchatel.) 

X  Les  Thomistes  ont  voulu  proceder  contre 
moi  par  inquisition  et  caption  depersonne. — (Let- 
tre  de  Sebville.     Ibid.) 

§  Si  ce  ne  fut  certains  amis  secrets,  je  estois 
mis  entre  les  mains  des  Pharisiens. — (Lettre  do 
Sebville,  MS.  de  Neufchatel.) 

||  Ibid. 

IT  Non  solum  tepedi  sed  frigidi. — (MS.  de 
Neufchatel.) 


THE  FRENCH.— 1500— 1526. 


595 


pulpit: — and  the  follower  of  a  superstition 
held  in  abhorrence  among  the  heathen, 
will,  by  a  moderate  exercise  of  ingenuity, 
trace  in  it  the  symbol  of  a  pure  and  ele- 
vated thought.  In  religion  the  very  first 
essential  is  truth.  There  were,  however, 
some  of  the  Christians  of  Grenoble,  and 
among  them  Amedee  Galbert  and  a  cou- 
sin of  Anemond,  who  held  fast  to  their 
faith.*  These  men  of  piety  were  accus- 
tomed secretly  to  meet  together  with 
Sebville  at  each  other's  houses,  and  thus 
"  spake  often  one  to  another."  Their 
place  of  meeting  was  chosen  for  the  sake 
of  its  retirement ;  they  met  at  night  in 
the  apartment  of  a  brother,  with  closed 
doors,  to  pray  to  Christ, — as  if  they  had 
been  robbers  meeting  for  some  guilty 
purpose  !  Rumour  would  often  follow 
them  to  their  humble  meeting  with  some 
groundless  alarm.  Their  enemies  wink- 
ed at  such  secret  conventicles,  but  they 
had  inwardly  doomed  to  the  stake  any 
one  who  should  venture  to  open  his  lips 
in  public  to  speak  the  word  of  God.  f 

It  was  at  this  juncture  that  Du  Blet 
and  Papillon  arrived  in  Grenoble.  Find- 
ing that  Sebville  had  been  silenced,  they 
exhorted  him  to  go  to  Lyons,  and  there 
preach  Christ.  The  following  Lent 
promised  to  afford  him  the  favourable  op- 
portunity of  a  vast  crowd  of  hearers. 
Michel  d'Arande,  Maigret,  and  Sebville 
agreed  together  to  put  themselves  in  front 
of  the  battle,  and  thus  all  was  arranged 
for  an  impressive  testimony  to  the  truth 
in  the  second  city  .of  the  kingdom.  The 
rumour  of  the  approaching  Lent  spread 
into  Switzerland  :  "  Sebville  is  at  large, 
and  is  purposing  to  preach  at  Lyons,  in 
the  church  of  St.  Paul,"  wrote  Anemond 
to  Farel.|  But  disasters,  bringing  with 
them  confusion  throughout  France,  in- 
tervened, and  prevented  the  spiritual  con- 
test. It  is  in  periods  of  tranquillity  that 
the  Gospel  achieves  its  blessed  conquests. 
The  battle  of  Pavia,  which  took  place  in 
the  month  of  February,  disconcerted  the 
bold  project  of  the  Reformers. 

Meanwhile,  without  waiting  for  Seb- 
ville, Maigret,  amidst  much  opposition 

*  Tuo  cognato,  Amedeo  Galberto  exceptis. — 
(MS.  de  Neufchatel.) 

t  Mais  de  en  parler  publiquement,  il  n'y  pend 
que  le  feu.— (MS.  do  Neufchatel.) 

t  Le  samedi  des  Quatre-Temps.— (Dec.  1524, 
ibid.) 


from  the  clergy  and  the  monks,*  had 
from  the  beginning  of  the  winter  been 
preaching  at  Lyons,  Salvation  by  Christ 
alone.  In  his  sermons,  he  passed  over 
the  worship  of  the  creature, — the  saints, 
— the  Virgin, — and  the  power  of  the 
priesthood.  The  great  mystery  of  God- 
liness,— "  God  manifest  in  the  flesh," — 
was  the  one  great  doctrine  exalted  by 
him.  "  The  early  heresies  of  the  poor 
men  of  Lyons  were  again  showing  them- 
selves under  a  more  dangerous  form  than, 
ever,"  it  was  remarked.  In  spite  of  op- 
posers,  Maigret  continued  his  preaching : 
the  faith  that  animated  him  found  utter- 
ance in  emphatic  words ;  it  is  in  the 
very  nature  of  Truth  to  embolden  the 
heart  that  receives  it.  Nevertheless,  it 
was  decreed  that  at  Lyons,  as  at  Greno- 
ble, Rome  should  get  the  upper  hand. 
Under  the  very  eyes  of  Margaret,  the 
preacher  was  arrested,  dragged  through 
the  streets,  and  committed  to  prison. 
Vaugris,  a  merchant  who  was  just  then 
j  leaving  the  town  on  his  way  to  Switzer- 
!  land,  carried  with  him  the  news  of  what 
I  had  happened.  One  thought  cheered 
,  the  melancholy  these  tidings  diffused 
[  among  the  friends  of  the  Reformation, — 
"Maigret  is  seized,"  said  they,  "but 
thanks  be  to  God,  Madame  d'AlenponKs 
on  the  spot."f 

Their  hopes  soon  left  them.  The  Sor- 
bonne  had  formally  condemned  certain 
propositions  maintained  by  the  faithful 
preacher  ;|  Margaret,  whose  position  was 
every  day  becoming  more  embarrassing, 
beheld  the  daring  of  the  Reformers,  and 
the  hatred  of  those  in  power  both  rising  at 
the  same  moment.  Francis  the  First  was 
beginning  to  lose  patience  at  the  restless 
zeal  of  the  preachers,  and  to  regard  them 
as  fanatics  whom  it  was  good  policy  to 
reduce  to  submission.  Margaret,  there- 
fore, fluctuating  between  her  desires  to 
serve  her  brethren  in  Christ,  and  the 
failure  of  her  ability  to  preserve  them, 
sent  them  word  that  they  were  to  abstain 
from  rushing  into  new  difficulties,  seeing 
that  she  could  not  again  make  applica- 
tion to  the  king  in  their  behalf.  The 
friends  of  the  Gospel  believed  that  this 

*  Pour  vray  Maigret  a  preche  a  Lion,  raaul- 
gr6  les  pretres  et  moines. — (Ibid.) 

t  MS.  de  Neufchatel. 

t  Histoire  de  Francois  I.  par  Gaillard,  torn.  iv. 
p.  233. 


596 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


resolution  could  not  be  irrevocable : 
"  God  give  her  grace,"  said  they,  "  to  say 
and  write  only  what  is  needful  to  poor 
souls."*  But  even  if  they  should  lose 
this  help  of  man,  Christ  was  with  them, 
— and  it  seemed  well  that  the  soul  should 
be  stripped  of  other  dependence,  that  it 
might  lean  upon  God  alone. 

The  friends  of  the  Gospel  had  lost 
their  power,  and  the  powerful  were  de- 
claring against  it.  Margaret  was  alarm- 
ed. Soon — heavy  news,  received  from 
beyond  the  Alps,  was  to  plunge  the 
whole  kingdom  into  mourning, — absorb- 
ing attention  in  the  one  object  of  saving 
France  and  her  king.  But  if  the  Chris- 
tians of  Lyons  were  motionless,  did  not 
Basle  contain  within  its  walls  soldiers 
escaped  from  the  battle,  and  ready  to  re- 
new it  1  The  exiles  from  France  have 
never  forgotten  her :  banished  for  three 
centuries  by  Roman  fanaticism,  we  see 
their  last  descendants  carrying  to  the 
towns  and  plains  of  their  father-land,  the 
treasure  of  which  the  Pope  deprives 
them.  At  the  crisis,  when  the  good  sol- 
diers of  Christ  in  France  dejectedly 
threw  away  their  arms,  we  see  the  ref- 
ugees at  Basle,  preparing  for  renewed 
efforts.  With  the  example  before  their 
eyes  of  the  sceptre  of  St.  Louis  and  of 
Charlemagne  falling  from  the  grasp  of  a 
Francis  the  First,'  should  they  not  be  in- 
cited to  lay  hold  on  a  ''kingdom  which 
cannot  be  moved  ?"t 

Farel,  Anemond,  Esch,  Toussaint,  and 
their  friends  in  Switzerland,  composed  an 
Evangelical  Association,  having  for  its 
object  the  deliverance  of  their  country 
from  spiritual  darkness.  Intelligence 
reached  them  from  all  sides,  that  there 
was  an  increasing  thirst  after  God's  word 
in  France  ;J  it  was  desirable  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  it,  and  to  water  and  sow  the 
seed  while  yet  it  was  seed  time.  CEco- 
lampadius,  Oswald  Myconius,  and  Zwin- 
gle,  continually  encouraged  them  to  this. 
The  Swiss  teacher,  Myconius,  wrote  thus 
in  January,  1525,  to  De  Coct:  "Exiled 
as  you  are  from  your  country  by  the 
tyranny    of    Antichrist,   your    presence 

*  Pierre  Touissant  a  Farel,  Basle  17  Dec. 
1524.— (MS.  de  Neufchatel.) 

t  Heb.  xii.  28. 

\  Gallis  verborum  Dei  sitientibus. — (Coctus 
Farello,  2  Sep.  1524.  MS.  de  Neufchatel.) 


amongst  us  is  the  proof  that  you  have 
courageously  stood  forth  in  the  cause  of 
Truth.  The  oppressions  of  Christian 
Bishops  will  lead  the  people  to  regard 
them  as  no  better  than  deceivers.  Stand 
fast;  the  time  is  not  distant  when  we 
shall  arrive  in  the  wished  for  haven, 
whether  we  be  struck  doAvn  by  the  op- 
pressors, or  they  themselves  be  cast 
down,*  and  all  will  then  be  well  with 
us,  if  we  do  but  continue  faithful  to  Jesus 
Christ." 

These  cheering  words  were  precious 
indeed  to  the  French  refugees  ; — but  just 
then,  a  blow  struck  by  those  very  Chris- 
tians of  Switzerland,  and  of  Germany, 
who  sought  to  cheer  them,  carried  grief 
to  their  hearts.     In  the  feeling  of  their 
recent  escape  from  the  fires  of  persecu- 
tion, they,  at  this  time,  beheld  with  dis- 
may the   Evangelical  Christians  beyond 
the   Rhine    disturbing    their    repose   by 
their  deplorable  differences.     The   con- 
troversy, in  relation  to  the  Lord's  Supper, 
had  begun.     Deeply  affected,  and  feel- 
ing the  need  of  mutual  love,  the  French 
Reformers  would  have  made  any  sacri- 
fice  to  conciliate  the  divergent  parties. 
It  became  the   great  object  of  their  de- 
sire.    None  more  than  they  felt  from  the 
outset  the  need  of  Christian  unity.     At 
a  later  period,  Calvin  afforded  proof  of 
this?   "Would  to  God,"  said  Peter  Tous- 
saint, "  that,    by  my  worthless  blood,  I 
could  purchase  peace,  concord,  and  union 
in  Christ  Jesus."t     The  French,  gifted 
with  quick  discernment,  saw,  from  the 
very  beginning,  how  the  rising  dissen- 
sions would  stand  in  the  way  of  the  Ref- 
ormation.     "All  would   go  favourably 
beyond  our  hopes,  if  we  were  but  agreed 
among  ourselves.     Many  there  arevwho 
would  gladly  come  to  the  light,  but  they 
are  prevented  by  seeing  such  divisions 
among  the  learned."^ 

The  French  were  the  first  to  suggest 
conciliatory  advances:  "Why,"  wrote 
they  from  Strasburg,  "  why  not  send  Bu- 
cer  or  some  other  man  of  learning  to 
confer  with  Luther  ?     The  more  we  de- 


*  Non  longe  abest  enim,  quo  in  portum  tran- 
quillum  pervenlimus  .  .  .  — (Oswald  Myconius 
a  Anemond  de  Coct.   MS.  de  Neufchatel.) 

t  21st  December,  1525.— (MS.  du  Conclave 
de  Neufchatel.) 

t  Ibid. 


THE  FRENCH.— 1500— 1526. 


597 


lay  the  wider  will  our  differences  be- 
come." These  fears  seemed  every  day 
more  founded.* 

Failing  in  their  endeavours,  these 
Christians  turned  their  eyes  towards 
France,  and  the  conversion  of  their  own 
country  to  the  faith  thenceforth  exclu- 
sively engaged  the  hearts  cf  these  gen- 
erous men,  whom  history, — so  loud  in 
praise  of  men  who  have  sought  only  their 
own  glory, — has,  for  three  centuries, 
scarcely  mentioned.  Cast  upon  a  for- 
eign soil,  they  threw  themselves  on  their 
knees,  and,  daily  in  their  solitude,  called 
down  blessings  from  God  upon  their 
fatherland. f  Prayer  was  the  great  in- 
strument by  which  the  Gospel  spread 
through  the  kingdom,  and  the  great  en- 
gine by  which  the  conquests  of  the  Ref- 
ormation were  achieved. 

But  there  were  other  men  of  prayer 
beside  these.  Never,  perhaps,  have  the 
ranks  of  the  Gospel  comprised  combat- 
ants more  prompt  to  suffer  in  the  hour  of 
conflict.  They  felt  the  importance  of 
scattering  the  Scriptures  and  pious  wri- 
tings in  their  country,  which  was  still 
overclouded  with  the  thick  darkness  of 
superstition.  A  spirit  of  inquiry  was 
dawning  in  their  nation,  and  it  seemed 
necessary  on  all  sides  to  unfurl  the  sails 
to  the  wind.  Anemond,  ever  prompt  in 
action,  and  Michel  Bentin,  another  refu- 
gee, resolved  to  employ,  in  concert,  their 
zeal  and  talents.  Bentin  decided  to  es- 
tablish a  printing  press  at  Basle,  and  the 
knight  to  turn  to  account  the  little  he 
knew  of  German,  by  translating  into  that 
language  the  more  striking  tracts  written 
by  the  Reformers.  ':  Oh  !"  exclaimed 
they,  rejoicing  in  their  project ;  "  would 
to  God  that  France  were  so  supplied 
with  Gospel  writings  that  in  cottages, 
and  in  palaces,  in  cloisters,  and  in  pres- 
byteries, and  in  the  inner  sanctuary  of  all 
hearts,  a  powerful  witness  might  be  borne 
for  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."| 

For  such  an  undertaking  funds  were 

*  Multis  jam  christianis  Gallis  dolet,  quod  a 
Zwinglii  aliorumque  de  Eucharistia  sententia, 
dissentiat  Lutherus. — (Tossanus  Farello,  14th 
July,  1525.) 

t  Quam  sollicite  quotidianis  precibus  com- 
mendem. — (Tossanus  Farello,  2nd  Sept.  1524, 
MS.  de  Neufchatel.) 

I  Opto  enim  Galliam  Evangelicis  voluminibus 
abundare.— (Coctus  Farello,  MS.  de  Neufcha- 
tel.) 


necessary, — and  the  refugees  were  des- 
titute of  funds.  Vaugris  was  then  at 
Basle.  Anemond,  on  parting  with  him, 
gave  him  a  letter  to  the  brethren  of  Ly- 
ons, some  of  whom  had  considerable 
possessions  in  lands,  and,  notwithstanding 
they  were  oppressed,  remained  faithful  to 
the  Gospel.  In  his  letter,  he  asked  their 
assistance  ;*  but  that  could  not  at  all  meet 
the  extent  of  the  need.  The  Frenchmen 
resolved  to  establish  several  presses  at 
Basle,  that  should  be  worked  day  and 
night,  so  as  to  inundate  all  France  with 
God's  word.f  At  Meaux,  Metz,  and 
other  places,  there  were  those  rich  enough 
to  contribute  to  this  work  ;  and  as  no  one 
could  appeal  to  Frenchmen  with  more 
authority  than  Fare],  it  was  to  him  that 
Anemond  made  application. \ 

We  do  not  find  that  the  scheme  of 
Anemond  was  realized ;  but  the  work 
was  carried  out  by  others.  The  presses 
of  Basle  were  incessantly  employed  in 
printing  French  works,  which  were  for- 
warded to  Farel,  and  by  him  introduced 
into  France.  One  of  the  earliest  of  the 
issues  of  this  Religious  Tract  Society  was 
Luther's  Exposition  of  the  Lord's  Prayer. 
"  We  sell  the  Pater  at  four  derniers  de 
Bale  to  private  persons,"  wrote  Vaugris 
— "  but  to  the  wholesale  dealer,  we  sup- 
ply copies  at  the  rate  of  200  for  two  flor- 
ins, which  is  something  less."§ 

Anemond  was  accustomed  to  transmit 
from  Bale  to  Farel  any  profitable  books 
published  or  received  in  that  city — at  one 
time  a  tract  on  ordination,  at  another,  an 
essay  on  the  education  of  children.  || 
Farel  looked  through  them,  composing, 
translating,  and  seeming,  at  one  and  the 
same  time,  all  activity,  and  yet  all  med- 
itation. Anemond  urged  on,  and  super- 
intended the  printing,  and  these  letters, 
requests,  and  books,  all  these  little  single 
sheets,  were  among  the  instruments  of 
regeneration  to  that  age.  While  disso- 
luteness and  profligacy  descended  from 

*  TJt  pecunice  aliquid  ad  me  mittant. — (Coct. 
Far.  MS.  de  Neufchatel.) 

t  Ut  prsela  multa  erigere  possimus. — (Ibid.) 

X  An  censes  inveniri  posse  Lugduni,  Meldas, 
aut  alibi  in  Galliis  qui  nos  ad  hsec  juvare  velint. 
—(Ibid.) 

\  Vaugris  a  Farel.— (Bale,  29th  Aug.  1524. 
MS.  de  Neufchatel.) 

||  Mitto  tibi  librum  de  instituendis  ministris 
Ecclesiae  cum  libro  de  instituendis  pueris. — (Coc- 
tus Farello,  2d  Sept.  1524,  Ibid.) 


598 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


the  throne  to  the  lower  orders,  and  dark- 
ness spread  from  the  very  steps  of  the 
altar,  these  writings,  so  inconsiderable 
and  unnoticed,  alone  diffused  the  beams 
of  light,  and  the  seeds  of  holiness. 

But  it  was  especially  God's  word  that 
the  evangelic  merchant  of  Lyons  required 
for  his  fellow-countrymen.  That  gene- 
ration of  the  sixteenth  century,  so  eager 
for  all  that  could  satisfy  the  re-awakened 
intellect,  was  to  receive  in  its  vernacular 
tongue  those  early  records  of  the  first 
ages — redolent  with  the  young  breath  of 
human  nature, — and  those  holy  oracles 
of  apostolic  times,  bright  with  the  fulness 
of  the  revelation  of  Christ.  Vaugris 
wrote  to  Farel — "  Pray,  see  if  it  be  not 
possible  to  have  the  New  Testament 
translated  by  some  competent  hand  ; — it 
would  be  a  great  blessing  to  France, 
Burgundy,  and  Savoy.  And  if  you 
should  not  be  already  provided  with  the 
proper  types,  I  would  order  some  from 
Paris  or  Lyons — but  if  we  have  the  types 
at  Basle,  it  would  be  all  the  better." 

Lefevre  had  previously  published  at 
Meaux,  but  by  detached  portions,  the 
books  of  the  New  Testament  in  the 
French  language.  Vaugris  wished  some 
one  to  undertake  a  revision  of  the  whole 
for  a  new  edition.  Lefevre  undertook  to 
do  so,  and,  as  we  have  already  related, 
published  the  entire  volume  on  the  12th 
October,  1524.  Conrad,  an  uncle  of 
Vaugris,  who  had  also  sought  an  asylum 
in  Basle,  sent  for  a  copy.  De  Coct,  hap- 
pening to  be  in  company  with  a  friend 
on  the  18th  November,  first  saw  the  book, 
and  was  overjoyed.  "  Lose  no  time  in 
going  to  press  again,"  said  he,  "  for  I 
doubt  not  a  vast  number  of  copies  will  be 
called  for."* 

Thus  was  the  word  of  God  offered  to 
France  side  by  side  with  those  traditions 
of  the  Church  which  Rome  is  still  con- 
tinually presenting  to  her.  "  How  can 
we  discern,"  asked  the  Reformers,  "  be- 
tween what  is  of  man  in  your  traditions 
and  that  which  is  of  God,  save  only  by 
the  Scriptures  of  truth  ? — The  maxims  of 
the  Fathers,  the  decretals  of  the  Church, 
cannot  be  the  rule  of  faith :  they  show 
us  what  was  the  judgment  of  those  earlier 
divines,  but  only  from  the  Word  can  we 
gather  the  thoughts  of  God.  Every  thing 
must  be  tested  by  Scripture." 

*  MS.  of  the  Conclave  of  Neufchatel. 


In  this  manner,  for  the  most  part,  these 
printed  works  were  circulated.  Farel 
and  his  friends  transmitted  the  sacred 
books  to  certain  dealers  or  colporteurs — 
poor  men  of  good  character  for  piety, 
who,  bearing  their  precious  burden,  went 
through  towns  and  villages — from  house 
to  house — in  Franchecomte,  Burgundy, 
and  the  neighbouring  districts,  knocking 
at  every  door.  The  books  were  sold  to 
them  at  a  low  price,  that  the  interest 
they  had  in  the  sale  might  make  them 
the  more  industrious  in  disposing  of 
them.*  Thus  as  early  as  1524  there  ex- 
isted in  Basle,  and  having  France  for  the 
field  of  their  operations,  a  Bible  society — 
an  association  of  colporteurs — and  a  re- 
ligious tract  society.  It  is,  then,  a  mis- 
take to  conceive  that  such  efforts  date 
only  from  our  own  age  ;  they  go  back, — 
at  least  in  the  identity  of  the  objects  they 
propose, — not  merely  to  the  days  of  the 
Reformation,  but  still  further,  to  the  first 
ages  of  the  Church. 

The  attention  which  Farel  bestowed 
on  France  did  not  cause  him  to  neglect 
the  places  where  he  resided.  Arriving 
at  Montbeliard,  towards  the  end  of  July, 
1524,  he  had  no  sooner  sown  the  seed, 
than,  to  use  the  language  of  (Ecolam- 
padius,  the  first-fruits  of  the  harvest  began 
to  appear.  Farel,  exulting,  communi- 
cated his  success  to  his  friend. — •'  It  is 
easy,"  replied  the  doctor  of  Basle,  "  to  in- 
stil a  few  dogmas  into  the  ears  of  our  au- 
ditors ;  but  God  alone  can  change  their 
hearts."  t 

De  Coct,  overjoyed  with  this  intelli- 
gence, hurried  to  Peter  Toussaint's  house. 
"  To-morrow,"  said  he,  with  his  usual  vi- 
vacity, "  I  set  off  to  visit  Farel."  Tous- 
saint,  more  calm,  was  then  writing  to  the 
evangelist  of  Montbeliard  :  "  Have  a 
care,"  wrote  he;  "the  cause  you  have 
taken  in  hand  is  of  solemn  importance, 
and  should  not  be  contaminated  by  the 
counsels  of  men.  The  great  ones  may 
promise  you  their  favour,  assistance,  aye, 
and  heaps  of  gold — but  to  put  confidence 
in  these  things  is  to  forsake  Jesus  Christ, 
and  to  walk  in  darkness.'^  Toussaint 
was  in  the  aet  of  closing  his  letter  when 

*  Vaugris  a  Farel.— (MS.  of  Neufchatel.) 
t  Animum  autem  immutare,  divinum  opus  est. 

— (OZcol.  Epp.  p.  200.) 

X  .  .  .  A  quibus  si  pendemus,  jam  a  Christo  de- 

fecimus. — (Manuscrit  de  Neufchatel.)  . 


THE  FRENCH.— 1500— 1526. 


599 


De  Coct  entered  ;  a!nd  the  latter,  taking 
charge  of  it,  set  off  for  Montbeliard. 

He  found  all  the  city  in  commotion. 
Several  of  the  rXides,  in  alarm,  and  cast- 
ing a  look  of  contempt  on  Farel,  exclaim- 
ed, "  What  can  this  poor  wretch  want 
with  us  1  Would  that  he  had  never  come 
amongst  us.  He  must  not  remain  here, 
or  he  will  bring  ruin  upon  us  as  well  as 
upon  himself."  These  nobles,  who  had 
retired  to  Montbeliard  in  company  with 
the  duke  for  shelter,  feared  lest  the  stir 
which  everywhere  accompanied  the 
spread  of  the  Reformation  should,  by 
drawing  upon  them  the  notice  of  Charles 
V.  and  Ferdinand,  lead  to  their  being 
driven  from  their  only  remaining  asy- 
lum. But  the  ecclesiastics  were  Farel's 
bitterest  opponents.  The  superior  of  the 
Franciscans  at  Besanqon  hastened  to 
Montbeliard,  and  concocted  defensive 
measures  with  the  clergy  of  that  place. 
The  following  Sunday  Farel  had  scarce- 
ly begun  to  preach  when  he  was  inter- 
rupted, and  called  a  liar  and  a  heretic. 
Immediately  the  whole  assembly  was  in 
an  uproar.  The  audience  rose,  and  call- 
ed for  silence.  The  duke  hastened  to 
the  spot,  put  both  the  superior  and  Farel 
under  arrest,  and  insisted  that  the  former 
should  prove  his  charges,  or  else  retract 
them.  The  superior  chose  the  latter 
course,  and  an  official  report  was  pub- 
lished of  the  transaction.* 

This  attack  only  rendered  Farel  more 
zealous  than  before :  thenceforward  he 
believed  it  his  duty  fearlessly  to  unmask 
these  interested  priests ;  and,  drawing 
the  sword  of  the  Word,  he  applied  it 
unsparingly.  He  was  now  more  than 
ever  led  to  imitate  Jesus,  rather  in  his 
character  as  the  purifier  of  the  temple, 
driving  out  thence  the  traffickers  and 
money-changers,  and  overthrowing  their 
tables, — than  as  the  one  of  whom  pro- 
phecy declared,  "  He  shall  not  strive  nor 
cry,  neither  shall  his  voice  be  heard  in  the 
streets'''1  OEcolampadius  was  affrighted. 
These  two  men  were  the  perfect  types 
of  two  characters  diametrically  opposite, 
and  yet  both  worthy  of  our  admiration — 
"  Your  mission,"  wrote  (Ecolampadius 
to  Farel,  "  is  gently  to  draw  men  to  the 
truth,  not  to  drag  them  with  violence ; 
to  preach  the  Gospel, — not  to  pronounce 

*  Der  Christliche  Handel  zu  Miimpelgard, 
verLoffen.  mit  griindlichen  Wahrheit 


maledictions.  Physicians  resort  to  am- 
putation, only  when  external  applica- 
tions have  failed.  Act  the  part  of  the 
fhysician,  not  of  the  executioner.  In 
my  judgment,  it  is  not  enough  that  you 
are  gentle  towards  thev  friends  of  the 
Truth.  You  must  likewise  win  over  the 
adversaries.  Or  if  the  wolves  are  to  be 
driven  from  the  fold,  at  least  let  the  sheep 
hear  the  voice  of  the  shepherd.  Pour 
oil  and  wine  into  the  wounded  heart — 
and  be  the  herald  of  glad  tidings,  not  a 
judge  or  a  tyrant."*  The  report  of  these 
things  spread  both  in  France  and  Lor- 
raine, and  this  gathering  together  of  ref- 
ugees in  Basle  and  Montbeliard  began 
to  alarm  the  Sorbonne  and  the  Cardinal. 
Gladly  would  they  have  broken  up  so 
ominous  an  alliance  ;  for  error  knows 
no  greater  triumph  than  the  enlisting  a 
renegade  in  its  ranks.  Already  had 
Martial  Mazurier  and  others  given  the 
papal  party  in  France  an  opportunity  of 
rejoicing  over  shameful  desertions :  but 
if  they  could  only  succeed  in  seducing 
one  of  those  confessors  of  Christ  who 
had  fled  for  safety  to  the  banks  of  the 
Rhine, — one  who  had  suffered  much  for 
the  name  of  the  Lord, — that  were  indeed 
a  victory  for  the  hierarchy.  Measures 
were  concerted  and  directed  in  the  first 
instance  against  the  youngest. 

The  Dean,  the  Cardinal  of  Lorraine, 
and  all  the  circle  which  assembled  at  the 
prelate's  house,  deplored  the  sad  fate  of 
Peter  Toussaint,  once  the  object  of  so 
many  hopes.  He  is  at  Basle,  said  they, 
living  in  the  very  house  of  (Ecolampa- 
dius, in  close  intercourse  with  that  leader 
in  this  heresy.  They  wrote  to  him  mov- 
ingly, as  though  his  salvation  was  at 
stake.  These  letters  were  the  more  dis- 
tressing to  the  poor  young  man,  because 
they  bore  evident  marks  of  sincere  affec- 
tion, t  One  of  his  relations,  probably  the 
Dean  himself,  urged  him  to  remove  to 
Paris,  Metz,  or  whatever  place  he  pleas- 
ed, provided  it  were  but  at  a  distance 
from  the  Lutherans.  This  relation  bear- 
ing in  mind  how  much  Toussaint  was 
indebted  to  him,  doubted  not  his  imme- 
diate compliance   with   the  injunction  ; 

*  Quod  Evangelistam,  non  tyrannicum  legis- 
latorem  preestes. — (CEcol.  Epp.  p.  206.) 

t  Me  in  dies  divexari  legendis  amicorum  lit— 
teris  qui  me  .  .  .  ab  instituto  remorari  nituntur. — 
(Tossanus  Farello,  2nd  Sep.  1524.  Manuscrit 
de  Neufcbatel.) 


600 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


when  therefore  he  found  his  efforts  un- 
availing, his  affection  was  succeeded  by 
violent  hatred.  This  resistance,  on  the 
part  of  the  young  refugee,  exasperated 
against  him  all  his  family  and  friends. 
Recourse  was  had  to  his  mother,  who 
was  entirely  under  the  influence  of  the 
monks  :*  the  priests  came  about  her 
frightening  her,  and  persuading  her  that 
her  son  had  been  guilty  of  crimes  which 
could  not  be  named  without  shuddering. 
On  this  the  distressed  parent  wrote  to 
her  son  an  affecting  letter,  "  full  of  tears," 
as  he  says,  in  which  she  described  her 
misery  in  heart-rending  terms.  "  Oh  ! 
wretched  mother,"  said  she,  "  Oh  !  un- 
natural son  !  —  Cursed  be  the  breasts 
that  suckled  thee,  cursed  be  the  knees 
that  bare  thee."f 

Poor  Toussaint  was  overwhelmed  with 
consternation.  What  was  he  to  do  1  Re- 
turn to  France  he  could  not.  To  leave 
Basle  and  proceed  to  Zurich  or  Wittem- 
berg,  beyond  the  reach  of  his  kindred, 
would  only  have  added  to  their  distress. 
OUcolampadius  suggested  a  middle  course. 
"Leave  my  house,"  said  he.|  With  a 
sorrowful  heart  Toussaint  complied,  and 
went  to  lodge  with  a  priest,  both  igno- 
rant and  obscure,  and  sofy  well  fitted  to 
quiet  the  fears  of  his  relations.  What  a 
change  for  him  !  He  had  no  intercourse 
with  his  host  except  at  meals.  At  such 
times  they  were  continually  differing  on 
matters  of  faith,  but — no  sooner  was  his 
meal  ended,  than  Toussaint  hastened  to 
shut  himself  in  his  chamber  ;  where,  un- 
disturbed by  noise  and  controversy,  he 
carefully  studied  the  word  of  God.  "  The 
Lord  is  my  witness,"  said  he,  "  that  in 
this  valley  of  tears,  I  have  but  one  de- 
sire, and  that  is,  to  see  Christ's  kingdom 
extend  itself,  that  all  with'one  mouth  may 
glorify  God. "|| 

One  incident  took  place  and  cheered 
Toussaint.  The  enemies  of  the  Gospel 
at  Metz  were  becoming  more  and  more 
powerful.  At  his  entreaty  the  chevalier 
d'Esch,  undertook    a  journey  in   July, 

*  Jam  capuloproxima. — (MS.de  Neufchatel.) 
f  Litteras  ad  me  dedit  plenas,  lacrymis  quibus 

maledicit  et  uberibus  quae  me  lactarunt,  &c. — 

(Ibid.) 

X  Visum  est  OZcoIampadio  consultum  .  .  .  ut  a 

se  secederem. — (Ibid.) 

§  Utor  domo  cujusdam  sacrificuli. — (Ibid.) 

||  Ut  Cbristi  regniim  quam  latissime  pateat. — 

(MS.  de  Neufchatel.) 


1525,  to  strengthen  the  Evangelical 
Christians  of  that  city.  He  traversed 
the  forests  of  Vosges,  and  reached  the 
place  where  Leclerc  had*  laid  down  his 
life,  bringing  with  him  several  books 
with  which  Farel  had  supplied  him.* 

But  the  French  exiles  did  not  confine 
their  attention  to  Lorraine.  De  Coct  re- 
ceived letters  from  one  of  Farel's  bro- 
thers, depicting,  in  gloomy  colours,  the 
condition  of  Dauphiny.  He  carefully 
avoided  showing  them,  lest  he  should 
alarm  the  faint-hearted,  but  bore  them 
on  his  heart  before  God  in  fervent  pray- 
er, for  His  all-powerful  aid.f  In  De- 
cember, 1524,  one  Peter  Verrier,  a  mes- 
senger from  Dauphiny,  entrusted  with 
commissions  for  Fare!  and  Anemond, 
arrived  on  horseback  at  Montbeliard. 
The  knight,  with  his  usual  impetuosity, 
immediately  resolved  on  returning  into 
France.  "  If  the  said  Peter  has  brought 
money,"  wrote  he  to  Farel,  "  do  you  take 
it :  if  he  has  brought  letters  open  them, 
take  copies  and  send  them  to  me.  Do 
not  however  sell  the  horse,  but  keep  it, 
since  I  may  perhaps  need  it.  I  am 
minded  to  enter  France  secretly,  and 
visit  Jacobus  Faber,  (Lefevre)  and  Aran- 
dius.  Write  me  your  opinion  of  this 
plan."!; 

Such  was  the  unreserved  confidence 
which  existed  among  these  refugees.  De 
Coct,  it  is  true,  was  already  indebted 
thirty-six  crowns  to  Farel,  whose  purse 
was  ever  at  the  service  of  his  friends. 
The  knight's  plan  of  returning  to  France 
was  one  of  more  zeal  than  wisdom.  His 
habitual  want  of  caution  would  have  ex- 
posed him  to  certain  death.  This  Farel 
doubtless  explained  to  him.  Leaving 
Basle  he  withdrew  to  a  small  town,  hav- 
ing, as  he  said,  "  great  hopes  of  acquir- 
ing the  German  tongue,  God  willing.'' § 

Farel  continued  to  preach  the  Gospel 
at  Montbeliard.  His  spirit  was  grieved 
within  him,  beholding  the  great  body  of 

*  Quil  s'en  retoume  a  Metz,  la  on  les  enne- 
mis  de  Dieu  s'elevent  journellement  contre 
l'Evangile. — (Tossanus  Farello  ;  17th  Dec.  1524. 
MS.  de  Neufchatel.) 

t  Accepi  ante  horam  a  fratre  tuo  epistolam 
quam  hie  nulli  manifestavi:  terrentur  enim  in- 
firmi.— (Coctus  Farello,  2nd  Sept.  1524.) 

t  Coct  a  Farel,  Dec.  1524.  MS.  de  Neufcha- 
tel. 

§  Coct  a  Farel,  Jan.  1525.  MS.  de  Neuf- 
chatel. 


THE  FRENCH.— 1500— 1526. 


601 


the  people  of  that  place  wholly  given  to 
the  worship  of  images.  In  his  opinion  it 
was  no  better  than  a  return  to  heathen 
idolatry. 

Nevertheless  the  exhortations  of  (Eco- 
lampadius,  and  the  fear  of  compromising 
the  truth,  would,  perhaps,  have  long  re- 
strained him,  but  for  an  unforeseen  cir- 
cumstance. One  day,  towards  the  end 
of  February  (it  was  the  feast  of  St.  An- 
thony,) Farel  was  walking  near  the 
banks  of  a  little  river  that  runs  through 
the  town,  below  the  lofty  rock  on  which 
stands  the  citadel,  when,  as  he  reached 
the  bridge,  he  met  a  procession,  reciting 
prayers  to  St.  Anthony,  and  headed  by 
two  priests,  bearing  the  image  of  that 
saint.  He  thus  found  himself  suddenly 
brought  into  contact  with  these  supersti- 
tions. A  violent  struggle  took  place  in 
his  soul ;  shall  he  be  silent,  or  conceal 
himself?  would  it  not  be  a  cowardly 
want  of  faith  1  These  dumb  idols,  borne 
on  the  shoulders  of  ignorant  priests,  made 
his  blood  boil.  He  boldly  advanced, 
snatched  from  the  priests'  arms  the  shrine 
of  the  holy  hermit,  and  threw  it  from  the 
bridge  into  the  stream.  Then,  turning 
toward  the  astonished  crowd,  he  exclaim- 
ed aloud,  "  Poor  idolaters,  will  ye  never 
put  away  your  idols?"* 

The  priests  and  people  were  motion- 
less in  astonishment.  A  holy  fear  for  a 
while  paralyzed  them  :  but  soon  recover- 
ing, they  exclaimed,  "  The  image  is 
sinking,"  and  their  motionless  silence 
was  succeeded  by  transports  of  rage.  The 
crowd  would  have  rushed  upon  the  sac- 
rilegious wretch  who  had  hurled  into  the 
river  the  object  of  their  adoration  ;  but 
Farel,  we  know  not  how,  escaped  their 
fury,  t 

Many  may  regret  that  the  Reformer 
allowed  himself  to  be  hurried  into  an  act 
which  tended  to  check  the  progress  of 
the  truth.  We  can  enter  into  their  feel- 
ings. Let  no  man  think  himself  author- 
ized to  attack  with  violence  an  institu- 
tion which  has  the  public  sanction.     Yet 

*  Revue  du  Dauphine",  torn.  ii.  p.  38.  MS.  de 
Clioupard. 

t  M.  Kirchhoffer,  in  his  Life  of  Farel,  gives 
this  circumstance  as  an  uncertain  tradition :  but 
it  is  related  by  Protestant  writers,  and  besides 
seems  to  me  perfectly  consistent  with  the  char- 
acter of  Farel  and  the  fears  of  GEcolampadius. 
It  is  our  duty  to  admit  the  weaknesses  of  the 
Reformation. 

76 


is  there  in  this  zeal  of  the  Reformer  a 
something  more  noble  than  that  cold  pru- 
dence so  common  in  the  world,  and 
which  shrinks  from  incurring  the  small- 
est danger,  or  making  the  most  trifling 
sacrifice  for  the  advancement  of  God's 
kingdom.  Farel  well  knew  that  by  this 
act  he  was  exposing  himself  to  the  death 
which  Leclerc  had  suffered.  But  his  own 
conscience  bore  testimony  that  he  desired 
only  to  promote  the  glory  of  God,  and 
this  elevated  him  above  all  fear. 

After  this  incident  of  the  bridge,  in 
which  we  discern  his  natural  character, 
Farel  was  obliged  to  conceal  himself, 
and  soon  afterwards  to  quit  the  city.  He 
took  refuge  with  GEcolampadius  at  Basle ; 
but  he  ever  retained  that  attachment  to 
Montbeliard,  which  a  servant  of  God 
never  ceases  to  cherish  for  the  scene  of 
the  first-fruits  of  his  ministry.* 

At  Basle,  sad  tidings  awaited  him. 
Himself  a  fugitive,  he  now  learned  that 
Anemond  de  Coct  was  dangerously  ill. 
Farel  immediately  remitted  to  him  four 
gold  crowns  :  but  on  the  25th  of  March, 
a  letter  from  Oswald  Myconius  brought 
him  intelligence  of  the  knight's  death. 
"  Let  us  so  live,"  wrote  Oswald,  "  that  we 
may  enter  into  that  rest  which  we  trust 
the  soul  of  Anemond  has  now  entered 

upon."f 

Thus  prematurely  died  Anemond  ; — 
still  young,  full  of  activity  and  energy, — 
in  himself  a  host, — ready  to  undertake 
every  labour,  and  brave  every  danger  in 
the  hope  of  evangelizing  France.  God's 
ways  are  not  our  ways.  Not  long  before, 
and  near  Zurich  too,  another  noble.  Ul- 
ric  von  Hutten,  had  breathed  his  last. 
Points  of  resemblance  are  not  wanting 
between  the  two ;  but  the  piety  and 
christian  virtues  of  the  native  of  Dau- 
phiny  entitle  him  to  rank  far  above  the 
level  of  the  witty  and  intrepid  enemy  of 
the  Pope  and  monks. 

Shortly  after  Anemond's  death.  Farel, 
finding  it  impossible  to  remain  at  Basle 
whence  he  had  already  been  expelled, 
joined  his  friends  Capito  and  Bucer  at 
Strasburg. 

Thus  at  Montbeliard  and  at  Basle,  as 
well  as  at  Lyons,  the  ranks  of  the  Re- 

*  Ingens  affectus,  qui  me  cogit  Mumpelgardum 
amare. — (Farel ii  Epp.) 

t  Quo  Anemundi  spiritum  jam  pervenisse  spe- 
ramus.— (Myconius  Farello,  MS.  de  Neufchatel.) 


602 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


formers  were  thinned.  Of  those  who 
most  zealously  contended  for  the  faith, 
some  had  been  removed  by  death — oth- 
ers were  scattered  by  persecution,  and  in 
exile.  In  vain  did  the  combatants  turn 
their  efforts  in  every  direction.  On  all 
sides  they  were  repulsed.  But  though 
the  forces  concentrated  first  at  Meaux, 
then  at  Lyons,  and  lastly  at  Basle,  had 
been  successively  broken  up,  there  re- 
mained here  and  there,  in  Lorraine,  at 
Meaux,  and  even  in  Paris,  good  soldiers, 
who  struggled,  more  or  less  openly, 
in  support  of  God's  word  in  France. 
Though  the  Reformation  saw  its  ranks 
broken,  it  still  had  its  single  champions. 
Against  these  the  Sorbonne  and  the  Par- 
liament now  turned  their  anger.  The 
resolution  was  taken  to  exterminate  from 
the  soil  of  France  the  devoted  men  who 
had  undertaken  to  plant  thereon  the 
standard  of  Jesus  Christ ; — and  unprece- 
dented misfortunes  seemed  at  this  season 
to  conspire  with  the  enemies  of  the  Ref- 
ormation to  favour  the  attainment  of 
their  purpose. 

During  the  latter  part  of  Farel's  stay 
at  Montbeliard,  great  events  had  indeed 
taken  place  on  the  theatre  of  the  world. 
Lannoy,  and  Pescara,  Charles's  generals, 
having  quitted  France  on  the  approach 
of  Francis  I.,  that  Prince  crossed  the 
Alps,  and  blockaded  Pa  via.  On  the  24th 
of  February,  1525,  Pescara  attacked 
him.  Bonnivet,  la  Tremouille,  la  Pa- 
lisse  and  Lescure  died  fighting  by  his 
side.  The  Duke  of  Alenqon,  the  first 
prince  of  the  blood  and  husband  of  Mar- 
garet, fled,  carrying  with  him  the  rear- 
guard, and  died  of  shame  and  grief  at 
Lyons.  Francis  himself,  thrown  from 
his  horse,  surrendered  his  sword  to 
Charles  de  Lannoy,  viceroy  of  Naples. 
who  received  it  kneeling  on  one  knee. 
The  King  of  France  was  the  Emperor's 
prisoner !  His  captivity  seemed  to  be 
the  greatest  of  all  misfortunes.  "No- 
thing is  left  me  but  honour  and  life," 
wrote  that  Prince  to  his  mother.  But  to 
none  was  this  event  more  affecting  than 
to  Margaret.  The  glory  of  her  country 
over-clouded,  France  without  a  monarch, 
and  exposed  to  accumulated  dangers, 
her  beloved  brother  the  captive  of  his 
haughty  foe,  her  husband  dishonoured 
and  dead, — what  an  overflowing  cup  of 
bitterness!     But  she   had  a  Comforter: 


— and  whilst  her  brother  sought  to  com- 
fort himself  by  repeating,  "  Tout  est  per- 
du, fors  Vhonneur /"  (all  is  lost  save  hon- 
our !)  .  .  She  was  able  to  say,  '  Fors  Je- 
sus seul,  mon  frere,  jils  de  DieuJ — "  Save 
Christ  alone,  my  brother,  Son  of  God  !"* 

All  France,  nobles,  parliament,  and 
people  were  overwhelmed  in  consterna- 
tion. Ere  long,  as  in  the  first  three  cen- 
turies of  the  Church,  the  calamity  which 
had  overtaken  the  state  was  charged 
upon  the  Christians, — and  the  cry  of  fa- 
natics on  all  sides  demanded  their  blood 
as  the  means  of  averting  further  misfor- 
tunes. The  moment,  therefore,  was  fa- 
vourable to  the  opposers  of  the  truth  ;  it 
was  not  enough  to  have  dislodged  the 
evangelical  Christians  from  the  three 
strong  positions  they  had  taken  up,  it 
was  necessary  to  profit  by  the  popular 
panic  to  strike  while  the  iron  was  hot, 
and  utterly  to  extirpate  a  power  which 
was  becoming  so  formidable  to  the  Pa- 
pacy. 

At  the  head  of  this  conspiracy,  and 
loudest  in  these  clamours,  were  Beda, 
Duchesne,  and  Lecouturier.  These  irre- 
concilable enemies  of  the  Gospel  flattered 
themselves  that  they  might  easily  obtain, 
from  public  terror,  the  victims  hitherto 
refused.  They  went  immediately  to  work, 
employing  fanatical  harangues,  lamenta- 
tions, threats,  and  libels,  to  arouse  the  an- 
gry passions  of  the  nation  and  its  gov- 
ernors,— vomiting  fire  and  flame  against 
their  adversaries,  and  heaping  insults 
upon  them.f 

They  stopped  at  nothing  ; — dishonest- 
ly quoting  their  words,  without  reference 
to  any  explanatory  context,  substituting 
expressions  of  their  own  in  place  of  those 
used  by  the  teachers  they  wished  to  in- 
culpate, and  omitting  or  adding  according 
as  was  necessary  to  blacken  the  char- 
acter of  their  opponents. :{:  Such  is  the 
testimony  of  Erasmus  himself. 

Nothing  so  much  excited  their  anger 
as  the  doctrine  of  Salvation  by  Free 
Grace, — the  corner-stone  of  Christianity 
and  of  the  Reformation.  "  When  I  con- 
template," said  Beda,  "  these  three  men, 
Lefevre,  Erasmus,  and  Luther,  in  other 

*  Les  Marguerites  de  la  Marguerite,  p.  29. 

t  Plusquamscurrilibus  conviciis  debacchantes. 
.  .  . — (Er.  Francisco  Regi,  p.  1108.) 

t  Pro  meis  verbis  supponit  sua,  praetermittit, 
addit.— (Ibid.  p.  887.) 


THE  FRENCH.— 1500— 1526. 


603 


respects  gifted  with  so  penetrating  a  ge- 
nius, leagued  together  in  a  conspiracy 
against  meritorious  works,  and  resting  all 
the  weight  of  salvation  on  faith  alone,*  I 
am  no  longer  astonished  that  thousands, 
led  away  by  such  teaching,  begin  to  say, 
'  Why  should  I  fast  and  mortify  my  body?' 
Let  us  banish  from  France  this  hateful 
doctrine  of  grace.  This  neglect  of  good 
works  is  a  fatal  snare  of  the  devil." 

Thus  did  the  syndic  of  the  Sorbonne 
fight  against  the  faith.  He  would  nat- 
urally find  supporters  in  a  profligate  court, 
and  likewise  in  another  class  of  people, 
more  respectable,  but  not  less  opposed  to 
the  Gospel ; — we  mean  those  grave  men, 
and  rigid  moralists,  who,  devoted  to  the 
study  of  laws  and  judicial  forms,  discern 
in  Christianity  no  more  than  a  system  of 
laws,  and  in  the  Church  only  a  sort  of 
moral  police,  and  who,  unable  to  make 
the  doctrines  of  man's  spiritual  helpless- 
ness, the  new  birth,  and  justification  by 
faith,  square  with  the  legal  habit  of  their 
minds,  are  induced  to  regard  them  as 
fanciful  imaginations,  dangerous  to  pub- 
lic morals  and  to  national  prosperity. 
This  aversion  to  the  doctrine  of  free 
grace,  manifested  itself  in  the  16th  cen- 
tury under  two  widely  different  forms. 
In  Italy  and  in  Poland  it  took  the  form 
of  Socinianism,  so  called  from  its  origi- 
nator, who  was  descended  from  a  cele- 
brated family  of  jurists  at  Sienna  ;  while 
in  France,  it  showed  itself  in  the  stern 
decrees  and  burnings  of  the  Parliament. 

Contemning  the  great  truths  of  the 
Gospel,  as  promulgated  by  the  Reform- 
ers, and  thinking  it  necessary  to  do  some- 
thing at  this  season  of  overwhelming  ca- 
lamity, the  Parliament  presented  an  ad- 
dress to  Louisa  of  Savoy,  remonstrating 
strongly  on  the  conduct  of  the  govern- 
ment towards  the  new  teaching :  "  Here- 
sy," said  they,  "  has  raised  its  head 
amongst  us,  and  the  king,  by  his  neglect- 
ing to  bring  the  heretics  to  the  scaffold, 
has  drawn  down  upon  us  the  wrath  of 
heaven." 

At  the  same  time  the  pulpits  resounded 
with  lamentations,  threatenings,  and  mal- 
edictions ;  and  prompt  and  signal  pun- 

*  Cum  itaque  cernerara  tres  istos  .  .  uno  ani- 
mo  in  opera  meritoria  conspirasse. — (Natalis  Be- 
dae  Apologia  adversus  clandestinos  Lutheranos, 
fol.  41.) 


ishments  were  loudly  demanded.  Mar- 
tial Mazurier  took  a  prominent  part 
among  the  preachers  of  Paris,  and  en- 
deavouring by  his  violence  to  efface  the 
recollection  of  his  former  connection  with 
the  partisans  of  the  Reformation,  inveigh- 
ed against  such  as  were  "  secretly  the  dis- 
ciples of  Luther."  "  Know  you,"  cried 
he,  "  the  rapid  progress  of  this  poison  1 
Know  you  its  strength  ?  It  acts  with  in- 
conceivable rapidity  ;  in  a  moment  it  may 
destroy  tens  of  thousands  of  souls.  Ah  ! 
well  may  we  tremble  for  France.1'* 

It  was  not  difficult  to  excite  the  Queen- 
mother  against  the  favourers  of  the  Ref- 
ormation. Her  daughter  Margaret,  the 
chief  personages  of  the  court,  she  herself, 
Louisa  of  Savoy,  who  had  ever  been  de- 
voted to  the  Roman  Pontiff,  had  been  by 
certain  of  the  fanatics  charged  with  coun- 
tenancing Lefevre,  Berquin,  and  the  other 
innovators.  Had  she  not  been  known, 
insinuated  her  accusers,  to  read  their 
tracts  and  translations  of  the  Bible  ? 
The  Queen-mother  was  not  unwilling  to 
clear  herself  of  such  dishonouring  sus- 
picions. Already  she  had  despatched 
her  confessor  to  the  Sorbonne  to  enquire 
of  that  body  as  to  the  best  method  of  ex- 
tirpating this  heresy.  "  The  detestable 
doctrine  of  Luther,"  said  she  in  her  mes- 
sage to  the  faculty,  "  every  day  gains  new 
adherents."  The  faculty  smiled  on  the 
receipt  of  this  message.  The  time  had 
been  when  the  representations  they  had 
made  were  dismissed  without  so  much  as 
a  hearing ;  but  now  their  advice  was 
humbly  solicited  in  the  matter.  At  length 
they  held  within  their  grasp  that  heresy 
which  they  had  so  long  desired  to  stifle. 
They  deputed  Noel  Beda  to  return  an 
immediate  answer  to  the  Queen-Regent. 
"  Since,"  said  the  fanatical  syndic,  "  the 
sermons,  discussions,  and  books,  with 
which  we  have  so  often  opposed  heresy, 
have  failed  to  arrest  its  progress,  a  proc- 
lamation ought  to  be  put  forth,  prohibit- 
ing the  circulation  of  the  writings  of  the 
heretics — and  if  these  measures  should 
prove  insufficient,  force  and  restraint 
should  be  employed  against  the  persons 
of  the  false  teachers ;  for  they  who  resist 

*  Mazurius  contra  occultos  Lutheri  discipuli 
os  declamat,  ac  recentis  veneni  celeritatem  vim- 
que  denunciat. — (Lannoi,  regii  Navarrae  gym- 
nasii  historia,  p.  621.) 


604 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


the  light  must  be  subdued  by  punishments 
and  terror?'* 

But  Louisa  had  not  even  waited  for 
their  answer.  Scarcely  had  Francis  fall- 
en into  the  hands  of  Charles  V.,  when 
she  wrote  to  the  Pope,  consulting  him  as 
to  his  wishes  with  respect  to  heretics.  It 
was  important  to  Louisa's  policy  to  secure 
to  herself  the  favour  of  a  pontiff  who  had 
power  to  raise  all  Italy  against  the  con- 
queror of  Pavia ;  and  she  did  not  think 
that  favour  would  be  too  dearly  bought 
at  the  cost  of  some  French  blood.  The 
Pope,  delighted  at  the  opportunity  of  let- 
ting loose  his  vengeance  in  the  '  most 
Christian  kingdom,'  against  a  heresy  of 
which  he  had  failed  to  arrest  the  progress 
either  in  Switzerland  or  Germany,  gave 
instant  directions  for  the  establishment  of 
the  Inquisition  in  France,  and  despatched 
a  bull  to  that  effect  to  the  Parliament. 
At  the  same  time  Duprat,  whom  the 
Pontiff  had  created  a  cardinal,  at  the 
same  time  bestowing  upon  him  the  arch- 
bishopric of  Sens  and  a  rich  abbey,  la- 
boured to  testify  his  gratitude  for  these 
favours,  by  his  indefatigable  opposition 
to  the  heretics.  Thus  the  Pope,  the  Re- 
gent, the  doctors  of  the  Sorbonne  and  the 
Parliament,  the  Chancellor  and  the  fa- 
natics, were  now  combining  to  ruin  the 
Gospel  and  put  its  confessors  to  death. 

The  Parliament  was  first  in  motion. 
The  time  had  arrived,  when  it  was  ne- 
cessary that  the  first  body  in  the  state 
should  take  steps  against  the  new  doc- 
trine :  moreover,  it  might  seem  called  to 
act,  inasmuch  as  the  public  tranquillity 
was  at  stake.  Accordingly,  the  Parlia- 
ment, "  under  the  impulse  of  a  holy  zeal 
against  the  innovations,"  issued  an  edict,! 
"  that  the  Bishop  of  Paris,  and  certain 
other  bishops,  should  be  held  responsible 
to  M.  Philippe  Pott,  president  of  re- 
quests, and  Andrew  Verjus,  its  counsel- 
lor, and  to  Messires  William  Duchesne, 
and  Nicolas  Leclerc,  doctors  of  divinity, 
to  institute  and  conduct  the  trial  of  per- 
sons tainted  with  the  Lutheran  doctrine." 

"  And  with  a  purpose  of  making  it  ap- 
pear that  those  persons  were  acting  rather 
under  the  authority  of  the  Church  than 

*  Histoire  de  l'Universite',  par  Crevier,  v.  p. 
196. 

t  De  la  religion  catholique  en  France,  par  de 
Lezeau.  MS.  de  la  bibliotbeque  de  Sainte-Gene- 
vieve  at  Paris. 


of  the  Parliament,  it  pleased  his  Holi- 
ness, the  Pope,  to  forward  a  brief,  dated 
20th  May,  1525,  in  which  he  approved 
the  commissioners  that  had  been  named." 

"  Accordingly,  in  pursuance  of  these 
measures,  all  who,  being  called  before 
these  deputies,  were  by  the  bishop  or  by 
the  ecclesiastical  judges,  pronounced  Lu- 
therans, were  handed  over  to  the  secular 
arm, — that  is,  to  the  said  Parliament, 
who  forthwith  condemned  them  to  the 
flames."*  We  quote  the  very  words  of 
a  manuscript  of  that  age. 

Such  was  the  dreadful  court  of  Inqui- 
sition, appointed,  during  the  captivity  of 
Francis  1.,  to  take  cognizance  of  the 
charge  against  the  Evangelic  Christians 
of  France,  as  dangerous  to  the  state.  Its 
members  were  two  laymen  and  two  ec- 
clesiastics ;  and  one  of  these  latter  was 
Duchesne,  next  to  Beda  the  most  fanati- 
cal of  the  adverse  party.  Shame  had 
prevented  their  placing  Beda  himself  in 
the  commission,  but  his  influence  was 
only  the  more  secured  by  the  precaution. 

Thus  the  machinery  was  set  up, — its 
various  springs  in  order, — and  every  one 
of  its  blows  likely  to  be  mortal.  It  was 
an  important  point  to  settle  against  whom 
its  first  proceedings  should  be  taken. 
Beda,  Duchesne,  and  Leclerc,  M.  Philip 
Pott,  the  president,  and  Andrew  Verjus, 
the  counsellor,  met  to  deliberate  on  this 
point.  Was  there  not  the  Count  of  Mont- 
brun,  the  old  friend  of  Louis  XII.,  and 
the  former  ambassador  at  the  court  of 
Rome,  Briconnet,  then  Bishop  of  Meaux? 
This  committee  of  public  safety,  of  1525, 
thought  that  by  singling  out  its  object 
from  an  elevated  station,  it  should  strike 
terror  through  all  hearts.  This  consid- 
eration seems  to  have  decided  them ; 
and  the  venerable  bishop  received  notice 
of  trial. 

Far  from  quailing  before  the  persecu- 
tion of  1523,  Briconnet  had  persisted,  in 
conjunction  with  Lefevre,  in  opposing 
the  popular  superstitions.  The  more 
eminent  his  station  in  the  Church  and 
in  the  State,  the  more  fatal  did  the  effect 
of  his  example  appear,  and  the  more  did 
his  enemies  judge  it  necessary  to  extort 
from  him  a  public  recantation,  or  to  bring 

*  The  MS.  of  the  Library  of  St.  Genevieve, 
whence  I  have  derived  this  fragment,  bears  the 
name  of  Lezeau,  but  in  the  catalogue  that  of 
Lefebre. 


THE  FRENCH.— 1500— 1526. 


605 


him  to  a  yet  more  public  retribution. 
The  court  of  inquisition  lost  no  time  in 
collecting-  and  preparing  the  evidence 
against  him.  He  was  charged  with 
harbouring  the  teachers  of  the  new  her- 
esy :  it  was  alleged  that  a  week  after  the 
superior  of  the  Cordeliers  had  preached 
in  St.  Martin's  church  at  Meaux,  by  di- 
rection of  the  Sorbonne,  to  restore  sound 
doctrine, — Briconnet  had  himself  occu- 
pied the  pulpit,  and,  in  publicly  refuting 
him,  had  designated  the  preacher  and 
his  brother  Cordeliers  impostors,  false 
prophets,  and  hypocrites ;  and  that,  not 
satisfied  with  that,  he  ha_d,  through  his 
official,  summoned  the  superior  to  appear 
personally  to  answer  to  him.* 

It  would  even  seem,  if  we  may  trust 
to  one  manuscript  of  the  time,  that  the 
Bishop  had  gone  much  further,  and  that 
he  in  person,  attended  by  Lefevre,  had 
in  the  autumn  of  1524  gone  over  his  dio- 
cese, committing  to  the  flames,  wherever 
he  came,  all  images,  the  crucifix  alone 
excepted.  So  daring  a  conduct,  which 
would  go  to  prove  so  much  decision, 
combined  with  much  timidity  in  the 
character  of  Briconnet — if  we  give  credit 
to  the  fact — would  not  fix  upon  him  the 
blame  visited  on  other  iconoclasts ;  for 
he  was  at  the  head  of  that  Church  whose 
superstitions  he  then  sought  to  reform, 
and  was  therefore  acting  at  least  in  the 
sphere  of  his  rights  and  duties.f 

However  we  may  regard  it,  in  the 
eyeS  of  the  enemies  of  the  Gospel,  the 
charge  against  Briconnet  was  of  a  very 
aggravated  character.  He  had  not  mere- 
ly impugned  the  Church's  authority,  he 
had  erected  himself  against  the  Sorbonne 
itself, — that  society,  all  the  energies  of 

*  Hist,  de  l'Universite,  par  Crevier,  v.  p.  204. 

t  In  the  library  of  the  pastors  of  Neufchatel, 
is  a  letter  of  Sebville,  in  which  the  following 
passage  occurs  :  "  Je  te  notifie  que  l'eveque  de 
Meaux  en  Brie  pies  Paris  cum  Jacobo  Fabro  sta- 
pulensi,  depuis  trois  mois,  en  visitant  l'eveche  ont 
brule  actu  tous  les  images,  reserve  le  crucifix,  et 
sont  personellement  ajournes  a  Paris  a  ce  mois 
de  mars  venant  pour  repondre  coram  supremn 
curia  et  universitdte."  I  am  rather  disposed  to 
think  the  fact  truly  stated,  though  Sebville  was 
not  on  the  spot,  Mezeray,  Daniel,  and  Maim- 
bourg  make  no  mention  of  it.  These  Roman 
Catholic  writers,  who  are  not  very  circumstan- 
tial, may  have  had  motives  for  passing  over  the 
fact  in  silence,  considering  the  issue  of  the  trial ; 
and  moreover,  the  report  of  Sebville  agrees  with 
all  the  known  facts.  However,  the,  matter  is 
open  to  question. 


which  were  directed  to  the  perpetuation 
of  its  own  greatness.  Great,  therefore, 
was  the  joy  in  the  society  at  the  intelli- 
gence that  its  adversary  was  to  stand  a 
trial  before  the  Inquisition,  and  John 
Bochart,  one  of  the  leading  lawyers  of 
the  time,  pleading  before  the  Parliament 
against  Briconnet,  exclaimed  aloud, — 
"  Neither  the  Bishop,  nor  any  single  in- 
dividual can  lawfully  exalt  himself,  or 
open  his  mouth  against  the  faculty. 
Neither  is  the  faculty  called  to  discuss 
or  give  its  reasons  at  the  bar  of  the  said 
Bishop,  whose  duty  it  is  to  offer  no  oppo- 
sition to  the  wisdom  of  that  holy  society, 
but  to  esteem  it  as  under  the  guidance 
of  God  himself."* 

In  conformity  with  this  representation, 
the  Parliament  put  forth  an  edict  on  the 
3d  October,  1525,  wherein,  after  author- 
izing the  arrest  of  all  those  who  had 
been  informed  against ;  it  gave  orders 
that  the  Bishop  should  be  examined  by 
Master  James  Menager  and  Andrew 
Verjus,  counsellors  of  the  court,  touching 
the  matters  charged  against  him.f 

The  order  of  the  Parliament  struck 
terror  to  the  bishop's  heart.  Briconnet, 
twice  honoured  with  the  post  of  ambas- 
sador at  Rome, — Briconnet,  a  bishop,  a 
noble,  the  intimate  friend  of  Louis  XII. 
and  Francis  I., — to  undergo  an  interro- 
gatory by  two  counsellors  of  the  court  . 
.  .  .  He  who  had  fondly  dreamed  that 
God  would  kindle  in  the  hearts  of  the 
king,  his  mother,  and  his  sister,  a  flame 
that  would  run  through  the  kingdom, 
now  beheld  that  kingdom  turning  against 
him  in  the  endeavour  to  quench  that  fire 
which  it  had  received  from  heaven.  The 
king  was  a  captive  ;  his  mother  was  pla- 
cing herself  at  the  head  of  the  enemy's 
force  :  and  Margaret,  dismayed  by  the 
misforturfcs  of  her  country,  no  longer 
dared  to  avert  the  blow  directed  against 
her  dearest  friends,  and  failing  first  on 
the  spiritual  father  who  had  so  often 
cheered  and  comforted  her.  Not  long 
before  this,  she  had  written  to  Briconnet 
a  letter  full  of  pious  emotions :  "  Oh  !" 
she  had  said,  "  that  this  poor  languid 
heart  might  experience  some  warmth  of 
that  love  with  which  I  would  that  it  were 
burnt  to  ashes."!     But  the  time  had  ar- 

*  Hist,  de  l'Universite,  par  Crevier,  v.  p.  204. 

t  Maimbourg  Hist,  du  Calv.  p.  14. 

t  MS.  de  la  Biblioth.  Royale,  S.  F.  No.  337. 


606 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


rived  when  the  question  was  one  of  lite- 
ral burnings.  Such  mystical  expressions 
were  not  now  in  season  ;  and  one  who 
resolved  to  confess  the  faith  must  brave 
the  scaffold  !  The  poor  bishop,  who 
had  been  so  sanguine  in  the  hope  to  see 
the  Reformation  gradually  and  gently 
winning  its  way  in  men's  minds,  trem- 
bled in  dismay  when  he  found,  that,  at 
the  eleventh  hour,  it  must  be  purchased 
at  the  sacrifice  of  life  itself.  It  is  possi- 
ble such  a  thought  may  never  before 
have  occurred  to  him,  and  he  recoiled 
from  it  in  an  agony  of  fear. 

One  hope,  however,  remained  for  Bri- 
<jonnet ;  and  that  was,  that  he  might  be 
allowed  to  appear  before  the  Chambers 
of  Parliament  in  general  assembly  agree- 
ably to  the  priviJege  belonging,  by  cus- 
tom, to  his  rank.  Doubtless,  in  that 
august  and  numerous  assembly,  some 
generous  hearts  would  respond  to  his 
appeal,  and  espouse  his  cause.  Accord- 
ingly, he  humbly  petitioned  the  court  to 
grant  him  this  indulgence  ;  but  his  ene- 
mies had  equally  with  himself  calculated 
the  possible  issue  of  such  a  hearing.  Had 
they  not  learned  a  lesson  when  Luther, 
in  presence  of  the  Germanic  Diet,  at 
Worms,  had  shaken  the  resolution  of 
those  who  had  previously  seemed  most 
decided?  Carefully  closing  every  ave- 
nue of  escape,  they  exerted  themselves 
with  such  effect,  that  the  Parliament  on 
the  25th  October,  1525,  in  an  edict  af- 
firming that  previously  issued,*  refused 
Briconnet  the  favour  he  had  petitioned 
for. 
\  Behold  the  Bishop  of  Meaux,  placed 
like  a  common  priest  of  the  lowest  order 
before  Masters  James  Menager  and  An- 
drew Verjus.  Those  two  jurisconsults. 
the  obedient  tools  of  the  Sorbonne,  were 
not  likely  to  be  swayed  by  those  higher 
considerations  to  which  the  Chambers 
of  Parliament  might  be  accessible  ;  they 
were  men  of  facts  : — was  it,  or  was  it  not, 
a  fact,  that  the  bishop  had  set  himself  in 
opposition  to  the  society?  With  them, 
this  was  the  only  question.  Accordingly 
Briconnet's  conviction  was  secured. 

Whilst  the  sword  was  thus  impending 
over  the  head  of  the  bishop,  the  monks, 
priests,  and  doctors,  made  the  best  use  of 
their  time  ; — they  saw  plainly  that  if  Bri- 
connet could  be  persuaded  to  retract,  their 
*  M^imbourg  Hist,  du  Calv.  p.  15. 


interest  would  be  better  served  than  by 
his  martyrdom.  His  death  would  but 
inflame  the  zeal  of  those  who  were  uni- 
ted with  him  in  their  faith,  while  his 
apostacy  would  plunge  them  in  the  deep- 
est discouragement.  They  accordingly 
went  to  work.  They  visited  him,  and 
pressed  him  with  their  entreaties.  Mar- 
tial Mazurier  especially  strained  every 
nerve  to  urge  him  to  a  fall,  as  he  him- 
self had  fallen.  Arguments  were  not 
wanting,  which  might,  to  Briconnet, 
seem  specious.  Would  he  then  take 
the  consequence,  and  be  rejected  from 
his  office  ?  If  he  remained  in  the  church, 
might  he  not  use  his  influence  with  the 
king  and  the  court  to  an  extent  of  good 
which  it  was  not  easy  to  estimate  ?  What 
would  become  of  his  friends  when  his 
power  was  at  an  end  ?  Was  not  his  re- 
sistance likely  to  compromise  the  success 
of  a  Reformation  which,  to  be  salutary 
and  lasting,  ought  to  be  carried  into  ef- 
fect by  the  legitimate  influence  of  the 
clergy?  How  many  would  be  stumbled 
by  his  persisting  in  opposition  to  the 
Church  ;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  how 
many  would  be  won  over  by  his  conces- 
sions? His  advisers  pretended  that  they, 
too,  were  anxious  for  a  Reformation  ; 
"  All  is  going  on  by  insensible  steps," 
said  they ;  "  both  at  the  court,  in  the 
city,  and  in  the  provinces,  things  are 
progressing : — and  would  he,  in  the 
mere  lightness  of  his  heart,  dash  the 
fair  prospect  in  view  !  After  all,  he  was 
not  asked  to  relinquish  what  he  had 
taught,  but  merely  to  comply  with  the 
established  order  of  the  Church.  Could 
it  be  well,  at  a  time  when  France  was 
suffering  under  the  pressure  of  so  many 
reverses, — to  stir  up  new  confusions  ? 
"  In  the  name  of  religion,  country. 
friends — nay,  even  of  the  Reformation 
itself — consent  /"  said  they.  Such  are 
the  sophisms  that  are  the  ruin  of  many 
a  noble  enterprise. 

Yet  every  one  of  these  considerations 
had  its  influence  on  the  Bishop's  mind. 
The  Tempter,  who  came  to  Jesus  in  the 
wilderness,  presented  himself  to  Briqon- 
net  in  fair  and  specious  colours ; — and 
instead  of  saying,  with  his  Master,  "  Get 
thee  behind  me,  Satan !"  he  heard,  listen- 
ed, and  considered  his  suggestions.  .  .  • 
Thenceforward  his  faithfulness  was  at  an 
end. 


THE  FRENCH— 1500— 1526. 


607 


Briconnet  had  never  been  embarked, 
with  all  his  heart,  like  Farel  or  Luther 
in  the  movement  which  was  then  re- 
moulding the  Church.  There  was  in 
him  a  sort  of  mystical  tendency,  which 
enfeebles  the  souls  in  which  it  gains 
place,  and  takes  from  them  the  firmness 
and  confidence  which  are  derived  from  a 
Faith  that  rests  simply  on  the  word  of 
God.  The  cross  he  was  called  to  take 
up,  that  he  might  follow  Christ,  was  too 
heavy  for  him.*  Shaken  in  resolution, 
alarmed,  dizzy,  and  not  knowing  which 
way  to  turn,  he  faltered,  and  stumbled 
against  the  stone  that  had  been  artfully 
laid  in  his  pathf  ...  he  fell ; — and,  in- 
stead of  throwing  himself  into  the  arms 
of  Christ,  he  cast  himself  at  the  feet  of 
Mazurier,;};  and,  by  a  shameful  recanta- 
tion, brought  a  dark  cloud  upon  the  glory 
of  a  noble  fidelity.  § 

Thus  fell  Briconnet,  the  friend  of  Le- 
fevre  and  of  Margaret ;  and  thus  the  ear- 
liest protector  of  the  Gospel  in  France, 
denied  that  good  news  of  Grace,  in  the 
criminal  thought  that  his  abiding  faithful 
would  compromise  his  influence  in  the 
Church,  at  the  court,  and  in  the  king- 
dom. But  what  his  enemies  represented 
as  the  saving  of  his  country,  was,  per- 
haps, the  greatest  of  its  misfortunes. 
What  might  not  have  been  the  conse- 
quence, if  Briconnet  had  possessed  the 
courage  of  Luther  %  If  one  of  the  most 
eminent  of  the  French  bishops,  enjoying 
the  respect  of  the  king  and  the  love  of 
the  people,  had  ascended  the  scaffold, 
and  there,  like  'the  poor  of  this  world,' 
sealed,  by  a  courageous  confession  and  a 
christian  death,  the  truth  of  the  Gospel, 
would  not  France  herself  have  been  put 
upon  reflection  %  Would  not  the  blood 
of  the  Bishop  of  Meaux  have  served,  like 
that  of  Polycarp  and  Cyprian,  as  seed  of 
the  church ;  and  should  we  not  have  seen 
those  provinces,  so  famed  for  many  recol- 
lections, emancipating  themselves,  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  from  the  spiritual  dark- 
ness in  which  they  are  still  enveloped  1 

Briconnet  underwent  the  form  of  an 

*  Crucis  statim  oblatse  terrore  perculsus. — 
(Bezse  Icones.) 

t  Dementatus. — (Bezae  Icones.) 

i  Ut  Episeopus  etiam  desisteret  suis  consiliis 
effecit. — (Launoi,  regii  NavarraB  gymnasii  hist. 
p.  621.) 

§  Nisi  turpi  palinodia  gloriam  hanc  omnem 
ipse  eibi  invidisset. — (Bezse  Icones.) 


interrogatory,  in  presence  of  Masters 
James  Menager  and  Andrew  Verjus, 
who  declared  that  he  had  sufficient- 
ly vindicated  himself  from  the  crime 
charged  against  him.  He  was  then  put 
under  penance,  and  convened  a  synod,  at 
which  he  condemned  the  writings  of  Lu- 
ther, retracted  whatever  he  had  taught  at 
variance  with  the  Church's  teaching,  re- 
stored the  custom  of  invocation  of  saints, 
persuading  such  as  had  left  the  rites  of 
the  Church  to  return  to  them ;  and  as  if 
desiring  to  leave  no  doubt  as  to  his  rec- 
onciliation with  the  Pope  and  the  Sor- 
bonne,  kept  a  solemn  fast  on  All-saints- 
eve,  and  issued  orders  for  pompous  pro- 
cessions, in  which  he  appeared  personally, 
evidencing  still  further  his  faith  by  his 
largesses  and  apparent  devotion.* 

The  fall  of  Briconnet  is  perhaps  the 
most  memorable  of  all  those  recorded  of 
that  period.  There  is  no  like  example 
of  one  so  deeply  engaged  in  the  work 
of  the  Reformation  so  abruptly  turning 
against  it ;  yet  must  we  carefully  con- 
sider both  his  character  and  his  fall.  Bri- 
connet stood  relatively  to  Rome,  as  Le- 
fevre  stood  in  relation  to  the  Reforma- 
tion. Both  represented  a  sort  of  juste 
milieu, — appertaining,  in  strictness  of 
speech,  to  neither  party, — as  it  were,  one 
on  the  right  and  the  other  on  the  left 
centre.  The  Doctor  of  Etaples  leans  to- 
wards the  Word  ;  the  Bishop  inclines  to- 
wards the  Hierarchy  ; — and  when  these 
men,  who  touch  each  other,  are  driven  to 
decision,  we  see  the  one  range  himself 
on  the  side  of  Christ,  and  the  other  on  the 
side  of  Rome.  We  may  add,  that  it  is 
not  possible  to  think  that  Briqonnet  can 
have  entirely  laid  aside  the  convictions 
of  his  faith ;  and  at  no  time  did  the  Ro- 
man doctors  put  confidence  in  him ;  not 
even  after  he  had  retracted.  But  he  did, 
as  did  afterwards  the  Bishop  of  Cambray, 
whom  he  in  some  points  resembled  ;  he 
flattered  himself  he  might  outwardly  sub- 
mit to  the  Pope's  authority,  while  he  in 
his  heart  continued  subject  to  the  divine 
Word.  Such  Aveakness  is  incompatible 
with  the  principle  of  the  Reformation. 
Briqonnet  was  one  of  the  most  distin- 
guished of  the  quietist  or  mystic  school ; 
and  it  is  well  known  that  one  of  the  lead- 
ing maxims  of  that  school  has  ever  been 

*  Mezeray,  ii.  p.  981 ;  Daniel,  v.  p.  644 ;  Mo- 
reri,  article  Brisonnet. 


608 


HISTORY   OF   THE   REFORMATION. 


to  settle  down  in,  and  adapt  itself  to,  the 
church  in  which  it  exists,  whatever  that 
church  may  be. 

The  mournful  fall  of  Briconnet  was 
felt  as  a  shock  to  the  hearts  of  his  former 
friends,  and  was  the  sad  forerunner  of 
those  deplorable  apostacies  to  which  the 
friendship  of  the  world  so  often  led,  in 
another  age  of  French  history.  The 
man  who  seemed  to  hold  the  reins  of  the 
movement  was  abruptly  precipitated  from 
his  seat,  and  the  Reformation  was,  in 
that  country,  thenceforth  to  pursue  its 
course  without  a  leader  or  guide,  in  low- 
liness and  secresy.  But  the  disciples  of 
the  Gospel  from  that  time  lifted  up  their 
eyes,  regarding,  with  more  fixedness  of 
faith,  their  Head  in  heaven,  whose  un- 
changing: faithfulness  their  souls  had 
known. 

The  Sorbonne  was  triumphant  A 
great  advance  toward  the  final  ruin  of 
the  Reformation  in  France  had  been 
made,  and  it  was  important  to  follow  up 
their  success.  Lefevre  stood  next  after 
Briqonnet,  and  Beda  had,  therefore,  with- 
out loss  of  time,  turned  his  hostility 
against  him,  publishing  a  tract  against 
the  celebrated  doctor,  full  of  such  gross 
calumnies,  that  we  have  Erasmus's  judg- 
ment of  them,  that  "even  cobblers  and 
smiths  could  lay  the  finger  on  the  false- 
hood of  them."  What  seemed  above  all 
to  enrage  him  was  that  doctrine  of  Justi- 
fication, by  Faith,  which  Lefevre  had 
proclaimed  in  the  ears  of  Christians.  To 
this  Beda  continually  recurred  as  an  arti- 
cle which,  according  to  him,  overturned 
the  Church.  "  What !"  he  exclaimed, 
u  Lefevre  affirms  that  whoever  ascribes 
to  himself  the  power  to  save  himself  will 
be  lost,  whilst  whosoever,  laying  aside 
all  strength  of  his  own,  casts  himself  into 
the  arms  of  Christ,  shall  be  saved.  .  .  . 
Oh,  what  heresy  !  thus  to  teach  the  use- 
lessness  of  meritorious  works.  .  .  .  What 
hellish  doctrine  ! — what  delusion  of  the 
devil !  Let  us  oppose  it  with  all  our 
power."* 

Instantly  that  engine  of  persecution, 
which  took  effect  in  the  recantation  or 
in  the  death  of  its  victims,  was  turned 
against  Lefevre;  and  already  hopes 
were  entertained  that  he  would  share  the 

*  Perpendens  perniciosissimam  demonis  falla- 
ciam.  .  .  .  Oecurri  quantum  valui. — (Nat.  Bedee 
Apolog.  adv.  Lutheranos,  fol.  42.) 


fate  of  Led  ere  the  wool-comber,  or  that 
of  the  bishop  of  Briqonnet.  His  trial  was 
quickly  gone  through  ;  and  a  decree  of 
Parliament  condemned  nine  propositions 
extracted  from  his  commentaries  on  the 
Gospels,  and  placed  his  translation  of  the 
Scriptures  in  the  list  of  prohibited  works.* 

These  measures  were  felt  by  Lefevre 
to  be  only  the  prelude  of  others.  From 
the  first  intimation  of  the  approaching 
persecution  he  had  clearly  perceived,  that 
in  the  absence  of  Francis  the  First  he 
would  not  be  able  to  bear  up  under  his 
enemies'  attacks,  and  that  the  time  had 
arrived  to  act  on  the  direction, — "  When 
they  persecute  you  in  one  city,  Jiee  ye  unto 
another.^  Lefevre  quitted  Meaux,  where, 
ever  since  the  bishop's  apostacy,  he  had 
experienced  nothing  but  bitterness  of  soul, 
and  had  found  his  efforts  paralysed  ;  and 
as  he  looked  back  upon  his  persecutors, 
he  shook  off  the  dust  from  off  his  feet, — 
"  not  to  call  down  evil  upon  them,  but  in 
testimony  of  the  evils  that  were  coming 
upon  them  :  for,"  says  he,  "  as  that  dust 
is  shaken  from  off  our  feet,  just  so  are  they 
cast  off  from  the  favour  and  presence  of 
the  Lord.":}: 

The  persecutors  beheld  their  victim  at 
large  ;  but  they  derived  comfort  from  the 
thought  that,  at  least,  France  was  deliv- 
ered from  this  father  of  heresy. 

Lefevre,  a  fugitive  from  his  enemies, 
arrived  at  Strasburg  under  an  assumed 
name.  There  he  was  immediately  in- 
troduced to  the  friends  of  the  Reforma- 
tion ;  and  what  must  have  been  his  joy, 
to  hear  publicly  taught  that  same  Gospel 
of  which  he  had  caught  the  first  fleams 
in  the  Church; — why,  it  was  just  his 
own  faith !  It  was  exactly  what  he  had 
intended  to  express  !  It  was  as  if  he  had 
been  a  second  time  born  to  the  Christian 
life.  Gerard  Roussel,  one  of  those  Evan- 
gelical Christians,  who,  nevertheless,  like 
the  Doctor  of  Etaples,  attained  not  to 
complete  enfranchisement,  had  been  like- 
wise compelled  to  quit  France.  Both 
together  attended  the  lectures  of  Capito 
and  of  Bucer,§  and  met  in  private  inter- 

*  I.  Lelong  Biblioth.  sacree,  2d  part.  p.  44. 

t  St.  Matth.  x.  14—23. 

t  Quod  excussi  sunt  a  facie  Domini  sicut  pul- 
vis  ille  excussus  est  a  pedibus. — (Faber  in  Ev. 
Matth.  p.  40.) 

§  Faber  stapulensis  et  Gerardns  Rufus,  clam 
e  Gallia  profecti,  Capitonem  et  Bucerum  audie- 
runt. — (Melch.  Adam.  Vita  Captonis,  p.  90.) 


THE  FRENCH— 1500— 1526. 


609 


course  with  those  faithful  teachers.*  It 
was  even  rumoured  that  they  had  been 
commissioned  to  do  so,  by  Margaret,  the 
king's  sister. f  But  the  adoring  contem- 
plation of  the  ways  of  God,  rather  than 
polemical  questions,  engaged  Lefevre's 
attention.  Casting  a  glance  upon  the 
state  of  Christendom,  and  filled  with  won- 
der at  what  he  beheld  passing  on  its 
stage,  moved  with  feelings  of  gratitude, 
and  full  of  hopeful  anticipation,  he  threw 
himself  on  his  knees,  and  prayed  to  the 
Lord  "  to  perfect  that  which  he  saw  then 
beginning.':| 

At  Strasburg  one  especially  agreeable 
surprise  awaited  him — his  pupil,  his  '  son 
in  the  faith,'  Farel, — from  whom  he  had 
been  parted  by  persecution  for  nearly 
three  years, — had  arrived  there  just  be- 
fore. The  aged  doctor  of  the  Sorbonne 
found,  in  his  young  pupil,  a  man  in  the 
vigour  of  life,  a  christian,  'strong  in  the 
faith,' — and  Farel  grasped  with  affection- 
ate respect  the  shrivelled  hand  which 
had  guided  his  earliest  steps,  conscious 
of  the  liveliest  joy  at  thus  recovering  his 
spiritual  father  in  the  society  of  faithful 
men,  and  in  a  city  that  had  received  the 
truth.  They  attended  in  company  the 
pure  teaching  of  eminent  teachers, — 
broke  bread  together  in  the  supper  of  the 
Lord,  according  to  Christ's  institution, 
and  received  touching  proofs  of  the  love 
of  the  brethren.  "  Do  you  recollect," 
said  Farel  to  Lefevre,  "  an  expression 
you  once  let  fall  to  me,  when  we  were 
both  as  yet  in  darkness,  'William!  God 
will  renew  the  world ;  and  you  will  live 
to  see  it !' — See  here  the  beginning  of 
what  you  then  foretold."  "  Yes,"  an- 
swered the  pious  old  man  ;  "  God  is  re- 
newing the  world.  .  .  .  O,  my  son,  con- 
tinue to  preach  boldly  the  holy  Gospel 
of  Jesus  Christ."^ 

Lefevre,  from  an  excess  of  prudence 
doubtless,  chose  to  remain  incognito  at 
Strasburg.  and  took  the  name  of  Anthony 
Peregrinus,  whilst  Roussel  chose  that  of 
Solnin.  But  the  celebrated  doctor  could 
not  elude   notice  ;  and  soon   the  whole 

*  De  omnibus  doctrine  praecipuis  locis  cum  ip- 
sis  disseruerint. — (lb.) 

t  Missi  a  Margaretha  regis  Francisci  sorore. 
— (Melch.  Ad.  Vit.  Capitonis,  p.  90.) 

t  Farel  a  tous  seigneurs,  peuples  et  pasteurs. 

§  Quod  et  pius  senex  fatebatur  ;  meque  horta- 
baturi  pergerem  in  annnntiatione  sacri  Evangelii. 
— (Farellus  Pellicano  Hotting.  H.  L.  vi.  p.  17.) 

77 


city,  even  to  the  very  children,  saluted 
him  with  marks  of  respect.*  He  did  not 
dwell  by  himself,  but  lodged  in  the  same 
house  with  Capito,  Farel,  Roussel,  and 
Vcdastus  (known  and  loved  for  his  reti- 
ring diffidence,)  and  a  certain  converted 
Jew  named  Simon.  The  houses  of  Capi- 
to, (Ecolampadius,  Zvvingle,  and  Lu- 
ther, offered  a  kind  of  open  table  and 
lodging.  Such,  in  those  days,  was  the 
attraction  of  '  brotherly  love.'  Many 
Frenchmen,  besides,  were  residing  in 
this  city  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  and 
there  composed  a  church  in  which  Farel 
often  preached  the  doctrine  of  Salvation. 
Such  Christian  communion  soothed  the 
feeling  of  banishment  from  their  native 
land. 

Whilst  these  brethren  were  thus  en- 
joying the  asylum  afforded  them  by  bro- 
therly love,  those  in  Paris  and  other 
parts  of  France  were  exposed  to  great 
danger.  Briconnet  had  recanted— Le- 
fevre was  beyond  the  frontier — all  this 
was  something  gained,  but  the  Sorbonne 
was  still  without  those  public  examples 
of  punishment  which  it  had  advised. 
Beda  and  his  followers  were  without  vic- 
tims. One  man  there  was  who  gave 
them  more  annoyance  than  either  Bri- 
connet or  Lefevre,  and  he  was  Louis 
Berquin.  The  gentleman  of  Artois,  more 
fearless  than  his  tutors,  allowed  no  op- 
portunity to  pass  of  teasing  the  monks 
and  theologians,  and  unmasking  their 
fanaticism.  Passing  from  the  capital  to 
the  provinces,  he  would  collect  the  wri- 
tings of  Erasmus  and  of  Luther.  These 
he  would  translate,!  at  other  times  him- 
self composing  controversial  tracts,  and 
defending  and  disseminating  the  new 
teaching  with  the  zeal  of  a  young  con- 
vert. Louis  Berquin  was  denounced  by 
the  bishop  of  Amiens.  Beda  seconded  the 
accusation,  and  the  Parliament  commit- 
ted him  to  prison.  "  This  one,"  said  the 
enemy,  "shall  not  escape  so  easily  as 
Briconnet  or  Lefevre."  But  their  bolts 
and  bars  had  no  effect  on  Berquin.  In 
vain  did  the  superior  of  the  Carthusians 
and  other  persons  labour  to  persuade  him 
to  apologise  ;  he  declared  he  would  not 
retract  an  iota.     "It  seemed  then,"  says 

*  Nam  latere  cupiunt  et  tamen  pueris  noli 
sunt. — (Capito  Zwingr.  Epp.  p.  p.  439. 
t  Erasmi  Ep.  p.  923. 


610 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


a  chronicler,  u  that  no  way  remained  but 
to  send  him  to  the  stake."* 

Margaret,  in  consternation  at  what  had 
happened  to  Briconnet,  dreaded  to  see 
Berquin  dragged  to  that  scaffold  which 
the  bishop  had  so  shamefully  eluded.  Not 
daring  to  visit  him  in  his  prison,  she  en- 
deavoured to  convey  a  few  words  of  con- 
solation to  him — and  he  may  have  been 
upon  her  heart — when  the  princess  com- 
posed that  touching  complaint  in  which 
a  prisoner  thus  addresses  the  Lord  : 

O  refuge  free  to  all  who  feel  distress ! 
Their  help  and  stay  ! — Judge  of  the  fatherless ! 
Exhaustless  treasure  of  consoling  grace  ! 
The  iron  doors,  the  moat,  the  massive  wall 
Keep  far  from  me, — a  lone,  forgotten  thrall — 
Friend,  kinsman,  brother, — each  familiar  face  : 
Yet  mercey  meets  even  this  extremity  ; 
•    For  iron  doors  can  never  shut  out   Thee  ! — 
Thou,  Lord  !  art  with  me  here, — here  in  this  dis- 
mal placet 

But  Margaret  did  not  rest  there,  she 
immediately  wrote  to  her  brother  to  so- 
licit a  pardon  for  her  attendant.  Fortu- 
nate might  she  deem  herself  if  her  efforts 
were  not  too  late  to  rescue  him  from  the 
hatred  of  his  enemies. 

While  awaiting  this  victim,  Beda  re- 
solved to  strike  terror  into  the  adversa- 
ries of  the  Sorbonne  and  monks,  by 
crushing  the  most  celebrated  man  among 
them.  Erasmus  had  declared  himself 
against  Luther : — But  this  mattered  lit- 
tle ; — if  the  ruin  of  Erasmus  could  be  ac- 
complished then  beyond  all  doubt  the 
destruction  of  Farel,  of  Luther,  and  their 
associates  would  be  sealed.  The  surest 
way  of  reaching  our  mark  is  to  aim  be- 
yond it.  Let  the  ecclesiastical  power 
only  set  its  heel  on  the  neck  of  the  phi- 
losopher of  Rotterdam,  and  where  was 
the  heretical  doctor  who  could  hope  to 
escape  the  vengeance  of  Rome  ?  The 
attack  had  already  been  commenced  by 
Lecouturier,  better  known  by  his  Latin 
name  of  Sutor,  who,  from  the  solitude  of 
a  Carthusian  cell,  launched  against  Eras- 
mus a  publication  of  the  most  violent 
character,  in  which  he  called  his  adver- 
saries, theologasters,  and  miserable  apes, 
and  charged  them  with  scandalous  of- 
fences, with  heresy  and  blasphemy. 
Handling  subjects  which  he  did  not  un- 

*  Actes  des  Martyrs,  p.  103. 
t  Marguerites  de  la  Marguerite  des  Princess- 
es, 1.  p.  445. 


derstand,  he  reminded  his  readers,  as 
Erasmus  sarcastically  remarks,  of  the  old 
proverb : — "  Ne  sutor  ultra  crepidam." 

Beda  hastened  to  the  assistance  of  his 
confederate.  He  ordered  Erasmus  to 
write  no  more  ;*  and  himself  taking  up 
the  pen,  which  he  had  enjoined  the 
greatest  writer  of  the  age  to  lay  down, 
he  made  a  selection  of  all  the  calumnies 
which  the  monks  had  invented  against 
the  philosopher,  translated  them  into 
French,  and  formed  them  into  a  book 
which  he  circulated  at  court  and  in  the 
city,  in  the  hope  that  all  France  would 
join  in  the  outcry  he  was  raising.!  This 
book  was  the  signal  for  a  general  onset ; 
the  enemies  of  Erasmus  started  up  on 
every  side.  Nicolas  D'Ecmond,  an  old 
Carmelite  of  Louvain,  used  to  exclaim,  as 
often  as  he  mounted  the  pulpit,  "  There 
is  no  difference  between  Erasmus  and 
Luther,  unless  it  be  that  Erasmus  is  the 
greater  heretic  of  the  two;"  J — and  where- 
ever  the  Carmelite  might  be, — at  table 
or  on  a  journey,  on  the  land  or  on  the 
water, — he  was  raving  against  Erasmus 
the  heresiarch  and  forger.§  The  faculty 
of  Paris,  excited  by  these  clamours,  drew 
up  a  decree  of  censure  against  the  illus- 
trious writer. 

Erasmus  was  astounded.  Was  this, 
then,  the  fruit  of  all  his  politic  forbear- 
ance,— was  it  for  this  that  he  had  even 
engaged  in  hostilities  against  Luther? 
He,  with  an  intrepidity  which  no  one 
else  had  displayed,  had  flung  himself  into 
the  breach, — and  was  he  now  to  be 
trampled  down  only  that  the  common 
enemy  might  be  reached  more,  safely 
over  his  prostrate  body?  His  indigna- 
tion is  raised  at  the  thought,  he  turns 
sharply  round,  and  while  yet  warm  from 
his  attack  upon  Luther,  deals  his  retribu- 
tive blows  on  the  fanatical  doctors  who 
have  assailed  him  in  the  rear.  Never 
was  his  correspondence  more  active  than 
now.  He  takes  a  survey  of  his  position, 
and  his  piercing  eye  immediately  discov- 
ers in  whose  hands  rests  the  balance 
of  his  fate.     He  hesitates  not  an  instant ; 

*  Primum  jubet  ut  desinam  scribere. — (Erasm. 
Epp.'p.  921.) 

t  Ut  totam  Galliam  in  me  concitaret. — (lb.  p 
886.) 

t  Nisi  quod  Erasmus  esset  major  hasreticus. — 
(Ibid.  p.  915.)   • 

§  Quoties  in  conviciis,  in  vehiculis,  in  navibus 
.  .  .-(lb.) 


THE  FRENCH.— 1500— 1526. 


611 


— he  will  at  once  lay  his  complaint  and 
his  protest  at  the  feet  of  the  Sorbonne, — 
of  the  Parliament, — of  the  King-, — of  the 
Emperor  himself. — "  How  was  this  fear- 
ful flame  of  Lutheranism  kindled  ?" — 
says  he,  writing  to  those  among  the  di- 
vines of  the  Sorbonne  in  whose  imparti- 
ality he  still  reposed  some  confidence  : — 
"  How  has  it  been  fanned  into  fury, — 
except  such  outrages  as  these  which 
Beda  has  committed  ?*  In  war, — a  sol- 
dier who  has  done  his  duty  receives  a 
reward  from  his  generals, — but  the  only 
reward  that  you, — the  generals  in  this 
war, — have  to  bestow  upon  me, — is  to 
deliver  me  up  to  the  calumnies  of  Beda 
and  Lecouturier  I" 

"  What !"  he  exclaims,  addressing  the 
Parliament  of  Paris,  u  when  I  had  these 
Lutherans  on  my  hands, — when,  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Emperor,  the  Pope 
and  the  other  princes,  I  was  struggling 
against  them,  even  at  the  peril  of  my 
life,  must  I  be  assailed  behind  my  back 
by  the  foul  libels  of  Lecouturier  and 
Beda  ?  Ah,  if  evil  fortune  had  not  de- 
prived us  of  king  Francis,  I  might  have 
appealed  to  that  avenger  of  the  muses 
against  these  insults  of  the  barbarians.! 
But  now  it  rests  with  you  to  restrain 
their  malignity." 

No  sooner  did  an  opportunity  present 
itself  of  conveying  a  letter  to  the  king, 
than  he  wrote  to  him  also.  His  pene- 
trating glance  detected  in  these  fanatical 
doctors  of  the  Sorbonne,  the  germs  of  the 
League,  the  precursors  of  the  three 
Priests,  who  at  a  later  period  were  to 
set  up  the  sixteen  against  the  last  of  the 
race  of  Valois  : — his  genius  enabled  him 
to  warn  the  king  of  future  crimes  and 
miseries  which  the  experience  of  his 
successors  would  but  too  fully  realize. — 
"  Religion,"  said  he,  "  is  their  pretext, — 
but  their  true  aim  is  despotic  power,  to 
be  exercised  even  over  princes. — They 
are  moving  onward  with  a  steady  step, 
though  their  path  lies  under  ground. 
Should  the  sovereign  not  be  inclined  to 
submit  himself  in  all  things  to  their 
guidance,  they  will  immediately  declare 

*  Hoc  gravissimum  Lutheri  incendium,  unde 
natum,  unde  hue  progressum,  nisi  ex  Beddaicis 
intemperiis. — (Erasm.  Epp.  p.  887.) 

t  Musarum  vindicem  adversus  barbarorum  in- 
cursienes. — (Ibid.  2070.) 


that  he  may  be  deposed  by  the  Church ; 
that  is  to  say.  by  a  few  false  monks,  and 
a  few  false  divines  conspiring  together 
against  the  public  peace."*  Erasmus, 
when  writing  to  Francis  the  First, 
could  not  have  touched  a  more  sensitive 
string. 

Finally,  that  he  might  still  more  effec- 
tually secure  himself  against  the  malice 
of  his  enemies,  Erasmus  invoked  the 
protection  of  Charles  the  Fifth  himself. 
— "Invincible  Emperor,"  said  he,  "a 
horrible  outcry  has  been  raised  against 
me,  by  men  who,  under  the  pretence  of 
religion,  are  labouring  to  establish  their 
own  tyrannical  power,  and  to  gratify 
their  own  sensual  appetites.!  I  am 
fighting  under  your  banner,  and  under 
the  standard  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  by 
your  wisdom  and  your  authority  that 
peace  must  be  restored  to  the  Christian 
world." 

It  was  in  language  like  this  that  the 
prince  of  literature  addressed  himself  to 
the  rulers  of  the  age.  The  danger  which 
impended  over  his  head  was  averted  ;  the 
secular  power  interposed,  and  the  vultures 
were  compelled  to  abandon  the  prey 
which  in  fancy  they  had  already  clutch- 1 
ed.  They  then  turned  their  eyes  else- 
where in  search  of  other  victims,  and 
they  were  soon  found. 

It  was  in  Lorraine  first  that  blood  was 
appointed  to  flow  afresh.  From  the  ear- 
liest davs  of  the  Reformation,  there  had 
been  an  alliance  in  fanaticism  between 
Paris  and  the  country  of  the  Guises.  If 
Paris  was  at  peace  for  a  while,  Lorraine 
took  up  the  work,  and  then  Paris  began 
again,  to  give  time  for  Nancy  and  Metz 
to  recruit  their  strength.  The  first  blow, 
apparently,  was  destined  to  fall  upon  an 
excellent  man,  one  of  the  refugees  of 
Basle,  a  friend  of  Farel  and  Toussaint. 
The  Chevalier  d'Esch,  while  residing  at 
Metz,  had  not  been  able  to  screen  him- 
self from  the  suspicions  of  the  priests.  It 
was  ascertained  that  he  carried  on  a  cor- 
respondence with  Christians  of  the  Evan- 
gelic Faith,  and  on  that  discovery  he 
was  thrown  into  prison  at  Pont-a-Mous- 

*  Nisi  princeps  ipsorum  voluntati  per  omnia 
paruerit,  dicetur  fautor  ha^reticorum  et  destitui 
polerit  per  ecclesiam. — (Er.  Epp.  p.  1108.) 

t  Simulato  religionis  preetcxtu,  ventris  tyran- 
nidisque  suse,  negotium  agentes. — (Ibid.  p.  962.) 


612 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


son,  a  place  situated  five  miles  from  Metz, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Moselle.*  The  tidings 
filled  the  French  refugees,  and  the  Swiss 
themselves,  with  the  deepest  concern. 
"  Alas !  for  that  innocent  heart !"  ex- 
claimed CEcolampadius  :  "  I  have  full 
confidence  in  the  Lord,"  added  he,  "  that 
he  will  preserve  this  man  to  us,  either 
ia  life  as  a  preacher  of  righteousness,  to 
make  known  His  name  ;  or  in  death  to 
confess  him  as  a  martyr." f  But  at  the 
same  time  CEcolampadius  censured  the 
thoughtlessness, — the  precipitancy, — and 
what  he  termed  the  imprudent  zeal  for 
which  the  French  refugees  were  distin- 
guished. "  I  wish,"  said  he,  "  that  my 
dear  friends,  the  worthy  gentlemen  of 
France,  would  not  be  so  eager  to  return 
to  their  own  country,  until  they  have 
made  all  due  enquiries  beforehand  ;  for 
the  devil  lays  his  snares  everywhere. 
Nevertheless,  let  them  obey  the  Spirit 
of  Christ,  and  may  that  Spirit  never  for- 
sake them."| 

There  was  reason,  indeed,  to  tremble 
for  the  fate  of  the  chevalier.  The  ran- 
cour of  the  enemy  had  broken  out  in 
Lorraine  with  redoubled  fury.  Brother 
Bonaventure  Renel,  the  principal  of  the 
Cordeliers,  and  the  confessor  of  Duke 
Anthony  the  Good,  a  man  of  an  auda- 
cious temper,  and  of  very  questionable 
moral  character,  allowed  that  weak 
prince,  who  reigned  from  1508  to  1544, 
a  large  measure  of  license  in  his  pleas- 
ures :  and  persuaded  him  on  the  other 
hand,  by  way  of  atonement,  as  it  were, 
to  exercise  a  merciless  severity  against 
all  innovators.  "  It  is  quite  sufficient  for 
any  one,"  said  the  prince,  profiting  by 
the  able  instructions  of  Renel,  "  if  he  can 
repeat  the  Pater  and  the  Ave-Maria ; 
the  greatest  doctors  are  those  who  occa- 
sion the  greatest  disorders."^ 

Towards  the  end  of  the  year  1524,  in- 
formation was  conveyed  to  the  Duke's 
court,  that  a  pastor,  named  Schuch,  was 
preaching  a  new  kind  of  doctrine  in  the 
town  of  Saint  Hippolyte,  at  the  foot  of 
the  Vosages.    "  Let  them  return  to  their 

*  Noster  captus  detinetur  in  Bundamosa  quin- 
que  millibus  a  Metis. — (QZcol.  Farello  Epp.  p. 
201.) 

+  Vel  vivum  confessorem,  vel  mortuum  marty- 
rem  servabit. — (Ibid.) 

%  Nollem  carissimos  dominos  meos  Gallos  pro- 
perare  in  Galliam. — (Ibid.) 

§  Actes  des  Martyrs,  p.  97. 


duty,"  said  Anthony  the  Good,  "  or  I 
will  march  against  the  town,  and  lay  it 
waste  with  fire  and  sword  !"* 

Hereupon  the  faithful  pastor  resolved 
to  devote  himself  for  his  flock :  he  re- 
paired to  Nancy,  where  the  prince  re* 
sided.  Immediately  on  his  arrival,  he 
was  lodged  in  a  noisome  prison,  under 
the  custody  of  brutal  and  cruel  men  : — 
and  now  at  last  brother  Bonaventure  had 
the  heretic  in  his  power.  It  was  he  who 
presided  at  the  tribunal  before  which  he 
was  examined.  "Heretic!"  cried  he, 
addressing  the  prisoner,  "Judas !  Devil !" 
Schuch,  preserving  the  utmost  tranquilli- 
ty and  composure,  made  no  reply  to 
these  insults ;  but  holding  in  his  hand  a 
little  Bible,  all  covered  with  notes  which 
he  had  written  in  it,  he  meekly  and  ear- 
nestly confessed  Jesus  Christ  and  him 
crucified !  On  a  sudden,  he  assumed  a 
more  animated  mien, — stood  up  boldly, 
raised  his  voice  as  if  moved  by  the  Spirit 
from  on  high, — and,  looking  his  judges 
in  the  face,  denounced  against  them  the 
fearful  judgments  of  God. 

Brother  Bonaventure  and  his  compan- 
ions, inwardly  appalled,  yet  agitated  with 
rage,  rushed  upon  him  at  once  with  ve- 
hement cries,  snatched  away  the  Bible, 
from  which  he  read  those  menacing 
words, — and  "  raging  like  so  many  mad 
dogs,"  says  the  chronicler,  "  because  they 
could  not  wreak  their  fury  on  the  doc- 
trine, carried  the  book  to  their  convent, 
and  burnt  it  there. "f 

The  whole  court  of  Lorraine  resound- 
ed with  the  obstinacy  and  presumption 
of  the  minister  of  St.  Hippolyte  ;  and  the 
prince,  impelled  by  curiosity  to  hear  the 
heretic,  resolved  to  be  present  at  his 
final  examination, — secretly,  however, 
and  concealed  from  the  view  of  the 
spectators.  But  as  the  interrogatory  was 
conducted  in  Latin,  he  could  not  under- 
stand it;  only  he  was  struck  with  the 
stedfast  aspect  of  the  minister,  who 
seemed  to  be  neither  vanquished  nor 
abashed.  Indignant  at  this  obstinacy, 
Anthony  the  Good  started  from  his  seat, 
and  said  as  he  retired, — "Why  dispute 
any  longer  1  He  denies  the  sacrament 
of  the  mass  ;  let  them  proceed  to  execu- 

*  Actes  des  Martyrs,  p.  95. 
t  Actes  des  Martyrs,  recueillisparCrespin,  en 
fr.  p.  97. 


THE  FRENCH— 1500— 1526. 


613 


tion  against  him."*  Schuch  was  imme- 
diately condemned  to  be  burnt  alive. 
When  the  sentence  was  communicated 
to  him,  he  lifted  up  his  eyes  to  heaven, 
and  mildly  made  answer  ;  "  I  was  glad 
when  they  said  unto  me,  Let  us  go  into 
the  house  of  the  Lord."f 

On  the  19th  August,  1525,  the  whole 
city  of  Nancy  was  in  motion.  The  bells 
gave  notice  of  the  death  of  a  heretic. 
The  mournful  procession  set  out.  It  must 
pass  before  the  convent  of  the  Cordeliers, 
and  there  the  whole  fraternity  were  ga- 
thered in  joyful  expectation  before  the 
door.  As  soon  as  Schuch  made  his  ap- 
pearance, Father  Bonaventure,  pointing 
to  the  carved  images  over  the  convent 
gateway,  cried  out,  "  Heretic,  pay  honour 
to  God,  his  mother,  and  the  saints!" — 
"O  hypocrites  !"  replied  Schuch,  standing 
erect  before  those  pieces  of  wood  and 
stone,  "  God  will  destroy  you,  and  bring 
your  deceits  to  light !" 

When  the  martyr  reached  the  place 
of  execution  his  books  were  first  burnt  in 
his  presence,  and  then  he  was  called  upon 
to  recant ;  but  he  refused,  saying,  "  Thou, 
God,  hast  called  me,  and  thou  wilt 
strengthen  me  to  the  end  ;"| — and  im- 
mediately he  began  with  a  loud  voice,  to 
repeat  the  51st  Psalm,  "Have  mercy 
upon  me,  O  God !  according  to  thy  lov- 
ing-kindness !"  Having  mounted  the 
pile,  he  continued  to  recite  the  psalm 
until  the  smoke  and  flames  stifled  his 
voice. 

Thus  did  the  persecutors  in  France 
and  Lorraine  behold  a  renewal  of  their 
triumphs, — their  counsels  had  at  length 
been  followed.  At  Nancy  the  ashes  of 
a  heretic  had  been  scattered  to  the  winds : 
this  seemed  a  challenge  addressed  to  the 
capital  of  France.  What!  should  Beda 
and  Lecoulurier  be  the  last  to  show  their 
zeal  for  the  Pope  ?  Rather  let  one  bla- 
zing pile  serve  as  the  signal  for  another, 
and  heresy,  swept  from  the  soil  of  France, 
would  soon  be  driven  back  beyond  the 
Rhine. 

But  Beda  was  not  to  pursue  his  success- 
ful career,  until  a  contest,  half  serious,  half 

*  Histoire  de  Francois  ler  par  Gaillard,  iv.  p. 
233. 

t  Psalm  cxxii.  1. 

t  Eum  auctorem  vocationis  sua?  atque  conser- 
vatorem  ad  extremum  usque  spiritum  recognovit. 
—(Acta  Mart.  p.  202.) 


ludicrous,  had  taken  place  between  him 
and  one  of  those  men  with  whom  the 
struggle  against  Popery  was  only  a  capri- 
cious effort  of  the  intellect,  not  the  solemn 
engagement  and  willing  duty  of  the  heart. 
Among  the  learned  men  whom  Bri- 
connet  had  allured  to  his  diocese  was  a 
doctor  of  the  Sorbonne,  named  Peter  Ca- 
roli,  a  man  of  a  vain  and  frivolous  cast 
of  mind,  and  as  quarrelsome  and  litigious 
as  Beda  himself.  Caroli  viewed  the  new 
doctrine  as  the  means  of  making  an  im- 
pression, and  of  thwarting  Beda,  whose 
ascendancy  he  could  not  endure.  Ac- 
cordingly on  his  return  from  Meaux  to 
Paris  he  caused  a  great  sensation,  by  in- 
troducing into  every  pulpit  what  was 
called  "  the  new  way  of  preaching." 
Then  began  a  pernicious  strife  between 
the  two  doctors ;  it  was  blow  for  blow 
and  trick  for  trick.  Beda  cites  Caroli 
before  the  Sorbonne,  and  Caroli  sum- 
mons him  before  the  episcopal  court  to 
answer  for  an  infringement  of  privilege. 
The  Sorbonne  proceeds  with  the  enquiry, 
and  Caroli  gives  intimation  of  an  appeal 
to  the  Parliament.  A  provisional  sen- 
tence excludes  him  from  the  pulpit,  and 
still  he  goes  on  preaching  in  all  the 
churches  of  Paris.  Being  absolutely  for- 
bidden to  preach  in  any  pulpit,  he  takes 
to  publicly  expounding  the  Psalms  in  the 
college  of  Cambray.  The  Sorbonne  pro- 
hibits him  from  continuing  that  practice, 
but  he  asks  permission  to  conclude  the 
exposition  of  the  22d  Psalm  which  he 
has  begun.  Finally,  on  this  petition  be- 
ing rejected,  he  posts  the  following  pla- 
card on  the  college-gates : — "  Peter  Ca- 
roli, being  desirous  to  obey  the  injunctions 
of  the  sacred  faculty,  has  ceased  to  teach  ; 
he  will  resume  his  lectures,  whenever  it 
shall  please  God,  at  the  verse  where  he 
left  off:  '  They  have  pierced  my  hands 
and  my  feet.'  "  Thus  had  Beda  at 
length  found  an  opponent  with  whom  he 
was  fairly  matched.  If  Caroli  had  de- 
fended the  truth  in  right  earnest,  the 
stake  would  have  been  his  reward ;  but 
he  was  of  too  carnal  a  spirit  to  expose 
himself  to  the  risk  of  death.  How  could 
capital  punishment  be  inflicted  on  a  man 
who  laughed  his  judges  out  of  counte- 
nance ?  Neither  the  episcopal  court,  nor 
the  parliament,  nor  the  council,  could 
ever  proceed  to  a  definitive  judgment  in 
his  cause.     Two  such  men   as  Caroli 


614 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


would  have  wearied  out  the  activity  of 
Beda  himself; — but  two  like  him  the 
Reformation  did  not  produce.* 

This  troublesome  contest  concluded, 
Beda  applied  himself  to  matters  of  more 
serious  concern.  Happily  for  the  syndic 
of  the  Sorbonne,  there  were  men  who 
gave  persecution  a  better  hold  of  them 
than  Caroli.  Bric^onnet,  indeed,  and 
Erasmus,  and  Lefevre,  and  Berquin  had 
escaped  him  ;  but  since  he  cannot  reach 
these  distinguished  personages,  he  will 
content  himself  with  meaner  victims. 
The  poor  youth,  James  Pavanne,  ever 
since  his  abjuration  at  Christmas,  1524, 
had  done  nothing  but  weep  and  sigh.  He 
was  constantly  seen  with  a  gloomy  brow, 
his  eyes  fixed  on  the  ground,  groan- 
ing inwardly,  and  muttering  reproaches 
against  himself  for  having  denied  his 
Lord  and  Saviour,  f 

Pavanne  undoubtedly  was  the  most 
retiring  and  the  most  inoffensive  of  men  ; 
— but  what  of  that? — he  had  been  at 
Meaux,  and  this,  in  those  days,  was  suf- 
ficient. "  Pavanne  has  relapsed !"  was 
the  cry :  "  the  dog  has  returned  to  his 
vomit,  and  the  swine  that  was  washed  to 
his  wallowing  in  the  mire."  He  was 
seized  immediately,  cast  into  prison,  and 
after  a  while  brought  before  the  judges. 
This  was  all  that  young  Pavanne  de- 
sired. He  felt  his  mind  relieved  as  soon 
as  the  fetters  were  fastened  on  his  limbs, 
and  recovered  all  his  energy  in  the  open 
confession  of  Jesus  Christ!!  The  perse- 
cutors "smiled  when  they  saw  that  this 
time  nothing  could  disappoint  them  of 
their  victim, — no  recantation, — no  flight, 
— no  intervention  of  a  powerful  protec- 
tion. The  meekness  of  the  youth,  his 
candour,  his  courage,  were  altogether  un- 
availing to  appease  the  malice  of  his  ene- 
mies. He,  on  the  contrary,  looked  on 
them  with  affection, — for  by  loading  him 
with  chains,  they  had  restored  his  peace 
of  mind  and  his  joy, — but  that  benevo- 
lent look  of  his  only  hardened  their 
hearts  the  more.  The  proceedings  against 
him  were  conducted  with  all  despatch, 

*  Gerdesius,  Historia  saeculi  xvi.  renovati  p. 
52.  D'Argentre,  Collectio  Judiciorum  de  novis 
erroribus  ii.  p.  21. — Gaillard,  Hist,  de  Francois  I. 
torn.  iv.  p.  233. 

+  Animi  factum  suum  detestantis  dolorem, 
Esepe  declaraverit. — (Acta  Mart.  p.  203.) 

t  Puram  religionis  Christianas  confessionem 
addit.— (Ibid.  p.  203.) 


and  a  very  short  time  had  elapsed  before 
a  pile  was  erected  in  the  Place  de  Greve, 
on  which  Pavanne  made  a  joyful  end, — 
strengthening  by  his  example  all  who  in 
that  great  city  had  openly  or  secretly  em- 
braced the  Gospel  of  Christ. 

But  this  was  not  enough  for  the  Sor- 
bonne. If  men  of  mean  condition  only 
are  to  be  sacrificed,  their  number  at  least 
must  make  amends  for  their  want  of  rank. 
The  flames  in  the  Place  de  Greve  have 
struck  terror  into  Paris  and  into  the 
Avhole  of  France  ;  but  another  pile,  kin- 
dled on  some  other  spot,  will  redouble 
that  terror.  It  will  be  the  subject  of 
conversation  at  the  court,  in  the  colleges, 
in  the  workshop  of  the  artisan  ;  and  to- 
kens like  these,  better  than  all  the  edicts 
that  can  be  issued,  will  prove  that  Louisa 
of  Savoy,  the  Sorbonne,  and  the  Parlia- 
ment, are  determined  to  sacrifice  the 
very  last  heretic  to  the  anathemas  of 
Rome. 

In  the  forest  of  Livry,  three  leagues 
distant  from  Paris,  and  not  far  from  the 
site  of  an  ancient  abbey  of  the  order  of 
St.  Augustin,  lived  a  hermit,  who,  hav- 
ing chanced  in  his  wanderings  to  fall  in 
with  some  of  the  men  of  Meaux,  had  re- 
ceived the  truth  of  the  Gospel  into  his 
heart.*  The  poor  hermit  had  felt  himself 
rich  indeed  that  day  in  his  solitary  re- 
treat, when,  along  with  the  scanty  dole 
of  bread  which  public  charity  had  afford- 
ed him,  he  brought  home  Jesus  Christ 
and  his  grace.  He  understood  from  that 
time  how  much  better  it  is  to  give  than 
to  receive.  He  went  from  cottage  to 
cottage  in  the  villages  around,  and  as 
soon  as  he  crossed  the  threshold,  began 
to  speak  to  the  poor  peasants  of  the  Gos- 
pel, and  the  free  pardon  which  it  offers 
to  every  burthen ed  soul, — a  pardon  in- 
finitely more  precious  than  any  priestly 
absolution.!  The  good  hermit  of  Livry 
was  soon  widely  known  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Paris ;  many  came  to  visit 
him  at  his  poor  hermitage,  and  he  dis- 
charged the  office  of  a  kind  and  faithful 

*  Cette  semence  de  Faber  et  de  ses  disciples, 
prise  au  grenier  de  Luther,  germa  dans  le  sot  es- 
prit d'un  ermite  qui  se  tenait  pies  la  ville  de  Paris. 
— (Hist.  Catholique  de  notre  temps  par  S.  Fon- 
taine, Paris  1562.) 

t  Lequel  par  les  villages  qu'il  frequentait,  sous 
couleur  de  faire  ses  quetes,  tenait  propos  here- 
tiques. — (Hist.  Catholique  de  notre  temps  par  S. 
Fontaine,  Paris,  1562.) 


THE  FRENCH.— 1500— 1526, 


615 


missionary  to  the  simple-minded  in  all 
the  adjacent  districts. 

It  was  not  long  before  intelligence  of 
what  was  doing  by  the  new  evangelist 
reached  the  Sorbonne,  and  the  magis- 
trates of  Paris.  The  hermit  was  seized, 
— dragged  from  his  hermitage — from  his 
forest — from  the  fields  he  had  daily  tra- 
versed,— thrown  into  a  dungeon  in  that 
great  city  which  he  had  always  shun- 
ned,— brought  to  judgment, — convicted, 
— and  sentenced  to  "the  exemplary  pun- 
ishment of  being  burnt  by  a  slow  fire."* 

In  order  to  render  the  example  the 
more  striking,  it  was  determined  that  he 
should  be  burnt  in  the  close  of  Notre 
Dame  ;  before  that  celebrated  cathedral, 
which  typifies  the  majesty  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church.  The  whole  of  the 
cleroy  were  convened,  and  a  degree  of 
pomp  was  displayed  equal  to  that  of  the 
most  solemn  festivals.!  A  desire  was 
shown  to  attract  all  Paris,  if  possible,  to 
the  place  of  execution.  "  The  great  bell 
of  the  church  of  Notre  Dame  swinging 
heavily,"  says  an  historian,  "  to  rouse  the 
people  all  over  Paris."  And  accordingly 
from  every  surrounding  avenue,  the  peo- 
ple came  flocking  to  the  spot.  The  deep- 
toned  reverberations  of  the  bell  made 
the  workman  quit  his  task,  the  student 
cast  aside  his  books,  the  shopkeeper  for- 
sake his  traffic,  the  soldier  start  from  the 
guard-room  bench,  —  and  already  the 
close  was  filled  with  a  dense  crowd, 
which  was  continually  increasing.^  The 
hermit,  attired  in  the  robes  appropriated 
to  obstinate  heretics,  bareheaded,  and 
with  bare  feet,  was  led  out  before  the 
doors  of  the  cathedral.  Tranquil,  firm, 
and  collected,  he  replied  to  the  exhorta- 
tions of  the  confessors,  who  presented 
him  with  the  crucifix,  only  by  declaring 
that  his  hope  rested  solely  on  the  mercy 
of  God.  The  doctors  of  the  Sorbonne, 
who  stood  in  the  front  rank  of  the  spec- 
tators, observing  his  constancy,  and  the 
effect  it  produced  upon  the  people,  cried 
aloud — "  He  is  a  man  foredoomed  to  the 
fires  of  hell."§     The  clang  of  the  great 

*  Histoire  catholique  de  notre  temps,  par  Fon- 
taine. 

t  Avec  une  grande  ceremonie. — (Histoire  des 
Egl.  Ref.  par.  Theod.  de  Beze,  i.  p.  4.) 

t  Histoire  des  Egl.  Ref.  par  Theod.  de  Beze, 
i.  p.  4. 

§  Histoire  des  Egl.  Ref.  par.  Theod.  de  Beze, 
L  p.  4. 


bell,  which  all  this  while  was  rung  with 
a  rolling  stroke,  while  it  stunned  the 
ears  of  the  multitude,  served  to  heighten 
the  solemnity  of  that  mournful  spectacle. 
At  length  the  bell  was  silent, — and  the 
martyr  having  answered  the  last  inter- 
rogatory of  his  adversaries  by  saying 
that  he  was  resolved  to  die  in  the  faith 
of  his  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  underwent  his 
sentence  of  being  ':  burnt  by  a  slow  fire." 
And  so,  in  the  cathedral  close  of  Notre 
Dame,  beneath  the  stately  towers  erected 
by  the  piety  of  Louis  the  younger,  amidst 
the  cries  and  tumultuous  excitement  of  a 
vast  population,  died  peaceably,  a  man 
whose  name  history  has  not  deigned  to 
transmit  to  us, — "  the  hermit  of  Livry." 

While  men  were  thus  engaged  in 
destroying  the  first  confessors  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  France,  God  was  raising  up 
others  gifted  with  ampler  powers  for  his 
service.  A  modest  student — a  humble 
hermit — might  be  dragged  to  the  stake, 
and  Beda  might  almost  persuade  him- 
self that  the  doctrine  they  proclaimed 
would  perish  with  them.  But  Provi- 
dence has  resources  which  the  world 
knows  not  of.  The  Gospel,  like  the 
fabled  bird  of  antiquity,  contains  within 
itself  a  principle  of  life  which  the  flames 
can  never  reach,  and  from  the  ashes  in 
which  it  seemed  to  lie  extinguished,  it 
springs  afresh,  pure  and  vigorous  as  ever. 
Often,  when  the  storm  is  at  its  height, 
when  the  fiery  bolt  of  persecution  ap- 
pears to  have  laid  the  truth  prostrate, 
and  enduring,  impenetrable  darkness  to 
have  closed  over  it, — even  at  that  mo- 
ment there  comes  a  gleam  of  light,  and 
announces  a  great  deliverance  at  hand. 
So,  when  all  earthly  powers  were  leagued 
together  in  France  to  effect  the  ruin  of, 
the  Reformation,  God  was  preparing  an 
instrument,  apparently  feeble,  to  main- 
tain His  rights  at  a  future  day,  and  with 
more  than  human  intrepidity  to  defend 
His  cause.  Averting  our  eyes  from  the 
persecutions  and  cruelties  which  have 
succeeded  each  other  so  rapidly  since 
Francis  I.  became  the  prisoner  of 
Charles, — let  us  turn  them  on  a  child 
who  shall  hereafter  be  called  forth  to . 
take  his  station  as  a  leader  of  a  mighty 
host  in  the  holy  warfare  of  Israel. 

Among  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  and 
university  of  Paris  who  listened  to  the 
sound  of  the  great  bell,  was  a  young 


616 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


scholar  of  sixteen,  a  native  of  Noyon,  in 
Picardy,  of  middle  stature,*  and  pale,  and 
somewhat  dark  complexion,  whose  pow- 
erful and  sagacious  mind  was  indicated 
by  the  keenness  and  peculiar  brightness 
of  his  eye,  and  the  animated  expression 
of  his  countenance.  His  dress,  which 
was  extremely  neat,  but  perfectly  unos- 
tentatious, corresponded  to  the  modesty 
and  decorum  of  his  character.!  This 
young  man,  whose  name  was  John 
Cauvin  or  Calvin,  was  a  student  at  the 
college  of  La  Marche,  of  which  Mathu- 
rin  Cordier,  a  man  celebrated  for  his  in- 
tegrity, learning,  and  peculiar  skill  in 
the  instruction  of  youth,  was  at  that  time 
the  regent.  Educated  in  all  the  super- 
stitions of  Popery,  the  student  of  Noyon 
was  blindly  submissive  to  the  Church, 
dutifully  observant  of  all  the  practices 
she  enjoined,!  an&  m%  persuaded  that 
heretics  well  deserved  the  flames  to 
which  they  were  delivered.  The  blood 
which  was  then  flowing  in  Paris  was, 
in  his  eyes,  an  additional  aggravation  of 
the  crime  of  heresy.  But,  although  by 
natural  disposition  timid,  and,  to  use  his 
own  words,  soft  and  pusillanimous,^  he 
was  endowed  with  that  uprightness  of 
mind,  and  that  generosity  of  heart  which 
induce  men  to  sacrifice  everything  to  the 
convictions  of  their  conscience.  Vainly, 
therefore,  were  those  appalling  spectacles 
presented  to  him  in  his  youth  ;  vain  was 
the  example  of  the  murderous  flames 
kindled  in  the  Place  de  Greve  and  in 
the  close  of  Notre  Dame,  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  faithful  followers  of  the  Gos- 
pel. The  remembrance  of  such  horrors 
could  not,  afterwards,  deter  him  from 
entering  On  that  "  new  way :'  which 
seemed  to  lead  only  to  the  dungeon  and 
the  scaffold.  In  other  respects  the  char- 
acter of  the  youthful  Calvin  afforded  in- 
dications of  what  he  was  hereafter  to  be- 
come. The  austerity  of  his  morals  was 
the   precursor  of  equal  austerity  in  his 

*  Statura  fuit  mediocri,  colore  sub  pallido  et 
nigricante,  oculis  ad  mortem  usque  limpidis,  qui- 
que  ingenii  sagacitatem  testarentur. — (Bezre  Vi- 
ta Calvini.) 

(  t  Cultu  corporis  neque  culto  neque  sordido  sed 
qui  singularem  modestiam  deceret. — (Ibid.) 

t  Primo  quidem  quum  superstitionibus  Papatus 
magis  pertinaciter  addictus  essem. — (Calv.  Prajf. 
ad  Psalm.) 

§  Ego  qui  natura  timido,  molli  et  pusillo  animo 
me  esse  fateor. — (Ibid.) 


doctrine,  and  the  scholar  of  sixteen  al- 
ready gave  promise  of  a  man  who  would 
take  up  in  earnest  all  that  should  be  im- 
parted to  him,  and  would  rigidly  exact 
from  others  what,  in  his  own  case,  he 
felt  it  so  much  a  matter  of  course  to  per- 
form. Silent  and  grave  while  attending 
on  the  college  lectures,  taking  no  pleas- 
ure in  the  sports  and  idle  frolics  which 
others  pursued  during  the  hours  of  recre- 
ation ; — shrinking  in  disgust  from  all 
participation  in  vice,*  he  sometimes  cen- 
sured the  disorders  of  his  fellow-pupils 
with  severity — with  a  measure,  even,  of 
acrimony. f  Accordingly,  a  canon  of 
Noyon  assures  us  that  his  companions 
had  surnamed  him  the  "  acc%sativeP% 
He  stood  among  them  as  the  represen- 
tative of  conscience  and  duty, — so  far 
was  he  from  being  in  reality  what  some 
calumniators  endeavoured  to  make  him. 
The  pale  aspect,  the  piercing  eye  of  a 
student  of  sixteen  already  inspired  his 
associates  with  more  respect  than  the 
black  gowns  of  their  masters  ;  and  this 
boy  from  Picardy,  low  in  stature,  and 
timid  in  demeanour,  who  came  day  by 
day  to  take  his  seat  on  the  benches  of 
the  college  of  La  Marche,  was,  even 
then,  by  the  seriousness  of  his  conversa- 
tion and  sobriety  of  his  life,  unconscious- 
ly discharging  the  office  of  a  minister 
and  a  Reformer. 

Nor  was  it  in  these  particulars  alone 
that  the  stripling  of  Noyon  evinced  his 
superiority  to  his  compeers.  His  extreme 
timidity  sometimes  restrained  him  from 
manifesting  the  antipathy  he  felt  to  vani- 
ty and  to  vice  ;  but  in  his  studies  he  was 
already  exerting  all  the  force  of  his  ge- 
nius, and  all  the  intensity  of  his  will, — 
and  any  one  who  observed  him,  might 
have  predicted  that  his  life  would  be  con- 
sumed in  labour.  The  facility  of  his 
comprehension  was  wonderful, — while 
his  class-fellows  were  advancing  by  pain- 
ful steps,  he  was  bounding  lightly  over 
the  course, — and  the  knowledge  which 
others  were  long  in  acquiring  superfi- 
cially, was  instantaneously  seized  by  his 
youthful  genius,    and   permanently  im- 

*  Summam  in  moribus  affectabat  gravitatem 
et  paucorum  hominum  consuetudine  utebatur. — 
(Roemundi  Hist.  Uteres,  vii.  10.) 

t  Severus  omnium  in  suis  sodalibus  censor. — 
(Beza;  Vita.  Calv.) 

t  Annales  de  l'Eglise  de  Noyon  par  Levas- 
I  seur,  Chanoine,  p.  1158. 


THE  FRENCH.— 1500— 1526. 


617 


pressed  on  his  memory.  His  masters, 
therefore,  were  obliged  to  withdraw  him 
from  the  ranks,  and  introduce  him  singly 
to  the  higher  branches  of  learning.* 

Among  his  fellow-students  were  the 
young  men  of  the  family  of  Mommor,  a 
house  reckoned  among  the  first  nobility 
of  Picardy.  John  Calvin  was  intimately 
connected  with  these  young  noblemen, 
especially  with  Claude,  who  at  a  later 
period  was  abbot  of  St.  Eloi,  and  to  whom 
he  dedicated  his  Commentary  on  Seneca. 
It  was  in  their  company  that  he  had 
come  to  Paris.  His  father,  Gerard  Cal- 
vin, notary  apostolic,  and  procurator-fis- 
cal of  the  county  of  Noyon,  secretary  of 
the  diocese,  and  proctor  of  the  chapter,! 
was  a  man  of  judgment  and  ability, 
whose  talents  had  raised  him  to  offices 
which  were  sought  after  by  the  best  fami- 
lies ;  and  all  the  noblesse  of  the  province, 
but  particularly  the  illustrious  family  of 
Mommor,  entertained  the  highest  esteem 
for  him.|  Gerard,  who  resided  at  No- 
yon.§  had  married  a  young  woman  from 
Cambray,  named  Jane  Lefrank,  remark- 
able for  her  beauty,  and  worthy  of  es- 
teem for  her  humble  piety,  by  whom  he 
had  already  had  a  son  called  Charles, 
when  on  the  10th  of  July,  1509,  she  gave 
birth  to  a  second  son,  who  received  the 
name  of  John,  and  was  baptized  in  the 
church  of  St.  Godebert.[|     A  third  son, 

*  Exculto  ipsius  ingenio  quod  ei  jam  turn  erat 
acerrimum,«ita  profecit  ut  ceteris  sodalibus  in 
grammatices  curriculo  relictis  ad  dialecticos  et 
aliarum  quas  vocant  artium  studium  promovere- 
tur. — (Beza.) 

t  Levasseur,  docteur  de  la  Sorbonne,  annales 
de  1'Eglise  Cathedrale  de  Noyon,  p.  1151.  Dre- 
lincourt,  Defense  de  Calvin,  p.  193. 

I  Erat  is  Gerardus  non  parvi  judicii  et  consilii 
homo,  ideoque  nobilibus  ejus  regionis  plerisque 
cams. — (Beza.) 

§  "  On  the  spot  where  now  stands  a  house, 
distinguished  by  the  sign  of  the  Stag." — (Desmay, 
Doct.  de  la  Sorbonne.  Vit.  de  Jean  Calvin,  he- 
resiarque,  p.  30.  Levasseur,  Ann.  de  Noyon,  p. 
1157.) 

||  The  calumnious  and  extravagant  tales  which 
have  been  circulated  in  regard  to  the  person  of 
Calvin,  may  be  traced  to  a  very  early  origin.  J. 
Levasseur,  who  was  afterwards  dean  of  the  chap- 
ter of  Noyon,  relates  that  when  his  mother  brought 
him  into  the  world,  the  birth  of  the  child  was  pre- 
ceded by  the  preternatural  appearance  of  a  swarm 
of  large  flies, — "  a  sure  presage  that  he  would  be 
an  evil  speaker  and  slanderer." — (Annales  de  la 
Cathedrale  de  Noyon,  p.  115.)  These  absurd- 
ities and  others  of  the  same  stamp,  which  have 
been  invented  to  the  prejudice  of  the  Reformer, 
78 


named  Anthony,  who  died  young,  and 
two  daughters,  made  up  the  entire  fami- 
ly of  the  procurator-fiscal  of  Noyon. 

Gerard  Calvin,  living  in  habits  of  fa- 
miliar intercourse  with  the  ecclesiastical 
dignitaries  and  chief  men  of  the  prov- 
ince, was  desirous  that  his  children 
should  receive  the  same  education  as 
those  of  the  highest  rank.  John,  in 
whom  he  had  perceived  an  early  devel- 
opment of  talent,  was  brought  up  with 
the  children  of  the  family  of  Mommor  : 
he  lived  in  the  house  as  one  of  them- 
selves, and  shared  in  the  lessons  of  the 
young  Claude.  The  effect  of  early  dis- 
cipline and  culture  in  such  a  family  was 
to  impart  to  his  intellectual  character  a 
degree  of  refinement  which  otherwise  it 
could  scarcely  have  acquired.*  He  was 
afterwards  sent  to  the  college  of  Capettes, 
an  establishment  within  the  city  of  No- 
yon4  The  child  had  but  few  recreations. 
That  severity,  which  was  one  feature  in 
the  character  of  the  son,  found  a  place 
likewise  in  the  temperament  of  the  father. 
Gerard  brought  him  up  rigidly, — from 
his  earliest  years  he  was  obliged  to  bend 
to  the  inflexible  rule  of  duty, — which 
after  a  little  while  became  habitual  to 
him, — and  thus  the  influence  of  the  fa- 
ther counteracted  that  of  the  family  of 
Mommor.  Timid  by  nature, — with  some- 
thing, as  he  tells  us  himself,  of  rustic 
bashfulness  in  his  disposition,^ — and  ren- 
dered still  more  diffident  by  his  father's 
severity,  John  would  often  escape  from 
the  splendid  mansion  of  his  protectors,  to 
bury  himself  in  solitude  and  obscurity.^ 
In  hours  of  seclusion  like  this,  his  youth- 
ful spirit  grew  familiar  with  lofty  con- 
ceptions. It  appears  that  he  sometimes 
went  to  the  neighbouring  village  of  Pont 
PEveque,  where  his  grandfather  inhab- 

may  be  safely  left  to  refute  themselves  without 
any  effort  on  our  part.  In  our  own  day.  those 
among  the  Romish  doctors  who  are  not  ashamed 
to  employ  the  weapons  of  calumny,  make  a  se- 
lection of  these  coarse  ana  ridiculous  stories,  not 
daring  to  repeat  them  all  ;  yet  they  are  all  of 
equal  value. 

*  Domi  vestree  puer  educatus,  iisdem  tecum 
studiis  initiatus  primam  vita?  et  literarum  disci- 
plinam  familis  vestne  noblissimae  acceptam  re- 
fero. — (Calv.  Proef.  in  Senecam  ad  Claudium.) 

t  Desmay.  Remarques,  p.  31. — (Drelincourt, 
Defense,  p.  158.) 

t  Ego  qui  naturasubrusticus.-(Praef.  ad  Psalm.) 

§  Umbram  et  otium  semper  amavi  .  .  .  late- 
Bras  catare. — (Praef.  ad  Psalm.) 


618 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


ited  a  cottage,*  and  where  other  relatives 
also,  who  at  a  later  period  changed  their 
name  through  hatred  of  the  heresiarch, 
then  offered  a  kindly  welcome  to  the  son 
of  the  procurator-fiscal.  But  it  was  to 
study,  chiefly,  that  young  Calvin  devoted 
his  days.  While  Luther,  who  was  to 
act  upon  the  mass  of  the  people,  was 
brought  up  at  first  as  a  peasant's  son, 
Calvin,  ordained  to  act  chiefly  as  a  theo- 
logian and  a  reasoner,  and  to  become  the 
legislator  of  the  renovated  Church,  re- 
ceived, even  in  his  childhood,  a  more 
liberal  education.! 

A  spirit  of  piety  evinced  itself  betimes 
in  the  child's  heart.  One  of  his  biog- 
raphers tells  us  that  he  was  taught,  while 
yet  young,  to  pray  in  the  open  air,  under 
the  vault  of  heaven. — a  practice  which 
helped  to  awaken  within  his  soul  the  sen- 
timent of  an  omnipresent  Deity. \  But 
although  Calvin  may,  even  in  his  ear- 
liest years,  have  heard  the  voice  of  God 
addressed  to  his  heart,  no  one  in  the  city 
of  Noyon  was  more  exact  than  he  in  the 
observance  of  every  rule  established  by 
the  Church.  Gerard,  therefore,  remark- 
ing the  bent  of  his  mind,  conceived  the 
design  of  devoting  his  son  to  theology. § 
The  knowledge  of  his  destination  con- 
tributed undoubtedly  to  impress  upon  his 
mind  that  serious  and  theological  cast  by 
which  it  was  afterwards  distinguished. 
His  intellect  was  formed  by  nature  to 
take  a  decided  bias  from  the  first,  and  to 
nourish  the  most  elevated  thoughts  at  an 
early  age.  The  report  that  he  was  a 
chorister  boy  at  this  lime  is  admitted  by 
his  adversaries  themselves  to  be  destitute 
of  foundation  ;  but  they  confidently  af- 
firm that  while  yet  a  child,  he  was  seen 
in  religious  processions  carrying,  instead 
of  a  cross,  a  sword  with  a  cross-shaped 
hilt  ||  "  A  presage,"  they  add,  "  of  what 
he  was  one  day  to  become."  "  The 
Lord  has  made  my  mouth  like  a  sharp 

*  "  It  is  reported  that  his  grandfather  was  a 
cooper." — (Drelincourt,  p.  36.  Levasseur  ann. 
de  Noyon,  p.  1151.) 

t  Henry,  das  Leben  Calvins,  p.  29. 

t  Calvin's  Leben  von  Fischer,  Leipzig,  1794. 
The.  author  does  not  quote  the  authority  on  which 
he  relates  this  fact. 

§  Destinarat  autem  eum  pater  ab  initio  theo- 
logiee  studiis,  quod  in  ilia  etiam  tenera  state  mi- 
rum  in  modum  religiosus  esset. — (Bezos,  Vita 
Calv.) 

||  Levasseur,  ann.  de  Noyon,  pp.  1159,  1173. 


sword,"  says  the  servant  of  the  Lord,  in 
Isaiah.  The  same  may  be  said  of  Cal- 
vin. 

Gerard  was  poor :  the  education  of  his 
son  was  burthensome  to  him,  and  he 
wished  to  attach  him  irrevocably  to  the 
church.  The  Cardinal  of  Lorraine  had 
been  appointed  coadjutor  to  the  Bishop 
of  Metz,  when  only  four  years  old.  It 
was  then  a  common  practice  to  bestow 
ecclesiastical  titles  and  revenues  upon 
children.  Alphonso  of  Portugal  was 
created  a  cardinal  by  Leo  the  Tenth,  at 
the  age  of  eight:  Odet  de  Chatillon  re- 
ceived the  same  dignity  from  Clement 
the  Seventh  at  the  age  of  eleven  ;  and,  at 
a  later  period,  the  celebrated  Mother  An- 
gelica, of  Port  Royal,  was  made  coadju- 
trix  of  that  convent  at  the  age  of  seven. 
Gerard,  who  died  a  faithful  Catholic,  was 
regarded  with  favour  by  Charles  de 
Hangest,  bishop  of  Noyon,  and  his  vicars- 
general.  Accordingly,  the  chaplaincy 
of  La  Gesine  having  become  vacant  by 
the  resignation  of  the  incumbent,  the 
bishop,  on  the  15th  May,  1521,  bestowed 
that  benefice  on  John  Calvin,  whose  age 
was  then  nearly  twelve.  He  was  in- 
ducted by  the  chapter  a  week  after.  On 
the  eve  of  Corpus  Christi,  the  bishop 
solemnly  cut  the  child's  hair  ;*  and  by 
this  ceremony  of  tonsure  John  was  in- 
vested with  the  clerical  character,  and  be- 
came capable  of  entering  into  sacred  or- 
ders, and  holding-  a  benefice  without  re- 
siding  on  the  spot. 

Thus  was  it  ordered  that  Calvin,  in 
his  childhood,  should  have  personal  ex- 
perience of  the  abuses  of  the  Church  of 
Rome.  There  was  not  a  tonsured  head 
in  the  kingdom  more  sincerely  pious 
than  the  chaplain  of  La  Gesine,  and  the 
thoughtful  child  was  himself  perhaps  a 
little  astonished  at  the  operation  per- 
formed by  the  bishop  and  his  vicars- 
general.  But  in  the  simplicity  of  his 
heart,  he  revered  those  exalted  persona- 
ges too  highly  to  harbour  the  least  sus- 
picion, regarding  the  lawfulness  of  his 
tonsure.  He  had  enjoyed  the  distinction 
about  two  years,  when  Noyon  was  visit- 
ed with  a  terrible  pestilence.  Several  of 
the  canons  petitioned  the  chapter  that 
they  might  be  allowed  to  quit  the  city. 
Already  many  of  the  inhabitants    had 

*  Vie  de  Calvin  par  Desmay,  p.  31 ;  Levas- 
seur, p.  1158.  ' 


THE  FRENCH.— 1500— 152G. 


019 


been  struck  by  the  "  great  death  ;"  and 
Gerard  began  to  reflect  with  alarm  that 
his  son  John,  the  hope  of  his  age,  might, 
in  a  moment,  be  snatched  from  his  ten- 
derness by  this  scourge  of  God.  The 
children  of  the  Mommor  family  were  go- 
ing to  Paris  to  continue  their  studies. 
This  was  the  very  opportunity  that  the 
procurator-fiscal  had  always  desired  for 
his  son.  Why  should  he  separate  John 
from  his  fellow-pupils  1  On  the  5th  Au- 
gust, 1523,  therefore,  he  presented  to  the 
chapter  a  petition  that  the  young  chap- 
lain might  have  "liberty  to  go  whither- 
soever he  would,  during  the  continuance 
of  the  plague,  without  losing  his  allow- 
ances ;  which  was  granted  accordingly, 
until  the  feast  of  St.  Remigius."*  Thus 
it  was  that  John  Calvin,  at  the  age  of 
fourteen,  quitted  his  paternal  home.  Cal- 
umny must  be  intrepid  indeed,  to  attrib- 
ute his  departure  to  other  causes,  and, 
in  sheer  wantonness,  provoke  that  dis- 
grace which  justly  recoils  on  all  who 
give  currency  to  evil  reports,  after  their 
falsehood  has  been  demonstrated.  It 
would  appear,  that  on  his  arrival  in  Pa- 
ris, Calvin  was  received  into  the  house 
of  one  of  his  uncles,  Richard  Cauvin, 
who  lived  near  the  church  of  St.  Ger- 
main PAuxerrois.  "  And  so,  while  fly- 
ing from  the  plague,"  says  the  canon  of 
Noyon,  "  he  encountered  a  more  fatal 
pestilence." 

A  new  world  opened  itself  to  the 
young  man  in  this  metropolis  of  litera- 
ture. He  determined  to  profit  by  his  for- 
tune, applied  himself  to  study,  and  made 
great  progress  in  latinity.  He  became 
intimately  acquainted  with  the  writings 
of  Cicero,  and  learned  from  that  great 
master  to  employ  the  language  of  the 
Romans  with  an  ease,  a  purity,  an  idio- 
matic grace  which  excited  the  admiration 
of  his  enemies  themselves.  But  he  also 
discovered  in  that  language  a  store  of 
wealth  which  he  was  afterwards  to  trans- 
fer into  his  own. 

Hitherto  the  Latin  had  been  the  sole 

*  The  particulars  here  given  rest  on  the  testi- 
mony of  the  priest,  and  vicar-general  Desmay, 
(Jean  Calvin,  heresiarqiie,  p.  32,)  and  the  can- 
on Levasseur,  (Ann.  de  Noyon,  p.  1160,)  who 
found  them,  as  they  assure  us,  in  the  registers  of 
the  chapter  of  Noyon.  These  Romish  authors, 
therefore,  refute  the  inventions  or  inistkes  of 
Richelieu  and  other  writers. — See  the  preface. 


language  of  literature.  It  was,  and  even 
to  our  own  days  it  has  continued,  the 
language  of  the  Romish  Church.  The 
modern  tongues  of  Europe  were  created, 
— at  least  they  were  emancipated, — by 
the  Reformation.  The  exclusive  agency 
of  the  priests  was  now  at  an  end ;  the 
people  were  called  upon  to  learn  and  to 
know  for  themselves.  In  this  single  fact 
was  involved  the  abrogation  of  the  lan- 
guage of  the  priests — the  inauguration 
of  the  language  of  the  people.  It  is  not 
to  the  Sor  bonne  alone, — it  is  not  to  a  few 
monks,  a  few  divines,  a  few  men  of  let- 
ters, that  the  new  doctrine  is  to  be  ad- 
dressed ;  it  is  to  the  noble,  to  the  burgh- 
er, to  the  artisan, — all  men  now  are  to 
be  preached  to:  nay,  more, — all  men 
now  are  to  become  preachers ;  wool- 
combers  and  knights  no  less  than  curates 
and  doctors.  A  new  language,  there- 
fore, is  wanted,  or,  at  any  rate,  the  ordi- 
nary language  of  the  people  must  under- 
go a  mighty  transformation, — must  expe- 
rience a  happy  deliverance  from  its 
shackles :  drawn  from  the  common  uses 
of  life,  it  must  be  indebted  to  a  renovated 
Christianity  for  its  patent  of  nobility. 
The  Gospel,  so  long  laid  to  sleep,  is  now- 
awake  again  :  it  appeals  to  the  nation  at 
large  ;  it  kindles  the  most  generous  affec- 
tions of  the  soul ;  it  opens  the  treasures 
of  heaven  to  a  generation  whose  thoughts 
were  all  confined  within  the  petty  circle 
of  the  world  below ;  it  agitates  the 
masses ;  it  speaks  to  them  of  God,  of 
man,  of  good  and  evil,  of  the  Pope,  of 
the  Bible,  of  a  crown  in  heaven, — it 
may  be,  also,  of  a  scaffold  upon  earth. 
The  popular  idiom,  which  hitherto  had 
been  employed  only  by  the  chronicler 
and  the  minstrel,  was  summoned,  by  the 
Reformation,  to  act  a  new  part,  and  con- 
sequently to  receive  a  new  development. 
Society  finds  a  new  world  rising  up 
around  it ;  and  for  this  new  world  there 
must  needs  be  new  languages.  The  Ref- 
ormation freed  the  French  language 
from  the  swaddling  bands  in  which  it  had 
hitherto  been  confined,  and  rearqd  it  to  a 
speedy  and  vigorous  maturity.  Since 
then,  that  language  has  had  full  posses- 
sion of  all  the  exalted  privileges  that  be- 
long to  a  dialect  conversant  with  the 
operations  of  mind  and  the  great  con- 
cerns of  heaven, — privileges  which,  un- 
der the  tutelage  of  Rome,  it  had  never 


620 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


enjoyed.  True  it  is  that  the  people  form 
their  own  language ;  they,  and  they 
alone,  invent  those  happy  words, — those 
figurative  and  energetic  phrases,  which 
give  colouring  and  animation  to  human 
speech.  But  there  are  latent  powers  in 
language  which  they  know  not  how  to 
elicit,  and  which  men  of  cultivated  intel- 
lect can  alone  call  into  action.  When 
the  time  arrived  for  Calvin  to  engage  in 
discussion  and  controversy,  he  was  forced, 
by  the  exigency  of  the  case,  to  enrich  his 
native  tongue  with  modes  of  expression 
hitherto  unknown  to  it, — indicating  the 
dependence,  the  connection,  the  minute 
diversity  of  ideas,  the  transition  from  one 
to  another,  and  the  various  steps  in  the 
process  of  logical  deductions. 

The  elements  of  all  this  were  already 
working  in  the  brain  of  the  young  stu- 
dent of  the  college  of  La  Marche.  This 
child,  who  was  to  exert  so  powerful  a 
mastery  over  the  human  heart,  was  des- 
tined to  exhibit  equal  power  in  bending 
and  moulding  to  his  will  the  idiom  which 
was  to  serve  as  his  instrument.  The 
French  of  Calvin  eventually  became  the 
language  of  Protestant  France,  and  when 
we  speak  of  Protestant  France,  we  speak 
of  the  most  cultivated  portion  of  the 
French  nation  ;  since  out  of  that  portion 
arose  those  families  of  scholars  and  dig- 
nified magistrates,  who  contributed  so 
much  to  the  refinement  of  the  national 
character — out  of  that  portion  arose  also 
the  society  of  Port  Royal,*  one  of  the 
great  agents  by  which  the  prose  and  even 
the  poetry  of  France  have  been  modelled, 
— a  society  which  aimed  at  introducing 
into  the  Catholicism  of  the  Gallican 
Church  both  the  doctrine  and  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Reformation,  and  failing  in 
one  of  these  objects,  succeeded  in  the 
other ;  for  who  can  deny  that  Roman 
Catholic  France  had  to  learn  from  her 
antagonists  among  the  Jansenists  and 
Reformers  how  to  handle  those  weapons 
of  style,  without  which  it  would  have 
been  impossible  for  her  to  maintain  her 
ground  against  them?f 

*  M.  A.  Arnauld,  the  grandfather  of  Mother 
Angelica,  and  of  all  the  Arnaulds  of  Port  Royal, 
was  a  Protestant, — see  "  Port  Royal,  par  M. 
Sainte-Beuve." 

t  Etudes  Liter,  sur  Calvin,  par  M.  A.  Sayers, 
Geneve,  1839,  art.  iv.  This  work  has  been  fol- 
lowed by  similar  enquiries  regarding  Farel,  Viret, 
and  Beza. 


In  the  mean  time,  while  the  future  Re- 
former of  religion  and  of  language,  was 
ripening  in  the  college  of  La  Marche,  all 
was  in  commotion  around  that  young 
and  thoughtful  scholar,  without  his  being 
at  all  affected  by  the  mighty  movement 
which  agitated  society.  The  flames  that 
consumed  the  hermit  and  Pavanne,  shed 
dismay  over  Paris.  But  the  persecutors 
were  not  satisfied  ;  a  system  of  terror  was 
set  on  foot  throughout  the  whole  of 
France.  The  friends  of  the  Reformation 
no  longer  dared  to  correspond  with  each 
other,  lest  their  letters  should  be  inter- 
cepted, and  so  betray  to  the  vengeance 
of  the  tribunals,  not  only  those  who  had 
written  them,  but  those  also  to  whom 
they  were  addressed.*  One  man,  how- 
ever, was  bold  enough  to  undertake  the 
office  of  conveying  intelligence  of  what 
was  passing  in  Paris  and  in  France,  to 
the  refugees  at  Basle, — by  means  of  an 
unsigned  letter  sewed  up  in  his  doublet. 
He  escaped  the  scattered  parties  of  arque- 
busiers, — the  marechaussee  of  the  differ- 
ent districts, — the  strict  examinations  of 
the  provosts  and  their  lieutenants, — and 
arrived  at  Basle  with  the  doublet  on  his 
back  and  its  hidden  deposit  untouched. 
The  tidings  of  which  he  was  the  bearer, 
struck  terror  into  the  hearts  of  Toussaint 
and  his  friends. — "It  is  piteous  to  hear 
of  the  cruelties  they  are  committing  yon- 
der !"f — exclaims  Toussaint.  A  little  be- 
fore this,  two  Franciscan  friars  had  ar- 
rived at  Basle  closely  pursued  by  the  offi- 
cers of  justice.  One  of  these  friars,  named 
John  Prevost,  had  preached  at  Meaux, 
and  had  afterwards  been  thrown  into 
prison  in  Paris.! — The  accounts  they 
brought  from  the  capital,  as  well  as  from 
Lyons,  through  which  city  they  had 
passed  on  their  way,  excited  the  deepest 
compassion  in  the  minds  of  the  refugees  : 
"  May  our  Lord  visit  them  with  his 
grace  I"  said  Toussaint,  writing  to  Farel ; 
— "  believe  me  when  I  tell  you  that  at 
times  I  am  in  great  anxiety  and  tribula- 
tion." 

These  excellent  men  did  not  lose  heart, 
however.  In  vain  were  all  the  Parlia- 
ments on  the  watch  ;  in  vain  did  the  spies 

*  "  Not  a  person  dares  to  write  to  me." — (Tous- 
saint to  Farel,  4th  Sept.  1525.  MS.  of  Neuf- 
chatel.) 

t  Toussaint  to  Farel,  4th  Sept.  1525. 
,t  Ibid.  21st  July,  1525. 


THE  FRENCH.— 1500— 1526. 


621 


of  the  Sorbonne  and  the  monks  creep 
into  churches  and  colleges,  and  even  into 
private  families,  to  catch  up  any  word  of 
Evangelic  doctrine  that  might  be  drop- 
ped there  ;  in  vain  did  the  king's  gens 
d' amies  patrol  the  highways  to  intercept 
everything  that  seemed  to  bear  the  im- 
press of  the  Reformation  ; — these  French- 
men, thus  hunted  and  trodden  on  by 
Rome  and  her  myrmidons,  had  faith  in 
better  days  to  come  ;  and  even  now,  the 
termination  of  what  they  called  the  Bab- 
ylonish captivity  was  greeted  by  them 
afar.  "  At  length,"  said  they,  "  the  seven- 
tieth year  will  arrive — the  year  of  deliv- 
erance, and  liberty  of  spirit  and  con- 
science will  be  ours."*  But  the  seventy 
years  were  to  be  extended  to  nearly  three 
centuries,  and  unheard-of  calamities  were 
to  be  endured  before  these  hopes  should 
be  realized.  It  was  not  in  man,  how- 
ever, that  the  refugees  put  their  trust. 
"  They  who  have  begun  the  dance,"  said 
Toussaint,  ':  will  not  stop  short  in  the 
middle  of  it."  But  they  believed  that 
the  Lord  "  knew  those  whom  he  had 
chosen,  and  would  accomplish  the  deliv- 
erance of  His  people  by  the  hand  of  His 
power."! 

The  Chevalier  d'Esch  had  actually 
tasted  the  mercy  of  deliverance.  Being 
dismissed  from  the  prison  of  Pont-a-Mous- 
son,  he  had  hastened  to  Strasburg  ;  but 
his  stay  there  was  short.  For  "  the  hon- 
our of  God,"  wrote  Toussaint  to  Farel, 
"  immediately  prevail  on  our  worthy 
master,^:  the  Chevalier,  to  return  as  quick- 
ly as  possible,  for  our  other  brethren  have 
need  of  such  a  leader."  In  fact,  the 
French  refugees  had  now  fresh  cause  of 
alarm.  They  were  apprehensive  that 
the  dispute  respecting  the  Lord's  Supper, 
which  had  afflicted  them  so  grievously 
in  Germany,  would  find  its  way  across 
the  Rhine,  and  prove  the  source  of  new 
troubles  in  France.  Francis  Lambert, 
the  monk  of  Avignon,  after  visiting  Zu- 
rich and  Wittemberg,  had  arrived  at 
Metz,  where  he  was  regarded  with  a 
measure  of  distrust,  for  it  was  feared  that 

*  Sane  venit  annus  septuagesimus,  et  tempus 
appetit  ut  tandem  vindicemur  in  libertatem  spir- 
itus  et  conscientiae. — (Ibid.) 

tSed  novit  Dominusqoos  elegerit.-(Toussaint 
to  Fare!,  21  July.  1525.) 

t  "  Si  nos  magistrum  in  terris  habere  deceat," 
he  adds.— (Tossanus  Farello,  MS.  of  Neufchatel.) 


he  might  introduce  the  sentiments  of  Lu- 
ther, and  by  fruitless,  and,  as  Toussaint 
calls  them,  "  monstrous"  controversies, 
impede  the  progress  of  the  Reformation.* 
Esch,  therefore,  returned  to  Lorraine,  to 
be  again  exposed  to  great  dangers,  "  in 
common  with  all  in  that  region  who 
were  seeking  the  glory  of  Christ."f 

But  Toussaint  was  not  the  man  who 
would  invite  others  to  join  the  battle, 
while  he  himself  kept  aloof  from  it.  De- 
prived of  the  comfort  of  daily  intercourse 
with  (Ecolampadius,  reduced  to  the  so- 
ciety of  an  ill-nurtured  priest,  he  had 
sought  more  communion  with  Christ, 
and  had  gained  an  accession  of  courage. 
If  he  could  not  return  to  Metz,  might  he 
not  at  least  go  to  Paris  %  True, — the 
smoke  that  ascended  from  the  piles  on 
which  Pavanne  and  the  hermit  of  Livry 
had  been  sacrificed  was  scarcely  yet 
cleared  away,  and  its  dark  shadow  might 
seem  to  repel  from  the  capital  all  whose 
faith  bore  any  resemblance  to  theirs.  But 
if,  as  he  had  heard,  the  terror  that  pre- 
vailed in  the  colleges  of  Paris  and  amidst 
her  streets  was  such,  that  none  dared 
even  to  name  the  Gospel  or  the  Refor- 
mation,— was  not  this  a  reason  why  he 
should  repair  thither"?  Toussaint  quit- 
ted Basle,  and  took  up  his  abode  within 
those  perilous  walls,  heretofore  the  seat 
of  revelry  and  licentious  pleasure,  now 
the  stronghold  of  fanaticism.  His  desire 
was  to  pursue  his  studies  in  Christian 
literature,  and  at  the  same  time  to  form  a 
connection  with  the  brethren  who  were 
in  the  colleges,  particularly  with  those 
who  were  in  the  college  of  Cardinal  Le- 
moine,  where  Lefevre  and  Farel  had 
taught.^  But  he  was  not  long  left  at 
liberty  to  prosecute  his  design.  The  tyr- 
anny of  the  parliamentary  commissaries 
and  the  doctors  of  the  Sorbonne  now 
reigned  supreme  over  the  capital,  and 
whosoever  was  obnoxious  to  these  was 
sure  to  be  accused  of  heresy. §  A  duke 
and  an  abbot,  whose  names  are  not  upon 

*  Vereor  ne  aliquid  monstri  alat. — (Ibid.  27 
Sept.  1525.) 

t  Audio  etiam  equitem  periclitari,  simul  et 
omncs  qui  illic  Christi  gloriae  favent. — (Ibid.  27 
Dec.  1525.) 

\  Fratres  qui  in  collegio  Cardinalis  Monachi 
sunt  te  salutant. — (Tossanus  Farello,  MS.  of 
Neufchatel.) 

§  Regnante  hie  tyrannide  commissariorum  et 
theologorum. — (Ibid.) 


622 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


record,  denounced  Toussaint  as  a  here- 
tic ;  and,  one  day,  the  king's  sergeants 
arrested  the  young  Lorrainer,  and  threw 
him  into  prison.  Separated  from  all  his 
friends,  and  treated  as  a  criminal,  Tous- 
saint felt  his  helplessness  more  as  a  sin- 
ner than  a  captive.  "  O  Lord !"  cried  he, 
"  withdraw  not  thy  Spirit  from  me,  for 
without  that  Holy  Spirit  I  am  altogether 
carnal,  and  a  sink  of  iniquity."  While 
his  body  was  held  in  chains,  his  heart 
turned  for  solace  to  the  remembrance  of 
those  who  were  still  at  large  to  struggle 
•for  the  Gospel.  There  was  (Ecolampa- 
dius,  his  father,  "whose  work,"  says  he, 
"  we  are  in  the  Lord."*  There  was  Le- 
fevre,  whom  (obviously  on  account  of  his 
age,)  he  deemed  "  unmeet  to  bear  the 
burthen  of  the  Gospel  ;"f  there  was  Rous- 
sel,  "by  whom  he  trusted  that  the  Lord 
would  do  great  things  ;"|  and  Vaugris, 
who  had  manifested  all  the  zeal  "  of  the 
most  affectionate  brother,"  in  his  efforts 
to  rescue  him  from  the  power  of  his  ene- 
mies. §  There  was  Farel  also,  to  whom 
he  wrote — "  I  entreat  your  prayers  on 
my  behalf,  that  I  may  not  faint  in  this 
conflict."|j  How  effectual  must  he  have 
found  the  repetition  of  those  beloved 
names  in  awakening  thoughts  which 
mitigated  the  bitterness  of  his  captivity 
— for  he  showed  no  signs  of  fainting. 
Death,  it  is  true,  seemed  to  be  impending 
over  his  head,  in  a  city  where  the' blood 
of  multitudes  of  his  brethren  was  after- 
wards to  be  poured  out  like  water  ;1"  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  offers  of  the  most  lav- 
ish kind  were  made  by  the  friends  of  his 
mother,  and  of  his  uncle  the  dean  of 
Metz,  as  well  as  by  the  Cardinal  of  Lor- 
raine, to  induce  him  to  recant.**  But  his 
reply  to  such  offers  was — "  I  despise 
them  all.     I  know  that  God  is  now  put- 

*  Pat  rem  nostrum  cujus  nos  opus  sumus  in 
Domino. — (Ibid.)  This  letter  is  without  a  date, 
but  it  appears  to  have  been  written  shortly  after 
the  liberation  of  Toussaint,  and  it  shows  the 
thoughts  which  occupied  him  at  that  period 

t  Faber  est  impar  oneri  evangelico  ferendo. — 
(Ibid.) 

I  Per  Rufum  magna  operabitur  Dominus. — 
(Ibid.) 

§  Fidelissimi  fratris  officio  functum. — (Tossa- 
nus  Farello,  MS.  of  Neufchatel.) 

||  Commendo  me  vestris  precibus,  ne  succum- 
bam  in  hac  militia. — (Ibid.) 

IT  Me  periclitari  de  vita. — (Ibid.) 

**  Offerebantur  hie  mihi  conditiones  amplis- 
simae. — (Ibid.) 


ting  me  to  the  trial.  I  would  rather  en- 
dure hunger — I  would  rather  be  a  very 
abject  in  the  house  of  the  Lord,  than 
dwell  with  great  riches  in  the  palaces  of 
the  ungodly."*  At  the  same  time  he 
made  a  clear  and  open  confession  of  his 
faith:.  "I  glory,"  he  said,  "in  being 
called  a  heretic  by  those  whose  lives  and 
doctrine  I  see  to  be  directly  opposite  to 
those  of  Christ."  f  And  the  young  man 
subscribed  himself,  "  Peter  Toussaint, 
unworthy  of  his  name  of  Christian." 

Thus,  in  the  absence  of  the  monarch, 
new  attacks  were  levelled  against  the 
Reformation.  Berquin,  Toussaint,  and 
many  others  were  in  bonds  :  Schuch,  Pa- 
vanne,  and  the  hermit  of  Livry  had  been 
put  to  death ;  Farel,  Lefevre,  Roussel, 
and  many  other  defenders  of  sound  doc- 
trine were  in  exile ;  and  the  tongues  of 
the  most  eloquent  were  chained.  The 
light  of  the  Gospel  waxed  dim  ;  the  storm 
roared  around,  bending,  and  shaking  as 
if  it  would  uproot  that  tree  which  the 
hand  of  God  had  so  recently  planted  on 
the  French  soil. 

To  those  humbler  victims  who  had 
already  fallen,  others  of  more  note  were 
now  to  succeed.  The  enemy,  failing  in 
their  efforts  when  directed  against  per- 
sons of  distinction,  had  submitted  to  work 
from  beneath  upwards  ;  hoping  gradual- 
ly to  bring  to  bear  on  the  more  eminent 
in  station  the  sentence  of  condemnation 
and  death.  It  was  a  sort  of  counter- 
march which  answered  the  purpose  they 
had  in  view.  Scarcely  had  the  wind 
scattered  the  ashes  with  which  persecu- 
tion strewed  the  Place  de  Greve  and  the 
close  of  Notre  Dame,  when  further  blows 
were  struck.  The  excellent  Messire  An- 
thony Du  Blet,  the  "  negociateur"  of  Ly- 
ons, sunk  under  the  persecutions  of  the 
enemies  of  the  truth  ;  as  did  also  another 
disciple,  Francis  Moulin.  No  detailed 
account  of  their  deaths  has  come  down 
to  us.|  Not  stopping  there,  the  persecu- 
tors proceeded  to  take  a  higher  aim.    One 

*  Malo  esurire  et  abjectus  esse  in  domo  Dom- 
ini.—(Ibid.) 

t  Hac,  hffic  gloria  mea  quod  habeor  hsreti- 
cus  ab  his  quorum  vitam  et  doctrinam  video  pug- 
nare  cum  Christo. — (Ibid.) 

t  Periit  Franciscus  Molinus  ac  Dubletus. — 
(Erasm.  Epp.  p.  1109.) — Erasmus,  in  his  letter 
addressed  to  Francis  I.,  in  July,  1526,  names  all 
those  who,  during  the  captivity  of  that  prince, 
fell  victims  to  the  Romish  fanatics. 


THE  FRENCH.— 1500— 1526. 


623 


there  was  whose  eminent  rank  placed 
her  beyond  their  reach — but  who  might 
yet  be  stricken  in  the  persons  of  those 
dear  to  her. — This  was  the  Duchess  of 
Alencon.  Michel  d'Arende,  her  chap- 
lain,— for  the  sake  of  whom  Margaret 
had  dismissed  her  other  preachers,  and 
who  was  accustomed  in  her  presence  to 
publish  a  pure  Gospel, — was  singled  out 
for  attack,  and  threatened  with  imprison- 
ment and  death.*  About  the  same  time 
Anthony  Papillon,  for  whom  the  prin- 
cess had  obtained  the  office  of  Chief 
Master  of  Requests  to  the  Dauphin,  died 
suddenly,  and  a  report,  generally  preva- 
lent even  among  the  enemies,  ascribed 
his  death  to  poison,  t 

The  persecution  was  spreading  through 
the  kingdom,  and  drawing  nearer  to  the 
person  of  Margaret.  The  isolated  cham- 
pions of  truth  were,  one  after  another, 
stretched  upon  the  field.  A  few  more 
such  victories,  and  the  soil  of  France 
would  be  purged  -from  heresy.  Under- 
hand contrivances  and  secret  practices 
took  the  place  of  clamour  and  the  stake. 
The  war  was  conducted  in  open  day ; 
but  it  was  decided  that  it  should  also  be 
carried  on  darkly  and  in  secrecy.  If,  in 
dealing  with  the  common  people,  fanati- 
cism employs  the  tribunal  and  the  scaf- 
fold, it  has  in  reserve  poison  and  the 
dagger  for  those  of  more  note.  The 
doctors  of  a  celebrated  school  are  but  too 
well  known  for  having  patronized  the 
use  of  such  means ;  and  kings  them- 
selves have  fallen  victims  to  the  steel  of 
the  assassins.  But  if  France  has  had  in 
every  age  its  Seides,  it  has  also  had  its 
Vincents  de  Paul  and  its  Fenelons. 
Strokes  falling  in  darkness  and  silence 
were  well  fitted  to  spread  terror  on  all 
sides ;  and  to  this  perfidious  policy  and 
these  fanatical  persecutions,  in  the  interior 
of  the  kingdom,  were  now  added  the  fatal 
reverses  experienced  beyond  the  frontier. 
A  dark  cloud  was  spread  over  the  whole 
nation.  Not  a  family,  especially  among 
the  higher  classes,  but  was  either  mourn- 
ing for  a  father,  a  husband,  or  a  son, 
who  had  fallen  on  the  plains  of  Italy,! 
or  trembling  for  the  liberty  or  life  of  one 

*  Pericfitatus  est  Michael  Arantius. — (Ibid.) 
t  "  Periit  Papilio  non  sine  gravi  suspicione  ve- 

neni,"  says  Erasmus. — (Ibid.) 

X  Gaillard  Histoire  de  Francois  ler  torn.  2,  p. 

255. 


of  its  members.  The  signal  misfortunes 
which  had  burst  upon  the  nation  diffused 
everywhere  a  leaven  of  hatred  against 
the  heretics.  The  people,  the  parlia- 
ment, the  Church,  and  even  the  throne, 
were  joined  hand  in  hand. 

Was  there  not  enough -to  bow  the 
heart  of  Margaret  in  the  defeat  at  Pavia, 
the  death  of  her  husband,  and  the  cap- 
tivity of  her  brother?  Was  she.  doomed 
to  witness  the  final  extinction  of  that  soft 
light  of  the  Gospel  in  which  her  heart 
had  found  such  joy?  News  arrived 
from  Spain  which  added  to  the  general 
distress.  Mortification  and  sickness  had 
reduced  the  haughty  Francis  to  the  brink 
of  the  grave.  If  the  king  should  con- 
tinue a  captive,  or  die,  and  the  regency 
of  his  mother  be  protracted  for  some 
years,  there  was  apparently  an  end  of 
all  prospect  of  a  Reformation.  "  But 
when  all  seems  lost,"  observed,  at  a  later 
period,  the  young  scholar  of  Noyoa, 
"  God  interposes  to  deliver  and  guard 
His  Church  in  His  own  wondrous 
way."*  The  Church  of  France,  which 
was  as  if  travailing  in  birth,  was  to  have 
a  brief  interval  of  ease  before  its  pains 
returned  upon  it ;  and  God  made  use  of 
a  weak  woman, — one  who  never  openly 
declared  for  the  Gospel, — in  order  to  give 
to  the  Church  this  season  of  rest.  Mar- 
garet herself,  at  this  time,  thought  more 
of  saving  the  king  and  the  kingdom, 
than  of  delivering  the  comparatively  un- 
known Christians,  who  were  yet  resting 
many  hopes  upon  her  interference. f  But 
under  the  dazzling  surface  of  human  af- 
fairs, God  often  hides  the  mysterious 
ways  in  which  He  rules  His  people 
A  generous  project  was  suggested  to  the 
mind  of  the  Duchess  of  Alencon  ;  it  was, 
to  cross  the  sea,  or  traverse  the  Pyrenees, 
and  rescue  Francis  I.  from  the  power 
of  Charles  V.  Such  was  the  object  to 
which  her  thoughts  were  henceforth  di- 
rected. 

Margaret  announced  her  intention, 
and  France  hailed  it  with  grateful  ac- 
clamation. Her  genius,  her  great  repu- 
tation, and  the  attachment  existing  be- 
tween herself  and   her  brother,  helped 

*  Nam  habet  Deus  modum,  quo  electos  suos 
mirabiliter  custodiat,  ubi  omnia  perdita  videntur. 
— (Calvinus  in  Ep.  ad  Rom.  xi.  2.) 

t  .  .  .  .  Beneficio  illustrissimce  Ducus  Alan- 
conice. — (Toussaint  &  Farel.) 


624 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


much  to  counterbalance,  in  the  eyes  of 
Louisa  and  of  Duprat.  her  partiality  for 
the  new  doctrines.  All  eyes  were  turned 
upon  her,  as  the  only  person  capable  of 
extricating  the  nation  from  its  perilous 
position.  Let  Margaret  in  person  make 
an  appeal  to  the  powerful  emperor  and 
his  ministers,  and  employ  the  admirable 
genius  with  which  she  was  gifted,  in 
the  effort  to  give  liberty  to  her  brother 
and  her  king. 

Yet  very  various  feelings  existed 
among  the  nobility  and  the  people  in 
the  prospect  of  the  Duchess  trusting  her- 
self in  the  centre  of  the  enemies'  coun- 
cils, and  among  the  stern  soldiery  of  the 
Catholic  king.  All  admired,  but  with- 
out sharing  in  her  confidence  and  devo- 
tedness:  her  friends  had  fears  for  her, 
which,  in  the  result,  were  but  too  near 
being  realized  :  but  the  evangelical  par- 
ty were  full  of  hope.  The  king's  cap- 
tivity had  been  to  them  the  occasion  of 
hitherto  unprecedented  severities — his 
restoration  to  liberty  they  expected  would 
put  a  period  to  those  rigours.  Let  the 
king  once  find  himself  beyond  the  Span- 
ish frontier, — and  the  gates  of  those  pris- 
on-houses and  castles,  wherein  the  serv- 
ants of  God's  word  were  immured,  would 
instantly  be  set  open.  Margaret  was 
more  and  more  confirmed  in  a  project  to 
which  she  felt  herself  drawn  by  so  many 
and  various  motives. 

My  heart  is  fixed ;  and  not  the  heavens  above 
From  its  firm  purpose  can  my  spirit  move ; 
Nor  hell,  with  all  its  powers,  my  course  with- 
stand, 
For  Jesus  holds  its  keys  within  his  hand.* 

Her  woman's  heart  was  strengthened 
with  that  faith  which  overcomes  the 
world,  and  her  resolution  was  irrevoca- 
bly settled.  Preparation  was  according- 
ly made  for  her  journey. 

•The  archbishop  of  Embrun,  afterwards 
cardinal  of  Tournon,  and  the  president 

*  Marguerites  de  la  Marguerite  des  princesses, 
torn.  i.  p  125. 


of  Selves,  had  already  repaired  to  Madrid 
to  treat  for  the  ransom  of  the  king.  They 
were  placed  under  the  direction  of  Mar- 
garet, as  was  also  the  bishop  of  Tarbes, 
afterwards  cardinal  of  Grammont ;  full 
powers  being  given  to  the  Princess.  At 
the  same  time  Montmorency,  afterwards 
so  hostile  to  the  Reformation,  was  de- 
spatched in  haste  to  Spain  to  solicit  a 
safe-conduct  for  the  king's  sister.*  The 
Emperor  at  first  hesitated,  alleging  that 
it  was  for  his  ministers  to  arrange  terms. 
— "  One  hour's  conference  between  your 
majesty,  the  king  my  master,  and  Ma- 
dame d'Alen^on,"  remarked  Selves, 
"  would  forward  matters  more  than  a 
month's  discussion  between  the  diploma- 
tists."! Margaret,  impatient  to  attain 
her  object,  set  out  unprovided  with  a 
safe-conduct,  accompanied  by  a  splendid 
retinue.:}:  She  took  leave  of  the  court 
and  passed  through  Lyons,  taking  the 
direction  of  the  Mediterranean ;  but  on 
her  road  she  was  joined  by  Montmoren- 
cy, who  was  the  bearer  of  letters  from 
Charles,  guaranteeing  her  liberty  for  a 
period  of  three  months.  She  reached 
Aigues-Mortes,^  and  at  that  port  the  sis- 
ter of  Francis  the  First  embarked  on 
board  a  vessel  prepared  for  her.  Led 
by  Providence  into  Spain  rather  for  the 
deliverance  of  nameless  and  oppressed 
Christians,  than  for  the  liberation  of  the 
powerful  monarch  of  France,  Margaret 
committed  herself  to  that  sea  whose 
waves  had  borne  her  brother  when 
taken  prisoner  after  the  fatal  battle  of 
Pavia. 

*  Memoires  de  Du  Bellay,  p.  124. 

t  Histoire  de  France,  par  Gamier,  torn.  xxiv. 

t  Pour  taster  au  vif  la  volunte  de  l'esleu  em- 

pereur madame    Marguerite,    duchesse 

d'Alencon,  tres-notablemcnt  accompaignee  de 
plusieurs  ambassadeurs  .  .  .  . — (Les  gestes  de 
Francoise  de  Valois,  par  E.  Dolet,  1540.) 

§  Jam  in  itinere  erat  Margarita,  Francisci  so- 
ror  .  .  .  .  e  fossis  Marianis  solvens,  Barcinonem 
primum,  deinde  Caesar  Augustum  appulerat — 
(Belcarius,  Rerum  Gallicarum  Comment,  p.  565.) 


THE  PROTEST  AND  THE  CONFERENCE.     1526—1529. 


625 


BOOK   XIII, 


THE   PROTEST   AND  THE   CONFERENCE,     1526—1529. 


I.  We  have  witnessed  the  commence- 
ment, the  struggles,  the  reverses,  and  the 
progress  of  the  Reformation ;  but  the  con- 
flicts that  we  have  hitherto  described  have 
been  but  partial ;  we  are  entering  upon 
a  new  period, — that  of  general  battles. 
Spire  (1529)  and  Augsburg  (1530)  are 
two  names  that  shine  forth  with  more  im- 
mortal glory  than  Marathon,  Pavia,  or 
Marengo.  Forces  that  up  to  the  present 
time  were  separate,  are  now  uniting  into 
one  energetic  band  ;  and  the  power  of 
God  is  working  in  these  brilliant  actions, 
which  open  a  new  era  in  the  history  of 
nations,  and  communicate  an  irresistible 
impulse  to  mankind.  The  passage  from 
the  middle  ages  to  modern  times  has  ar- 
rived. 

A  great  protest  is  about  to  be  accom- 
plished ;  and  although  there  have  been 
protestants  in  the  Church  from  the  very 
beginning  of  Christianity,  since  liberty 
and  truth  could  not  be  maintained  here 
below,  save  by  protesting  continually 
against  despotism  and  error,  Protestant- 
ism is  about  to  take  a  new  step.  It  is 
about  to  become  a  body,  and  thus  attack 
with  greater  energy  that  "  mystery  of 
iniquity"  which  for  ages  has  taken  a 
bodily  shape  at  Rome,  in  the  very  temple 
of  God.* 

But  although  we  have  to  treat  of  pro- 
tests, it  must  not  however  be  imagined 
that  the  Reformation  is  a  negative  work. 
In  every  sphere  in  which  anything  great 
is  evolved,  whether  in  nature  or  society, 
there  is  a  principle  of  life  at  work, — a 
seed  that  God  fertilizes.  The  Reforma- 
tion, when  it  appeared  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  did  not,  it  is  true,  perform  a  new 
work,  for  a  reformation  is  not  a  forma- 
tion ;  but  it  turned  its  face  toward  the 
beginnings  of  Christianity,  thither  were 
its  steps  directed ;  it  seized  upon  them 
with  adoration,  and  embraced  them  with 
affection.  Yet  it  was  not  satisfied  with 
this  return  to  primitive  times.  Laden 
*  2  Thess.  ii. 
79 


with  its  precious  burden,  it  again  crossed 
the  interval  of  ages,  and  brought  back  to 
fallen  and  lifeless  Christendom  the  sacred 
fire  that  was  destined  to  restore  it  to  light 
and  life.  In  this  twofold  movement  con- 
sisted its  action  and  its  strength.  After- 
wards, no  doubt,  it  rejected  superannuated 
forms,  and  combated  error  ;  but  this  was, 
so  to  speak,  only  the  least  of  its  works, 
and  its  third  movement.  Even  the  pro- 
test of  which  we  have  to  speak  had  for  its 
end  and  aim  the  re-establishment  of  truth 
and  of  life,  and  was  essentially  a  positive 
act. 

This  powerful  and  rapid  twofold  action 
of  reform,  by  which  the  apostolic  times 
were  re-established  at  the  opening  of 
modern  history,  proceeded  not  from  man. 
A  reformation  is  not  arbitrarily  made,  as 
charters  and  revolutions  are  in  some  coun- 
tries. A  real  reformation,  prepared  du- 
ring many  ages,  is  the  work  of  the  Spirit 
of  God.  Before  the  appointed  hour,  the 
greatest  geniuses  and  even  the  most  faith- 
ful of  God's  servants  cannot  produce  it : 
but  when  the  reforming  time  is  come, 
when  it  is  God's  pleasure  to  intervene  in 
the  affairs  of  the  world,  the  divine  life 
must  clear  a  passage,  and  it  is  able  to  cre- 
ate of  itself  the  humble  instruments  by 
which  this  life  is  communicated  to  the 
human  race.  Then,  if  men  are  silent, 
the  very  stones  will  cry  out.* 

It  is  to  the  protest  of  Spire  (1529)  that 
we  are  now  about  to  turn  our  eyes  ;  but 
the  way  to  this  protest  was  prepared  by 
years  of  peace,  and  followed  by  attempts 
at  concord  that  we  shall  have  also  to  de- 
scribe. Nevertheless  the  formal  estab- 
lishment of  Protestantism  remains  the 
great  fact  that  prevails  in  the  history  of 
the  Reformation  from  1526  to  1529. 

The  Duke  of  Brunswick  had  brought 

into  Germany  the  threatening  message  of 

Charles  the  Fifth.     The  Emperor  was 

about  to  repair  from  Spain  to  Rome  to 

♦  Luke  xix.  40. 


C26 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


come  to  an  understanding  with  the  Pope, 
and  from  thence  to  pass  into  Germany  to 
constrain  the  heretics.  The  last  sum- 
mons was  to  be  addressed  to  them  by  the 
Diet  of  Spire,  1526.*  The  decisive  hour 
for  the  Reformation  was  about  to  strike. 

On  the  25th  June,  1526,  the  diet  open- 
ed. In  the  instructions,  dated  at  Seville, 
23d  March,  the  Emperor  ordered  that  the 
Church  customs  should  be  maintained 
entire,  and  called  upon  the  diet  to  punish 
those  who  refused  to  carry  out  the  edict 
of  Worms,  f  Ferdinand  himself  was  at 
Spire,  and  his  presence  rendered  these  or- 
ders more  formidable.  Never  had  the 
hostility  which  the  Romish  partisans  enter- 
tained against  the  evangelical  princes,  ap- 
peared in  so  striking  a  manner.  u  The 
Pharisees,"  said  Spalatin,  "  pursue  Jesus 
Christ  with  violent  hatred. "| 

Never  also  had  the  evangelical  princes 
showed  so  much  hope.  Instead  of  pre- 
senting themselves  i\  ightened  and  trem- 
bling, like  guilty  men,  they  were  seen  ad- 
vancing, surrounded  by  the  ministers  of 
the  Word,  with  uplifted  heads  and  cheer- 
ful looks.  Their  first  step  was  to  ask  for 
a  place  of  worship.  The  Bishop  of  Spire, 
count-palatine  of  the  Rhine,  having  in- 
dignantly refused  this  strange  request,^ 
the  princes  complained  of  it  as  of  an  in- 
justice, and  ordered  their  ministers  to 
preach  daily  in  the  halls  of  their  palaces. 
An  immense  crowd  from  the  city  and  the 
country,  which  amounted  to  many  thou- 
sands, immediately  filled  them.||  In  vain 
on  the  feast  days  did  Ferdinand,  the  ul- 
tra-montane princes,  and  the  bishops  as- 
sist in  the  pomps  of  the  Roman  worship 
in  the  beautiful  cathedral  of  Spire ;  the 
unadorned  Word  of  God,  preached  in  the 
Protestant  vestibules,  engrossed  the  hear- 
ers, and  the  Mass  was  celebrated  in  an 
empty  church. If 

It  was  not  only  the  ministers,  but  the 
knights  and  the  grooms,  "  mere  idiots," 
who,  unable  to  control  their  zeal,  every- 

*  See  book  £.  chap.  xiv.  The  Diet  pf  Spire, 
held  in  1 520,  must  not  be  confounded  with  that 
of  1529,  at  which  the  protest  took  place. 

I  Sleidan,  Hist  Ref.  book  vi. 

X  Christum  pharisseis  vehementer  fuisse  invi- 
sum. — (Seckend.  ii.  p.  46.) 

§  Fortiter  interdixit. — (Cochlceus,  p.  138.) 

II  Ingens  concursus  piebis  et  rusticorum. — 
(Cochlceus.)  Multis  millibus  hominum  accur- 
rentibus.— (Seckend.  ii.p.  48.) 

IT  Populuia  a  ,sacris  avertebant- — (Cochlceus, 
g>.  138.) 


where  extolled  the  Word  of  the  Lord.* 
All  the  followers  of  the  evangelical 
princes  wore  these  letters  braided  on  their 
right  sleeves  :  V.  D.  M.  I.  M.,  that  is  to 
say,  "  The  word  of  the  Lord  endureth 
for  ever."f  The  same  inscription  might 
be  read  on  the  escutcheons  of  the  princes, 
suspended  over  their  hotels.  The  Word 
of  God — such  from  this  moment  was  the 
palladium  of  the  Reform. 

This  was  not  all.  The  Protestants 
knew  that  the  mere  worship  was  not  suffi- 
cient :  the  Landgrave  had  therefore  called 
upon  the  Elector  to  abolish  certain  "  court 
customs"  which  dishonoured  the  Gospel. 
These  two  princes  had  consequently 
drawn  up  an  order  of  living  which  for- 
bade drunkenness,  debauchery,  and  other 
vicious  customs  prevalent  during  a  diet.  J 

Perhaps  the  Protestant  princes  some- 
times put  forward  their  dissent  beyond 
what  prudence  would  have  required. 
Not  only  they  did  not  go  to  Mass,  and 
did  not  observe  the  prescribed  fasts,  but 
still  further,  on  the  meagre  days,  their  at- 
tendants were  seen  publicly  bearing  dish- 
es of  meat  and  game,  destined  for  their 
masters'  tables,  and  crossing,  says  Coch- 
lceus, in  the  presence  of  the  whole  audi- 
tory, the  halls  in  which  the  worship  was- 
celebrating.  "  It  was,"  says  this  writer, 
"  with  the  intent  of  attracting  the  Catho- 
lics by  the  savour  of  the  meats  and  of  the 
wines."§ 

The  Elector  in  effect  had  a  numerous 
court :  seven  hundred  persons  formed  his 
retinue.  One  day  he  gave  a  banquet  at 
which  twenty-six  princes  with  their  gen- 
tlemen and  councillors  were  present. 
They  continued  playing  until  a  very  late 
hour — ten  at  night.  Everything  in 
Duke  John  announced  the  most  powerful 
prince  of  the  empire.  The  youthful 
Landgrave  of  Hesse,  full  of  zeal  and 
knowledge,  and  in  the  strength  of  a  first 
christian  love,  made  a  still  deeper  im- 
pression on  those  who  approached  him. 
He  would  frequently  dispute  with  the 

*  Ministri  eorum,  equitos  et  stabularii,  idiota?, 
petulanter  jactabant  verbum  Domini. — (Cochlceus, 
p.  138.) 

t  Verbum  Domini  Manet  in  jEternum. — (Ibid.) 

t  Adversus  inveteratos  illos  et  impios  usus  ni- 
tendum  esse. — (Seek.  ii.  p.  46.) 

§  Ut  complures  allicerentur  ad  eorum  sectam, 
in  ferculis  portabantur  carnes  coctffi  in  diebus  je- 
junii,  aperte  in  conspectu  totius  auditorii. — (Coch- 
lceus, p.  138.) 


THE   PROTEST   AND   THE   CONFERENCE.     152G— 1529. 


627 


bishops,  and  thanks  to  his  acquaintance 
with  the  Holy  Scriptures,  he  easily  stop- 
ped their  mouths.* 

This  firmness  in  the  friends  of  the 
Reformation  produced  fruits  that  sur- 
passed their  expectation.  It  was  no 
longer  possible  to  be  deceived  :  the  spirit 
that  was  manifested  in  these  men  was 
the  spirit  of  the  Bible.  Everywhere  the 
sceptre  was  falling  from  the  hands  of 
Rome.  '•  The  leaven  of  Luther,"  said  a 
zealous  Papist,  u  sets  all  the  people  of 
Germany  in  a  ferment,  and  foreign  na- 
tions themselves  are  agitated  by  formida- 
ble movements."! 

It  was  immediately  seen  how  great  is 
the  strength  of  deep  convictions.  The 
states  that  were  well  disposed  towards 
the  Reform,  but  which  had  not  ventured 
to  give  their  adhesion  publicly,  became 
emboldened.  The  neutral  states,  which 
demanded  the  repose  of  the  empire, 
formed  the  resolution  of  opposing  the 
edict  of  Worms,  the  execution  of  which 
would  have  spread  trouble  through  all 
Germany,  and  the  Papist  states  lost  their 
boldness.  The  bow  of  the  mighty  was 
broken. | 

Ferdinand  did  not' think  proper,  at  so 
critical  a  moment,  to  communicate  to  the 
diet  the  severe  instructions  he  had  re- 
ceived from  Seville. §  He  substituted  a 
proposition  of  a  nature  to  satisfy  both 
parties. 

The  laymen  immediately  recovered 
the  influence  of  which  the  clergy  had 
dispossessed  them.  The  ecclesiastics  re- 
sisted a  proposal  in  the  college  of  princes 
that  the  diet  should  occupy  itself  with 
church  abuses,  but  their  exertions  were 
unavailing.  Undoubtedly  a  non-political 
assembly  would  have  been  preferable  to 
the  diet,  but  it  was  already  something 
that  religious  matters  were  no  longer  to 
be  regulated  solely  by  the  priests. 

*  Annales  SpaiatinL 

t  Germanise  populi  Lutherico  fermento  inesca- 
ti,  et  in  externis  quoque  nationibus,  gravissimi 
erant  motus. — (Cochioeus,  p.  13S.) 

1  1  Samuel  ii.  4. 

§  Some  historians  appear  to  think  that  these  in- 
structions were  communicated  in  reality  at  the  very 
opening  of  the  diet.  Ranke  shows  that  this  was 
not  the3 case;  but  adds,  that  he  sees  no  reason 
why  the  commissaries  should  have  thought  them- 
selves authorized  to  make  any  other  proposition. 
The  natives  that  I  have  assigned  appear  to  me 
the  true  ones.  I  shall  state  below  why  the  com- 
mes  returned  afierwaids  to  the  imperial  in- 
structions. 


The  deputies  from  the  cities  having 
received  communication  of  this  resolu- 
tion, called  for  the  abolition  of  every 
usage  contrary  to  the  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ  In  vain  did  the  bishops  exclaim 
that,  instead  of  abolishing  pretended 
abuses,  they  would  do  much  betrl-r  to 
burn  all  the  books  with  which  Germany 
had  been  inundated  during  the  last  eight 
years.  "  You  desire/'  was  the  reply, 
'•to  bury  all  wisdom  and  kno 
The  request  of  the  cities  was  agreed  to.f 
and  the  diet  was  divided  into  committees 
for  the  abolition  of  abuses. 

Then  was  manifested  the  profound 
disgust  inspired  by  the  priests  of  Rome. 
"  The  clergy,"  said  the  deputy  from 
Frankfort,  -make  a  jest  of  the  public 
good,  and  look  after  their  own  interest? 
-  The  laymen,"  said  the  deputy 
from  Duke  George,  "  have  the  salvation 
j  of  Christendom  much  more  at  heart  than 
the  clergy."' 

The  commissions  made  their  report : 
people  were  astonished  at  it.     Never  had 
j  men  spoken   out   so  freely  against  the 
!  pope  and  the  bishops.     The  commission 
i  of  the  princes,  in  which  the  ecclesiastics 
;  and  the  laymen  were  in  equal  numbers, 
proposed   a   fusion  of  Popery  and  Re- 
form.    '•  The  Priests  would  do  better  to 
!  marry.'5  said  they,  "  than  to  keep  women 
i  of  ill-fame  in  their  houses :  ever)'  man 
!  should  be  at  liberty  to  communicate  un- 
I  der  one  or  both   forms ;    German   and 
Latin  may  be  equally  employed  in  the 
J  Lord's  Supper  and  in  Baptism  ;    as  for 
the  other  sacraments,  let  them  be    pre- 
served, but  let  them  be  administered  gra- 
tuitously.    Finally,  let  the  Word  of  God 
be  preached  according  to  the  interpreta- 
tion of  the  Church  (this  was  the  demand 
of  Rome),  but  always  explaining  Scrip- 
ture by  Scripture"  (this  was  the  great 
principle  of  the  Reformation).    Thus  the 
first  step  was  taken  towards  a  national 
union.     Still  a  few  more  efforts,  and  the 
whole  German  race  would  be  walking 
in  the  direction  of  the  Gospel: 

The  evangelical  Christians,  at  the 
sight  of  this  glorious  prospect,  redoubled 
their  exertions.     u  Stand  fast  in  the  doc- 


*  Omnes  libros  esse  Mmboreadta.  >e<i  rejec- 
tum  est  quia  sic  onuds  dodrina  et  erodkio  theo- 
Iogica  interitura  esset. — (SeekenjL  ii.  p.  45.) 

~i    Civitaiu 
(Ibid.) 


628 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


trine,"  said  the  Elector  of  Saxony  to  his 
councillors.*  At  the  same  time  hawkers 
in  every  part  of  the  city  were  selling 
Christian  pamphlets,  short  and  easy  to 
read,  written  in  Latin  and  in  German, 
and  ornamented  with  engravings,  in 
which  the  errors  of  Rome  were  vigor- 
ously attacked.!  One  of  these  books 
was  entitled,  The  Papacy  with  its  Mem- 
bers fainted  and  described  by  Doctor  Luther. 
In  it  figured  the  pope,  the  cardinal,  and 
then  all  the  religious  orders,  exceeding 
sixty,  each  with  their  costumes  and  de- 
scription in  verse.  Under  the  picture  of  one 
of  these  orders  were  the  following  lines : 

Greedy  priests,  see,  roll  in  gold 
Forgetful  of  the  humble  Jesu: 

under  another: 

We  forbid  you  to  behold 

The  Bible,  lest  it  should  mislead  you  !t 

and  under  a  third : 

We  can  fast  and  pray  the  harder 
With  an  overflowing  larder. § 

a  Not  one  of  these  orders,"  said  Luther  to 
the  reader,  "  thinks  either  of  faith  or 
charity.  This  one  wears  the  tonsure, 
the  other  a  hood ;  this  a  cloak,  that  a 
robe.  One  is  white,  another  black,  a 
third  gray,  and  a  fourth  blue.  Here  is 
one  holding  a  looking-glass,  there  one 
with  a  pair  of  scissors.  Each  has  his 
playthings Ah!  these  are  the  palmer- 
worms,  the  locusts,  the  canker-worms,  and 
the  caterpillars  which,  as  Joel  saith,  have 
eaten  up  all  the  earth." |j 

But  if  Luther  employed  the  scourges 
of  sarcasm,  he  also  blew  the  trumpet  of 
the  prophets ;  and  this  he  did  in  a  work 
entitled  The  Destruction  of  Jerusalem. 
Shedding  tears  like  Jeremiah,  he  de- 
nounced to  the  German  people  a  ruin 
like  that  of  the  Holy  City,  if  like  it  they 
rejected  the  Gospel.^I  "  God  has  im- 
parted to  us  all  his  treasures,"  exclaimed 

*  Elector  Saxoniffi  conciliarios  suos  exhortatus 
est,  in  doctrina  ovangelica  iirmi. — (Seckend.  ii.  p. 
48.) 

+  Circumferebantur  item  libri  Lutherani  venales 
per  totam  civitatem. — (Cochlceus,  p.  138.) 

\  Dass  die  Schrift  sie  nieht  verftihre, 

Durfl  ihr  keinen  nich  studir. — (L.  Opp. 
xix.  p.  536.) 

§  Doch  war  ihr  kuch  nimmer  leer. — (Ibid.) 

|i  L.  Opp.  xix.  p.  535.     Joel  i.  4. 

IT  Ltbelli,  parvuli  quidem  mole,  sed  virulentia 
perquam  grandes,  se,rmo  Lutheri  Teuthonicus  de 
destructione  Jerusalem. — (Cochlceus,  p.  138.) 


he  ;  "  he  became  man,  he  has  served  us  * 
he  died  for  us,  he  has  risen  again,  and  he 
has  so  opened  the  gates  of  heaven,  that 

all  may  enter The  hour  of  grace 

is,  come The  glad  tidings  are  pro- 
claimed  But    where    is    the    city, 

where  is  the  prince  that  has  received 
them  ?  They  insult  the  Gospel :  they 
draw  the  sword,  and  daringly  seize  God 

by  the  beard. f But  wait He 

will  turn  round  ;  with  one  blow  will  he 
break  their  jaws,  and  all  Germany  will 
be  but  one  wide  ruin." 

These  works  had  a  very  great  sale4 
It  was  not  only  the  peasants  and  towns- 
people who  read  them,  but  nobles  also 
and  princes.  Leaving  the  priests  alone 
at  the  foot  of  the  altar,  they  threw  them- 
selves into  the  arms  of  the  new  Gospel. $ 
The  necessity  of  a  reform  of  abuses  was 
proclaimed  on  the  1st  of  August  by  a 
general  committee. 

Then  Rome,  which  had  appeared  to 
slumber,  awoke.  Fanatical  priests,  monks, 
ecclesiastical  princes,  all  beset  Ferdinand. 
Cunning,  bribery,  nothing  was  spared. 
Did  not  Ferdinand  possess  the  instruc- 
tions of  Seville  %  To  refuse  their  publi- 
cation was  to  effect  the  ruin  of  the 
Church  and  of  the  empire.  Let  the 
voice  of  Charles  oppose  its  powerful  veto 
to  the  dizziness  that  is  hurrying  Germa- 
ny along,  said  they,  and  Germany  will 
be  saved  !  Ferdinand  made  up  his  mind, 
and  at  length,  on  the  3d  August,  publish- 
ed the  decree,  drawn  up  more  than  four 
months  previously  in  favour  of  the  edict 
of  Worms.  || 

The  persecution  was  about  to  begin  : 
the  reformers  would  be  thrown  into  dun- 
geons, and  the  sword  drawn  on  the  banks 
of  the  Guadalquivir  would  pierce  at  last 
the  bosom  of  Reform. 

The  effect  of  the  imperial  ordinance 
was  immense.  The  breaking  of  an  axle- 
tree  does  not  more  violently  check  the 
velocity  of  a  railway  train.     The  Elect- 

*  Wird  Mensch,  dienet  uns,  stirbt  fur  uns. — 
(Luth.  Opp.  xiv.  (L.)  p.  226.) 

t  Greiffen  Gott  zu  frech  in  den  Bart. — (Ibid.) 
Deo  nimis  ferociter  barbani  vallicant. — (Cochlce- 
us.) 

X  Perquam  plurima  -vendebantur  cxemplaria. — 
(Cochlceus,  p.  139.) 

§  Non  solum  plebs  et  rusticaturba.  verum  etiam 
plcrique  optimatum  et  nobilium  trahebanturin  fa- 
vorem  novi  Evangelii,  atque  in  odiuui  antiquae  r&- 
ligionis. — (Cochlceus,  p.  160.) 

II  Sleidan,  Hist,  de  la  Ref.  liv.  vi.  pi  229. 


THE   PROTEST  AND   THE   CONFERENCE.     1536—1529. 


629 


or  and  the  Landgrave  announced  that 
they  were  about  to  quit  the  diet,  and  or- 
dered their  attendants  to  prepare  for  their 
departure.  At  the  same  time  the  depu- 
ties from  the  cities  drew  towards  these 
two  princes,  and  the  Reformation  appear- 
ed on  the  brink  of  entering  immediately 
upon  a  contest  with  the  Pope  and  Charles 
the  Fifth. 

But  it  was  not  yet  prepared  for  a  gen- 
eral struggle.  It  was  necessary  for  the 
tree  to  send  out  its  roots  deeper,  before 
the  Almighty  unchained  the  stormy 
winds  against  it.  A  spirit  of  blindness, 
similar  to  that  which  in  former  times  was 
sent  out  upon  Saul  and  Herod,*  then 
seized  upon  the  great  enemy  of  the  Gos- 
pel ;  and  thus  was  it  that  Divine  Provi- 
dence saved  the  reform  in  its  cradle. 

The  first  movement  of  trouble  was 
over.  The  friends  of  the  Gospel  began 
to  consider  the  date  of  the  imperial  in- 
structions, and  to  weigh  the  new  political 
combinations  which  seemed  to  announce 
to  the  world  the  most  unlooked-for  events. 
"  When  the  Emperor  wrote  these  letters," 
said  the  cities  of  Upper  Germany,  "  he 
was  on  good  terms  with  the  Pope,  but 
now  everything  is  changed.  It  is  even 
asserted  that  he  had  told  Margaret,  his 
deputy  in  the  Low  Countries,  to  proceed 
gently  with  respect  to  the  Gospel.  Let 
us  send  him  a  deputation."  That  was 
not  necessary.  Charles  had  not  waited 
until  now  to  form  a  different  resolution. 
The  course  of  public  affairs,  taking  a  sud- 
den turn,  had  rushed  into  an  entirely  new 
path.  Years  of  peace  were  about  to  be 
granted  to  the  Reform. 

Clement  VII.,  whom  Charles  was 
about  to  visit,  according  to  the  instruc- 
tions of  Seville,  in  order  to  receive  in 
Rome  itself  and  from  his  sacred  hands  the 
imperial  crown,  and  in  return  to  give  up 
to  the  pontiff  the  Gospel  and  the  Refor- 
mation,— Clement  VII.,  siezed  with  a 
strange  infatuation,  had  suddenly  turned 
against  this  powerful  monarch.  The 
Emperor,  unwilling  to  favour  his  ambi- 
tion in  every  point,  had  opposed  his  claims 
on  the  states  of  the  Duke  of  Ferrara. 
Clement  immediately  became  exaspera- 
ted, and  cried  out  that  Charles  wished  to 
enslave  the  peninsula,  but  that  the  time 
was  come  for  re-establishing  the  indepen- 
dence of  Italy.  This  great  idea  of  Ital- 
*  1  Sam.  ivi.  14-23 ;  Matt.  ii. 


ian  independence,  entertained  at  that  pe- 
riod by  a  few  literary  men,  had  not,  as 
now,  penetrated  the  mass  of  the  nation. 
Clement  therefore  hastened  Jo  have  re- 
course to  political  combinations.  The 
Pope,  the  Venetians,  and  the  King  of 
France,  who  had  scarcely  recovered  his 
liberty,  formed  a  holy  league,  of  which  the 
King  of  England  was  by  a  bull  proclaim- 
ed the  preserver  and  protectoT.*  In  June 
1526,  the  Emperor  caused  the  most  favour- 
able propositions  to  be  presented  to  the 
Pope  ;  but  these  advances  were  ineffect- 
ual, and  the  Duke  of  Sessa,  Charles's  am- 
bassador at  Rome,  returning  on  horseback 
from  his  last  audience,  placed  a  court-fool 
behind  him,  who,  by  a  thousand  monkey 
tricks,  gave  the  Roman  people  to  under- 
stand how  they  laughed  at  the  projects  of 
the  Pope.  The  latter  responded  to  these 
bravadoes  by  a  brief,  in  which  he  threaten- 
ed the  Emperor  with  excommunication, 
and  without  loss  of  time  pushed  his  troops 
into  Lombardy,  whilst  Milan,  Florence, 
and  Piedmont  declared  for  the  Holy 
League.  Thus  was  Europe  preparing 
to  be  avenged  for  the  triumph  of  Pavia. 

Charles  did  not  hesitate.  He  wheeled 
to  the  right  as  quickly  as  the  Pope  had 
done  to  the  left,  and  turned  abruptly  to- 
wards the  evangelical  princes.  "  Let  us 
suspend  the  Edict  of  Worms,"  wrote  he 
to  his  brother  ;  "  let  us  bring  back  Lu- 
ther's partisans  by  mildness,  and  by  a 
good  council  cause  the  evangelical  truth 
to  triumph."  At  the  same  time  he  de- 
manded that  the  Elector,  the  Landgrave, 
and  their  allies  should  march  with  him 
against  the  Turks — or  against  Italy,  for 
the  common  good  of  Christendom. 

Ferdinand  hesitated.  To  gain  the 
friendship  of  the  Lutherans  was  to  forfeit 
that  of  the  other  princes.  The  latter  were 
already  beginning  to  utter  violent  threats.f 
The  Protestants  themselves  were  not  very 
eager  to  grasp  the  Emperor's  hand.  "  It 
is  God,  God  himself,  who  will  save  his 
churches."! 

What  was  to  be  done  ?  The  edict  of 
Worms  could  neither  be  repealed  nor 
carried  into  execution. 

*  Sleidan,  Hist  de  la  Ref.  liv.  vi. ;  Bullar.  Mag. 
roman.  x. 

t  Ferdinandus.  ut  audio,  graviter  minatur. — 
(Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  801.) 

t  Imperator  pollicetur sed  nemo  his  pro- 
missis  movetur.  Spero  Deum  defensurum  esse 
suas  Ecclesias. — (Ibid.) 


630 


HISTORY   OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


This  strange  situation  led  of  necessity 
to  the  desired  solution  :  religious  liberty. 
The  first  idea  of  this  occurred  to  the  dep- 
uties of  the  cities.  "  In  one  place,"  said 
they,  "  the  ancient  ceremonies  have  been 
preserved  ;  in  another  they  have  been 
abolished  ;  and  both  think  they  are  right. 
Let  us  allow  each  one  to  do  as  he  thinks 
fit,  until  a  council  shall  re-establish  the 
desired  unity  by  the  Word  of  God." 
This  idea  gained  favour,  and  the  recess  of 
the  diet,  dated  the  27th  August,  decreed 
that  a  universal,  or  at  least  a  national  free 
council  should  be  convoked  within  a  year, 
that  they  should  request  the  Emperor  to 
return  speedily  to  Germany,  and  that,  un- 
til then,  each  state  should  behave  in  its 
own  territory  in  a  manner  so  as  to  be 
able  to  render  an  account  to  God  and  to 
the  Emperor.* 

Thus  they  escaped  from  their  difficulty 
by  a  middle  course  ;  and  this  time  it  was 
really  the  true  one.  Each  one  main- 
tained his  rights,  while  recognising  an- 
other's. The  diet  of  1526  forms  an 
important  epoch  in  history :  an  ancient 
power,  that  of  the  middle  ages,  is  shaken  ; 
a  new  power,  that  of  modern  times,  is 
advancing ;  religious  liberty  boldly  takes 
its  stand  in  front  of  Romish  despotism  ;  a 
lay  spirit  prevails  over  the  sacerdotal 
spirit.  In  this  single  step  there  is  a  com- 
plete victory :  the  cause  of  the  Reform  is 
won. 

Yet  it  was  little  suspected.  Luther, 
on  the  morrow  of  the  day  on  which  the 
recess  was  published,  wrote  to  a  friend  : 
"  The  diet  is  sitting  at  Spire  in  the  Ger- 
man fashion.  They  drink  and  gamble, 
and  there  is  nothing  done  except  that."f 
'•  Le  congres  danse  et  ne  marche  pas,"! 
has  been  said  in  our  days.  It  is  because 
great  things  are  often  transacted  under 
an  appearance  of  frivolity,  and  because 
God  accomplishes  his  designs  unknown 
even  to  those  whom  he  employs  as  his 
instruments.  In  this  diet  a  gravity  and 
love  of  liberty  of  conscience  were  mani- 
fested, which  are  the  fruits  of  Christiani- 
ty, and  which  in  the  sixteenth  century 
had  its  earliest,  if  not  its  most  energetic 

*  Unusquisque  in  sua  ditione  ita  se  gereret  ut 
rationem  Deo  et  imperatori  retldere  posset. — 
(Seckend.  ii.  p.  41.) 

t  Potatur  et  luditur,  prseterea  nihil. — (L.  Epp. 
iii.  p.  126.) 

t  The  congress  dances  but  does  not  move  for- 
ward. 


development    among    the    German  na- 
tions. 

Yet  Ferdinand  still  hesitated.  Ma- 
homet himself  came  to  the  aid  of  the 
Gospel.  Louis,  king  of  Hungary  and 
Bohemia,  drowned  at  Mohacz  on  the 
29th  August,  1526,  as  he  was  fleeing 
from  before  Soliman  II.,  had  bequeathed 
the  crown  of  these  two  kingdoms  to 
Ferdinand.  But  the  Duke  of  Bavaria, 
the  Waywode  of  Transylvania,  and, 
above  all,  the  terrible  Soliman,  contested 
it  against  him.  This  was  sufficient  to 
occupy  Charles's  brother :  he  left  Lu- 
ther, and  hastened  to  dispute  the  two 
thrones. 

II.  The  Emperor  immediately  reaped 
the  fruits  of  his  new  policy.  No  longer 
having  his  hands  tied  by  Germany,  he 
turned  them  against  Rome.  The  Refor- 
mation had  been  exalted  and  the  Papacy 
was  to  be  abased.  The  blows  aimed  at 
its  pitiless  enemy  were  about  to  open 
a  new  career  to  the  evangelical  work. 

Ferdinand,  who  was  detained  by  his 
Hungarian  affairs,  gave  the  charge  of 
the  Italian  expedition  to  Freundsberg, 
that  old  general  who  had  patted  Luther 
in  a  friendly  manner  on  the  shoulder  as 
the  reformer  was  about  to  appear  before 
the  diet  of  Worms.*  This  veteran,  ob- 
served a  contemporary,f  who  "  bore  in 
his  chivalrous  heart  God's  holy  Gospel, 
well  fortified  and  flanked  by  a  strong 
wall,"  pledged  his  wife's  jewels,  sent 
recruiting  parties  into  all  the  towns  of 
Upper  Germany,  and  owing  to  the 
magic  idea  of  a  war  against  the  Pope, 
soon  witnessed  crowds  of  soldiers  flocking 
to  his  standard."  "  Announce,"  Charles 
had  said  to  his  brother, — "  announce 
that  the  army  is  to  march  against  the 
Turks ;  every  one  will  know  what 
Turks  are  meant." 

Thus  the  mighty  Charles,  instead  of 
marching  with  the  Pope  against  the 
Reform,  as  he  had  threatened  at  Seville, 
marches  with  the  Reform  against  the 
Pope.  A  few  days  had  sufficed  to  pro- 
duce this  change  of  direction  :  there  are 
few  such  in  history  in  which  the  hand 
of  God  is  more  plainly  manifested. 
Charles  immediately  assumed  all  the 
airs  of  a  reformer.     On  the  17th  Septem- 

*  See  book  vii.  chap.  viii. 

t  Haug  marschalk,  surnamed  Zeller. 


THE   PROTEST  AND  THE   CONFERENCE.     1526—1529. 


631 


ber,  he  addressed  a  manifesto  to  the 
Pope,*  in  which  he  reproaches  him  for 
behaving  not  like  the  father  of  the  faith- 
ful, but  like  an  insolent  and  haughty 
man  ;f  and  declares  his  astonishment 
that,  being  Christ's  vicar,  he  should  dare 
to  shed  blood  to  acquire  earthly  posses- 
sions, "  which,"  added  he,  "  is  quite  con- 
trary 40  the  evangelical  doctrine."!  Lu- 
ther could  not  have  spoken  better.  "  Let 
your  holiness,"  continued  Charles  the 
Fifth,  "  return  the  sword  of  St.  Peter 
into  the  scabbard,  and  convoke  a  holy 
and  universal  council."  But  the  sword 
was  much  more  to  the  pontiff's  taste 
than  the  council.  Is  not  the  Papacy, 
according  to  the  Romish  doctors,  the 
source  of  the  two  powers  ?  Can  it 
not  depose  kings,  and  consequently 
fight  against  them  ?§  Charles  prepared 
to  requite  "  eye  for  eye,  and  tooth  for 
tooth."  || 

Now  began  that  terrible  campaign 
during  which  the  storm  burst  on  Rome 
and  on  the  Papacy  that  had  been  des- 
tined to  fall  on  Germany  and  the  Gos- 
pel. By  the  violence  of  the  blows  in- 
flicted on  the  pontifical  city,  we  may 
judge  of  the  severity  of  those  that  would 
have  dashed  in  pieces  the  reformed 
churches.  While  we  retrace  so  many 
scenes  of  horror,  we  have  constant  need 
of  calling  to  mind  that  the  chastisement 
of  the  seven-hilled  city  had  been  predict- 
ed by  the  Divine  Scriptures.^! 

In  the  month  of  November,  Freunds- 
berg,  at  the  head  of  fifteen  thousand 
men,  was  at  the  foot  of  the  Alps.  The 
old  general,  avoiding  the  military  roads, 
that  were  well  guarded  by  the  enemy, 
flung  himself  into  a  narrow  path,  over 
frightful  precipices,  that  a  few  blows  of 
the  mattock  would  have  rendered  im- 
passable. The  soldiers  are  forbidden  to 
look   behind   them ;    nevertheless    their 

*  Caroli  Imperat.  Rescriptum  ad  Clcmentis 
Saptimi  criminationes. — (Goldasti,  Constitut.  Im- 
perials, i.  p.  479.) 

t  Non  jam  pastoris  seu  communis  patris  lau- 
dem,  sed  supcrbi  et  insolentis  nomen. — (Ibid.  p. 
487.) 

t  Cum  id  ab  evangclica  doctrina,  prorsus  alie- 
num  vidctur. — (Ibid.  p.  4S9.) 

§  Utriusquepotestatisapiccm  Papa  tenet. — (Tur- 
recremata  de  Potestate  Papali.) 

II  Exod.  xxi.  24. 

IT  Revel,  xviii.  We  should  not,  however,  re- 
strict this  prediction  to  the  incomplete  sack  of 
1527,  and  from  which  the  city  soon  recovered. 


heads  turn,  their  feet  slip,  and  horse  and 
foot  fall  from  time  to  time  down  the 
abyss.  In  the  most  difficult  passes,  the 
most  sure-footed  of  the  infantry  lower 
their  long  pikes  to  the  right  and  left  of 
their  aged  chief,  by  way  of  barrier,  and 
Frcundsberg  advances,  clinging  to  the 
lansquenet  in  front,  and  pushed  on  by 
the  one  behind.  In  three  days  the  Alps 
are  crossed,  and  on  the  19th  Novem- 
ber the  army  reaches  the  territory  of 
Brescia. 

The  Constable  of  Bourbon,  who  since 
the  death  of  Pescara  was  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  imperial  army,  had  just 
taken  possession  of  the  duchy  of  Milan. 
The  Emperor  having  promised  him  this 
conquest  for  a  recompense,  Bourbon  was 
compelled  to  remain  there  some  time  to 
consolidate  his  power.  At  length,  on  the 
12th  February,  he  and  his  Spanish  troops 
joined  the  army  of  Freundsberg,  which 
was  becoming  impatient  at  his  delays. 
The  Constable  had  many  men,  but  no 
money :  he  resolved  therefore  to  follow 
the  advice  of  the  Duke  of  Ferrara,  that 
inveterate  enemy  of  the  princes  of  the 
Church,  and  proceed  straight  to  Rome.* 
The  whole  army  received  this  news 
with  a  shout  of  joy.  The  Spaniards 
were  filled  with  a  desire  of  avenging 
Charles  the  Fifth,  and  the  Germans  were 
overflowing  with  hatred  against  the 
Pope :  all  exulted  in  the  hope  of  receiv- 
ing their  pay  and  of  having  their  labours 
richly  recompensed  at  last  by  the  treas- 
ures of  Christendom  that  Rome  had 
been  accumulating  for  ages.  Their 
shouts  re-echoed  beyond  the  Alps,  Every 
man  in  Germany  thought  that  the  last 
hour  of  the  Papacy  had  now  come,  and 
prepared  to  contemplate  its  fall.  "  The 
Emperor's  forces  are  triumphing  in 
Italy,"  wrote  Luther  ;  "  the  Pope  is  visit- 
ed from  every  quarter.  His  destruction 
draweth  nigh  ;  his  hour  and  his  end  are 
come."f 

A  few  slight  advantages  gained  by  the 
papal  soldiers  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples, 
led  to  the  conclusion  of  a  truce  that  was 
to  be  ratified  by  the  Pope  and  by  the 
Emperor.     At  this  news  a  frightful  tu- 

*  Guicciardini,  History  of  the  Wars  in  Italy, 
book  xviii.  p.  698. 

t  Papa  ubique  visitatur,  ut  destruatur;  venit 
enim  finis  et  hora  ejus. — (Luther  to  Haussmann, 
10th  January,  1527.     Epp.  iii.  p.  156.) 


632 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


mult  broke  out  in  the  Constable's  army. 
The  Spanish  troops  revolted,  compelled 
him  to  flee,  and  pillaged  his  tent.  Then 
approaching  the  lansquenets,  they  began 
to  shout  as  loudly  as  they  could,  the 
only  German  words  they  knew  :  Lance ! 
lance  !  money  !  money  !*  These  words 
found  an  echo  in  the  bosoms  of  the  Im- 
perialists ;  they  were  moved  in  their 
turn,  and  also  began  to  cry  with  all  their 
might :  Lance  !  lance  !  money  !  money  ! 
Freundsberg  beat  to  muster,  and  having 
drawn  up  the  soldiers  around  him  and 
his  principal  officers,  calmly  demanded 
if  he  had  ever  deserted  them.  All  was 
useless.  The  old  affection  which  the 
lansquenets  bore  to  their  leader  seemed 
extinct.  One  chord  alone  vibrated  in 
their  hearts:  they  must  have  pay  and 
war.  Accordingly,  lowering  their  lances, 
they  presented  them,  as  if  they  would 
slay  their  officers,  and  again  began  to 
shout,  "  Lance !  lance  !  money  !  money  !" 
Freundsberg,  whom  no  army  however 
large  had  ever  frightened, — Freundsberg, 
who  was  accustomed  to  say,  "  the  more 
enemies,  the  greater  the  honour,"  seeing 
these  lansquenets,  at  whose  head  he  had 
grown  gray,  aiming  their  murderous 
steel  against  him,  lost  all  power  of  utter- 
ance, and  fell  senseless  upon  a  drum,  as 
if  struck  with  a  thunderbolt. f  The 
strength  of  the  veteran  general  Avas 
broken  for  ever.  But  the  sight  of  their 
dying  captain  produced  on  the  lansquenets 
an  effect  that  no  speech  could  have  made. 
All  the  lances  were  upraised,  and-  the 
agitated  soldiers  retired  with  downcast 
eyes.  Four  days  later,  Freundsberg  re- 
covered his  speech.  "  Forward,"  said  he 
to  the  Constable ;  "  God  himself  will 
bring  us  to  the  mark."  Forward !  for- 
ward !  repeated,  the  lansquenets.  Bourbon 
had  no  other  alternative:  besides,  neither 
Charles  nor  Clement  would  listen  to 
any  propositions  of  peace.  Freundsberg 
was  carried  to  Ferrara,  and  afterwards  to 
his  castle  of  Mindelheim,  where  he  died 
after  an  illness  of  eighteen  months  ;  and 
on  the  18th  April,  Bourbon  took  the 
highroad  to  Rome,  which  so  many  for- 

*  Lanz,  lanz,  gelt,  gelt. 

t  Cum  vero  hastas  ducibus  obverterent  indig- 
natione  et  aegritudine  animi  oppressus,  Frons- 
bergius  subito  in  deliquium  incidit,  ita  ut  in  tym- 
pano  quod  adstabat  desidere  cogeretur,  nullum- 
que  verbuoi  proloqui  amplius  posset. — (Seckend. 
ii.  p.  79.) 


midable  armies  coming  from  the  north 
had  already  trodden. 

Whilst  the  storm  descending  from  the 
Alps  was  approaching  the  eternal  city, 
the  Pope  lost  his  presence  of  mind,  sent 
away  his  troops,  and  kept  only  his  body- 
guard. More  than  thirty  thousand  Ro- 
mans, it  is  true,  capable  of  bearing  arms, 
paraded  their  bravery  in  the  streets, drag- 
ging their  long  swords  after  them,  quar- 
relling and  fighting  ;  but  these  citizens, 
eager  in  the  pursuit  of  gain,  had  little 
thought  of  defending  the  Pope,  and  de- 
sired on  the  contrary  that  the  magnificent 
Charles  would  come  and  settle  in  Rome, 
hoping  to  derive  great  profit  from  his 
stay. 

On  the  evening  of  the  5th  May  Bour- 
bon arrived  under  the  walls  of  the  cap- 
ital ;  and  he  would  have  begun  the  as- 
sault at  that  very  moment  if  he  had  had 
ladders.  On  the  morning  of  the  6th  the 
army,  concealed  by  a  thick  fog  which 
hid  their  movements,*  was  put  in  mo- 
tion, the  Spaniards  marching  to  their  sta- 
tion above  the  gate  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  the  Germans  below. f  The  Consta- 
ble, wishing  to  encourage  his  soldiers, 
seized  a  scaling-ladder,  mounted  the  wall, 
and  called  on  them  to  follow  him.  At 
this  moment  a  ball  struck  him  :  he  fell, 
and  expired  an  hour  after.  Such  was 
the  end  of  this  unhappy  man,  a  traitor  to 
his  king  and  to  his  country,  and  sus- 
pected even  by  his  new  friends. 

His  death,  far  from  checking,  served 
only  to  excite  the  army.  Claudius 
Seidenstucker,  grasping  his  long  sword, 
first  cleared  the  wall ;  he  was  followed 
by  Michael  Hartmann,  and  these  two  re- 
formed Germans  exclaimed  that  God 
himself  marched  before  them  in  the 
clouds.  The  gates  were  opened,  the 
army  poured  in,  the  suburbs  were  taken, 
and  the  Pope,  surrounded  by  thirteen 
cardinals,  fled  to  the  Castle  of  St.  Angelo. 
The  Imperialists,  at  whose  head  was 
now  the  Prince  of  Orange,  offered  him 
peace  on  condition  of  his  paying  three 
hundred  thousand  crowns.  But  Clement, 
who  thought  that  the  Holy  League  was 
on  the  point  of  delivering  him,  and  who 

*  Guicciardini,  vol.  ii.  p.  721. 

r  Since  the  new  wall  built  by  Urban  VIII. 
on  the  top  of  the  Janiculum,  the  gates  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  of  Seltimiana  have  become  use- 


THE  PROTEST  AND   THE   CONFERENCE.     1526—1529. 


633 


fancied  he  already  saw '  their  leading 
horsemen,  rejected  every  proposition. 
After  four  hours'  repose,  the  attack  was 
renewed,  and  by  an  hour  after  sunset 
the  army  was  master  of  all  the  city.  It 
remained  under  arms  and  in  good  order 
until  midnight,  the  Spaniards  in  the 
Piazza  Navona,  and  the  Germans  in  the 
Campofiore.  At  last,  seeing  no  demon- 
strations either  of  war  or  peace,  the  sol- 
diers disbanded  and  ran  to  pillage. 

Then  began  the  famous  "  Sack  of 
Rome."  The  Papacy  had  for  centuries 
put  Christendom  in  the  press.  Prebends, 
annates,  jubilees,  pilgrimages,  ecclesias- 
tical graces, — she  had  made  money  of 
them  all.  These  greedy  troops,  that  for 
months  had  lived  in  wretchedness,  deter- 
mined to  make  her  disgorge.  No  one 
was  spared,  the  imperial  not  more  than 
the  ultramontane  party,  the  Ghibellines 
not  more  than  the  Guelfs.  Churches, 
palaces,  convents,  private  houses,  basilics, 
banks,  tombs — every  thing  was  pillaged, 
even  to  the  golden  ring  that  the  corpse 
of  Julius  II.  still  wore  on  its  finger. 
The  Spaniards  displayed  the  greatest 
skill ;  they  scented  out  and  discovered 
treasures  in  the  most  mysterious  hiding- 
places  ;  but  the  Neapolitans  were  still 
more  outrageous.*  "  On  every  side 
were  heard,"  says  Guicciardini,  "  the 
piteous  shrieks  of  the  Roman  women 
and  of  the  nuns  whom  the  soldiers  drag- 
ged away  by  companies  to  satiate  their 
lust."f 

At  first  the  Germans  found  a  certain 
pleasure  in  making  the  Papists  feel  the 
weight  of  their  swords.  But  ere  long, 
happy  at  finding  food  and  drink,  they 
were  more  pacific  than  their  allies.  It 
was  upon  those  things  which  the  Ro- 
mans called  "  holy"  that  the  anger  of  the 
Lutherans  was  especially  discharged. 
They  took  away  the  chalices,  the  pyxes, 
the  silver  remonstrances,  and  clothed  their 
servants  and  camp-boys  with  the  sacer- 
dotal garments.^  The  Campofiore  was 
changed  into  an  immense  gambling- 
house.  The  soldiers  brought  thither 
golden  vessels  and  bags  full  of  crowns, 
staked  them  upon  one  throw  of  the  dice, 
and  after  losing  them,  they  went  in  search 

*  Jovius  Vita  Pompeii  Colonnse,  p.  191 ;  Ranke, 
Deutsche  Gesch.  ii.  p.  398. 

1"  Guicciardini,  ii.  p.  724. 

X  Sacras  vcstes  profanis  induebant  lLxis. — 
(Cochlceus,  p.  156.) 

80 


of  others.  A  certain  Simon  Baptista, 
who  had  foretold  the  sack  of  the  city, 
had  been  thrown  into  prison  by  the 
Pope  ;  the  Germans  liberated  him,  and 
made  him  drink  with  them.  But,  like 
Jeremiah,  he  prophesied  against  all. 
"  Rob,  plunder,"  cried  he  to  his  liberators  ; 
"  you  shall  however  give  back  all ;  the 
money  of  the  soldiers  and  the  gold  of  the 
priests  will  follow  the  same  road." 

Nothing  pleased  the  Germans  more 
than  to  mock  the  papal  court.  "  Many 
prelates,"  says  Guicciardini,  "  were  para- 
ded on  asses  through  all  the  city  of  Rome."* 
After  this  procession,  the  bishops  paid 
their  ransom  ;  but  they  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  Spaniards,  who  made  them  pay  it 
a  second  time.f 

One  day  a  lansquenet  named  Guil- 
laume  de  Sainte  Celle,  put  on  the  Pope's 
robes,  and  placed  the  triple  crown  upon 
his  head ;  others,  adorning  themselves 
with  the  red  hats  and  long  robes  of  the 
cardinals,  surrounded  him ;  and  all  go- 
ing in  procession  upon  asses  through  the 
streets  of  the  city,  arrived  at  last  before 
the  castle  of  Saint  Angelo,  where  Cle- 
ment VII.  had  retired.  Here  the  soldier- 
cardinals  alighted,  and  lifting  up  the 
front  of  their  robes,  kissed  the  feet  of  the 
pretended  pontiff.  The  latter  drank  to 
the  health  of  Clement  VII.,  the  cardi- 
nals kneeling  did  the  same,  and  exclaim- 
ed that  henceforward  they  would  be  pi- 
ous popes  and  good  cardinals,  who  would 
have  a  care  not  to  excite  wars,  as  all  their 
predecessors  had  done.  They  then  form- 
ed a  conclave,  and  the  Pope  having  an- 
nounced to  his  consistory  that  it  was  his 
intention  to  resign  the  Papacy,  all  hands 
were  immediatly  raised  for  the  election, 
and  they  cried  out "  Luther  is  Pope  !  Lu- 
ther is  Pope  !"|  Never  had  pontiff  been 
proclaimed  with  such  perfect  unanimity. 
Such  were  the  humours  of  the  Ger- 
mans. 

The  Spaniards  did  not  let  them  off  so 
easily.  Clement  VII.  had  called  them 
"Moors,"  and  had  published  a  plenary 
indulgence  for  whoever  should  kill  any 
of  them.     Nothing,  therefore,  could  re- 

*  Wars  of  Italy,  ii.  p.  723. 

t  Eundem  civem  seu  curialem  haud  raro,  nunc 
ab  Hispanis,  nunc  a  Germanis  cere  mutuato  re- 
dimi. — (Cochlceus,  p.  156.) 

t  Milites  itaque  levasse  manum  ac  exclamasse : 
Lutherus  Papa!  Lutherus  Papa '.—(Cochlceus, 
p.  156.) 


634 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


strain  their  fury.  These  faithful  Catho- 
lics put  the  prelates  to  death  in  the  midst 
of  horrible  tortures,  destined  to  extort 
their  treasures  from  them  :  they  spared 
neither  rank,  sex,  nor  age.  It  was  not 
until  after  the  sack  had  lasted  ten  days, 
and  a  booty  of  ten  million  golden 
crowns  had  been  collected,  and  from  five 
to  eight  thousand  victims  had  perished, 
that  quiet  began  to  be  in  some  degree 
restored. 

Thus  did  the  pontifical  city  expire  in 
the  midst  of  a  long  and  cruel  pillage, 
and  that  splendour  with  which  Rome 
from  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury had  filled  the  world  faded  in  a  few 
hours.  Nothing  could  preserve  this 
haughty  city  from  chastisement,  not  even 
the  prayers  of  its  enemies.  "  I  would 
not  have  Rome  burnt,"  Luther  had  ex- 
claimed ;  "  it  would  be  a  monstrous 
deed."*  The  fears  of  Melancthon  Avere 
still  keener  :  "  I  tremble  for  the  libraries," 
said  he,  "  we  know  how  hateful  books  are 
to  Mars."f  But  in  despite  of  these 
wishes  of  the  reformers,  the  city  of  Leo 
X.  fell  under  the  judgment  of  God. 

Clement  VII.,  besieged  in  the  castle  of 
Saint  Angelo,  and  fearful  that  the  enemy 
would  blow  his  asylum  into  the  air  with 
their  mines,  at  last  capitulated.  He  re- 
nounced every  alliance  against  Charles 
the  Fifth,  and  bound  himself  to  remain 
a  prisoner  until  he  had  paid  the  army 
four  hundred  thousand  ducats.  The 
evangelical  Christians  gazed  with  aston- 
ishment on  this  judgment  of  the  Lord. 
u  Such,"  said  they,  "  is  the  empire  of  Je- 
sus Christ,  that  the  Emperor,  pursuing 
Luther  on  account  of  the  Pope,  is  con- 
strained to  ruin  the  Pope  instead  of  Lu- 
ther. All  things  minister  unto  the  Lord, 
and  turn  against  his  adversaries."^ 

III.  And  in  truth  the  Reform  needed 
some  years  of  repose  that  it  might  in- 
crease and  gain  strength ;  and  it  could 
not  enjoy  peace,  unless  its  great  enemies 
were  at  war  with  each  other.  The  mad- 
ness of  Clement  VII.  was  as  it  were  the 
lightning-conductor  of  the  Reformation, 
and  the  ruin  of  Rome  built  up  the  Gos- 

*  Romam  nollem  exustam,  magnum  enim  por- 

tcntum  esset. — (Epp.  iii.  p.  221.) 

t  Metuo  bibliothecis.— (Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  869.) 
t  Ut  Caesar   pro  Papa  Lutheruin  persequens, 

pro  Luthero  papam  cogatur  vastare. — (L.   Epp. 

xii.  p.  188.) 


pel.  It  was  not  only  a  few  months' 
gain;  from  1526  to  1529  there  was  a 
calm  in  Germany  by  which  the  Refor- 
mation profited  to  organize  and  extend 
itself.  A  constitution  was  now  to  be 
given  to  the  renovated  Church. 

I'he  papal  yoke  having  been  broken, 
the  ecclesiastical  order  required  to  be  re- 
established. It  was  impossible  to  restore 
their  ancient  jurisdiction  to  the  bishops ; 
for  these  continental  prelates  maintained 
that  they  were,  in  an  especial  manner, 
the  Pope's  servants.  A  new  state  of 
things  was  therefore  called  for,  under 
pain  of  seeing  the  Church  fall  into  anar- 
chy. Provision  was  made  for  it.  It  was 
then  that  the  evangelic  nations  separated 
definitely  from  that  despotic  dominion 
which  had  for  ages  kept  all  the  West  in 
bondage. 

Already  on  two  occasions  the  diet  had 
wished  to  make  the  reform  of  the  Church 
a  national  work  ;  the  Emperor,  the  Pope, 
and  a  few  princes  were  opposed  to  it ; 
the  Diet  of  Spire  had  therefore  resigned 
to  each  state  the  task  that  it  could  not  ac- 
complish itself. 

But  what  constitution  were  they  about 
to  substitute  for  the  papal  hierarchy  1 

They  could,  while  suppressing  the 
Pope,  preserve  the  Episcopal  order :  it 
was  the  form  most  approximate  to  that 
which  was  on  the  point  of  being  de- 
stroyed. 

They  might,  on  the  contrary,  recon- 
struct the  ecclesiastical  order,  by  having 
recourse  to  the  sovereignty  of  God's 
Word,  and  by  re-establishing  the  rights 
of  the  christian  people.  This  form  was 
the  most  remote  from  the  Roman  hierar- 
chy. Between  these  two  extremes  there 
were  several  middle  courses. 

The  latter  plan  was  Zwingle's ;  but 
the  reformer  of  Zurich  had  not  fully 
carried  it  out.  He  had  not  called  upon 
the  christian  people  to  exercise  the  sov- 
ereignty, and  had  stopped  at  the  council 
of  two  hundred  as  representing  the 
Church.* 

The  step  before  which  Zwingle  had 
hesitated  might  be  taken,  and  it  was  so. 
A  prince  did  not  shrink  from  what  had 
alarmed  even  republics.  Evangelical 
Germany,  at  the  moment  in  which  she 
began  to  try  her  hand  on  ecclesiastical 
constitutions,  began  with  that  which 
*  Supra,  b.  xi.  ch.  x. 


THE   PROTEST  AND   THE  CONFERENCE,     152G— 1529. 


635 


trenched  the  deepest  on  the  papal  mon- 
archy. 

It  was  not,  however,  from  Germany 
that  such  a  system  could  proceed.  If  the 
aristocratic  England  was  destined  to  cling 
to  the  episcopal  form,  the  docile  Germany 
was  destined  the  rather  to  stop  in  a  gov- 
ernmental medium.  The  democratic  ex- 
treme issued  from  Switzerland  and 
France.  One  of  Calvin's  predecessors 
then  hoisted  that  flag  which  the  power- 
ful arm  of  the  Genevese  Reformer  was 
to  lift  again  in  after-years  and  plant  in 
France,  Switzerland,  Holland,  Scotland. 
and  even  in  England,  whence  it  was  a 
century  later  to  cross  the  Atlantic  and 
summon  North  America  to  take  its  rank 
among  the  nations. 

None  of  the  evangelical  princes  was  so 
enterprising  as  Philip  of  Hesse,  who  has 
been  compared  to  Philip  of  Macedon  in 
subtlety,  and  to  his  son  Alexander  in 
courage.  Philip  comprehended  that  re- 
ligion was  at  length  acquiring  its  due 
importance ;  and  far  from  opposing  the 
great  development  that  was  agitating  the 
people,  he  put  himself  in  harmony  with 
the  new  ideas. 

The  morning-star  had  risen  for  Hesse 
almost  at  the  same  time  as  for  Saxony. 
In  1517,  when  Luther  was  preaching  in 
Wittemberg  the  gratuitous  remission  of 
sins,  men  and  women  were  seen  in  Mar- 
burg repairing  secretly  to  one  of  the 
ditches  of  the  city,  and  there,  near  a  soli- 
tary loophole,  listening  to  the  words  that 
issued  from  within,  and  that  preached 
doctrines  of  consolation  through  the  bars. 
It  was  the  voice  of  the  Franciscan,  James 
Limburg,  who  having  declared  that,  for 
fifteen  centuries,  the  priests  had  falsified 
the  Gospel  of  Christ,  had  been  thrown 
into  this  gloomy  dungeon.  These  mys- 
terious assemblies  lasted  a  fortnight.  On 
a  sudden  the  voice  ceased ;  these  lonely 
meetings  had  been  discovered,  and  the 
Franciscan,  torn  from  his  cell,  had  been 
hurried  away  across  the  Lahnberg  to- 
wards some  unknown  spot.  Not  far  from 
the  Ziegenberg,  some  weeping  citizens 
of  Marburg  came  up  with  him,  and  has- 
tily snatching  aside  the  canvass  that  cov- 
ered his  car,  they  asked  him,  "  Whither 
are  you  going  V  '<  Where  God  wills," 
calmly  replied  the  friar.*  There  was  no 
more  talk  of  him,  and  it  is  not  known 
*  Rommel,  Phil,  von  Hesse,  i.  p.  128. 


what  became  of  him.  These  disappear- 
ances are  usual  in  the  Papacy. 

Scarcely  had  Philip  prevailed  in  the 
Diet  of  Spire,  when  he  resolved  on  de- 
voting himself  to  the  Reformation  of  his 
hereditary  states. 

His  resolute  character  made  him  in- 
cline towards  the  Swiss  reform  :  it  was 
not  therefore  one  of  the  moderates  that 
he  required.  He  had  formed  a  connex- 
ion at  Spire  with  James  Sturm,  the  dep- 
uty from  Strasburg,  who  spoke  to  him  of 
Francis  Lambert  of  Avignon,  who  was 
then  at  Strasburg.  Of  a  pleasing  ex- 
terior and  decided  character,  Lambert 
added  to  the  fire  of  the  South  the  perse- 
verance of  the  North.  He  was  the  first 
in  France  to  throw  off  the  cowl,  and  he 
had  never  since  then  ceased  to  call  for  a 
radical  reform  in  the  Church.  "  For- 
merly," said  he,  "  when  I  was  a  hypo- 
crite, I  lived  in  abundance ;  now  I  con- 
sume frugally  my  daily  bread  with  my 
small  family  ;*  but  I  had  rather  be  poor 
in  Christ's  kingdom,  than  possess  abun- 
dance of  gold  in  the  dissolute  dwellings 
of  the  Pope."  The  Landgrave  saw  that 
Lambert  was  such  a  man  as  he  required, 
and  invited  him  to  his  court. 

Lambert,  desiring  to  prepare  the  re- 
form of  Hesse,  drew  up  one  hundred  and 
fifty-eight  theses,  which  he  entitled  "  par- 
adoxes," and  posted  them,  according  to 
the  custom  of  the  times,  on  the  church 
doors. 

Friends  and  enemies  immediately 
crowded  round  them.  Some  Roman 
catholics  would  have  torn  them  down, 
but  the  reformed  townspeople  kept  watch, 
and  holding  a  synod  in  the  public  square, 
discussed,  developed,  proved  these  propo- 
sitions, and  ridiculed  the  anger  of  the 
Papists. 

A  young  priest,  Boniface  Dornemann, 
full  of  self-conceit,  whom  the  bishop,  on 
the  day  of  his  consecration,  had  extolled 
above  Paul  for  his  learning,  and  above 
the  Virgin  for  his  chastity,  finding  him- 
self too  short  to  reach  Lambert's  placard, 
had  borrowed  a  stool,  and  surrounded  by 
a  numerous  audience,  had  begun  to  read 
the  propositions  aloud. f 

*  Nunc  cum  familiola  mea  panem  manduco  et 
pntum  capio  in  mensura  —  (Lamberti  Commen- 
tarii  de  Sacro  Conjugio.)  . 

t  Cum  statura  homines  hujusmodi  esset  ut  in- 
ter Pygmeeos  internosci  difficulter  posset,  sea- 


636 


HISTORY  OF   THE  REFORMATION. 


"  All  that  is  deformed,  ought  to  be  re- 
formed. The  Word  of  God  alone  teach- 
es us  what  ought  to  be  so,  and  all  re- 
form that  is  effected  otherwise  is  vain."* 

This  was  the  first  thesis.  "  Hem  !" 
said  the  young  priest,  "  I  shall  not  at- 
tack that."     He  continued. 

"  It  belongs  to  the  Church  to  judge  on 

matters  of  faith.     Now  the  Church   is 

the  congregation  of  those  who  are  Uni- 
ts      o 

ted  by  the  same  spirit,  the  same  faith,  the 
same  God,  the  same  Mediator,  the  same 
Word,  by  which  alone  they  are  govern- 
ed, and  in  which  alone  they  have  life."f 

"  I  cannot  attack  that  proposition,"  said 
the  priest.:};  He  continued  reading  from 
his  stool. 

"  The  Word  is  the  true  key.  The 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  open  to  him  who 
believes  the  Word,  and  shut  against  him 
who  believes  it  not.  Whoever,  there- 
fore, truly  possesses  the  Word  of  God, 
has  the  power  of  the  keys.  All  other 
keys,  all  the  decrees  of  the  councils  and 
popes,  and  all  the  rules  of  the  monks,  are 
valueless." 

Friar  Boniface  shook  his  head  and 
continued. 

"  Since  the  priesthood  of  the  Law  has 
been  abolished,  Christ  is  the  only  immor- 
tal and  eternal  priest,  and  he  does  not, 
like  men,  need  a  successor.  Neither  the 
Bishop  of  Rome  nor  any  other  person  in 
the  world  is  his  representative  here  be- 
low. But  all  Christians,  since  the  com- 
mencement of  the  Church,  have  been 
and  are  participators  in  his  priesthood." 

This  proposition  smelt  of  heresy.  Dor- 
nemann,  however,  was  not  discouraged  ; 
and  whether  it  was  from  weakness  of 
mind,  or  from  the  dawning  of  light,  at 
each  proposition  that  did  not  too  much 
shock  his  prejudices,  he  failed  not  to  re- 
peat :  "  Certainly,  I  shall  not  attack  that 
one  !"  The  people  listened  in  astonish- 
ment, when  one  of  them, — whether  he 
was  a  fanatical  Romanist,  a  fanatical  Re- 
former, or  a  mischievous  wag,  I  cannot 
tell — tired  of  these  continual  repetitions, 
exclaimed  :  "  Get  down,  you  knave,  who 

bellum  sibidari  postulabat,  eoqueconscenso,  coepit, 
&c. — (Othon.  Melandri  Jocorum  Cent.) 

*  Vana  est  omnis  Reformatio  quaj  alioqui  fit. — 
(Paradoxa  Lamberti :  Sculteti  Annal.) 

t  Ecclesia  est  congregatio  eorum  quos  unit  idem 
spiritus. — (Paradoxa  Lamberti:  Sculteti  Annal.) 

t  Hanc  equidem  haud  impugnaverim.  Illam 
ne  quidem  attigerim. — (Othon.  Mel.  Joe.  Cent.) 


cannot  find  a  word  to  impugn."  Then 
rudely  pulling  the  stool  from  under  him, 
he  threw  the  unfortunate  clerk  flat  in  the 
mud.* 

On  the  21st  October,  at  seven  in  the 
morning,  the  gates  of  the  principal 
church  of  Homburg  were  thrown  open, 
and  the  prelates,  abbots,  priests,  counts, 
knights,  and  deputies  of  the  towns,  en- 
tered in  succession,  and  in  the  midst  of 
them  was  Philip,  in  his  quality  of  first 
member  of  the  Church. 

After  Lambert  had  explained  and  pro- 
ved his  theses,  he  added :  "  Let  him  stand 
forth  who  has  anything  to  say  against 
them."  There  was  at  first  a  profound 
silence ;  but  at  length  Nicholas  Ferber, 
superior  of  the  Franciscans  of  Marburg, 
who  in  1524,  applying  to  Rome's  favour- 
ite argument,  had  entreated  the  Land- 
grave to  employ  the  sword  against  the 
heretics,  began  to  speak  with  drooping 
head,  and  downcast  eyes ;  but  as  he  invo- 
ked Augustin,  Peter  Lombard,  and  other 
doctors  to  his  assistance,  the  Landgrave 
observed  to  him :  "  Do  not  put  forward  the 
wavering  opinions  of  men,  but  the  Word 
of  God,  which  alone  fortifies  and  strength- 
ens our  hearts."  The  Franciscan  sat 
down  in  confusion,  saying :  "  This  is  not 
the  place  for  replying."  The  disputa- 
tion, however,  recommenced,  and  Lam- 
bert, showing  all  the  fire  of  the  South, 
so  astonished  his  adversary,  that  the  su- 
perior, alarmed  at  what  he  called  "  thun- 
ders of  blasphemy  and  lightnings  of  im- 
piety,"! sat  down  again,  observing  a  sec- 
ond time,  "  This  is  not  the  place  for  re- 
plying." 

In  vain  did  the  Chancellor  Feige  de- 
clare to  him  that  each  man  had  the  right 
of  maintaining  his  opinion  with  full  lib- 
erty ;  in  vain  did  the  Landgrave  himself 
exclaim  that  the  Church  was  sighing  af- 
ter truth  :  silence  had  become  Rome's 
refuge.  "  I  will  defend  the  doctrine  of 
purgatory,"  a  priest  had  said  prior  to  the 
discussion  ;  "  I  will  attack  the  paradoxes 
under  the  sixth  head  (on  the  true  priest- 
hood)," had  said  another  ;$  and  a  third 

*  Apagesis,  nebulo  !  qui  quod  impugnes  infir- 
mesqueinvenirehaud  possis!  hisquedictis  scabel- 
lum  ei  mux  subtrahit,  ut  miser  ille  praeceps  in 
lutum  ageretur—  (Oth.  Mel.  Joe.  Cent.) 

t  Fulcura  impietatum,  tonitrua  blaspliemiarum. 

t  Erant  enim  prius  qui  dicerent :  Ego  asseram 
purgatorium ;  alius,  Ego  impugnabo  paradoxa 
tituli  sexti,  etc. — (Lamberti  Epistola  ad  Colon  ' 


THE   PROTEST   AND   THE   CONFERENCE.     1526—1529. 


637 


had  exclaimed,  "  I  will  overthrow  those 
under  the  tenth  head  (on  images) ;"  but 
now  they  were  all  dumb. 

Upon  this  Lambert,  clasping-  his  hands, 
exclaimed  with  Zacharias  :  Blessed  be  the 
Lord  God  cf  Israel;  for  he  hath  visited  and 
redeemed  his  people. 

After  three  days  of  discussion,  which 
had  been  a  continual  triumph  for  the 
evangelical  doctrine,  men  were  selected 
and  commissioned  to  constitute  the 
churches  of  Hesse  in  accordance  with 
the  Word  of  God.  They  were  more  than 
three  days  occupied  in  the  task,  and  then 
their  new  constitution  was  published  in 
the  name  of  the  synod. 

The  first  ecclesiastical  constitution  pro- 
duced by  the  Reformation  should  have  a 
place  in  history,  so  much  the  more  as  it 
was  then  set  forward  as  a  model  for  the 
new  Churches  of  Christendom.* 

The  autonomy  or  self-government  of 
the  Church  is  its  fundamental  principle : 
it  is  from  the  Church,  from  its  represen- 
tatives assembled  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  that  this  legislation  emanates  ; 
there  is  no  mention  in  the  prologue  ei- 
ther of  state  or  of  Landgrave.f  Philip. 
content  with  having  broken  for  himself 
and  for  his  people  the  yoke  of  a  foreign 
priest,  had  no  desire  to  put  himself  in 
his  place,  and  was  satisfied  with  an  ex- 
ternal superintendence,  necessary  for  the 
maintenance  of  order. 

A  second  distinctive  feature  in  this 
constitution  is  its  simplicity  both  of  gov- 
ernment and  worship.  The  assembly 
conjures  all  future  synods  not  to  load  the 
Churches  with  a  multitude  of  ordinances. 
"  seeing  that  where  orders  abound,  disor- 
der superabounds."  They  would  not 
even  continue  the  organs  in  the  churches, ! 
because,  said  they,  '•  men  should  under- 
stand what  they  "hear."|  The  more  the 
human  mind  has  been  bent  in  one  direc- 
tion, the  more  violent  is  the  reaction  in 
the  contrary  direction  when  it  is  unbent. 
The  Church  passed  at  that  time  from  the 
extreme  of  symbols  to  that  of  simplicity. 
These  are  the  principal  features  of  this 
constitution : — 

*  This  constitution  will  be  found  in  Schminke. 
Monumenta  Hassiaca,  vol.  ii.  p.  588 :  M  Pro  Haa- 
siffi  Ecclesiis,  et  si  deinde  nonnullae  alicc  ad  idem 
nostro  exemplo  provocarentur." 

+  Svnodus  in  nomine  Domini  congregata. — 
(Ibid.) 

I  Ne  homines  non  intelligant. — (Ibid.  cap.  3.) 


"  The  Church  can  only  be  taught  and 
governed  by  the  Word  of  its  Sovereign 
Pastor.  Whoever  has  recourse  to  any 
other  word  shall  be  deposed  and  excom- 
municated.' 

a  Every  pious  man,  learned  in  the 
Word  of  God,  whatever  be  his  condition, 
may  be  elected  bishop  if  he  desire  it,  for 
he  is  called  inwardly  of  God. f 

';  Let  no  one  believe  that  by  a  bishop 
we  understand  anything  else  than  a  sim- 
ple minister  of  the  Word  of  God.J 

••  The  ministers  are  servants,  and  con- 
sequently they  ought  not  to  be  lords, 
princes,  or  governors. 

"  Let  the  faithful  assemble  and  choose 
their  bishops  and  deacons.  Each  church 
should  elect  its  own  pastor.^  . 

k:  Let  those  who  are  elected  bishops  be 
consecrated  to  their  office  by  the  imposi- 
tion of  the  hands  of  three  bishops  ;  and 
as  for  the  deacons,  if  there  are  no  minis- 
ters present,  let  them  receive  the  laying 
on  of  hands  from  the  elders  of  the 
Church.  || 

"  If  a  bishop  causes  any  scandal  to  the 
Church  by  his  effeminacy,  or  by  the 
splendour  of  his  garments,  or  by  the  lev- 
ity of  his  conduct,  and  if,  on  being  warn- 
ed, he  persists,  let  him  be  deposed  by  the 
Church.  •[ 

-  Let  each  church  place  its  bishop  in  a 
condition  to  live  with  his  family,  and  to 
be  hospitable,  as  St.  Paul  enjoins ;  but 
let  the  bishops  exact  nothing  for  their 
casual  duties.** 

'•  On  every  Sunday  let  there  be  in  some 
suitable  place  an  assembly  of  all  the  men 
who  are  in  the  number  of  the  saints,  to 
regulate  with  the  bishop,  according  to 
God's  Word,  all  the  affairs  of  the  Church, 
and  to  excommunicate  whoever  gives  oc- 

*  Non  admittimus  verbum  aliud  quam  ipsius 
pastoris  nostri. — (Schminke,  Monumenta  Hassia- 
ca. cap.  2.) 

t  Si  quis  pius,  in  verbo  sancto  et  excrcitatus, 
doeere  petit  verbum  sanctum,  non  repellatur,  a 
Deo  enim  interne  mittitur. — (Ibid.  cap.  23.) 

:  Ne  quis  putet,  nos  hie  per  episcopos,  alios  in- 
telhgere,  quam  ministros  Dei  verbi. — (Ibid.) 

§  "Eli<Tat  qufflvis  ecclesia  episcopum  suum. — 
(Ibid.  cap.  23.) 

II  Manus  imponant  duo  ex  senioribus,  nisi  alii 
episcopi  intersint. — (Ibid.  cap.  21.) 

TT  Deponat  ecclesia  episcopum  suum,  quod  ad 
earn  spectet  judicare  de  voce  pastorum. — (Ibid, 
cap.  23.) 

**  Alat  qusvis  ecclesia  episcopum  suum  sicqne 
illi  administret  ut  cum  sua  familia  vivere  possit 
— (Schminke,  Monumenta  Hassiaca,  cap.  «J.) 


638 


HISTORY  OF  THE    REFORMATION. 


casion  of  scandal  to  the  Church  ;  for  the 
Church  of  Christ  has  never  existed  with- 
out exercising  the  power  of  excommuni- 
cation.* 

"As  a  weekly  assembly  is  necessary 
for  the  direction  of  the  particular  churches, 
so  a  general  synod  should  be  held  annu- 
ally for  the  direction  of  all  the  churches 
in  the  country,  f 

"  All  the  pastors  are  its  natural  mem- 
bers ;  but  each  church  shall  further  elect 
from  its  body  a  man  full  of  the  Spirit  and 
of  faith,  to  whom  it  shall  intrust  it  pow- 
ers for  all  that  is  in  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
synod.  | 

"  Three  visiters  shall  be  elected  year- 
ly, with  commission  to  go  through  all  the 
churches,  to  examine  those  who  have 
been  elected  bishops,  to  confirm  those 
who  have  been  approved  of,  and  to  pro- 
vide for  the  execution  of  the  decrees  of 
the  synol" 

It  will  no  doubt  be  found  that  this  first 
evangelical  constitution  went  in  some 
points  to  the  extreme  of  ecclesiastical  de- 
mocracy ;  but  certain  institutions  had 
crept  in  that  were  capable  of  increase  and 
of  changing  its  nature.  Six  superinten- 
dents for  life  were  afterwards  substituted 
for  these  annual  visiters  (who,  according 
to  the  primitive  institution,  might  be  sim- 
ple members  of  the  church) ;  and,  as  has 
been  remarked,^  the  encroachments, 
whether  of  these  superintendents  or  of 
the  state,  gradually  paralyzed  the  activity 
and  independence  of  the  churches  of 
Hesse.  This  constitution  fared  as  did 
that  of  the  Abbe  Sieyes,  in  the  year  8, 
which,  being  destined  to  be  republican, 
served  through  the  influence  of  Napoleon 
Bonaparte  to  establish  the  despotism  of 
the  Empire. 

It  was  not  the  less  a  remarkable  work. 
Romish  doctors  have  reproached  the  Re- 
formation for  making  the  Church  a  too 
interior  institution.  ||     In  effect,  the  Refor- 

*  Fiat  convcntus  fidelium  in  congruo  loco,  ad 
quein  quotquot  ex  viris  in  sanctorum  numcro  ha- 
bentur ....  Christi  ecclcsia.n  nunquam  fuisse  sine 
excommunieatione. — (Ibid.  cap.  15.) 

t  Ut  seme]  pro  toto  Hessia  celebretur  synodus 
apud  Marpurirum  tertia  dominica  post  pascha. — 
(Ibid.  cap.  18.) 

}  Universi  episcopi Qunelibet  ecclesia   con- 

gregctur  et  eligat  ex  se  ipsa  unuai  plenum  fitfc  et 
Spiritu  Dei.— (Ibid.) 

§  Rettig,  Die  Freie  Kirche. 

II  This  is  the  opinion  set  forth  in  the  Symbolik 
of  Dr.  Rjfihler,  the  most  celebrated  defender  of  tile 
Romish  doctrine  among  our  contemporaries. 


mation  and  Popery  recognise  two  .ele- 
ments in  the  Church, — the  one  exterior, 
the  other  interior ;  but  while  Popery 
gives  precedence  to  the  former,  the  Re- 
formation assigns  it  to  the  latter.  If  how- 
ever it  be  a  reproach  against  the  Refor- 
mation for  having  an  inward  Church 
only,  and  for  not  creating  an  external 
one,  the  remarkable  constitution  of  which 
we  have  just  exhibited  a  few  features, 
will  save  us  the  trouble  of  reply.  The 
exterior  ecclesiastical  order,  which  then 
sprung  from  the  very  heart  of  the  Refor- 
mation, is  far  more  perfect  than  that  of 
Popery. 

One  great  question  presented  itself: 
Will  these  principles  be  adopted  by  all 
the  Churches  of  the  Reformation  ? 

Everything  seemed  to  indicate  as  much. 
The  most  pious  men  thought  at  that  time 
that  the  ecclesiastical  power  proceeded 
from  the  members  of  the  Church.  By 
withdrawing  from  the  hierarchical  ex- 
treme, they  flung  themselves  into  a  de- 
mocratical  one.  Luther  himself  had  pro- 
fessed this  doctrine  as  early  as  15:23. 
The  Calixtins  of  Bohemia,  on  seeing  the 
bishops  of  their  country  refuse  them  min- 
isters, had  gone  so  far  as  to  take  the  first 
vagabond  priest.  "  If  you  have  no  other 
means  of  procuring  pastors,"  wrote  Lu- 
ther to  them,  "  rather  do  without  them, 
and  let  each  head  of  a  family  read  the 
Gospel  in  his  own  house,  and  baptise  his 
children,  sighing  after  the  sacrament  of 
the  altar  as  the  Jews  at  Babylon  did  for 
Jerusalem.*  The  consecration  of  the 
Pope  creates  priests — not  of  God,  but  of 
the  devil,  ordained  solely  to  trample  Je- 
sus Christ  under  foot,  to  bring  his  sacri- 
fice to  naught,  and  to  sell  imaginary  holo- 
causts to  the  world  in  his  name.|  Men 
become  ministers  only  by  election  and 
calling,  and  that  ought  to  be  effected  in 
the  following  manner  : — • 

"  First,  seek  God  by  prayer  ;|  then  be- 
ing assembled  together  with  all  those 
whose  hearts  God  has  touched,  choose 
in  the  Lord's  name  him  or  them  whom 
you  shall  have  acknowledged  to  be  fitted 

*  Tutius  enim  et  salubrius   esset,   quemlibet  ' 
patrem-familias  sure  domui  legwe  Evangelium. — 
(L.  Opp.  lat.  ii.  p.  363.) 

+  Per  ordines  papisticos  non  saeerdotes  Dei  sed 
sacerdotes  Satanoe,  tantuai  ut  Christum  concul- 
ceat.— -(Ibid.  p.  364.) 

;  Orationibus  tu;u  privatis  turn  publicis.— (IbidL 
P.  3*fc} 


THE  PROTEST  AND   THE   CONFERENCE.     1526—1529. 


639 


for  this  ministry.  After  that,  let  the  chief 
men  among  you  lay  their  hands  on  them, 
and  recommend  them  to  the  people  and 
to  the  Church."* 

Luther,  in  thus  calling  upon  the  peo- 
ple alone  to  nominate  their  pastors,  sub- 
mitted to  the  necessities  of  the  times.  It 
was  requisite  to  constitute  the  ministry  ; 
but  the  ministry  having  no  existence,  it 
could  not  then  have  the  legitimate  part 
that  belongs  to  it  in  the  choice  of  God's 
ministers. 

But  another  necessity,  proceeding  in 
like  manner  from  the  state  of  affairs,  was 
to  incline  Luther  to  deviate  from  the 
principles  he  had  laid  down. 

The  German  Reformation  can  hardly 
be  said  to  have  begun  with  the  lower 
classes,  as  in  Switzerland  and  France ; 
and  Luther  could  scarcely  find  anywhere 
that  christian  people,  which  should  have 
played  so  great  a  part  in  his  new  consti- 
tution. Ignorant  men,  conceited  towns- 
people, who  would  not  even  maintain 
their  ministers — these  were  the  members 
of  the  Church.  Now  what  could  be  done 
with  such  elements  1 

But  if  the  people  were  indifferent,  the 
princes  were  not  so.  They  stood  in  the 
foremost  rank  of  the  battle,  and  sat  on  the 
first  bench  in  the  council.  The  demo- 
cratic organization  was  therefore  compel- 
led to  give  way  to  an  organization  con- 
formable to  the  civil  government.  The 
Church  is  composed  of  Christians,  and 
they  are  taken  wherever  they  are  found 
— high  or  low.  It  was  particularly  in 
high  stations  that  Luther  found  them.  He 
admitted  the  princes  as  representatives  of 
the  people ;  and  henceforward  the  in- 
fluence of  the  state  became  one  of  the 
principal  elements  in  the  constitution  of 
the  evangelical  Church. 

In  the  mind  of  the  Reformer,  this 
guardianship  of  the  princes  was  only  to 
be  provisional.  The  faithful  being  then 
in  minority,  they  had  need  of  a  guardian  ; 
but  the  era  of  the  Church's  majority 
might  arrive,  and  with  it  would  come  its 
emancipation. 

We  may  admit  that  this  recourse  to  the 
\  civil  power  was  at  that  time  necessary, 
;'   but  we  cannot  deny  that  it  was  also  a 

*  Eligite  quern  et  quos  volueritis.  Turn  im- 
positis  super  cos  manibus,  sint  hoc  ipso  vestri 
episcopi,  vestri  ininistri,  seu  pastores. — (L.  Opp. 
lat  ii.  p.  370.) 


source  of  difficulties.  We  will  point  out 
only  one.  When  Protestantism  became 
an  affair  of  governments  and  nations,  it 
ceased £>  be  universal.  The  new  spirit 
was  capable  of  creating  a  new  earth.  But 
instead  of  opening  new  roads,  and  of  pur- 
posing the  regeneration  of  all  Christen- 
dom, and  the  conversion  of  the  whole 
world,  the  Protestants  sought  to  settle 
themselves  as  comfortably  as  possible  in 
a  few  German  duchies.  This  timidity, 
which  has  been  called  prudence,  did  im- 
mense injury  to  the  Reformation. 

The  organizing  power  being  once  dis- 
covered, the  Reformers  thought  of  organ- 
ization, and  Luther  applied  to  the  task  ; 
for  although  he  was  in  an  especial  man- 
ner an  assailant  and  Calvin  an  organizer, 
these  two  qualities,  as  necessary  to  the 
reformers  of  the  Church  as  to  the  found- 
ers of  empires,  were  not  wanting  in  either 
of  these  great  servants  of  God. 

It  was  necessary  to,  compose  a  new 
ministry,  for  most  of  the  priests  who  had 
quitted  the  Papacy  were  content  to  re- 
ceive the  watchword  of  Reform  without 
having  personally  experienced  the  sancti- 
fying virtue  of  the  Truth.  There  was 
even  one  parish  in  which  the  priest 
preached  the  Gospel  in  his  principal 
church,  and  sang  mass  in  its  succur- 
sal.*  But  something  more  was  want- 
ing :  a  Christian  people  had  to  be  crea- 
ted. "  Alas  !"  said  Luther  of  some  of  the 
adherents  of  the  Reform,  ':  they  have 
abandoned  their  Romish  doctrines  and 
rites,  and  they  scoff  at  ours."f 

Luther  did  not  shrink  from  before  this 
double  necessity  ;  and  he  made  provision 
for  it.  Understanding  that  a  general  visita- 
tion of  the  churches  was  necessary,  head- 
dressed  the  Elector  on  this  subject,  on  the 
22  1  October  1526.  "  Your  highness,  in 
your  quality  of  guardian  of  youth,  and  of 
all  those  who-  know  not  how  to  take  care 
of  themselves,"  said  he,  "  should  compel 
the  inhabitants,  who  desire  neither  pas- 
tors nor  schools,  to  receive  these  means 
of  grace,  as  they  are  compelled  to  work 
on  the  roads,  on  bridges,  and  such  like 
services.!;     The  papal  order  being  abol* 

*  In  ffide  parochiali  evangelico  more  docebat,  in 
filiali  missi  futbat. — (Seek.  p.  102.) 

t  Sic  enim  sua  papistica  neglexerunt,  et  nostra 
contemnunt. — (L.  Epp.  iii.  p.  224.) 

X  Als  oberster  vormund  der  Jugend  und  aller 
die  es  bedurfen,  sal!  sie  mit  Gewalt  dazu  hallen. 
— (L.  Epp.  iii.  p.  13u\) 


640 


HISTORY   OF   THE   REFORMATION. 


ished  it  is  your  duty  to  regulate  these 
things  ;  no  other  person  cares  about  them, 
no  ether  can,  and  no  other  ought  to  do 
so.  Commission,  therefore,  four  persons 
to  visit  all  the  country  ;  let  two  of  them 
inquire  into  the  tithes  and  church  prop- 
erty ;  and  let  two  take  charge  of  the  doc- 
trine, schools,  churches,  and  pastors." 
We  naturally  ask,  on  reading  these  words, 
if  the  church  which  was  formed  in  the 
first  century,  without  the  support  of  prin- 
ces, could  not  in  the  sixteenth  be  reform- 
ed without  them  ? 

Luther  was  hot  content  with  soliciting 
in  writing  the  intervention  of  the  prince. 
He  was  indignant  at  seeing  the  courtiers, 
who  in  the  time  of  the  Elector  Frederick 
had  shown  themselves  the  inveterate  ene- 
mies of  the  Reformation,  rushing  now, 
"  sporting,  laughing,  skipping,"  as  he 
said,  on  the  spoils  of  the  Church.  Ac- 
cordingly, at  the  end  of  this  year,  the 
Elector  having  come  to  Wittemberg,  the 
Reformer  repaired  immediately  to  the 
palace,  made  his  complaint  to  the  prince- 
electoral,  whom  he  met  at  the  gate,  then 
without  caring  about  those  who  stopped 
him,  made  his  way  by  force  into  his  fa- 
ther's bedchamber,  and  addressing  this 
prince,  who  was  surprised  at  so  unexpect- 
ed a  visit,  begged  him  to  remedy  the  evils 
of  the  Church.  The  visitation  of  the 
churches  was  resolved  upon,  and  Me- 
lancthon  was  commissioned  to  draw  up 
the  necessary  instructions. 

In  1526,  Luther  had  published  his 
"  German  Mass,"  by  which  he  signified 
the  order  of  church  service  in  general. 
"  The  real  evangelical  assemblies,"  he 
said,  "  do  not  take  place  publicly,  pell- 
mell,  admitting  people  of  every  sort  ;* 
but  they  are  formed  of  serious  Christians, 
who  confess  the  Gospel  by  their  words 
and  by  their  lives,f  and  in  the  midst  of 
whom  we  may  reprove  and  excommuni- 
cate, according  to  the  rule  of  Christ  Je- 
sus.;}: I  cannot  institute  such  assemblies, 
for  I  have  no  one  to  place  in  them  ;§  but 
if  the  thing  becomes  possible,  I  shall  not 
be  wanting  in  this  duty." 

It  was  also  with  a  conviction  that  he 

*  Non  publice,  sive  promiscue  et  admissa  omnis 
generis  plebe. — (De  Missa  Germ.) 

t  Qui  nomina  sua  in  catalogum  referrent,  adds 
he.— (Ibid.) 

t  Excommunicari  qui  Christiano  more  se  non 
gererent. — (De  Missa  Germ.) 

§  Neque  emm  habeo  qui  suit  idonei. — (Ibid.) 


must  give  the  Church,  not  the  best  form 
of  worship  imaginable,  but  the  best  pos- 
sible, that  Melancthon  laboured  at  his  In- 
structions. 

The  German  Reformation  at  that  time 
tacked  about,  as  it  were.  If  Lambert  m 
Hesse  had  gone  to  the  extreme  of  a  demo- 
cratical  system,  Melancthon  in  Saxony 
was  approximating  the  contrary  extreme 
of  traditional  principles.  A  conservative 
principle  was  substituted  for  a  reforming 
one.  Melancthon  wrote  to  one  of  the 
inspectors  :*  "  All  the  old  ceremonies 
that  you  can  preserve,  pray  do  so.f  Do 
not  innovate  much,  for  every  innovation 
is  injurious  to  the  people."! 

They  retained,  therefore,  the  Latin 
liturgy,  a  few  German  hymns  being 
mingled  with  it  ;§  the  communion  in  one 
kind  for  those  only  who  scrupled  from 
habit  to  take  it  in  both ;  a  confession 
made  to  the  priest  without  being  in  any 
way  obligatory  ;  many  saints'  days,  the 
sacred  vestments,||  and  other  rites,  "in 
which,"  said  Melancthon,  "  there  is  no 
harm,  whatever  Zwingle  may  say."^ 
And  at  the  same  time  they  set  forth  with 
reserve  the  doctrines  of  the  Reformation. 

It  is  but  right  to  confess  the  dominion 
of  facts  and  circumstances  upon  these  ec- 
clesiastical organizations  ;  but  there  is  a 
dominion  which  rises  higher  still — that 
of  the  Word  of  God. 

Perhaps  what  Melancthon  did  was  all 
that  could  be  effected  at  that  time :  but  it 
was  necessary  for  the  work  to  be  one  day 
resumed  and  re-established  on  its  primi- 
tive plan,  and  this  was  Calvin's  glory. 

A  cry  of  astonishment  was  heard  .both 
from  the  camp  of  Rome  and  from  that 
of  the  Reformation.  "  Our  cause  is  be- 
trayed," exclaimed  some  of  the  evangeli- 
cal Christians :  "  the  liberty  is  taken 
away  that  Jesus  Christ  had  given  us."** 

*  Dr.  Dewette  thinks  this  letter  is  Luther's  (L. 
Epp.  iii.  p.  352).  It  appears  clear  to  me,  as  also 
to  Dr.  Bretschneider,  that  it  is  Melancthon's. 
Luther  never  went  so  far  in  the  way  of  concession. 

t  Observo  quantum  ex  veteribus  Cferemoniis 
retineri  potest,  retineas. — (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  990.) 

t  Omnis  novitas  nocet  in  vulgo. — (Ibid.) 

§  Non  aboleas  earn  totam  (the  Latin  mass): 
satis  est  alicubi  miscere  Germanicas  cantationes. 
—(Ibid.) 

II  Ut  retineantur  vestes  usitatse  in  sacris.— 
(Corp.  Ref.  ad  Jonam,  20th  December  1527.) 

IT  Vel  si  Zwinglius  ipse  pradicaturus  Bit — 
(Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  910.) 

**  Alii  dicerent  prodi  causam. — (Camer.  Vita 
Melancthon,  p.  107.) 


THE   PROTEST  AND   THE   CONFERENCE.     1526—1529. 


641 


On  their  part  the  Ultramontanists  tri- 
umphed in  Melancthon's  moderation  : 
they  called  it  a  retractation,  and  took  ad- 
vantage of  it  to  insult  the  Reform. 
Cochloeus  published  a  u  horrible"  engra- 
ving, as  he  styles  it  himself,  in  which, 
from  beneath  the  same  hood  was  seen  is- 
suing a  seven-headed  monster  represent- 
ing Luther.  Each  of  these  heads  had 
different  features,  and  all,  uttering  to- 
gether the  most  frightful  and  contradic- 
tory words,  kept  disputing,  tearing,  and 
devouring  each  other.* 

The  astonished  Elector  resolved  to 
communicate  Melancthon's  paper  to  Lu- 
ther. But  never  did  the  Reformer's  res- 
pect r  for  his  friend  show  itself  in  a  more 
striking  manner.  He  only  made  one  or 
two  unimportant  additions  to  this  plan, 
and  sent  it  back  accompanied  with  the 
highest  eulogiums.  The  Romanists  said 
that  the  tiger  caught  in  a  net  was  lick- 
ing the  hands  that  clipped  his  talons. 
But  it  was  not  so.  Luther  knew  that 
the  aim  of  Melancthon's  labours  was  to 
strengthen  the  very  soul  of  the  Reforma- 
tion in  all  the  churches  of  Saxony.  That 
was  sufficient  for  him.  He  thought  be- 
sides, that  in  every  thing  there  must  be 
a  transition;  and  being  justly  convinced 
that  his  friend  was  more  than  himself  a 
man  of  transition,  he  frankly  accepted 
his  views. 

The  general  visitation  began.  Luther 
in  Saxony,  Spalatin  in  the  districts  of  Al- 
tenburg  and  Zwickau,  Melancthon  in 
Thuringia,  and  Thuring  in  Franconia, 
with  ecclesiastical  deputies  and  several 
lay  colleagues,  commenced  the  work  in 
October  and  November  1528. 

They  purified  the  clergy  by  dismissing 
every  priest  of  scandalous  life  ;f.they  as- 
signed a  portion  of  the  church  property 
to  the  maintenance  of  public  worship, 
and  they  placed  the  remainder  beyond  the 
reach  of  plunder  ;  they  continued  the 
suppression  of  the  convents  ;  they  estab- 
lished everywhere  unity  of  instruction  ; 
and  "  Luther's  greater  and  smaller  cate- 
chisms," which  appeared  in  1529,  con- 
tributed more  perhaps  than  any  other 
writings  to  propagate  throughout  the  new 
churches  the  ancient  faith  of  the  Apos- 

*  Monstrosus  ille  Germanise  partus,  Lutherus 
septiceps. — (Cochloeus,  p.  169.) 

t  Viginti  fere  rudes  et  inepti,  multique  concu- 
binarii  et  potatores  deprehensi  sunt. — (Seckend. 
p.  102.) 


ties ;  they  commissioned  the  pastors  of 
the  great  towns,  under  the  title  of  super- 
intendents, to  watch  over  the  churches 
and  the  schools ;  they  maintained  the 
abolition  of  celibacy  ;  and  the  ministers 
of  the  Word,  become  husbands  and  fa- 
thers, formed  the  germ  of  a  third  estate, 
whence  in  after-years  were  diffused  in 
all  ranks  of  society  learning,  activity, 
and  light.  This  is  one  of  the  truest 
causes  of  the  intellectual  and  moral  su- 
periority that  indisputably  distinguishes 
the  evangelical  nations. 

The  organization  of  the  churches  in 
Saxony,  notwithstanding  its  imperfec- 
tions, produced  for  that  time  at  least  the 
most  important  results.  This  was  be- 
cause the  Word  of  God  prevailed  ;  and 
because,  wherever  this  Word  exercises 
its  power,  secondary  errors  and  abuses 
are  paralyzed.  The  very  discretion  that 
was  employed  proceeded  in  reality  from 
a  good  principle.  The  reformers,  unlike 
the  enthusiasts,  did  not  utterly  reject  an 
institution  because  it  was  corrupted. 
They  did  not  say,  for  example  :  "  The 
sacraments  are  disfigured,  let  us  do  with- 
out them  !  the  ministry  is  corrupt,  let  us 
reject  it !" — but  they  rejected  the  abuse, 
and  restored  the  use.  This  prudence  is 
the  mark  of  a  work  of  God  ;  and  if  Lu- 
ther sometimes  permitted  the  chaff  to  re- 
main along  with  the  wheat,  Calvin  ap- 
peared later,  and  more  thoroughly 
purged  the  Christian  threshing-floor. 

The  organization  which  was  at  that 
time  accomplishing  in  Saxony,  exerted  a 
strong-  reaction  on  all  the  German  em- 
pire, and  the  doctrine  of  the  Gospel  ad- 
vanced with  gigantic  strides.  The  de- 
sign of  God  in  turning  aside  from  the 
reformed  states  of  Germany,  the  thun- 
derbolt that  he  caused  to  fall  upon  the 
seven-hilled  city,  was  clearly  manifest. 
Never  were  years  more  usefully  em- 
ployed ;  and  it  was  not  only  to  framing 
a  constitution  that  the  Reformation  de- 
voted itself,  it  was  also  to  extend  its  doc- 
trine. 

The  duchies  of  Luneburg  and  Bruns- 
wick, many  of  the  most  important  impe- 
rial cities,  as  Nuremberg,  Augsburg. 
Ulm,  Strasburg,  Gottingen,  Gosslar. 
Nordhausen,  Lubeck,  Bremen,  and  Ham- 
burg, removed  the  tapers  from  the  chap- 
els, and  substituted  in  their  place  the 
brighter  torch  of  the  Word  of  God. 


642 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


In  vain  did  the  frightened  canons  al- 
lege the  authority  of  the  Church.  "  The 
authority  of  the  Church,"  replied  Kempe 
and  Zechenhagen,  the  reformer  of  Ham- 
burg "cannot  be  acknowledged  unless 
the  Church  herself  obeys  her  pastor  Je- 
sus Christ."*  Pomeranus  visited  many 
places  to  put  a  finishing  hand  to  the  Re- 
form. 

In  Franconia,  the  Margrave  George, 
of  Brandenburg,  having  reformed  Ans- 
pach  and  Bayreuth,  wrote  to  his  ancient 
protector,  Ferdinand  of  Austria,  who  had 
knit  his  brows  on  hearing  of  his  reform- 
ing proceedings  :  "  I  have  done  this  by 
God's  order  ;  for  he  commands  princes  to 
take  care  not  only  of  the  bodies  of  their 
subjects,  but  also  of  their  souls."f 

In  East  Friesland,  on  new-year's  day, 
1527,  a  Dominican  named  Resius,  having 
put  on  his  hood,;J;  ascended  the  pulpit  at 
Noorden,  and  declared  himself  ready  to 
maintain  certain  theses  according  to  the 
tenor  of  the  Gospel.  Having  silenced 
the  Abbot  of  Noorden  by  the  soundness 
of  his  arguments,  Resius  took  off  his 
cowl,  laid  it  on  the  pulpit,  and  was  re- 
ceived in  the  nave  by  the  acclamations  of 
the  faithful.  Ere  long  the  whole  of 
Friesland  laid  aside  the  uniform  of  Po- 
pery, as  Resius  had  done. 

At  Berlin,  Elizabeth,  electress  of  Bran- 
denburg, having  read  Luther's  works, 
felt  a  desire  to  receive  the  Lord's  supper 
in  conformity  with  Christ's  institution  :  a 
minister  secretly  administered  it  at  the 
festival  of  Easter,  1528:  but  one  of  her 
children  informed  the  Elector.  Joachim 
was  greatly  exasperated,  and  ordered  his 
Avife  to  keep  her  room  for  several  days  ;§ 
it  was  even  said  that  he  intended  to  shut 
her  up.  ||  This  princess,  being  deprived 
of  all  religious  support,  and  mistrusting 
the  perfidious  manoeuvres  of  the  Romish 
priests,  resolved  to  escape  by  flight ;  and 
she  claimed  the  assistance  of  her  brother, 
Christian  II.  of  Denmark,  who  was  then 

*  Evangelici  auctoritatem  Ecelesioe  non  aliter 
agnoscendam  esse  contendebant  quara  si  vocem 
pastoris  Christi  sequeretur. — (Seekend.  i.  p.  245.) 

t  Non  modo  quoad  corpus,  sed  etiam  quoad 
animam. — (Seekend.  ii.  p.  121.) 

t  Resius,  cucullum  indutus,  sucrgestum  ascen- 
dit. — (Scultet.  Ann.  p.  93.) 

§  Aliquot  diebus  a  marito  in  cubiculo  detenta 
fuisse. — (Seekend.  ii.  p.  122.) 

II  Marchio  statuerat  earn  immurare. — (L.  Epp. 
da  Lenkium,  iii.  p.  296.) 


residing  at  Torgau.  Taking  advantage 
of  a  dark  night,  she  quitted  the  castle  in 
a  peasant's  dress,  and  got  into  a  rude 
country-waggon  that  was  waiting  for  her 
at  the  gate  of  the  city.  Elizabeth  urged 
on  the  driver,  when,  in  a  bad  road,  the 
wain  broke  down.  The  electress,  hastily 
unfastening  a  handkerchief  she  wore 
round  her  head,  flung  it  to  the  man,  who 
employed  it  in  repairing  the  damage,  and 
ere  long  Elizabeth  arrived  at  Torgau. 
"  If  I  should  expose  you  to  any  risk," 
said  she  to  her  uncle,  the  Elector  of  Sax- 
ony, "  I  am  ready  to  go  wherever  Provi- 
dence may  guide  me."  But  John  as- 
signed her  a  residence  in  the  castle  of 
Lichtenberg,  on  the  Elbe,  near  Wittem- 
berg.  Without  taking  upon  us  to  ap- 
prove of  Elizabeth's  flight,  let  us  ac- 
knowledge the  good  that  God's  Provi- 
dence drew  from  it.  This  amiable  lady, 
who  lived  at  Lichtenberg,  in  the  study 
of  His  word,  seldom  appearing  at  court, 
frequently  going  to  hear  Luther's  ser- 
mons, and  exercising  a  salutary  influence 
over  her  children,  who  sometimes  had 
permission  to  see  her,  was  the  first  of 
those  pious  princesses  whom  the  house 
of  Brandenburg  has  counted,  and  even 
still  counts,  among  its  members. 

At  the  same  time,  Holstein,  Sleswick, 
and  Silesia  decided  in  favour  of  the 
Reformation :  and  Hungary,  as  well  as 
Bohemia,  saw  the  number  of  its  adherents 
increase. 

In  every  place,  instead  of  a  hierarchy 
seeking  its  righteousness  in  the  works  of 
man,  its  glory  in  external  pomp,  its 
strength  in  a  material  power,  the  Church 
of  the  Apostles  reappeared,  humble  as  in 
primitive  times,  and  like  the  ancient 
Christians,  looking  for  its  righteousness, 
its  glory,  and  its  power  solely  in  the 
blood  of  Christ  and  in  the  Word  of 
God.* 

IV.  All  these  triumphs  of  the  Gospel 
could  not  pass  unperceived  ;  there  was  a 
powerful  reaction,  and  until  political  cir- 
cumstances should  permit  a  grand  attack 
upon  the  Reformation  on  the  very  soil 
where  it  was  established,  and  of  perse- 
cuting it  by  means  of  diets,  and  if  neces- 
sary by  armies,  they  began  to  persecute 
in  detail  in  the  Romish  countries  with 
tortures  and  the  scaffold. 

*  Revelation  xii.  11. 


THE   PROTEST  AND   THE  CONFERENCE.     1526—1529. 


643 


On  the  20th  August,  1527,  King  Ferdi- 
nand, hy  the  Edict  of  Ofen  in  Hungary, 
published  a  tariff  of  crimes  and  penalties, 
in  which  he  threatened  death  by  the 
sword,  by  fire,  or  by  water,*  against  who- 
ever should  say  that  Mary  was  a  woman 
like  other  women  ;  or  partake  of  the  sacra- 
ment in  an  heretical  manner;  or  conse- 
crate the  bread  and  wine,  not  being  a 
Romish  priest ;  and  further,  in  the  second 
case,  the  house  in  which  the  sacrament 
shou'd  have  been  administered  was  to  be 
confiscated  or  rased  to  the  ground. 

Such  was  not  the  legislation  of  Lu- 
ther. Link  having  asked  him  if  it  were 
lawful  for  the  magistrate  to  put  the  false 
prophets  to  death,  meaning  the  Sacrament- 
arians,  whose  doctrines  Luther  attacked 
with  so  much  force,f  the  Reformer  re- 
plied :  "  I  am  slow  whenever  life  is  con- 
cerned, even  if  the  offender  is  exceeding- 
ly guilty.};  I  can  by  no  means  admit 
that  the  false  teachers  should  be  put  to 
death  ;§  it  is  sufficient  to  remove  them." 
For  ages  the  Romish  Church  has  bathed 
in  blood.  Luther  was  the  first  to  profess 
the  great  principles  of  humanity  and  re- 
ligious liberty. 

They  sometimes  had  recourse  to  more 
expeditious  proceedings  than  the  scaffold 
iteelf.  George  Winkler,  pastor  of  Halle, 
having  been  summoned  before  Arch- 
bishop Albert  in  the  spring  of  1527,  for 
having  administered  the  sacrament  in 
both  kinds,  had  been  acquitted.  As  this 
minister  was  returning  home  along  an 
unfrequented  road  in  the  midst  of  the 
woods,  he  was  suddenly  attacked  by  a 
number  of  horsemen,  who  murdered 
him,  and  immediately  fled  through  the 
thickets  without  taking  anything  from 
his.  person.  ||  "  The  world,"  exclaimed 
Luther,  "  is  a  cavern  of  assassins  under 
the  command  of  the  devil ;  an  inn,  whose 
landlord  is  a  brigand,  and  which  bears 
this  sign,  Lies  and  Murder;  and  none 

*  Die  sollen  mit  den  Feuer  Schwerdt  oder 
Wasser  gestraft  werden. — (Ferd.  Mandat.  L. 
Opp.  xix.  p.  596.) 

t  Contra  hostes  sacramentarios  strenue  nobis- 
cum  certare. — (Epp.  to  Lenk,  July  14,  1528.) 

X  Ego  ad  judicium  sanguinis  tardus  sum,  etiam 
ubi  mcritum  abundat. — (Ibid.) 

§  Nullo  modo  possum  admittere  falsos  doctores 
occidi. — (Epp.  to  Lenk,  July  14,  1528.) 

II  Mox  enim  ut  interfecerunt,  aufugerunt  per 
avia  loca,  nihil  praedae  aut  pecuniae  capientes. — 
(CochL  p.  152.) 


are  more  readily  murdered  therein  than 
those  who  proclaim  Jesus  Christ." 

At  Munich  George  Carpenter  was  led 
to  the  scaffold  for  having  denied  that  the 
baptism  of  water  is  able  by  its  own  vir- 
tue to  save  a  man.  "  When  you  are 
thrown  into  the  fire,"  said  some  of  his 
brethren,  "  give  us  a  sign  by  which  we 
may  know  that  you  persevere  in  the 
faith." — "  As  long  as  I  can  open  my 
mouth,  I  will  confess  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus."*  The  executioner  stretched 
him  on  a  ladder,  tied  a  small  bag  of  gun- 
powder round  his  neck,  and  then  flung 
him  into  the  flames.  Carpenter  imme- 
diately cried  out,  "  Jesus !  Jesus !"  and 
the  executioner  having  turned  him  again 
and  again  with  his  hooks,,  the  martyr 
several  times  repeated  the  word  Jesus, 
and  expired. 

At  Landsberg  nine  persons  were  con- 
signed to  the  flames,  and  at  Munich 
twenty-nine  were  thrown  into  the  water. 
At  Scherding,  Leonard  Keyser,  a  friend 
and  disciple  of  Luther,  having  been  con- 
demned by  the  bishop,  had  his  head 
shaved,  and  being  dressed  in  a  smock 
frock,  was  placed  on  horseback.  As  the 
executioners  were  cursing  and  swearing, 
because  they  could  not  disentangle  the 
ropes  with  which  he  was  to  be  bound, 
he  said  to  them  mildly  :  "  Dear  friends, 
your  bonds  are  not  necessary  ;  my  Lord 
Christ  has  already  bound  me."  When  he 
drew  near  the  stake,  Keyser  looked  at 
the  crowd  and  exclaimed  :  "  Behold  the 
harvest !  O  Master,  send  forth  thy  labour- 
ers !"  He  then  ascended  the  scaffold  and 
said :  ';  O  Jesu,  save  me  !  I  am  thine." 
These  were  his  last  words,  f  "  Who  am 
I,  a  wordy  preacher,"  exclaimed  Luther, 
when  he  received  the  news  of  his  death, 
••  in  comparison  with  this  great  doer?"| 

Thus  the  Reformation  manifested  by 
such  striking  works  the  truth  that  it  had 
come  to  re-establish  ;  namely,  that  faith 
is  not,  as  Rome  maintains,  an  historical, 
vain,   dead    knowledge.^   but    a    lively 

*  Dum  os  aperire  licebit,  servatoris  nostri  no- 
men  profiteri  nunquam  interinittam. — (Scultet.  ii. 
p.  110.) 

t  Incenso  jam  igne,  clara  voce  proclamavit : 
Tuus  sum  Jesu!  Salva  me! — (Seckend.  ii.  p. 
85.) 

X  Tam  impar  verbosus  praedicator,  illi  tain  po- 
tenti  verbi  operator. — (L.  Epp.  iii.  p.  1214.) 

§  Si  quis  dixerit  fidem  non  esse  veram  fidem, 


644 


HISTORY   OF   THE   REFORMATION, 


faith  the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the 
channel  by  which  Christ  fills  the  heart 
with  new  desires  and  with  new  affections, 
the  true  worship  of  the  living  God. 

These  martyrdoms  filled  Germany 
with  horror,  and  gloomy  forebodings  de- 
scended from  the  thrones  among  the 
ranks  of  the  people.  Around  the  do- 
mestic hearth,  in  the  long  winter  even- 
ings, the  conversation  wholly  turned  on 
prisons,  tortures,  scaffolds,  and  martyrs  ; 
and  the  slightest  noise  alarmed  the  old 
men,  women,  and  children.  These  nar- 
ratives gained  strength  from  mouth  to 
mouth  ;  the  rumour  of  a  universal  con- 
spiracy against  the  Gospel  spread  through 
all  the  Empire.  Its  adversaries,  taking 
advantage  of  this  terror,  announced  with 
a  mysterious  air  that  they  must  look  du- 
ring this  year  (1528)  for  some  decisive 
measure  against  the  Reform.*  One 
scoundrel  resolved  to  profit  by  this  state 
of  mind  to  satisfy  his  avarice. 

No  blows  are  more  terrible  to  a  cause 
than  those  which  it  inflicts  upon  itself. 
The  Reformation,  seized  with  a  dizzi- 
ness, was  on  the  verge  of  self-destruction. 
There  is  a  spirit  of  error  that  conspires 
against  the  cause  of  truth,  beguiling  by 
subtlety  ;f  the  Reformation  was  about  to 
experience  its  attacks,  and  to  stagger  un- 
der the  most  formidable  assault, — pertur- 
bation of  thought,  and  estrangement 
from  the  ways  of  wisdom  and  of  truth. 

Otho  of  Pack,  vice-chancellor  to  Duke 
George  of  Saxony,  was  a  crafty  and  dis- 
sipated man  ,|  who  took  advantage  of  his 
office,  and  had  recourse  to  all  sorts  of 
practices  to  procure  money.  The  Duke 
having  on  one  occasion  sent  him  to  the 
Diet  of  Nuremberg  as  his  representative, 
the  Bishop  of  Merseburg  confided  to  him 
his  contribution  towards  the  imperial 
government.  The  Bishop  having  been 
afterwards  called  upon  for  this  money, 
Pack  declared  that  he  had  paid  it  to  a 
citizen  of  Nuremberg,  whose  seal  and 
signature  he  produced.  This  paper  was 
a  forgery  ;  Pack  himself  was  the  author 

licet  non  fit  viva,  aut  eum  qui  fidem  sine  charitate 
habet,  non  essechristianum,  anathemasit. — (Cone. 
Frid.  Sess.  6,  p.  28.) 

*  Nescio  quid  mirariquod  hoc  anno  contra  ref- 
ormationem  expectandum  sit. — (Seckend  ii.  p. 
101.) 

t  2  Corinthians  xi.  3. 

t  Homo  erat  versutus,  et  praeterea  prodigus,  quo 
Yitio  ad  alia  inductus  est.-^(Seckend.  ii.  p.  94.) 


of  it.*  This  wretch,  however,  put  an 
impudent  face  on  the  matter,  and  as  he 
was  not  convicted,  he  preserved  the  con- 
fidence of  his  master.  Erelong  an  op- 
portunity presented  itself  of  exercising 
his  criminal  talent  on  a  larger  scale. 

No  one  entertained  greater  suspicions 
with  regard  to  the  Papists  than  the 
Landgrave  of  IJesse.  Young,  suscepti- 
ble, and  restless,  he  was  always  on  the 
alert.  In  the  month  of  February  1528, 
Pack  happening  to  be  at  Cassel  to  assist 
Philip  in  some  difficult  business,  the 
Landgrave  imparted  to  him  his  fears. 
If  any  one  could  have  had  any  knowledge 
of  the  designs  of  the  Papists,  it  must  have 
been  the  vice-chancellor,  one  of  the 
greatest  enemies  to  the  Reform.  The 
crafty  Pack  heaved  a  sigh,  bent  down 
his  eyes,  and  was  silent.  Philip  imme- 
diately became  uneasy,  entreated  him, 
and  promised  to  do  nothing  that  would 
injure  the  Duke.  Then  Pack,  as  if  he 
had  allowed  an  important  secret  to  be 
torn  from  him  with  regret,  confessed  that 
a  league  against  the  Lutherans  had  been 
concluded  at  Breslau  on  the  Wednesday 
following  Jubilate  Sunday,  12th  May 
1527;  and  engaged  to  procure  the  original 
of  this  act  for  the  Landgrave,  who  offered 
him  for  this  service  a  remuneration  of  ten 
thousand  florins.  This  was  the  greatest 
transaction  that  this  wretched  man  had 
ever  undertaken  ;  but  it  tended  to  no- 
thing less  than  the  utter  overthrow  of 
the  Empire. 

The  Landgrave  was  amazed :  he  re- 
strained himself,  however,  wishing  to  see 
the  act  with  his  own  eyes  before  inform- 
ing his  allies.  He  therefore  repaired  to 
Dresden.  "  I  cannot,"  said  Pack,  "  fur- 
nish you  with  the  original :  the  Duke  al- 
ways carries  it  about  his  person  to  read  it 
to  other  princes  whom  he  hopes  to  gain 
over.  Recently  at  Leipsic,  he  showed  it 
to  Duke  Henry  of  Brunswick.  But  here 
is  a  copy  made  by  his  highness's  order." 
The  Landgrave  took  the  document, 
which  bore  all  the  marks  of  the  most 
perfect  authenticity.  It  was  crossed  by  a 
cord  of  black  silk,  and  fastened  at  both 
ends  by  the  seal  of  the  ducal  chancery. f 
Above  was  an  impression  from  the  ring 
Duke  George  always  wore  on  his  finger, 

*  It  is  still  to  be  seen  in  theTecords  at  Dresden. 
t  Cui  filum  sericum  circumligatum,  et  sigillum 
cancellarise  impressum  erat. — (Seek.  ii.  p.  94.) 


THE   PROTEST   AND    THE  CONFERENCE.     1526—1529. 


645 


with  the  three  quartering^  that  Philip 
had  so  often  seen  ;  at  the  top,  the  coronet, 
and  at  the  bottom,  the  two  lions.  He 
has  no  more  doubts  as  to  its  authenticity. 
But  how  can  we  describe  his  indignation 
as  he  read  this  guilty  document  ?  King 
Ferdinand,  the  Electors  of  Mentz  and  of 
Brandenburg,  Duke  George  of  Saxony, 
the  Dukes  of  Bavaria,  the  Bishops  of 
Salzburg,  Wurtzburg,  and  Bamberg, 
have  entered  into  a  coalition  to  call  upon 
the  Elector  of  Saxony  to  deliver  up  the 
arch-heretic  Luther,  with  all  the  apostate 
priests,  monks,  and  nuns,  and  to  re-estab- 
lish the  ancient  worship.  If  he  make 
default,  his  states  are  to  be  invaded,  and 
this  prince  and  his  descendants  are  to  be 
for  ever  dispossessed.  The  same  meas- 
ure was  next  to  be  applied  to  the  Land- 
grave, only  ("  it  was  your  father-in-law, 
Duke  George,"  said  Pack  to  Philip, 
••  who  got  this  clause  inserted")  his  states 
shall  be  restored  to  him  in  consideration 
of  his  youth,  if  he  becomes  fully  recon- 
ciled to  the  Holy  Church.  The  document 
stated  moreover  the  contingents  of  men  and 
money  to  be  provided  by  the  confederates, 
and  the  share  they  were  to  have  in  the 
spoils  of  these  two  heretical  princes.* 

Many  circumstances  tended  to  confirm 
the  authenticity  of  this  paper.  Ferdi- 
nand, Joachim  of  Brandenburg,  and 
George  of  Saxony,  had  in  fact  met  at 
Breslau  on  the  day  indicated,  and  an 
evangelical  prince,  the  Margrave  George, 
had  seen  Joachim  leave  Ferdinand's 
apartments,  holding  in  his  hand  a  large 
parchment  to  which  several  seals  were 
attached.  The  agitated  Landgrave  caus- 
ed a  copy  to  be  taken  of  this  document, 
promised  secrecy  for  a  time,  paid  Pack 
four  thousand  florins,  and  engaged  to 
make  up  the  sum  agreed  upon,  if  he 
would  procure  him  the  original.  And 
then,  wishing  to  prevent  the  storm,  he 
hastened  to  Weimar  to  inform  the  Elec- 
tor of  this  unprecedented  conspiracy. 

"  I  have  seen,"  said  he  to  John  and  his 
son,  "  nay  more — I  have  had  in  my  hands, 
a  duplicate  of  this  horrible  treaty.  Signa- 
tures, seals — nothing  was  wanting.!  Here 
is  a  copy,  and  I  bind  myself  to  place  the 
original  before  your  eyes.  The  most  fright- 

*  Hortleber,  De  Bello  Germanico,  ii.  p.  579. 

t  Nam  is  affirmahat  se  archetypon  vidissc, 
commemorabat  ofpaytSas.  —  (Corp.  Ref.  i.  p. 
986.) 


ful  danger  threatens  us — ourselves,  our 
faithful  subjects,  and  the  Word  of  God." 

The  Elector  had  no  reason  to  doubt 
the  account  the  Landgrave  had  just  given 
him :  he  was  stunned,  confounded,  and 
overpowered.  The  promptest  measures 
alone  could  avert  such  unheard  of 
disasters:  everything  must -be  risked  to 
extricate  them  from  certain  destruction. 
The  impetuous  Philip  breathed  fire  and 
flames  ;*  his  plan  of  defence  was  already 
prepared.  He  presented  it,  and  in  the 
first  moment  of  consternation  he  carried 
the  consent  of  his  ally,  as  it  were  by  as- 
sault. On  the  9th  March  1528,  the  two 
princes  agreed  to  employ  all  their  forces 
to  defend  themselves,  and  even  to  take 
the  offensive,  and  to  sacrifice  life,  honour, 
rank,  subjects,  and  states,  to  preserve  the 
Word  of  God.  The  Dukes  of  Prussia, 
Mecklenburg,  Luneburg,  and  Pomerania, 
the  Kings  of  Denmark  and  Poland,  and 
the  Margrave  of  Brandenburg,  were  to 
be  invited  to  enter  into  this  alliance. 
Six  hundred  thousand  florins  were  des- 
tined for  the  expenses  of  the  war ;  and  to 
procure  them,  they  would  raise  loans, 
pledge  their  cities,  and  sell  the  offerings 
in  the  churches.!  They  had  already  be- 
gun to  raise  a  powerful  army.|  The 
Landgrave  set  out  in  person  for  Nurem- 
berg and  Anspach.  The  alarm  was  gen- 
eral in  those  countries ;  the  commotion 
was  felt  throughout  all  Germany,^  and 
even  beyond  it.  John  Zapolya,  King  of 
Hungary,  at  that  time  a  refugee  at  Cra- 
cow, promised  a  hundred  thousand  flor- 
ins to  raise  an  army,  and  twenty  thousand 
florins  a  month  for  its  maintenance. 
Thus  a  spirit  of  error  was  misleading 
the  princes ;  if  it  should  carry  away  the 
Reformers  also,  the  destruction  of  the  Ref- 
ormation was  not  far  distant. 

But  God  was  watching  over  them. 
Supported  on  the  rock  of  the  Word,  Me- 
lancthon  and  Luther  replied  :  "  It  is  writ- 
ten, Thou  shalt  not  tempt  the  Lord  thy 
God."  As  soon  as  these  two  men  whom 
the  danger  threatened  (for  it  was  they 
who  were  to  be  delivered  up  to  the  papal 

*  Mirab:liter  incensus  erat. — (Corp.  Ref.  i.  p. 
986.) 

t  Venditisque  templorum  donariis. — (Seek.  ii. 
p.  95.) 

I  Magno  studio  validum  comparaverunt  ambo 
exercitum. — (Cochl.  p.  171.) 

§  Nonleviter  cominotos  esse  nostrorum  animos. 
—(Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  986.) 


646 


HISTORY   OF   THE   REFORMATION. 


power)  saw  the  youthful  Landgrave 
drawing  the  sword,  and  the  aged  Elector 
himselfputting  his  hand  on  the  hilt,  they 
uttered  a  cry,  and  this  cry,  which  was 
heard  in  heaven,  saved  the  Reform. 

Luther,  Pomeranus,  and  Melancthon 
immediately  forwarded  the  following  ad- 
vice to  the  Elector :  "  Above  all  things, 
let  not  the  attack  proceed  from  our  side, 
and  let  no  blood  be  shed  through  our 
fault.  Let  us  wait  for  the  enemy,  and 
seek  after  peace.  Send  an  ambassador  to 
the  Emperor  to  make  him  acquainted 
with  this  hateful  plot." 

Thus  it  was  that  the  faith  of  the  chil- 
dren of  God,  which  is  so  despised  by 
politicians,  conducted  them  aright,  at  the 
very  moment  when  the  diplomatists  were 
going  astray.  The  Elector  and  his  son 
declared  to  the  Landgrave  that  they 
would  not  assume  the  offensive.  Philip 
was  in  amazement.  "  Are  not  the  pre- 
parations of  the  Papists  worthy  an  at- 
tack ?"  asked  he.*  "  What  !  we  will 
threaten  war,  and  yet  not  make  it  !  We 
will  inflame  the  hatred  of  our  antagonists, 
and  leave  them  time  to  prepare  their 
forces  !  No,  no  ;  forward  !  It  is  thus 
we  shall  secure  the  means  of  an  honour- 
able peace." "  If  the  Landgrave  de- 
sires to  begin  the  war,"  replied  the  Re- 
former, "  the  Elector  is  not  obliged  to  ob- 
serve the  treaty  ;  for  we  must  obey  God 
rather  than  men.  God  and  the  right  are 
above  every  alliance.  Let  us  beware  of 
painting  the  devil  on  our  doors,  and  in- 
viting him  as  godfather.!  But  if  the 
Landgrave  is  attacked,  the  Elector  ought 
to  go  to  his  assistance ;  for  it  is  God's  will 
that  we  preserve  our  faith."  This  advice 
which  the  Reformers  gave,  cost  them 
dear.  Never  did  man,  condemned  to  the 
torture,  endure  a  punishment  like  theirs. 
The  fears  excited  by  the  Landgrave  were 
succeeded  by  the  terrors  inspired  by  the 
Papist  princes.  This  cruel  trial  left  them 
in  great  distress.  "  I  am  worn  away 
with  sorrow,"  cried  Melancthon  ;  "  and 
this  anguish  puts  me  to  the  most  horrible 
torture.;};  The  issue,"  added  he,  "  will  be 
found  on  our  knees  before  God."§ 

*  Landgravius  praeparamenta  adversariorum 
pro  agrcssione  habebat. — (Seek.  ii.  p.  95.) 

t  Man  darf  den  Teufel  nicht  iiber  die  Thiir 
malen,  noch  ihn  zu  gevattern  bitten. — (L.  Epp. 
iii.  p.  321.) 

t  Curse  vehementer  cruciarunt.— (Corp.  Ref.  i. 
p.  988.)  §  Eu  yowwi  dcov.— (Ibid.  p.  988.) 


The  Elector,  drawn  in  different  direc- 
tions by  the  theologians  and  the  politi- 
cians, at  last  took  a  middle  course :  he 
resolved  to  assemble  an  army,  "but 
only,"  said  he,  "  to  obtain  peace."  Philip 
of  Hesse  at  length  gave  way,  and  forth- 
with sent  copies  of  the  famous  treaty  to 
Duke  George,  to  the  Dukes  of  Bavaria, 
and  to  the  Emperor's  representatives, 
calling  upon  them  to  renounce  such  cruel 
designs.  "  I  would  rather  have  a  limb 
cut  off,"  said  he  to  his  father-in-law, 
"  than  know  you  to  be  a  member  of 
such  an  alliance." 

The  surprise  of  the  German  courts, 
when  they  read  this  document,  is  beyond 
description.  Duke  George  immediately 
replied  to  the  Landgrave  that  he  had  al- 
lowed himself  to  be  deceived  by  un- 
meaning absurdities ;  that  he  who  pre- 
tended to  have  seen  the  original  of  this 
act  was  an  infamous  liar,  and  an  incor- 
rigible scoundrel ;  and  that  he  called 
upon  the  Landgrave  to  give  up  his  au- 
thority, or  else  it  might  well  be  thought 
that  he  was  himself  the  inventor  of  this 
impudent  fabrication.  King  Ferdinand, 
the  Elector  of  Brandenburg,  and  all  the 
pretended  conspirators  made  similar  re- 
plies. 

Philip  of  Hesse. saw  that  he  had  been 
deceived  ;*  his  confusion  was  only  ex- 
ceeded by  his  anger.  He  had  therefore 
himself  justified  the  accusations  of  his 
adversaries  who  called  him  a  hot-headed 
young  man,  and  had  compromised  to  the 
highest  degree  the  cause  of  the  Refor- 
mation and  that  of  his  people.  He  said 
afterwards,  "  If  that  had  not  happened, 
it  would  no  more  happen  now.  Nothing 
that  I  have  done  in  all  my  life  has 
caused  me  greater  vexation." 

Pack  fled  in  alarm  to  the  Landgrave, 
who  caused  him  to  be  arrested  ;  and  en- 
voys from  the  several-  princes  whom  this 
scoundrel  had  compromised  met  at  Cassel. 
and  proceeded  to  examine  him.  He 
maintained  that  the  original  act  of  the  al- 
liance had  really  existed  in  the  Dresden 
archives.  In  the  following  year  the 
Landgrave  banished  him  from  Hesse, 
showing  by  this  action  that  he  did  not 
fear  him.  Pack  was  afterwards  discov- 
ered in  Belgium  ;  and  at  the  demand  of 
Duke   George,  who   had  never  shown 

*  Wir  fuhlten  dass  wir  betrogen  waxen. — 
(Hortleber,  iv.  p.  567.) 


THE  PROTEST   AND   THE   CONFERENCE.     152G— 1529. 


647 


any  pity  towards  him,  he  was  seized, 
tortured,  and  finally  beheaded. 

The  Landgrave  was  unwilling-  to  have 
taken  up  arms  to  no  purpose.  The  arch- 
bishop-elector, of  Mentz  was  compelled, 
on  the  11th  June,  1528,  to  renounce  in 
the  camp  of  Herzkirchen  all  spiritual 
jurisdiction  in  Saxony  and  Hesse.*  This 
was  no  small  advantage. 

Scarcely  had  the  arms  been  laid  aside, 
before  Luther  took  up  his  pen,  and  be- 
gan a  war  of  another  kind.  "  Impious 
princes  may  deny  this  alliance  as  long  as 
they  please,"  wrote  he  to  Link  ;  "  I  am 
very  certain  that  it  is  not  a  chimera. 
These  insatiable  leeches  will  take  no  re- 
pose until  they  see  the  whole  of  Ger- 
many flowing  with  blood."f  This  idea 
of  Luther's  was  the  one  generally  enter- 
tained. "  The  document  presented  to 
the  Landgrave  may  be,"  it  was  said, 
"  Pack's  invention  ;  but  all  this  fabric  of 
lies  is  founded  on  some  truth.  If  the 
alliance  has  not  been  concluded,  it  has 
been  conceived."! 

Melancholy  were  the  results  of  this 
affair.  It  inspired  division  in  the  bosom 
of  the  Reformation,  and  fanned  the  ha- 
tred between  the  two  parties.^  The 
sparks  from  the  piles  of  Keyser,  Winck- 
ler, 'Carpenter,  and  so  many  other  mar- 
tyrs, added  strength  to  the  fire  that  was 
already  threatening  to  set  the  empire  in 
flames.  It  was  under  such  critical  cir- 
cumstances, and  with  such  menacing  dis- 
positions, that  the  famous  Diet  of  Spire 
was  opened  in  March  1529.  The  Em- 
pire and  the  Papacy  were  in  reality  pre- 
paring to  annihilate  the  Reformation,  al- 
though in  a  manner  different  from  what 
Pack  had  pretended.  It  was  still  to  be 
learnt  whether  there  would  be  found  in 
the  revived  Church  more  vital  strength 
than  there  had  been  in  so  many  sects 
that  Rome  had  easily  crushed.  Happily 
the  faith  had  increased,  and  the  constitu- 
tion given  to  the  Church  had  imparted 
greater  power  to  its  adherents.  All 
were  resolved  on  defending  a  doctrine  so 
pure,  and  a  church  government  so  supe- 

*  Kopp.  Hess.  Gerichts. — Verf.  i.  p.  107. 

t  Sanguisugseinsatiabiles  quicscere  nolunt,  nisi 
Gennaniam  sanguine  madere  sentiant.  14th  June, 
1528. 

J  Nonenirn  prorsus  confictares.—  (Corp.  Ref.  i. 
p.  988.) 

§  Hsc  mina;  apud  inimicos  odia  auxerint. — 
(Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  985.) 


rior  to  that  of  Popery.  During  three 
years  of  tranquillity,  the  Gospel  tree  had 
struck  its  roots  deep ;  and  if  the  storm 
should  burst,  it  would  now  be  able  to 
brave  it. 

V.  The  sack  of  Rome,  by  exaspera- 
ting the  adherents  of  the  Papacy,  had 
given  arms  to  all  the  enemies  of  Charles 
V.  The  French  army  under  Lautrec 
had  forced  the  imperial  army,  enervated 
by  the  delights  of  a  new  Capua,  to  hide 
itself  within  the  walls  of  Naples.  Doria, 
at  the  head  of  his  Genoese  galleys,  had 
destroyed  the  Spanish  fleet,  and  all  the 
imperial  power  seemed  drawing  to  an 
end  in  Italy.  But  Doria  suddenly  de- 
clared for  the  Emperor  ;  pestilence  car- 
ried off  Lautrec  and  half  of  his  troops ; 
and  Charles,  suffering  only  from  alarm, 
had  again  grasped  the  power  with  a  firm 
resolution  to  unite  henceforward  closely 
with  the  Pontiff,  whose  humiliation  had 
nearly  cost  him  so  dear.  On  his  side 
Clement  VII.,  hearing  the  Italians  re- 
proach him  for  his  illegitimate  birth,  and 
even  refuse  him  the  title  of  Pope,  said 
aloud,  that  he  would  rather  be  the  Em- 
peror's groom  than  the  sport  of  his  peo- 
ple. On  the  29th  June,  1528,  a  peace 
between  the  heads  of  the  Empire  and  of 
the  Church  was  concluded  at  Barcelona, 
based  on  the  destruction  of  heresy ;  and 
in  November  a  diet  was  convoked  to 
meet  at  Spire  on  the  21st  February,  1529. 
Charles  was  resolved  to  endeavour  at  first 
to  destroy  the  Reform  by  a  federal  vote  ; 
but  if  this  vote  did  not  suffice,  to  employ 
his  whole  power  against  it.  The  road 
being  thus  traced  out,  they  were  about  to 
commence  operations. 

Germany  felt  the  seriousness  of  the 
position.  Mournful  omens  filled  every 
mind.  About  the  middle  of  January,  a 
great  light  had  suddenly  dispersed  the 
darkness  of  the  night.*  "  What  that  fore- 
bodes," exclaimed  Luther,  "  God  only 
knows !"  At  the  beginning  of  April 
there  was  a  rumour  of  an  earthquake 
that  had  engulfed  castles,  cities,  and 
whole  districts  in  Carinthia  and  Istria, 
and  split  the  tower  of  St.  Mark  at  Ven- 
ice into  four  parts.  u  If  that  is  true," 
said  the  Reformer,  "  these  prodigies  are 
the   forerunners   of   the   day    of    Jesus 

*  An  aurora  borealis.  "Magnum  chasma,  quo 
nox  tota  illuminabatui." — (L.  Epp.  iii.  p.  420.) 


648 


HISTORY   OF   THE   REFORMATION. 


Christ."*  The  astrologers  declared  that 
the  aspect  of  the  quartiles  of  Saturn  and 
Jupiter,  and  the  general  position  of  the 
stars,  was  ominous.f  The  waters  of  the 
Elbe  rolled  thick  and  stormy,  and  stones 
fell  from  the  roofs  of  churches.  "  All 
these  things,"  exclaimed  the  terrified 
Melancthon,  "  excite  me  deeply. "J 

The  letters  of  convocation  issued  by 
the  imperial  government  agreed  but  too 
well  with  these  prodigies.  The  Empe- 
ror, writing  from  Toledo  to  the  Elector,  ac- 
cused him  of  sedition  and  revolt.  Alarm- 
ing whispers  passed  from  mouth  to  mouth 
that  were  sufficient  to  cause  the  fall  of 
the  weak.  Duke  Henry  of  Mecklen- 
burg and  the  Elector-palatine  hastily  re- 
turned to  the  side  of  Popery. 

Never  had  the  sacerdotal  party  ap- 
peared in  the  diet  in  such  numbers,  or  so 
powerful  and  decided.^  On  the  5th 
March,  Ferdinand,  the  president  of  the 
diet,  after  him  the  Dukes  of  Bavaria, 
and  lastly  the  ecclesiastical  Electors  of 
Mentz  and  Treves,  had  entered  the  gates 
of  Spire  surrounded  by  a  numerous  arm- 
ed escort.  ||  On  the  13th  March,  the 
Elector  of  Saxony  arrived,  attended  only 
by  Melancthon  and  Agricola.  But  Phil- 
ip of  Hesse,  faithful  to  his  character,  en- 
tered the  city  on  the  18th  March  to  the 
sound  of  trumpets,  and  with  two  hundred 
horsemen. 

The  divergence  of  men's  minds  soon 
became  manifest.  A  Papist  did  not  meet 
an  Evangelical  in  the  street  without  cast- 
ing angry  glances  upon  him,  and  secret- 
ly threatening  him  with  perfidious  ma- 
chinations.^! The  Elector-palatine  pass- 
ed the  Saxons  without  appearing  to  know 
them  ;**  and  although  John  of  Saxony 
was  the  most  important  of  the  electors, 
none  of  the  chiefs  of  the  opposite  party 
visited  him..    Grouped  around  their  ta- 

*  Si  vera  sunt,  diem  Christi  proecurrunt  hsec 
monstra.— (Ibid.  p.  438.) 

t  Adspectum  rtTpaydvoiv  Saturniet  Jovis. — (Corp. 
Ref.  i.  p.  1075.) 

t  Ego  non  levitercommoveor  his  rebus. — (Ibid, 
p.  1076.) 

§  Nunquam  fuit  tanta  frequentia  ullis  conciliis 
ipXupiuv  quanta  in  his  est. — (Corp.  Ref.  p.  1039.) 

II  Mogantinum  et  Trevirensem  cum  comitatu 
armato. — (Seckend.  ii.  p.  129.) 

IT  Vultu  significant  quantum  nos  oderint,  et 
quid  machinentur.— (Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  1040.) 

**  Pfalz  kennt  kein  Sachsen  mehr.— (Epp.  Al- 
beiti  Mansfeld.) 


bles,  the  Roman-catholic  princes  seemed 
absorbed  in  games  of  hazard.* 

But  erelong  they  gave  positive  marks 
of  their  hostile  disposition.  The  Elector 
and  the  Landgrave  were  prohibited  from 
having  the  Gospel  preached  in  their 
mansions.  It  was  even  asserted  at  this 
early  period  that  John  was  about  to  be 
turned  out  of  Spire,  and  deprived  of  his 
electorate.!  "  We  are  the  execration  and 
the  sweepings  of  the  world,"  said  Me- 
lancthon ;  "  but  Christ  will  look  down 
on  his  poor  people,  and  will  preserve 
them. "|  In  truth  God  was  with  the  wit- 
nesses to  his  Word.  The  people  of  Spire 
thirsted  for  the  Gospel,  and  the  Elector 
wrote  to  his  son  on  Palm  Sunday : 
"  About  eight  thousand  persons  were 
present  to-day  in  my  chapel  at  morning 
and  evening  worship." 

The  Roman  party  now  quickened 
their  proceedings :  their  plan  was  simple 
but  energetic.  It  was  necessary  to  put 
down  the  religious  liberty  that  had  exist- 
ed for  more  than  three  years,  and  for  that 
purpose  they  must  abrogate  the  decree 
of  1526,  and  revive  that  of  1521. 

On  the  15th  March  the  imperial  com- 
missaries announced  to  the  diet  that  the 
last  resolution  of»  Spire,  which  left  each 
state  free  to  act  in  conformity  with  the 
inspirations  of  its  conscience,  having 
given  rise  to  great  disorders,  the  Empe- 
ror had  annulled  it  by  virtue  of  his  su- 
preme power.  This  arbitrary  act,  and 
which  had  no  precedent  in  the  Empire, 
as  well  as  the  despotic  tone  with  which  it 
was  accompanied,  filled  the  evangelical 
Christians  with  indignation  and  alarm. 
"  Christ,"  exclaimed  Sturm,  "  has  again 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  Caiaphas  and 
Pilate."^ 

A  commission  was  charged  to  examine 
the  imperial  proposition.  The  Arch- 
bishop of  Salzburg,  Faber,  and  Eck,  that 
is  to  say,  the  most  violent  enemies  of  the 
Reformation,  were  among  its  members. 
"  The  Turks  are  better  than  the  Luther- 
ans," said  Faber,  "  for  the  Turks  observe 

*  Adversse  partes  proceres  alea  tempus  perdere. 
— (L.  Epp.  iii.  p.  438.) 

t  Alii  exclusum  Spirae,  alii  ademtum  electora- 
tum. — (Ibid.) 

i  Sed  Christus  respiciet  et  salvabit  populum 
pauperem. — (Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  1040.) 

§  Christus  est  denuo  in  manibus  Caiaphi  et  Pi- 
lati. — (Jung  Beytrage,  p.  4.) 


THE   PROTEST  AND   THE  CONFERENCE.     1526—1529. 


649 


fast-days  and  the  Lutherans  violate  them.* 
If  we  must  choose  between  the  Holy 
Scriptures  of  God  and  the  old  errors  of 
the  Church,  we  should  reject  the  former."! 
"  Every  day  in  full  assembly  Faber  casts 
some  new  stone  against  the  Gospellers," 
says  Melancthon.|  "  Oh,  what  an  Iliad 
I  should  have  to  compose,"  added  he, 
"  if  I  Avere  to  report  all  these  blasphe- 
mies!" 

vThe  priests  called  for  the  execution  of 
the  Edict  of  Worms,  1521,  and  the  evan- 
gelical members  of  the  commission, 
among  whom  were  the  Elector  of  Saxo- 
ny and  Sturm,  demanded  on  the  contrary 
the  maintenance  of  the  Edict  of  Spire, 
1526.  The  latter  thus  remained  within 
the  bounds  of  legality,  whilst  their  adver- 
saries were  driven  to  coups  d'etat.  In 
fact,  a  new  order  of  things  having  been 
legally  established  in  the  Empire,  no  one 
could  infringe  it ;  and  if  the  diet  pre- 
sumed to  destroy  by  force  what  had  been 
constitutionally  established  three  years 
before,  the  evangelical  states  had  the 
right  of  opposing  it.  The  majority  of 
the. commission  felt  that  the  re-establish- 
ment of  the  ancient  order  of  things  would 
be  a  revolution  no  less  complete  than  the 
Reformation  itself.  How  could  they  sub- 
ject anew  to  Rome  and  to  her  clergy 
those  nations  in  whose  bosom  ihe  Word 
of  God  had  been  so  richly  spread  abroad  ? 
For  this  reason,  equally  rejecting  the  de- 
mands of  the  priests  and  of  the  Evangel- 
icals, the  majority  came  to  a  resolution 
on  the  24th  March  that  every  religious 
innovation  should  continue  to  be  inter- 
dicted in  the  places  where  the  Edict  of 
Worms  had  been  carried  out ;  and  that 
in  those  where  the  people  had  deviated 
from  it,  and  where  they  could  not  con- 
form to  it  without  danger  of  revolt,  they 
should  at  least  effect  no  new  reform,  they 
should  touch  upon  no  controverted  point, 
they  should  not  oppose  the  celebration  of 
the  Mass,  they  should  permit  no  Roman- 
catholic  to  embrace  Lutheranism,§  they 
should  not  decline  the  Episcopal  jurisdic- 

*  Voeiferatus  est  Turcos  Luthcranis  meliores 
esse.— (Corp.  Ref.  p.  1041.) 

t  Malle  abjicere  scripturam  quam  veteres   er- 
rores  Ecclesise. — (Ibid.  p.  1046.) 

X  Faber   lapidat  nos  quotidie   pro  concione. — 
(Ibid.) 

§  Nee  catholicos  a  libero  religionis  exercitio  im- 
pediri  debere,  neque  cuiquam  ex   his  licere  Lu- 
theranismum  amplecti. — (Seckend.  ii.  p.  127.) 
82 


tion,  and  should  tolerate  no  Anabaptists 
or  Sacramentarians.  The  status-quo  and 
no  proselytism — such  were  the  essentials 
of  this  resolution. 

The  majority  no  longer  voted  as  in 
1526:  the  wind  had  turned  against  the 
Gospel.  Accordingly  this  proposition, 
after  having  been  delayed  a  few  days  by 
the  festival  of  Easter,  was  laid  before  the 
diet  on  the  6th  April,  and  passed  on  the 
7th.* 

If  it  became  a  law,  the  Reformation 
could  neither  be  extended  into  those 
places  where  as  yet  it  was  unknown,  nor 
be  established  on  solid  foundations  in 
those  where  it  already  existed.  The  re- 
establishment  of  the  Romish  hierarchy, 
stipulated  in  the  proposition,  would  infal- 
libly bring  back  the  ancient  abuses  ;  and 
the  least  deviation  from  so  vexatious  an 
ordinance  would  easily  furnish  the  Ro- 
manists with  a  pretext  for  completing  the 
destruction  of  a  work  already  so  violently 
shaken. 

The  Elector,  the  Landgrave,  the  Mar- 
grave of  Brandenburg,  the  Prince  of  An- 
halt,  and  the  Chancellor  of  Luneburg  on 
one  side,  and  the  deputies  for  the  cities 
on  the  other,  consulted  together.  An  en- 
tirely new  order  of  things  was  to  proceed 
from  this  council.  If  they  had  been  an- 
imated by  selfishness,  they  would  perhaps 
have  accepted  this  decree.  In  fact  they 
were  left  free,  in  appearance  at  least,  to 
profess  their  faith  :  ought  they  to  demand 
more  1  could  they  do  so  1  Were  they 
bound  to  constitute  themselves  the  cham- 
pions of  liberty  of  conscience  in  all  the 
world  ?  Never,  perhaps,  had  there  been 
a  more  critical  situation  ;  but  these  noble- 
minded  men  came  victorious  out  of  the 
trial.  What !  should  they  legalize  by 
anticipation  the  scaffold  and  the  torture  ! 
Should  they  oppose  the  Holy  Ghost  in 
its  work  of  converting  souls  to  Christ ! 
Should  they  forget  their  Master's  com- 
mand :  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  icorld,  ami 
preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creature  ?"  If 
one  of  the  states  of  the  empire  desired 
some  day  to  follow  their  example  and  be 
reformed,  should  they  take  away  its  power 
of  doing  so  1  Having  themselves  entered 
the  kingdom  of  heaven,  should  they  shut 
the  door  after  them  ?  No  !  rather  endure 
everything,  sacrifice  everything,  even 
their  states,  their  crowns,  and  their  lives  ! 
*  Sleidan,  i.  p.  261. 


650 


HISTORY   OF   THE   REFORMATION. 


"  Let  us  reject  this  decree,"  said  the 
princes.  "  In  matters  of  conscience  the 
majority  has  no  power." — "  It  is  to  the 
decree  of  1526,"  added  the  cities,  "  that 
we  are  indebted  for  the  peace  that  the 
empire  enjoys:  to  abolish  it  would  be  to 
fill  Germany  with  troubles  and  divisions. 
The  diet  is  incompetent  to  do  more  than 
preserve  religious  liberty  until  a  council 
meets."  Such  in  fact  is  the  grand  attri- 
bute of  the  state,  and  if  in  our  days  the 
protestant  powers  should  seek  to  influence 
the  Romish  governments,  they  should 
strive  solely  to  obtain  for  the  subjects  of 
the  latter  that  religious  liberty  which  the 
Pope  confiscates  to  his  own  advantage 
wherever  he  reigns  alone,  and  by  which 
he  profits  greatly  in  every  evangelical 
state.  Some  of  the  deputies  proposed  re- 
fusing all  assistance  against  the  Turks, 
hoping  thus  to  force  the  Emperor  to  in- 
terfere in  this  question  of  religion.  But 
Sturm  called  upon  them  not  to  mingle 
political  matters  with  the  salvation  of 
souls.  They  resolved  therefore  to  reject 
the  proposition,  but  without  holding  out 
any  threats.  It  was  this  noble  resolu- 
tion that  gained  for  modern  times  liberty 
of  thought  and  independence  of  faith. 

Ferdinand  and  the  priests,  who  were 
no  less  resolute,  determined  however  on 
vanquishing  what  they  called  a  daring 
obstinacy  ;  and  they  commenced  with  the 
weaker  states.  They  began  to  frighten 
and  divide  the  cities,  which  had  hitherto 
pursued  a  common  course.  On  the  12th 
April  they  were  summoned  before  the 
diet :  in  vain  did  they  allege  the  absence 
of  some  of  their  number,  and  ask  for  de- 
lay. It  was  refused,  and  the  call  was 
hurried  on.  Twenty-one  free  cities  ac- 
cepted the  proposition  of  the  diet,  and 
fourteen  rejected  it.  It  was  a  bold  acton 
the  part  of  the  latter,  and  was  accomplish- 
ed in  the  midst  of  the  most  painful  suffer- 
ings. "  This  is  the  first  trial,"  said  Pfar- 
rer,  second  deputy  of  Strasburg ;  "  now 
will  come  the  second :  we  must  either 
deny  the  Word  of  God  or — be  burnt."* 

A  violent  proceeding  of  Ferdinand  im- 
mediately commenced  the  series  of  hu- 
miliations that  were  reserved  for  the 
evangelical  cities.  A  deputy  of  Stras- 
burg should,  in  conformity  with  the  de- 
cree of  Worms,  have  been  a  member  of 

*  Das  wort  Gottcs  zu  wiederrufen  oder  aber 
brennen. — (Jung  Beytragc,  p.  37.) 


the  imperial  government  from  the  com- 
mencement of  April.  He  was  declared 
excluded  from  his  rights,  until  the  Mass 
should  be  re-established  in  Strasburg. 
All  the  cities  united  in  protesting  against 
this  arbitrary  act. 

At  the  same  time,  the  Elector-palatine 
and  King  Ferdinand  himself  begged  the 
princes  to  accept  the  decree,  assuring 
them  that  the  Emperor  would  be  exceed- 
ingly pleased  with  them.  "  We  will 
obey  the  Emperor,  replied  they  calmly, 
"  in  everything  that  may  contribute  to 
maintain  peace  and  the  honour  of  God." 

It  was  time  to  put  an  end  to  this  strug- 
gle. On  the  18th  April  it  was  decreed 
that  the  evangelical  states  should  not  be 
heard  again  ;  and  Ferdinand  prepared  to 
inflict  the  decisive  blow  on  the  morrow. 

When  the  day  came,  the  king  appear- 
ed in  the  diet,  surrounded  by  the  other 
commissaries  of  the  Empire,  and  by  sev- 
eral bishops.  He  thanked  the  Roman- 
catholics  for  their  fidelity,  and  declared 
that  the  resolution  having  been  definitive- 
ly agreed  to,  it  was  about  to  be  drawn  up 
in  the  form  of  an  imperial  decree.  lie 
then  announced  to  the  Elector  and  his 
friends,  that  nothing  more  remained  to 
them  than  to  submit  to  the  majority. 

The  evangelical  princes,  who  had  not 
expected  so  positive  a  declaration,  were 
excited  at  this  summons,  and  passed,  ac- 
cording to  custom,  into  an  adjoining 
chamber  to  deliberate.  But  Ferdinand 
was  not  in  a  humour  to  wait  for  their 
answer.  He  rose,  and  all  the  imperial 
commissaries  with  him.  Vain  were  all 
endeavours  to  stop  him.  "  I  have  receiv- 
ed an  order  from  his  imperial  majesty," 
replied  he  ;  "I  have  executed  it.  All 
is  over." 

Thus  Charles's  brother  notifies  an  or- 
der to  the  christian  princes,  and  then  he 
retires  without  caring  even  if  there  was 
any  reply  to  make.  To  no  purpose  they 
sent  a  deputation  entreating  the  King  to 
return.  "  It  is  a  settled  affair,"  repeated 
Ferdinand  ;  "  submission  is  all  that  re- 
mains."* This  refusal  completed  the 
schism  :  it  separated  Rome  from  the 
Gospel.  Perhaps  more  justice  on  the  part 
of  the  Empire  and  of  the  Papacy  might 
have  prevented  the  rupture  that  since 
then  has  divided  the  Western  Church. 

*  Die  artikel  weren  beschlossen. — (Jung  Beytr. 
p.  90.) 


THE   PROTEST   AND   THE   CONFERENCE.     1528—1529. 


651 


VI.  If  the  imperial  party  displayed 
such  contempt,  it  was  not  without  a 
cause.  They  felt  that  weakness  was  on 
the  side  of  the  Reformation,  and  strength 
on  the  side  of  Charles  and  of  the  Pope. 
But  the  weak  have  also  their  strength  ; 
and  this  the  evangelical  princes  were 
aware  of.  As  Ferdinand  paid  no  atten- 
tion to  their  reclamations,  it  remained  for 
them  to  pay  none  to  his  absence,  to  ap- 
peal from  the  report  of  the  diet  to  the 
Word  of  God,  and  from  the  Emperor 
Charles  to  Jesus  Christ,  the  King  of 
kings  and  Lord  of  lords. 

They  resolved  upon  this  step.  A  dec- 
laration was  drawn  up  to  that  effect,  and 
this  was  the  famous  Protest  that  hence- 
forward gave  the  name  of  Protestant  to 
the  renovated  Church.  The  Elector  and 
his  allies  having  returned  to  the  common 
hall  of  the  diet,  thus  addressed  the  as- 
sembled states : — * 

"  Dear  Lords,  Cousins,  Uncles,  and 
Friends  !  Having  repaired  to  this  diet  on 
the  convocation  of  his  majesty,  and  for 
the  common  good  of  the  Empire  and  of 
Christendom,  we  have  heard  and  learnt 
that  the  decisions  of  the  last  diet  con- 
cerning our  holy  Christian  Faith  are  to 
be  repealed,  and  that  it  is  proposed  to 
substitute  for  them  restrictive  and  oner- 
ous resolutions. 

"  King  Ferdinand  and  the  other  im- 
perial commissaries,  by  affixing  their 
seals  to  the  last  Recess  of  Spire,  had 
promised,  however,  in  the  name  of  the 
Emperor,  to  carry  out  sincerely  and  in- 
violably all  that  it  contained,  and  to  per- 
mit nothing  that  was  contrary  to  it.  In 
like  manner,  also,  you  and  we,  electors, 
princes,  prelates,  lords,  and  deputies  of 
the  Empire,  bound  ourselves  to  main- 
tain always  and  with  all  our  might  all 
the  articles  of  this  decree. 

u  We  cannot  therefore  consent  to  its 
repeal. 

"  Firstly,  because  we  believe  that  his 
imperial  majesty,  as  well  as  you  and  we, 
are  called  to  maintain  firmly  what  has 
been  unanimously  and  solemnly  re- 
solved. 

*  There  are  two  copiesof  th  is  act ;  one  of  them 
is  brief,  and  the  other,  which  is  longer,  was  trans- 
mitted in  writing  to  the  imperial  commissaries. 
It  is  from  the  latter  we  extract  the  passages  in 
the  text.  They  will  both  be  found  in  Jung  Bey- 
triige,  p.  91-105.  See  also  Miiller's  Historie  der 
Protestation,  p.  52. 


"  Secondly,  because  it  concerns  the 
glory  of  God  and  the  salvation  of  our 
souls,  and  that  in  such  matters  we  ought 
to  have  regard,  above  all,  to  the  com- 
mandment of  God,  who  is  King  of  kings 
and  Lord  of  lords  ;  each  of  us  rendering 
him  account  for  himself,  without  caring 
the  least  in  the  world  about  majority  or 
minority.* 

"  We  form  no  judgment  on  that  which 
concerns  you,  most  dear  lords ;  and  we 
are  content  to  pray  God  daily  that  he 
will  bring  us  all  to  unity  of  faith,  in 
truth,  charity,  and  holiness  through  Jesus 
Christ,  our  Throne  of  Grace  and  our 
only  Mediator. 

"  But  in  what  concerns  us,  adhesion  to 
your  resolution  (and  let  every  honest 
man  be  judge  !)  would  be  acting  against 
our  conscience,  condemning  a  doctrine 
that  we  maintain  to  be  christian,  and 
pronouncing  that  it  ought  to  be  abolished 
in  our  states,  if  we  could  do  so  without 
trouble. 

"  This  would  be  to  deny  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  to  reject  his  holy  Word, 
and  thus  give  him  just  reason  to  deny  us 
in  turn  before  his  Father,  as  he  has 
threatened. 

"  What !  we  ratify  this  edict !  We  as- 
sert that  when  Alm'ghty  God  calls  a 
man  to  His  knowledge,  this  man  cannot 
however  receive  the  knowledge  of  God  ! 
Oh !  of  what  deadly  backsliding  should 
we  not  thus  become  the  accomplices,  not 
only  among  our  own  subjects,  but  also 
among  yours ! 

"  For  this  reason  we  reject  the  yoke 
that  is  imposed  on  us.  And  although  it 
is  universally  known  that  in  our  states 
the  holy  sacrament  of  the  body  and  blood 
of  our  Lord  is  becomingly  administered, 
we  cannot  adhere  to  what  the  edict  pro- 
poses against  the  Sacramentarians,  see- 
ing that  the  imperial  edict  did  not  speak 
of  them,  that  they  have  not  been  heard, 
and  that  we  cannot  resolve  upon  such 
important  points  before  the  next  council. 

"  Moreover'' — and  this  is  the  essential 
part  of  the  protest — "  the  new  edict  de- 
claring the  ministers  shall  preach  the 
Gospel,  explaining  it  according  to  the 
writings  accepted  by  the  holy  Christian 
Church  ;  we  think  that,  for  this  regu- 
lation to  have  any  value,  we  should  first 

*  Ein  jeglicher  fur  sich  selbt  vor  Gott  stehen. — 
(Jung  Beytriige,  p.  96.) 


052 


HISTORY   OF   THE    REFORMATION. 


agree  on  what  is  meant  by  this  true  an  1 
holy  Church.  Now,  seeing  that  there  is 
greal  diversity  of  opinion  in  this  respect ; 
that  there  is  no  sure  doctrine  but  such  as 
is  conformable  to  the  Word  of  God  ;  that 
the  Lord  forbids  the  teaching  of  any 
other  doctrine ;  that  each  text  of  the 
Holy  Scriptures  ought  to  be  explained 
by  other  and  clearer  texts ;  that  this 
holy  book  is,  in  all  things  necessary  for 
the  Christian,  easy  of  understanding,  and 
calculated  to  scatter  the  darkness  :  we 
are  resolved,  with  the  grace  of  God,  to 
maintain  the  pure  and  exclusive  preach- 
ing of  his  only  Word,  such  as  it  is  con- 
tained in  the  biblical  books  of  the  Old 
and  New  Testament,  without  adding  any- 
thing thereto  that  may  be  contrary  to  it.* 
This  Word  is  the  only  truth  ;  it  is  the 
sure  rule  of  all  doctrine  and  of  all  life, 
and  can  never  fail  or  deceive  us.  He 
who  builds  on  this  foundation  shall  stand 
against  all  the  powers  of  hell,  whilst  all 
the  human  vanities  that  are  set  up  against 
it  shall  fall  before  the  face  of  God. 

'•  For  these  reasons,  most  dear  Lords, 
Uncles,  Cousins,  and  Friends,  we  earnest- 
ly entreat  you  to  weigh  carefully  our 
grievances  and  our  motives.  If  you  do 
not  yield  to  our  request,  we  Protest  by 
these  presents,  before  God,  our  only  Crea- 
tor, Preserver,  Redeemer,  and  Saviour, 
and  who  will  one  day  be  our  Judge,  as 
well  as  before  all  men  and  all  creatures, 
that  we,  for  us  and  for  our  people,  neither 
eonsentjior  adhere  in  any  manner  what- 
soever to  the  proposed  decree,  in  any 
thing  that  is  contrary  to  God,  to  his  holy 
Word,  to  our  right  conscience,  to  the  sal- 
vation of  our  souls,  and  to  the  last  decree 
of  Spire. 

"  At  the  same  time  we  are  in  expecta- 
tion that  his  imperial  majesty  will  behave 
towards  us  like  a  christian  prince  who 
loves  God  above  all  things ;  and  we  de- 
clare ourselves  ready  to  pay  unto  him, 
as  well  as  unto  you,  gracious  lords,  all 
the  affection  and  obedience  that  are  our 
just  and  legitimate  duty." 

Thus,  in  presence  of  the  diet,  spoke  out 
those  courageous  men  whom  Christedom 
will  henceforward  denominate  The  Pro- 
testants. 

They  had  barely  finished  when  they 

*  Allein  Gottes  wort,  lauter  und  rein,  und 
nichts  das    dawieder  ist. —  (Jung   Beytracre    p. 


announced  their  intention  of  quitting 
Spire  on  the  morrow.* 

This  protest  and  declaration  produced 
a  deep  impression.  The  diet  was  rudely 
interrupted  and  broken  into  two  hostile 
parties, — thus  preluding  war.  The  ma- 
jority became  the  prey  of  the  liveliest 
fears.  As  for  the  Protestants  relying, 
jure  h  u  ma  no,  upon  the  Edict  of  Spire,  and 
jure  diri/to,  upon  the  Bible,  they  were  full 
of  courage  and  firmness. 

The  principles  contained  in  this  cele- 
brated protest  of  the  19th  April  1529,  con- 
stitute the  very  essence  of  Protestantism. 
Now  this  protest  opposes  two  abuses  of 
man  in  matters  of  faith :  the  first  is  the 
intrusion  of  the  civil  magistrate,  and  the 
second  is  the  arbitrary  authority  of  the 
Church.  Instead  of  these  two  abuses, 
Protestantism  sets  up  above  the  magis- 
trate the  power  of  conscience  ;  and  above 
the  visible  Church  the  authority  of  the 
Word  of  God.  It  declines,  in  the  first 
place,  the  civil  power  in  divine  things, 
and  says  with  the  Prophets  and  Apostles  : 
We  must  uheij  God  rather  than  man.  In 
presence  of  the  crown  of  Charles  the 
Fifth,  it  uplifts  the  crown  of  Jesus  Christ. 
But  it  goes  farther :  it  lays  down  the 
principle,  that  all  human  teaching  should 
be  subordinate  to  the  oracles  of  God. 
Even  the  primitive  Church,  by  recognis- 
ing the  writings  of  the  Apostles,  had  per- 
formed an  act  of  submission  to  this  su- 
preme authority,  and  not  an  act  of  au- 
thority, as  Rome  maintains  ;  and  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  tribunal  charged  with 
the  interpretation  of  the  Bible,  had  ter- 
minated only  in  slavishly  subjecting  man 
to  man  in  that  which  should  be  the  most 
unfettered — conscience  and  faith.  In  this 
celebrated  act  of  Spire  no  doctor  appears, 
and  the  Word  £>f  God  reigns  alone.  Nev- 
er has  man  exalted  himself  like  the  Pope  ; 
never  have  men  kept  in  the  back-ground 
like  the  Reformers. 

A  Romish  historian  maintains  that  the 
word  Protestant  signifies  enemy  of  the  Em- 
peror and  of  the  Pope.j  If  by  this  it  is 
meant  that  Protestantism,  in  matters  of 
faith,  rejects  the  intervention  both  of  the 
Empire  and  of  the  Papacy,  it  is  well. 
Even  this  explanation,  however,  does  not 

*  Also  zu  verritten  urlaub  genommen. — (Jung 
Beytrage,  p.  52.) 

t  Perduelles  in  Pontificem  ac  Csesarem. — (Pal- 
lavicini,  C.T.I,  p.  217.) 


THE   PROTEST   AND   TIIK   CONFERENCE.     1520—1529. 


653 


exhaust  the  meaning  of  the  won!,  for 
Protestantism  rejected  the  authority  of 
man  solely  to  place  Jesus  Christ  on  the 
throne  of  the  Church,  and  his  Word  in 
the  pulpit.  Here  has  never  been  any- 
thing more  positive,  and  at  the  same  time 
more  aggressive,  than  the  position  of  the 
Protestants  at  Spire.  By  maintaining 
that  their  faith  is  alone  capable  of  saving 
the  world,  they  defended  with  intrepid 
courage  the  rights  of  Christian  Pi 
tism.  We  cannot  abandon  this  Pro  •  ly- 
tism  without  deserting  the  Prol 
principle. 

The  Protestants  of  Spire  were  no1 
content  to  exalt  the  truth  :  they  defi  nded 
charity.  Faber  and  the  otheT  Papal  par- 
tizans  bad  endeavoured  to  separate  the 
princes,  who  in  general  walked  with  Lu- 
ther, from  the  cities  that  ranged  them- 
selves rather  on  the  side  of  Zwingle. 
CEcolampadius  had  immediately  written 
to  Melancthon,  and  enlightened  him  on 
the  doctrines  of  the  Zurich  Reformer. 
He  had  indignantly  rejected  the  idea  that 
Christ  was  banished  into  a  corner  of 
heaven,  and  had  energetically  declared 
that,  according  to  the  Swiss  Christians, 
<  !hrist  was  in  every  place  upholding  all 
things  hy  the  Word  of  his  power.* 
'•'  With  the  visible  symbols,"  he  added, 
"we  give  and  we  receive  the  invisible 
grace,  like  all  the  faithful."! 

These  declarations  were  not  useless. 
There  were  at  Spire  two  men  who  from 
different  motives  opposed  the  efforts  of 
Faber,  and  seconded  those  of  (Ecolam- 
padius.  The  Landgrave,  ever  revolving 
projects  of  alliance  in  his  mind,  felt 
clearly  that  if  the  Christians  of  Saxony 
and  of  Hesse  allowed  the  condemnation 
of  the  Churches  of  Switzerland  and  of 
Upper  Germany,  they  would  by  that 
very  means  deprive  themselves  of  power- 
ful auxiliaries.!  Melancthon,  who  was 
far  from  desiring,  as  the  Landgrave,  a 
diplomatic  alliance,  for  fear  that  it  would 
hasten  on  a  war.  defended  the  great  prin- 
ciples of  justice,  and  exclaimed :  "  To 
what  just  reproaches  should  we  not  be 
exposed,  were  we  to  recognise  in  our  ad- 
versaries the  right  of  condemning  a  doc- 

*  TJbique  ut  et  portet  omnia  verbo  vertutis  suae. 
— (Hospin.  Hist.  Sacr.  ii.  p.  112.) 

t  X  'idiv  yap  tt)v  aooarov  pera  rtiv  cv/jp6\oiv  oparwv. 

— (Ibid.; 

X  Omni  studio  laborabat  ut  illos  uniret. — (Seek, 
ii.  p.  127.) 


trine  without  having  heard  those  who 
defend  it!"  The  union  of  all  evangeli- 
cal Christians  ifl  therefore  a  principle  of 
primitive  Prote  tantii m 

As  Ferdinand  had  not  heard  the  pro- 
tesl  of  the  19th  April,  a  deputation  or  the 
evangelical  states  went  the  next  day  to 
present  it  to  him.  The  brother  of  Charles 
the  Fifth  received  ii  at  first,  but  imme- 
diately after  desired  to  return  it.  Then 
was  witnessed  a  Strange  scene — the  king 
refusing  to  keep  the  protest,  and  the 
deputies  to  take  it  back.  At  last  the 
latter,  from  respect,  received  it  from  Fer- 
dinand's hands:  but  they  laid  it  boldly 
upon  a  table,  and  directly  quitted  the 
hall. 

The  king  and  the  imperial  commis- 
>  tnained  in  presence  of  this  formi- 
dable writing.  It  was  there — before 
their  eyes — a  significant  monument  of 
the  courage  and  faith  of  the  Protestants. 
Irritated  against  this  silent  but  mighty 
witness,  which  accused  his  tyranny,  and 
left  him  the  responsibility  of  all  the  evils 
that  were  about  to  burst  upon  the  Em- 
pire, the  brother  of  Charles  the  Fifth 
called  some  of  his  councillors,  and 
ordered  them  instantly  to  carry  back 
this  important  document  to  the  Protest- 
ants. 

All  this  was  unavailing;  the  protest 
had  been  enregistered  in  the  annals  of 
the  world,  and  nothing  could  erase  it. 
Liberty  of  thought  and  of  conscience  had 
been  conquered  for  ages  to  come.  Thus 
all  evangelical  Germany,  foreseeing  these 
things,  was  moved  at  this  courageous  act, 
and  adopted  it  as  the  expression  of  its 
will  and  of  its  faith.  Men  in  every 
quarter  beheld  in  it  not  a  political  event, 
but  a  christian  action,  and  the  youthful 
el(  ctoral  prince,  John  Frederick,  in  this 
respect  the  organ  of  his  age,  cried  to  the 
Protestants  of  Spire  :  "  May  the  Almighty, 
who  has  given  you  grace  to  confess  en- 
ergetically, free]  \-.  and  fearlessly,  preserve 
von  in  that  christian  firmness  until  the 
day  of  eternity  !"* 

While  the  christians  were  filled  with 
joy,  their  enemies  were  frightened  at 
their  own  work.  The  very  day  on 
which  Ferdinand  had  declined  to  re- 
ceive the  protest,  Tuesday,  20th  April,  at 

*  In  eo  mansuros  esse,  nee  passuros  ut  ulla 
horninum  machinatione  ab  ea  scntentia  divelleren- 
tur. — (Seckend.  ii.  p.  121.) 


654 


HISTORY   OP   THE   REFORMATION. 


one  in  the  afternoon,  Henry  of  Bruns- 
wick and  Philip  of  Baden  presented 
themselves  as  mediators,  announcing, 
however,  that  they  were  acting  solely  of 
their  own  authority.  They  proposed  that 
there  should  be  no  more  mention  of  the 
decree  of  Worms,  and  that  the  first  de- 
cree of  Spire  should  be  maintained,  but 
with  a  few  modifications  ;  that  the  two 
parties,  while  remaining  free  until  the 
next  council,  should  oppose  every  new 
sect,  and  tolerate  no  doctrine  contrary  to 
the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  body.* 

On  Wednesday,  21st  April,  the  evan- 
gelical states  did  not  appear  adverse  to 
these  propositions ;  and  even  those  who 
had  embraced  the  doctrine  of  Zwingle 
declared  boldly  that  such  a  proposal 
would  not  compromise  their  existence. 
"  Only  let  us  call  to  mind,"  said  they, 
"  that  in  such  difficult  matters  we  must 
act,  not  with  the  sword,  but  with  the  sure 
Word  of  God.f  For,  as  Saint  Paul 
say? :  What  is  not  of  faith  is  sin.  If 
therefore  we  constrain  Christians  to  do 
what  they  believe  unjust,  instead  of 
leading  them  by  God's  Word  to  ac- 
knowledge what  is  good,  we  force  them 
to  sin,  and  we  incur  a  terrible  responsi- 
bility." 

The  fanatics  of  the  Roman  party 
trembled  as  they  saw  the  victory  nearly 
escaping  from  them ;  for  they  rejected 
all  compromise,  and  desired  purely  and 
simply  the  re-establishment  of  the  Pa- 
pacy. Their  zeal  overcame  everything, 
and  the  negotiations  were  broken  off 

On  Thursday,  22d  April,  the  diet  as- 
sembled at  seven  in  the  morning,  and 
the  Recess  was  read  precisely  as  it  had 
been  drawn  up  before,  without  even 
mentioning  the  attempt  at  conciliation 
which  had  just  failed. 

Faber  triumphed.  Proud  of  having 
the  ear  of  kings,  he  tossed  himself  furi- 
ously about,  and  one  would  have  said,  to 
see  him,  relates  an  eye-witness,  that  he 
was  a  Cyclops  forging  in  his  cavern  the 
monstrous  chains  with  which  he  was 
about  to  bind  the  Reform  and  the  Re- 
formers.:):    The  Papist   princes,    carried 

*  Vergleich  artikel.— (Jung  Bcytrage,  p-  55.) 

t  In  diesen  Schweven  Sachen,  niehts  mit  Ge- 
walt  noch  Schwerdt,  sondern  mit  Gottes  gewis- 
sem  wort.— (Ibid  p.  59.)  This  document  is  from 
the  pen  of  Sturm. 

*  Cyclops  ille  nunc  feroccm  se  facit—  ("Corp. 
Ref.  i.  p.  1062.)  v       l 


away  by  the  tumult,  gave  the  spur,  says 
Melancthon,  and  flung  themselves  head- 
long into  a  path  filled  with  dangers.* 
Nothing  was  left  for  the  evangelical 
Christians  but  to  fall  on  their  knees  and 
cry  to  the  Lord.  "  All  that  remains  for 
us  to  do,"  repeated  Melancthon,  "  is  to 
call  upon  the  Son  of  God."f 

The  last  sitting  of  the  diet  took  place 
on  the  24th  April.  The  princes  renew- 
ed their  protest,  in  which  fourteen  free 
and  imperial  cities  joined  :  and  they  next 
thought  of  giving  their  appeal  a  legal 
form. 

On  Sunday,  25th  April,  two  notaries, 
Leonard  Stetner  of  Freysingen  and  Pan- 
grace  Saltzmann  of  Bamberg,  were  seat- 
ed before  a  small  table  in  a  narrow 
chamber  on  the  ground-floor  of  a  house 
situated  in  St.  John's  Lane,  near  the 
church  of  the  same  name  in  Spire,  and 
around  them  were  the  chancellors  of  the 
princes  and  of  the  evangelical  cities,  as- 
sisted by  several  witnesses.^ 

This  little  house  belonged  to  an  hum- 
ble pastor,  Peter  Muterstatt,  deacon  of 
St.  John's,  who,  taking  the  place  of  the 
Elector  or  of  the  Landgrave,  had  offered 
a  domicile  for  the  important  act  that  was 
preparing.  His  name  shall  in  conse- 
quence be  transmitted  to  posterity.  The 
document  having  been  definitively  drawn 
up,  one  of  the  notaries  began  reading  it. 
"  Since  there  is  a  natural  communion  be- 
tween all  men,"  said  the  Protestants, 
"and  since  even  persons  condemned  to 
death  are  permitted  to  unite  and  appeal 
against  their  condemnation  ;  how  much 
more  are  Ave,  who  are  members  of  the 
same  spiritual  body,  the  Church  of  the 
Son  of  God,  children  of  the  same  heav- 
enly Father,  and  consequently  brothers 
in  the  Spirit,^  authorized  to  unite  when 
our  salvation  and  eternal  condemnation 
are  concerned." 

After  reviewing  all  that  had  passed  in 
the  diet,  and  after  intercalating  in  their 
appeal  the  principal  documents  that  had 
reference  to  it,  the  Protestants  ended  by 

*  Utingrcdiantur  lubricum  isti  iter,  impingendo 
stimulis  calces. — (Ibid.) 

t  De  quo  reliquuin  est  ut  invocemus  Filium 
Dei.— (Ibid.) 

X  Unten  in  einem  Kleinen  Stublein. — (Jung 
Beytriige,  p.  78.     Instrumentum  Appcllationis.) 

§  Membra  unius  corporis  spiritualis  Jesu  Christi 
et  filii  unius  patris  coelestis,  idcoque  fratres  spir- 
ituals.— (Seckend.  ii.  p.  130.) 


THE  PROTEST  AND   THE   CONFERENCE.     1520— 1529. 


655 


saying :  "  We  therefore  appeal  for  our- 
selves, for  our  subjects,  and  for  all  who 
receive  or  who  shall  hereafter  receive 
the  Word  of  God,  from  all  past,  present, 
or  future  vexatious  measures,  to  his  Im- 
perial Majesty,  and  to  a  free  and  univer- 
sal assembly  of  holy  Christendom." 
This  document  filled  twelve'  sheets  of 
parchment  ;  the  signatures  and  seals 
were  affixed  to  the  thirteenth. 

Thus  in  the  obscure  dwelling  of  the 
chaplain  of  St.  John's  was  made  the  first 
confession  of  the  true  christian  union. 
In  presence  of  the  holy  mechanical  unity 
of  the  Pope,  these  confessors  of  Jesus 
raised  the  banner  of  the  living  unity  of 
Christ ;  and,  as  in  the  days  of  our  Sa- 
viour, if  there  were  many  synagogues 
in  Israel,  there  was  at  least  but  one  sin- 
gle temple.  The  Christians  of  Electo- 
ral Saxony,  of  Luneburg,  of  Anhalt,  of 
Hesse  and  the  Margravate,  of  Strasburg, 
Nuremberg,  Ulm,  Constance,  Lindau, 
Memmingen,  Kempten,  Nordlingen, 
Heilbron,  Reutlingen,  Isny,  Saint  Gall, 
Weissenburg,  and  Windsheim,  clasped 
each  other's  hands  on  the  25th  April, 
near  the  church  of  St.  John,  in  the  face 
of  threatening  persecutions.  Among 
them  might  be  found  those  who,  like 
Zwingle,  acknowledged  in  the  Lord's 
Supper  the  entirely  spiritual  presence  of 
Jesus  Christ,  as  well  as  those  who,  like 
Luther,  admitted  his  corporeal  presence. 
There  existed  not  at  that  time  in  the 
evangelical  body  any  sects,  hatred,  or 
schism ;  christian  unity  was  a  reality. 
That  upper  chamber  in  which,  during 
the  early  days  of  Christianity,  the  apos- 
tles with  the  women  and  the  brethren 
"continued  with  one  accord  in  prayer 
and  supplication,"*  and  that  lower  cham- 
ber where,  in  the  first  days  of  the  Ref- 
ormation, the  renewed  disciples  of  Jesus 
Chist  presented  themselves  to  the  Pope 
and  the  Emperor,  to  the  world  and  to 
the  scaffold,  as  forming  but  one  body,  are 
the  two  cradles  of  the  Church  ;  and  it  is 
in  this  its  hour  of  weakness  and  humili- 
ation that  it  shines  forth  with  the  bright- 
est glory. 

After  this  appeal  each  one  returrred  si- 
lently to  his  dwelling.  Several  tokens 
excited  alarm  for  the  safety  of  the  Prot- 
estants. A  short  time  previously  Me- 
lancthon  hastily  conducted  through  the 
*  Acts  i.  14. 


streets  of  Spire  towards  the  Rhine  his 
friend  Simon  Grynams,  pressing  him  to 
cross  the  river.  The  latter  was  aston- 
ished at  such  precipitation.*  "  An  old 
man  of  grave  and  solemn  appearance, 
but  who  is  unknown  to  me,"  said  Me- 
lancthon,  "  appeared  before  me  and  said  : 
"  In  a  minute  officers  of  justice  will  be 
sent  by  Ferdinand  to  arrest  Grynseus." 
As  he  was  intimate  with  Faber,  and  had 
been  scandalized  at  one  of  his  sermons, 
Grynams  had  gone  to  him,  and  begged 
him  no  longer  to  make  war  against  the 
truth.  Faber  had  dissembled  his  anger, 
but  immediately  after  repaired  to  the 
king,  from  whom  he  had  obtained  an  or- 
der against  the  importunate  professor  of 
Heidelberg.f  Melancthon  doubted  not 
that  God  had  saved  his  friend  by  sending 
one  of  His  holy  angels  to  forewarn  him. 
Motionless  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine  he 
waited  until  the  waters  of  that  stream 
had  rescued  Grynams  from  his  persecu- 
tors. "  At  last,"  cried  Melancthon,  as  he 
saw  him  on  the  opposite  side,  "  he  is 
torn  from  the  cruel  teeth  of  those  who  drink 
innocent  blood. "J  When  he  retureed  to 
his  house,  Melancthon  was  informed  that 
the  officers  in  search  of  Grynseus  had 
ransacked  it  from  top  to  bottom. § 

Nothing  could  detain  the  Protestants 
longer  in  Spire.  Accordingly,  on  the 
morning  after  their  appeal  (Monday,  26th 
April),  the  Elector,  the  Landgrave,  and 
the  Dukes  of  Luneburg,  quitted  the  city, 
reached  Worms,  and  then  returned  by 
Hesse  into  their  own  states.  The  appeal 
of  Spire  was  published  by  the  Landgrave 
on  the  5th,  and  by  the  Elector  on  the 
13th  May. 

Melancthon  had  returned  to  Wittem- 
berg  on  the  6th  May,  persuaded  that  the 
two  parties  were  about  to  draw  the  sword. 
His  friends  were  alarmed  at  seeing  him 
agitated,  exhausted,  and  like  one  dead.|| 
"  It  is  a  great  event  that  has  just  taken 
place  at  Spire,"  said  he.     "  It  is  big  with 


*  Miranti  quae  esset  tantse  festinationis  causa. — 
(Camerarius  Vita  Mel.  p.  113.) 

t  Faber  qui  valJe  ofl'enderetur  orationi  tali,  dis- 
simulare  tamen  omnia. — (Ibid.) 

t  Ereptus  quasi  e  faucibus  eorum  qui  sitiunt 
sanguinem  innocentiuru. — (Mel.  ad  Camer.  23d 
April,  Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  1062.) 

§  Affluit  armata  qusedam  manusad  comprehen- 
dum  Gryn33ummissa. — (Camer.  Vit.  Mel.  p.  113.) 

II  Ita  fuit  perturbatus  ut  primis  diebus  pene  ex- 
tinctus  sit.— (Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  1067.) 


656 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


dangers,  not  only  to  the  Empire,  but  also 
to  Religion  itself.*  All  the  pains  of  hell 
oppress  me."t 

It  was  Melancthon's  greatest  affliction, 
that  all  these  evils  were  attributed  to  him, 
as  indeed  he  ascribed  them  himself. 
"  One  single  thing  has  injured  us,"  said 
he ;  "  our  not  having  approved,  as  was 
required  of  us,  the  edict  against  the  Zwin- 
glians."  Luther  did  not  take  this  gloo- 
my view  of  affairs ;  but  he  was  far  from 
comprehending  the  force  of  the  protest. 
"  The  diet,"  said  he,  "  has  come  to  an 
end  almost  without  results,  except  that 
those  who  scourge  Jesus  Christ  have  not 
been  able  to  satisfy  their  fury."| 

Posterity  has  not  ratified  this  decision, 
and,  on  the  contrary,  dating  from  this 
epoch  the  definitive  formation  of  Prot- 
estantism, it  has  hailed  in  the  Protest  of 
Spire  one  of  the  greatest  movements  re- 
corded in  history. 

Let  us  see  to  whom  the  chief  glory  of 
this  act  belongs.  The  part  taken  by  the 
princes,  and  especially  by  the  Elector  of 
Saxony,  in  the  German  Reformation, 
must  strike  every  impartial  observer. 
These  are  the  true  Reformers — the  true 
Martyrs.  The  Holy  Ghost,  that  bloweth 
where  it  listeth,  had  inspired  them  with 
the  courage  of  the  ancient  confessors  of 
the  Church ;  and  the  God  of  Election 
was  glorified  in  them.  A  little  later 
perhaps  this  great  part  played  by  the 
princes  might  have  produced  deplorable 
consequences :  there  is  no  grace  of  God 
that  man  may  not  pervert.  But  nothing 
should  prevent  us  from  rendering  honour 
to  whom  honour  is  due,  and  from  adoring 
the  work  of  the  eternal  Spirit  in  these 
eminent  men  who,  under  God,  were  in 
the  sixteenth  century  the  saviours  of 
Christendom. 

The  Reformation  had  taken  a  bodily 
form.  It  was  Luther  alone  who  had 
said  No  at  the  Diet  of  Worms:  but 
Churches  and  ministers,  princes  and  peo- 
ple, said  No  at  the  Diet  of  Spire. 

In  no  country  had  superstition,  scho- 
lasticism, hierarchy,  and  popery,  been  so 
powerful  as  among  the  Germanic   na- 

*  Non  enim  tantum  imperium,  sed  religio  etiam 
periclitantur. — (Ibid.) 

t  Omnes  dolorcs  inferni  oppresserant  me.  — 
(Ibid,  and  p.  1069.) 

t  Christo  mastiges  et  Psycho-tyranni  suum  fu- 
rorem  non  potuerunt  explere. — (L.  Epp.  Linco, 
6th  May  1529.) 


tions.  These  simple  and  candid  people 
had  humbly  Dent  tneir  neck  to  the  yoke 
that  came  from  the  banks  of  the  Tiber. 
But  mere  was  in  them  a  depth,  a  life,  a 
need  of  interior  liberty,  which,  sanctified 
by  the  Word  of  God,  might  render  them 
the  most  energetic  organs  of  christian 
truth.  It  was  from  them  that  was  des- 
tined to  emanate  the  reaction  against  that 
material,  external,  and  legal  system, 
which  had  taken  the  place  of  Christiani- 
ty ;  it  was  they  who  were  called  to  shat- 
ter in  pieces  the  skeleton  which  had  been 
substituted  for  the  spirit  and  the  life,  and 
restore  to  the  heart  of  Christendom,  ossi- 
fied by  the  hierarchy,  the  generous  beat- 
ings of  which  it  had  been  deprived  for 
so  many  ages.  The  Universal  Church 
will  never  forget  the  debt  it  owes  to  the 
Princes  of  Spire  and  to  Luther. 

VII.  The  protest  of  Spire  had  still  fur- 
ther increased  the  indignation  of  the  Pa- 
pal adherents;  and  Charles  the  Fifth, 
according  to  the  oath  he  had  made  at 
Barcelona,  set  about  preparing  "  a  suita- 
ble antidote  for  the  pestilential  disease 
with  which  the  Germans  were  attacked, 
and  to  avenge  in  a  striking  manner  the 
insult  offered  to  Jesus  Christ."*  The 
Pope,  on  his  part,  endeavoured  to  com- 
bine all  the  other  princes  of  Christendom 
in  this  crusade ;  and  the  peace  of  Cam- 
bray,  concluded  on  the  5th  August,  tend- 
ed to  the  accomplishment  of  his  cruel  de- 
signs. It  left  the  Emperor's  hands  free 
against  the  heretics.  After  having  en- 
tered their  protest  at  Spire,  it  was  neces- 
sary for  the  Evangelicals  to  think  of 
maintaining  it. 

The  Protestant  states  that  had  already 
laid  the  foundations  of  an  evangelical 
alliance  at  Spire,  had  agreed  to  send 
deputies  to  Rothach ;  but  the  Elector, 
staggered  by  the  representations  of  Lu- 
ther, who  was  continually  saying  to  him, 
"It  is  by  keeping  yourselves  tranquil 
and  in  quietness  that  you  will  be  saved,"! 
ordered  his  deputies  to  listen  to  the  prop- 
ositions of  his  allies,  but  to  decide  upon 
nothing.  They  adjourned  to  a  new  con- 
ference, which  never  took  place.  Lu- 
ther  triumphed ;    for    human   alliances 

*  Illatamque  Christo  injuriam  pro  viribns  ul- 
ciscentur—  (Dumont,  Corp.  Univ.  Diplomatique, 
iv.  p.  1,  5.) 

t  Isaiah  xxx.  15.    L.  Epp.  iii.  p.  454. 


THE  PROTEST   AND   THE   CONFERENCE.     1526—1529. 


657 


failed.  "  Christ  the  Lord  will  know  how 
to  deliver  us  without  the  Landgrave,  and 
even  against  the  Landgrave,"  said  he  to 
his  friends.* 

Philip  of  Hesse,  who  was  vexed  at 
Luther's  obstinacy,  was  convinced  that  it 
arose  from  a  dispute  about  words.  "  They 
will  hear  no  mention  of  alliances  because 
of  the  Zwinglians,"  said  he  ;  "  well  then, 
let  us  put  an  end  to  the  contradictions 
that  separate  them  from  Luther." 

The  union  of  all  the  disciples  of  the 
Word  of  God  seemed  in  fact  a  necessary 
condition  to  the  success  of  the  Reform. 
Hoav  could  the  Protestants  resist  the 
power  of  Rome  and  of  the  Empire,  if 
they  were  divided  %  The  Landgrave  no 
doubt  wished  to  unite  their  minds,  that 
he  might  afterwards  be  able  to  unite 
their  arms ;  but  the  cause  of  Christ  was 
not  to  triumph  by  the  sword.  If  they 
should  succeed  in  uniting  their  hearts 
and  prayers,  the  Reform  would  then  find 
such  strength  in  the  faith  of  its  children, 
that  Philip's  spearmen  would  no  longer 
be  necessary. 

Unfortunately  this  union  of  minds,  that 
was  now  to  be  sought  after  above  all 
things,  was  a  very  difficult  task.  Luther 
in  1519  had  at  first  appeared  not  only  to 
reform,  but  entirely  renovate  the  doctrine 
of  the  Lord's  Supper,  as  the  Swiss  did 
somewhat  later.  "  I  go  to  the  sacrament 
of  the  Lord's  Supper,"  he  had  said,  "and 
I  there  receive  a  sign  from  God  that 
Christ's  righteousness  and  passion  justify 
me ;  such  is  the  use  of  the  Sacrament."f 
This  discourse,  which  had  gone  through 
several  impressions  in  the  cities  of  Upper 
Germany,  had  prepared  men's  minds  for 
the  doctrine  of  Zwingle.  Accordingly 
Luther,  astonished  at  the  reputation  he 
had  gained,  published  this  solemn  decla- 
ration in  1527:  "I  protest  before  God 
and  before  the  whole  world  that  I  have 
never  walked  with  the  Sacramentarians." 

Luther  in  fact  was  never  Zwinglian 
as  regards  the  Communion.  Far  from 
that,  in  1519,  he  still  believed  in  Tran- 
substantiation.  Why  then  should  he 
speak  of  a  sign  ?  It  was  for  this  reason. 
While,  according  to  Zwingle,  the  bread 
and  wine  are  signs  of  the  body  and  blood 

*  UnserHer.  Christus,  &c—  (Ibid.)  This  con- 
fidence of  Luther  shocks  a  Lutheran  historian- 
Plank,  ii.  p.  454. 

t  In  the  writing  entitled,  Doss  d'use   Worte 
nochfeste  Stehen.—(L.  Opp.  xix.) 
83        • 


of  Christ,  according  to  Luther,  the  very 
body  and  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  are  signs 
of  God's  grace.  These  opinions  are 
widely  different  from  one  another. 

Erelong  this  disagreement  declared  it- 
self. In  1527  Zwingle  in  his  Friendly 
Exposition*  repeated  Luther's  opinion 
with  mildness  and  respect.  Unfortu- 
nately the  pamphlet  of  the  Saxon  Refor- 
mer "  against  the  enthusiasts"  was  then 
issuing  from  the  press,  and  in  it  Luther 
expressed  his  indignation  that  his  adver- 
saries should  dare  to  speak  of  christian 
unity  and  peace.  "  Well !"  exclaimed 
he,  "  since  they  thus  insult  all  reason,  I 
will  give  them  a  Lutheran  warning.! 
Cursed  be  this  concord !  cursed  be  this 
charity !  down,  down  with  it,  to  the  bot- 
tomless pit  of  hell !  If  I  should  murder 
your  father,  your  mother,  your  wife,  your 
child,  and  then,  wishing  to  murder  you, 
I  should  say  to  you,  Let  us  be  at  peace, 
my  dear  friend !  what  answer  would  you 
make  ? — It  is  thus  that  the  enthusiasts 
who  murder  Jesus  Christ  my  Lord,  God 
the  Father,  and  Christendom  my  mother, 
wish  to  murder  me  also  ;  and  then  they 
say,  Let  us  be  friends  !" 

Zwingle  wrote  two  replies  "  to  the 
excellent  Martin  Luther,"  in  a  cold  tone 
and  with  a  haughty  calmness  more  diffi- 
cult to  pardon  than  the  invectives  of  the 
Saxon  doctor.  "  We  ought  to  esteem 
you  a  vessel  of  honour,  and  we  do  so  with 
joy,"  said  he,  "  notwithstanding  your 
faults."  '  Pamphlet  followed  pamphlet, 
Luther  always  writing  with  the  same 
impetuosity,  and  Zwingle  with  the  same 
coolness  and  irony. 

Such  were  the  doctors  whom  the  Land- 
grave undertook  to  reconcile.  Already, 
during  the  sitting  of  the  Diet  of  Spire, 
Philip  of  Hesse,  who  was  afflicted  at 
hearino-  the  Papists  continually  repeat- 
ing "  You  boast  of  your  attachment  to 
the  pure  Word  of  God,  and  yet  you  are 
nevertheless  disunited,"!  had  made  over- 
tures to  Zwingle  in  writing.  He  now 
went  /arther,  and  invited  the  theologians 
of  the  different  parties  to  meet  at  Marburg. 
These  invitations  met  with  various  recep- 
tions.    Zwingle,  whose  heart  was  large 

*  Arnica  exegesis,  id  est,  Expositio  Eucharistfe 
negotii  ad  M.  Lutherum. — (Zw.  Opp.) 

t  Eine  Lutherische  Warnung. — (L.  Opp.  xix. 
p.  391.     Wider  die  Schwarmgeister.) 

X  Inter  nos  ipsos  de  religionis  doctiina  non  con- 
sentire.— (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  287.) 


658 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


and  fraternal,  answered  the  Landgrave's 
call  •  but  Luther,  who  discovered  leagues 
and  battles  behind  this  pretended  concord, 
rejected  it. 

It  seemed,  however,  that  great  difficul- 
ties would  detain  Zwingle.  To  travel 
from  Zurich  to  Marburg,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  pass  through  the  territories  of  the 
Emperor  and  of  other  enemies  to  the  Re- 
formation ;  the  Landgrave  himself  did 
not  conceal  the  dangers  of  the  journey  ;* 
but  in  order  to  obviate  these  difficulties, 
he  promised  an  escort  from  Strasburg  to 
Hesse,  and  for  the  rest  "  the  protection 
of  God."f  These  precautions  were  not 
of  a  nature  to  reassure  the  Zurichers. 

Reasons  of  another  kind  detained  Lu- 
ther and  Melancthon.  "  It  is  not  right," 
said  they,  "  that  the  Landgrave  has  so 
much  to  do  with  the  Zwinglians.  Their 
error  is  of  such  a  nature  that  people  of 
acute  minds  are  easily  tainted  by  it. 
Reason  loves  what  it  understands,  partic- 
ularly when  learned  men  clothe  their 
ideas  in  a  scriptural  dress." 

Melancthon  did  not  stop  here,  but  put 
forth  the  very  extraordinary  notion  of  se- 
lecting Papists  as  judges  of  the  discussion. 
"  If  there  were  no  impartial  judges,"  said 
he,  "  the  Zwinglians  would  have  a  good 
chance  of  boasting  of  victory."!  Thus, 
according  to  Melancthon,  Papists  would 
be  impartial  judges  when  the  real  pres- 
ence was  the  subject  of  discussion  !  He 
went  still  farther.  "  Let  the  Elector," 
he  wrote  on  the  *14th*  May  to  the  Prince 
Electoral,  "  refuse  to  permit  our  journey 
to  Marburg,  so  that  we  may  allege  this 
excuse."  The  Elector  would  not  lend 
himself  to  so  disgraceful  a  proceeding  ; 
and  the  Reformers  of  Wittemberg  found 
themselves  compelled  to  accede  to  the  re- 
quest of  Philip  of  Hesse.  But  they  did 
so  with  these  words :  "  If  the  Swiss  do 
not  yield  to  us,  all  your  trouble  will  be 
lost ;"  and  they  wrote  to  the  theologians 
among  their  friends  who  were  convoked 
by  the  Prince  :  "  Stay  away  if  you  can ; 
your  absence  will  be  very  useful  to  us."& 
Zwingle,  on  the  contrary,  who  would 
have  gone  to  the  end  of  the  world,  made 
every  exertion  to'  obtain  from  the  magis- 

*  Viam  Francofurdi  capias,  quani  autem  hac 
periculosiorem  esse  putamus. — (Ibid.  p.  312.) 

t  Juvante  Deo  tuti. — (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  329.) 

t  Papistische  als  unparteische. — (Corp.  Ref.  i. 
p.  1066.)  r 

5  Si  potes,  noli  adesse. — (L.  Epp.  iii.  p.  501.) 


trates  of  Zurich  permission  to  visit  Mar- 
burg. "  I  am  convinced,"  said  he  to  the 
secret  council,  "  that  if  we  doctors  meet 
face  to  face,  the  splendour  of  truth  will 
illuminate  our  eyes."*  But  the  council 
that  had  only  just  signed  the  first  reli- 
gious peace,f  and  who  feared  to  see  war 
burst  out  afresh,  positively  refused  to  al- 
low the  departure  of  the  Reformer. 

Upon  this  Zwingle  decided  for  him- 
self. He  felt  that  his  presence  was  neces- 
sary for  the  maintenance  of  peace  in 
Zurich ;  but  it  was  the  welfare  of  all 
Christendom  that  summoned  him  to  Mar- 
burg. Accordingly,  raising  his  eyes  to- 
wards heaven,  he  resolved  to  depart, 
exclaiming,  "  O  God !  Thou  hast  never 
abandoned  us ;  Thou  wilt  perform  thy 
will  for  thine  own  glory.";):  During  the 
night  of  the  31st  August,  Zwingle,  who 
was  unwilling  to  wait  for  the  Land- 
grave's safe-conduct,  prepared  for  his 
journey.  Rodolph  Collin,  the  Greek 
professor,  was  alone  to  accompany  him. 
The  Reformer  wrote  to  the  Smaller  and 
to  the  Great  Council :  "  If  I-  leave  with- 
out informing  you,  it  is  not  because  I 
despise  your  authority,  most  wise  lords  ; 
but  because,  knowing  the  love  you  bear 
towards  me,  I  foresee  that  your  anxiety 
will  oppose  my  going." 

As  he  was  writing  these  words,  a 
fourth  message  arrived  from  the  Land- 
grave, more  pressing  still  than  the  pre- 
ceding ones.  The  Reformer  sent  the 
prince's  letter  to  the  burgomaster  with 
his  own ;  he  then  quitted  his  house 
privily  by  night,^  concealing  his  depart- 
ure both  from  his  friends,  whose  impor- 
tunity he  feared,  and  from  his  enemies, 
whose  snares  he  had  good  cause  to  dread. 
He  did  not  even  tell  his  wife  where  he 
was  going,  lest  it  should  distress  her. 
He  and  Collin  then  mounted  two  horses 
that  had  been  hired  for  the  purpose, ||  and 
rode  off  rapidly  in  the  direction  of  Basle. 

During  the  day  the  rumour  of  Zwin- 
gle's  absence  spread  through  Zurich,  and 
his  enemies  were  elated.  "  He  has  fled 
the   country,"   said   they ;  "  he  has  run 

*  Ut  veritatis  splendor  oculos  nostros  feriat. — 
(Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  321.) 

t  See  below,  Book  xvi.  chap.  ii.  anno  1529. 

X  Dei  nunquam  fallentis,  qui  nos  nunquam  de- 
seruit,  gratiam  reputavi. — (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  356.) 

§  Sabbati  die,  mane  ante  lueem,  1  Septembris. 
—(Ibid.) 

U  Equis  conductoriis. — (Zvr.  Epp.  ii.  p.  361.) 


THE   PROTEST  AND   THE   CONFERENCE.     1526—1529. 


away  with  a  ?pack  of  scoundrels  !"  "  As 
he  was  crossing  the  river  at  Bruck,"  said 
others,  "  the  boat  upset  and  he  was 
drowned."  "  The  devil,"  affirmed  many 
with  a  malicious  smile,  "  appeared  to  him 
bodily  and  carried  him  ofT."* — "  There 
was  no  end  to  their  stories,"  says  Bullin- 
ger.  But  the  council  immediately  re- 
solved on  acceding  to  the  wish  of  the  Re- 
former. On  the  very  day  of  his  depart- 
ure- they  appointed  one  of  the  councillors, 
Ulric  Funck,  to  accompany  him  to  Mar- 
burg, who  forthwith  set  out  with  a  do- 
mestic and  one  arquebusier.  Strasburg 
and  Basle  in  like  manner  sent  statesmen 
in  company  with  their  theologians,  under 
the  idea  that  this  conference  would  doubt- 
less have  also  a  political  object. 

Zwingle  arrived  safe  and  sound  at 
Basle,f  and  embarked  on  the  river  on  the 
6th  September  with  (Ecolampadius  and 
several  merchants. |  In  thirteen  hours 
they  reached  Strasburg,  where  the  two 
Reformers  lodged  in  the  house  of  Mat- 
thew Zell,  the  cathedral  preacher.  Cath- 
erine, the  pastpr's  wife,  prepared  the  dish- 
es in  the  kitchen,  waited  at  table,  accord- 
ing to  the  ancient  German  manners,^ 
and  then  sitting  down  near  Zwingle, 
listened  attentively,  and  spoke  with  so 
much  piety  and  knowledge,  that  the  lat- 
ter soon  ranked  her  above  many  doctors. 

Zwingle,  after  discussing  with  the 
Strasburg  magistrates  the  means  of  re- 
sisting the  Romish  league,  and  the  or- 
ganization to  be  given  to  the  christian 
confederacy, ||  quitted  Strasburg ;  and  he 
and  his  friends,  conducted  along  by-roads, 
through  forests,  over  mountains  and  val- 
leys, by  secret  but  sure  paths,  at  last  ar- 
rived at  Marburg,  escorted  by  forty  Hes- 
sian cavaliers.^! 

Luther,  on  his  side,  accompanied  by 
Melancthon,  Cruciger,  and  Jonas,  had 
stopped  on  the  Hessian  frontier,  declaring 

*  Der  Tufel  vere  by  imm  gesin  —  (BulJingii.  p. 
224.) 

t  Integer  et  sanus  Basiliam  pervenit— (Zw. 
Epp.  ii.  p.  361.) 

i  Aliquos  niercatorum  fide  digpos,  comites. — 
(Ibid.) 

§  Ich  bin  14  Tag  magd  und  Kochin  gewesen. 
— (Fussl.  Beytr.  v.  p.  313.)  See  her  remarkable 
correspondence  with  the  superintendent  Rabus. 
—(Ibid.  p.  191-354.)  .    . 

II  De  jure  prssidendi  concihis  civitatum  chnstia- 
naum.— (Ibid,  v.  p.  3G4.)  See  book  xvi.  of  this 
History. 

If  Per  devia  et  sylvas,  montes  et  valles,  tutiasi- 
mos  et  occultos. — (Ibid.  p.  368.) 


that  nothing  should  induce  him  to  cross 
it  until  he  had  a  safe-conduct  from  the 
Landgrave.  This  document  being  ob- 
tained, Luther  arrived  at  Alsfeld,  where 
the  scholars,  kneeling  under  the  Re- 
former's windows,  chanted  their  pious 
hymns.  He  entered  Marburg  on  the 
30th  September,  a  day  after  the  arrival 
of  the  Swiss.  Both  parties  went  to  inns ; 
but  they  had  scarcely  alighted,  before  the 
Landgrave  invited  them  to  come  and 
lodge  in  the  castle,  thinking  by  this 
means  to  bring  the  opposing  parties 
closer  together.  Philip  entertained  them 
in  a  manner  truly  royal.*  u  Ah  !"  said 
the  pious  Jonas,  as  he  wandered  through 
the  halls  of  the  palace.  "  it  is  not  in  hon- 
our of  the  Muses,  but  in  honour  of  God 
and  of  his  Christ,  that  we  are  so  munifi- 
cently treated  in  these  forests  of  Hesse !" 
After  dinner,  on  the  first  day,  CEcolam- 
padius,  Hedio,  and  Bucer,  desirous  of  en- 
tering into  the  prince's  views,  went  and 
saluted  Luther.  The  latter  conversed 
affectionately  with  (Ecolampadius  in  the 
castle-court ;  but  Bucer,  witli  whom  he 
had  once  been  very  intimate,  and  who 
was  now  on  Zwingle's  side,  having  ap- 
proached him,  Luther  said  to  him,  smi- 
ling, and  making  a  sign  with  his  hand : 
"  As  for  you,  you  are  a  good-for-nothing 
fellow  and  a  knave  f"t 

The  unhappy  Carlstadt,  who  had  be- 
gun all  this  dispute,  was  at  that  time  in 
Friesland,  preaching  the  spiritual  pres- 
ence of  Christ,  and  living  in  such  destitu- 
tion that  he  had  been  forced  to  sell  his 
Hebrew  Bible  to  procure  bread.  The 
trial  had  crushed  his  pride,  and  he  wrote 
to  die  Landgrave :  "  We  are  but  one 
body,  one  house,  one  people,  one  sacerdo- 
tal race  ;  we  live  and  die  by  one  and  the 
same  Saviour.J  For  this  reason,  I,  poor 
and  in  exile,  humbly  pray  your  highness, 
by  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  allow  me 
to  be  present  at  this  disputation." 

But  how  bring  Luther  and  Carlstadt 
face  to  face  ?  and  yet  how  repel  the  un- 
happy man  1  The  Landgrave,  to  extri- 
cate himself  from  this  difficulty,  referred 
him  to  the  Saxon  Reformer.  Carlstadt 
did  not  appear. 

*  Excepit  in  arce  hospitio  et  mensa  regali. — 
(Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  1096.) 

t  Subridens  aliquantulum  respondit:  hi  ts  n»- 
quam  et  nebulo. — (Sculteti  Anna!  ad  1529.) 

i  State  Papers  of  Cassel. 


660 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


Philip  of  Hesse  desired  that,  previous- 
ly to  the  public  conference,  the  theolo- 
gians should  have  a  private  interview. 
It  was  however  considered  dangerous, 
says  a  contemporary,  for  Zwingle  and 
Luther,  who  were  both  naturally  violent, 
to  contend  with  one  another  at  the  very 
beginning  :  and  as  CEcolampadius  and 
Melancthon  were  the  mildest,  they  Avere 
apportioned  to  the  roughest.*  On  Fri- 
day the  1st  October,  after  divine  service, 
Luther  and  CEcolampadius  were  con- 
ducted into  one  chamber,  and  Zwingle 
and  Melancthon  into  another.  The 
combatants  were  then  left  to  struggle  two 
and  two. 

The  principal  contest  took  place  in 
the  room  of  Zwingle  and  Melancthon. 
"  It  is  affirmed,"  said  Melancthon  to 
Zwingle,  "  that  some  among  you  speak 
of  God  after  the  manner  of  the  Jews,  as 
if  Christ  was  not  essentially  God."  "  I 
think  on  the  Holy  Trinity,"  replied 
Zwingle,  "with  the  Council  of  Nice 
and  the  Athanasian  creed."  "  Councils! 
creeds  !  What  does  that  mean  ?"  asked 
Melancthon.  "  Have  you  not  contin- 
ually repeated  that  you  recognise  no 
other  authority  than  that  of  Scrip- 
ture?" "We  have  never  rejected  the 
councils,"  replied  the  Swiss  Reformer, ! 
"  when  they  are  based  on  the  authority 
of  the  Word  of  God.f  The  four  first  j 
councils  are  truly  sacred  as  regards  doc- 
trine, and  none  of  the  faithful  have  ever 
rejected  them."  This  important  decla- 
ration, handed  down  to  us  by  CEcolam- 
padius, characterizes  the  Reformed  the- 
ology.:}: 

"  But  you  teach,"  resumed  Melanc- 
thon, "  like  Thomas  Munster,  that  the 
Holy  Ghost  acts  quite  alone,  independ- 
ently of  the  sacraments  and  of  the  Word 
of  God."  "  The  Holy  Ghost,"  replied 
Zwingle,  "  works  in  us  justification  by 
the  Word,  but  by  the  Word  preached 
and  understood,  by  the  soul  and  the 
marrow  of  the  Word,  by  the  mind  and 
will  of  God  clothed  in  human  lan- 
guage."^ 

*  Abgetheilt  zu  den  riihren. — (Bull.  ii.  p.  225.) 

t  Ubi  unquam  concilia  rejicimus,  verbi  divini 
auctoritati  sufl'ultal — (Zw.  Opp.  iv.  p.  191.) 

t  The  word  Reformed  is  used  to  distinguish  the 
doctrine  and  the  church  of  Zwingle  and  Calvin 
from  those  of  Luther. 

§  Mens  ct  medulla  verbi,  mens  et  voluntas  Dei 
atnicta  tamen  humanis  verbis. — (Zw.  Epp.  iv.  p. 
173.)  • 


"  At  least,"  continued  Melancthon, 
"  you  deny  original  sin,  and  make  sin  to 
consist  only  in  actual  and  external  works, 
like  the  Pelagians,  the  philosophers,  and 
the  Papists." 

This  was  the  principal  difficulty. 
"  Since  man  naturally  loves  himself," 
replied  Zwingle, "  instead  of  loving  God ; 
in  that  there  is  a  crime,  a  sin  that  con- 
demns him."*  He  had  more  than  once 
before  expressed  the  same  opinion  ;f  and 
yet  Melancthon  exulted  on  hearing  him  : 
"  Our  adversaries,"  said  he  afterwards, 
"  have  given  way  on- all  these  points  !" 

Luther  had  pursued  the  same  method 
with  CEcolampadius  as  Melancthon  with 
Zwingle.  The  discussion  had  in  par- 
ticular turned  on  baptism.  Luther  com- 
plained that  they  would  not  acknowledge 
that  by  this  simple  sign  a  man  became  a 
member  of  the  Church.  "  It  is  true," 
said  CEcolampadius,  "  that  we  require 
faith — either  an  actual  or  a  future  faith. 
Why  should  we  deny  it?  Who  is  a 
Christian,  if  it  be  not  he  who  believes  in 
Christ  ?  However,  I  should  be  unwil- 
ling to  deny  that  the  water  of  baptism  is 
in  a  certain  sense  a  water  of  regenera- 
tion ;  for  by  it  he  whom  the  Church 
knew  not  becomes  its  child. "| 

These  four  theologians  were  in  the 
very  heat  of  their  discussions,  when  do- 
mestics came  to  inform  them  that  the 
prince's  dinner  was  on  the  table.  Th£y 
immediately  rose,  and  Zwingle  and  Me- 
lancthon meeting  Luther  and  CEcolam- 
padius, who  were  also  quitting  their 
chamber,  the  latter  approached  Zwingle, 
and  whispered  mournfully  in  his  ear : 
"  I  have  fallen  a  second  time  into  the 
hands  of  Dr.  Eck."§  In  the  language  of 
the  Reformers  nothing  stronger  could  be 
said. 

It  does  not  appear  that  the  conference 
between  Luther  and  CEcolampadius 
was  resumed  after  dinner.  Luther's 
manner  held  out  little  hope ;  but  Melanc- 
thon and  Zwingle  returned  to  the  dis- 

*  Malum,  peccatum.— (Ibid.  p.  172.) 

t  De  peccato  originali  ad  Urb.  Rhegium.— 
(Ibid.  iii.  p.  632.) 

t  Atqueadeo  ipse  non  negarim,  aquam  baptismi 
esse  aquam  regenerantem :  fitenim  puer  ecclesiEB, 
qui  dudum  ab  ecclesia  non  agnoscebatur. — (Zw. 
Opp.  iv.  p.  193.) 

§  Lutherum  fficolampadem  ita  excepit,  ut  ad 
meveniens  clam  queratur,  se  denuo  inEccium  in- 
cidisse. — (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  369.) 


THE   PROTEST  AND   THE   CONFERENCE.     1526— 1529. 


661 


cussion,  and  the  Zurich  doctor  finding 
the  Wittemberg  professor  escape  hirn 
like  an  eel,  as  he  said,  and  take  "  like 
Proteus  a  thousand  different  forms," 
seized  a  pen  in  order  to  fix  his  antagonist. 
Zwingle  committed  to  writing  whatever 
Melancthon  dictated,  and  then  wrote  his 
reply,  giving  it  to  the  other  to  read.*  In 
this  manner  they  spent  six  hours,  three 
in  the  morning  and  three  in  the  after- 
noon, f  They  prepared  for  the  general 
conference. 

Zwingle  requested  that  it  should  be  an 
open  one  ;  Luther  opposed  this.  It  was 
resolved  that  the  princes,  nobles,  dep- 
uties, and  theologians  should  be  admitted ; 
but  a  great  crowd  of  citizens,  and  even 
many  scholars  and  gentlemen,  who  had 
come  from  Frankfort,  from  the  Rhine 
districts,  from  Strasburg,  from  Basle  and 
other  Swiss  towns,  were  excluded.  Brenz 
speaks  of  fifty  or  sixty  hearers  ;  Zwingle 
of  twenty-four  only.J 

On  a  gentle  elevation,  watered  by  the 
Lahn,  is  situated  an  old  castle,  overlook- 
ing the  city  of  Marburg;  in  the  distance 
is  seen  the  beautiful  valley  of  the  Lahn, 
and  beyond,  the  mountain-tops  rising  one 
above  another,  until  they  are  lost  in  the 
horizon.  It  was  beneath  the  vaults  and 
Gothic  arches  of  an  ancient  hall  in  this 
Castle,  called  the  Knights'  Hall,  that  the 
conference  was  to  take  place. 

On  Saturday  morning  (2d  October)  the 
Landgrave  took  his  seat  in  the  hall,  sur- 
rounded by  his  court,  but  so  plainly 
dressed  that  no  one  would  have  taken 
him  for  a  prince.  He  wished  to  avoid  the 
appearance  of  playing  the  part  of  a  Con- 
stantine  in  the  affairs  of  the  Church.  Be- 
fore him  was  a  table  which  Luther, 
Zwingle,  Melancthon,  and  (Ecolampa- 
dius  approached.  Luther,  taking  a  piece 
of  chalk,  bent  over  the  velvet  cloth 
which  covered  it,  and  steadily  wrote  four 
words  in  large  characters.  All  eyes  fol- 
lowed the  movement  of  his  hand,  and 
soon  they  read  Hoc  est  Corpus  Meum.§ 
Luther  wished  to  have  this  declaration 

*  At  Melancthon,  cum  nimis  lubricus  esset  et 
Protei  in  morem  se  in  omnia  transformaret,  me 
compulit,  ut  sumpto  calamo  manu  armarem. — 
(Ibid.) 

f  Istud  colloquium  sex  in  horas  traximus. — 
(Ibid.  370.) 

t  Quinquaginta  aut  sexaginta  colloquio  prae- 
sentes. — (Zw.  Opp.  iv.  p.  201.)  Pauci  arbitrii  ad 
summum  quatuor  et  viginti. — (Epp.  ii.  p.  370.) 

§  This  is  my  body. — (Zw.  Opp.  iv.  p.  175.) 


continually  before  him,  that  it  might 
strengthen  his  faith,  and  be  a  sign  to  his 
adversaries. 

Behind  these  four  theologians  were 
seated  their  friends, — Hedio,  Sturm, 
Funck,  Frey,  Eberard,  Than,  Jonas, 
Cruciger,  and  others  besides.  Jonas  cast 
an  inquiring  glance  upon  the  Swiss: 
u  Zwingle,"  said  he,  "  has  a  certain  rus- 
ticity and  arrogance  j*  if  he  is  well  versed 
in  letters,  it  is  in  spite  of  Minerva  and 
of  the  Muses.  In  (Ecolampadius  there 
is  a  natural  goodness  and  admirable 
meekness.  Hedio  seems  to  have  as 
much  liberality  as  kindness ;  but  I  find 
in  Bucer  the  cunning  of  a  fox,  that 
knows  how  to  give  himself  an  air  of 
sense  and  prudence."  Men  of  moderate 
sentiments  often  meet  with  worse  treat- 
ment than  those  of  the  extreme  parties. 

Other  sentiments  animated  those  who 
contemplated  this  assembly  from  a  dis- 
tance.    The  great  men  who  had  led  the 
people  in  their  footsteps  on  the  plains  of 
Saxony,  on  the  banks  of  the  Rhine,  and 
in  the  lofty  valleys  of  Switzerland,  were 
there  met  face   to  face  :   the   Chiefs  of 
Christendom,  separated  from  Rome,  were 
come  together  to  see  if  they  could  re- 
main one.     Accordingly,  from  all  parts 
of  Germany,  prayers  and  anxious  looks 
were  directed  towards  Marburg.     "  Illus- 
trious princes  of  the  Word,"f  cried  the 
evangelical   Church  through  the  mouth 
of  the   poet  Cordus,   "penetrating   Lu- 
ther, mild  (Ecolampadius,  magnanimous 
Zwingle,  pious  Snepf,  eloquent  Melanc- 
thon, courageous  Bucer,  candid  Hedio, 
excellent  Osiander,  valiant  Brenz,  amia- 
ble  Jonas,  fiery   Craton,  Maenus,  whose 
soul  is  stronger  than  his  body,  great  Dio- 
nysius,    and    you    Myconius — all    you 
whom    Prince    Philip,    that    illustrious 
hero,  has  summoned,  ministers  and  bish- 
ops, whom  the  christian  cities  have  sent 
to  terminate  the  schism,  and  to  show  us 
the  way  of  truth  ;  the  suppliant  Church 
falls  weeping  at  your  feet,  and  begs  you 
by  the  bowels  of  Jesus  Christ  to  bring 
this  matter  to  a  happy  issue,  so  that  the 
world  may  acknowledge  in  your  resolu- 
tion the  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  him- 
self.":}:      ; 

*  In  Zwinglio  agreste  quiddam  est  et  arrogan- 
tulum.— (Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  1097.) 

t  Insignes  verbi  proceres. — (Bull.  ii.  p.  236.) 
t  Et  cupido  supplex  vobis  Ecclesia  voto 
Vestroscaditflens  ad  pedes. — (Bull.  ii.  p.  236.) 


662 


HISTORY   OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


The  Landgrave's  chancellor,  John 
Feio-c,  having  reminded  them  in  the 
prince's  name  that  the  object  of  this  col- 
loquy was  the  re-establishment  of  union, 
« I  protest,"  said  Luther,  "  that  I  differ 
from  my  adversaries  with  regard  to  the 
doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  and  that  I 
shall  always  differ  from  them.  Christ 
has  said,  This  is  my  body.  Let  them 
show  me  that  a  body  is  not  a  body.  I 
reject  reason,  common  sense,  carnal  ar- 
guments, and  mathematical  proofs.  God 
is  above  mathematics.*  We  have  the 
Word  of  God ;  we  must  adore  it  and 
perform  it !" 

"  It  cannot  be  denied,"  said  CEcolam- 
padius,  "  that  there  are  figures  of  speech 
in  the  Word  of  God  ;  as  John  is  Elias, 
the  rock  was  Christ,  I  am  the  viae.  The 
expression  This  is  my  body,  is  a  figure  of 
the  same  kind."  Luther  granted  that 
there  were  figures  in  the  Bible,  but  he 
denied  that  this  last  expression  was  figu- 
rative. 

All  the  various  parties,  however,  of 
which  the  Christian  Church  is  composed 
see  a  figure  in  these  words.  In  fact,  the 
Romanists  delare  that  This  is  my  body 
signifies  not  only  "  my  body,"  but  also 
"  my  blood,"  "  my  soul,"  and  even  "  my 
Divinity,"  and  "  Christ  wholly."!  These 
words,  therefore,  according  to  Rome,  are 
a  synecdoche,  a  figure  by  which  a  part  is 
taken  for  the  whole.  And,  as  regards 
the  Lutherans,  the  figure  is  still  more  evi- 
dent.;}: Whether  it  be  synecdoche,  meta- 
phor, or  metonymy,  there  is  still  a  figure. 

In  order  to  prove  it,  CEcolampadius 
employed  this  syllogism  : — 

"  What  Christ  rejected  in  the  sixth 
chapter  of  St.  John,  he  could  not  admit 
in  the  words  of  the  Eucharist. 

"  Now  Christ,  who  said  to  the  people 
of  Capernaum,  The  flesh  'profiteth  nothing, 
rejected  by  those  very  words  the  oral 
manducation  of  his  body. 

"  Therefore  he  did  not  establish  it  at 
the  institution  of  his  Supper." 

Luther. — "  I   deny   the    minor   (the 

*  Deum  esse  supra  mathematicam. — (Zw.  Opp. 
iv.  p.  175.) 

t  If  any  one  denies  that  the  body  and  blood 
of  our  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  with  his  soul  and 
his  divinity,  and  consequently  the  whole  Jesus 
Christ  (totum  Christum),  is  contained  in  the  sa- 
crament of  the  Eucharist,  let  him  be  anathema.— 
(Council  of  Trent,  Sess.  13.) 

:  Tota  Christi  persona. — (Form,  concord,  viii.) 


second  of  these  propositions) ;  Christ  has 
not  rejected  all  oral  manducation,  but 
only  a  material  manducation,  like  that 
of  the  flesh  of  oxen  or  of  swine."* 

CEcolampadius. — "  There  is  danger  in 
attributing  too  much  to  mere  matter." 

Luther. — "  Every  thing  that  God 
commands  becomes  spirit  and  life.  If  it 
is  by  the  Lord's  order  that  we  lift  up  a 
straw,  in  that  very  action  we  perform  a 
spiritual  work.  We  must  pay  attention 
to  him  who  speaks,  and  not  to  what  he 
says.  God  speaks :  Men,  worms,  listen ! 
— God  commands :  let  the  world  obey  ! 
and  let  us  all  together  fall  down  and 
humbly  kiss  the  Word."f 

CEcolampadius. — "  But  since  we  have 
the  spiritual  eating,  what  need  of  the 
bodily  one  ?" 

Luther. — "  I  do  not  ask  what  need 
we  have  of  it ;  but  I  see  it  written.  Eat, 
this  is  my  body.  We  must  therefore  be- 
lieve and  do.  We  must  do — we  must 
do  \\ — If  God  should  order  me  to  eat 
dung,  I  would  do  it,  with  the  assurance 
that  it  would  be  salutary."^ 

At  this  point  Zwingle  interfered  in 
the  discussion.  "We  must  explain 
Scripture  by  Scripture,"  said  he.  "  We 
cannot  admit  two  kinds  of  corporeal 
manducation,  as  if  Jesus  had  spoken  of 
eating,  and  the  Capernaites  of  tearing  in 
pieces,  for  the  same  word  is  employed  in 
both  cases.  Jesus  says  that  to  eat  his 
flesh  corporeally  profiteth  nothing  (John 
vi.  63) ;  whence  it  would  result  that  he 
had  given  ais  in  the  Supper  a  thing  that 
would  be  useless  to  us. — Besides  there 
are  certain  words  that  seem  to  me  rather 
childish, — the  dung,  for  instance.  The 
oracles  of  the  demons  were  obscure,  not 
so  are  those  of  Jesus  Christ." 

Luther. — "  When  Christ  says  the  flesh 
profiteth  nothing,  he  speaks  not  of  his 
own  flesh,  but  of  ours." 

#  #  #  *  # 

Zwingle. — "  The.  soul  is  fed  with  the 
Spirit  and  not  with  the  flesh." 

Luther. — "  It  is  with  the  mouth  that  we 
eat  the  body  ;  the  soul  does  not  eat  it."|| 

*  Qualis  est  carnis  bovillae  aut  suillre. — (Scult. 
p.  217.) 

t  Q.uum  prcecipit  quid,  pareat  mundus;  et  om- 
nes  osculemur  verbum. — (Zw.  Opp.  iv.  p.  170.) 

I  Man  mus  es  thun  ssepe  inculcabat. — (Ibid.) 

§  Sijuberet  fimum  comedere,  facerem. — (Ibid.) 

II  Anima  non  edit  ipsum  (corpus)  corporaliter. 
— (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  370.) 


THE   PROTEST  AND   THE  CONFERENCE.     1526—1529. 


663 


Zwingle. — "  Christ's  body  is  therefore 
a  corporeal  nourishment,  and  not  a  spir- 
itual." 

Luther. — "  You  are  captious." 

Zwingle. — "  Not  so  ;  but  you  utter 
contradictory  things." 

Luther. — "  If  God  should  present  me 
wild  apples,  I  should  eat  them  spiritually. 
In  the  Eucharist,  the  mouth  receives  the 
body  of  Christ,  and  the  soul  believes  in 
his  words." 

Zwingle  then  quoted  a  great  number 
of  passages  from  the  Holy  Scripture,  in 
which  the  sign  is  described  by  the  very 
thing  signified ;  and  thence  concluded 
that,  considering  our  Lord's  declaration 
in  St.  John,  The  flesh  profitcth  nothing,  we 
must  explain  the  words  of  the  Eucharist 
in  a'  similar  manner. 

Many  hearers  were  struck  by  these  ar- 
guments. Among  the  Marburg  profes- 
sors sat  the  Frenchman  Lambert ;  his  tall 
and  spare  frame  was  violently  agitated. 
He  had  been  at  first  of  Luther's  opinion,* 
and  was  then  hesitating  between  the  two 
Reformers.  As  he  went  to  the  confer- 
ence, he  said  :  "  I  desire  to  be  a  sheet  of 
blank  paper,  on  which  the  finger  of  God 
may  write  his  truth."  Erelong  he  ex- 
claimed, after  hearing  Zwingle  and  (Eco- 
lampadius:  "  Yes!  the  Spirit,  that  is  what 
vivifies  !"f  When  this  conversion  was 
known,  the  Wittembergers,  shrugging 
their  shoulders,  said,  "  Gallic  fickleness  !" 
"  What  I"  replied  Lambert,  "  was  St. 
Paul  fickle  because  he  was  converted 
from  Pharisaism  1  And  have  we  our- 
selves been  fickle  in  abandoning  the  lost 
sects  of  Popery  ?" 

Luther  was,  however,  by  no  means 
shaken.  "  This  is  my  body"  repeated  he, 
pointing  with  his'  finger  to  the  words 
written  before  him.  "  This  is  my  body. 
The  devil  himself  shall  not  drive  me  from 
that.  To  seek  to  understand  it,  is  to  fall 
away  from  the  faith."| 

"  But,  doctor,"  said  Zwingle,  "  St.  John 
explains  how  Christ's  body  is  eaten,  and 
you  will  be  obliged  at  last  to  leave  off 
singing  always  the  same  song." 

*  See  his  Commentary  on  St.  Luke  (xxii.  19,20.) 
t  He  added,  that  the  body  of  Christ  was  in  the 
Eucharist  neither  mathematically  or  commensu- 
rably,  nor  really  (neque  mathematice  seu  commen- 
surative,  neque  re  ipsa). — (Epist.  Lamb,  de  Marb. 
col.) 

I  Si  interrogo,  excido  a  fide. — (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p. 
177.) 


"  You  make  use  of  unmannerly  ex- 
pressions," replied  Luther.*  The  Wit- 
tembergers themselves  called  Zwingle's 
argument  "  his  old  song."f  Zwingle 
continued  without  being  disconcerted  :  "  I 
ask  you,  doctor,  whether  Christ  in  the  sixth 
chapte»of  St.  John  did  not  wish  to  reply  to 
the  question  that  had  been  put  to  him  ?" 

Luther. — "  Mr.  Zwingle,  you  wish  to 
stop  my  mouth  by  the  arrogancy  of  your 
language.  That  passage  has  nothing  to 
do  here." 

Zwingle,  hastily. — 'l  Pardon  me,  doc- 
tor, that  passage  breaks  your  neck." 

Luther. — "  Do  not  boast  so  much ! 
You  are  in  Hesse,  and  not  in  Switzer- 
land. In  this  country  we  do  not  break 
people's  necks." 

Then  turning  towards  his  friends,  Lu- 
ther complained  bitterly  of  Zwingle  ;  as 
if  the  latter  had  really  wished  to  break 
his  neck.  "  He  makes  use  of  soldier-like 
and  blood-stained  words,"  said  he.|  Lu- 
ther forgot  that  he  had  employed  a  simi- 
lar expression  in  speaking  of  Carlstadt.^ 

Zwingle  resumed  :  "  In  Switzerland 
also  there  is  strict  justice,  and  we  break 
no  man's  neck  without  trial.  That  ex- 
pression signifies  merely  that  your  cause 
is  lost  and  hopeless." 

Great  agitation  prevailed  in  the 
Knights'  Hall.  The  roughness  of  the 
Swiss  and  the  obstinacy  of  the  Saxon  had 
come  into  collision.  The  Landgrave, 
fearing  to  behold  the  failure  of  his  pro- 
ject of  conciliation,  nodded  assent  to 
Zwingle's  explanation.  "  Doctor,"  said 
he  to  Luther,  "  you  should  not  be  offend- 
ed at  such  common  expressions."  It  was 
in  vain  :  the  agitated  sea  could  not  again 
be  calmed.  The  prince  therefore  arose, 
and  they  all  repaired  to  the  banqueting 
hall.  After  dinner  they  resumed  their 
tasks. 

"  I  believe,"  said  Luther,  "  that  Christ's 
body  is  in  heaven,  but  I  also  believe  that 
it  is  in  the  sacrament.  It  concerns  me 
little  whether  that  be  against  nature,  pro- 
vided that  it  is  not  against  faith.  (J  Christ 
is  substantially  in  the  sacrament,  such  as 
he  was  born  of  the  Virgin." 

*  Invidiose  loqueris. — (Bull.  ii.  p.  228.) 

t  Veterem  suam  cantilenam. — (Zw.  Opp.  iv.  p. 
221.) 

X  Verbum  istud,  tanquam  castrense  et  cruen- 
tum. — (Hospin.  p.  131.)  §  Book  ix. 

II  Non  euro  quod  sit  contra  naturam,  modo  non 
contra  fidem. — (Zw.  Opp.  iv.  p.  178.) 


664 


HISTORY  OF   THE   REFORMATION. 


(Ecolamtadius,  quoting  a  passage  from 
St.  Paul :  "  We  know  not  Jesus  Christ 
after  the  flesh."* 

Luther. — "  After  the  flesh  means,  in 
this  passage,  after  our  carnal  affections."! 

GEcolampadius. — "  You  will  not  allow 
that  there  is  a  metaphor  in  these»words, 
This  is  my  body,  and  yet  you  admit  a  sy- 
necdoche." 

Luther. — "  Metaphor  permits  the  ex- 
istence of  a  sign  only ;  but  it  is  not  so 
with  synecdoche.  If  a  man  says  he 
wishes  to  drink  a  bottle,  we  understand 
that  he  means  the  beer  in  the  bottle. 
Christ's  body  is  in  the  bread,  as  a  sword 
in  the  scabbard,!  or  as  the  Holy  Ghost 
in  the  dove." 

The  discussion  was  proceeding  in  this 
manner,  when  Osiander,  pastor  of  Nu- 
remberg, Stephen  Agricola,  pastor  of 
Augsburg,  and  Brenz,  pastor  of  Halle  in 
Swabia,  author  of  the  famous  Syngram- 
ma,  entered  the  hall.  These  also  had 
been  invited  by  the  Landgrave.  But 
Brenz,  to  whom  Luther  had  written  that 
he  should  take  care  not  to  appear,  had  no 
doubt  by  his  indecision  retarded  his  own 
departure  as  well  as  that  of  his  friends. 
Places  were  assigned  them  near  Luther 
and  Melancthon.  "  Listen,  and  speak  if 
necessary,"  they  were  told.  They  took 
but  little  advantage  of  this  permission. 
"  All  of  us,  except  Luther,"  said  Melanc- 
thon, "were  silent  personages."^ 

The  struggle  continued. 

When  Zwingle  saw  that  exegesis  was 
not  sufficient  for  Luther,  he  added  dog- 
matical theology  to  it,  and,  subsidiarily, 
natural  philosophy. 

u  I  oppose  you,"  said  he,  "  with  this  ar- 
ticle of  our  faith  :  Ascendit  in  caelum — he 
ascended  into  heaven.  If  Christ  is  in 
heaven  as  regards  his  body,  how  can  he 
be  in  the  bread  ?  The  Word  of  God 
teaches  us  that  he  was  like  his  brethren 
in  all  things  (Heb.  ii.  17).  He  therefore 
cannot  be  in  several  places  at  once." 

Luther. — "  Were  I  desirous  of  reason- 
ing thus,  I  would  undertake  to  prove  that 
Jesus  Christ  had  a  wife  ;  that  he  had 
black  eyes,  ||  and  lived  in  our  good  coun- 

*  2  Cor.  v.  16. 
t  Procarnalibus  affectibus.-(Zw.  Opp.  iv.  p.  202.) 

J  Corpus  est  in  pane  sicut  gladius  in  vagina. — 
(Ibid.) 

§  Fuimus  Kw<pa  rpoVuTrn. — (Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  1098.) 

II  Q.uod  uxorem  et  nigros  oculos  habuisset. — 
(Scultct.  p.  225.) 


try  of  Germany.*     I   care   little  about 
mathematics." 

"  There  is  no  question  of  mathematics 
here,"  said  Zwingle,  "but  of  St.  Paul, 
who  writes  to  the  Philippians,  poptpnv  loi\ov 

Luther,  interrupting  him. — "  Read  it 
to  us  in  Latin  or  in  German,  not  in 
Greek." 

Zwingle  (in  Latin). — "  Pardon  me  : 
for  twelve  years  past  I  have  made  use  of 
the  Greek  Testament  only."  Then  con- 
tinuing to  read  the  passage,  he  concluded 
from  it  that  Christ's  humanity  is  of  a  fi- 
nite nature  like  our  own. 

Luther,  pointing  to  the  words  written 
before  him. — "  Most  dear  sirs,  since  my 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  says,  Hoc  est  corpus 
meum,  I  believe  that  his  body  is  really 
there." 

Here  the  scene  grew  animated.  Zwin- 
gle started  from  his  chair,  sprung  towards 
Luther,  and  striking  the  table  before  him, 
said  to  him  :| 

"  You  maintain  then,  doctor,  that 
Christ's  body  is  locally  in  the  Eucharist ; 
for  you  say  Christ's  body  is  really  there — 
there — there"  repeated  Zwingle.  "  There 
is  an  adverb  of  place. §  Christ's  body  is 
then  of  such  a  nature  as  to  exist  in  a 
place.  If  it  is  in  a  place,  it  is  in  heaven, 
whence  it  follows  that  it  is  not  in  the 
bread." 

Luther. — "  I  repeat  that  I  have  no- 
thing to  do  with  mathematical  proofs. 
As  soon  as  the  words  of  consecration  are 
pronounced  over  the  bread,  the  body  is 
there,  however  wicked  be  the  priest  who 
pronounces  them." 

Zwingle. — "  You  are  thus  re-establish- 
ing Popery.  "|| 

Luther. — "  This  is  not  done  through 
the  priest's  merits,  but  because  of  Christ's 
ordinance.  I  will  not,  when  Christ's 
body  is  in  question,  hear  speak  of  a  par- 
ticular place.     I  absolutely  will  not." 

Zwingle. — "  Must  every  thing,  then, 
exist  precisely  as  you  will  it  ?" 

The  Landgrave  perceived  that  the  dis- 

*  In  Germania  diuturnum  contubernium  egisse. 
— (Zw.  Opp.  iv.  p.  202.) 

t  Having  taken  the  form  of  a  servant. — (Phil. 
ii-  "7.) 

t  Ibi  Zwinglius  illico  prosiliens. — (Scultet.  p. 

§  Da,  da,  da.  Ibi  est  adverbium  loci. — (Scul- 
tet. p.  225.) 

II  Damit  richtend  ir  das  papstum  uf. — (Zw.  Opp. 
hi.  p.  57.) 


THE  PROTEST   AND  THE   CONFERENCE.     1526—1529. 


665 


cussion  was  growing  hot ;  and  as  the  re- 
past was  waiting,  he  broke  off  the  con- 
test.* 

The  next  day  was  Sunday,  the  3d  Oc- 
tober. The  conference  was  continued, 
perhaps  because  of  an  epidemic  (the 
Sweating  Sickness)  that  had  just  broken 
out  at  Marburg,  and  did  not  allow  of  the 
conference  being  prolonged.  Luther,  re- 
turning to  the  discussion  of  the  previous 
evening,  said : 

"  Christ's  body  is  in  the  sacrament,  but 
it  is  not  there  as  in  a  place." 

Zwixgle. — "  Then  it  is  not  there  at 
all." 

Luther. — "  Sophists  say  that  a  body 
may  very  well  be  in  several  places  at 
once.  The  universe  is  a  body,  and  yet 
we  cannot  assert  that  it  is  in  a  particular 
place." 

Zwingle. — "  Ah  !  you  speak  of  soph- 
ists, doctor :  really  you  are,  after  all, 
obliged  to  return  to  the  onions  and  flesh- 
pots  of  Egypt,  f  As  for  what  you  say,  that 
the  universe  is  in  no  particular  place,  I 
beg  all  intelligent  men  to  weigh  this 
proof."  Then  Zwingle,  who,  whatever 
Luther  said,  had  more  than  one  arrow  in 
his  quiver,  after  having  established  his 
proposition  by  exegesis  and  philosophy, 
resolved  on  confirming  it  by  the  testimo- 
ny of  the  Fathers  of  the  Church. 

"Listen,"  said  he,  "to  what  Fulgen- 
tius,  bishop  of  Ruspa,  in  Numidia,  said,  in 
the  fifth  century,  to  Trasamond,  king  of 
the  Vandals  :  ''The  Son  of  God  took  the 
attributes  of  true  humanity,  and  did  not 
lose  those  of  true  Divinity.  Born  in  time, 
according  to  his  mother,  he  lives  in  eter- 
nity according  to  the  Divinity  that  he 
holds  from  the  Father:  coming  from  man, 
he  is  man,  and  consequently  in  a  place  ; 
proceeding  from  the  Father,  he  is  God, 
and  consequently  present  in  every  place. 
According  to  his  human  nature,  he  was 
absent  from  heaven  while  he  was  upon 
earth,  and  he  quitted  the  earth  when  he 
ascended  into  heaven ;  but,  according 
to  his  Divine  nature,  he  remained  in 
heaven  when  he  came  down  thence,  and 
he  did  not  abandon  the  earth  when  he 
returned  thither.'  "\ 

*  Coena  instabatetdiremitcertamen.— (Ibid.  iv. 

p.  179.) 

t  Ad  caepas  et  ollas  iEgyptiacas.— (Zw.  Opp. 
ii.  part  3,  p.  57.) 

X  Secundum  tmmanam  substantiam,  absens 
coelo.  cum  esset  in  terra,  et  derelinquens  terram 
84 


But  Luther  still  replied :  "  It  is  writ- 
ten, This  is  my  body."  Zwingle,  becom- 
ing impatient,  said,  "  All  that  is  idle 
wrangling.  An  obstinate  disputant  might 
also  maintain  this  expression  of  our  Sa- 
viour to  his  mother,  Behold  thy  son,  point- 
ing to  St.  John.  Vain  would  be  all  ex- 
planation ;  he  would  not  cease  to  cry,  No, 
no  !  He  said,  Ecce  films  Urns,  Behold  thy 
son,  behold  thy  son  !  Listen  to  a  new 
tes'timony  ;  it  is  from  the  great  Augustin  : 
'  Let  us  not  think,'  says  he,  '  that  Christ, 
according  to  his  human  form,  is  present 
in  every  place  ;  let  us  beware,  in  our  en- 
deavour to  establish  his  Divinity,  of  ta- 
king away  his  truth  from  his  body. 
Christ  is  now  every  where  present  like 
God  ;  and  yet,  in  consequence  of  his  real 
body,  he  is  in  a  definite  part  of  heav- 
en.' "* 

"  St.  Augustin,"  replied  Luther,  "  is 
not  here  speaking  of  the  Eucharist. 
Christ's  body  is  not  in  the  Eucharist  as 
in  a  place." 

(Ecolampadius  saw  that  he  might  take 
advantage  of  this  assertion  of  Luther's. 
"  The  body  of  Christ,"  said  he,  "  is  not  lo- 
cally in  the  Eucharist,  therefore  no  real 
body  is  there  ;  for  every  one  knows  that 
the  essence  of  a  body  is  its  existence  in  a 
place." 

Here  finished  the  morning's  discus- 
sion. 

(Ecolampadius,  upon  reflection,  felt 
convinced  that  Luther's  assertion  might 
be  looked  upon  as  an  approximation.  "  I 
remember,"  said  he  after  dinner,  "  that  the 
doctor  conceded  this  morning  that  Christ's 
body  was  not  in  the  sacrament  as  in  a 
place.  Let  us  therefore  inquire  amica- 
bly what  is  the  nature  of  Christ's  bodily 
presence." 

"  You  will  not  make  me  take  a  step 
further,"  exclaimed  Luther,  who  saw 
where  they  wished  to  drag  him ;  "  you 
have  Fulgentius  and  Augustin  on  your 
side,  but  all  the  other  Fathers  are  on 
ours." 

CEcolampadius,  who  seemed  to  the 
Wittembergers  to  be  vexatiously  pre- 
cise.!  then  said,  "Name  these   doctors. 

cum  ascendisset  in  caelum—  (Fulgentius  to  King 
Trasamond,  lib.  ii.) 

*  In  loco  aliquo  coeli  propter  veri  corpons 
modum—  (Aug.  Ep.  p.  57.) 

t  Quern  omnes  sperassemus  mitiorem,  mteruum 
videbatur  paulo  morosior,  sed  citra  contumeliam. 
— (Zw.  Opp.  iv.  p.  201.) 


666 


HISTORY  OF  THE    REFORMATION. 


We  will  take  upon  ourselves  to  prove 
that  they  are  of  our  opinion." 

"  We  will  not  name  them'  to  you,"* 
said  Luther.  "It  was  in  his  youth," 
added  he,  "  that  Augustin  wrote  what 
you  have  quoted ;  and,  besides,  he  is  an 
obscure  author."  Then,  retreating  to  the 
ground  which  he  had  resolved  never  to 
quit,  he  was  no  longer  content  to  point 
his  finger  at  the  inscription,  Hoc  est  corpus 
meum,  but  seized  the  velvet  cover  on 
which  the  Avords  were  written,  pulled  it 
off  the  table,  held  it  up  in  front  of  Zwin- 
gle  and  (Ecolampadius,  and  placing  it 
before  their  eyes,f  "  See  !"  said  he,  "  see  ! 
This  is  our  text ;  you  have  not  yet  driven 
us  from  it,  as  you  had  boasted,  and  we 
care  for  no  other  proofs." 

"  If  this  be  the  case,"  said  (Ecolampa- 
dius, "  we  had  better  leave  off  the  discus- 
sion. But  I  will  first  declare,  that,  if  we 
quote  the  Fathers,  it  is  only  to  free  our 
doctrine  from  the  reproach  of  novelty, 
and  not  to  support  our  cause  by  their  au- 
thority." No  better  definition  can  -be 
given  of  the  legitimate  use  of  the  Doctors 
of  the  Church. 

There  was  no  reason,  in  fact,  for  pro- 
longing the  conference.  "  As  Luther 
was  of  an  intractable  and  imperious  dis- 
position," says  even  his  great  apologist 
Seckendorf,  "  he  did  not  cease  from  call- 
ing upon  the  Swiss  to  submit  simply  to 
his  opinion."| 

The  Chancellor,  alarmed  at  this  ter- 
mination of  the  colloquy,  exhorted  the 
theologians  to  come  to  an  understanding. 
"  I  know  but  one  means  for  that,"  said 
Luther  ;  "  and  this  it  is :  Let  our  adver- 
saries believe  as  we  do."  "  We  cannot," 
replied  the  Swiss.  "  Well  then,"  replied 
Luther,  "  I  abandon  you  to  God's  j  udg- 
ment,  and  pray  that  he  will  enlighten 
you."  "  We  will  do  the  same,"  added 
(Ecolampadius. 

While  these  words  were  passing, 
Zwingle  was  silent,  motionless,  and 
deeply  moved  ;  and  the  liveliness  of  his 
affections,  of  which  he  had  given  more 
than  one  proof  during  the  conference, 
was  then  manifested  in  a  very  different 

*  Non  nominabimus  illos.— (Scultet.  p.  228.) 
t  Da  hub  Luther  die  Sanimaten  deck  auf,  und 

Zeigt  ihm  den  Spruch,  den  er  mit  kreyden  hett 

fur    sich    geschrieben.— (Osiander ;    Niederer's 

Nachrichten,  ii.  p.  114.) 

t  Lutherus  vero  ut  erat  fero  et  imperioso  in- 

genio. — (Seek.  p.  136.) 


manner.  He  burst  into  tears  in  the  pres- 
ence of  all. 

The  conference  was  ended.  It  had 
been  in  reality  more  tranquil  than  the 
documents  seem  to  show,  or  perhaps  the 
chroniclers  appreciated  such  matters  dif- 
ferently from  ourselves.  "  With  the  ex- 
ception of  a  few  sallies,  all  had  passed  off 
quietly,  in  a  courteous  manner,  and  with 
very  great  gentleness,"  says  an  eye-wit- 
ness.* "  During  the  colloquy  no  other 
words  than  these  were  heard  :  '  Sir,  and 
very  dear  friend,  your  charity,'  or  other 
similar  expressions.  Not  a  word  of 
schism  or  of  heresy.  It  might  have  been 
said  that  Luther  and  Zwingle  were  bro- 
thers, and  not  adversaries."f  This  is  the 
testimony  of  Brenz.  But  these  flpwers 
concealed  an  abyss,  and  Jonas,  also  an 
eye-witness,  styles  the  conference  "a 
very  sharp  contest."^ 

The  contagion  that  had  suddenly  bro- 
ken out  in  Marburg  was  creating  fright- 
ful ravages,  and  filled  everybody  with 
alarm. fy  Each  one  was  anxious  to  leave 
the  city.  "  Sirs,"  remarked  the  Land- 
grave, "  you  cannot  separate  thus."  And 
desirous  of  giving  the  doctors  an  oppor- 
tunity of  meeting  one  another  with  minds 
unoccupied  by  theological  debates,  he  in- 
vited them  all  to  his  table.  This  was 
Sunday  night. 

Philip  of  Hesse  had  all  along  shown 
the  most  constant  attention,  and  each  one 
imagined  him  to  be  on  his  side.  "I 
would  rather  place  my  trust  in  the  sim- 
ple words  of  Christ,  than  in  the  subtle 
thoughts  of  man,"  Avas  a  remark  he 
made,  according  to  Jonas  ;||  but  ZAvingle 
affirmed  that  this  prince  thought  now  as 
he  did,  although  with  regard  to  certain 
persons  he  dissembled  his  opinions.  Lu- 
ther, sensible  of  the  Aveakness  of  his  de- 
fence as  to  the  declarations  of  the  Fathers, 
transmitted  a  note  to  Philip,  in  which 
several  passages  were  pointed  out  from 
Hilary,  Chrysostom,  Cyprian,  Irenaeus, 

*  Omnia  humanissime  et  surnma  cum  mansue- 
tudine  transigebantur. — (Zw.  Opp.  iv.  p.  201.) 

f  Amicissime  Domine,  Vestra  charitas,  et  id 

genus Dixisses  Lutheruin  et  Zwinglium  non 

adversaries. — (Zw.  Opp.  iv.  p.  201.) 

I  Acerrimo  certamine. — (Corp.  Ref.  i.  p.  1096.) 
§  Nisi  Sudor  Anglicus  subito  Marburgum  inva- 

sisset  et  terrore  omnium  animos  percutisset. — 
(Hospin.  p.  131.) 

II  Dicitur  palam  proclamasse.— (Corp.  Ref.  p. 
1097.) 


THE   PROTEST  AND   THE   CONFERENCE.     1526—1529. 


667 


and  Ambrose,  which  he  thought  were  in 
his  favour. 

The  time  of  departure  drew  near,  and 
nothing  had  been  done.  The  Landgrave 
toiled  earnestly  at  the  union,  as  Luther 
wrote  to  his  wife.*  He  invited  the  theo- 
logians one  after  another  into  his  closet  ;f 
he  pressed,  entreated,  warned,  exhorted, 
and  conjured  them.  "  Think,"  said  he, 
"of  the  salvation  of  the  christian  repub- 
lic, and  remove  all  discord  from  its  bo- 
som.":}: Never  had  general  at  the  head 
of  an  army  taken  such  pains  to  win  a 
battle. 

A  final  general  meeting  took  place, 
and  undoubtedly  the  Church  has  seldom 
witnessed  one  of  greater  solemnity.  Lu- 
ther and  Zwingle,  Saxony  and  Switzer- 
land, met  for  the  last  time.  The  Sweat- 
ing Sickness  was  carrying  off  men  around 
them  by  thousands  ;§  Charles  the  Fifth 
and  the  Pope  were  uniting  in  Italy ;  Fer- 
dinand and  the  Roman-catholic  princes 
were  preparing  to  tear  in  pieces  the  Pro- 
test of  Spire ;  the  thunder-cloud  became 
more  threatening  every  day  ;  union  alone 
seemed  capable  of  saving  the  Protestants, 
and  the  hour  of  departure  was  about  to 
strike — an  hour  that  would  separate  them 
perhaps  for  ever. 

"  Let  us  confess  our  union  in  all  things 
in  which  we  agree,"  said  Zwingle  ;  "  and 
as  for  the  rest,  let  us  remember  that  we 
are  brothers.  There  will  never  be  peace 
between  the  Churches  if,  while  we  main- 
tain the  grand  doctrine  of  salvation  by 
faith,  we  cannot  differ  on  secondary 
points." ||  Such  is,  in  fact,  the  true  prin- 
ciple of  christian  union.  The  sixteenth 
century  was  still  too  deeply  sunk  in  scho- 
lasticism to  understand  this :  let  us  hope 
that  the  nineteenth  century  will  compre- 
hend it  better. 

"  Yes,  yes !"  exclaimed  the  Landgrave ; 
"  you  agree  !  Give  then  a  testimony  of 
your  unity,  and  recognise  one  another  as 
brothers." — "  There  is  no  one  upon  earth 
with  whom  I  more  desire  to  be  united, 

*  Da  arbeit  der  Landgraf  heftig. — (L.  Epp.  iii. 
p.  512.) 

t  Unumquemque  nostrum  seorsim  absque  arbi- 
tris. — (Zw.  Opp.  iv.  p.  203.) 

t  Compellans,  rogans,  monens,  exhortans,  pos- 
tulans  ut  Reipublicffi  Christians  rationem  habe- 
remus,  et  discordiam  e  medio  tolleremus. — (Ibid.) 

§-Multa  perierunt  millia. — (Hospin.  p.  131.) 

II  Quod  nulla  unquam  Ecclesiarum  pax  consti- 
tuta  sit,  si  non  in  multis  aliis  dissentiendi  a  se 
facultatem  faciant. — (Scultet.  p.  207.) 


than  with  you,"  said  Zwingle,  approach- 
ing the  Wittemberg  doctors.*  (Ecolam- 
padius,  Bucer,  and  Hedio  said  the  same. 

"  Acknowledge  them  !  acknowledge 
them  as  brothers !"  continued  the  Land- 
grave, f  Their  hearts  were  moved ; 
they  were  on  the  eve  of  unity  :  Zwingle, 
bursting  into  tears,  in  the  presence  of 
the  Prince,  the  courtiers,  and  divines  (it 
is  '  Luther  himself  who  records  this),^ 
approaches  Luther,  and  holds  out  his 
hand.  The  two  families  of  the  Refor- 
mation were  about  to  be  united :  long 
quarrels  were  about  to  be  stifled  in  their 
cradle  ;  but  Luther  rejects  the  hand  that 
is  offered  him  :  "  You  have  a  different 
spirit  from  ours,"  said  he.  These  words 
communicate  to  the  Swiss,  as  it  were,  an 
electrical  shock.  Their  hearts  sunk 
each  time  Luther  repeated  them,  and  he 
did  so  frequently.  It  is  he  himself  who 
is -our  informant. 

A  brief  consultation  took  place  among 
the  Wittemberg  doctors.  Luther,  Me- 
lancthon,  Agricola,  Brenz,  Jonas,  and 
Osiander,  conferred  together.  Convinced 
that  their  peculiar  doctrine  on  the  Eucha- 
rist was  essential  to  salvation,  they  con- 
sidered all  those  who  rejected  it  as  with- 
out the  pale  of  the  faith.  "What  fol- 
ly !"§  said  Melancthon,  who  afterwards 
almost  coincided  with  Zwingle's  senti- 
ments :  "  they  condemn  us,  and  yet  they 
desire  we  should  consider  them  as  our 
brothers !"  "  What  versatility  !"  added 
Brenz  :  "  they  accused  us  but  lately  of 
worshipping  a  bread-god,  and  they  now 
ask  for  communion  Avith  us!"||  Then, 
turning  towards  Zwingle  and  his  friends, 
the  Wittembergers  said  :  "  You  do  not 
belong  to  the  communion  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church:  Ave  cannot  acknowledge 
you  as  brethren  !"T 

The  Swiss  were  far  from  partaking  of 
this  sectarian  spirit.  "  We  think,"  said 
Bucer, "  that  your  doctrine  strikes  at  the 
glory  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  now  reigns  at 

*  Es  werendt  keine  ltith  uff  Erden. — (Bull,  ii- 
p.  225.) 

t  Idque  Princeps  valde  urgebat. — (L.  Epp.  iii. 
p.  513.) 

}  Swinglius  palam  lacrymans  coram  Langravio 
et  omnibus. — (Hospin.  p.  136.) 

§  Vide  eorum  stultitiam  ! — (Corp.  Ref.  i.  p. 
1108.) 

II  Nos  tanquam  adoratores  panificiDei  traduxe- 
rant. — (Zw.  Opp.  iv.  p.  203.) 

IT  Eos  a  communione  Ecclesis  Christiana  alie- 
nos  esse. — (Ibid.) 


668 


HISTORY   OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


the  right  hand  of  the  Father.  But  see- 
ing that  in  all  things  you  acknowledge 
your  dependence  on  the  Lord,  we  look  at 
your  conscience,  which  compels  you  to 
receive  the  doctrine  you  profess,  and  we 
do  not  doubt  that  you  belong  to  Christ." 

«  And  we,"  said  Luther — "  we  declare 
to  you  once  more  that  our  conscience  op- 
poses our  receiving  you  as  brethren." — 
"  If  such  is  the  case,"  replied  Bucer,  "  it 
would  be  folly  to  ask  it." 

"  I  am  exceedingly  astonished  that  you 
wish  to  consider  me  as  your  brother," 
pursued  Luther.  "  It  shows  clearly  that 
you  do  not  attach  much  importance  to 
your  own  doctrine." 

"  Take  your  choice,"  said  Bucer,  pro- 
posing a  dilemma  to  the  Reformer : 
"  either  you  should  not  acknowledge  as 
brethren  those  who  differ  from  you  in 
any  point — and  if  so,  you  will  not  find  a 
single  brother  in  your  own  ranks*— or 
,else  you  will  receive  some  of  those  who 
differ  from  you,  and  then  you  ought  to 
receive  us." 

The  Swiss  had  exhausted  their  solici- 
tations. "  We  are  conscious,"  said  they, 
"  of  having  acted  as  if  in  the  presence  of 
God.  Posterity  will  be  our  witness."! 
They  were  on  the  point  of  retiring  :  Lu- 
ther remained  like  a  rock,  to  the  Land- 
grave's great  indignation. j  The  Hes- 
sian divines,  Kraft,  Lambert,  Snepf,  Lon- 
icer,  and  Melander,  united  their  exertions 
to  those  of  the  Prince. 

Luther  was  staggered,  and  conferred 
anew  with  his  colleagues.  "  Let  us  be- 
ware," said  he  to  his  friends,  "  of  wiping 
our  noses  too  roughly,  lest  blood  should 
come."§ 

Then  turning  to  Zwingle  and  (Eco- 
lampadius,  they  said  :  "  We  acknowledge 
you  as  friends ;  we  do  not  consider  you 
as  brothers  and  members  of  Christ's 
Church.  ||  But  we  do  not  exclude  you 
from  that  universal  charity  which  we 
owe  even  to  our  enemies."!! 

*  Nemo  alteri  vel  inter  ipsos  frater  erit. — (Zw. 
Opp.  iv.  p.  194.) 

t  Id  testabitur  posteritas. — (Ibid.) 

X  Principi  illud  durum  videbatur. — (Ibid.  p. 
203.) 

§  Ne  nimis  mungendo,  sanguinem  eliceremus. — 
(L.  Epp.  in  his  letter  written  to  Gerbellius  on  the 
same  day — Monday.) 

II  Agnoscere  quidem  velimus  tanquam  amicos, 
sed  non  tanquam  fratres. — (Zw.  Opp.  iv.  p.  203.) 

IT  Charitate  quae  etiam  hosti  debetur. — (Ibid.  p. 
190.) 


The  hearts  of  Zwingle,  CEcolampa- 
dius,  and  Bucer,  were  ready  to  burst,* 
for  this  concession  was  almost  a  new  in- 
sult. Nevertheless  they  resolved  to  ac- 
cept what  was  offered  them.  "  Let  us 
carefully  avoid  all  harsh  and  violent 
words  and  writings,"  said  they ;  "  and 
let  each  one  defend  himself  without  rail- 
ing."! 

Luther  then  advanced  towards  the 
Swiss,  and  said :  "  We  consent,  and  I  of- 
fer you  the  hand  of  peace  and  charity." 
The  Swiss  rushed  in  great  emotion  to- 
wards the  Wittembergers,  and  all  shook 
hands.;};  Luther  himself  was  softened : 
christian  charity  resumed  her  rights  in 
his  heart.  "  Assuredly,"  said  he,  "  a 
great  portion  of  the  scandal  is  taken  away 
by  the  suppression  of  our  fierce  debates  ; 
we  could  not  have  hoped  for  so  much. 
May  Christ's  hand  remove  the  last  obsta- 
cle that  separates  us. §  There  is  now  a 
friendly  concord  between  us,  and  if  we 
persevere  in  prayer,  brotherhood  will 
come." 

It  was  desirable  to  confirm  this  impor- 
tant result  by  a  report.  "  We  must  let 
the  christian  world  know,"  said  the  Land- 
grave, u  that,  except  the  manner  of  the 
presence  of  the  body  and  blood  in  the 
Eucharist,  you  are  agreed  in  all  the  arti- 
cles of  faith." ||  This  was  resolved  on; 
but  who  should  be  charged  with  drawing 
up  the  paper?  All  eyes  were  turned 
upon  Luther.  The  Swiss  themselves  ap- 
pealed to  his  impartiality. 

Luther  retired  to  his  closet,  lost  in 
thought,  uneasy,  and  finding  the  task  very 
difficult.  "  On  the  one  hand,"  said  he, 
"  I  should  like  to  spare  their  weakness  )% 
but,  on  the  other,  I  would  not  in  the  least 
degree  strike  at  the  holy  doctrine  of 
Christ."  He  did  not  know  how  to  set 
about  it,  and  his  anguish  increased.  He 
got  free  at  last.  "  I  will  draw  up  the  ar- 
ticles," said  he,  "  in  the  most  accurate 
manner.     Do  I  not  know  that  whatever 

*  Indignissime  affecti  sunt. — (Ibid.) 

t  Quisque  suam  sententiam  doceat  absque  in- 
vectivis. — (L.  Epp.  iii.  p.  514.) 

t  Dedimus  tamen  manus  pacis  et  caritatis. — 
(Ibid.  p.  513.) 

§  Utinam  et  ille  reliquus  scrupulus  per  Chris- 
tum tandem  tnllatur, — in  his  letter  written  to  Ger- 
bellius after  leaving  this  meeting. 

II  Ut  orbi  Christiano  notum  fieret  eos  in  omni- 
bus fidei  capitibus  consentire. — (Hospin.  p.  127.) 

TT  Het  gem  ihrer  Schwachheit  verschont. — (Nie- 
derer  Nachr.  ii.  p.  120.) 


THE   PROTEST  AND   THE   CONFERENCE.     1526—1529. 


669 


I  write,  they  will  never  sign  them  ?"* 
Erelong  fifteen  articles  were  committed 
to  paper,  and  Luther,  holding  them  in  his 
hand,  repaired  to  the  theologians  of  the 
two  parties. 

These  articles  are  of  importance.  The 
two  doctrines  that  were  evolved  in  Switz- 
erland and  in  Saxony,  independently  of 
each  other,  were  brought  together  and 
compared.  If  they  were  of  man,  there 
would  be  found  in  them  a  servile  uni- 
formity, or  a  remarkable  opposition.  This 
was  not  the  case.  A  great  unity  Avas 
found  between  the  German  and  the  Swiss 
Reformations,  for  they  both  proceeded 
from  the  same  Divine  teaching ;  and  a 
diversity  on  secondary  points,  for  it  was 
by  man's  instrumentality  that  God  had 
effected  them. 

Luther  took  his  paper,  and  reading  the 
first  article,  said : 

"  First,  we  believe  that  there  is  one 
sole,  true,  and  natural  God,  Creator  of 
heaven  and  earth  and  of  all  creatures ; 
and  that  this  same  God,  one  in  essence  and 
in  nature,  is  threefold  in  person,  that  is  to 
say,  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  as  was 
declared  in  the  Niccne  Council,  and  as  all 
the  Christian  Church  professes." 

To  this  the  Swiss  gave  their  assent. 

They  were  agreed  also  on  the  divinity 
and  humanity  of  Jesus  Christ ;  on  his 
death  and  resurrection,  on  original  sin, 
justification  by  faith,  the  operation  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  and  of  the  Word  of  God, 
baptism,  good  works,  confession,  civil  or- 
der, and  tradition. 

Thus  far  all  were  united.  The  Wit- 
tembergers  could  not  recover  from  their 
astonishment.!  The  two  parties  had  re- 
jected, on  the  one  hand,  the  errors  of  the 
Papists,  who  make  religion  little  more 
than  an  outward  form  ;  and,  on  the  other, 
those  of  the  Enthusiasts,  who  speak  ex- 
clusively of  internal  feelings ;  and  they 
were  found  drawn  up  under  the  same 
banners  between  these  two  camps.  But 
the  moment  was  come  that  would  separ- 
ate them.  Luther  had  kept  till  the  last 
the  article  on  the  Eucharist. 

The  Reformer  resumed : 

"  We  all  believe  with  regard  to  the 

*  Doch  zuletz  sprach  er  Ich  will  die  artikel  auf 
aller  pesste  stellen,  sy  werdens  doch  nicht  anne- 
men. — (Ibid.) 

t  Quod  mirari  non  satis  potuimus. — (Brentius, 
Zw.  Opp.  iv.  p.  203.) 


Lord's  Supper,  that  it  ought  to  be  cele- 
brated in  both  kinds,  according  to  the 
primitive  institution  ;  that  the  Mass  is  not 
a  work  by  which  a  Christian  obtains  par- 
don for  another  man,  whether  dead  or 
alive  ;  that  the  sacrament  of  the  altar  is 
the  sacrament  of  the  very  body  and  very 
blood  of  Jesus  Christ ;  and  that  the  spir- 
itual manducation  of  this  body  and  blood 
is  specially  necessary  to  every  true  Chris- 
tian."* 

It  was  now  the  turn  of  the  Swiss  to,  be 
astonished.     Luther  continued : 

"  In  like  manner,  as  to  the  use  of  the 
sacrament,  we  are  agreed  that,  like  the 
Word,  it  was  ordained  of  Almighty 
God,  in  order  that  weak  consciences 
might  be  excited  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to 
faith  and  charity." 

The  joy  of  the  Swiss  was  redoubled. 
Luther  continued  :  "  And  although  at 
present  Ave  are  not  agreed  on  the  ques- 
tion whether  the  real  body  and  blood  of 
Christ  are  corporeally  present  in  the 
bread  and  wine,  yet  both  the  interested 
parties  shall  cherish  more  and  more  a 
truly  christian  charity  for  one  another,  so 
far  as  conscience  permits ;  and  Ave  Avill 
all  earnestly  implore  the  Lord  to  conde- 
scend by  his  Spirit  to  confirm  us  in  the 
sound  doctrine."! 

The  Swiss  obtained  Avhat  they  had 
asked :  unity  in  diversity.  It  was  im- 
mediately resolved  to  hold  a  solemn 
meeting  for  the  signature  of  the  arti- 
cles. 

They  Avere  read  over  again.  (Eco- 
lampadius,  ZAvingle,  Bucer,  and  Hedio, 
signed  them  first  on  one  copy ;  while 
Luther,  Melancthon,  Jonas,  Osiander, 
Brentz,  and  Agricola,  Avrote  their  names 
on  the  other ;  both  parties  then  signed 
the  copy  of  their  adversaries,  and  this 
important  document  Avas  sent  to  the 
press.:}; 

Thus  the  Reformation  had   made  a 

*  Quod  spiritualis  manducatiohujus  corporis  et 
sanguinis  unicuique  Christiano  praecipue  neces- 
saria  sit. — (Scultet.  p.  232.) 

t  Osiander  (a  Lutheran)  employs  the  accusa- 
tive, "in  den  rechten  Verstand,"  which  would  in- 
dicate a  movement  towards  an  object  that  we  do 
not  possess:  Bullinger  and  Scultet  (both  Reform- 
ed divines)  have  the  dative. 

t  Bullinger  and  others  indicate  the  3d  October 
as  the  day  on  which  the  articles  were  signed ;  Osi- 
ander, an  eye-witness,  and  whose  narrative  is  very 
exact,  says  it  was  the  4th,  which  agrees  with  all 
the  other  data. 


670 


HISTORY  OP  THE  REFORMATION. 


sensible  step  at  Marburg-.  The  opinion 
of  Zwingle  on  the  spiritual  presence, 
and  of  Luther  on  the  bodily  presence, 
are  both  found  in  christian  antiquity  ;  but 
both  the  extreme  doctrines  have  been  al- 
ways rejected :  that  of  the  Rationalists, 
on  the  one  hand,  who  behold  in  the  Eu- 
charist nothing  but  a  simple  commemo- 
ration ;  and  of  the  Papists,  on  the  other, 
who  adore  in  it  a  transubstantiation. 
These  are  both  errors  ;  while  the  doc- 
trines of  Luther  and  Zwingle,  and  the 
medium  taken  'by  Calvin,  already  main- 
tained by  some  of  the  Fathers,  were  con- 
sidered in  ancient  times  as  different  views 
of  the  same  truth.  If  Luther  had  yield- 
ed, it  might  have  been  feared  that  the 
Church  would  fall  into  the  extreme  of 
Rationalism;  if  Zwingle,  that  it  would 
rush  into  the  extreme  of  Popery.  It  is 
a  salutary  thing  for  the  Church  that 
these  different  views  should  be  enter- 
tained ;  but  it  is  a  pernicious  thing  for 
individuals  to  attach  themselves  to  one 
of  them,  in  such  a  majmer  as  to  anathe- 
matize the  others.  "  There  is  only  this 
little  stumbling-block,"  wrote  Melanc- 
thon,  "  that  embarrasses  the  Church  of 
our  Lord."*  All, — Romanists  and  Evan- 
gelicals, Saxons  and  Swiss,  admitted  the 
presence,  and  even  the  real  presence  of 
Christ ;  but  here  was  the  essential  point 
of  separation  :  Is  this  presence  effected 
by  the  faith  of  the  communicant,  or  by 
the  opus  operatum  of  the  priest?  The 
germs  of  Popery,  Sacerdotalism,  Pusey- 
ism,  are  inevitably  contained  in  this  lat- 
ter thesis.  If  it  is  maintained  that  a 
wicked  priest  (as  has  been  said)  operates 
this  real  presence  of  Christ  by  three 
jvords,  we  enter  the  Church  of  the  Pope. 
Luther  appeared  sometimes  to  admit  this 
doctrine,  but  he  has  often  spoken  in  a 
more  spiritual  manner ;  and  taking  this 
great  man  in  his  best  moments,  we  be- 
iiold  no  more  than  an  essential  unity  and 
a  secondary  diversity  in  the  two  parties 
of  the  Reformation.  Undoubtedly  the 
Lord  has  left  his  Church  outward  seals 
of  his  grace ;  but  he  has  not  attached 
salvation  to  these  signs.  The  essential 
point  is  the  connexion  of  the  faithful 
with  the  Word,  with  the  Holy  Ghost, 
with  the  Head  of  the  Church.  "  This  is 
the  great  truth  which  the  Reform  pro- 

*  Hicunusin  Ecclesia  haeret  scrupulus. — (Corp. 
Ref.  i.  p.  1106.) 


claims,  and  which  Lutheranism  itself  rec- 
ognises. After  the  Marburg  conference, 
the  controversy  became  more  moderate. 

There  was  another  advantage.  The 
evangelical  divines  at  Marburg  marked 
with  one  accord  their  separation  from 
the  Papacy.  Zwingle  was  not  without 
fear  (unfounded,  no  doubt)  with  regard 
to  Luther :  these  fears  were  dispersed. 
"  Now  that  we  are  agreed,"  said  he, 
"  the  Papists  will  no  longer  hope  that 
Luther  will  ever  be  one  of  them."*  The 
Marburg  articles  are  the  first  bulwark 
erected  in  common  by  the  Reformers 
against  Rome. 

It  was  not,  then,  in  vain  that,  after  the 
protest  of  Spire,  Philip  of  Hesse  en- 
deavoured, at  Marburg,  to  bring  together 
the  friends  of  the  Gospel.  But,  if  the 
religious  object  was  partially  attained, 
the  political  object  almost  entirely  failed. 
They  could  not  arrive  at  a  confederation 
of  Switzerland  and  Germany.  Never- 
theless, Philip  of  Hesse  and  Zwingle, 
with  a  view  to  this,  had  numerous  secret 
conversations,  which  made  the  Saxons 
uneasy,  as  they  were  not  less  opposed  to 
Zwingle's  politics  than  to  his  theology. 
"  When  you  have  reformed  the  peasant's 
cap,"  said  Jonas  to  him,  "  you  will  also 
claim  to  reform  the  sable  hat  of  princes." 

The  Landgrave,  having  collected  all 
the  doctors  at  his  table  on  the  last  day, 
they  shook  hands  in  a  friendly  manner,f 
and  each  one  thought  of  leaving  the 
town. 

On  Tuesday  the  5th  October,  the 
Landgrave  quitted  Marburg  early,  and  in 
the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  Luther 
departed,  accompanied  by  his  colleagues ; 
but  he  did  not  go  forth  as  a  conqueror. 
A  spirit  of  dejection  and  alarm  had  taken 
possession  of  his  mind.|  He  writhed  in 
the  dust,  like  a  worm,  according  to  his 
own  expression.  He  fancied  he  should 
never  see  his  wife  and  children  again, 
and  cried  out  that  he,  "  the  consoler  of 
so  many  tortured  souls,  was  now  without 
any  consolation  !"§ 

This  state  might  partly  arise  from  Lu- 

*  Pontifici  non  ultra  possunt  sperare  Lutheruui 
suum  fore. — (Zw.  Opp.  ii.  p.  370.) 

t  Die  Hand  einander  fruntlich  gebotten. — (Bull, 
ii.  p.  236.) 

t  Ego  vix  et  segre  domum  reversus  sum. — (L. 
Epp.  iii.p.  520.) 

§  Sic  me  Yexante  Angelo  Satanse,-ut  despera- 
riui  me  vivum  et  salvum  Tisurum  meos. — (Ibid.) 


THE   PROTEST  AND   THE  CONFERENCE.     1526—1529. 


671 


ther's  want  of  brotherly  feeling ;  but  it 
had  other  causes  also.  Soliman  had 
come  to  fulfil  a  promise  made  to  King 
Ferdinand.  The  latter  having  demanded, 
in  1528,  the  surrender  ofBelgrade,  the  Sul- 
tan had  haughtily  replied,  that  he  would 
bring  the  keys  himself  to  Vienna.  In 
fact,  the  Grand  Turk,  crossing  the  fron- 
tiers of  Germany,  had  invaded  countries 
"  on  which  the  hoofs  of  the  Mussulman 
war-horses  had  never  trod,"  and  eight 
days  before  the  conference  at  Marburg, 
he  had  covered  with  his  innumerable 
tents  the  plain  and  the  fertile  hills  in  the 
midst  of  which  rise  the  walls  of  Vienna. 
The  struggle  had  begun  under  ground, 
the  two  parties  having  dug  deep  gal- 
leries beneath  the  ramparts.  Three  differ- 
ent times  the  Turkish  mines  were  sprung  ; 
the  walls  were  thrown  down  ;*  "  the 
balls  flew  through  the  air  like  a  flight 
of  small  birds,"  says  a  Turkish  histo- 
rian;  "and  there  was  a  horrible  banquet, 
at  which  the  genii  of  death  joyously 
drained  their  glasses."! 

Luther  did  not  keep  in  the  background. 
He  had  already  written  against  the  Turks, 
and  now  he  published  a  Battle  Sermon. 
"  Mahomet,"  said  he,  "  exalts  Christ  as 
being  without  sin  ;  but  he  denies  that  he 
was  the  true  God ;  therefore  he  is  his 
enemy.  Alas !  to  this  hour  the  world  is 
such  that  it  seems  everywhere  to  rain  dis- 
ciples of  Mahomet.  Two  men  ought  to 
oppose  the  Turks :  the  first  is  Christian, 
that  is  to  say,  Prayer ;  the  second  is 
Charles,  that  is  to  say,  The  sword."  And 
in  another  place,  "  I  know  my  dear  Ger- 
mans well,  fat  and  well-fed  swine ;  as 
soon  as  the  danger  is  removed,  they  think 
only  of  eating  and  sleeping.  Wretched 
man !  if  thou  dost  not  take  up  arms  the 
Turk  will  come ;  he  will  carry  thee 
away  into  his  Turkey;  he  will  there 
sell  thee  like  a  dog  ;  and  thou  shalt  serve 
him  night  and  day,  under  the  rod  and 
the  cudgel,  for  a  glass  of  water  and  a 
morsel  of  bread.  Think  on  this  ;  be  con- 
verted, and  implore,  the  Lord  not  to  give 
thee  the  Turk  for  thy  schoolmaster."^ 

The  two  arms  pointed  out  by  Luther 
were,  in  reality,  vigorously   employed ; 

*  Ipsam  urbem  in  tribus  locis,  suffoso  solo  et 
pulvere  supposito  disjicit  et  patefecit. — (L.  Epp. 
iii.  p.  518.) 

t  Dschelalsade,  quoted  by  Ranke. 

j  Heer  predigt  wider  die  Turken. — (L.  Opp. 
(W.)  xx.  p.  2691.) 


and  Soliman,  perceiving  at  last  that  he 
was  not  the  "  soul  of  the  universe,"  as  his 
poets  had  styled  him,  but  that  there  was 
a  strength  in  the  world  superior  to  his 
own,  raised  the  siege  of  Vienna  on  the 
16th  October;  and  "  the  shadow  of  God 
over  the  two  worlds,"  as  he  called  him- 
self, "  disappeared  and  vanished  in  the 
Bosphorus." 

But  Luther  imagined  that,  when  re- 
tiring from  before  the  walls  of  Vienna, 
"  the  Turk,  or  at  least  his  god,  who  is 
the  devil,"  had  rushed  upon  him  ;  and 
that  it  was  this  enemy  of  Christ  and  of 
Christ's  servants  that  he  was  destined  to 
combat  and  vanquish  in  his  frightful  ag- 
ony.* There  is  an  immediate  reaction 
of  the  violated  law  upon  him  who  vio- 
lates it.  Now  Luther  had  transgressed 
the  royal  law,  which  is  charity,  and  he 
suffered  the  penalty.  At  last  he  re-en- 
tered Wittemberg,  and  flung  himself  into 
the  arms  of  his  friends,  "  tormented  by 
the  angel  of  death."f 

Without,  however,  overlooking  the  es- 
sential qualities  of  a  Reformer  that  Lu- 
ther manifested  at  Marburg,  there  are  in 
God's  work,  as  in  a  drama,  different  parts. 
What  various  characters  we  see  among 
the  Apostles  and  among  the  Reformers ! 
It  has  been  said  that  the  same  characters 
and  the  same  parts  were  assigned  to  St. 
Peter  and  to  Luther,  at  the  time  of  the 
Formation  and  of  the  Reformation  of  the 
Church. ;j:  They  were  both  in  fact  men 
of  the  initiative,  who  start  forward  quite 
alone,  but  around  whom  an  army  soon 
collects  at  the  sight  of  the  standard  which 
they  wave. 

But  there  was  perhaps  in  the  Reform- 
er a  characteristic  that  was  not  found  to 
the  same  degree  in  the  Apostle ;  this  is 
firmness. 

As  for  Zwingle,  he  quitted  Marburg 
in  alarm  at  Luther's  intolerance.  "  Lu- 
theranism,"  wrote  he  to  the  Landgrave, 
"  will  lie  as  heavy  upon  us  as  Popery."^ 
He  reached  Zurich  on  the  19th  October. 
"  The  truth,"  said  he  to  his  friends,  "  has 
prevailed  so  manifestly,  that  if  ever  any 

*  Forte  ipsum  Turcam  partim  in  isto  agone  co- 
gor  ferre  et  vincere,  saltern  ejus  Deurn,  diabolum. 
— (L.  Epp.  iii.  p.  520.) 

t  Ano-elus  Satanas,  vel  quisquis  est  diabolus 
mortis  ita  me  fatigat.— (L.  Epp.  iii.  p.  515.) 

J  Dr.  Vinet. 

§  Das  Lutherthum  werde  so  schwer,  als  das  Paps- 
thum.— (Zw.  Epp.  p.  374.) 


672 


HISTORY   OP  THE   REFORMATION. 


one  has  been  defeated  before  all  the 
world,  it  is  Luther,  although  he  constant- 
ly exclaimed  that  he  was  invincible."*  On 
his  side,  Luther  spoke  in  a  similar  strain. 
"  It  is  through  fear  of  their  fellow-citi- 
zens," added  he,  "  that  the  S  iviss,  although 
vanquished,  are  unwilling  to  retract."! 

If  it  should  be  asked  on  which  side.the 
victory  really  was,  perhaps  we  ought  to 
say  that  Luther  assumed  the  air  of  a  con- 
queror, but  Zwingle  was  so  in  reality. 
The  conference  propagated  through  all 
Germany  the  doctrine  of  the  Swiss,  which 
had  been  little  known  there  till  that  time, 
and  it  was  adopted  by  an  immense  num- 
ber of  persons.  Among  these  were  Laf- 
fards,  first  rector  of  St.  Martin's  School  at 
Brunswick,  Dionysius  Melander,  Justus 
Lening,  Hartmann,  Ibach,  and  many 
more.  The  Landgrave  himself,  a  short 
time  before  his  death,  declared  that  this 
conference  had  induced  him  to  renounce 
the  oral  manducation  of  Christ. | 

Still  the  dominant  principle  at  this  cel- 
ebrated epoch  was  unity.  The  adversa- 
ries are  the  best  judges.  The  Roman- 
catholics  were  exasperated  that  the  Lu- 
therans and  Zwinglians  had  agreed  on 
all  the  essential  points  of  faith.  "  They 
have  a  fellow-feeling  against  the  Catho- 
lic Church,"  said  they,  "  as  Herod  and 
Pilate   against  Jesus  Christ."     The  en- 

*  Lutherus  impudens  et  contumax  aperte  est 
victus. — (Zw.  Epp.  p.  370.) 

t  Metuebant  plebem  suam  ad  quam  non  licuis- 
set  reverti. — (Zw.  Opp.  ii.  p.  19.) 

I  Rommels  Anmerkungen,  p.  227-229. 


thusiastic  sects  said  the  same,*  and  tho 
extreme  hierarchial  as  well  as  the  ex- 
treme radical  party  deprecated  equally 
the  unity  of  Marburg. 

Erelong  a  greater  agitation  eclipsed 
all  these  rumours,  and  events  which 
threatened  the  whole  evangelical  body, 
proclaimed  its  great  and  intimate  union 
with  new  force.  The  Emperor,  it  was 
everywhere  said,  exasperated  by  the  Pro 
test  of  Spire,  has  landed  at  Genoa  with 
the  pomp  of  a  conqueror.  After  having 
sworn  at  Barcelona  to  reduce  the  heretics 
under  the  power  of  the  Pope,  he  is  go- 
ing to  visit  this  pontiff,  humbly  to  bend 
the  knee  before  him ;  and  he  will  rise 
up  only  to  cross  the  Alps  and  accomplish 
his  terrible  designs.  "  The  Emperor 
Charles,"  said  Luther,  a  few  days  after 
the  landing  of  this  prince,  "  has  determin- 
ed to  show  himself  more  cruel  against  us 
than  the  Turk  himself,  and  he  has  alrea- 
dy uttered  the  most  horrible  threats.  Be- 
hold the  hour  of  Christ's  agony  and  weak- 
ness. Let  us  pray  for  all  those  who  will 
soon  have  to  endure  captivity  and  death."f 

Such  was  the  news  that  then  agitated 
all  Germany.  The  grand  question  was, 
whether  the  Protest  of  Spire  could  be 
maintained  against  the  power  of  the  Em- 
peror and  of  the  Pope.  This  was  seen 
in  the  year  1530. 

*  Pontificiis  et  catabaptistis  multum  displicuit 
consensus  Marpurgi. — (Scultet.  p.  208.) 

t  Carolus  Cfesar  multo  atrocius  minatur  et 
sffivire  statuit  in  nos,  quam  Turca—  (L.  Epp.  iii. 
p.  324.) 


BOOK   XIV, 


THE   AUGSBURG   CONFESSION.     1530. 


I.  The  Reformation  was  accomplished 
in  the  name  of  a  spiritual  principle.  It 
had  proclaimed  for  its  teacher  the  Word 
of  God ;  for  salvation,  Faith ;  for  king, 
Jesus  Christ ;  for  arms,  the  Holy  Ghost ; 
and  had  by  these  very  means  rejected  all 
worldly  elements.  Rome  had  been  es- 
tablished by  the  law  of  a  carnal  command- 
ment ;  the  Reformation,  by  the  power  of 
an  endless  life* 

*  Hebrews  vii.  16. 


If  there  is  any  doctrine  that  distinguish- 
es Christianity  from  every  other  religion, 
it  is  its  spirituality.  A  heavenly  life 
brought  down  to  man — such  is  its  work  : 
thus  the  opposition  of  the  spirit  of  the 
Gospel  to  the  spirit  of  the  world  was  the 
great  fact  which  signalized  the  entrance 
of  Christianity  among  the  nations.  But 
what  its  Founder  had  separated,  had  soon 
come  together  again  ;  the  Church  had 
fallen  into  the  arms  of  the  world ;  and 


THE   AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


673 


this  criminal  union  had  reduced  it  to  the 
deplorable  condition  in  which  it  was 
found  at  tlpe  era  of  the  Reformation. 

Thus  one  of  the  greatest  tasks  of  the 
sixteenth  century  was  to  restore  the  spirit- 
ual element  to  its  rights.  The  Gospel  of 
the  Reformers  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  world  and  with  politics.  While  the 
Roman  hierachy  had  become  a  matter  of 
diplomacy  and  a  court  intrigue,  the  Re- 
formation was  destined  to  exercise  no 
other  influence  over  princes  and  people 
than  that  which  proceeds  from  the  Gos- 
pel of  peace. 

If  the  Reformation,  having  attained  a 
certain  point,  became  untrue  to  its  nature, 
began  to  parley  and  temporize  with  the 
world,  and  ceased  thus  to  follow  up  the 
spiritual  principle  that  it  had  so  loudly 
proclaimed,  it  was  faithless  to  God  and  to 
itself. 

Henceforward  its  decline  was  at  hand. 

It  is  impossible  for  a  society  to  prosper 
if  it  be  unfaithful  to  the  principles  it  lays 
down.  Having  abandoned  what  consti- 
tuted its  life,  it  can  find  naught  but  death. 

It  was  God's  will  that  this  great  truth 
should  be  inscribed  on  the  very  threshold 
of  the  temple  He  was  then  raising  in 
the  world  ;  and  a  striking  contrast  was  to 
make  this  truth  stand  gloriously  forth. 

One  portion  of  the  Reform  was  to  seek 
the  alliance  of  the  world,  and  in  this  alli- 
ance find  a  destruction  full  of  desolation. 

Another  portion,  looking  up  to  God, 
was  haughtily  to  reject  the  arm  of  the 
flesh,  and  by  this  very  act  of  faith  secure 
a  noble  victory. 

If  three  centuries  have  gone  astray,  it 
is  because  they  were  unable  to  compre- 
hend so  holy  and  solemn  a  lesson. 

It  was  in  the  beginning  of  September 
1529  that  Charles  V.,  the  victor  by  bat- 
tles or  by  treaties  over  the  Pope  and  the 
King  of  France,  had  landed  at  Genoa. 
The  shouts  of  the  Spaniards  had  saluted 
him  as  he  quitted  the  Iberian  peninsula  ; 
but  the  dejected  eyes,  the  bended  heads, 
the  silent  lips  of  the  Italians  given  over 
to  his  hands,  alone  welcomed  him  to  the 
foot  of  the  Apennines.  Everything  led 
to  the  belief  that  Charles  would  indemni- 
fy himself  on  th'em  for  the  apparent  gen- 
erosity with  which  he  had  treated  the 
Pope. 

They  were  deceived.  Instead  of  those 
85 


barbarous  chiefs  of  the  Goths  and  Huns, 
or  of  those  proud  and  fierce  emperors, 
who  more  than  once  had  crossed  the 
Alps  and  rushed  upon  Italy,  sword  in 
hand  and  with  cries  of  vengeance,  the 
Italians  saw  among  them  a  young  and 
graceful  prince,  with  pale  features,  a  del- 
icate frame,  and  weak  voice,  of  winning 
manners,  having  more  the  air  of  a  cour- 
tier than  a  warrior,  scrupulously  perform- 
ing all  the«luties  of  the  Romish  religion, 
and  leading  in  his  train  no  terrible  co- 
horts of  German  barbarians,  but  a  bril- 
liant retinue  of  Spanish  grandees, -who 
complacently  paraded  the  pride  of  their 
race  and  the  splendour  of  their  nation. 
This  prince,  the  victor  of  Europe,  spoke 
only  of  peace  and  amnesty  ;  and  even  the 
Duke  of  Ferrara,  who  of  all  the  Italian 
princes  had  most  cause  of  fear,  having  at 
Modena  placed  the  keys  of  the  city  in  his 
hands,  heard  from  his  friendly  lips  the 
most  unexpected  encouragements. 

Whence  did  this  strange  conduct  pro- 
ceed 1  Charles  had  shown  plainly 
enough,  at  the  time  of  the  captivity  of 
Francis  I.,  that  generosity  towards  his 
enemies  was  not  his  dominant  virtue.  It 
was  not  long  before  this  mystery  was  ex- 
plained. 

Almost  at  the  same  time  with  Charles 
there  arrived  in  Italy,  by  way  of  Lyons 
and  Genoa,  three  German  burgesses, 
whose  whole  equipage  consisted  of  six 
horses.*  These  were  John  Ehinger,  bur- 
gomaster of  Memmingen,  who  carried 
his  head  high,  scattered  money  around 
him,  and  did  not  pride  himself  on  great 
sobriety  ;  Michael  Caden,  syndic  of  Nu- 
remberg, a  worthy,  pious,  and  brave  man, 
but  detested  by  the  Count  of  Nassau,  the 
most  influential  of  Charles's  ministers  ; 
and,  lastly,  Alexis  Frauentraut,  secretary 
to  the  Margrave  of  Brandenburg,  who, 
having  married  a  nun,  was  in  very  bad 
esteem  among  the  Roman-catholics. 
Such  were  the  three  men  whom  the 
Protestant  princes,  assembled  at  Nurem- 
berg, commissioned  to  bear  to  the  Empe- 
ror the  famous  Protest  of  Spire.  They 
had  purposely  chosen  these  deputies  from 
a  middle  station,  under  the  impression 
that  they  would  incur  less  danger. f  To 
carry  such  a  message  to  Charles  V.  was, 

*  Legatis  attribuerunt  equos  sex. — (Seckend. 
ii.  p.  134.) 

t  Ut  essent  tutiores. — (Ibid.  p.  133.) 


674 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


to  say  the  truth,  a  mission  which  few  per- 
sons cared  to  execute.  Accordingly  a 
pension  had  been  secured  to  the  widows 
of  these  envoys  in  case  of  misfortune. 

Charles  was  on  his  way  from  Genoa 
to  Bologna,  and  staying  at  Piacenza, 
Avhen  the  three  Protestant  deputies  over- 
took him.  These  plain  Germans  pre- 
sented a  singular  contrast  in  the  midst  of 
that  Spanish  pomp  and  Romish  fervour 
by  which  the  young  prince  was  surround- 
ed. Cardinal  Gattinara,  the  Emperor's 
chancellor,  who  sincerely  desired  a  reform 
of  the  Church,  procured  them  an  audi- 
ence of  Charles  V.  for  the  22d  of  Septem- 
ber ;  but  they  were  recommended  to  be 
sparing  in  their  words,  for  there  was 
nothing  the  Emperor  so  much  disliked 
as  a  Protestant  sermon. 

The  deputies  were  not  checked  by 
these  insinuations  ;  and  after  having 
handed  the  protest  to  Charles,  Frauen- 
traut  began  to  speak  :  "  It  is  to  the  Su- 
preme Judge  that  each  one  of  us  must 
render  an  account,"  said  he,  <;  and  not  to 
creatures  who  turn  at  every  wind.  It  is 
better  to  fall  into  the  most  cruel  necessity, 
than  to  incur  the  anger  of  God.  Our 
nation  will  obey  no  decrees  that  are  based 
on  any  other  foundation  than  the  Holy 
Scriptures."* 

Such  was  the  proud  tone  held  by  these 
German  citizens  to  the  Emperor  of  the 
West.  Charles  said  not  a  word — it 
would  have  been  paying  them  too  much 
honour  ;  but  he  charged  one  of  his  secre- 
taries to  announce  an  answer  at  some  fu- 
ture time. 

There  was  no  hurry  to  send  back  these 
petty  ambassadors.  In  vain  did  they  re- 
new their  solicitations  daily.  Gattinara 
treated  them  with  kindness,  but  Nassau 
sent  them  away  with  bitter  words.  A 
workman,  the  armourer  to  the  court,  hav- 
ing to  visit  Augsburg  to  purchase  arms, 
begged  the  Count  of  Nassau  to  despatch 
the  Protestant  deputies.  "  You  may  tell 
them,"  replied  the  minister  of  Charles 
V.,  "that  we  will  terminate  their  busi- 
ness in  order  that  you  may  have  travel- 
ling companions."  But  the  armourer 
having  found  other  company,  they  were 
compelled  to  wait.f 

*  Neque  suaruna  esse  virium  aut  officii,  ut  eos 
ad  impossibilia  et  noxia  adigant. — (Seckend.  ii.  p. 
134.) 

■f  Hortleben,  von  den  Ursachen  des  deutschen 
Kriegu,  p.  50. 


These  envoys  endeavoured  at  least  to 
make  a  good  use  of  their  time.  "  Take 
this  book,"  said  the  Landgrave  to  Caden 
at  the  very  moment  of  departure,  giving 
him  a  French  work  bound  in  velvet,  and 
richly  ornamented,  "  and  deliver  it  to  the 
Emperor."*  It  was  a  summary  of  the 
Christian  Faith  which  the  Landgrave 
had  received  from  Francis  Lambert,  and 
which  had  probably  been  written  by  that 
doctor.  Caden  sought  an  opportunity  of 
presenting  this  treatise  ;  and  did  so  one 
day,  therefore,  as  Charles  was  going  pub- 
licity to  Mass.  The  Emperor  took  the 
book,  and  passed  it  immediately  to  a 
Spanish  bishop.  The  Spaniard  began  to 
read  it,f  and  lighted  upon  that  passage 
of  Scripture  in  which  Christ  enjoins  his 
apostles  not  to  exercise  lordship. %  The 
author  took  advantage  of  it  to  maintain 
that  the  minister,  charged  with  spiritual 
matters,  should  not  interfere  with  those 
which  are  temporal.  The  Papist  prelate 
bit  his  lips,  and  Charles,  who  perceived 
it,  having  asked,  "  Well,  what  is  the  mat- 
ter ?"  the  bishop  in  confusion  had  re- 
course to  a  falsehood. §  "  This  treatise," 
replied  he,  "  takes  the  sword  from  the 
christian  magistrate,  and  grants  it  only  to 
nations  that  are  strangers  to  the  faith." 
Immediately  there  was  a  great  uproar  : 
the  Spaniards  above  all  were  beside 
themselves. 

"  The  wretches  that  have  endeavoured 
to  mislead  so  young  a  prince,"  said  they, 
"  deserve  to  be  hung  on  the  first  tree  by 
the  wayside !"  Charles  swore,  in  fact, 
that  the  bearer  should  suffer  the  penalty 
of  his  audacity. 

At  length,  on  the  12th  October,  Alex- 
ander Schweiss,  imperial  secretary,  trans- 
mitted the  Emperor's  reply  to  the  depu- 
ties. It  said  that  the  minority  ought  to 
submit  to  the  decrees  passed  in  diet,  and 
that  if  the  Duke  of  Saxony  and  his  al- 
lies refused,  means  would  not  be  wanting 
to  compel  them.]| 

Ehinger  and  Caden  thereupon  read 
aloud  the  appeal  to  the  Emperor  drawn 
up  at  Spire,  whilst  Frauentraut,  who  had 

*  Libellum  elegantur  ornatum. — (Scultet.  p- 
253.) 

t  Cum  obiter  legisset. — (Ibid.) 

t  Luke  xxii.  26. 

§  Falsoet  maligne  relatum  esset. — (Seckend.  ii. 
p.  133.) 

II  Sibi  non  defore  media  quibus  ad  id  compeller- 
entur. — (Seckend.  ii.  p.  133.) 


THE   AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


675 


renounced  his  quality  of  deputy  and  as- 
sumed that  of  a  notary,*  took  notes  of 
what  was  passing.  When  the  reading 
was  finished,  the  deputies  advanced  to- 
wards Schweiss  and  presented  the  ap- 
peal. The  imperial  secretary  rejected 
the  document  with  amazement  ;  the  dep- 
uties insisted  ;  Schweiss  continued  firm. 
They  then  laid  the  appeal  on  the  table. 
Schweiss  was  staggered ;  he  took  the 
paper,  and  carried  it  to  the  Emperor. 

After  dinner,  just  as  one  of  the  depu- 
ties (Caden)  had  gone  out,  a  tumult  in 
the  hotel  announced  some  catastrophe. 
It  was  the  imperial  secretary  who  return- 
ed duly  accompanied.  "  The  Emperor 
is  exceedingly  irritated  against  you  on 
account  of  this  appeal,"  said  he  to  the 
Protestants  ;  "  and  he  forbids  you,  under 
pain  of  confiscation  and  death,  to  leave 
your  hotel,  to  write  to  Germany,  or  to 
send  any  message  whatsoever."!  Thus 
Charles  put  ambassadors  under  arrest,  as 
he  would  the  officers  of  his  guard,  desi- 
rous in  this  manner  of  publishing  his 
contempt,  and  of  frightening  the  princes. 

Caden's  servant  slipped  in  alarm  out 
of  the  hotel,  and  ran  to  his  master.  The 
latter,  still  considering  himself  free,  wrote 
a  hasty  account  of  the  whole  business  to 
the  senate  of  Nuremberg,  sent  off  his 
letters  by  express,  and  returned  to  share 
in  the  arrest  of  his  colleagues.;}; 

On  the  23d  of  October,  the  Emperor 
left  Piacenza,  carrying  the  three  Ger- 
mans with  him.  But  on  the  30th  he  re- 
leased Ehinger  and  Frauentraut,  who, 
mounting  their  horses  in  the  middle  of 
the  night,  rushed  at  full  speed  along  a 
route  thronged  with  soldiers  and  robbers. 
"  As  for  you,"  said  Granvelle  to  Caden. 
"  you  will  stay  under  pain  of  death. 
The  Emperor  expects  that  the  book  you 
presented  to  him  will  be  given  up  to  the 
Pope."§  Perhaps  Charles  thought  it 
pleasant  to  shoAv  the  Roman  Pontiff  this 
prohibition  issued  against  the  ministers 
of  God  to  mingle  in  the  government  of 
nations.  But  Caden,  profiting  by  the 
confusion  of  the  court,  secretly  procured 
a  horse,  and  fled  to   Ferrara,  thence  to 

*  Tabellionis  sive  notarii  officium. — (Ibid.) 

t  Sub  capitis  poena,  ne  pedem  a  diversario  mo- 
veant. — (Scckend.  ii.  p.  133.) 

i  A  famulo  certior  factus,  rem  oranem  senatui 
aperiut. — (Ibid.) 

§  Ut  idem  scriptum  exhibeat  quoque  Pontiiici. 
— (Scultet.  p.  254.) 


Venice,  from  which  place  he  returned  to 
Nuremberg.* 

The  more  Charles  appeared  irritated 
against  Germany,  the  greater  moderation 
he  showed  towards  the  Italians :  heavy 
pecuniary  contributions  were  all  that  he 
required.  It  was  beyond  the  Alps,  in 
the  centre  of  Christendom,  by  means  of 
these  very  religious  controversies,  that 
he  desired  to  establish  his  power.  He 
pressed  on,  and  required  only  two  things : 
behind  him, — peace;  with  him, — money. 

On  the  5th  of  November  he  entered 
Bologna.  Everything  was  striking  about 
him :  the  crowd  of  nobles,  the  splendour 
of  the  equipages,  the  haughtiness  of  the 
Spanish  troops,  the  four  thousand  ducats 
that  were  scattered  by  handfuls  among 
the  people  ;f  but  above  all,  the  majesty 
and  magnificence  of  the  young  Emperor. 
The  two  chiefs  of  Romish  Christendom 
were  about  to  meet.  The  Pope  quitted 
his  palace  with  all  his  court ;  and  Charles, 
at  the  head  of  an  army  which  would 
have  conquered  the  whole  of  Italy  in  a 
few  days,  affecting  the  humility  of  a 
child,  fell  on  his  knees,  and  kissed  the 
Pontiff's  feet. 

The  Emperor  and  the  Pope  resided  at 
Bologna  in  two  adjoining  palaces,  sepa- 
rated by  a  single  wall,  through  which  a 
doorway  had  been  made,  of  which  each 
had  a  key ;  and  the  young  and  politic 
Emperor  was  often  seen  to  visit  the  old 
and  crafty  Pontiff,  carrying  papers  in  his 
hand. 

Clement  obtained  Sforza's  pardon,  who 
appeared  before  the  Emperor  sick  and 
leaning  on  a  staff.  Venice  also  wras  for- 
given :  a  million  of  crowns  arranged 
these  two  matters.  But  Charles  could 
not  obtain  from  the  Pope  the  pardon  of 
Florence.  This  illustrious  city  was  sac- 
rificed to  the  Medici,  "  considering,"  it 
was  said,  "  that  it  is  impossible  for  Christ's 
vicar  to  demand  anything  that  is  unjust." 

The  most  important  affair  was  the  Re- 
formation. Some  represented  to  the  Em- 
peror that,  victor  over  all  his  enemies,  he 
should  carry  matters  with  a  high  hand, 
and  constrain  the  Protestants  by  force  of 
arms.J     Charles  was  more  moderate  ;  he 

*  Silentio  conscendit  equum. — (Ibid.) 

t  In  vulgus  sparsum  aurum  quatuor  millia  du- 

catorum. — (L.  Epp.  iii.  p.  565.) 

t  Armiscogandos.— (Seckend.ii.  p.  112;  Maim- 

bourg,  ii.  p.  194.) 


C7G 


HISTORY  OF   THE   REFORMATION. 


preferred  weakening  the  Protestants  by 
the  Papists,  and  then  the  Papists  by  the 
Protestants,  and  by  this  means  raising  his 
power  above  them  both. 

A  wiser  course  was  nevertheless  pro- 
posed in  a  solemn  conference.  "  The 
Church  is  torn  in  pieces,"  said  Chancellor 
Gattinara.  "  You  (Charles)  are  the  head 
of  the  empire :  you  (the  Pope)  are  the 
head  of  the  Church.  It  is  your  duty  to 
provide  by  common  accord  against  un- 
precedented wants.  Assemble  the  pious 
men  of  all  nations,  and  let  a  free  council 
deduce  from  the  Word  of  God  a  scheme 
of  doctrine  such  as  may  be  received  by 
every  people."* 

A  thunderbolt  would  not  have  so  great- 
ly startled  Clement  VII.  The  offspring 
of  an  illegitimate  union,  and  having  ob- 
tained the  Papacy  by  means  far  from 
honourable,  and  squandered  the  treasures 
of  the  Church  in  an  unjust  war,  this  Pon- 
tiff had  a  thousand  personal  motives  for 
dreading  an  assembly  of  Christendom. 
"  Large  congregations,"  replied  he, "  serve 
only  to  introduce  popular  opinions.  It  is 
not  with  the  decrees  of  councils,  but  with 
the  edge  of  the  sword,  that  we  should  de- 
cide controversies."! 

As  Gattinara  still  persisted  :  '"  What !" 
said  the  Pope,  angrily  interrupting  him, 
"  you  dare  to  contradict  me,  and  to  excite 
your  master  against  me  !"  Charles  rose 
up ;  all  the  assembly  preserved,  the  pro- 
foundest  silence,  and  the  prince  having 
resumed  his  seat,  seconded  his  chancellor's 
request.  Clement  was  satisfied  with  say- 
ing that  he  would*  reflect  upon  it.  He 
then  began  to  work  upon  the  young  Em- 
peror in  their  private  conferences,  and 
Charles  promised  at  last  to  constrain  the 
heretics  by  violence,  while  the  Pope  should 
summon  all  other  princes  to  his  aid.|  "  To 
overcome  Germany  by  force,  and  then 
erase  it  from  the  surface  of  the  earth,  is 


*  Oratio  ds  Congressu  Bonordensi,  in  Melanc- 
thonis  Orationum,  iv.  p.  87,  and  Caelestinus  Hist. 
Concil.  1830,  Augustas,  i.  p.  10.  Respectable  au- 
thors, Walsh,  Muller,  and  Beausobre,  incorrectly 
quote  at  full  length  the  speeches  delivered  at  this 
conference.  They  are  amplifications ;  but  to  deny 
that  they  have  some  historical  foundation  would 
be  flying  to  the  opposite  extreme. 

t  Non  concilii  decretis,  sed  armis  controversias 
dirimendas. — (Scultet.  p.  248;  Maimbourg  the 
Jesuit,  ii.  p.  177.) 

•    X  Pontifex,  ut  cseteri  Christiani  principes,  ipsos 
pro  viribus  juvent. — (Guicciardini,  xix.  p.  908.) 


the  sole  object  of  the  Italians,"  they  wrote 
from  Venice  to  the  Elector.* 

Such  was  the  sinister  news  which,  by 
spreading  alarm  among  the  Protestants, 
should  also  have  united  them.  Unfortu- 
nately a  contrary  movement  was  then 
taking  place.  Luther  and  some  of  his 
friends  had  revised  the  Marburg  articles 
in  a  sense  exclusively  Lutheran,  and  the 
ministers  of  the  Elector  of  Saxony  had 
presented  them  to  the  conference  at 
Schwabach.  The  Reformed  deputies  from 
Ulm  and  Strasburg  had  immediately 
withdrawn,  and  the  conference  was  bro- 
ken up. 

But  new  conferences  had  erelong 
become  necessary.  The  express  that 
Caden  had  forwarded  from  Piacenza  had 
reached  Nuremberg.  Every  one  in 
Germany  understood  that  the  arrest  of 
the  princes'  deputies  was  a  declaration  of 
war.  The  Elector  was  staggered,  and 
ordered  his  chancellor  to  consult  the  the- 
ologians of  Wittemberg. 

"  We  cannot  on  our  conscience,"  re- 
plied Luther  on  the  18th  November, 
"  approve  of  the  proposed  alliance.  We 
would  rather  die  ten  times  than  see  our 
Gospel  cause  one  drop  of  blood  to  be 
shed.f  Our  part  is  to  be  like  lambs  of 
the  slaughter.  The  cross  of  Christ 
must  be  borne.  Let  your  highness  be 
without  fear.  We  shall  do  more  by  our 
prayers  than  all  our  enemies  by  their 
boastings.  Only  let  not  your  hands  be 
stained  with  the  blood  of  your  brethren  ! 
If  the  Emperor  requires  us  to  be  given 
up  to  his  tribunals,  we  are  ready  to  ap- 
pear. You  cannot  defend  our  faith : 
each  one  should  believe  at  his  own  risk 
and  peril. "J 

On  the  29th  November  an  evangel- 
ical congress  was  opened  at  Smalkald, 
and  an  unexpected  event  rendered  this 
meeting  still  more  important.  Ehinger, 
Caden,  and  Frauentraut,  who  had  es- 
caped from  the  grasp  of  Charles  V.,  ap- 
peared before  them.§  The  Landgrave 
had  no  further  doubts  of  the  success  of 
his  plan. 

He  was  deceived.     No  agreement  be- 

*  Ut  Germania  vi  et  armis  opprimatur,  fundi- 
tus  deleatur  et  eradicetur. — (Cselestin.  i.  p.  42.) 

t  Lieber  zehn  mal  todt  seyn. — ("Epp.  iii.  p. 
526.)  V    rr 

t  Auf  sein  eigen  Fahr  glauben. — (Ibid.  p.  527.) 

§  Advenerantet  gesta  referebant. — (Seckend.ii. 
p.  140;  Sleidan.  i.p.  235.) 


THE  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.    J530. 


677 


tween  contrary  doctrines,  no  alliance  be- 
tween politics  and  religion — were  Lu- 
ther's two  principles,  and  they  still  pre- 
vailed. It  was  agreed  that  those  who 
felt  disposed  to  sign  the  articles  of 
Schwabach,  and  those  only,  should  meet 
at  Nuremberg  on  the  6th  of  January. 

The  horizon  became  hourly  more 
threatening.  The  Papists  of  Germany 
wrote  one  to  another  these  few  but  sig- 
nificant words  :  "  The  Saviour  is  com- 
ing."* "  Alas !"  exclaimed  Luther, 
"  what  a  pitiless  saviour  !  He  will  de- 
vour them  all,  as  well  as  us."  In  effect, 
two  Italian  bishops,  authorized  by 
Charles  V.,  demanded  in  the  Pope's 
name  all  the  gold  and  silver  from  the 
churches,  and  a  third  part  of  the  eccle- 
siastical revenues :  a  proceeding  which 
caused  an  immense  sensation.  "  Let  the 
Pope  go  to  the  devil,"  replied  a  canon  of 
Paderborn,  a  little  too  freely.f  "Yes, 
yes  !"  archly  replied  Luther,  "  this  is  your 
saviour  that  is  coming  !"  The  people 
already  began  to  talk  of  frightful  omens. 
It  was  not  only  the  living  who  were  agi- 
tated :  a  child  still  in  its  mother's  womb 
had  uttered  horrible  shrieks.^  "  All  is 
accomplished,"  said  Luther  ;  "  the  Turk 
has  reached  the  highest  degree  of  his 
power,  the  glory  of  the  Papacy  is  de- 
clining, and  the  world  is  splitting  on 
every  side."^  The  Reformer,  dreading 
lest  the  end  of  the  world  should  arrive 
before  he  had  translated  all  the  Bible, 
published  the  prophesies  of  Daniel  sepa- 
rately,— "  a  work,"  said  he,  "  for  these 
latter  times."  "  Historians  relate,"  added 
he,  "  that  Alexander  the  Great  always 
placed  Homer  under  his  pillow :  the 
prophet  Daniel  is  worthy  not  only  that 
kings  and  princes  should  wear  him  un- 
der their  heads,  but  in  their  hearts ;  for 
he  will  teach  them  that  the  government 
of  nations  proceeds  from  the  power  of 
God.  We  are  balanced  in  the  hand  of 
the  Lord,  as  a  ship  upon  the  sea,  or  a 
cloud  in  the  sky."|| 

*  Invicem  scriptillant,  dicentes :  Salvator  venit. 
— (L.  Epp.  iii.  p.  540.) 

t  Dat  de  Duwel  dem  Bawst  int  Lieff  fare. — 
(Ibid.) 

t  Infans  in  utero,  audiente  tota  familia,  bis  vo- 
ciferatus  est. — (Ibid.) 

§  Dedication  of  Daniel  to  John  Frederick. — (L. 
Epp.  iii.  p.  555.) 

II  Schwebt  in  seiner  Macht,  wie  ein  Schiff  auf 
dem  Meer,  ja  wie  eine  Wolke  unter  dem  Himmel. 
— (L.  Epp.  iii.  p.  555.) 


Yet  the  frightful  phantom  that  Philip 
of  Hesse  had  not  ceased  to  point  out  to 
his  allies,  and  whose  threatening  jaws 
seemed  already  opening,  suddenly  vanish- 
ed, and  they  discovered  in  its  place  the 
graceful  image  of  the  most  amiable  of 
princes. 

On  the  21st  January,  Charles  had  sum- 
moned all  the  states  of  the  empire  to 
Augsburg,  and  had  endeavoured  to  em- 
ploy the  most  conciliatory  language. 
"  Let  us  put  an  end  to  all  discord,"  he 
said,  "  let  us  renounce  our  antipathies,  let 
us  offer  to  our  Saviour  the  sacrifice  of  all 
our  errors,  let  us  make  it  our  business  to 
comprehend  and  weigh  with  meekness 
the  opinions  of  others.  Let  us  annihilate 
all  that  has  been  said  or  done  on  both 
sides  contrary  to  right,  and  let  us  seek 
after  christian  truth.  Let  us  all  fight  un- 
der one  and  the  same  leader,  Jesus  Christ, 
and  let  us  strive  thus  to  meet  in  one  com- 
munion, one  church,  and  one  unity."* 

What  language  !  How  was  it  that 
this  prince,  who  had  hitherto  spoken  only 
of  the  sword,  should  now  speak  only  of 
peace  ?  It  will  be  said  that  the  wise  Gat- 
tinara  had  had  a  share  in  it ;  that  the  act 
of  convocation  was  drawn  up  under  the 
impression  of  the  terror  caused  by  the 
Turkish  invasion  ;  that  the  Emperor  al- 
ready saw  with  how  little  eagerness  the  Ro- 
man Catholics  of  Germany  seconded  his 
views ;  that  he  wished  to  intimidate  the 
Pope  ;  that  this  language,  so  full  of  gra- 
ciousness,  was  but  a  mask  which  Charles 
employed  to  deceive  his  enemies  ;  that  he 
wished  to  manage  religion  in  true  impe- 
rial fashion,  like  Theodosius  and  Constan- 
tine,  and  seek  first  to  unite  both  parties 
by  the  influence  of  his  wisdom  and  of 
his  favours,  reserving  to  himself,  if  kind- 
ness should  fail,  to  employ  force  after- 
wards. It  is  possible  that  each  of  these 
motives  may  have  exercised  a  certain  in- 
fluence on  Charles,  but  the  latter  appears 
to  us  nearer  the  truth,  and  more  conform- 
able to  the  character  of  this  prince. 

If  Charles,  however,  gave  way  to  in- 
clinations of  mildness,  the  fanatical  Fer- 
dinand was  at  hand  to  bring  him  back. 
"  I  will  continue  negotiating  without 
coming  to  any  conclusion,"  wrote  he  to 
his  brother ;  "  and  should  I  even  be  re- 

*  Wie  wir  alle  unter  einem  Christo  seyn  und 
streiten. —  (Forstenmanns,  Urkundenbuch,  i.  p. 
1) 


678 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


duced  to  that,  do  not  fear ;  pretexts  will 
not  be  wanting  to  chastise  these  rebels, 
and  you  will  find  men  enough,  who  will 
be  happy  to  aid  you  in  your  revenge."* 

II.  Charles,  like  Charlemagne  in  for- 
mer times  and  Napoleon  in  latter  days, 
desired  to  be  crowned  by  the  Pope,  and 
had  at  first  thought  of  visiting  Rome  for 
that  purpose  ;  but  Ferdinand's  pressing 
letters  compelled  him  to  choose  Bologna,  f 
He  appointed  the  22d  February  for  re- 
ceiving the  iron  crown  as  King  of  Lom- 
bardy,  and  resolved  to  assume  the  golden 
crown  as  Emperor  of  the  Romans  on  the 
24th  of  the  same  month — his  birthday 
and  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Pavia, 
and  which  he  thought  was  always  fortu- 
nate to  him. | 

The  offices  of  honour  that  belonged  to 
the  Electors  of  the  Empire  were  given 
to  strangers :  in  the  coronation  of  the 
Emperor  of  Germany  all  was  Spanish  or 
Italian.  The  sceptre  was  carried  by  the 
Marquis  of  Montferrat,  the  sword  by  the 
Duke  of  Urbino,  and  the  golden  crown 
by  the  Duke  of  Savoy.  One  single  Ger- 
man prince  of  little  importance,  the 
Count-palatine  Philip,  was  present:  he 
carried  the  orb.  After  these  lords  came 
the  Emperor  himself  between  two  cardi- 
nals ;  then  the  members  of  his  council. 
All  this  procession  defiled  across  a  mag- 
nificent temporary  bridge  erected  between 
the  palace  and  the  church.  At  the  very 
moment  the  Emperor  drew  near  the 
church  of  San  Petronio,  where  the  coro- 
nation was  to  take  place,  the  scaffolding 
cracked  behind  him  and  gave  way,  so 
that  many  of  his  train  were  wounded,  and 
the  multitude  fled  in  alarm.  Charles 
calmly  turned  back  and  smiled,  not 
doubting  that  his  lucky  star  had  saved 
him. 

At  length  Charles  V.  arrived  in  front 
of  the  throne  on  which  Clement  VII. 
was  seated.  But  before  being  made  Em- 
peror, it  was  necessary  that  he  should  be 
promoted  to  the  sacred  orders.  The  Pope 
presented  to  him  the  surplice  and  the 
amice  to  make  him  a  canon  of  St.  Peter's 
and  of  St.  John  Lateranus,  and  immedi- 

*  Bucholz  Geschichte  Ferdinands,  iii.  p.  432. 

t  Sopravennero  lettere  di  Germania  che  lo  sol- 
licittavano  a  transferirsi  in  quella  provincia.^ 
(Guicciardini,  L.  xx.) 

t  Natali  suo  quern  semper  felicem  habuit. — 
(Seckend.  ii.  p.  150.) 


ately  the  canons  of  these  two  churches 
stripped  him  of  his  royal  ornaments,  and 
robed  him  with  these  sacred  garments. 
The  Pope  went  to  the  altar  and  began 
Mass  ;  and  the  new  canon  drew  near  to 
wait  upon  him.  After  the  offertory,  the 
imperial  deacon  presented  the  water  to 
the  pontiff  He  then  knelt  down  be- 
tween two  cardinals,  and  communicated 
from  the  Pope's  hand.  The  Emperor 
now  returned  near  his  throne,  where  the 
princes  robed  him  with  the  imperial 
mantle  brought  from  Constantinople,  all 
sparkling  with  diamonds,  and  Charles 
humbly  bent  the  knee  before  Clement 
VII. 

The  pontiff,  having  anointed  him  with 
oil  and  given  him  the  sceptre,  presented 
him  with  a  naked  sword,  saying :  "Make 
use  of  it  in  defence  of  the  Church  against 
the  enemies  of  the  faith  !"  Next  taking 
the  golden  orb,  studded  with  jewels, 
which  the  Count-palatine  held,  he  said  : 
"  Govern  the  world  with  piety  and  firm- 
ness !"  Last  came  the  Duke  of  Savoy, 
who  carried  the  golden  crown  enriched 
with  diamonds.  The  Prince  bent  down, 
and  Clement  put  the  diadem  on  his  head, 
saying  :  "  Charles,  Emperor  invincible, 
receive  this  crown  which  we  place  on 
your  head,  as  a  sign  to  all  the  earth  of 
the  authority  that  is  conferred  upon  you." 

The  Emperor  then  kissed  the  white 
cross  embroidered  on  the  Pope's  red  slip- 
per and  exclaimed:  "I  swear  ever  to 
employ  all  my  strength  to  defend  the 
Pontifical  dignity,  and  the  Church  of 
Rome."* 

The  two  princes  now  took  their  seats 
under  the  same  canopy,  but  on  thrones 
of  unequal  height,  the  Emperor's  being 
half  a  foot  lower  than  the  pontiff's,  and 
the  cardinal  deacon  proclaimed  to  the 
people  ':  The  invincible  Emperor,  Defend- 
er of  the  Faith."  For  the  next  half-hour 
nothing  was  heard  but  the  noise  of  mus- 
ketry, trumpets,  drums,  and  fifes,  all  the 
bells  of  the  city,  and  the  shouts  of  the 
multitude.  Thus  was  proclaimed  anew 
the  close  union  of  politics  with  religion. 
The  mighty  Emperor,  transformed  to  a 
Roman  deacon,  and  humbly  serving  mass, 
like  a  canon  of  St.  Peter's,  had  typified 

*  Omnibus  viribus,  ingenio,  et  facultatibus  suis 
Pontificiffi  dignitatis  et  Romanae  Ecclesiae  perpe- 
tuum  fore  defensorem. — (Ccelestin.  Hist.  Comit. 
Aug.  16.) 


THE   AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


679 


and  declared  the  indissoluble  union  of  the 
Romish  Church  with  the  State.  This  is 
one  of  the  essential  doctrines  of  Popery, 
and  one  of  the  most  striking  characteris- 
tics that  distinguish  it  from  the  Evangeli- 
cal and  Christian  Church. 

Nevertheless,  during  all  this  ceremony 
the  Pope  seemed  ill  at  ease,  and  sighed  as 
soon  as  men's  eyes  ceased  to  be  turned  on 
him.  Accordingly,  the  French  ambas- 
sador wrote  to  his  court  that  these  four 
months  which  the  Emperor  and  Pope  had 
spent  together  at  Bologna,  would  bear 
fruit  of  which  the  King  of  France  would 
assuredly  have  no  cause  to  complain.* 

Scarcely  had  Charles  V.  risen  from  be- 
fore the  altar  of  San  Petronio,  than  he 
turned  his  face  towards  Germany,  and 
appeared  on  the  Alps  as  the  anointed  of 
the  Papacy.  The  letter  of  convocation, 
so  indulgent  and  benign,  seemed  forgot- 
ten :  all  things  were  made  new  since  the 
Pope's  blessings :  there  was  but  one 
thought  in  the  imperial  caravan,  the  ne- 
cessity of  rigorous  measures  ;  and  the  le- 
gate Campeggio  ceased  not  to  insinuate 
irritating  words  into  Charles's  ear.  "  At 
the  first  rumour  of  the  storm  that  threat- 
ens them,"  said  Granvelle,  "  we  shall  see 
the  Protestants  flying  on  every  side,  like 
timid  doves  upon  which  the  Alpine  eagle 
pounces."! 

Great  indeed  was  the  alarm  through- 
out the  Empire  ;  already  even  the  affright- 
ed people,  apprehensive  of  the  greatest 
disasters,  repeated  everywhere  that  Luther 
and  Melancthon  were  dead.  "  Alas '" 
said  Melancthon,  consumed  by  sorrow, 
when  he  heard  these  reports,  "  the  rumour 
is  but  too  true,  for  I  die  daily."J  But 
Luther,  on  the  contrary,  boldly  raising  the 
eye  of  faith  towards  heaven,  exclaimed  : 
"  Our  enemies  triumph,  but  erelong  to 
perish."  In  truth  the  councils  of  the 
Elector  displayed  an  unheard-of  boldness. 
"  Let  us  collect  our  troops,"  said  they ; 
"  let  us  march  on  the  Tyrol,  and  close  the 
passage  of  the  Alps  against  the  Emper- 
or."§  Philip  of  Hesse  uttered  a  cry  of 
joy  when  he  heard  of  this.     The  sword 

*  Letter  to  M.  L' Admiral,  25th  February. — 
(Legrand,  Histoire  du  Divorce,  iii.  p.  386.) 

t  Tanquam  columbsB,  adveniente  aquila,  disper- 
gentur. — (Rommel  Anmerkungen,  p.  236.) 

I  Ego  famam  de  qua  scribis  intelligo  nimis  ve- 
ram  esse,  morior  enim  quotidie. — (Corp.  Ref.  ii. 
p.  122.) 

§  Cum  copiis  quas  habitant  per  Tyrolensem  di- 


of  Charles  has  aroused  his  indolent  allies 
at  last.  Immediately  fresh  courtiers  from 
Ferdinand  were  sent  to  hasten  the  arri- 
val of  Charles,  and  all  Germany  was  in 
expectation. 

Before  carrying  out  this  gigantic  de- 
sign, the  Elector  desired  to  consult  Lu- 
ther once  more.  The  Emperor  in  the 
midst  of  the  Electors  was  only  the  first 
among  his  equals ;  and  independent 
princes  were  allowed  to  resist  another 
prince,  even  if  he  were  of  higher  rank 
than  themselves.  But  Luther,  dreading 
above  all  things  the  intervention  of  the 
secular  arm  in  church  affairs,  was  led  to 
reply  on  the  6th  March  in  this  extraordi- 
nary manner  :  "  Our  princes'  subjects  are 
also  the  Emperor's  subjects,  and  even 
more  so  than  princes  are.  To  protect  by 
arms  the  Emperor's  subjects  against  the 
Emperor,  would  be  as  if  the  Burgomas- 
ter of  Torgau  wished  to  protect  by  force 
his  citizens  against  the  Elector." 

"What  must  be  done  then? — Attend," 
replied  Luther.  "  If  the  Emperor  de- 
sires to  march  against  us,  let  no  prince 
undertake  our  defence.  God  is  faithful : 
he  will  not  abandon  us."  All  prepara- 
tions for  war  were  immediately  suspend- 
ed, the  Landgrave  received  a  polite  refu- 
sal, and  the  confederation  was  dissolved. 
It  was  the  will  of  God  that  his  cause 
should  appear  before  the  Emperor  with- 
out league  and  without  soldiers,  having 
faith  alone  for  its  shield. 

Never  perhaps  has  such  boldness  been 
witnessed  in  feeble  and  unarmed  men  ; 
but  never,  although  under  an  appearance 
of  blindness,  was  there  so  much  wisdom 
and  understanding. 

The  question  next  discussed  in  the 
Elector's  council  was,  whether  he  should 
go  to  the  diet.  The  majority  of  the  coun- 
cillors opposed  it.  u  Is  it  not  risking 
everything,"  said  they,  "  to  go  and  shut 
oneself  up  within  the  walls  of  a  city  with 
a  powerful  enemy  ?"  Bruck  and  the 
Prince-electoral  were  of  a  different  opin- 
ion. Duty  in  their  eyes  was  a  better 
councillor  than  fear.  "  What  !"  said 
they,  "  would  the  Emperor  insist  so  much 
on  the  presence  of  the  princes  at  Augs- 
burg only  to  draw  them  into  a  snare  ? 
We  cannot  impute  such  perfidy  to  him." 
The  Landgrave  on  the  contrary  seconded 

tionem  incedenti  occurrere  et  Alpium  transitum 
impedire. — (Seckend.  ii.  p.  150.) 


680 


HISTORY  OP  THE  REFORMATION. 


the  opinion  of  the  majority.  "  Remem- 
ber Piacenza,"  said  he.  "  Some  unfore- 
seen circumstance  may  lead  the  Emperor 
to  take  all  his  enemies  in  one  cast  of  the 
net." 

The  Chancellor  stood  firm.  "  Let  the 
princes  only  comport  themselves  with 
courage,"  said  he,  "  and  God's  cause  is 
saved."  The  decision  was  in  favour  of 
the  nobler  plan. 

This  diet  was  to  be  a  lay  council,  or  at 
the  very  least  a  national  convention.* 
The  Protestants  foresaw  that  a  few  un- 
important concessions  would  be  made  to 
them  at  first,  and  then  that  they  would 
be  required  to  sacrifice  their  faith.  It 
was  therefore  necessary  to  settle  what 
were  the  essential  articles  of  christian 
truth,  in  order  to  know  whether,  by  what 
means,  and  how  far  they  might  come  to 
an  understanding  with  their  adversaries. 
The  Elector  accordingly  had  letters  sent 
on  the  14th  March  to  the  four  principal 
theologians  of  Wittemberg,  setting  them 
this  task,  all  other  business  being  laid 
aside. f  Thus,  instead  of  collecting  sol- 
diers, this  prince  drew  up  articles :  they 
were  the  best  armament. 

Luther,  Jonas,  and  Melancthon  (Pome- 
ranus  remaining  at  Wittemberg),  arrived 
at  Torgau  in  Easter  week,  asking  leave 
to  deliver  their  articles  in  person  to 
Charles  the  Fifth.J  "  God  forbid  !"  re- 
plied the  Elector,  "  I  also  desire  to  con- 
fess my  Lord." 

John  having  then  confided  to  Melanc- 
thon the  definitive  drawing  up  of  the 
confession,  and  ordered  general  prayers 
to  be  offered  up,  began  his  journey  on 
the  3d  April,  with  one  hundred  and  sixty 
horsemen,  clad  in  rich  scarlet  cloaks  em- 
broidered with  gold. 

Every  man  was  aware  of  the  dangers 
that  threatened  the  Elector,  and  hence 
many  in  his  escort  marched  with  down- 

*  Cum  Iisbc  comitia  pro  concilio  aut  conventu 
nationali  haberi  videantur. — (Seckend.ii.  p.  17. — 
Letter  to  the  Elector,  Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  26.) 

t  Omnibus  sepositis  aliis  rebus. — (L.  Epp.  iii. 
p.  564.) 

t  Different  projects  will  be  found  in  Forsten- 
manns  Urkundenbuch,  i.  p.  63-108,  and  in  the 
Corp.  Ref.  iv.  p.  973,  sqq.  Those  that  were  pre- 
sented were  doubtless  the  Articulinon  concedendi, 
Articles  not  to  be  conceded.  They  treat  of  the 
communion  in  both  kinds,  of  celibacy,  the  mass, 
orders,  the  pope,  convents,  confession,  distinction 
of  meats,  and  of  the  sacraments. — (Corp.  Ref.  iv. 
p.  981.) 


cast  eyes  and  sinking  hearts.  But  Lu- 
ther, full  of  faith,  revived  the  courage  of 
his  friends,  by  composing  and  singing 
with  his  fine  voice  that  beautiful  hymn, 
since  become  so  famous :  Eine  vaste 
Burg  ist  unser  Govt.  Our  God  is  a  strong 
tower.*  Never  did  soul  that  knew  its 
own  weakness,  but  which,  looking  to 
God,  despises  every  fear,  find  such  noble 
accents. 

"With  our  own  strength  we  nought  can  do, 

Destruction  yawns  on  every  side : 
He  fights  for  us,  our  champion  true, 

Elect  of  God  to  be  our  guide. 
What  is  his  name  1  The  Anointed  One, 

The  God  of  armies  he; 
Of  earth  and  heaven  the  Lord  alone — 
With  him,  on  field  of  battle  won, 
Abideth  victory. 

This  hymn  was  sung  during  the  diet, 
not  only  at  Augsburg,  but  in  all  the 
churches  of  Saxony,  and  its  energetic 
strains  were  often  seen  to  revive  and  in- 
spirit the  most  dejected  minds. | 

On  Easter-eve  the  troop  reached  Coburg, 
and  on  the  23d  April  the  Elector  resumed 
his  journey  ;  but  at  the  very  moment  of 
departure  Luther  received  an  order  to 
remain.  "  Some  one  has  said,  Hold  your 
tongue,  you  have  a  harsh  voice,"  wrote 
he  to  one  of  his  friends.J  He  submitted 
however  without  hesitation,  setting  an 
example  of  that  passive  obedience  which 
he  advocated  so  boldly.  The  Elector 
feared  that  Luther's  presence  would  still 
further  exasperate  his  adversaries,  and 
drive  Charles  to  extreme  measures :  the 
city  of  Augsburg  had  also  written  to  him 
to  that  effect.  But  at  the  same  time 
John  was  anxious  to  keep  the  Reformer 
within  reach,  that  he  might  be  able  to 
consult  him.  He  was  therefore  left  at 
Coburg,  in  the  castle  overlooking  the 
town  and  the  river  Itz,  in  the  upper  story 
on  the  south  side.  It  was  from  this  place 
he  wrote  those  numerous  letters  dated 
from  the  region  of  birds ;  and  it  was  there 
that  for  many  months  he  had  to  maintain 
with  his  old  enemy  of  the  Wartburg, 
Satan,  a  struggle  full  of  darkness  and  of 
anguish. 

*  We  have  attempted  a  very  feeble  translation 
of  the  second  stanza. 

t  Qui  tristem  etiam  et  abjectum  animum  eri- 
gere  et  exhilarare,  et  velut  ci/Oobanageiv  possent. — 
(Scult.  p.  270.) 

t  Sed  erat  qui  diceret :  Tace  tu,  habes  malam 
vocem. — (L.  Epp.  iv.  p.  2.) 


THE  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


681- 


On  the  2d  May  the  Elector  reached 
Augsburg  ;  it  had  been  expected  that  he 
would  stay  away,  and,  to  the  great  aston- 
ishment of  all,  he  was  the  first  at  the 
rendezvous.*  He  immediately  sent  Dol- 
zig,  marshal  of  the  court,  to  meet  the 
Emperor  and  to  compliment  him.  On 
the  12th  May,  Philip  of  Hesse,  who  had 
at  last  resolved  on  not  separating  himself 
from  his  ally,  arrived  with  an  escort  of 
one  hundred  and  ninety  horsemen  ;  and 
almost  at  the  same  time  the  Emperor  en- 
tered Innspruck,  in  the  Tyrol,  accompa- 
nied by  his  brother,  the  queens  of  Hun- 
gary and  Bohemia,  the  ambassadors  of 
France,  England,  and  Portugal,  Cam- 
peggio  the  papal  legate,  and  other  cardi- 
nals, with  many  princes  and  nobles  of 
Germany,  Spain,  and  Italy. 

How  bring  back  the  heretics  to  obe- 
dience to  the  Church?  Such  was  the 
great  topic  of  conversation  in  this  bril- 
liant court  among  nobles  and  priests, 
ladies  and  soldiers,  councillors  and  am- 
bassadors. They,  or  Charles  at  least, 
were  not  for  making  them  ascend  the 
scaffold,  but  they  wished  to  act  in  such 
a  manner  that,  untrue  to  their  faith,  they 
should  bend  the  knee  to  the  Pope. 
Charles  stopped  at  Innspruck  to  study 
the  situation  of  Germany,  and  ensure  the 
success  of  his  schemes. 

Scarcely  was  his  arrival  known  when 
a  crowd  of  people,  high  and  low,  flocked 
round  him  on  every  side,  and  more  than 
270,000  crowns,  previously  raised  in 
Italy,  served  to  make  the  Germans  un- 
derstand the  justice  of  Rome's  cause. 
"  All  these  heretics,"  was  the  cry,  "  will 
fall  to  the  ground  and  crawl  to  the  feet 
of  the  Pope."f 

Charles  did  not  think  so.  He  was,  on 
the  contrary,  astonished  to  see  what 
power  the  Reformation  had  gained.  He 
momentarily  even  entertained  the  idea 
of  leaving  Augsburg  alone,  and  of  going 
straight  to  Cologne,  and  there  proclaim- 
ing his  brother  King  of  the  Romans.:]; 
Thus,  religious  interests  would  have 
given  way  to  dynastic  interests,  at  least 
so  ran  the  report.  But  Charles  the 
Fifth    did   not   stop    at  this  idea.     The 

*  Mirantibus  hominibus. — (Seek.  ii.  p.  153.) 
t  Zum   kreutz  kriechen  werden. — (Mathcsius 
Pred.  p.  91.)     The  allusion  is  to  the  cross  em- 
broidered on  the  Pope's  slipper. 

t  Iter  Coloniam  versus  decrevisse. — (Epp.  Zw. 
May  13.) 

86 


question  of  the  Reformation  was  there 
before  him,  increasing  hourly  in  strength, 
and  it  could  not  be  eluded. 

Two  parties  divided  the  imperial 
court.  The  one,  numerous  and  active, 
called  upon  the  Emperor  to  revive  simply 
the  edict  of  Worms,  and,  without  hear- 
ing the  Protestants,  condemn  their 
cause.*  The  legate  was  at  the  head  of 
this  party.  "  Do  not  hesitate,"  said  he  to 
Charles ;  "  confiscate  their  property,  es- 
tablish the  inquisition,  and  punish  these 
obstinate  heretics  with  fire  and  sword."t 
The  Spaniards,  who  strongly  seconded 
these  exhortations,  gave  way  to  their  ac- 
customed debauchery,  so  that  many  of 
them  were  arrested  for  seduction.];  This 
was  a  sad  specimen  of  the  faith  that  they 
wished  to  impose  on  Germany.  Rome 
has  always  thought  lightly  of  morality. 

Gattinara,  although  sick,  had  painfully 
followed  in  Charles's  train  to  neutralize 
the  influence  of  the  legate.  A  deter- 
mined adversary  of  the  Roman  policy, 
he  thought  that  the  Protestants  might 
render  important  services  to  Christen- 
dom. "  There  is  nothing  I  desire  so 
much,"  said  he,  "  as  to  see  the  Elector  of 
Saxony  and  his  allies  persevere  courage- 
ously in  the  profession  of  the  Gospel,  and 
call  for  a  free  religious  council.  If  they 
allow  themselves  to  be  checked  by  prom- 
ises or  threats,  I  hesitate  myself,  I  stag- 
ger, and  I  doubt  of  the  means  of  salva- 
tion."^ The  enlightened  and  honest 
members  of  the  Papal  Church  (and  of 
whom  there  is  always  a  small  number) 
necessarily  sympathize  with  the  Refor- 
mation. 

Charles  V.,  exposed  to  these  contrary 
influences,  desired  to  restore  Germany  to 
religious  unity  by  his  personal  interven- 
tion :  for  a  moment  he  thought  himself  i 
on  the  eve  of  success. 

Amongst  the  persons  who  crowded  to 
Innspruck  was  the  unfortunate  Christian, 
king  of  Denmark,  Charles's  brother-in- 
law.  In  vain  had  he  proposed  to  his 
subjects   undertaking   a    pilgrimage    to 

*  AliicensentCaesarem  debere,  edicto  proposito, 
sine  ulla  cogitatione  damnare  causam  nostram. — 
(Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  57.) 

t  Instructio  data  Ccesari  dal  Reverendissimo 
Campeggio. — (Ranke,  iii.  p.  288.) 

j  Sich  die  Spanier  zu  Inspruck  unfliithig  ge- 
halten. — (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  56.) 

§  Semper  vacillaturum  de  vera  et  certa  salutis 
adipiscendae  ratione. — (Seek.  ii.  p.  57.) 


682 


HISTORY  OF  THE    REFORMATION 


Rome  in  expiation  of  the  cruelties  of 
Avhich  he  was  accused :  his  people  had 
expelled  him.  Having  repaired  to  Sax- 
ony, to  his  uncle  the  Elector,  he  had 
there  heard  Luther,  and  had  embraced 
the  evangelical  doctrines,  as  far  at  least  as 
external  profession  goes.  This  poor  de- 
throned king  could  not  resist  the  elo- 
quence of  the  powerful  ruler  of  two 
worlds,  and  Christian,  won  over  by 
Charles  the  Fifth,  publicly  placed  him- 
self again  under  the  sceptre  of  the  Roman 
hierarchy.  All  the  papal  party  uttered 
a  shout  of  triumph.  Nothing  equals 
their  credulity,  and  the  importance  they 
attach  to  such  valueless  accessions.  "  I 
cannot  describe  the  emotion  with  which 
this  news  has  filled  me,"  wrote  Clement 
VII.  to  Charles,  his  hand  trembling  with 
joy  ;  "  the  brightness  of  your  Majesty's 
virtues  begins  at  last  to  scatter  the  dark- 
ness :  this  example  will  lead  to  number- 
less conversions." 

Things  were  in  this  state,  when  Duke 
George  of  Saxony,  Duke  William  of 
Bavaria,  and  the  Elector  Joachim  of 
Brandenburg,  the  three  German  princes 
who  were  the  greatest  enemies  of  the 
Reformation,  hastily  arrived  at  Innspruck. 

The  tranquillity  of  the  Elector,  whom 
they  had  seen  at  Augsburg,  had  alarmed 
them,  for  they  knew  not  the  source 
whence  John  derived  his  courage  ;  they 
imagined  that  he  was  revolving  in  his 
mind  some  perfidious  design.  "  It  is  not 
without  reason,"  said  they  to  Charles, 
"  that  the  Elector  John  has  repaired  the 
first  to  Augsburg,  and  that  he  appeared 
there  with  a  considerable  train  :  he  wish- 
es to  seize  your  person.  Act  then  with 
energy,  and  allow  us  to  offer  your  Majes- 
ty a  guard  of  six  thousand  horse."*  Con- 
ference upon  conference  immediately 
took  place.  The  Protestants  were  af- 
frighted. "  They  are  holding  a  diet  at 
Innspruck,"  said  Melancthon,  "  on  the 
best  means  of  having  our  heads."f  But 
Gattinara  prevailed  on  Charles  to  pre- 
serve his  neutrality. 

While  all  was  thus  agitated  in  the  Ty- 
rol, the  Evangelical  Christians,  instead  of 
mustering  in  arms,  as  they  were  accused, 
sent  up  their  prayers  to  heaven,  and  the 

*  Ut  mascule  agerct,  sex  mille  equit.um,  pre- 
sidium ei  offerentes.-— (Seek.  ii.  p.  156.) 

t  Ibi  habentur  de  nostris  cervicibus  comitia  — 
(Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  45.) 


Protestant  princes  were  preparing  to  ren- 
der an  account  of  their  faith. 

The  Elector  of  Saxony  held  the  first 
rank  among  them.  Sincere,  upright,  and 
pure  from  his  youth,  early  disgusted  with 
the  brilliant  tourneys  in  which  he  had  at 
first  taken  part,  John  of  Saxony  had  joy- 
fully hailed  the  day  of  the  Reformation, 
and  the  Gospel  light  had  gradually  pen- 
etrated his  serious  and  reflective  mind. 
His  great  pleasure  was  to  have  the  Holy 
Scriptures  read  to  him  during  the  latter 
hours  of  the  day.  It  is  true  that,  having 
arrived  at  an  advanced  age,  the  pious 
Elector  sometimes  fell  asleep,  but  he  soon 
awoke  with  a  start,  and  repeated  the  last 
passage  aloud.  Although  moderate  and 
a  friend  of  peace,  he  yet  possessed  an  en- 
ergy that  was  powerfully  aroused  by  the 
great  interests  of  the  faith.  There  is  no 
prince  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and  none 
perhaps  since  the  primitive  times  of  the 
Church,  who  has  done  so  much  as  John 
of  Saxony  for  the  cause  of  the  Gospel. 
Accordingly  it  was  against  him  that  the 
first  efforts  of  the  Papists  were  directed. 

In  order  to  gain  him  over,  they  wished 
to  put  in  operation  very  different  tac- 
tics from  those  which  had  been  previous- 
ly employed.  At  Spire  the  Evangelicals 
had  met  with  angry  looks  in  every  quar- 
ter ;  at  Augsburg,  on  the  contrary,  the 
Papists  gave  them  a  hearty  welcome  ; 
they  represented  as  very  trifling  the  dis- 
tance that  separated  the  two  parties,  and 
in  their  private  conversations  uttered  the 
mildest  language,'  "  seeking  thus  to  make 
the  credulous  Protestants  take  the  bait," 
says  an  historian.*  The  latter  yielded 
with  simplicity  to  these  skilful  manoeu- 
vres. 

Charles  the  Fifth  was  convinced  that 
the  simple  Germans  would  not  be  able  to 
resist  his  star.  "  The  King  of  Denmark 
has  been  converted,"  said  his  courtiers  to 
him,  "  why  should  not  the  Elector  follow 
his  example  1  Let  us  draw  him  into  the 
imperial  atmosphere."  John  was  imme- 
diately invited  to  come  and  converse  fa- 
miliarly with  the  Emperor  at  Innspruck, 
with  an  assurance  that  he  might  reckon 
on  Charles's  particular  favour. 

The  Prince-electoral,  John  Frederick, 
who  on  seeing  the  advances  of  the  Pa- 
pists had  at  first  exclaimed :  "  We  con- 
duct our  affairs  with  such  awkwardness, 
*  Seckendorf. 


THE  AUGSBURG   CONFESSION.     1530. 


683 


that  it  is  quite  pitiable  !"  allowed  himself 
to  be  caught  by  this  stratagem.  "  The 
Papist  princes,"  said  he  to  his  father,  "  ex- 
ert every  mtans  of  blackening  our  char- 
acters. Go  to  Innspruck  in  order  to  put 
a  stop  to  these  underhand  practices  ;  or  if 
you  are  unwilling,  send  me  in  your 
place." 

This  time  the  prudent  Elector  mode- 
rated his  son's  precipitancy,  and  replied 
to  Charles's  ministers,  that  it  was  not 
proper  to  treat  of  the  affairs  of  the  diet 
in  any  other  place  than  that  which  the 
Emperor  had  himself  appointed,  and  he 
begged,  in  consequence,  that  his  majesty 
would  hasten  his  arrival.  This  was  the 
first  check  that  Charles  met  with. 

III.  Meantime  Augsburg  was  filling 
,  more  and  more  every  day.  Princes, 
bishops,  deputies,  gentlemen,  cavaliers, 
soldiers  in  rich  uniforms,  entered  by  every 
gate,  and  thronged  the  streets,  the  public 
places,  inns,  churches,  and  palaces.  All 
that  was  most  magnificent  in  Germany 
was  there  about  to  be  collected.  The 
critical  circumstances  in  which  the  em- 
pire and  Christendom  were  placed,  the 
presence  of  Charles  V.  and  his  kindly 
manners,  the  love  of  novelty,  of  grand 
shows,  and  of  lively  emotions,  tore  the 
Germans  from  their  homes.  All  those 
who  had  great  interests  to  discuss,  with- 
out reckoning  a  crowd  of  idlers,  flocked 
from  the  various  provinces  of  the  empire, 
and  hastily  made  their  way  towards  this 
illustrious  city.* 

In  the  midst  of  this  crowd  the  Elector 
and  the  Landgrave  were  resolved  to  con- 
fess Jesus  Christ,  and  to  take  advantage 
of  this  convocation  in  order  to  convert 
the  empire.  Scarcely  had  John  arrived 
when  he  ordered  one  of  his  theologians 
to  preach  daily  with  open  doors  in  the 
church  of  the  Dominicans.!  On  Sunday 
the  8th  May,  the  same  was  done  in  the 
church  of  St.  Catherine  ;  on  the  13th, 
Philip  of  Hesse  opened  the  gates  of  the 
cathedral,  and  his  chaplain  Snepff  there 
preached  the  Word  of  Salvation  ;  and  on 
the  following  Sunday  (May  15)  this 
prince  ordered  Cellarius,  minister  of 
Augsburg  and  a  follower  of  Zwingle,  to 
preach  in  the  same  temple.     Somewhat 

*  Omnes  alliciebat. — (Cochlaeus,  p.  191.) 
t  Rogantibus  Augustanis  publice  in  templum 
Dominicorum. — (Seek.  Lat.  p.  193.) 


later  the  Landgrave  firmly  settled  him- 
self in  the  church  of  St.  Ulric,  and  the 
Elector  in  that  of  St.  Catherine.  These 
were  the  two  positions  taken  up  by  these 
illustrious  princes.  Every  day  the  Gos- 
pel was  preached  in  these  places  before 
an  immense  and  attentive  crowd.* 

The  partisans  of  Rome  were  amazed. 
They  expected  to  see  criminals  endeav- 
ouring to  dissemble  their  faults,  and  they 
met  with  confessors  of  Christ  with  up- 
lifted heads  and  words  of  power.  Desi- 
rous of  counterbalancing  these  preach- 
ings, the  Bishop  of  Augsburg  ordered 
his  suffragan  and  his  chaplain  to  ascend 
the  pulpit.  But  the  Romish  priests  un- 
derstood better  how  to  say  Mass  than  to 
preach  the  Gospel.  "  They  shout,  they 
bawl,"  said  some.  "  They  are  stupid 
fellows,"  added  all  their  hearers,  shrug- 
ging their  shoulders.! 

The  Romanists,  ashamed  of  their  own 
priests,  began  to  grow  angry,!  an(^  un" 
able  to  hold  their  ground  by  preaching, 
they  had  recourse  to  the  secular  arm. 
"  The  priests  are  setting  wondrous  ma- 
chines at  work  to  gain  Caesar's  mind," 
said  Melancthon.§  They  succeeded,  and 
Charles  made  known  his  displeasure  at 
the  hardihood  of  the  princes.  The 
friends  of  the  Pope  then  drew  near  the 
Protestants  and  whispered  into  their  ears 
"  that  the  Emperor,  victor  over  the  King 
of  France  and  the  Roman  Pontiff,  would 
appear  in  Germany  to  crush  all  the  Gos- 
pellers."||  The  anxious  Elector  de- 
manded the  advice  of  his  theologians. 

Before  the  answer  was  ready,  Charles's 
orders  arrived,  carried  by  two  of  his  most 
influential  ministers,  the  Counts  of  Nas- 
sau and  of  Nuenar.  A  more  skilful 
choice  could  not  have  been  made.  These 
two  nobles,  although  devoted  to  Charles, 
were  favourable  to  the  Gospel,  which  they 
professed  not  long  after.  The  Elector 
was  therefore  fully  disposed  to  listen  to 
their  counsel. 

On  the  24th  May,  the  two  Counts  de- 

*  Tiiodig  in  den  kirchen,  unverstort;  dazu 
kommt  sehr  viel  Volks. — (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  53.) 

t  Clamant  et  vociferantur.  Audires  homines 
stupidissimos  atque  etiam  sensu  communi  caren- 
tes.— (Ibid.  p.  86.) 

t  Urebat  hoc  pontifices. — (Scultet.  p.  271 .) 

(,  '0<  dox'cpelt  miris  machinis  oppugnant. — 
(Corp.  Ref.'ii.  p.  70.) 

II  Evangelicos  omnes  obtriturum. — (Scultet.  p. 
269.) 


684 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


livered  their  letters  to  John  of  Saxony, 
and  declared  to  him  that  the  Emperor 
was  exceedingly  grieved  that  religious 
controversies  should  disturb  the  good  un- 
derstanding that  had  for  so  many  years 
united  the  houses  of  Saxony  and  Aus- 
tria;* that  he  was  astonished  at  seeing 
the  Elector  oppose  an  edict  (that  of 
Worms)  which  had  been  unanimously 
passed  by  all  the  states  of  the  Empire ; 
that  the  alliances  he  had  made  tended  to 
tear  asunder  the  unity  of  Germany,  and 
might  inundate  it  with  blood.  They  re- 
quired at  last  that  the  Elector  would  im- 
mediately put  a  stop  to  the  evangelical 
preachings,  and  added,  in  a  confidential 
tone,  that  they  trembled  at  the  thought 
of  the  immediate  and  deplorable  conse- 
quences that  would  certainly  follow  the 
Elector's  refusal.  "This,"  said  they,  "is 
only  the  expression  of  our  own  personal 
sentiments."  It  was  a  diplomatic  man- 
oeuvre, the  Emperor  having  enjoined 
them  to  give  utterance  to  a  few  threats, 
but  that  solely  on  their  own  account. f 

The  Elector  was  greatly  agitated. 
':  If  his  majesty  forbids  the  preaching  of 
the  Gospel,"  exclaimed  he,  "  I  shall  im- 
mediately return  home."}:  He  waited 
however  for  the  advice  of  his  theolo- 
gians. 

Luther's  answer  was  ready  first.  "  The 
Emperor  is  our  master,"  said  he  ;  "  the 
town  and  all  that  is  in  it  belong  to  him. 
If  your  Highness  should  give  orders  at 
Torgau  for  this  to  be  done,  and  for  that 
to  be  left  undone,  the  people  ought  not  to 
resist.  I  should  prefer  endeavouring  to 
change  his  majesty's  decision  by  humble 
and  respectful  solicitations ;  but  if  he  per- 
sists, might  makes  right ;  we  have  but 
done  our  duty."§  Thus  spoke  the  man 
who  has  often  been  represented  as  a 
rebel. 

Melancthon  and  the  others  were  near- 
ly of  the  same  opinion  ;  only  they  insist- 
ed more  on  the  necessity  of  representing 
to  the  Emperor  "  that  they  did  not  speak 
of  controversy  in  their  sermons,  but  were 
content  simply  to  teach  the  doctrine  of 

*  These  instructions  may  be  found  in  Coelestin, 
i.  p.  50,  and  Forstemann  Urk.  i.  p.  220, 

t  Quidquid  duri  Electori  denuntiabant  suo  ve- 
Iuti  nomine  et  iniussi  dicebant. — (Seek.  ii.  p. 
156.) 

t  Den  niichsten  heim  zu  reiten.— (Corp.  Ref. 
ii.  p.  88.) 

§  L.  Epp.  iv.  p.  18. 


Christ  the  Saviour.*  Let  us  beware, 
above  all,"  continued  they,  "  of  abandon- 
ing the  place.  Let  your  highness  with 
an  intrepid  heart  cojifess  in  presence  of 
his  majesty  by  what  wonderful  ways  you 
have  attained  to  a  right  understanding  of 
the  truth,!  and  do  not  allow  yourself  to 
be  alarmed  at  these  thunder-claps  that  fall 
from  the  lips  of  our  enemies."  To  con- 
fess the  truth,  such  was  the  object  to 
which,  according  to  the  Reformers,  every- 
thing else  should  be  subordinate. 

Will  the  Elector  yield  to  this  first  de- 
mand of  Charles,  and  thus  begin,  even 
before  the  Emperor's  arrival,  that  list  of 
sacrifices,  the  end  of  which  cannot  be 
foreseen  ? 

No  one  in  Augsburg  was  firmer  than 
John.  In  vain  did  the  Reformers  repre- 
sent that  they  were  in  the  Emperor's 
city,  and  only  strangers  :|  the  Elector 
shook  his  head.  Melancthon  in  despair 
wrote  to  Luther  :  '•  Alas  !  how  untracta- 
ble  is  our  old  man  !"§  Nevertheless  he 
again  returned  to  the  charge.  Fortu- 
nately there  was  an  intrepid  man  at  the 
Elector's  right  hand,  the  chancellor 
Bruck,  who  feeling  convinced  that  policy, 
honour,  and  above  all,  duty,  bound  the 
friends  of  the  Reformation  to  resist  the 
menaces  of  Charles,  said  to  the  Elector : 
"  The  Emperor's  demand  is  but  a  worthy 
beginning  to  bring  about  the  definitive 
abolition  of  the  Gospel.  ||  If  we  yield  at 
present,  they  will  crush  us  by  and  by. 
Let  us  therefore  humbly  beg  his  majesty 
to  permit  the  continuance  of  the  sermons." 
Thus,  at  that  time,  a  statesman  stood  in 
the  foremost  rank  of  the  confessors  of 
Jesus  Christ.  This  is  one  of  the  charac- 
teristic features  of  this  great  age,  and  it 
must  not  be  forgotten,  if  we  would  un- 
derstand its  history  aright. 

On  the  31st  May,  the  Elector  sent  his 
answer  in  writing  to  Charles's  ministers. 
"  It  is  not  true,"  it  bore,  "  that  the  Edict 
of  Worms  was  approved  of  by  the  six 
Electors.  How  could  the  Elector,  my 
brother,    and    myself,   by   approving   it, 

*  Nullas  materias  disputabiles  a  nobis  doceri. — 
(Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  72.) 

t  Quo  modo  plane  inenarrabili  atque  mirifico. 
—(Ibid.  p.  74.) 

I  In  cujus  urbe  jam  sumus  hospites. — (Ibid.  p. 
46.) 

§  Sed  noster  senex  difficilis  est. — (Ibid.) 

II  Ein  fiigsamer  Anfang  der  Niderbrengung  des 
Evangelii. — (Ibid.  p.  76. J 


THE   AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


685 


have"  opposed  the  everlasting  word  of 
Almighty  God?  Accordingly,  succeed- 
ing diets  have  declared  this  edict  impos- 
sible to  be  executed.  As  for  the  rela- 
tions of  friendship  that  I  have  formed, 
their  only  aim  is  to  protect  me  against  acts 
of  violence.  Let  my  accusers  lay  before 
the  eyes  of  his  majesty  the  alliances  they 
have  made  ;  I  am  ready  to  produce  mine, 
and  the  Emperor  shall  decide  between 
us. — Finally,  As  to  the  demand  to  sus- 
pend our  preachings,  nothing  is  proclaim- 
ed in  them  but  the  glorious  truth  of  God, 
and  never  was  it  so  necessary  to  us.  We 
cannot  therefore  do  without  it  !"* 

This  reply  must  necessarily  hasten  the 
arrival  of  Charles ;  and  it  was  urgent 
they  should  be  prepared  to  receive  him. 
To  explain  what  they  believe,  and  then 
be  silent,  was  the  whole  plan  of  the 
Protestant  campaign.  A  confession  was 
therefore  necessary.  One  man,  of  small 
stature,  frail,  timid,  and  in  great  alarm, 
was  commissioned  to  prepare  this  instru- 
ment of  war.  Philip  Melancthon  work- 
ed at  it  night  and  day :  he  weighed  every 
expression,  softened  it  down,  changed  it, 
and  then  frequently  returned  to  his  first 
idea.  He  was  wasting  away  his  strength  ; 
his  friends  trembled  lest  he  should  die 
over  his  task ;  and  Luther  enjoined  him, 
as  early  as  the  12th  of  May,  under  pain 
of  anathema,  to  take  measures  for  the 
preservation  of  "  his  little  body,"  and  not 
"  to  commit  suicide  for  the  love  of  God."f 
a  God  is  as  usefully  served  by  repose," 
added  he,  "  and  indeed  man  never  serves 
him  better  than  by  keeping  himself  tran- 
quil. It  is  for  this  reason  God  willed 
that  the  Sabbath  should  be  so  strictly  ob- 
served.":}: 

Notwithstanding  these  solicitations, 
Melancthon's  application  augmented,  and 
he  set  about  an  exposition  of  the  chris- 
tian faith,  at  once  mild,  moderate,  and  as 
little  removed  as  possible  from  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Latin  Church.  At  Coburg 
he  had  already  put  his  hand  to  the  task, 
and  traced  out  in  the  first  part  the  doc- 
trines of  the  faith,  according  to  the  arti- 
cles of  Schwabach ;  and  in  the  second, 
the  abuses  of  the  Church,  according  to 

*  Quo  carere  non  possit. — (Seek.  p.  156 ;  Mul- 
ler,  Hist.  Prot.  p.  506.) 

t  Ut  sub  anathemate  cogam  te  in  regulas  ser- 
vanda corpusculi  tui. —  (L.  Epp  iv.  p.  16.) 

t  Ideo  enim  Sabbatum  voluit  tarn  rigide  prse  ce- 
teris servari. — (Ibid.) 


the  articles  of  Torgau,  making  altogether 
quite  a  new  work.  At  Augsburg  he 
gave  a  more  correct  and  elegant  form  to 
this  confession.* 

The  Apology,  as  it  was  then  called, 
was  completed  on  the  1 1th  May ;  and 
the  Elector  sent  it  to  Luther,  begging 
him  to  mark  what  ought  to  be  changed. 
"  I  have  said  what  I  thought  most  use- 
ful," added  Melancthon,  who  feared  that 
his  friend  would  find  the  confession  too 
weak  ;  "  for  Eck  ceases  not  to  circulate 
against  us  the  most  diabolical  calumnies, 
and  I  have  endeavoured  to  oppose  an  an- 
tidote to  his  poisons."! 

Luther  replied  to  the  Elector  on  the 
15th  May:  "I  have  read  Magister 
Philip's  Apology ;  I  like  it  well  enough, 
I  have  no  corrections  to  make.  Besides, 
that  would  hardly  suit  me,  for  I  cannot 
walk  so  meekly  and  so  silently.  May 
Christ  our  Lord  grant  that  this  work 
may  produce  much  and  great  fruit." 

Each  day,  however,  the  Elector's 
councillors  and  theologians,  in  concert 
with  Melancthon,  improved  the  confes- 
sion, and  endeavoured  to  render  it  such 
that  the  charmed  diet  should,  in  its  own 
despite,  hear  it  to  the  very  end.f 

While  the  struggle  was  thus  preparing 
at  Ausfsburof.  Luther  at  Coburg-,  on  the 
summit  of  the  hill,  "  on  his  Sinai,"  as  he 
called  it,  raised  his  hands  like  Moses  to- 
wards heaven.^  He  was  the  real  general  of 
the  spiritual  war  that  was  then  waging ; 
his  letters  ceased  not  to  bear  to  the  com- 
batants the  directions  which  they  needed, 
and  numerous  pamphlets  issuing  from 
his  stronghold,  like  discharges  of  muske- 
try, spread  confusion  in  the  enemy's  camp. 

The  place  where  he  had  been  left  was, 
by  its  solitude,  favourable  to  study  and  to 
meditation. |[  "I  shall  make  a  Zion  of 
this  Sinai,"  said  he  on  the  22d  April, 
"  and  I  shall. build  here  three  tabernacles ; 
one  to  the  Psalms,  one  to  the  Prophets, 

and    one  to    Esop !"       This    last 

word  is  a  startling  one.  The  association 
belongs  neither  to  the  language  nor  the 

*  More  rhetorically.  Feci  aliquando  poropiKui- 
reoov  quam  Coburgse  scripseram. — (Corp.  Ref.  ii. 

P-40) 

t  Quia  Eckius  addidit  <5<a/?oAi/<wrdrar  <5ia/?oXa$ 

contra  nos. — (Corp.  Ref.  p.  45.) 

X  In  Apologia  qwotidie  multa  mutamus. — (Ibid, 
p.  60.) 

§  Mathesius  Predigten,  p.  92. 

II  Longe  amaenissimus  et  studiis  commodissi- 
mus. — (L.  Epp.  iv.  p.  2.) 


686 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


spirit  of  the  Apostles.  It  is  true  that 
Esop  was  not  to  be  his  principal  study  : 
the  fables  were  soon  laid  aside,  and  truth 
alone  engaged  Luther.  "  I  shall  weep,  I 
shall  pray,  I  shall  never  be  silent,"  wrote 
he,  "  until  I  know  that  my  cry  has  been 
heard  in  heaven."* 

Besides,  by  way  of  relaxation,  he  had 
something  better  than  Esop ;  he  had 
those  domestic  joys  whose  precious  treas- 
ures the  Reformation  had  opened  to  the 
ministers  of  the  Word.  It  was  at  this 
time  he  wrote  that  charming  letter  to  his 
infant  son,  in  which  he  describes  a  de- 
lightful garden  where  children  dressed  in 
gold  are  sporting  about,  picking  up  ap- 
ples, pears,  cherries,  and  plums  ;  they 
sing,  dance,  and  enjoy  themselves,  and 
ride  pretty  little  horses,  with  golden  bri- 
dles and  silver  saddles.f 

But  the  Reformer  was  soon  drawn 
away  from  these  pleasing  images.  About 
this  time  he  learnt  that  his  father  had 
gently  fallen  asleep  in  the  faith  which  is 
in  Jesus  Christ.  "Alas!"  exclaimed  he, 
shedding  tears  of  filial  love,  "  it  is  by  the 
sweat  of  his  brow  that  he  made  me  what 
I  am. "J  Other  trials  assailed  him  ;  and 
to  bodily  pains  were  added  the  phantoms 
of  his  imagination.  One  night  in  partic- 
ular he  saw  three  torches  pass  rapidly  be- 
fore his  eyes,  and  at  the  same  moment  he 
heard  claps  of  thunder  in  his  head,  which 
he  ascribed  to  the  devil.  His  servant  ran 
in  at  the  moment  he  fainted,  and  after 
having  restored  him  to  animation,  read 
to  him  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians.  Lu- 
ther, who  had  fallen  asleep,  said  as  he 
awoke  :  "  Come,  and  despite  of  the  devil 
let  us  sing  the  Psalm,  Out  of  the  depths 
have  I  cried  unto  thee,  O  Lord."  They 
both  sang  the  hymn.  While  Luther  was 
thus  tormented  by  these  internal  noises, 
he  translated  the  prophet  Jeremiah,  and 
yet  he  often  deplored  his  idleness. 

He  soon  devoted  himself  to  other  stud- 
ies, and  poured  out  the  floods  of  his  irony 
on  the  mundane  practices  of  courts.  He 
saw  Venice,  the  Pope,  and  the  King  of 
France,  giving  their  hands  to  Charles  V. 
to  crush  the  Gospel.     Then,  alone  in  his 

*  Orabo  igitur  et  plorabo,  non  quieturus  donee, 
&c. — (L.  Epp.  iv.  p.  2.) 

t  This  letter,vvhich  is  a  masterpiece  of  its  kind, 
may  be  found  in  Luther's  Epp.  iv.  p.  41,  and  also 
in  Riddle's  "Luther  and  his  Times,"  p.  268. 

I  Per  ejus  sudores  aluit  et  finxit  qualis  sum. — 
(Epp.  iv.  p.  33.) 


chamber  in  the  old  castle,  he  burst  into 
irresistible  laughter.  "  Mr.  Par-ma-foy, 
(it  was  thus  he  designated  Francis  I.),  In- 
nomine- Domini  (the  Pope),  and  the  Re- 
public of  Venice,  pledge  their  goods  and 

their  bodies  to  the  Emperor Sanctis- 

simumfadus.  A  most  holy  alliance  tru- 
ly !  This  league  between  these  four  pow- 
ers belongs  to  the  chapter  Non-credimus. 
Venice,  the  Pope,  and  France  become 
imperialists  ! But  these  are  three  per- 
sons in  one  substance,  filled  with  unspeak- 
able hatred  against  the  Emperor.  Mr. 
Par-ma-foy  cannot  forget  his  defeat  at  Pa- 
via  ;  Mr.  In-nomine-Domini  is,  1st,  an  Ital- 
ian, which  is  already  too  much ;  2d,  a 
Florentine,  which  is  worse  ;  3d,  a  bas- 
tard— that  is  to  say.  a  child  of  the  devil  ; 
4th,  he  will  never  forget  the  disgrace  of 
the  sack  of  Rome.  As  for  the  Venetians, 
they  are  Venetians :  that  is  quite  enough  ; 
and  they  have  good  reason  to  avenge 
themselves  on  the  posterity  of  Maximil- 
ian. All  this  belongs  to  the  chapter  Fir- 
miter-credimus.  But  God  will  help  the 
pious  Charles,  who  is  a  sheep  among 
wolves.  Amen."*  The  former  monk 
of  Erfurth  had  a  surer  political  foresight 
than  many  diplomatists  of  his  age. 

Impatient  at  seeing  the  diet  put  off  from 
day  to  day,  Luther  formed  his  resolution, 
and  ended  by  convoking  it  even  at  Co- 
burg.  "  We  are  already  in  full  assem- 
bly," wrote  he  on  the  28th  April  and  the 
9th  May.  "  You  might  here  see  kings, 
dukes,  and  other  grandees,  deliberating  on 
the  affairs  of  their  kingdom,  and  with  in- 
defatigable voice  publishing  their  dogmas 
and  decrees  in  the  air.  They  dwell  not 
in  those  caverns  which  you  decorate  with 
the  name  of  palaces ;  the  heavens  are 
their  canopy ;  the  leafy  trees  form  a  floor 
of  a  thousand  colours,  and  their  walls  are 
the  ends  of  the  earth.  They  have  a  hor- 
ror of  all  the  unmeaning  luxury  of  silk 
and  gold  ;  they  ask  neither  coursers  nor 
armour,  and  have  all  the  same  clothing 
and  the  same  colour.  I  have  neither  seen 
nor  heard  their  emperor  ;  but  if  I  can  un- 
derstand them,  they  have  determined  this 

year  to  make  a  pitiless  war  upon the 

most  excellent  fruits  of  the  earth. — Ah  ! 
my  dear  friends,"  said  he  to  his  mess- 
mates,! to  whom  he  was  writing,  "  these 

*  To  Gasp,  of  Teutleben,  19th  June.— (L.  Epp. 
iv.  p.  37.) 

t  An  seine  Tischgesellen. — (L.  Epp.  iv.  p.  7.) 


THE   AUGSBURG   CONFESSION.     1530. 


687 


are  the  sophists,  the  Papists,  who  are  as- 
sembled before  me  in  a  heap,  to  make  me 
hear  their  sermons  and  their  cries." — 
These  two  letters,  dated  from  the  "  empire 
of  ravens  and  crows"  finish  in  the  follow- 
ing mournful  strain,  which  shows  us  the 
Reformer  descending  into  himself  after 
this  play  of  his  imagination :  "  Enough 
of  jesting  ! — jesting  which  is,  however, 
sometimes  necessary  to  dispel  the  gloomy 
thoughts  that  prey  upon  me."* 

Luther  soon  returned  to  real  life,  and 
thrilled  with  joy  at  beholding  the  fruits 
that  the  Reformation  was  already  bearing, 
and  which  were  for  him  a  more  powerful 
"  apology "  than  even  the  confession  of 
Melancthon.  "  Is  there  in  the  whole  world 
a  single  country  to  be  compared  to  your 
highness's  states,"  wrote  he  to  the  Elector, 
"  and  which  possesses  preachers  of  so  pure 
a  doctrine,  or  pastors  so  fitted  to  bring 
about  the  reign  of  peace  ?  Where  do 
we  see,  as  in  Saxony,  boys  and  girls  well 
instructed  in  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  in 
the  Catechism,  increasing  in  wisdom  and 
in  stature,  praying,  believing,  talking  of 
God  and  of  Christ  better  than  has  been 
done  hitherto  by  all  the  universities,  con- 
vents, and  chapters  of  Christendom  ?"f 
"  My  dear  Duke  John,  says  the  Lord  to 
you,  I  commend  this  paradise  to  thee,  the 
most  beautiful  idiat  exists  in  the  world, 
that  thou  mayst  be  its  gardener."  And 
then  he  added :  "  Alas !  the  madness  of 
the  Papist  princes  changes  this  paradise 
of  God  into  a  dirty  slough,  and  corrupt- 
ing the  youth,  peoples  every  day  with 
real  devils  their  states,  their  tables,  and 
their  palaces." 

Luther,  not  content  with  encouraging 
his  prince,  desired  also  to  frighten  his  ad- 
versaries. It  was  with  this  intent  that  he 
wrote  at  that  time  an  address  to  the  mem- 
bers of  the  clergy  assembled  at  Augs- 
burg. A  crowd  of  thoughts,  like  lans- 
quenets armed  cap-a-pie,  "  rushed  in  to 
fatigue  and  bewilder  him  ;"J  and  in  fact 
there  is  no  want  of  barbed  words  in  the 
discourse  he  addresses  to  the  bishops. 
"  In  short,"  said  he  to  them  in  conclusion, 
"  we  know  and  you  know  that  we  have 

*  Sed  serio  et  necessario  joco  qui  mihi  irruen- 
tes  cogitationes  repelleret. — (L.  Epp.  iv.  p.  14.) 

t  Eswachst  jetz  daher  die  zart  Jugend  von 
Knablin  un  Maidlin. — (Ibid.  p.  21.) 

X  Ut  plurimos  Lansknecktos.  prorsus  vi  repel- 
Iere  cogar,  qui  insalutati  non  cessant  obstrepcre. 
— (L.  Epp.  iv.  p.  10.) 


the  Word  of  God,  and  that  you  have  it 
not.  O  Pope  !  if  I  live  I  shall  be  a  pes- 
tilence to  thee ;  and  if  I  die,  I  shall  be 
thy  death  !"* 

Thus  was  Luther  present  at  Augs- 
burg, although  invisible  ;  and  he  effected 
more  by  his  words  and  by  his  prayers 
than  Agricola,  Brenz,  or  Melancthon. 
These  were  the  days  of  travail  for  the 
Gospel  truth.  It  was  about  to  appear  in 
the  world  with  a  might  that  was  destined 
to  eclipse  all  that  had  been  done  since 
the  time  of  St.  Paul ;  but  Luther  only 
announced  and  manifested  the  things 
that  God  was  effecting  :  he  did  not  exe- 
cute them  himself.  He  was,  as  regards 
the  events  of  the  Church,  what  Socrates 
was  to  philosophy  :  "  I  imitate  my  moth- 
er (she  was  a  midwife),"  this  philosopher 
was  in  the  habit  of  saying ;  "  she  does 
not  travail  herself,  but  she  aids  others." 
Luther — and  he  never  ceased  repeating 
it — has  created  nothing ;  but  he  has 
brought  to  light  the  precious  seed,  hidden 
for  ages  in  the  bosom  of  the  Church. 
The  man  of  God  is  not  he  who  seeks  to 
form  his  age  according  to  his  own  pecu- 
liar ideas,  but  he  who,  distinctly  perceiv- 
ing God's  truth,  such  as  it  is  found  in  his 
Word,  and  as  it  is  hidden  in  his  Church, 
brings  it  to  his  contemporaries  with  cour- 
age and  decision. 

Never  had  these  qualities  been  more 
necessary,  for  matters  were  taking  an 
alarming  aspect.  On  the  4th  June  died 
Chancellor  Gattinara,  who  was  to 
Charles  the  Fifth  "  what  Ulpian  was  to 
Alexander  Severus,"  says  Melancthon, 
and  with  him  all  the  human  hopes  of  the 
Protestants  vanished.  "  It  is  God,"  Lu- 
ther had  said,  "  who  has  raised  up  for  us 
a  Naaman  in  the  court  of  the  King  of 
Syria."  In  truth  Gattinara  alone  resisted 
the  Pope.  When  Charles  brought  to 
him  the  objections  of  Rome  :  "  Remem- 
ber," said  the  Chancellor,  "  that  you  are 
master !"  Henceforward  every  thing 
seemed  to  take  a  new  direction.  The 
Pope  required  that  Charles  should  be 
satisfied  with  being  his  "  lictor,"  as  Lu- 
ther says,  to  carry  out  his  judgments 
against  the  heretics. f  Eck,  whose  name 
(according  to   Melancthon)  was  no  bad 

*  Pestis  eram  vivus,  moriens  ero  mors  tua,  Papa. 
— (L.  Opp.  xx.  p.  164.)  '     • 

t  Tantum  lictorem  suum  in  hareticos.  —(Epp. 
iv.p.  10) 


688 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


imitation  of  the  cry  of  Luther's  crows, 
heaped  one  upon  another*  a  multitude 
of  pretended  heretical  propositions,  ex- 
tracted from  the  Reformer's  writings. 
There  were  four  hundred  and  four,  and 
yet  he  made  excuse  that,  heing  taken 
unawares,  he  was  forced  to  restrict  him- 
self to  so  small  a  number,  and  he  called 
loudly  for  a  disputation  with  the  Luther- 
ans. They  retorted  on  these  propositions 
by  a  number  of  ironical  and  biting  theses 
on  "  wine,  Venus,  and  baths,  against 
John  Eck  ;"  and  the  poor  Doctor  became 
the  laughing-stock  of  everybody. 

But  others  went  to  work  more  skilful- 
ly than  he.  Cochlceus,  Avho  became 
chaplain  to  Duke  George  of  Saxony  in 
1527,  begged  an  interview  with  Melanc- 
thon,  a  for,"  added  he, "  I  cannot  converse 
with  your  married  ministers."!  Melanc- 
thon,  who  was  looked  upon  with  an  evil 
eye  at  Augsburg,  and  who  had  com- 
plained of  being  more  solitary  there  than 
Luther  in  his  castle,^  was  touched  by 
this  courtesy,  and  was  still  more  fully 
penetrated  with  the  idea  that  things  should 
be  ordered  in  the  mildest  manner  possible. 

The  Romish  priests  and  laymen  made 
a  great  uproar,  because  on  fast  days  meat 
was  usually  eaten  at  the  Elector's  court. 
Melancthon  advised  his  prince  to  restrain 
the  liberty  of  his  attendants  in  this  re- 
spect. u  This  disorder,"  said  he,  "  far 
from  leading  the  simple-minded  to  the 
Gospel,  scandalizes  them."  He  added, 
in  his  ill-humour  :  "  A  fine  holiness  truly, 
to  make  it  a  matter  of  conscience  to  fast, 
and  yet  to  be  night  and  day  given  up  to 
wine  and  folly  !"§  The  Elector  did  not 
yield  to  Melancthon's  advice ;  it  would 
have  been  a  mark  of  weakness  of  which 
his  adversaries  would  have  known  how 
to  take  advantage. 

On  the  31st  May,  the  Saxon  confession 
was  at  length  communicated  to  the  other 
Protestant  states,  who  required  that  it 
should  be  presented  in  common  in  the 
name  of  them  all.||     But  at  the  same  time 

*  Magnum  acervum  conclusionum  congessit. — 
(Corp.  Ref.  p.  39.) 

t  Cum  ux  oralis  presbyteris  tuis  privatim  col- 
loqui  non  intendinius. — (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  82.) 

t  Nos  non  minus  sumus  monachi  quam  vos  in 
ilia  arce  vestra. — (Ibid.  p.  46.) 

§  Und  dennoch  Tag  und  Nacht  voll  und  toll 
sejn. — (Ibid.  p.  79.) 

II  In  gemein  in  aller  Fursten  und  Stadte  Na- 
men.— (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  88.) 


they  desired  to  make  their  reservations 
with  regard  to  the  influence  of  the  state. 
"  It  is  to  a  council  that  we  appeal,"  said 
Melancthon ;  "  we  will  not  receive  the 
Emperor  as  our  judge  ;  the  ecclesiastical 
constitutions  themselves  forbid  him  to 
pronounce  in  spiritual  matters.*  Moses 
declares  that  it  is  not  the  civil  magistrate 
who  decides,  but  the  sons  of  Levi.  St. 
Paul  also  says  (1  Cor.  xiv.),  '  let  the  others 
judge,'  which  cannot  be  understood  ex- 
cept of  an  entire  christian  assembly  ;  and 
the  Saviour  himself  gives  us  this  com- 
mandment :  '  Tell  it  unto  the  Church.1  We 
pledge,  therefore,  our  obedience  to  the 
Emperor  in  all  civil  matters  ;  but  as  for 
the  Word  of  God,  it  is  liberty  that  we 
demand." 

All  were  agreed  on  this  point ;  but  the 
dissent  came  from  another  quarter.     The 

i  Lutherans  feared  to  compromise  their 
cause  if  they  went  hand  in  hand  with 

|  the  Zwinglians.  "  This  is  Lutheran 
madness,"  replied  Bucer  :  "  it  will  perish 

I  of  its  own  weight."!  But,  far  from  al- 
lowing this  madness  "  to  perish,"  the  re- 
formed augmented  the  disunion  by  exag- 
gerated complaints.  "  In  Saxony  they 
are  beginning  to  sing  Latin  hymns  again," 
said  they  ;  "  the  sacred  vestments  are  re- 
sumed, and  oblations  are  called  for  anew.;}; 
We  would  rather  be  led  to  slaughter, 
than  be  Christians  after  that  fashion." 

The  afflicted  Landgrave,  says  Bucer, 
was  "  between  the  hammer  and  the  an- 
vil ;"  and  his  allies  caused  him  more  un- 
easiness than  his  enemies.^  He  applied 
to  Rhegius,  to  Brenz,  to  Melancthon, 
declaring  that  it  was  his  most  earnest 
wish  to  see  concord  prevail  among  all  the 
Evangelical  doctors.  "  If  these  fatal  doc- 
trines are  not  opposed,"  replied  Melanc- 
thon, "  there  will  be  rents  in  the  Church 
that  will  last  to  the  end  of  the  world. 
Do  not  the  Zwinglians  boast  of  their  full 
coffers,  of  having  soldiers  prepared,  and 
of  foreign  nations  disposed  to  aid  them  ? 
Do  they  not  talk  of  sharing  among  them 
the  rights  and  the  property  of  the  bish- 


*  Die  constiivtiones  canonicce  den  Kaysern  ver- 
bieten  zu  richten  und  sprechen  in  geistlichen  sa- 
chen. — (Ibid.  p.  66.) 

f  De  Lutheranis    furoribus sua  ipsi   mole 

ruent. — (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  432.) 

I  Hinc  Latinae  resumuntur  cantiones.  repetun- 
tur  sands  vestes. — (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  457.) 

§  Cattus  inter  sacrum  et  saxum  stat,  et  de 
sociis  magis  quam  hostibus  solicitus  est. — (Ibid.) 


THE   AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


689 


ops,  and  of  proclaiming  liberty 

Good  God !  shall  we  not  think  of  pos- 
terity, which,  if  we  do  not  repress  these 
guilty  seditions,  will  be  at  once  without 
throne  and  without  altar?"* — ';No.  no! 
we  are  one,"  replied  this  generous  prince, 
who  was  so  much  in  advance  of  his  age  ; 
"  we  all  confess  the  same  Christ,  we  all 
profess  that  we  mus*  eat  Jesus  Christ,  by 
faith,  in  the  Eucha.ist.  Let  us  unite." 
All  was  unavailing.  The  time  in  which 
true  catholicity  was  to  replace  this  secta- 
rian spirit,  of  which  Rome  is  the  most 
perfect  expression,  had  not  yet  arrived. 

IV.  In  proportion  as  the  Emperor 
drew  near  Augsburg,  the  anxieties  of  the 
Protesta  its  continued  increasing.  The 
burghers  of  this  imperial  city  expected  to 
see  it  become  the  theatre  of  strange 
events.  Accordingly  they  said  that  if 
the  Elector,  the  Landgrave,  and  other 
friends  of  the  Reformation  were  not  in 
the  midst  of  them,  they  would  all  desert 
it.f  ':  A  great  destruction  threatens  us," 
was  repeated  on  every  side.t  A  haughty 
expression  of  Charles  above  all  disquiet- 
ed the  Protestants.  "  What  do  these 
Electors  want  with  me  ?"  he  had  said 
impatiently  ;  ':  I  shall  do  what  I  please  !"§ 
Thus  arbitrary  rule  was  the  imperial 
law  destined  to  prevail  in  the  diet. 

To  this  agitation  of  men's  minds  was 
added  the  agitation  of  the  streets,  or  ra- 
ther one  led  to  the  other.  Masons  and 
locksmiths  were  at  work  in  all  the  public 
places  and  crossings,  laboriously  fastening 
barriers  and  chains  to  the  walls,  that 
might  be  closed  or  stretched  at  the  first 
cry  of  alarm.  j|  At  the  same  time  about 
eight  hundred  foot  and  horse  soldiers 
were  seen  patrolling  the  streets,  dressed 
in  velvet  and  silk.^I  whom  the  magistrates 
had  enrolled  in  order  to  receive  the  Em- 
peror with  magnificence. 

Matters  were  in  this  state,  and  it  was 
about  the  middle  of  May,  when  a  num- 

*  Keine  Kirche  und  kein  Regiment. — (Corp. 
Ref.  ii.  p.  95.) 

t  Wo  Sachsen,  Hessen,  und  andere  Lutheris- 
che  nit  hie  waren. — (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  89.) 

J  Minatur  nobis  Satan  grande  exitium. — (Ibid, 
p.  91) 

§  Er  wolte  es  machen,  wie  es  Ihm  eben  ware. — 
(Ibid.  p.  S3.) 

I1  Neu  aufgerichte  Ketten  und  Stock. — (Ibid. 
p.  66.) 

1  Mit  sammetundseide  aufs  kostuchstaus^es- 
trichen. — (Ibid.) 

87 


ber  of  Spanish  quartermasters  arrived, 
full  of  arrogance,  and  who  looked  with 
contemptuous  eyes  on  these  wretched 
burghers,  entered  their  houses,  conducted 
themselves  with  violence,  and  even  rude- 
ly tore  down  the  arms  of  some  of  the 
princes.*  The  magistrates  having  dele- 
gated councillors  to  treat  with  them,  the 
Spaniards  made  an  insolent  reply. 
';  Alas !"  said  the  citizens,  u  if  the  ser- 
A-ants  are  so,  what  will  their  master  be?" 
The  ministers  of  Charles  were  grieved 
at  their  impertinence,  and  sent  a  German 
quartermaster  who  employed  the  forms 
of  German  politeness  to  make  them  for- 
get this  Spanish  haughtiness. 

That  did  not  last  long,  and  they  soon 
felt  more  serious  alarm.  The  Council 
of  Augsburg  were  asked  what  was  the 
meaning  of  these  chains  and  soldiers,  and 
they  were  ordered,  in  the  Emperor's 
name,  to  take  down  the  one  and  disband 
the  other.  The  magistrates  of  the  city 
answered,  in  alarm.  -  For  more  than  ten 
years  past  we  have  intended  putting  up 
these  chains  ;f  and  as  for  the  soldiers,  our 
object  is  simply  to  pay  due  honour  to  his 
majesty."  After  many  parleys  it  was 
agreed  to  dismiss  the  troops,  and  that  the 
imperial  commanders  should  select  afresh 
a  thousand  men,  Avho  should  make  oath 
to  the  Emperor,  but  be  paid  by  the  city 
of  Augsburg. 

The  imperial  quartermasters  then  re- 
sumed all  their  impertinence ;  and  no  long- 
er giving  themselves  the  trouble  of  en- 
tering the  houses  and  the  shops,  they  tore 
down  the  signboards  of  the  Augsburg 
citizens,  and  wrote  in  their  place  how 
many  men  and  horses  they  would  be  re- 
quired to  lodge. | 

Such  were  the  preludes  to  the  work  of 
conciliation  that  Charles  V.  had  an- 
nounced, and  that  he  was  so  slow  in  be- 
ginning. Accordingly  his  delay,  attrib- 
uted by  some  to  the  crowds  of  people 
who  surrounded  him  with  their  acclama- 
tions ;  by  others,  to  the  solicitations  of  the 
priests,  who  opposed  his  entry  into  Augs- 
burg until  he  had  imposed  silence  on  the 
ministers  ;  and  by  others,  finally,-'  to  the 
lessons  the  Pope  had  given  him  in  the 

*  Den  jungen  Fiirsten  zu  neubourg  ihre  wap- 
pen  abgerissen. — (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  55.) 

t  Vor  zehn  Jahren  in  Sinn  gehalt. — (Ibid.  p. 
66.) 

t  Gehen  nicht  mehr  in  die  Hauser  und  schrie- 
ben  an  die  Thur.— (Ibid.  p.  89.) 


690  HISTORY  OP   THE   REFORMATION. 

arts  of  policy  and  stratagem1,*  still  more  I  alighted.     Their  sons,  who  had  advanced 
estranged  the  Elector  and  his  allies.,         j  beyond  the  bridge,  perceiving  the  Em- 
At  last  Charles,  having  quitted  Inn 


spruck  two  days  after  Gattinara's  death, 
arrived  at  Munich  on  the  10th  June. 
His  reception  was  magnificent.  At  the 
distance  of  two  miles  from  the  town  a 
temporary  fortress,  soldiers'  huts,  cannon, 
horsemen,  an  assault,  repeated  explosions, 
flames,  shouts,  whirlwinds  of  smoke,  and 
a  terrible  clashing  of  arms,  all  of  which 
was  very  agreeable  to  the  Emperor  ;f  in 
the  city,  theatres  raised  in  the  open  air, 
the  Jewess  Esther,  the  Persian  Cambyses, 
and  other  pieces  not  less  famous,  the 
whole  combined  with  splendid  fireworks, 
formed  the  reception  given  by  the  ad- 
herents of  the  Pope  to  him  whom  they 
style!  their  Saviour. 

Charles  was  not  far  distant  from  Augs- 
burg. As  early  as  the  1 1th  June,  every 
day  and  every  hour,  members  of  the  im- 
perial household,  carriages,  waggons,  and 
baggage  entered  this  city,  to  the  sound  of 
the  clacking  whip  and  of  the  horn  ;|  and 
the  burghers  in  amazement  gazed  with 
dejected  eyes  on  all  this  insolent  train, 
that  fell  upon  their  city  like  a  flight  of 
locusts.  § 

At  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the 
15th  June,||  the  Elector,  the  princes,  and 
their  councilors,  assembled  at  the  town- 
hall,  and  erelong  arrived  the  imperial 
commissaries,  having  an  order  for  them 
to  go  out  and  meet  Charles.  At  three  in 
the  afternoon  the  princes  and  deputies 
quitted  the  city,  and,  having  reached  a 
little  bridge  across  the  river  Lech,  they 
there  halted  and  waited  for  the  Emperor. 
The  eyes  of  every  member  of  the  bril- 
liant assemblage,  thus  stopping  on  the 
smiling  banks  of  an  alpine  torient,  were 
directed  along  the  road  to  Munich.  At 
length,  after  waiting  two  or  three  hours, 
clou  Is  of  dust  and  a  loud  noise  announc- 
el  the  Emperor.  Two  thousand  of^the 
imperial  guard  marched  'first ;  then 
Charles  having  come  to  within  fifty  pa- 
ces of  the  river,  the  Electors  and  princes 

*  Csesarem  instruction  arte  pontificurn  qucerere 
cau.^as  moi\B.—  (  L.  Epp.  iv.  p  31.) 

t  Das  hit  Kais.  M  ij.  wohl  gerMlon.— (Forste- 
nwnn,  Urkunden.  i.  p  -21G. ) 

;  All."  stand  die  vVir.n%  foT  Tross  urn!  vi,-l 
gesinds  nact  einander  harem. — [Corn.  Ret',  ii.  p. 
IK). ) 

6  Finderi  aber  wenig  Frenden  Feuer.— {Ibid.) 

II  Zu  ialagenm,  u.n  t'unf  Uhr.— (F.  Urkiffiden. 
i.  [>.  263.) 


peror  preparing  to  do  the  same,  ran  to 
him  and  begged  him  to  remain  on  horse- 
back ;*  but  Charles  dismounted  without 
hesitating,!  and  approaching  the  princes 
with  an  amiable  smile,  shook  hands  with 
them  cordially.  Albert  of  Mentz,  in  his 
quality  of  arch-chancellor  of  the  empire, 
now  welcomed  the  Emperor,  and  the 
Count-palatine  Frederick  replied  in  be- 
half of  Charles. 

While  this  was  passing,  three  individ- 
uals remained  apart  on  a  little  elevation  ;£ 
these  were  the  Roman  Legate,  proudly 
seated  on  a  mule,  glittering  with  purple, 
and  accompanied  by  two  other  cardinals, 
the  Archbishop  of  Salzburg  and  the  Bish- 
op of  Trent.  The  Nuncio,  beholding  all 
these  great  personages  on  the  road,  raised 
his  hands,  and  gave  them  his  blessing. 
Immediately  the  Emperor,  the  King,  and 
the  princes  who  submitted  to  the  Pope, 
fell  on  their  knees ;  the  Spaniards,  Ital- 
ians, Netherlander,  and  Germans  in 
their  train,  imitated  their  movements, 
casting  however  aside  glance  on  the-Pro- 
testants;  who,  in  the  midst  of  this  humbly 
prostrate  crowd,  alone  remained  standing.^ 
Charles  did  not  appear  to  notice  this,  but 
he  doubtless  understood  what  it  meant. 
The  Elector  of  Brandenburg  then  deliv- 
ered a  Latin  speech  to  the  legate.  Ha 
had  been  selected  because  he  spoke  this 
language  better  than  the  princes  of  the 
Church  ;  and  accordingly,  Charles,  when 
praising  his  eloquence,  dily  put  in  a 
word  about  the  negligence  of  the  pre- 
lates. ||  The  Emperor  now  prepared  to 
remount  his  horse,  when  the  prince- elec- 
toral of  Saxony,  an  I  the  young  princes 
of  Luneburg,  Mecklenburg,  Bran  ;en- 
burg,  and  Anhalt  rushed  towards  him  to 
aid  him  in  getting  into  his  saddle  :  one 
held  the  bridle,  another  the  stirrup,  and 
all  were  charmed  at  the  magnificent  ap- 
pearance of  their  powerful  sovereign. if 
The  procession  began  to  move  on. 


*  Ab  Electoral?)  filiis  qui  procurrerant  rogatus. 

— (Seek.  ii.  p.  101.) 

t  Mox  at)  <  qui*  descenderunt. — (r'ochlaeus  ) 
:  Aufeinortgemckt, — (F.  Lrknnden.  i.  p.  '2.r>ti  ) 
§  Pri  iiU.n  const.uitiai  specimen. — (oeck.  ii.  p. 

101.) 

Ii  Prol  .torn. n  autem   negligentiam  aceu<aret. — 

(Ibid.) 

U  Pons  seniientern   jnnwes    priivipes  adjuvo- 

runt. — illrid.  and  F.  Lrknnden.  i.  p.  2br>.) 


THE  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


G91 


First  came  two  companies  of  lansque- 
nets, com  man  Jed  by  Simon  Seitz,  a  citizen 
of  Augsburg,  who  had  made  the  campaign 
of  Italy,  and  was  returning  home  laden 
with  gold.*  Next  advanced  the  house- 
holds of  the  six  electors,  composed  of 
princes,  counts,  councillors,  gentlemen, 
and  soldiers;  the  household  of  the  Dukes 
of  Bavaria  had  slipped  into  their  ranks, 
and  the  four  hundred  and  fifty  horsemen 
that  composed  it  marched  live  abreast, 
covered  with  bright  cuirasses,  wearing 
red  doublets,  while  over  their  heads  float- 
ed handsome  many-coloured  plumes. — 
Bavaria  was  already  in  this  age  the  main 
support  of  Rome  in  Germany. 

Immediately  after  came  the  households 
of  the  Emperor  and  of  his  brother,  in 
striking  contrast  with  this  warlike  show. 
They  were  composeJ  of  Turkish,  Polish, 
Arabian,  and  other  led  horses ;  then  fol- 
lowed a  multitude  of  young  pages,  clal 
in  yellow  or  red  velvet,  with  Spanish, 
Bohemian,  and  Austrian  nobles  in  robes 
of  silk  and  velvet  ;f  'among  these  the  Bo- 
hemians had  the  most  martial  air,  and 
skilfully  rode  their  superb  and  prancing 
coursers.  Last  the  trumpeters,  drummers, 
heralds,  grooms,  footmen,  and  the  legate's 
cross-bearers,  announced  the  approach  of 
the  princes. 

In  fact  these  powerful  lords,  whose  con- 
tentions had  so  often  filled  Germany  with 
confusion  and  war,  now  advanced  riding 
peacefully  side  by  side.  After  the  princes 
appeared  the  electors ;  and  the  Elector  of 
Saxony,  according  to  custom,  carried  the 
nakei  and  glittering  imperial  sword  im- 
mediately before  the  Emperor. 1; 

Last  came  the  Prince,  on  whom  all  eyes 
were  fixed. §  Tinrty  years  of  age,  of  dis- 
tinguished port  and  pleasing  features, 
robed  in  golden  garments  that  glittered 
all  over  with  precious  stones,j|  wearing  a 
small  Spanish  hat  on  the  c.own  of  his 
head,^I  mounted  on  a  beautiful  Polish  I 
hackney  of  the  most  brilliant  whiteness, ! 
riding   beneath  a    rich   canopy   of    reJ,  I 

*  Bekleit  von  gold. — (P.  Urkunden,  i.  p.  258.)  ' 
t  Viel  sammete  uncle  seiden  llocke. — (L.  Opp. 

xx.  p.  -201.) 

J  Noster  princeps  de  more  praetulit  ensem. — 

(Corp.  ttef.  ii.  p.  I  IS.) 

§  Omniuai  ooulos  in  seconvertit. — (Seek.  ii.  p. 

163.0 

I  Totus  gemnis  coruseahat.— (Ibid.) 

%  b'tn  kilen  Spanisch  Hiitlein. — (P.  Urkunden, 


white,  and  green  damask  borne  by  six 
senators  of  Augsburg,  and  casting  around 
him  looks  in  which  gentleness  was  min- 
gled with  gravity,  Charles  excited  the  live- 
liest enthusiasm,  and  every  one  exclaimed 
that  he  was  the  handsomest  man  in  the 
empire,  as  well  as  the  mightiest  prince  in 
the  world. 

He  had  at  first  desired  to  place  his 
brother  and  the  legate  at  his  side  ;  but  the 
Elector  of  Mentz,  followed  by  two  hun- 
dred guards  arrayed  in  silk,  had  claimed 
the  Emperor's  right  hand  ;  and  the  Elec- 
tor of  Cologne,  with  a  hundred  well- 
armed  followers,  had  taken  his  station  on 
the  left.  King  Ferdinand  and  the  legate 
were  compelled  to  take  their  places  be- 
hind them,  followed  by  the  cardinals,  am- 
bassadors, and  prelates,  among  whom  was 
remarked  the  haughty  Bishop  of  Osma, 
the  Emperor's  confessor.  The  imperial 
cavalry  and  the  troops  of  Augsburg  clo- 
sed the  procession. 

Never,  according  to  the  historians,  had 
anything  so  magnificent  been  seen  in  the 
Empire  ;*  but  Uiey  advanced  slowly,  and 
it  was  between  eight  and  nine  o'clock  in 
the  evening  before  they  reached  the  gates 
of  Augsburg. f  Here  they  met  the  bur- 
gom  tster  and  councillors,  who  prostrated 
themselves  before  Charles,  and  at  the 
same  time  the  cannon  from  the  ramparts, 
the  bells  from  all  the  steeples  in  full  peal, 
the  noise  of  trumpets  and  kettle-drums, 
and  the  joyful  acclamations  of  the  people 
re-echoed  with  loud  din.  Stadion,  bishop 
of  Augsburg,  and  his  clergy  robed  in 
white,  struck  up  the  A  Ivenisti  desirabllls  ; 
and  six  canons,  advancing  with  a  magni- 
ficent canopy,  prepared  to  conduct  the 
Emperor  to  the  cathedral,  when  Charles's 
horse,  startled  at  this  unusual  sight,  sud- 
denly reared,!  so  that  the  Emperor  with 
difficulty  mastered  him.  At  length  Charles 
entered  the  basilick,  which  was  orna- 
mented with  garlands  and  flowers,  and 
sud  lenly  illuminated  by  a  thousand 
torches. 

The  Emperor  went  up  to  the  altar, 
and  falling  on  his  knees,  raised  his 
hands   towards   heaven.^      During   the 

*  Antea  in  imperio  non  erat  visa. — (Seek.  ii. 
p.  lb\>.) 

t  Innvssus  est  in  urbem  intra  octava:n  et  no- 
na:n.— (Ibid,  p.  114.) 

;  Da  eutsetzt  sic.h  K.  M.  Hengst  fur  solcheni 
Hinel. — (F.  Urkunden.  i.  p.  i\\.) 

§  Ihr  band  auigehebt. — (IbiJ.) 


692 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


Te  Deum,  the  Protestants  observed  with 
anxiety  that  Charles  kept  conversing  in 
a  low  tone  with  the  Archbishop  of 
Mentz  ;  that  he  bent  his  ear  to  the  legate 
who  approached  to  speak  to  him,  and 
nodded  in  a  friendly  manner  to  Duke 
George.  All  this  appeared  to  them  of 
evil  omen  ;  but  at  the  moment  when  the 
priests  sang  the  Te  ergo  quczsimus,  Charles, 
breaking  off  his  conversations,  suddenly 
rose,  and  one  of  the  acolytes  running  to 
him  with  a  gold-embroidered  cushion, 
the  Emperor  put  it  aside,  and  knelt  on 
the  bare  stones  of  the  church.  All  the 
assembly  knelt  with  him ;  the  Elector 
and  the  Landgrave  alone  remained 
standing.  Duke  George,  astonished  at 
such  boldness,  threw  a  threatening 
glance  at  his  cousin.  The  Margrave  of 
Brandenburg,  carried  away  by  the 
crowd,  had  fallen  on  his  knees ;  but  hav- 
ing seen  his  two  allies  standing,  he  hast- 
ily rose  up  again. 

The  Cardidal-archbishop  of  Salzburg 
then  proceeded  to  pronounce  the  ben- 
ediction ;  but  Campeggio,  impatient  at 
having  as  yet  taken  no  part  in  the  cer- 
emony, hastened  to  the  altar,  and  rudely 
thrusting  the  archbishop  aside,  said 
sharply  to  him  :*  "  this  office  belongs  to 
me,  and  not  to  you."  The  other  gave 
way,  the  Emperor  bent  down,  and  the 
Landgrave,  with  difficulty  concealing  a 
smile,  hid  himself  behind  a  candela- 
brum. The  bells  now  rang  out  anew, 
the  procqssion  recommenced  its  march, 
and  the  princes  conducted  the  Emperor 
to  the  Palatinate  (the  name  given  to  the 
bishop's  palace),  which  had  been  pre- 
pared for  him.  The  crowd  now  dis- 
persed :  it  was  after  ten  at  night. 

The  hour  was  come  in  which  the  par- 
tisans of  the  Papacy  flattered  themselves 
with  the  prospect  of  rendering  the  Pro- 
testants untrue  to  their  faith.  The  arri- 
val of  the  Emperor,  the  procession  of  the 
holy  sacrament  that  was  preparing,  the 
late  hour, — all  had  been  calculated  be- 
forehand ;  "  the  nocturns  of  treason  were 
about  to  begin,"  said  Spalatin. 

A  few  minutes  of  general  conversation 

took  place  in  the  Emperor's  apartments ; 

the  princes  of  the  Romish  party  were 

then  allowed  to  retire  ;  but  Charles  had 

1    given  a  sign  to  the  Elector  of  Saxony, 

*  Catdinalem  legatus  castigatum  abegit. — (Seek. 
ii.  p.  161.) 


to  the  Landgrave  of  Hesse,  to  George  of 
Brandenburg,  to  the  Prince  of  Anhalt, 
and  to  the  Duke  of  Luneburg  to  follow 
him  into  his  private  chamber.*  His 
brother  Ferdinand,  who  was  to  serve  as 
interpreter,  alone  went  in  with  them. 
Charles  thought  that  so  long  as  the  Prot- 
estant princes  were  observed,  they  would 
not  yield ;  but  that  in  a  private  and 
friendly  interview,  he  might  obtain  all 
he  desired  of  them. 

"  His  majesty  requests  you  to  discon- 
tinue the  preachings,"  said  Ferdinand. 
On  hearing  these  words  the  two  old 
princes  (the  Elector  and  the  Margrave) 
turned  pale  and  did  not  ,speak  ;f  there 
was  a  long  silence. 

At  last  the  Landgrave  said :  a  We  en- 
treat your  majesty  to  withdraw  your  re- 
quest, for  our  ministers  preach  only  the 
pure  Word  of  God,  as  did  the  ancient 
doctors  of  the  Church,  St.  Augustin,  St. 
Hilary,  and  so  many  others.  It  will  be 
easy  for  your  majesty  to  convince  your- 
self of  it.  We  cannot  deprive  ourselves 
of  the  food  of  the  Word  of  God,  and  deny 
his  Gospel."| 

Ferdinand,  resuming  the  conversation 
in  French  §  (for  it  was  in  this  language 
that  he  conversed  with  his  brother),  in- 
formed the  Emperor  of  the  Landgrave's 
answer.  Nothing  was  more  displeasing 
to  Charles  than  these  citations  of  Hilary 
and  Augustin  ;  the  colour  mounted  to 
his  cheeks,  and  he  was  nearly  getting 
angry. ||  "  His  Majesty,"  said  Ferdinand 
in  a  more  positive  tone,  "  cannot  desist 
from  his  demand." — "  Your  conscience," 
quickly  replied  the  Landgrave,  "  has  no 
right  to  command  ours."1f  As  Ferdinand 
still  persisted,  the  Margrave,  who  had  been 
silent  until  then,  could  contain  himself 
no  longer ;  and  without  caring  for  inter- 
preters, stretched  out  his  neck  towards 
Charles,  exclaiming  in  deep  emotion : 
"  Rather  than  allow  the  Word  of  the 
Lord  to"  be  taken  from  me,  rather  than 

*  Ad  conclave  suum. — (Corp.  Ref.  p.  10G  and 
114.) 

t  Die  beede  alte  Fursten  zum  hochsten  entsetz. 
—(Ibid.) 

t  Se  non  posse  cibo  verbi  Dei  carere,  nee  sana 
conscientia  Evangelium  negare. — (Corp.  Ref.  p. 
115.) 

§  In  Franzosischer  Sprache. — (Ibid.  p.  10/.) 

P  Sich  darob  etwas  angerot  und  erhitzt. — (Corp. 
|  Ref.  u.  p.  115.) 

If  K.  Si.  gewissen  sey  aber  kein  Herrund  mey- 
I  ster  uber  iih  gewissen. — (Ibid.  p.  115.) 


THE   AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


693 


deny  my  God,  I  would  kneel  before  your 
Majesty  and  have  my  head  cut  off!"  As 
he  uttered  these  simple  and  magnani- 
mous words,  says  a  contemporary,*  the 
prince  accompanied  them  with  a  signifi- 
cant gesture,  and  let  his  hands  fall  on  his 
neck  like  the  headsman's  axe.  The  ex- 
citement of  the  princes  was  at  its  height : 
had  it  been  necessary,  they  would  all 
four  have  instantly  walked  to  the  scaf- 
fold. Charles  was  moved  by  it:  sur- 
prised and  agitated,  he  hastily  cried  out 
in  his  bad  German,  making  a  show  of 
checking  the  Landgrave  :  "  Dear  prince, 
not  the  head !  not  the  head !"  But  he 
had  scarcely  uttered  these  few  words, 
when  he  checked  himself. 

These  were  the  only  words  that 
Charles  pronounced  before  the  princes 
during  all  the  diet.  His  ignorance  of 
the  German  language,  and  sometimes 
also  the  etiquette  of  the  Escurial,  com- 
pelled him  to  speak  only  by  the  mouth 
of  his  brother  or  of  the  Count-palatine. 
As  he  was  in  the  habit  of  consecrating 
four  hours  daily  to  divine  worship,  the 
people  said :  "  He  talks  more  with  God 
than  with  men."  This  habitual  silence  was 
not  favourable  to  his  plans.  They  re- 
quired activity  and  eloquence ;  but  in- 
stead of  that  the  Germans  saw  in  the 
dumb  countenance  of  their  youthful  Em- 
peror, a  mere  puppet,  nodding  his  head 
and  winking  his  eyes.  Charles  some- 
times felt  very  keenly  the  faults  of  this 
position  :  "  To  be  able  to  speak  German," 
said  he,  "  I  would  willingly  sacrifice  any 
other  lahguage,  even  were  it  Spanish  or 
French,  and  more  than  that,  one  of  my 
states."! 

Ferdinand  saw  that  it  was  useless  to 
insist  on  the  cessation  of  these  meetings  ; 
but  he  had  another  arrow  in  his  quiver. 
The  next  day  was  the  festival  of  Corpus 
Chrisli,  and  by  a  custom  that  had  never 
as  yet  been  infringed,  all  the  princes  and 
deputies  present  at  the  diet  were  expected 
to  take  part  in  the  procession.  What ! 
would  the  Protestants  refuse  this  act  of 
courtesy  at  the  very  opening  of  a  diet  to 
which  each  one  came  in  a  conciliatory 
spirit  ?  Have  they  not  declared  that  the 
body  and  blood  of  Christ  are  really  in  the 

*  Ut  simpliciter,  ita  magnanimiter,  says  Brcnz. 
—(Ibid) 

t  Es  wire  Spanisch  oder  Franzosisch  und  dazu 
eines  Landes  minder.— (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  1 14.) 


Host  ?  Do  they  not  boast  of  their  oppo- 
sition to  Zwingle,  and  can  they  stand 
aloof,  without  being  tainted  with  heresy? 
Now,  if  they  share  in  the  pomp  that  sur- 
rounds "  the  Lord's  body  ;"  if  they  min 
gle  with  that  crowd  of  clergy,  glittering 
in  luxury  and  swelling  with  pride,  who 
carry  about  the  God  whom  they  have 
created  ;  if  they  are  present  when  the 
people  bow  down  ;  will  they  not  irrevo- 
cably compromise  their  faith  ?  The  ma- 
chine is  well  prepared ;  its  movements 
cannot  fail  ;  there  is  no  more  doubt ! 
The  craft  of  the  Italians  is  about  to  tri- 
umph over  the  simplicity  of  these  Ger- 
man boors ! 

Ferdinand  therefore  resumes,  and  ma- 
king a  weapon  of  the  very  refusal  that 
he  had  just'  met  with  :  "  Since  the  Em- 
peror," said  he,  "  cannot  obtain  from  you 
the  suspension  of  your  assemblies,  he 
begs  at  least  that  you  will  accompany 
him  to-morrow,  according  to  custom,  in 
the  procession  of  the  Holy  Sacrament. 
Do  so,  if  not  from  regard  to  him,  at  least 
for  the  honour  of  Almighty  God."* 

The  princes  were  still  more  irritated 
and  alarmed.  "  Christ,"  said  they,  "  did 
not  institute  his  sacrament  to  be  wor- 
shipped." Charles  perseveres  in  his  de- 
mand, and  the  Protestants  in  their  re- 
fusal.! Upon  this  the  Emperor  declares 
that  he  cannot  accept  their  excuse,  that 
he  will  give  them  time  for  reflection,  and 
that  they  must  be  prepared  to  reply  early 
on  the  morrow. 

They  separatad  in  the  greatest  agita- 
tion. The  Prince-electoral,  who  had 
waited  for  his  father  in  the  first  hall 
along  with  other  lords,  sought,  at  the  mo- 
ment the  princes  issued  from  the  Em- 
peror's chamber,  to  read  on  their  counte- 
nance what  had  taken  place.  Judging 
from  the  emotion  depicted  on  their  fea- 
tures that  the  struggle  had  been  severe, 
he  thought  that  his  father  was  incurring 
the  greatest  dangers,  and  accordingly, 
grasping  him  by  the  hand,  he  dragged 
him  to  the  staircase  of  the  palace,  ex- 
claiming in  affright,  as  if  Charles's  satel- 
lites were  already  at  his  heels,  "  Come, 
come  quickly !" 

Charles,  who  had  expected  no  such  re- 

*  Et  saltern  in  honorem  Dei  illud  facerent — 
(Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  116.) 

t  Persistit  Caesar  in  postulatione,  peTsisterunt 
ill!  in  recusatioue. — (Ibid.  1 15.) 


694 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


sistancc,  was  in  truth  confounded,  and  the 
'leg-ate  endeavoured  to  exasperate  him 
still  more.*  Agitated,  filled  with  anger 
and  vexation,  and  uttering  the  most  ter- 
rible threats,!  the  young  Emperor  paced 
hastily  to  and  fro  the  halls  of  his  palace  : 
and  unable  to  wait  till  the  morrow  for 
the  answer,  he  sent  in  the  middle  of  the 
night  to  demand  the  Elector's  final  de- 
cision. "  At  present  we  require  sleep," 
replied  the  latter ;  "  to-morrow  we  will 
let  you  know<our  determination. "J  As 
for  the  Landgrave,  he  could  not  rest  any 
more  than  Charles.  Scarcely  had  he  re- 
turned home,  when  he  sent  his  chancel- 
lor to  the  Nuremberg  deputies,  and  had 
them  awoke  to  make  them  acquainted 
with  what  had  taken  place.$ 

At  the  same  time  Charles's  demand 
was  laid  before  the  theologians,  and 
Spalatin,  taking  the  pen,  drew  up  their 
opinion  during  the  night.  "  The  sacra- 
ment," it  bore,  "  was  not  instituted  to  be 
worshipped,  as  the  Jews  worshipped  the 
brazen  image.  ||  We  are  here  to  confess 
the  truth,  and  not  for  the  confirmation  of 
abuses.  Let  us  therefore  stay  away  !" 
This  opinion  strengthened  the  Evangeli- 
cal princes  in  their  determination ;  and 
the  day  of  the  16th  June  began. 

The  Elector  of  Saxony  feeling  indis- 
posed during  the  night,  commissioned  his 
son  to  represent  him ;  and  at  seven 
o'clock  the  princes  and  councillors  re- 
paired on  horseback  to  the  Emperor's 
palace.-! 

The  Margrave  of  Brandenburg  was 
their  spokesman.  "  You  know,"  said  he 
to  Charles,  "  how,  at  the  risk  of  our  lives, 
my  ancestors  and  myself  have  supported 
your  august  house.  But,  in  the  things 
of  God,  the  commands  of  God  himself 
oblige  me  to  put  aside  all  commandment 
of  man.  We  are  told  that  death  awaits 
those  who  shall  persevere  in  the  sound 
doctrine :  I  am  ready  to  suffer  it."  He 
then   presented   the    declaration   of   the 

*  A  see vitia  Legati  Romanensium  captivi. — Corp. 
Rcf.  ii.  p.  11G.) 

t  Hinc  sccutaj  sunt  gravissimai  mins,  jactatre 
saevissimce  Ctesaris  indignationes. — (Ibid.) 

t  Quiete  sibi  opus  esse  dicens,  responsum  in 
diem  alterum  distulit. — (Seek.  ii.  p.  162.) 

§  Hat  mlchten  uns  aufwecken  lassen. — (Corp. 
Ref.  ii.  p.  10G.) 

Ii  Wie  die  Juden  die  Schlange  haben  an^ebe- 
thet.—  (Ibid.  p.  111.) 

IT  Heutezu  sieben  Uhren  sind  gemeldetc  Furs- 
ten. — (Corp.  Ref.  iii.  p.  107.) 


Evangelical  princes  to  the  Emperor. 
"  We  will  not  countenance  by  our  pres- 
ence," said  they,  "  these  impious  human 
traditions,  which  are  opposed  to  the  Word 
of  God.  We  declare,  on  the  contrary, 
without  hesitation,  and  with  one  accord, 
that  we  must  expel  them  from  the 
Church,  lest  those  of  its  members  that 
are  still  sound  should  be  infected  by  this 
deadly  poison."*  "  If  you  will  not  ac- 
company his  majesty  for  the  love  of 
God,"  said  Ferdinand,  "  do  so  at  least  for 
love  of  the  Emperor,  and  as  vassals  of 
the  Empire.f  His  majesty  commands 
you."  "  An  act  of  worship  is  in  ques- 
tion," replied  the  princes,"  our  conscience 
forbids  it."  Then  Ferdinand  and  Charles 
having  conversed  together  in  a  low  tone : 
"  His  majesty  desires  to  see,"  said  the 
king,  "  whether  you  will  obey  him  or 
not."|  At  the  same  time  the  Emperor 
and  his  brother  quitted  the  room  ;  but  the 
princes,  instead  of  following  him,  as 
Charles  had  hoped,  returned  full  of  joy 
to  their  palaces. 

The  procession  did  not  begin  till  noon. 
Immediately  behind  the  canopy  under 
which  the  Elector  of  Mentz  carried  the 
Host,  came  the  Emperor  alone,  with  a 
devout  air,  bearing  a  taper  in  his  hand, 
his  head  bare  and  shorn  like  a  priest's,  al- 
though the  noon-day  sun  darted  on  him 
its  most  ardent  rays.§  By  exposing  him- 
self to  these  fatigues,  Charles  desired  to 
profess  aloud  his  faith  in  what  constitutes 
the  essence  of  Roman-catholicism.  In 
proportion  as  the  spirit  and  the  life  had 
escaped  from  the  primitive  Churches, 
they  had  striven  to  replace  them  by  forms, 
shows,  and  ceremonies.  The  essential 
cause  of  the  Romish  worship  is  found  in 
that  decline  of  charity  and  faith  which 
catholic  Christians  of  the  first  ages  have 
often  deplored  ;  and  the  history  of  Rome 
is  summed  up  in  this  expression  of  St. 
Paul,  Having  a  form  of  godliness,  but  de- 
nying the  poiver  thereof  ||  But  as  the  pow- 
er was  then  beginning  to  revive  in  the 
Church,  the  form  began  also  to  decline. 

*  Cselcstin.  i.  p.  82. 

t  Ut  vassalli  et  principes  imperii. — (Cochloeus 
p.  192.) 

X  Sie  wolle  selien,  ob  sic  I.  M.  gehorchsam  les 
sten  oder  nicht.— (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  108.) 

§  Clericaliter,  detonso  capillo. — (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p 
471 .)  Nudo  capite  sub  meridiani  solis  ardoribus. 
— (Pallavicini,  i.  p.  228.) 

II  2  Timothy  iii.  5. 


THE   AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


695 


Barely  a  hundred  citizens  of  Augsburg 
had  joined  in  the  procession  of  the  16th 
June.  It  was  no  longer  the  pomp  of  for- 
mer times :  the  christian  people  had 
learned  anew  to  love  and  to  believe. 

Charles,  however,  under  an  air  of  de- 
votion concealed  a  wounded  heart.  The 
legate  was  less  able  to  command  himself, 
and  said  aloud  that  this  obstinacy  of  the 
princes  would  be  the  cause  of  great  mis- 
chief to  the  Pope.*  When  the  procession 
was  over  (it  had  lasted  an  hour),  Charles 
could  no  longer  master  his  extreme  irri- 
tation ;  and  he  had  scarcely  returned  to 
his  palace,  when  he  declared  that  he 
would  give  the  Protestant  princes  a  safe- 
conduct,  and  that  on  the  very  next  day 
these  obstinate  and  rebellious  men  should 
quit  Augsburg  ;f  the  diet  would  then 
take  such  resolutions  as  were  required  for 
the  safety  of  the  Church  and  of  the  Em- 
pire. It  was  no  doubt  the  legate  who 
had  given  Charles  this  idea,  whose  exe- 
cution would  infallibly  have  led  to  a  re- 
ligious war.  But  some  of  the  princes  of 
the  Roman  party,  desirous  of  preserving 
peace,  succeeded,  though  not  without  dif- 
ficulty, in  getting  the  Emperor  to  with- 
draw his  threatening  order. | 

V.  Charles,  being  defeated  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  procession,  resolved  to  take  his 
revenge  on  the  assemblies,  for  nothing 
galled  him  like  these  sermons.  The 
crowd  ceased  not  to  fill  the  vast  church 
of  the  Franciscans,  where  a  Zwinglian 
minister  of  lively  and  penetrating  elo- 
quence was  preaching  on  the  Book  of 
Joshua.^  He  placed  the  kings  of  Ca- 
naan and  the  children  of  Israel  before 
them :  his  congregation  heard  them 
speak  and  saw  them  act,  and  every  one 
recognized  in  Canaan  the  Emperor  and 
the  Ultra-montane  princes,  and  in  the 
people  of  God  the  adherents  of  the  Re- 
formation. In  consequence,  the  faithful 
quitted  the  church  enthusiastic  in  their 
faith,  and  filled  with  the  desire  of  seeing 
the  abominations  of  the  idolaters  fall  to 
the  ground.  On  the  16th  June,  the  Pro- 
testants deliberated  on  Charles's  demand, 

*  Sarpi,  Council  of  Trent,  i.  p.  99. 

t  Ut  mox  altera  die,  cum  salvo-conductu,  Lu- 
therani  abirent  do:nu:n. —  (Co^hl.  p.  193.) 

t  Pacis  et  concorJix  avidi,  supplicarunt  ejus 
majest.iti  ut  sedita  ira. — (Ibid.) 

§  Maxhms  populi  concursus  amplissima  sode. 
—(Ibid.) 


and  it  was  rejected  by  the  majority.  "  It 
is  only  a  scare'erow,"  said  they  ;  "  the  Pa- 
pists only  desire  to  see  if  the  nail  shakes 
in  the  wall,  and  if  they  can  start  the  hare 
from  the  thicket." 

The  next  morning  (17th  June)  before 
breakfast,  the  princes  replied  to  the  Em- 
peror. "  To  forbid  our  ministers  to 
preach  purely  the  holy  Gospel  would  be 
rebellion  against  God,  who  wills  that  his 
Word  be  not  bound.  Poor  sinners  that 
we  are,  we  have  need  of  this  Divine 
Word  to  surmount  our  troubles.*  More- 
over, his  majesty  has  declared,  that  in 
this  diet  each  doctrine  should  be  examin- 
ed with  impartiality.  Now,  to  order  us 
henceforward  to  suspend  the  sermons, 
would  be  to  condemn  ours  beforehand." 

Charles  immediately  convoked  the 
other  temporal  and  spiritual  princes,  who 
arrived  at  mid-day  at  the  Palatine  palace, 
and  remained  sitting  until  the  evening  ;f 
the  discussion  was  exceedingly  animated.- 
"  This  very  morning,"  said  some  of  the 
speakers,  "  the  Protestant  princes,  as  they 
quitted  the  Emperor,  had  sermons  de- 
livered in  public."|  Exasperated  at  this 
new  affront,  Charles  with  difficulty  con- 
tained himself.  Some  of  the  princes, 
however,  having  entreated  him  to  ac- 
cept their  mediation,  he  consented  to  it ; 
but  the  Protestants  were  immovable. 
Did  these  heretics,  whom  they  imagined 
to  reduce  so  easily,  appear  in  Augsburg 
only  to  humiliate  Charles  ?  The  honour 
of  the  chief  of  the  Empire  must  be 
saved  at  any  cost.  "  Let  us  ourselves  re- 
nounce our  preachers,"  said  the  princes  ; 
"  the  Protestants  will  not  then  persist  in 
keeping  theirs !" 

The  commission  proposed  accordingly 
that  the  Emperor  should  set  aside  both 
Papist  and  Lutheran  preachers,  and 
should  nominate  a  few  chaplains,  with 
authority  to  announce  the  pure  Word  of 
God,  without  attacking  either  of  the  two 
parties.^  "  They  shall  be  neutral  men," 
said  they  to  the  Protestants ;  "  neither 
Faber  nor  his  partisans  shall   be  admit- 

*  Nee  se  illo  animse  nutrimento  carere. — (Cce- 
lestinus  Hist.  Comit.  i.  p.  88;  Forst.  Urkunden.  i. 
p.  283.) 

r  Ocesar  a  meridie. — (Seek.  p.  165.)  Den  gan- 
gen  Tag. — (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  113.) 

}  Eo  ipso  die  condones  continuatffi. — (Sock- 
end,  p.  165.) 

§  Cffisare  omnes  tim  papistarum  quam  evan- 
gclicoru.n  condones. — (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  11(3.) 


696 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


ted." — "  But  they  will  condemn  our  doc- 
trine."— "  By  no  means.  The  preacher 
shall  do  nothing  but  read  the  text  of  the 
Gospels,  Epistles,  and  a  general  confes- 
sion of  sins."*  The  evangelical  states 
required  time  to  reflect  upon  it. 

"  We  must  accept  it,"  said  Melancthon  ; 
"  for  if  our  obstinacy  should  lead  the 
Emperor  to  refuse  hearing  our  confes- 
sion, the  evil  would  be  greater  still." 

"  We  are  called  to  Augsburg,"  said 
Agricola,  "  to  give  an  account  of  our 
doctrine,  and  not  to  preach."f 

"  There  is  no  little  disorder  in  the 
city,"  remarked  Spalatin.  "  The  Sacra- 
mentarians  and  Enthusiasts  preach  here 
as  well  as  we :  we  must  get  out  of  this 
confusion." 

"  What  do  the  Papists  propose  ?"  said 
other  theologians ;  "  to  read  the  Gospels 
and  Epistles  without  explanation.  But 
is  not  that  a  victory  1  What !  we  pro- 
test against  the  interpretations  of  the 
Church  ;  and  lo  !  priests  who  are  to  read 
the  Word  of  God  without  their  notes 
and  commentaries,  that  is  to  say, 
transforming  themselves  into  Protestant 
ministers  !"  "  O  !  admirable  wisdom  of 
the  courtiers!"  exclaimed  Melancthon, 
smiling.;); 

To  these  motives  were  added  the 
opinions  of  the  lawyers.  As  the  Emperor 
ought  to  be  considered  the  rightful  mag- 
istrate of  an  imperial  city,  so  long  as  he 
made  it  his  residence,  all  jurisdiction  in 
Augsburg  really  belonged  to  him. 

"Well,  then,"  said  the  Protestant 
princes,  "  we  agree  to  silence  our  preach- 
ers, in  the  hope  that  we  shall  hear  no- 
thing offensive  to  our  consciences,  if  it 
were  otherwise,  we  should  feel  ourselves 
constrained  to  repel  so  serious  an  insult.^ 
Besides,"  added  the  Elector,  as  he  with- 
drew, "  we  hope  that  if  at  any  time  we 
desire  to  hear  one  of  our  chaplains  in 
our  own  palace,  we  shall  be  free  to  do 
so."  || 

They  hastened  to  the  Emperor,  who 
desired  nothing  better  than  to  come  to  an 

*  Qui  tantum  recitent  Evangelium  et  epistolam 
yzaiiuaTiKox. — (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  119.) 

t  Non  sumus  parochi  Augustanorum,  added  he. 
—(Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  119.) 

:  Vide  miram  sapientiam  Aulicorum. — (Ibid.) 

§  Tit  de  renicdiis  pronulsanda;  iniurise  content. 
—(Seek,  ii  p.  105.) 

II  Ob  je  einer  einen  Prcdiger  in  seiner  Herberg 
fur  sich  predigen  liess  —  (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  113.)  ° 


understanding  with  the   Protestants  on 
this  subject,  and  who  ratified  everything. 

This  was  Saturday.  An  imperial 
herald  was  immediately  sent  out,  who, 
parading  the  streets  of  the  city  at  seven 
in  the  evening  to  the  sound  of  trumpets,* 
cried  with  all  his  might :  "  O  yes,  O 
yes  !f  Thus  ordains  his  imperial  majes- 
ty, our  most  gracious  lord  :  no  preacher 
whatever  shall  preach  in  Augsburg  ex- 
cept such  as  his  majesty  shall  have  nom- 
inated ;  and  that  under  penalty  of  incur- 
ring the  displeasure  and  punishment  of 
his  majesty." 

A  thousand  different  remarks  were  ex- 
changed in  the  houses  of  the  citizens  of 
Augsburg.  "  We  are  very  impatient," 
said  they,  "  to  see  the  preachers  appoint- 
ed by  the  Emperor,  and  who  will  preach 
(O !  unprecedented  wonder !)  neither 
against  the  evangelical  doctrine  nor 
against  the  doctrine  of  the  Pope  P'| 
"  We  must  expect,"  added  another,  "  to- 
behold  some  Tragelaph  or  some  chimera 
with  the  head  of  a  lion,  a  goat's  body, 
and  a  dragon's  tail."^  The  Spaniards 
appeared  well  satisfied  with  this  agree- 
ment, for  many  of  them  had  never  heard 
a  single  sermon  in  their  lives ;  it  was 
not  the  custom  in  Spain  ;  but  Zwingle's 
friends  were  filled  with  indignation  and 
alarm.  |j 

At  length  Sunday  the  19th  of  June  be- 
gan ;  every  one  hastened  to  the  churches, 
and  the  faithful  who  filled  them,  with 
eyes  fixed  on  the  priest  and  with  atten- 
tive ears,H  prepared  to  listen  to  what 
these  new  and  strange  preachers  would 
say.**  It  was  generally  believed  that 
their  task  would  be  to  make  an  evangel- 
ico-papistical  discourse,  and  they  were 
very  impatient  to  hear  this  marvel.    But 

"  The  mountain  in  labour,  gave  birth  to  a  mouse !" 

The  preacher  first  read  the  common 

*  Per  tubicines  et  heraldum. — (Sturmius,  Zw. 
Epp.  p.  466.) 

t  Hort,  Hort.— (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  124.) 

t  Omnes  hunc  avidissime  expectant. — (Ibid.  p. 
116.) 

§  Chimasram  aut  Tragelaphum  aliquem  expec- 
tamus. — (Ibid.)  The  Tragelaph  is  a  fabulous  an- 
imal partaking  of  the  nature  of  a  goat  and  a  stag. 
Representations  of  it  were  common  on  drinking- 
bowls  and  goblets  among  the  ancient  Greeks. 

II  Multos  deterreat. — (Sturm  to  Zwingle,  Epp. 
p.  466.) 

IT  Arrectis  auribus. — (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  116.) 

**  Quid  novi  novus  concionator  allaturus  sit. — 
(Ibid.  p.  117.) 


THE  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


697 


prayer;  he  then  added  the  Gospel  of 
the  day,  finished  with  a  general  confes- 
sion of  sins,  and  dismissed  his  congrega- 
tion. People  looked  at  one  another  in 
surprise  :  "  Verily,"  said  they,  "  here  is  a 
preacher  that  is  neither  Gospeller  nor 
Papist,  but  strictly  textual."*  At  last  all 
burst  into  laughter;  "and  truly,"  adds 
Brenz,  "  there  was  reason  enough."!  In 
some  churches,  however,  the  chaplains, 
after  reading  the  Gospel,  added  a  few 
puerile  words,  void  of  Christianity  and 
of  consolation,  and  in  no  way  founded  on 
the  holy  Scripture.}: 

After  the  so-called  sermon,  they  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Mass.  That  in  the  Cathe- 
dral was  particularly  noisy.  The  Em- 
peror was  not  present,  for  he  was  accus- 
tomed to  sleep  until  nine  or  ten  o'clock.^ 
and  a  late  Mass  was  performed  for  him  ; 
but  Ferdinand  and  many  of  the  princes 
were  present.  The  pealing  notes  of  the 
organ,  the  resounding  voices  of  the  choir 
— all  were  set  to  work,  and  a  numerous 
and  motley  crowd,  rushing  in  at  all  the 
doors,  filled  the  aisles  of  the  temple. 
One  might  have  said  that  every  nation  in 
the  world  had  agreed  to  meet  in  the 
cathedral  of  Augsburg.  Here  were 
Frenchmen,  there  Spaniards,  Moors  in 
one  place,  Moriscos  in  another,  on  one 
side  Italians,  on  the  other  Turks,  and 
even,  says  Brenz,  those  who  are  called 
Stratiots.  ||  This  crowd  was  no  bad  rep- 
resentation of  the  medley  of  Popery. 

One  priest  alone,  a  fervent  Romanist, 
dared  to  offer  an  apology  for  the  Mass  in 
the  Church  of  the  Holy  Cross.  Charles, 
wishing  to  maintain  his  authority,  had 
him  thrown  into  the  Grey  Friars'  prison, 
whence  they  contrived  to  let  him  escape. 
As  for  the  Evangelical  pastors  of  Augs- 
burg, almost  all  left  the  city  to  bear  the 
Gospel  elsewhere.  The  Protestant 
princes  were  anxious  to  secure  for  their 
churches   the  assistance  of  such   distin- 

*  Sic  habes  concionatorcm  neque  evangelicum 
neque  papisticum,  sed  nudum  textualcin. — (Ibid.) 

t  Rident  omnes,  et  certe  res  valde  ridicula  est. 
—(Ibid.) 

i  Paucula  qusdam,  eaque  puerilia  et  inepta, 
nee  Christiane,  absque  fundamento  verbi  Divini 
et  consolatione. — (Seek.  ii.  p.  105.) 

§  Dormire  solet  usque  ad  nonam  aut  decirnam. 
—(Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  117.) 

II  lbi  videas  hie  Gallos,  hie  Hispanos,  hie  Ethi- 
'opes,  illic  rtiain  Ethiopissas,  fiic  Italos,  illic  etiam 
Turcas,  aut  quos  vocant  Stratiotas. — (Corp.  Ref. 
ii.  p.  117.) 

88 


guished  men.  Discouragement  and 
alarm  followed  close  upon  this  step,  and 
even  the  firmest  were  moved.  The 
Elector  was  inconsolable  at  the  privation 
imposed  upon  him  by  the  Emperor. 
"Our  Lord  God,"  said  he,  heaving  a 
deep  sigh,  "  has  received  an  order  to  be 
silent  at  the  Diet  of  Augsburg."*  From 
that  time  forward  Luther  lost  the  good 
opinion  he  had  previously  entertained  of 
Charles,  and  foreboded  the  stormiest  fu- 
ture. "  See  what  will  be  the  end  of  all 
this,"  said  he.  "  The  Emperor,  who  has 
ordered  the  Elector  to  renounce  the  as- 
semblies, will  afterwards  command  him 
to  renounce  the  doctrine ;  the  diet  will 
enter  upon  its  paroxysm,  and  nothing  will 
remain  for  us  but  to  rely  upon  the  arm 
of  the  Lord."  Then  giving  way  to  all 
his  indignation,  he  added  :  "  The  Papists, 
abandoned  to  devils,  are  transported  with 
rage ;  and  to  live,  they  must  drink 
blood,  f  They  wish  to  give  themselves 
an  air  of  justice,  by  giving  us  one  of  ob- 
stinacy. It  is  not  with  men  that  you 
have  to  deal  at  Augsburg,  but  with  the 
very  gates  of  hell."  Melancthon  him- 
self saw  all  his  hopes  vanish.  "  All,  ex- 
cept the  Emperor,"  said  he,  "  hate  us 
with  the  most  violent  hatred.  The  dan- 
ger is  great,  very  great.} Pray  t0 

Christ  that  he  may  save  us  !"  But  Lu- 
ther, however  full  of  sorrow  he  might 
be,  far  from  being  cast  down,  raised  his 
head  and  endeavoured  to  reanimate  the 
courage  of  his  brethren.  "  Be  assured 
and  doubt  not,"  wrote  he  to  them,  "  that 
you  are  the  confessors  of  Jesus  Christ, 
and  the  ambassadors  of  the  Great 
King."§ 

They  had  need  of  these  thoughts,  for 
their  adversaries,  elated  by  this  first  suc- 
cess, neglected  nothing  that  might  de- 
stroy the  Protestants,  and  taking  another 
step  forward,  proposed  forcing  them  to 
be  present  at  the  Romish  ceremonies.  || 
"  The  Elector  of  Saxony,"  said  the  le- 
gate to  Charles,  "  ought  in  virtue  of  his 
office  of  Grand-marshal  of  the  Empire 

*  Hac  ratione,  Deo  ej usque  verbo  silentium  est 
iinpositum. — (Seek.  ii.  p.  105) 

t  Ut  nisi  sanguinem  biberint,  vivere  non  pos- 
sint.— (Seek.  ii.  p.  105.) 

{  Magnum  omnino  periculum  est. — (Corp.  Ref. 
ii.  p.  118.) 

§  Ea  fides  vivificabit  et  consolabitur  vos,  quia 
Magni  Regis  estis  legati. — (L.  Epp.  iv.  p.  59.) 

II  Sarpi,  Hist.  Council  of  Trent,  book  i.  p.  99. 


698 


HISTORY  OF  THE    REFORMATION. 


to  carry  the  sword  before  you  in  all  the 
ceremonies  of  the  diet.  Order  him  there- 
fore to  perform  his  duty  at  the  Mass  of 
the  Holy  Ghost,  which  is  to  open  the  sit- 
tings." The  Emperor  did  so  immediate- 
ly, and  the  Elector,  uneasy  at  this  mes- 
sage, called  together  his  theologians:  If 
he  refused,  his  dignky  would  be  taken 
away  ;  and  if  he  obeyed,  he  would  tram- 
ple his  faith  under  foot,  thought  he,  and 
would  do  dishonour  to  the  Gospel. 

But  the  Lutheran  Divines  removed 
the  scruples  of  their  prince.  "  It  is  for 
a  ceremony  of  the  Empire,"  said  they, 
"  as  Grand-Marshal,  and  not  as  a  Chris- 
tian, that  you  are  summoned ;  the  Word 
of  God  itself,  in  the  history  of  Naaman, 
authorizes  you  to  comply  with  this  invi- 
tation."* The  friends  of  Zwingle  did 
not  think  so  ;  their  walk  was  more  deci- 
ded than  that  of  Wittemberg.  "  The 
martyrs  allowed  themselves  to  be  put  to 
death,"  said  they,  "  rather  than  burn  a 
grain  of  incense  before  the  idols."  Even 
some  of  the  Protestants  hearing  that  the 
Veni  Spiritus  was  to  be  sung,  said,  wag- 
ging their  heads :  "  We  are  very  much 
afraid  that  the  chariot  of  the  Spirit,  which 
is  the  Word  of  God,  having  been  taken 
away  by  the  Papists,  the  Holy  Ghost, 
despite  their  Mass,  will  never  reach 
Augsburg."f  Neither  these  fears  nor 
these  objections  were  listened  to. 

On  Monday  the  20th  June,  the  Empe- 
ror and  his  brother,  with  the  electors  and 
princes  of  the  Empire,  having  entered 
the  cathedral,  took  their  seats  on  the 
right  side  of  the  choir ;  on  the  left  were 
placed  the  legate,  the  archbishops,  and 
bishops ;  in  the  middle  were  the  ambas- 
sadors. Without  the  choir,  in  a  gallery 
that  overlooked  it,  were  ranged  the  Land- 
grave and  other  Protestants,  who  pre- 
ferred being  at  a  distance  from  the  Host.| 
The  Elector,  bearing  the  sword,  remained 
upright  near  the  altar  at  the  moment  of 
the  adoration.  The  acolytes,  having 
closed  the  gates  of  the  choir  immediately 
after,§   Vincent  Pompinello,  archbishop 

*  2'  Kings  v.  18.  Exemplo  Naamanis.— (Seek. 
li.  p.  107;  Sarpi,  p.  99.) 

t'Ne  ablato  Spiritus  vehiculo,  quod  est  verbum 
Dei,  Spiritus  Sanctus  ad  Augustam  prse  pedum 
imbecillitate  pervenire  non  possit.— (Corp.  Ref.  ii. 
p.  116.).  V      P 

}  Abstinendo  ab  adoratione  hostia?.—  ("Seek  ii. 
p.  119.)  V 

§  Erant  enim  chori  fores  clausaj,  nee  quisquam 
orationi  interfuit.— (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  120.) 


of  Salerno,  preached  the  sermon.  He 
commenced  with  the  Turks  and  their 
ravages,  and  then,  by  an  unexpected  turn, 
began  suddenly  to  exalt  the  Turks  even 
above  the  Germans.  "  The  Turks," 
said  he,  "  have  but  one  prince  whom  they 
obey  ;  but  the  Germans  have  many  who 
obey  no  one.  The  Turks  live  under 
one  sole  law,  one  only  custom,  one  only 
religion  ;  but  among  the  Germans,  there 
are  some  who  are  always  wishing  for 
new  laws,  new  customs,  new  religions. 
They  tear  the  seamless  coat  of  Christ ; 
they^  abolish  by  devilish  inspirations  the 
sacred  doctrines  established  by  unani- 
mous consent,  and  .substitute  for  them, 
alas  !  buffoonery  and  obscenity.*  Mag- 
nanimous Emperor,  powerful  King !" 
said  he.  turning  towards  Charles  and  his 
brother,  "  sharpen  your  swords,  wield 
them  against  these  perfidious  disturbers 
of  religion,  and  thus  bring  them  back 
into  the  fold  of  the  Church,  f  There  is 
no  peace  for  Germany  so  long  as  the 
sword  shall  not  have  entirely  eradicated 
this  heresy 4  O  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul ! 
I  call  upon  you ;  upon  you,  St.  Peter,  in 
order  that  you  may  open  the  stony  hearts 
of  these  princes  with  your  keys ;  and 
upon  you,  St.  Paul,  that  if  they  show 
themselves  too  rebellious,  you  may  aome 
with  your  sword,  and  cut  in  pieces  this 
unexampled  hardness !" 

This  discourse,  intermingled  with  pane- 
gyrics of  Aristides,  Themistocles,  Scipio, 
Cato,  the  Curtii  and  Scsvola,  being  con- 
cluded, the  Emperor  and  princes  arose  to 
make  their  offerings.  Pappenheim  re- 
turned the  sword  to  the  Elector,  who  had 
intrusted  it  to  him  ;  and  the  Grand-mar- 
shal, as  well  as  the  Margrave,  went  to 
the  offertory,  but  with  a  smile,  as  it  is  re- 
ported. §  This  fact  is  but  little  in  har- 
mony with  the  character  of  these  princes. 

At  length  they  quitted  the  cathedral. 
No  one,  except  the  friends  of  the  nuncio, 
was  pleased  with  the  sermon.  Even  the 
Archbishop  of  Mentz  was  offended  at  it 
"  What  does  he   mean,"  exclaimed   he, 

*  Diabolica  persuasione  eliminant,  et  ad  scur- 
rilia  ac  impudicaquffiquededucunt. — (Pallavicini, 
Hist.  Trid.  C.  i.  p.  23.) 

t  Exacuant  gladios  quos  in  perversos  illos  per- 
turbatorcs.—  (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  120.) 

I  Nisi  eradicata  fund  it  us  per  gladium  hffiresi 
ilia.— (Corp.  Ref.  ii  p.  120.) 

§  ProtesUntes  etiaru  ad  offerendum  munuscula 
in  altari,  ut  moris  erat,  accessisse,  sed  cum  riso.-  - 
(Spalat.  Seek.  ii.  p.  107.) 


THE   AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


699 


"by  calling  on  St.  Paul  to  cut  the  Ger- 
mans with  his  sword  ?"  Nothing  but  a 
few  inarticulate  sounds  had  been  heard  in 
the  nave;  the  Protestants  eagerly  ques- 
tioned those  of  their  party  who  had  been 
present  in  the  choir.  "  The  more  these 
priests  inflame  people's  minds,  and  the 
more  they  urge  their  princes  to  bloody 
wars,"  said  Brenz  at  that  time,  "  the  more 
we  must  hinder  ours  from  giving  way  to 
violence."*  Thus  spoke  a  minister  of  the 
Gospel  of  peace  after  the  sermon  of  the 
priest  of  Rome. 

After  the  mass  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the 
Emperor  entered  his  carriage,!  and  hav- 
ing reached  the  town-hall,  where  the  sit- 
tings of  the  diet  were  to  take  place,  he 
took  his  seat  on  a  throne  covered  with 
cloth  of  gold,  while  his  brother  placed 
himself  on  a  bench  in  front  of  him ;  then 
all  around  them  were  ranged  the  Elect- 
ors, forty-two  sovereign  princes,  the  depu- 
ties from  the  cities,  the  bishops,  and  am- 
bassadors, forming,  indeed,  that  illustrious 
assembly  which  Luther,  six  weeks  before, 
had  imagined  he  saw  sitting  in  the  air.t 

The  Count-palatine  read  the  imperial 
proposition.  It  referred  to  two  points ; 
the  war  against  the  Turks,  and  the  reli- 
gious controversy.  "  Sacrificing  my  pri- 
vate injuries  and  interests  to  the  common 
good,"  said  the  Emperor,  "  I  have  quitted 
my  hereditary  kingdoms  to  pass,  not 
without  great  danger,  into  Italy,  and  from 
thence  to  Germany.  I  have  heard  with 
sorrow  of  the  divisions  that  have  broken 
out  here,  and  which,  striking  not  only  at 
the  imperial  majesty,  but  still  more,  at  the 
commandments  of  Almighty  God,  must 
engender  pillage,  conflagration,  war,  and 
death. "§  At  one  o'clock  the  Emperor, 
accompanied  by  all  the  princes,  returned 
to  his  palace. 

On  the  same  day  the  Elector  gathered 
around  him  all  his  co-religionists,  whom 
the  Emperor's  speech  had  greatly  excit- 
ed, and  exhorted  them  not  to  be  turned 
aside  by  any  threats  from  a  cause  which 
was  that  of  God  himself.  |j     All  seemed 

*  Ut  nostras  principes  ab  importuna  violcntia 
retineamus. — (Corp.  Kef.  ii.  p.  120.) 

t  Imperator  cu.n  omnibus  in  curiam  vectus  est. 
— (Sturm  to  Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  430.) 

X  Ex  volucrum  monedularumque  regno. — (L. 
Epp.  iv.  p.  13.) 

§  Nicht  anders  dann  zu  Raub,  Brandt,  und 
Krieg. — (F.  Urkunden.  i.  p.  307.) 

II  Cohortatus  est  ad  intrepidam  causa?  Dei  as- 
scntionem. — (Seek.  -ii.  p.  lOd.) 


penetrated  with  this  expression  of  Scrip- 
ture :  "  Speak  the  word,  and  it  shall  not 
stand  ;  for  God  is  with  us."* 

The  Elector  had  a  heavy  burden  to 
bear.  Not  only  had  he  to  walk  at  the 
head  of  the  princes,  but  he  had  further  to 
defend  himself  against  the  enervating  in- 
fluence of  Melancthon.  It  is  not  an  ab- 
straction of  the  state  which  this  prince 
presents  to  our  notice  throughout  the 
whole  of  this  affair :  it  is  the  most  noble 
individuality.  Early  on  Tuesday  morn- 
ing, feeling  the  necessity  of  that  invisible 
strength  which,  according  to  a  beautiful 
figure  in  the  holy  Scriptures,  causes  us  to 
ride  upon  the  high  places  of  the  earth ; 
and  seeing,  as  was  usual,  his  domestics, 
his  councillors,  and  his  son  assembled 
around  him,  John  begged  them  affection- 
ately to  withdraw.!  He  knew  that  it 
was  only  by  kneeling  humbly  before  God 
that  he  could  stand  with  courage  before 
Charles.  Alone  in  his  chamber,  he 
opened  and  read,  the  Psalms,«thcn  falling 
on  his  knees,  he  offered  up  the  most  fer- 
vent prayer  to  God  \%  next,  wishing  to 
confirm  himself  in  the  immovable  fidel- 
ity that  he  had  just  vowed  to  the  Lord,  he 
went  to  his  desk,  and  there  committed  his 
resolutions  to  writing.  Dolzig  and  Me- 
lancthon afterwards  saw  these  lines,  and 
were  filled  with  admiration  as  they  read 
them.§ 

Being  thus  tempered  anew  in  heaven- 
ly thoughts,  John  took  up  the  imperial 
proposition,  and  meditated  over  it ;  then, 
having  called  in  his  son  and  the  chancel- 
lor Bruck,  and  Melancthon  shortly  after, 
they  all  agreed  that  the  deliberations  of 
the  diet  ought  to  commence  with  the 
affairs  of  religion  ;  and  his  allies,  who 
were  consulted,  concurred  in  this  advice. 

The  legate  had  conceived  a  plan 
diametrically  opposed  to  this.  He  de- 
sired to  stifle  the  religious  question,  and 
for  this  end  required  that  the  princes 
should  examine  it  in  a  secret  committee.|| 
The  Evangelical  Christians  entertained 
no  doubt  that  if  the  truth  was  proclaimed 

*  Isaiah  viii.  10. 

+  Mane  remotis  omnibus  consiliariis  et  ministris. 
—(Seek.  ii.  p.  169.) 

:  Precibus  ardentissimis  a  Deo  successu.m  ne- 
gotii  petiisset. — (Ibid. ) 

§  (iuas  cum  admiratione  legisse  dicuntur.— 
(Seek.  ii.  p.  169.) 

II  Si  acturi  sunt  secreto  et  inter  sese,  nulla  pub- 
lica  disputatione  vel  audientia. — (L.  Epp.  iv.  p. 
43.) 


700 


HISTORY   OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


in  the  great  council  of  the  nation,  it 
would  gain  the  victory ;  but  the  more 
they  desired  a  public  confession,  the  more 
it  was  dreaded  by  the  Pope's  friends. 
The  latter  wished  to  take  their  adversa- 
ries by  silence,  without  confession,  with- 
out discussion,  as  a  city  is  taken  by 
famine  without  fighting  and  without  a 
storm  :  to  gag  the  Reformation,  and  thus 
reduce  it  to  powerlessness  and  death, 
were  their  tactics.  To  have  silenced  the 
preachers  was  not  enough :  the  princes 
must  be  silenced  also.  They  wished  to 
shut  up  the  Reformation  as  in  a  dungeon, 
and  there  leave  it  to  die,  thinking  they 
would  thus  get  rid  of  it  more  surely  than 
by  leading  it  to  the  scaffold. 

This  plan  was  well  conceived :  it  now 
remained  to  be  put  in  execution,  and  for 
that  purpose  it  was  necessary  to  persuade 
the  Protestants  that  such  a  method 
would  be  the  surest  for  them.  The  per- 
son selected  for  this  intrigue  was  Alphon- 
so  Valdez,  secretary  to  Charles  V.,  a 
Spanish  gentleman,  a  worthy  individual, 
and  who  afterwards  showed  a  leaning 
towards  the  Reformation.  Policy  often 
makes  use  of  good  men  for  the  most  per- 
fidious designs.  It  was  decided  that  Val- 
dez should  address  the  most  timid  of  the 
Protestan  ts — Mel  ancthon. 

On  the  16th  or  17th  of  June,  immedi- 
ately after  the  arrival  of  Charles,  Valdez 
begged  Melancthon  to  call  on  him. 
"  The  Spaniards,"  said  he,  "  imagine  that 
the  Lutherans  teach  impious  doctrines 
on  the  Holy  Trinity,  on  Jesus  Christ,  on 
the  blessed  Mother  of  God.*  Accord- 
ingly, they  think  they  do  a  more  meri- 
torious work  in  killing  a  Lutheran  than 
in  slaying  a  Turk." 

"  I  know  it,"  replied  Melancthon,  "  and 
I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  succeed  in 
making  your  fellow-countrymen  aban- 
don that  idea." 

"  But  what,  pray,  do  the  Lutherans 
desire  ?" 

"  The  Lutheran  question  is  not  so 
complicated  and  so  unseemly  as  his  ma- 
jesty fancies.  We  do  not  attack  the 
Catholic  Church,  as  is  commonly  be- 
lieved ;f  and  the  whole   controversy  is 

*  Hispanis  persuasum  esse  Lutheranos  impie 
de  Sanctissima  Trinitate.^fEx  relatione  Snalati 
in  Seek.  ii.  1G5.)  r 

t  Non  adeo  per  eos  Ecclesiam  Catholicam  op- 
pugnari,  quam  vulgo  putaretur—  (Ibid.  100.) 


reducible  to  these  three  points.  The 
two  kinds  in  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  the  marriage  of  pastors,  and  the 
abolition  of  private  masses.  If  we  could 
agree  on  these  articles,  it  would  be  easy 
to  come  to  an  understanding  on  the 
others." 

"  Well,  I  will  report  this  to  his  majes- 
ty." 

Charles  V.  was  charmed  at  this  com- 
munication. "  Go,"  said  he  to  Valdez, 
"  and  impart  these  things  to  the  legate, 
and  ask  Master  Philip  to  transmit  to  you 
in  writing  a  short  exposition  of  what  they 
believe  and  what  they  deny." 

Valdez  hastened  to  Campeggio. 
"  What  you  relate  pleases  me  tolerably," 
said  the  latter.  "  As  for  the  two  kinds  in 
the  sacrament,  and  the  marriage  of  priests, 
there  will  be  means  of  accommodation  ;* 
but  we  cannot  consent  to  the  abolition  of 
private  masses."  This  would  have  been 
in  fact  cutting  off  one  of  the  greatest  reve- 
nues of  the  Church. 

On  Saturday,  June  18,  Valdez  saw  Me- 
lancthon again.  "  The  Emperor  begs 
of  you  a  moderate  and  concise  exposi- 
tion," said  he, "  and  he  is  persuaded  that  it 
will  be  more  advantageous  to  treat  of 
this  matter  briefly  and  privately,!  avoid- 
ing all  public  hearing  and  all  prolix  dis- 
cussion, which  would  only  engender  an- 
ger and  division." — "  Well,"  said  Melanc- 
thon, "  I  will  reflect  upon  it." 

Melancthon  was  almost  won  over :  a 
secret  conference  agreed  better  with  his 
disposition.  Had  he  not  often  repeated 
that  peace  should  be  sought  after  above 
'all  things?  Thus  everything  induced 
the  legate  to  hope  that  a  public  struggle 
would  be  avoided,  and  that  he  might  be 
content,  as  it  were,  to  send  mutes  against 
the  Reform,  and  strangle  it  in  a  dun- 
geon.J 

Fortunately  the  Chancellor  and  the 
Elector  Frederick  did  not  think  fit  to  en- 
tertain the  propositions  with  wMch 
Charles  had  commissioned  the  worthy 
Valdez.  The  resolution  of  these  lay 
members  of  the  Church    saved   it  from 

'  *  Mit  beider  Gestalt  sacraments  oder  des  Plaf- 
fen  und  Monch  Ehe.— (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  123.) 

+  Die  Srche  ineinerEngeundStille  vorzuneh- 
men. — (Ibid.) 

J  Coelestin,  Hist.  Comit.  August,  p.  193.  In- 
telligo  hoc  tuvs  jip^cEpsas  moliri,  ut  omnino  nihil 
agatur  de  negotiis  ecclesiasticis. — (Corp.  Ref.ii.  p. 
57.) 


THE   AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


701 


the  false  step  its  doctors  were  about  to 
take  ;  and  the  wiles  of  the  Italians  failed 
against  Evangelical  firmness.  Melanc- 
thon  was  only  permitted  to  lay  the  Con- 
fession before  the  Spaniard,  that  he  might 
look  into  it,  and  in  despite  of  the  moder- 
ation employed  in  it,  Valdez  exclaimed  : 
"  These  words  are  too  bitter,  and  your 
adversaries  will  never  put  up  with 
them  !"*  Thus  finished  the  legate's  man- 


VI.  Charles,  compelled  to  resign  him- 
self to  a  public  sitting,  ordered  on  Wed- 
nesday, 22d  June,  that  the  Elector  and 
his  allies  should  have  their  Confession 
ready  for  the  ensuing  Friday.  The  Roman 
party  were  also  invited  to  present  a  con- 
fession of  faith ;  but  they  excused  them- 
selves, saying  that  they  were  satisfied 
with  the  Edict  of  Worms. 

The  Emperor's  order  took  the  Protest- 
ants by  surprise,  for  the  negotiations  be- 
tween Valdez  and  Melancthon  had  pre- 
vented the  latter  from  putting  the  finish- 
ing stroke  to  the  Confession.  It  was  not 
copied  out  fair  ;  and  the  conclusions,  as 
well  as  the  exordium,  were  not  definitively 
drawn  up.  In  consequence  of  this,  the 
Protestants  begged  the  Archbishop  of 
Mentz  to  obtain  for  them  the  delay  of  a 
day;  but  their  petition  was  refused. f 
They  therefore  laboured  incessantly,  even 
during  the  night,  to  correct  and  transcribe 
the  Confession. 

On  Thursday,  23d  June,  all  the  Prot- 
estant princes,  deputies,  councillors,  and 
theologians  met  early  at  the  Elector's. 
The  Confession  was  read  in  German, 
and  all  gave  their  adhesion  to  it,  except 
the  Landgrave  and  the  Strasburgers, 
who  required  a  change  in  the  article  on 
the  sacrament.|  The  princes  rejected 
their  demand. 

The  Elector  of  Saxony  was  already 
preparing  to  sign,  when  Melancthon 
stopped  him  :  he  feared  giving  too  polit- 
ical a  colouring  to  this  religious  busi- 
ness. In  his  idea  it  was  the  Church  that 
should  appear,  and  not  the  State.  "  It  is 
for  the  theologians  and  ministers  to  pro- 


*  Ac  plane  putarit  irtKporeoov  esse  quam  ut 
ferre  possent  adversarii. — (Ibid.  p.  140.) 

t  Dasselbige  abgeschlagen. — (Corp.  Rcf.  ii.  p. 
127.) 

t  Argentinenses  ambierunt  aliquid  ut  except  o 
wrticulo  sacramenti  suaciperentur. — (Ibid.  p.  155.) 


pose  these  things,"  said  he  ;*  a  let  us  re- 
serve for  other  matters  the  authority  of 
the  mighty  ones  of  the  earth." — "  God 
forbid  that  you  should  exclude  me,"  re- 
plied the  Elector  ;  "  I  am  resolved  to  do 
what  is  right  without  troubling  myself 
about  my  crown.  I  desire  to  confess  the 
Lord.  My  electoral  hat  and  my  ermine 
are  not  so  precious  to  me  as  the  cross  of 
Jesus  Christ.  I  shall  leave  on  earth 
these  marks  of  my  greatness ;  but  my 
Master's  cross  will  accompany  me  to 
heaven." 

How  resist  such  christian  language! 
Melancthon  gave  way. 

The  Elector  then  approached,  signed, 
and  handed  the  pen  to  the  Landgrave, 
who  at  first  made  some  objections;  how- 
ever the  enemy  was  at  the  door ;  was 
this  the  time  for  disunion?  At' last  he 
signed,  but  with  a  declaration  that  the 
doctrine  of  the  Eucharist  did  not  please 
him.f 

The  Margrave  and  Luneburg  having 
joyfully  subscribed  their  names,  Anhalt 
took  the  pen  in  his  turn,  and  said,  "  I 
have  tilted  more  than  once  to  please 
others ;  now,  if  the  honour  of  my  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  requires  it,  I  am  ready  to 
saddle  my  horse,  to  leave  my  goods  and 
my  life  behind,  and  to  rush  into  eternity, 
towards  an  everlasting  crown."  Then, 
having  signed,  this  youthful  prince  said, 
turning  to  the  theologians  :  "  Rather  re- 
nounce my  subjects  and  my  states,  rather 
quit  the  country  of  my  fathers'  staff  in 
hand,  rather  gain  my  bread  by  cleaning 
the  shoes  of  the  foreigner,  than  receive  any 
other  doctrine  than  that  which  is  con- 
tained in  this  Confession."  Nuremberg 
and  Reutlingen  alone  of  the  cities  sub- 
scribed their  signatures  ;|  and  all  resolv- 
ed on  demanding  of  the  Emperor  that 
the  Confession  should  be  read  publicly.^ 
The  courage  of  the  princes  surprised 
every  one.  Rome  had  crushed  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Church,  and  had  reduced 
them  to  a  herd  of  slaves,  whom  she  drag- 
ged silent  and  humiliated  behind  her: 

*  Non  prlncipum  nomine  edi  sed  decentium, 
quithcologi  vocantur. — (Camer.  p.  120.) 

t  Landgravius  subscribit  nobiscum,  sed  tamen 
dicit  sibi,  de  sacramento,  a  nostris  non  satisfieri. 
—(Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  155.) 

t  Confessioni  tantum  subscripserunt  Nurem- 
berga  et  Reutlingen. — (Ibid.) 

§  Deeretum  est  ut  publicse  recitandss  concessio 
ab  Imperatore  peterctur. — (Seek.  ii.  p.  169.) 


702 


HISTORY    OF   THE   REFORMATION. 


the  Reformation  enfranchised  them,  and 
with  their  rights  it  restored  to  them  their 
duties.  The  priest  no  longer  enjoyed 
the  monopoly  of  religion  ;  each  head  of 
a  family  again  became  priest  in  his  own 
house,  an  J  all  the  members  of  the  Church 
of  God  were  thenceforward  called  to  the 
rank  of  confessors.  The  laymen  are  no- 
thing, or  almost  nothing,  in  the  sect  of 
Rome,  but  they  are  the  essential  portion 
of  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ.  Wherever 
the  priestly  spirit  is  established,  the 
Church  dies  ;  wherever  laymen,  as  these 
Augsburg  princes,  understand  their  duty 
and  their  immediate  dependence  on 
Christ,  the  Church  lives. 

The  Evangelical  theologians  were 
moved  by  the  devotedness  of  the  princes. 
"  When  1  consider  their  firmness  in  the 
confession  of  the  Gospel,"  said  Brenz, 
"  the  colour  mounts  to  my  cheeks.  What 
a  disgrace  that  we,  who  are  only  beggars 
beside  them,  are  so  afraid  of  confessing 
Christ  !"*  Brenz  was  then  thinking  of 
certain  towns,  particularly  of  Halle,  of 
which  he  was  pastor,  but  no  doubt  also 
of  the  theologians. 

The  latter,  in  truth,  without  being  de- 
ficient in  devotedness,  were  sometimes 
wanting  in  courage.  Melancthon  was 
in  constant  agitation  ;  he  ran  to  and  fro, 
slipping  in  everywhere  (says  Cuchlceus 
in  his  Philippics),  penetrating  not  only 
the  houses  and  mansions  of  private  per- 
sons, but  also  insinuating  himself  into 
trie  palaces  of  cardinals  and  princes,  nay, 
even  into 'the  couit  of  the  Emperor; 
and,  whether  at  table  or  in  conversation, 
he  spared  no  means  of  persuading  every 
person,  that  nothing  was  more  easy 
than  to  restore  peace  between  the  two 
parties.f 

One  day  he  was  with  the  Archbishop 
of  Salzburg,  who  in  a  long  discourse 
gave  an  eloquent  description  of  the  trou- 
bles produced,  as  he  said,  by  the  Refor- 
mation, an  1  ended  with  a  peroration 
•'  written  in  blood,"  says  M  -Lincthon.J 
Philip  in  agony  had  ventured  during  the 
conversation  to  slip  in  the  word  Con- 
science. "  Conscience  !"  hastily  inter- 
rupted the  archbishop,  "  Conscience ! — 

*  Rttbdre  suffrin  lor  non  medioeri,  quod  1103, 

pros  ilii-;  men  li-'i.  "'••■—(  3orp    Kt'f.  ii.  p.  12V) 
i  Cufsit  >"ii,  hi«c  in  I",  pcrreptins  ae  penetrans. 

— (Co-.'il.  Phil    i   in  V  ».)!.) 

j  Aill-iiit  Kiriio.  -n  plum  sanguine  Buriptu.-n. 

— (Corp.  Rcf!  ii.  p.  I-i. ) 


What  does  that  mean  1  I  tell  you  plain- 
ly that  the  Emperor  will  not  allow  con- 
tusion to  be  thus  brought  upon  the  Em- 
pire."— "  Had  I  been  in  Melancthon's 
place,"  said  Luther,  "  I  should  have  im- 
mediately replied  to  the  archbishop  :  And 
our  Emperor,  ours,  will  not  tolerate  such 
blasphemy." — "  Alas  I"  said  Melancthon. 
"they  are  all  as  full  of  assurance  as  if 
there  was  no  God."* 

Another  day  Melancthon  was  with 
Campeggio,  and  conjured  him  to  perse- 
vere in  the  moderate  sentiments  he  ap- 
peared to  entertain.  And  at  another 
time,  as  it  would  seem,  he  was  with  the 
Emperor  himself. \  "Alas!"  said  the 
alarmed  Zwinglians,  "after  having  qual- 
ified one  half  of  the  Gospel,  Melancthon 
is  sacrificing  the  other."t 

The  will  s  of  the  Ultramontanists  were 
added  to  Philip's  dejection,  in  order  to 
arrest  the  courageous  proceedings  of  the 
princes.  Friday,  24th  June,  was  the  day 
fixed  for  reading  the  Confession,  but 
measures  were  taken  to  prevent  it.  The 
sitting  of  the  diet  did  not  begin  till  three 
in  the  afternoon  ;  the  legate  was  then 
announced  ;  Charles  went  to  meet  him  as 
far  as  the  top  of  tiie  grand  staircase,  and 
Campeggio,  talcing  his  seat  in  front  of 
the  Emperor,  in  King  Ferdinand's  place, 
delivered  a  harangue  in  Ciceronian 
style.  "  Never,"  said  he,  "  has  St.  Peter's 
bark  been  so  violently  tossed  by  so  many 
waves,  whirlwin  Is,  and  abysses.^  The 
Holy  Father  has  learnt  these  things  with 
pain,  and  desires  to  drag  the  Church 
from  these  frightful  gulfs.  For  the  love 
of  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  safety  of  your 
country  an  1  for  your  own,  O  mighty 
Prince  !  get  rid  of  these  errors,  deliver 
Germany,  and  save  Christendom  !" 

After  a  temperate  reply  from  Albert 
of  Mentz,  the  legate  quitted  the  town- 
hall,  an  1  the  Evangelical  princes  stood 
up  ;  but  a  fresh  obstacle  had  been  pro- 
vided. Deputies  from  Austria,  Carin- 
thia.  and  Curniola,  first  received  a  hear* 

*  Securi  sunt  quasi  nullus  sit  Dcus. — (Ibid.  p. 

15;>.) 

i  Melxn'.tlion  a  Ciesarc,  Salishurgonsi  it  Oam- 
pogio  vocatus  est. — (Zw.  Rpp.  ii. .p.  \7.\.) 

:  Ux  -u  ::  mitigarit  turn  multa,  mi  4  et  ivliijuo. 
-(Ibid.) 

§  Me  qui1  unqriVn  tni  vinis  sectirum  turliiui- 
IniH  n  ivi  ■■.:•  i  Pi  tn  flu  -tu  ivcrit.  — ( Sock.  ii.  p.  I  ISO.) 

II  Or-t'o   v  I.!,*  lu'U-iris   rt   inisei-dbilis  contra 


Tuj\;ju5>-0 


i-t.  ii.  p 


THE   AUGSBURG   CONFESSION.     1530. 


703 


Much  time  had  thus  elapsed.  The 
Evangelical  princes,  however,  rose  up 
again,  and  the  Chancellor  Bruck  said  : 
"  It  is  pretended  that  new  doctrines  not 
hased  on  Scripture,  that  heresies  and 
schisms  are  spread  among  the  people  by 
us.  Considering  that  such  accusations 
compromise  not  only  our  own  good 
name,  but  also  the  safety  of  our  souls,* 
we  beg  his  majesty  would  have  the 
goodness  to  hear  what  are  the  doctrines 
we  profess." 

The  Emperor,  no  doubt  by  arrange- 
ment with  the  legate,  made  reply  that 
it  was  too  late  ;  besides,  that  this  reading 
would  be  useless ;  and  that  the  princes 
should  be  satisfied  with  putting  in  their 
Confession  in  writing.  Thus  the  mine, 
so  skilfully  prepared,  worked  admirably  ; 
the  Confession,  once  handed  to  the  Em- 
peror, would  be  thrown  aside,  and  the 
Reformation  would  be  forced  to  retire, 
without  the  Papists  having  even  conde- 
scended to  hear  it,  without  defence,  and 
overwhelmed  with  contumely. 

The  Protestant  princes,  uneasy,  and 
agitated,  insisted.  "  Our  honour  is  at 
stake,"  said  they  ;  "  our  souls  are  endan- 
gered.! We  are  accused  publicly  ;  pub- 
licly we  ought  to  answer."  Charles  was 
shaken  ;  Ferdinand  leant  towards,  him, 
arid  whispered  a  few  words  in  his  ear  ;| 
the  Emperor  refused  a  second  time. 

Upon  this  the  Elector  and  princes,  in 
still  greater  alarm,  said  for  the  third 
time  with  emotion  and  earnestness  :§ 
"  For  the  love  of  God,  let  us  read  our 
Confession !  No  person  is  insulted  in 
it."  Thus  were  seen,  on  the  one  hand, 
a  few  faithful  men,  desiring  with  loud 
cries  to  confess  their  faith  ;  and  on  the 
other,  the  great  Emperor  of  the  West, 
surrounded  by  a  crowd  of  cardinals,  prel- 
ates, and  princes,  endeavouring  to  stifle 
tile  manifestation  of  the  truth.  ||  It  was 
a  serious,  violent,  and  decisive  struggle, 
in  which  the  holiest  interests  were  dis- 
cussed ! 

*  Vorum  ctiam  ad  animre  dispendium  aut  salu- 
tem  aeternani. — (Sock.  ii.  p.  1S;)>) 

f  Ihre  Socle,  F.hre  und  Giimpf  bclangct. — 
(Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  128.) 

t  Viderant  enimcun  subinde  aliquid  illi  in  au- 
reni  insusurrare. — (Seek,  ii.  p.  169.) 

§  Zum  drittcn  mal  heftig  angehalten.— (Corp. 
Rcf.  ii.  p.  L2H.1 

II  Circuaisistifbant  O«osarem  njagno  numerocarr 
dinalesct  pruiLti  ecclcsiastici. — (Seck.ii.  p.  109.) 


At  last  Charles  appeared  to  yield : 
"His  majesty  grants  your  request,"  was 
the  reply  to  the  princes;  "but  as  it  is 
now  too  late,  he  begs  you  to  transmit  him 
your  written  Confession,  and  to-morrow, 
at  two  o'clock,  the  diet  will  be  prepared 
to  hear  it  read  at  the  Palatine  Palace." 

The  princes  were  struck  with  these 
words,  which,  seeming  to  grant  them 
everything,  in  reality  granted  nothing. 
In  the  first  place,  it  was  not  in  a  public 
sitting  at  the  town-hall,  but  privately  in 
his  own  palace,  that  the  Emperor  was 
willing  to  hear  them  ;*  then  they  had  no 
doubt  that  if  the  Confession  left  their 
hands  it  was  all  over  with  the  public 
reading.  They  therefore  remained  firm. 
"  The  work  has  been  done  in  great 
haste,"  said  they,  and  it  was  the  truth  ; 
"  pray  leave  it  with  us  to-night,  that  we 
may  revise  it."  The  Emperor  was 
obliged  to  yield,  and  the  Protestants  re- 
turned to  their  hotels  full  of  joy  ;  while 
the  legate  and  his  fiends,  perceiving  that 
the  Confession  was  inevitable,  saw  the 
morrow  approach  with  anxiety  continu- 
ally increasing. 

Among  those  who  prepared  to  confess 
the  Evangelical  truth,  was  one,  however, 
whose  heart  was  filled  with  sadness  : — it 
was  Melancthon.  Placed  between  two 
fires,  he  saw  the  Reformed,  and  many  even 
of  his  own  friends,  reproach  his  weakness; 
while  the  opposite  party  detested  what 
they  called  his  hypocrisy.  His  friend 
Camerarius,  who  visited  Augsburg  about 
this  time,  often  found  him  plunged  in 
thought,  uttering  deep  sighs,  and  shed- 
ding bitter  tears.f  Brenz,  moved  with 
compassion,  coming  to  the  unhappy 
Philip,  would  sit  down  by  his  side  and 
weep  with  him  ;|  and  Jonas,  endeavour- 
ing to  console  him  in  another  manner, 
exhorted  him  to  take  the  Book  of  Psalms, 
and  cry  to  God  with  all  his  heart,  ma-, 
king  use  of  David's  words  rather  than 
of  his  own. 

One  day  intelligence  arrived  whdeh 
formed  a  general  topic  of  conveisation 
in  Augf-burg,  and  which,  spreading  ter- 
ror among  the  partisans  of  the  Pope, 
gave  a  momentary  relief  to  Melancthon. 

*  Nonquidem  publico  in  prsetorio,  sod  privatim 
in  ualatio  suo, — (    orp.  Hof.  ii.  p.  12-1.) 

*  Non  modo  suspiranteni  sed  profundfltiten) 
lacrymas  consprxi.- -(Canw-r.  p.  I'il.j 

!":':■(  i it :ii:-  ufisittebat  hiEC  scribonti,  una  lacry- 
maiu.— (Corp.  Ref  ii.  p.  l'iti.) 


704 


HISTORY   OF    THE   REFORMATION. 


It.  was  said  that  a  mule  in  Rome  had 
given  birth  to  a  colt  with  crane's  feet. 
"  This  prodigy,"  said  Melancthon  thought- 
fully, "  announces  that  Rome  is  near  its 
end;"*  perhaps  because  the  crane  is  a 
bird  of  passage,  and  that  the  Pope's 
mule  thus  gave  signs  of  departure.  Me- 
lancthon had  immediately  written  to  Lu- 
ther, who  replied  that  he  was  exceeding- 
ly rejoiced  that  God  had  given  the  Pope 
so  striking  a  sign  of  his  approaching 
fall.f  It  is  good  to  call  to  memory  these 
puerilities  of  the  age  of  the  Reformers, 
that  Ave  may  better  understand  the  high 
range  of  these  men  of  God  in  matters  of 
faith. 

These  idle  Roman  stones  did  not  long 
console  Melancthon.  On  the  eve  of  the 
25th  June,  he  was. present  in  imagination 
at  the  reading  of  that  Confession  which 
he  had  drawn  up,  which  was  about  to  be 
proclaimed  before  the  world,  and  in 
which  one  word  too  many  or  too  few 
might  decide  on  the  approbation  or  the 
hatred  of  the  princes,  on  the  safety  or 
ruin  of  the  Reformation  and  of  the  Em- 
pire. He  could  bear  up  no  longer,  and 
the  feeble  Atlas,  crushed  under  the  bur- 
den of  the  world  upon  his  shoulders, 
gave  utterance  to  a  cry  of  anguish.  "  All 
my  time  here  is  spent  in  tears  and 
mourning,"  wrote  he  to  Vitus  Diedrich, 
Luther's  secretary  in  the  castle  of  Co- 
burg  ;J  and  on  the  morrow  he  wrote  to 
Luther  himself:  "My  dwelling  is  in 
perpetual  tears. §  My  consternation  is 
indescribable.  ||  O  my  father  !  I  do  not 
wish  my  words  to  exaggerate  my  sor- 
rows ;  but,  without  your  consolations,  it 
is  impossible  for  me  to  enjoy  here  the 
least  peace." 

Nothing  in  fact  presented  so  strong  a 
contrast  to  the  distrust  and  desolations  of 
Melancthon,  as  the  faith,  calmness,  and 
exultation  of  Luther.  It  was  of  ad- 
vantage to  him  that  he  was  not  then  in 
the  midst  of  the  Augsburg  vortex,  and  to 
be  able  from  his  stronghold  to  set  his  foot 

*  Romae  qusedam  mula  peperit,  et  partus  habu- 
it  pedes  gruis.  Vides  signifiV.ari  exitium  Romse 
per  schismata. — (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  1'26.) 

X  Gaudeo  Papse  signum  datum  in  mula  puer- 
pera,  ut  citius  pereat.— (L.  Epp.  iv.  p.  4.) 

t  Hie  consumitur  omne  mihi  tempus  in  lacry- 
mis  et  luctu. — (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  126.) 

§  Versamurhic  in  miserrimis  curis  et  plane  per- 
petuis  lacrymis. — (Ibid.  p.  140.) 

II  Mira  consternatio  animorum  nostroruin. — 
(Ibid.) 


with  tranquillity  upon  the  rock  of  God's 
promises.  He  was  sensible  himself  of 
the  value  of  this  peaceful  hermitage,  as 
he  called  it.*  "  I  cannot  sufficiently  ad- 
mire," said  Vitus  Diedrich,  ''the  firm- 
ness, cheerfulness,  and  faith  of  this 
man,  so  astonishing  in  such  cruel 
times." 

Luther,  besides  his  constant  reading 
of  the  Word  of  God,t  did  not  pass  a 
day  without  devoting  three  hours  at 
least  to  prayer,  and  they  were  hours 
selected  from  those  the  most  favour- 
able to  study.!  One  day,  as  Diedrich 
approached  the  Reformer's  chamber, 
he  heard  his  voiee,§  and  remained  mo- 
tionless, holding  his  breath,  a  few  steps 
from  the  door.  Luther  was  praying, 
and  his  prayer  (said  the  secretary)  was 
full  of  adoration,  fear,  and  hope,  as  when 
one  speaks  to  a  friend  or  to  a  father.  [| 
"  I  know  that  thou  art  our  Father  and 
our  God,"  said  the  Reformer,  alone  in 
his  chamber,  "  and  that  thou  wilt  scat- 
ter the  persecutors  of  thy  children,  for 
thou  art  thyself  endangered  with  us. 
All  this  matter  is  thine,  and  it  is  only  by 
thy  constraint  that  we  have  put  our  hands 
to'it.  Defend  us  then,  O  Father !"  The 
secretary,  motionless  as  a  statue,  in  the 
long  gallery  of  the  castle,  lost  not  one  of 
the  words  that  the  clear  and  resounding 
voice  of  Luther  bore  to  his  ears.^r  The 
Reformer  was  earnest  with  God,  and 
called  upon  him  with  so  much  unction 
to  accomplish  his  promises,  that  Diedrich 
felt  his  heart  glow  within  him.**  "  Oh  !" 
exclaimed  he,  as  he  retired,  "  How  could 
not  these  prayers  but  prevail  in  the  des- 
perate struggle  at  Augsburg !" 

Luther  might  also  have  allowed  him- 
self to  be  overcome  with  fear,  for  he  was 
left  in  complete  ignorance  of  what  was 
taking  place  in  the  diet.  A  Wittemberg 
messenger,  who  should  have  brought  him 

*  Ex  eremo  tacita. — (L.  Epp.  iv.  p.  51.)     It  is 

thus  he  dates  his  letter. 

t  Assidue  autem  il'.a  diligentiore  verbi  Dei  trac- 
tatione  alit. — (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  159.) 

t  Nullus  abit  dies,  quin  ut  minimum  tres  horas 
easque  studiis  optimas  in  orationibus  ponat. — 
(Ibid.) 

§  Semel  mihi  c'ontigit  ut  orantem  eum  audirein. 
—(Ibid.) 

II  Tanta  spe  et  fide  ut  cum  patre  et  amico  col- 
loqui  sentiat. — (Ibid.) 

IT  Turn  orantem  clara  voce,  procul  stans,  audivL 
—(IWd.) 

**  Ardebat  mihi  quoque  animus  singulari  quo- 
dam  impetu.— (Corp.  Ref.  ii  p.  159.) 


THE   AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


705 


forests  of  letters  (according  to  his  own 
expression),  having  presented  himself: 
"  Do  you  bring  any  letters?"  asked  Lu- 
ther. "  No  I"  "  How  are  those  gentle- 
men ?"  "  Well !"  Luther,  grieved  at 
such  silence,  returned  and  shut  himself 
up  in  his  chamber. 

Erelong  there  appeared  a  courier  on 
horseback  carrying  despatches  from  the 
Elector  to  Torgau.  "  Do  you  bring  me 
any  letters  ?"  asked  Luther.  "  No  I" 
"  How  are  those  gentlemen  ?"  continued 
he,  feafully.  "  Well !"  "  This  is  strange," 
thought  the  Reformer.  A  waggon  hav- 
ing left  Coburg  laden  with  flour  (for  they 
were  almost  in  want  of  provisions  at 
Augsburg),  Luther  impatiently  awaited 
the  return  of  the  waggoner  ;  but  he  re- 
turned empty.  Luther  then  began  to  re- 
volve the  gloomiest  thoughts  in  his  mind, 
not  doubting  that  they  were  concealing 
some  misfortune  from  him.*  At  last  an- 
other individual,  Jobst  Nymptzen,  having 
arrived  from  Augsburg,  Luther  rushed 
anew  towards  him,  with  his  usual  ques- 
tion. "  Do  you  bring  me  any  letters  ?" 
He  waited  trembling  for  the  reply. 
u  j\Jq  p)  a  And  how  then  are  those  gen- 
tlemen ?"  "Well!"  The  Reformer 
withdrew,  a  prey  to  anger  and  to  fear. 

Then  Luther  opened  his  Bible,  and  to 
console  himself  for  the  silence  of  men,  he 
conversed  with  God.  There  were  some 
passages  of  Scripture  in  particular  that  he 
read  continually.  We  point  them  out 
below.f  He  did  more  ;  he  wrote  with 
his  own  hand  many  declarations  of  Scrip- 
ture over  the  doors  and  windows,  and  on 
the  walls  of  the  castle.  In  one  place 
were  these  words  from  the  1 18th  Psalm  : 
/  shall  not  die,  but  live,  and  declare  the 
works  of  the  Lord.  In  another,  those  of 
the  12th  chapter  of  Proverbs :  The  way 
of  the  wicked  seduceth  them ;  and  over  his 
bed,  these  words  from  the  4th  Psalm  :  / 

*  Hie  coepi  cogitare  tristia,  suspirans,  vos  ali- 
quid  mali  me  celare  velle. — (L.  Epp.  iv.  p.  60.) 

t  2  Tim.  iii.  12;  Philip,  ii.  12,  13;  John  x.  17, 
18;  Matth.  xvi.  18;  Psalm  xlvi.  1,  2;  1  John  iv. 
4;  Psalm  lv.  23;  xxvii.  14;  John  xvi.  33;  Luke 
xvii.  5;  Psalm  xxxii.  11;  cxlv.  18,  19;  xci.  14, 
15;  Sirach.  ii.  11;  1  Maccab.  ii.  61;  Matth.  vi. 
31;  1  Peter  v.  6,  7;  Matth.  x.  28;  Rom.  iv.  and 
vi. ;  Heb.  v.  and  xi. ;  1  Sam.  iv.  18;  xxxi.  4-8; 
ii.  30;  2  Tim.  ii.  17,  18,  19;  i.  12;  Eph.  iii.  20, 
21.  Among  these  passages  will  be  observed  two 
verses  taken  from  the  Apocrypha,  but  whose 
equivalents  might  easily  be  found  in  the  Word  of 
God. 

39 


will  both  lay  me  down  in  peace  and  sleep  ; 
for  thou,  O  Lord,  only  makest  me  dwell  in 
safety.  Never  perhaps  did  man  so  en- 
viron himself  with  the  promises  of  the 
Lord,  or  so  dwell  in  the  atmosphere  of 
his  Word  and  live  by  his  breath,  as  Lu- 
ther at  Coburg. 

At  length  letters  came.  "  If  the  times 
in  which  we  live  were  not  opposed  to  it, 
I  should  have  imagined  some  revenge," 
wrote  Luther  to  Jonas ;  "  but  prayer 
checked  my  anger,  and  anger  checked 
my  prayer.*  I  am  delighted  at  that 
tranquil  mind  which  God  gives  our 
prince.  As  for  Melancthon,  it  is  his  phi- 
losophy that  tortures  him,  and  nothing 
else.  For  our  cause  is  in  the  very  hands 
of  Him  who  can  say  with  unutterable 
pride  :  No  one  shall  pluck  it  out  of  my  hands. 
I  would  not  haye  it  in  our  hands,  and  it 
would  not  be  desirable  that  it  were  so.f 
I  have  had  many  things  in  my  hands, 
and  I  have  lost  them  all ;  but  whatever  I 
have  been  able  to  place  in  God's,  I  still 
possess." 

On  learning  that  Melancthon's  anguish 
still  continued,  Luther  wrote  to  him  :  and 
these  are  words  that  should  be  preserved. 

"  Grace  and  peace  in  Christ !  in  Christ, 
I  say,  and  not  in  the  world,  Amen.  I 
hate  with  exceeding  hatred  those  extreme 
cares  which  consume  you.  If  the  cause 
is  unjust,  abandon  it ;  if  the  cause  is  just, 
why  should  we  belie  the  promises  of  Him 
who  commands  us  to  sleep  without  fear  ? 
Can  the  devil  do  more  than  kill  us? 
Christ  will  not  be  wanting  to  the  work 
of  justice  and  of  truth.  He  lives;  he 
reigns;  what  fear,  then,  can  we  have? 
God  is  powerful  to  upraise  his  cause  if  it 
is  overthrown,  to  make  it  proceed  if  it  re- 
mains motionless,  and  if  we  are  not 
worthy  of  it,  he  will  do  it  by  others. 

"  I  have  received  your  Apology,J  and 
I  cannot  understand  what  you  mean,  when 
you  ask  what  we  must  concede  to  the 
Papists.  We  have  already  conceded  too 
much.  Night  and  day  I  meditate  on  this 
affair,  turning  it  over  and  over,  perusing 
all  Scripture,  and  the  certainty  of  the 
truth  of  our  doctrine  continually  increas- 
es in  my  mind.     With  the  help  of  God, 

*  Sed  orandi  tempus  non  sinebat  irasci,  et  ira 
non  sinebat  orare. — (L.  Epp.  iv.  p.  46.) 

t  Nee  vellem,  nee  consultum  esset,  in  nostra 
manu  esse. — (L.  Epp.  iv.  p.  46.) 

i  The  Confession  revised  and  corrected. 


706 


HISTORY  OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


I  will  not  permit  a  single  letter  of  all  that 
we  have  said  to  be  torn  from  us. 

u  The  issue  of  this  affair  torments  you, 
because  you  cannot  understand  it.  But 
if  you  could,  I  would  not  have  the  least 
share  in  it.  God  has  put  it  in  a  '  common 
place,'  that  you  will  not  find  either  in  your 
rhetoric  or  in  your  philosophy :  that  place 
is  called  Faith.*  It  is  that  in  which  sub- 
sist all  things  that  Ave  can  neither  under- 
stand nor  see.  Whoever  wishes  to  touch 
them,  as  you  do,  will  have  tears  for  his 
sole  reward. 

"  If  Christ  is  not  with  us,  where  is  he 
in  the  whole  universe  1  If  we  are  not 
the  Church,  where,  I  pray,  is  the  Church  ? 
Is  it  the  Dukes  of  Bavaria,  is  it  Ferdinand, 
is  it  the  Pope,  is  it  the  Turk,  who  is  the 
Church  1  If  we  have  not  the  Word  of 
God,  who  is  it  that  possesses  it  ? 

"  Only  we  must  have  faith,  lest  the 
cause  of  faith  should  be  found  to  be  with- 
out faith,  f 

"  If  we  fall,  Christ  falls  with  us,  that  is 
to  say,  the  Master  of  the  world.  I  would 
rather  fall  with  Christ,  than  remain  stand- 
ing with  Csesar." 

Thus  wrote  Luther.  The  faith  which 
animated  him  flowed  from  him  like  tor- 
Tents  of  living  water.  He  was  indefatiga- 
ble ;  in  a  single  day  he  wrote  to  Melanc- 
thon,  Spalatin,  Brenz,  Agricola,  and  John 
Frederick,  and  they  were  letters  full  of 
life.  He  was  not  alone  in  praying, 
speaking,  and  believing.  At  the  same 
moment,  the  Evangelical  Christians  ex- 
horted one  another  everywhere  to  prayer.| 
Such  was  the  arsenal  in  which  the  wea- 
pons were  forged  that  the  confessors  of 
Christ  wielded  before  the  Diet  of  Augs- 
burg. 

VII.  At  length  the  25th  June  arrived. 
This  was  destined  to  be  the  greatest  day 
of  the  Reformation,  and  one  of  the  most 
glorious  in  the  history  of  Christianity 
and  of  mankind. 

As  the  chapel  of  the  Palatine  Palace, 
where  the  Emperor  had  resolved  to  hear 
the  Confession,  could  contain  only  about 

*  Deus  posuit  earn  in  locum,  quendam  commu- 
nem,  quem  in  tua  rhetorica  non  habcs  nee  in  phil- 
osophiatua;  is  vocatur_^Zes.— (L.  Epp.  iv.  p.  53.) 

t  Tantum  est  opus  fide,  ne  eausa  fidei  sit  sine 
Jide.— (Ibid,  p.  61.) 

t  Wittembergse  scribunt,  tarn  diligenter  ibi  Ec- 
icksiain  orare. — (L.  Epp.  iv.  p.  69.) 


two  hundred  persons,*  before  three 
o'clock  a  great  crowd  was  to  be  seen 
surrounding  the  building  and  thronging 
the  court,  hoping  by  this  means  to  catch 
a  few  words ;  and  many  having  gained 
entrance  to  the  chapel,  all  were  turned 
out  except  those  who  were  not,  at  the 
least,  councillors  to  the  princes. 

Charles  took  his  seat  on  the  throne. 
The  Electors  or  their  representatives 
were  on  his  right  and  left  hand ;  after 
them  the  other  princes  and  states  of  the 
Empire.  The  legate  had  refused  to  ap- 
pear in  this  solemnity,  lest  he  should 
seem  by  his  presence  to  authorize  the 
reading  of  the  Confession.! 

Then  stood  up  John  Elector  of  Sax- 
ony, with  his  son  John  Frederick,  Philip 
Landgrave  of  Hesse,  the  Margrave 
George  of  Brandenburg,  Wolfgang 
Prince  of  Anhalt,  Ernest  Duke  of 
Brunswick-Luneburg,  and  his  brother 
Francis,  and  last  of  all  the  deputies  of 
Nuremberg  and  Reutlingen.  Their  air 
was  animated  and  their  features  radiant 
with  joy.J  The  apologies  of  the  early 
Christians,  of  Tertullian  and  Justin  Mar- 
tyr, hardly  reached  in  writing  the  sov- 
ereigns to  whom  they  were  addressed. 
But  now,  to  hear  the  new  apology  of  re- 
suscitated Christianity,  behold  that  puis- 
sant Emperor,  whose  sceptre,  stretching 
far  beyond  the  columns  of  Hercules, 
reaches  the  utmost  limits  of  the  world, 
his  brother  the  King  of  the  Romans, 
with  electors,  princes,  prelates,  deputies, 
ambassadors,  all  of  whom  desire  to  de- 
stroy the  Gospel,  but  who  are  constrain- 
ed by  an  invisible  power  to  listen,  and, 
by  that  very  listening,  to  honour  the 
Confession ! 

One  thought  was  involuntarily  present 
in  the  minds  of  the  spectators, — the  re- 
collection of  the  Diet  of  Worms. §  Only 
nine  years  before,  a  poor  monk  stood 
alone  for  this  same  cause  in  a  hall  of  the 
town-house  at  Worms,  in  presence  of  the 
Empire.  And  now  in  his  stead,  behold 
the  foremost  of  the  Electors,  behold 
princes  and  cities  !      What  a  victory  is 

*  Capiebat  forsan  ducentos. — (Jonas,  Corp.  Ref. 
ii.  p.  157.) 

t  Sarpi,  Hist.  Council.  Trent,  i.  p.  101. 

t  Lseto  et  alacri  animo  et  vultu. — (Scultet.  i.  p. 
273.) 

§  Ante  decennium  in  conventu  Wormatensi. — 
(Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  153.) 


THE  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


707 


declared  by  this  simple  fact !  No  doubt 
Charles  himself  cannot  escape  from  this 
recollection. 

The  Emperor,  seeing'  the  Protestants 
stand  up,  motioned  them  to  sit  down ; 
and  then  the  two  chancellors  of  the 
Elector,  Bruck  and  Bayer,  advanced  to 
the  middle  of  the  chapel,  and  stood  be- 
fore the  throne,  holding  in  their  hands, 
the  former  the  Latin,  and  the  other  the 
German  copy  of  the  Confession.  The 
Emperor  required  the  Latin  copy  to  be 
read.*  "  We  are  Germans,"  said  the 
Elector  of  Saxony,  "  and  on  German 
soil ;  I  hope  there  lore  your  majesty  will 
allow  us  to  speak  German."  If  the 
Confession  had  been  read  in  Latin,  a 
language  unknown  to  most  of  the 
princes,  the  general  effect  would  have 
been  lost.  This  was  another  means  of 
shutting  the  mouth  of  the  Gospel.  The 
Emperor  complied  with  the  Elector's 
demand. 

Bayer  then  began  to  read  the  Evan- 
gelical Confession,  slowly,  seriously,  dis- 
tinctly, with  a  clear,  strong,  and  sonorous 
voice,  which  re-echoed  under  the  arched 
roof  of  the  chapel,  and  carried  even  to  the 
outside  this  great  testimony  paid  to  the 
truth,  f 

"  Most  serene,  most  mighty,  and  invin- 
cible Emperor  and  most  gracious  Lord," 
said  he,  "  we  who  appear  in  your  pre- 
sence, declare  ourselves  ready  to  confer 
amicably  with  you  on  the  fittest  means  of 
restoring  one  sole,  true,  and  same  faith, 
since  it  is  for  one  sole  and  same  Christ 
that  we  fight.  |  And  in  case  that  these 
religious  dissensions  cannot  be  settled 
amicably,  we  then  offer  to  your  majesty 
to  explain  our  cause  in  a  general,  free, 
and  christian  council."^ 

This  prologue  being  ended,  Bayer  con- 
fessed the  Holy  Trinity,  conformably  with 
the  Nicene  Council,||  original  and  here- 
ditary sin,  "  which  bringeth  eternal  death 
to  all  who  are  not  regenerated,"^!  and  the 

*  Caesar  Latinum  prelegi  volebat. — (Seek.  ii.  p. 

t  Qui  clare,  distincte,  tarde  et  voce  adeo  grandi 
et  sonora  earn  pronunciavit. — (Scultet.  p.  276.) 

t  Ad  unam  veram  concordem  religionem,  sicut 
omnes  sub  uno  Christo  sumus  et  rnilitamus. — 
(Confessio,  Praefatio.  Urkunden.  i.  p.  474.) 

§  Causam  dicturos  in  tali  generali,  libero,  et 
Christiano  concilio. — (Ibid.  p.  479.) 

II  Ettamen  tres  sunt  persons  ej  usdem  essentias . 
—{Ibid.  p.  682.) 

f  Vitium  originis,  afferens  aeternam  mortem  his 


incarnation  of  the  Son,  "  very  God  and 
very  man."* 

"  We  teach  moreover,"  continued  he, 
"  that  we  cannot  be  justified  before  God 
by  our  own  strength,  our  merits,  and  our 
works  ;  but  that  we  are  justified  by  Christ 
through  grace,  through  the  means  of 
faith,t  when  we  believe  that  our  sins  are 
forgiven  in  virtue  of  Christ,  who  by  his 
death  has  made  satisfaction  for  our  sins  : 
this  faith  is  the  righteousness  that  God 
imputes  to  the  sinner. 

"  But  we  teach,  at  the  same  time,  that 
this  faith  ought  to  bear  good  fruits,  and 
that  we  must  do  all  the  good  works  com- 
manded by  God,  for  the  love  of  God,  and 
not  by  their  means  to  gain  the  grace  of 
God." 

The  Protestants  next  declared  their 
faith  in  the  Christian  Church, "  which  is," 
said  they,  "  the  assembly  of  all  true  be- 
lievers and  all  the  saints,"{  in  the  midst 
of  whom  there  are,  nevertheless,  in  this 
life,  many  false  Christians,  hypocrites 
even,  and  manifest  sinners  ;  and  they  ad- 
ded, "  that  it  was  sufficient  for  the  real 
unity  of  the  Church  that  they  were 
agreed  on  the  doctrine  of  the  Gospel  and 
the  administration  of  the  sacraments,  with- 
out the  rites  and  ceremonies  instituted  by 
men  being  everywhere  the  same."§ — 
They  proclaimed  the  necessity  of  baptism, 
and  declared  "  that  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ  are  really  present  and  administer- 
ed in  the  Lord's  Supper  to  those  who  par- 
take of  it."|| 

The  Chancellor  then  successively  con- 
fessed the  faith  of  the  Evangelical  Chris- 
tians, touching  confession,  penance,  the 
nature  of  the  sacraments,  the  government 
of  the  Church,  ecclesiastical  ordinances, 
political  government,  and  the  last  judg- 
ment. "As  regards  Free-will,"  contin- 
ued he,  "  we  confess  that  man's  will  has 

qui  non  renascuntur. — (Confessio,  Praefatio.  Ur- 
kunden. i.  p.  483.) 

*  Unus  Christus,  vere  Deus,  et  vere  homo. — 
(Ibid.)  • 

I  Quod  homines  non  possint  justificari  coram 
Deo,  propriis  viribus,  meritis,  aut  operibus,  sed 
gratis,  propter  Christum,  per  fidem. — (Ibid.  p. 
484.) 

t  Congregatio  sanctorum  etvere  credentium. — 
(Ibid.  p.  487.) 

§  Ad  veram  unitatem  Ecclesiae,  satis  est  consen- 
tire  de  doctrina  Evangelii  et  administratione  sacra- 
mentorum,  nee  necesse  est,  &c. — (Ibid.  p.  486.) 

II  Quod  corpus  et  sanguis  Christi,  vere  adsint 
etdistribuantur  vescentibus  in  coena  Domini. — (F, 
Urkund.  i.  p.  488.) 


708 


HISTORY   OF  THE   REFORMATION. 


a  certain  liberty  of  accomplishing  civil 
justice,  and  of  loving  the  things  that  rea- 
son comprehends ;  that  man  can  do  the 
good  that  is  within  the  sphere  of  nature 
— plough  his  fields,  eat.  drink,  have  a 
friend,  put  on  a  coat,  build  a  house,  take 
a  wife,  feed  cattle,  exercise  a  calling  ;  as 
also  he  can,  of  his  own  movement,  do 
evil,  kneel  before  an  idol,  and  commit 
murder.  But  we  maintain  that  without 
the  Holy  Ghost  he  cannot  do  what  is 
righteous  in  the  sight  of  God." 

Then,  returning  to  the  grand  doctrine 
of  the  Reformation,  and  recalling  to  mind 
that  the  doctors  of  the  Pope  "  have  never 
ceased  impelling  the  faithful  to  puerile 
and  useless  works,  as  the  custom  of 
chaplets,  invocations  of  saints,  monastic 
vows,  processions,  fasts,  feast-days,  brother- 
hoods," the  Protestants  added,  that  as  for 
themselves,  while  urging  the  practice  of 
truly  Christian  works,  of  which  little  had 
been  said  before  their  time,*  "  they 
taught  that  man  is  justified  by  faith 
alone ;  not  by  that  faith  which  is  a 
simple  knowledge  of  the  history,  and 
Avhich  wicked  men  and  even  devils 
possess,  but  by  a  faith  which  believes 
not  only  the  history,  but  also  the  effect 
of  the  hislory  ;f  which  believes  that 
throup-h  Christ  we  obtain  orace  ;  which 
sees  that  in  Christ  we  have  a  merciful 
Father  ;  which  knows  this  God  ;  which 
calls  upon  him  ;  in  a  word,  which  is  not 
without  God  as  the  heathen  are." 

"  Such,"  said  Bayer,  "  is  a  summary  of 
the  doctrine  professed  in  our  Churches, 
by  which  it  may  be  seen  that  this  doctrine 
is  by  no  means  opposed  to  Scripture,  to 
the  universal  Church,  nor  even  to  the 
Romish  Church,  such  as  the  doctors  de- 
scribe it  to  us  ]%  and  since  it  is  so,  to  re- 
ject us  as  heretics  is  an  offence  against 
unity  and  charity." 

Here  terminated  the  first  part  of  the 
Confession,  the  aim  of  which  was  to  ex- 
plain the  Evangelical  doctrine.  The 
Chancellor  read  with  so  distinct  a  voice, 

*  De  quibus  rebus  olim  parum  docebant  con- 
cionatores;  tantum  puerilia  et  non  necessaria 
opera  urgebant— (F.  Urkund,  i.  p.  495.) 

t  Non  tantum  historise  notitiam,  sed  fidem  quse 
credit  non  tantum  historiam,  sed  etiam  effectum 
historise.— (F.  Urkund.  i.  p.  498.) 

X  Nihil  inesse  quod  discrepat  a  Scripturis  vel 
ab  Ecclesia  Catholica,  vel  ab  Ecclesia  Romana, 
quatenus  ex  Scriptoribus  nota  est. — (Ibid.  p. 
501.) 


that  the  crowd  which  was  unable  to  enter 
the  hall,  and  which  filled  the  court  and 
all  the  approaches  of  the  episcopal  palace, 
did  not  lose  a  word.*  This  reading  pro- 
duced the  most  marvellous  effect  on  the 
princes  who  thronged  the  chapel.  Jonas 
watched  every  change  in  their  counte- 
nances,! and  there  beheld  interest,  aston- 
ishment, and  even  approbation  depicted 
by  turns.  "  The  adversaries  imagine 
they  have  done  a  wonderful  thing,  by 
forbidding  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel," 
wrote  Luther  to  the  Elector  ;  "  and  they 
do  nci  see,  poor  creatures !  that  by  the 
reading  of  the  Confession  in  the  presence 
of  the  diet,  there  has  been  more  preach- 
ing than  in  the  sermons  of  ten  preachers. 
Exquisite  subtlety  !  admirable  expedient ! 
Master  Agricola  and  the  other  ministers 
are  reduced  to  silence  ;  but  in  their  place 
appear  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  and  the 
other  princes  and  lords,  who  preach  be- 
fore his  imperial  majesty,  and  the  mem- 
bers of  the  whole  Empire,  freely,  to  their 
beard,  and  before  their  noses.  Yes, 
Christ  is  in  the  diet,  and  he  does  not  keep 
silence  :  the  word  of  God  cannot  be  bound. 
They  forbid  it  in  the  pulpit,  and  are  for- 
ced to  hear  it  in  the  palace ;  poor  minis- 
ters cannot  announce  it,  and  great  princes 
proclaim  it ;  the  servants  are  forbidden  to 
listen  to  it,  and  their  masters  are  compel- 
led to  hear  it ;  they  will  have  nothing  to 
do  with  it  during  the  whole  course  of  the 
diet,  and  they  are  forced  to  submit  to  hear 
more  in  one  day  than  is  heard  ordinarily 

in  a  whole  year When  all  else  is 

silent,  the  very  stones  cry  out,  as  says 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."! 

That  part  of  the  Confession  destined  to 
point  out  errors  and  abuses  still  remained. 
Bayer  continued :  he  explained  and  de- 
monstrated the  doctrine  of  the  two  kinds  ; 
he  attacked  the  compulsory  celibacy  of 
priests,  maintained  that  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per had  been  changed  into  a  regular  fair, 
in  which  it  was  merely  a  question  of  buy- 
ing and  selling,  and  that  it  had  been  re- 
established in  its  primitive  purity  by  the 
Reformation,  ajid  was  celebrated  in  the 
Evangelical  churches  with  entirely  new 
devotion  and  gravity.     He  declared  that 

*  Verum  etiam  in  area  inferiori  et  vicinis  locis 
exaudiri  potuerit. — (Scultet.  p.  274.) 

t  Jonas  scribit  vidisse  sevultus  omnium  de  quo 
mihi  spondet  narrationem  coram. — (L.  Epp.  iv.  p. 
71.) 

X  L.  Epp.  iv.  p.  82. 


THE  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


7C9 


the  Sacrament  was  administered  to  no 
one  who  had  not  first  made  confession  of 
his  faults,  and  he  quoted  this  expression 
of  Chrysostom  :  "  Confess  thyself  to  God 
the  Lord,  thy  real  Judge ;  tell  thy  sin, 
not  with  the  tongue,  but  in  thy  consciene 
and  in  thy  heart." 

Bayer  next  came  to  the  precepts  on  the 
distinction  of  meats  and  other  Roman 
usages.  "  Celebrate  such  a  festival,"  said 
he  ;  "  repeat  such  a  prayer,  or  keep  such 
a  fast ;  be  dressed  in  such  a  manner,  and 
so  many  other  ordinances  of  men — this 
is  what  is  now  styled  a  spiritual  and  chris- 
tian life ;  while  the  good  works  prescribed 
by  God,  as  those  of  a  father  of"  a  family 
who  toils  to  support  his  wife,  his  sons, 
and  his  daughters — of  a  mother  who 
brings  children  into  the  world,  and  takes 
care  of  them — of  a  prince  or  of  a  magis- 
trate who  governs  his  subjects,  are  looked 
upon  as  secular  things,  and  of  an  imper- 
fect nature."  As  for  monastic  vows  in 
particular,  he  represented  that,  as  the 
Pope  could  give  a  dispensation  from 
them,  those  vows  ought  therefore  to  be 
abolished. 

The  last  article  of  the  Confession  treat- 
ed of  the  authority  of  the  bishops :  pow- 
erful princes  crowned  with  the  episcopal 
mitre  were  there  ;  the  Archbishops  of 
Mentz,  Cologne,  Salzburg,  and  Bremen  ; 
the  Bishops  of  Bamberg,  Wurzburg, 
Eichstadt,  Worms,  Spire,  Strasburg, 
Augsburg.  Constance,  Coire,  Passau, 
Liege,  Trent,  Brixen,  and  of  Lebus  and 
Ratzburg,  fixed  their  eyes  on  the  humble 
confessor.  He  fearlessly  continued,  and 
energetically  protesting  against  that  con- 
fusion of  Church  and  State  which  had 
characterized  the  Middle  Ages,  he  called 
for  the  distinction  and  independence  of 
the  two  societies. 

"  Many,"  said  he,  u  have  unskilfully 
confounded  the  episcopal  and  the  tempo- 
ral power  ;  and  from  this  confusion  have 
resulted  great  wars,  revolts,  and  seditions.* 
It  is  for  this  reason,  and  to  reassure  men's 
consciences,  that  we  find  ourselves  con- 
strained to  establish  the  difference  which 
exists  between  the  power  of  the  Church 
and  the  power  of  the  sword,  f 

*  Nonnulli  incommode  commiscuerunt  potesta- 
tem  ecclesiasticam  et  potestatem  gladii ;  et  ex  hac 
confusione,  &c. — (Urkunden.  Confes.  Augs.  i.  p. 
539.) 

t  Coacti  sunt  ostendere  discrimen  ecclesiastics 
potestatis  et  potestatis  gladii. — (Ibid.) 


"  We  therefore  teach  that  the  power 
of  the  keys  or  of  the  bishops  is,  conform- 
ably with  the  Word  of  the  Lord,  a  com- 
mandment emanating  from  God,  to 
preach  the  Gospel,  to  remit  or  retain 
sins,  and  to  administer  the  Sacraments. 
This  power  has  reference  only  to  eternal 
goods,  is  exercised  only  by  the  minister 
of  the  Word,  and  does  not  trouble  itself 
with  political  administration.  The  po- 
litical administration,  on  the  other  hand, 
is  busied  with  everything  else  but  the 
Gospel.  The  magistrate  protects,  not 
souls,  but  bodies  and  temporal  posses- 
sions. He  defends  them  against  all  at- 
tacks from  without,  and,  by  making  use 
of  the  sword  and  of  punishment,  compels 
men  to  observe  civil  justice  and  peace.* 

"  For  this  reason  we  must  take  particu- 
lar care  not  to  mingle  the  power  of  the 
Church  with  the  power  of  the  State. | 
The  power  of  the  Church  ought  never 
to  invade  an  office  that  is  foreign  to  it ; 
for  Christ  himself  said:  My  kingdom  is 
not  of  this  world.  And  again :  Who  made 
me  a  judge  over  you  1  St.  Paul  said  to  the 
Philippians :  Our  citizenship  is  in  heaven.\ 
And  to  the  Corinthians :  The  weapons  of 
our  warfare  are  not  carnal,  fod  mighty 
through  God. 

"  It  is  thus  that  we  distinguish  the  two 
governments  and  the  two  powers,  and 
that  we  honour  both  as  the  most  excel- 
lent gifts  that  God  has  given  here  on 
earth. 

"  The  duty  of  the  bishops  is  therefore  to 
preach  the  Gospel,  to  forgive  sins,  to  ex- 
clude from  the  Christian  Church  all  who 
rebel  against  the  Lord,  but  without  hu- 
man power,  and  solely  by  the  Word  of 
God.§  If  the  bishops  act  thus,  the  church- 
es ought  to  be  obedient  to  them  according 
to  this  declaration  of  Christ :  Whoever 
heareth  you,  heareth  me. 

u  But  if  the  bishops  teach  anything 
chat  is  contrary  to  the  Gospel,  then  the 
churches  have  an  order  from  God  which 
forbids  them  to  obey  (Matt.  vii.  15  ;  Ga- 

*  Politica  administrate  versatur  enim  circa 
alias  res  quam  Evangelium ;  magistratus  defendit 

non  mentes  sed  corpora et  coercet  homines 

gladio. — (Urkund.  Confess.  Aug.  i.  p.  541.) 

t  Non  lgitur  commiscendae  sunt  potestates  ec- 
clesiastics et  civilis. — (Ibid.) 

J  Greek,  iru\iTevua. — (Philip,  iii.  20.  Scott  and 
Henry  Comment.) 

§  Excludere  a  communjone  Ecclesiae,  sine  vi 
humana  sed  verbo. — (Urkund.  Confes.  Augs.  i. 
p.  544.) 


710 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


latians  i.  8 ;  2  Cor.  xiii.  8,  10).  And  St. 
Augustin  himself,  in  his  letter  against 
Pertilian,  writes :  '  We  must  not  obey 
the  catholic  bishops,  if  they  go  astray, 
and  teach  anything  contrary  to  the  canon- 
ical Scriptures  of  God.'  "* 

After  some  remarks  on  the  ordinances 
and  traditions  of  the  Church,  Bayer 
came  to  the  epilogue  of  the  Confes- 
sion. 

"  It  is  not  from  hatred  that  we  have 
spoken,"  added  he,  "  nor  to  insult  any 
one  ;  but  we  have  explained  the  doctrines 
that  we  maintain  to  be  essential,  in  order 
that  it  may  be  understood  that  we  admit 
of  neither  dogma  nor  ceremony  which  is 
contrary  to  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  to 
the  usage  of  the  universal  Church." 
"  Bayer  then  ceased  to  read.  He  had 
spoken  for  two  hours:  the  silence  and 
serious  attention  of  the  assembly  were 
not  once  disturbed.! 

This  Confession  of  Augsburg  will 
ever  remain  one  of  the  masterpieces  of 
the  human  mind  enlightened  by  the 
Spirit  of  God. 

The  language  that  had  been  adopted, 
while  it  was  perfectly  natural,  was  the 
result  of  a  profound  study  of  character. 
These  princes,  these  warriors,  these  poli- 
ticians who  were  sitting  in  the  Palatine 
Palace,  entirely  ignorant  as  they  were  of 
divinity,  easily  understood  the  Protestant 
doctrine  ;  for  it  was  not  explained  to  them 
in  the  style  of  the  schools,  but  in  that  of 
everyday  life,  and  with  a  simplicity  and 
clearness  that  rendered  all  misunderstand- 
ing impossible. 

At  the  same  time  the  power  of  argu- 
mentation was  so  much  the  more  remark- 
able, as  it  was  the  more  concealed.  At 
one  time  Melancthon  (for  it  was  really 
he  who  spoke  through  the  mouth  of 
Bayer)  was  content  to  quote  a  single  pas- 
sage of  Scripture  or  of  the  Fathers  in 
favour  of  the  doctrine  he  maintained  ; 
and  at  another  he  proved  his  thesis  so 
much  the  more  strongly,  that  he  appeared 
only  to  be  declaring  it.  With  a  single 
stroke  he  pointed  out  the  sad  consequen- 
ces that  would  follow  the  rejection  of  the 
faith   he   professed,   or   with   one   word 

*  Nee  catholicis  episcopis  consentiendum  est, 
sicuti  forte  falluntur,  aut  contra  canonicas  Dei 
scripturas  aliquid  sentiunt. — (Urkund.  Confes. 
Augs.  i.  p.  544.) 

t  Mit  grosser  Stille  und  Ernst. — (Bruch's 
Apologie,  p.  59.) 


showed  its  importance  for  the  prosperity 
of  the  Church ;  so  that  while  listening 
to  him,  the  most  violent  enemies  were 
obliged  to  acknowledge  to  themselves 
that  there  was  really  something  to  say  in 
favour  of  the  new  sect. 

To  this  force  of  reasoning  the  Apology 
added  a  prudence  no  less  remarkable. 
Melancthon,  while  declining  with  firm- 
ness the  errors  attributed  to  his  party,  did 
not  even  appear  to  feel  the  injustice  of 
these  erroneous  imputations  ;  and  while 
pointing  out  those  of  Popery,  he  did  not 
say  expressly  they  were  those  of  his  ad- 
versaries ;  thus  carefully  avoiding  every 
thing  that  might  irritate  their  minds.  In 
this  he  showed  himself  wise  as  a  serpent 
and  harmless  as  a  dove. 

But  the  most  admirable  thing  of  all  is 
the  fidelity  with  which  the  Confession 
explains  the  doctrines  most  essential  to 
salvation.  Rome  is  accustomed  to  repre- 
sent the  Reformers  as  the  creators  of  the 
Protestant  doctrines  ;  but  it  is  not  in  the 
sixteenth  century  that  we  must  look  for 
the  days  of  that  creation.  A  bright 
track  of  light,  of  which  Wickliffe  and 
Augustin  mark  the  most  salient  points, 
carries  us  back  to  the  Apostolic  age :  it 
was  then  that  shone  in  all  their  brilliancy 
the  creative  days  of  Evangelical  truth. 
Yet  it  is  true  (and  if  this  is  what  Rome 
means,  we  fully  concur  in  the  idea)  never 
since  the  time  of  St.  Paul  had  the  Chris- 
tian doctrine  appeared  with  so  much 
beauty,  depth,  and  life,  as  in  the  days  of 
the  Reformation. 

Among  all  these  doctrines,  that  of  the 
Church,  which  had  been  so  long  disfig- 
ured, appeared  at  this  time  in  all  its  na- 
tive purity.  With  what  wisdom,  in  par- 
ticular, the  confessors  of  Augsburg  pro- 
test against  that  confusion  of  religion  and 
politics  which  since  the  deplorable  epoch 
of  Constantine,  had  changed  the  king- 
dom of  God  into  an  earthly  and  carnal 
institution  !  Undoubtedly  what  the  Con- 
fession stigmatizes  with  the  greatest  en- 
ergy is  the  intrusion  of  the  Church  into 
the  affairs  of  the  State,  but  can  it  be 
thought  that  it  was  to  approve  the  intru- 
sion of  the  State  in  Church  affairs  ?  The 
evil  of  the  Middle  Ages  was  the  having 
enslaved  the  State  to  the  Church,  and 
the  confessors  of  Augsburg  rose  like  one 
man  to  combat  it.  The  evil  of  the  three 
centuries  which  have  passed  away  since 


THE   AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


711 


then,  is  to  have  subjected  the  Church  to  I 
the  State  ;  and  we  may  believe  that  Lu- 
ther and  Melancthon  would  have  found 
against  this  disorder  thunders  no  less 
powerful.  What  they  attack  in  a  gene- 
ral sense,  is  the  confusion  of  the  two  so- 
cieties ;  what  they  demand,  is  their  inde- 
pendence, I  do  not  say  their  separation. 
If  the  Augsburg  confessors  were  unwil- 
ling that  things  from  above  should  mo- 
nopolize those  of  the  earth,  they  would 
have  been  still  less  willing  for  things  of 
earth  to  oppress  those  from  heaven. 

There  is  a  particular  application  of 
this  principle,  which  the  Confession 
points  out.  It  wills  the  bishops  should 
reprimand  those  who  obey  wickedness, 
"  but  without  human  power,  and  solely 
by  the  Word  of  God."  It  therefore  re- 
jects the  use  of  the  sword  in  the  chastise- 
ment of  heretics.  This  we  see  is  a  prim- 
itive principle,  fundamental  and  essential 
to  the  Reformation,  as  the  contrary  doc- 
trine is  a  primitive  principle,  fundamental 
and  essential  to  the  Papacy.  If  among 
Protestants  we  find  some  writing,  or  even 
some  example  opposed  to  this,  it  is  but  an 
isolated  fact,  which  cannot  invalidate  the 
official  principles  of  the  Reform — it  is 
one  of  those  exceptions  which  always 
serve  to  confirm  the  rule. 

Finally,  the  Augsburg  Confession  does 
not  usurp  the  rights  of  the  Word  of  God  ; 
it  desires  to  be  its  handmaid  and  not  its 
rival ;  it  does  not  found,  it  does  not  regu- 
late the  faith,  but  simply  professes  it. 
"  Our  churches  teach,"  it  says  ;  and  it  will 
be  remembered  that  Luther  considered 
it  only  as  a  sermon  preached  by  princes 
and  kings.  Had  it  desired  more,  as  has 
since  been  maintained,  by  that  very  cir- 
cumstance it  would  have  been  nullified. 
Was,  however,  the  Confession  able  to 
follow  in  all  things  the  exact  path  of 
truth  1  We  may  be  permitted  to  doubt 
it. 

It  professes  not  to  separate  from  the 
teaching  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and 
even  from  that  of  the  Romish  Church — 
by  which  is  no  doubt  signified  the  an- 
cient Roman  Church — and  rejects  the 
popish  particularism  which,  for  about 
eight  centuries,  imprisoned  men's  con- 
sciences. The,  Confession,  however, 
seems  overlaid  with  superstitious  fears 
when  there  is  any  question  of  deviating 
from  the  views  entertained  by  some  of 


the  Fathers  of  the  Church,  of  breaking 
the  toils  of  the  hierarchy,  and  of  acting, 
as  regards  Rome,  without  blameable  for- 
bearance. This,  at  least,  is  what  its  au- 
thor, Melancthon,  professes.  "  We  do 
not  put  forward  any  dogma,"  said  he, 
"  which  is  not  founded  on  the  Gospel  or 
on  the  teaching  of  the  Catholic  Church  : 
wte  are  prepared  to  concede  everything 
that  is  necessary  for  the  episcopal  dig- 
nity ;*  and,  provided  that  the  bishops  do 
not  condemn  the  Gospel,  we  preserve  ail 
the  rites  that  appear  indifferent  to  us.  In 
a  word,  there  is  no  burden  that  we  re- 
ject, if  we  can  bear  it  without  guilt."f 

Many  will  think,  no  doubt,  that  a  little 
more  independence  would  have  been  prop- 
er in  this  matter,  and  that  it  would  have 
been  better  to  have  passed  over  the  ages 
that  have  followed  the  times  of  the  apos- 
tles, and  have  frankly  put  in  practice  the 
grand  principle  which  the  Reformation 
had  proclaimed  :  "  There  is  for  articles 
of  faith  no  other  foundation  than  the 
Word  of  God."  J 

Melancthon's  moderation  has  been  ad- 
mired ;  and,  in  truth,  while  pointing  out 
the  abuses  of  Rome,  he  was  silent  on 
what  is  most  revolting  in  them,  on  their 
disgraceful  origin,  their  scandalous  con- 
sequences, and  is  content  to  show  that 
they  are  in  contradiction  to  the  Scripture. 
But  he  does  rffcre  ;  he  is  silent  on  the 
divine  right  of  the  Pope,  on  the  number 
of  the  sacraments,  and  on  other  points 
besides.  His  great  business  is  to  justify 
the  renovated,  and  not  to  attack  the  de- 
formed, Church.  "  Peace,  peace  !"  was 
his  cry.  But  if,  instead  of  all  this  cir- 
cumspection, the  Reformation  had  ad- 
vanced with  courage,  had  wholly  un- 
veiled the  Word  of  God,  and  had  made 
an  energetic  appeal  to  the  sympathies  of 
reform  then  spread  in  men's  hearts, 
would  it  not  have  taken  a  stronger  and 
more  honourable  position,  and  would  it 
not  have  secured  more  extensive  con- 
quests ? 

The  interest  that  Charles  the  Fifth 
showed  in  listening  to  the  Confession 
seems  doubtful.  According  to  some,  he 
endeavoured  to  understand  that  foreign 

*  Concessuros  amnia  quae  ad  dignitatem  Epis- 
coporum  stabiliendani  pertinent. — (Corp.  Ref.  ii. 
p.  431.) 

+  Nullum  detractavimus  onus,  quod  sine  sce- 
lere  suspici  posset. — (Ibid.) 

t  Solum  verbum  Dei  condit  articulos  Jidei. 


712 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


language  ;*  according  to  others,  he  fell 
asleep.f  It  is  easy  to  reconcile  these 
contradictory  testimonies. 

When  the  reading  was  finished,  Chan- 
cellor Briick,  with  the  two  copies  in  his 
hand,  advanced  towards  the  Emperor's 
secretary  and  presented  them  to  him. 
Charles  the  Fifth,  who  was  wide  awake 
at  this  moment,  himself  took  the  two 
Confessions,  handed  the  German  copy, 
considered  as  official,  to  the  elector  of 
Mentz,  and  kept  the  Latin  one  for  him- 
self4  He  then  made  reply  to  the  Elec- 
tor of  Saxony  and  to  his  allies  that  he  had 
graciously  heard  their  confession  ;§  but 
as  this  affair  was  one  of  extreme  im- 
portance, he  required  time  to  deliberate 
upon  it. 

The  joy  with  which  the  Protestants 
were  filled  shone  in  their  eyes.||  God 
had  been  with  them  ;  and  they  saw  that 
the  striking  act  which  had  so  recently 
been  accomplished,  imposed  on  them  the 
obligation  of  confessing  the  truth  with 
immovable  perseverance.  "  I  thrill  with 
joy,"  wrote  Luther,  "  that  my  life  was 
cast  in  an  epoch  in  which  Christ  is  pub- 
licly exalted  by  such  illustrious  confes- 
sors and  in  so  glorious  an  assembly. "IT 
The  whole  Evangelical  Church,  excited 
and  renovated  by  this  public  confession 
of  its  representatives,  was  then  more  in- 
timately united  to  its  divine  Chief,  and 
baptized  with  a  new  baptism.  "  Since 
the  apostolic  age,"  said  they  (these  are 
the  words  of  a  contemporary),  "  there 
has  never  been  a  greater  work  or  a  more 
magnificent  confession."** 

The  Emperor,  having  descended  from 
his  throne,  approached  the  Protestant 
princes,  and  begged  them  in  a  low  tone 


*  Satis  attentus  erat  Caesar.  (Jonas  in 
Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  1S4. 

t  Cum  nostra  confessio  legeretur,  obdormi- 
vit.     (Brentius  in  Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  245.) 

X  The  Latin  copy,  deposited  in  the  archives 
of  the  imperial  house,  should  be  found  at 
Brussels  ;  and  the  German  copy,  sent  after- 
wards to  the  Council  of  Trent, 'ought  to  be  in 
the  Vatican. 

§  Gnedichlich  vernohmen.  (F.  Urkunden, 
ii.  p.  .3.) 

II  Cum  incredibili  protestantium  gaudio. 
(Seek.  ii.  p    170.) 

IT  Mihi  vehementer  placet  vixisse  in  hanc 
horam.     (L.  Epp.  iv.  p.  71.) 

**  Grosser  und  hbher  Werk.  (Mathesius, 
Hist.  p.  93-9S.) 


not  to  publish  the  Confession  ;*  they  ac- 
ceded to  his  request,  and  every  one  with- 
drew. 

VIII.  The  Romanists  had  expected 
nothing  like  this.  Instead  of  a  hateful 
controversy,  they  had  heard  a  striking 
confession  of  Jesus  Christ ;  the  most  hos- 
tile minds  were  consequently  disarmed. 
"  We  would  not  for  a  great  deal,"  was 
the  remark  on  every  side,  "  have  missed 
being  present  at  this  reading,  "f  The 
effect  was  so  prompt,  that  for  an  instant 
the  cause  was  thought  to  be  definitively 
gained.  The  bishops  themselves  im- 
posed silence  on  the  sophisms  and  cla- 
mours of  the  Fabers  and  the  Ecks.:}: 
"  All  that  the  Lutherans  have  said  is 
true,"  exclaimed  the  Bishop  of  Augs- 
burg ;  "we  cannot  deny  it."§ — "Well, 
doctor,"  said  the  Duke  of  Bavaria  to 
Eck,  in  a  reproachful  tone,  "  you  had 
given  me  a  very  different  idea  of  this 
doctrine  and  of  this  affair. "||  This  was 
the  general  cry ;  accordingly  the  so- 
phists, as  they  called  them,  were  embar- 
rassed. "  But,  after  all,"  said  the  Duke 
of  Bavaria  to  them,  "  can  you  refute  by 
sound  reasons  the  Confession  made  by 
the  Elector  and  his  allies  ?" — "  With 
the  writings  of  the  Apostles  and  Pro- 
phets— no  !"  replied  Eck  ;  "  but  with 
those  of  the  Fathers  and  of  the  Coun- 
cils— yes  !"H  "  I  understand,"  quickly 
replied  the  Duke  ;  "  I  understand.  The 
Lutherans,  according  to  you,  are  in 
scripture  ;   and  we  are  outside." 

The  Archbishop  Hermann,  elector  of 
Cologne,  the  Count-palatine  Frederick, 
Duke  Erick  of  Brunswick-Luneburg, 
Duke  Henry  of  Mecklenburg,  and  the 
Dukes  of  Pomerania,  were  gained  over 
to  the  truth  ;  and  Hermann  sought  ere- 
long  to  establish  it  in  his  electorate. 

*  In  still  angeredet  und  gebethen.  (Corp. 
Ref.  ii.  p.  143.) 

f  Briicks  Geschichte  der  Handl.  in  den  Sa- 
chen  des  Glaubens  zu  Augsbourg.  (Forste- 
mann  Archiv.  p.  f)0.) 

\  Multi  episcopi  ad  pacem  sunt  inclinati 
(L.  Epp.  iv.  p.  70.) 

§  Ilia  quae  recitata sunt,  vera  sunt,  sunt  pura 
Veritas ;  non  possumus  inficiari.  (Corp.  Ref. 
ii.  p.  154.) 

||  So  habman  Im  vor  nicht  gesagt.  (Mathes. 
Hist.  p.  99.) 

IT  Mit  Propheten  und  Aposteln  schriften 
nicht.     (Ibid.) 


THE  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


713 


The  impression  produced  in  other 
countries  by  the  Confession  was  perhaps 
still  greater.  Charles  sent  copies  to  all 
the  courts  ;  it  was  translated  into  French, 
Italian,*  and  even  into  Spanish  and  Por- 
tuguese ;  it  circulated  through  all  Eu- 
rope, and  thus  accomplished  what  Luther 
had  said  :  "  Our  Confession  will  pene- 
trate into  every  court,  and  the  sound 
thereof  will  go  through  the  whole 
earth. "f  It  destroyed  the  prejudices 
that  had  been  entertained,  gave  Europe 
a  sounder  idea  of  the  Reformntion,  and 
prepared  the  most  distant  countries  to  re- 
ceive the  seeds  of  the  Gospel. 

Then  Luther's  voice  began  to  be 
heard  again.  He  saw  that  it  was  a  de- 
cisive moment,  and  that  he  ought  now  to 
give  the  impulse  that  would  gain  religi- 
ous liberty.  He  boldly  demanded  this 
liberty  of  the  Roman-catholic  princes 
of  the  diet ;:{:  and  at  the  same  time  endea- 
voured to  make  his  friends  quit  Augs- 
burg. Jesus  Christ  had  been  boldly  con- 
fessed. Instead  of  that  long  series  of 
quarrels  and  discussions  which  was  about 
to  become  connected  with  this  courageous 
act,  Luther  would  have  wished  for  a 
striking  rupture,  even  should  he  seal  with 
his  blood  the  testimony  rendered  to  the 
Gospel.  The  stake,  in  his  idea,  would 
have  been  the  real  catastrophe  of  this 
tragedy.  "  I  absolve  you  from  this  diet, 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord,"§  wrote  he  to 
his  friends.  "  Now  home,  return  home 
again  I  say  home  !  Would  to  God  that 
I  were  the  sacrifice  offered  to  this  new 
council,  as  John  Huss  at  Constance  !"|| 

But  Luther  did  not  expect  so  glorious 
a  conclusion  :  he  compared  the  diet  to  a 
drama.  First,  there  had  been  the  expo- 
sition, then  the  prologue,  afterwards  the 
action,  and  now  he  waited  for  the  tragic 
catastrophe,  according  to  some,  but  which, 

*  Caesar  sibi  fecit  nostram  confessionem 
reddi  Italica  et  Gallica  lingua.  (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p. 
155.)  The  French  translation  will  be  found 
in  F'drstemann's  Urkunden,  i.  p.  357. — Arti- 
cles principaux  de  la  foy. 

f  Perrumpet  in  omnes  aulas  Principum  et 
Regum.     (L.  Epp.  iv.  p.  96.) 

%  Epistle  to  the  Elector  of  Mentz.  (Ibid. 
P.  74.) 

§  Igitur  absolvo  vos  in  nomine  Domini  ab 
isto  conventu.     (L.  Epp.  iv.  p.  96.) 

||  Vellem  ego  sacrificium  esse  hujus  novis- 
simi  concilii,  sicut  Johannes  Huss  Constantiae. 
(Ibid.  p.  110.) 


in  his  opinion,  would  be  merely  comic* 
Everything,  he  thought,  would  be  sacri- 
ficed to  political  peace,  and  dogmas  would 
be  set  aside.  This  proceeding,  which, 
even  in  our  own  days,  would  be  in  the 
eyes  of  the  world  the  height  of  wisdom, 
was  in  Luther's  eyes  the  height  of  folly. 
It  was  the  intervention  of  Charles 
which  especially  alarmed  him.  To  with- 
draw the  Church  from  all  secular  influ- 
ence, and  the  governments  from  all  cle- 
rical influence,  was  then  one  of  the 
dominant  ideas  of  the  great  Reformer. 
"  You  see,"  wrote  he  to  Melancthon, 
"  that  they  oppose  to  our  cause  the  same 
argument  as  at  Worms,  to  wit,  still  and 
for  ever  the  judgment  of  the  Emperor. 
Thus  Satan  is  always  harping  on  the 
same  string,  and  that  emaciated  strength  j" 
of  the  civil  power  is  the  only  one  which 
this  myriad-wiled  spirit  is  able  to  find 
against  Jesus  Christ."  But  Luther  took 
courage,  and  boldly  raised  his  head. 
"  Christ  is  coming,"  continued  he  ;  "  he 
is  coming,  sitting  at  the  right  hand  .... 
Of  whom  ?  not  of  the  Emperor,  or  we 
should  long  ago  have  been  lost,  but  of 
God  himself:  let  us  fear  nothing.  Christ 
is  the  King  of  kings  and  the  Lord  of 
lords.  If  he  loses  this  title  at  Augsburg, 
he  must  also  lose  it  in  all  the  earth,  and 
in  all  the  heavens." 

Thus  a  song  of  triumph  was,  on  the 
part  of  the  Confessors  of  Augsburg,  the 
first  movement  that  followed  this  coura- 
geous act,  unique  doubtless  in  the  annals 
of  the  Church.  Some  of  their  adversa- 
ries at  first  shared  in  their  triumph,  and 
the  others  were  silent ;  but  a  powerful 
reaction  took  place  erelong. 

On  the  following  morning,  Charles 
having  risen  in  ill-humour  and  tired  for 
want  of  sleep,  the  first  of  his  ministers 
who  appeared  in  the  imperial  apartments 
was  the  Count-palatine,  as  wearied  and 
embarrassed  as  his  master.  "  We  must 
yield  something,"  said  he  to  Charles  ; 
"  and  I  would  remind  your  majesty  that 
the  Emperor  Maximilian  was  willing  to 
grant  the  two  kinds  in  the  Eucharist,  the 
marriage  of  priests,  and  liberty  with  re- 
spect to  the  fasts."     Charles  the  Fifth 

*  Sed  catastrophen  illi  tragicam,  nos  comi- 
cam  expectamus.     (Ibid.  p.  85.) 

f  Sic  Satan  chorda  semper  oberrat  eadem, 
et  mille-artifex  ille  non  habet  contra  Christum, 
nisi  unum  illud  elumbe  robur.     (Ibid.  p.  100.) 


7.4 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


eagerly  seized  at  this  proposition  as  a 
means  of  safety.  But  Granvelle  and 
Campeggio  soon  arrived,  who  induced 
him  to  withdraw  it. 

Rome,  bewildered  for  a  moment  by 
the  blow  that  had  struck  her,  rose  up 
again  with  energy.  "  I  stay  with  the 
mother,"  exclaimed  the  Bishop  of  Wartz- 
burg,  meaning  by  it  the  Church  of 
Rome;  "the  mother,  the  mother!" 
"  My  lord,"  wittily  replied  Brenz,  "  pray, 
do  not,  for  the  mother,  forget  either  the 
Father  or  the  Son  !"— "  Well  !  I  grant 
it,"  replied  the  Archbishop  of  Salzburg j 
to  one  of  his  friends,  "  I  also  should  de- 
sire the  communion  in  both  kinds,  the 
marriage  of  priests,  the  reformation  of 
the   Mass,   liberty  as  regards  food  and 

other  traditions But  that  it  should 

be  a  monk,  a  poor  monk,  who  presumes 
to  reform  us  all,  is  what  we  cannot  tole- 
rate."*— "  I  should  have  no  objection," 
said  another  bishop,  "  for  the  Divine 
worship  to  be  celebrated  everywhere  as 
it  is  at  Wittemberg ;  but  we  can  never 
consent  that  this  new  doctrine  should  is- 
sue from  such  a  corner,  "f  And  Me- 
lancthon  insisting  with  the  Archbishop 
of  Salzburg  on  the  necessity  of  a  reform 
of  the  clergy  :  "  Well  !  and  how  can 
you  wish  to  reform  us  V  said  the  latter 
abruptly  :  "  we  priests  have  always 
been  good  for  nothing."  This  is  one  of 
the  most  ingenuous  confessions  that  the 
Reformation  has  torn  from  the  priests. 
Every  day  fanatical  monks  and  doctors, 
brimful  of  sophisms,  were  seen  arriving 
at  Augsburg,  who  endeavoured  to  in- 
flame the  hatred  of  the  Emperor  and  of 
the  princes.^:  "  If  we  formerly  had 
friends,"  said  Melancthon  on  the  morrow 
of  the  Confession,  "  now  we  possess  them 
no  longer.  We  are  here  alone,  aban- 
doned by  all,  and  contending  against 
measureless  dangers."§ 

Charles,  impelled  by  these  contrary 
parties,  affected  a  great  indifference. 
But  without  permitting  it  to  be  seen,  he 
endeavoured,  meanwhile,  to  examine 
this  affair  thoroughly.     "  Let  there  not 

*  Sed  quod  unus  monachus  debeat  nos  re- 
formare  omnes.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  155.) 

t  Aus  dem  Loch  und  Winckel.  (L.  Opp. 
xx.  p.  307  ) 

%  Quotidie  confluunt  hue  sophistae  ac  mona- 
chi.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  141.) 

§  Nos  hie  soli  ac  deserti.     (Ibid.) 


be  a  word  wanting,"  he  had  said  to  his 
secretary,  when  requiring  from  him  a 
French  translation  of  the  Confession. 
"  He  does  not  allow  anything  to  be  ob- 
served," whispered  the  Protestants  one 
to  another,  convinced  that  Charles  was 
gained  ;  "  for  if  it  were  known,  he  would 
lose  his  Spanish  states :  let  us  maintain 
the  most  profound  secresy."  But  the 
Emperor's  courtiers,  who  perceived  these 
strange  hopes,  smiled  and  shook  their 
heads.  "  If  you  have  money,"  said 
Schepper,  one  of  the  secretaries  of  state, 
to  Jonas  and  Melancthon,  "  it  will  be 
easy  for  you  to  buy  from  the  Italians 
whatever  religion  you  please  ;*  but  if 
your  purse  is  empty,  your  cause  is  lost." 
Then  assuming  a  more  serious  tone : 
"  It  is  impossible,"  said  he,  "  for  the 
Emperor,  surrounded  as  he  is  by  bish- 
ops and  cardinals,  to  approve  of  any 
other  religion  than  that  of  the  Pope." 

This  was  soon  evident.  On  the  day 
after  the  confession  (Sunday,  26th  June), 
before  the  breakfast  hour,f  all  the  depu- 
tations from  the  imperial  cities  were  col- 
lected in  the  Emperor's  antechamber. 
Charles,  desirous  of  bringing  back  the 
states  of  the  Empire  to  unity,  began  with 
the  weakest.  "Some  of  the  cities,"  said 
the  count  palatine,  "  have  not  adhered  to 
the  last  Diet  of  Spire  :  the  Emperor  calls 
upon  them  to  submit  to  it." 

Strasburg,  Nuremburg,  Constance, 
Ulm,  Reutlingen,  Heilbronn,  Memmin- 
gen,  Lindau,  Kempten,  Windsheim,  Isny, 
and  Weissemburg,  which  were  thus  sum- 
moned to  renounce  the  famous  protest, 
found  the  moment  curiously  chosen. 
They  asked  for  time. 

The  position  was  complicated ;  discord 
had  been  thrown  in  the  midst  of  the  cities, 
and  intrigue  was  labouring  daily  to  in- 
crease it4  It  was  not  oruv  between  the 
Popish  and  the  Evangelical  cities  that 
disagreement  existed  ;  but  also  between 
the  Zwinglian  and  the  Lutheran  cities, 
and  even  among  the  latter,  those  which 
had  not  adhered  to  the  Confession  of  Augs- 
burg manifested  great  ill-humour  towards 


*  Nos,  si  pecuniam  haberemus,  facile  reli- 
gionem  quam  vellemus  emturos  ab  Italis 
(Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  156.) 

t  Heute  vor  dem  morgenessen.  (Ibid,  p. 
143.) 

\  Es  sind  unter  uns  Stadten,  viel  practica 
und  Selt  Sames  wesens.  (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  151.) 


THE  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


715 


the  deputies  of  Reutlingen  and  Nurem- 
berg. This  proceeding  of  Charles  the 
Fifth  was  therefore  skilfully  calculated ; 
for  it  was  based  on  the  old  axiom,  Divide 
et  impera. 

But  the  enthusiasm  of  faith  overcame 
all  these  stratagems,  and  on  the  next 
day  (27th  June),  the  deputies  from  the 
cities  transmitted  a  reply  to  the  Emperor, 
in  which  they  declared  that  they  could 
not  adhere  to  the  Recess  of  Spire  "  with- 
out disobeying  God,  and  without  com- 
promising the  salvation  of  their  souls."* 

Charles,  who  desired  to  observe  a  just 
medium,  more  from  policy  than  from 
equity,  wavered  between  so  many  con- 
trary convictions.  Desirous  nevertheless 
of  essaying  his  mediating  influence,  he 
convoked  the  states  faithful  to  Rome  on 
Sunday,  26th  June,  shortly  after  his  con- 
ference with  the  cities. 

All  the  princes  were  present :  even 
the  Pope's  legate  and  the  most  influential 
Roman  divines  appeared  at  this  council, 
to  the  great  scandal  of  the  Protestants. 
"  What  reply  should  be  made  to  the  Con- 
fession ?"  was  the  question  set  by  Charles 
the  Fifth  to  the  senate  that  surrounded 
him.-j- 

Three  different  opinions  were  proposed. 
"  Let  us  beware,"  said  the  men  of  the 
Papacy,  "  of  discussing  our  adversaries' 
reasons,  and  let  us  be  content  with  exe- 
cuting the  Edict  of  Worms  against  the 
Lutherans,  and  with  constraining  them 
by  arms.":]: — "  Let  us  submit  the  Con- 
fession to  the  examination  of  impartial 
judges,"  said  the  men  of  the  Empire, 
"  and  refer  the  final  decision  to  the  Em- 
peror. Is  not  even  the  reading  of  the 
Confession  an  appeal  of  the  Protestants  to 
the  imperial  power?"  Others,  in  the 
last  place  (and  these  were  the  men  of  tra- 
dition and  of  ecclesiastical  doctrine), 
were  desirous  of  commissioning  certain 
doctors  to  compose  a  refutation,  which 
should  be  read  to  the  Protestants  and 
ratified  by  Charles. 

The  debate  was  very  animated :  the 
mild  and  the  violent,  the  politic  and  the 
fanatical,  took  a  decided  course  in  the 

*  Ohne  Verletzung  der  gewissen  gegen 
Gott.     (F.  Urkunden.  ii.  p.  6.) 

f  Adversarii  nostri  jam  deliberant  quid  ve- 
lint  respondere.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  26th  June.) 

X  Rem  agendam  esse  vi,  non  audiendam  cau- 
sam.     (Ibid.  p.  154.) 


assembly.  George  of  Saxony  and  Joa- 
chim of  Brandenburg  showed  themselves 
the  most  inveterate,  and  surpassed  in  this 
respect  even  the  ecclesiastical  princes.* 
"  A  certain  clown,  whom  you  know  well, 
is  pushing  them  all  from  behind, "f  wrote 
Melancthon  to  Luther ;  "  and  certain 
hypocritical  theologians  hold  the  torch 
and  lead  the  whole  band."  This  clown 
was  doubtless  Duke  George.  Even  the 
Princes  of  Bavaria,  whom  the  Confession 
had  staggered  at  first,  immediately  ral- 
lied around  the  chiefs  of  the  Roman 
party.  The  Elector  of  Mentz,  the  Bishop 
of  Augsburg,  the  Duke  of  Brunswick, 
showed  themselves  the  least  unfavourable 
to  the  Evangelical  cause.  "  I  can  by 
no  means  advise  his  majesty  to  employ 
force,"  said  Albert.  "  If  his  majesty 
should  constrain  their  consciences,  and 
should  afterwards  quit  the  Empire,  the 
first  victims  sacrificed  would  be  the 
priests  ;  and  who  knows  whether,  in  the 
midst  of  these  discords,  the  Turks  would 
not  suddenly  fall  upon  us?"  But  this 
somewhat  interested  wisdom  of  the  arch- 
bishop did  not  find  many  supporters,  and 
the  men  of  war  immediately  plunged  into 
the  discussion  with  their  harsh  voices. 
"  If  there  is  any  fighting  against  the  Lu- 
therans," said  Count  Felix  of  Werden- 
burg,  "  I  gratuitously  offer  my  sword, 
and  I  swear  never  to  return  it  to  its  scab- 
bard until  it  has  overthrown  the  strong- 
hold of  Luther."  This  nobleman  died 
suddenly  a  few  days  after,  from  the  con- 
sequences of  his  intemperance.  Then 
the  moderate  men  again  interfered : 
"  The  Lutherans  attack  no  one  article 
of  the  faith,"  said  the  Bishop  of  Augs- 
burg ;  "  let  us  come  to  an  arrangement 
with  them ;  and  to  obtain  peace,  let  us 
concede  to  them  the  sacrament  in  both 
kinds  and  the  marriage  of  priests.  I 
would  even  yield  more,  if  it  were  neces- 
sary." Upon  this  great  cries  arose  : 
"  He  is  a  Lutheran,"  they  exclaimed, 
"  and  you  will  see  that  he  is  fully  pre- 
pared to  sacrifice  even  the  private 
masses!" — "  The  masses!  we  must  not 
even  think  of  it,"  remarked  some  with 
an  ironical  smile ;  "  Rome  will  never 
give  them  up,  for  it  is  they  which  main- 

*  Hi  sunt  duces,  et  quidem  acerrimi  alterius 
partis.     (Ibid.) 

f  Omnes  unus  gubernat  rusticus.  (Corp. 
Ref.  26th  June  p.  176.) 


716 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


tain  her  cardinals  and  her  courtiers,  with 
their  luxury  and  their  kitchens."*  The 
Archbishop  of  Salzburg  and  the  Elector 
of  Brandenburg  replied  with  great  vio- 
lence to  the  motion  of  the  Bishop  of  Augs- 
burg. "  The  Lutherans,"  said  they  ab- 
ruptly, "  have  laid  before  us  a  Confession 
written  with  black  ink  on  white  paper. 
Well !  If  I  were  Emperor,  I  would  an- 
swer them  with  red  m&."f — "  Sirs," 
quickly  replied  the  Bishop  of  Augsburg, 
"  take  care  then  that  the  red  letters  do 
not  fly  in  your  faces  !"  The  Elector  of 
Mentz  was  compelled  to  interfere  and 
calm  the  speakers. 

The  Emperor,  desirous  of  playing  the 
character  of  an  umpire,  would  have 
wished  the  Roman  party  at  least  to  have 
placed  in  his  hands  an  accusation  against 
the  Reform :  but  all  was  now  altered ;  the 
majority,  becoming  daily  more  compact 
since  the  Diet  of  Spire,  no  longer  sided 
with  Charles.  Full  of  the  sentiment  of 
its  own  strength,  it  refused  to  assume  the 
title  of  a  party,  and  to  take  the  Emperor 
as  a  judge.  "  What  are  you  saying," 
cried  they,  "  of  diversity  between  the 
members  of  the  Empire  ?  There  is  but 
one  legitimate  party.  It  is  not  a  ques- 
tion of  deciding  between  two  opinions 
whose  rights  are  equal,  but  of  crushing 
rebels,  and  of  aiding  those  who  have  re- 
mained faithful  to  the  constitution  of  the 
Empire." 

This  haughty  language  enlightened 
Charles  :  he  found  they  had  outstripped 
him,  and  that,  abandoning  his  lofty  posi- 
tion of  arbiter,  he  must  submit  merely 
to  be  the  executer  of  the  orders  of  the 
majority.  It  was  this  majority  which 
henceforward  commanded  in  Augsburg. 
They  excluded  the  imperial  councillors 
who  advocated  more  equitable  views,  and 
the  Archbishop  of  Mentz  himself  ceased 
for  a  time  to  appear  in  the  diet.:]: 

The  majority  ordered  that  a  refutation 
of  the  Evangelical  doctrine  should  be 
immediately  drawn  up  by  Romish  theo 
logians.  If  they  had  selected  for  this 
purpose  moderate  men  like  the  Bishop 
of  Augsburg,  the  Reformation  would  still 

*  Cardinel,  Churstusanen,  Praclit  und  Kii- 
chen.     (Briick  Apol.  p.  63.) 

t  Wir  wokten  antvorten  mit  einer  Schrift 
mit  Rubricken  geschrieben.  (Corp.  Ref.  ii 
p.  147.) 

X  Non  venit  in  senatum.  (Corp.  Ref  ii  p 
175.)  v 


have  had  some  chance  of  success  with  the 
great  principles  of  Christianity  ;  but  it 
was  to  the  enemies  of  the  Reform,  to  the 
old  champions  of  Rome  and  of  Aristotle, 
exasperated  by  so  many  defeats,  that  they 
resolved  to  intrust  this  task. 

They  were  numerous  at  Augsburg,  and 
were  not  held  in  great  esteem.  "  The 
princes,"  said  Jonas,  "  have  brought  their 
learned  men  with  them,  and  some  even 
their  unlearned  and  their foote."*  Provost 
Faber  and  Doctor  Eck  led  the  troop ; 
behind  them  was  drawn  up  a  cohort  of 
monks,  and  above  all  of  Dominicans, 
tools  of  the  Inquisition,  and  impatient  to 
recompense  themselves  for  the  oppro- 
brium they  had  so  long  endured.  There 
was  the  provincial  of  the  Dominicans, 
Paul  Hugo,  their  vicar,  John  Bourkard, 
one  of  their  priors,  Conrad  Koelein,  who 
had  written  against  Luther's  marriage ; 
with  a  large  body  of  Carthusians,  Augus- 
tines,  Franciscans,  and  vicars  of  several 
bishops.  Such  were  the  men  who,  to 
the  number  of  twenty,  were  commis- 
sioned to  refute  Melancthon. 

One  might  beforehand  have  augured 
of  the  work  by  the  workmen.  Each  one 
understood  that  it  was  a  question,  not  of 
refuting  the  Confession,  but  of  branding 
it.  Campeggio,  who  doubtless  suggested 
this  ill-omened  list  to  Charles,  was  well 
aware  that  these  doctors  were  incapable 
of  measuring  themselves  with  Melanc- 
thon ;  but  their  names  formed  the  most 
decided  standard  of  Popery,  and  announc- 
ed to  the  world  clearly  and  immediately 
what  the  diet  proposed  to  do.  This  was 
the  essential  point.  Rome  would  not 
leave  Christendom  even  hope. 

It  was,  however,  requisite  to  know 
whether  the  diet,  and  the  Emperor  who 
was  its  organ,  had  the  right  of  pronounc- 
ing in  this  purely  religious  matter. 
Charles  put  the  question  both  to  the 
Evangelicals  and  to  the  Romanists. § 

"Your  highness,"  said  Luther,  who 
was  consulted  by  the  Elector,  "  may  re- 
ply with  all  assurance :  Yes,  if  the  Em- 
peror wish  it,  let  him  be  judge  !  I  will 
bear  everything  on  his  part ;  but  let  him 
decide  nothing  contrary  to  the  Word  of 
God.     Your  highness  cannot  put  the  Em- 

*  Quidam  etiam  su«s  ineruditos  et  inep- 
tos. 

t  See  the  document  extracted  from  the  ar- 
chives of  Bavaria  in  F.  Urkunden.  ii.  p.  9. 


THE  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


717 


peror  above  God  himself'.*  Does  not  the 
first  commandment  say,  Thou  shall  have 
no  other  Gods  before  me  /" 

The  reply  of  the  Papal  adherents  was 
quite  as  positive  in  a  contrary  sense. 
"  We  think,"  said  they,  "  that  his  ma- 
jesty, in  accord  with  the  electors,  princes, 
and  states  of  the  Empire,  has  the  right 
to  proceed  in  this  affair,  as  Roman  Em- 
peror, guardian,  advocate,  and  sovereign 
protector  of  the  Church  and  of  our  most 
holy  faith. "f  Thus,  in  the  first  days  of 
the  Reformation,  the  Evangelical  Church 
frankly  ranged  itself  under  the  throne  of 
Jesus  Christ,  and  the  Roman  Church  un- 
der the  sceptre  of  kings.  Enlightened 
men,  even  among  Protestants,  have  mis- 
understood this  double  nature  of  Protest- 
antism and  Popery. 

The  philosophy  of  Aristotle  and  the 
hierarchy  of  Rome,  thanks  to  this  alliance 
with  the  civil  power,  were  at  length  about 
to  see  the  day  of  their  long-expected  tri- 
umph arrive.  So  long  as  the  schoolmen 
had  been  left  to  the  force  of  their  syllo- 
gisms and  of  their  abuse,  they  had  been 
defeated  ;  but  now  Charles  the  Fifth  and 
the  diet  held  out  their  hands  to  them  ; 
the  reasonings  of  Faber,  Eck,  and  Wim- 
pina  were  about  to  be  countersigned  by 
the  German  chancellor,  and  confirmed 
by  the  great  seals  of  the  Empire.  Who 
could  resist  them  ?  The  Romish  error 
has  never  had  any  strength  except  by  its 
union  with  the  secular  arm  ;  and  its  vic- 
tories in  the  Old  and  in  the  New  World 
are  owing,  even  in  our  days,  to  state  pa- 
tronage.^ 

These  things  did  not  escape  the  pierc 
ing  eye  of  Luther.  He  saw  at  once  the 
weakness  of  the  argument  of  the  Papist 
doctors  and  the  power  of  Charles's  arm. 
"  You  are  waiting  for  your  adversaries' 
answer,"  wrote  he  to  his  friends  in  Augs- 
burg ;  "  it  is  already  written,  and  here  it 
is :  The  Fathers,  the  Fathers,  the  Fa- 
thers ;  the  Church,  the  Church,  the 
Church ;  usage,  custom ;  but  of  the 
Scriptures nothing  !"§ — "  Then  the 

*  Konnen  den  Kaiser  nicht  uber  Gott  setzen. 
(L.  Epp.  iv.  p.  83.) 

t  Romischen  Kaiser,  Vogt,  Advocaten  und 
Obristen  Beschirmer  der  kirken.  (F.  Urkun- 
den.  ii.  p.  10.) 

i  Tahiti  for  instance. 

§  Patres,  Patres,  Patres  ;  Ecclesia,  Ecclesia ; 
usus,  consuetudo,  preeterea  e  Scriptura  nihil. 
(L  Epp.  iv.  p.  96.) 


Emperor,  supported  by  the  testimony  of 
these  arbiters,  will  pronounce  against 
you  ;*  and  then  will  you  hear  boastings 
from  all  sides  that  will  ascend  up  to  hea- 
ven, and  threats  that  will  descend  even 
to  hell." 

Thus  changed  the  situation  of  the  Re- 
form. Charles  was  obliged  to  acknow- 
ledge his  weakness ;  and,  to  save  the 
appearance  of  his  power,  he  took  a  de- 
cisive part  with  the  enemies  of  Luther. 
The  Emperor's  impartiality  disappeared: 
the  state  turned  against  the  Gospel,  and 
there  remained  for  it  no  other  saviour 
than  God. 

At  first  many  gave  way  to  extreme 
dejection :  above  all,  Melancthon,  who 
had  a  nearer  view  of  the  cabals  of  the 
adversaries,  exhausted  moreover  by  long 
vigils,  fell  almost  into  despair. f  "  In 
the  presence  of  these  formidable  evils," 
cried  he,  "I  see  no  more  hope.":}:  And 
then,  however,  he  added — "  Except  the 
help  of  God." 

The  legate  immediately  set  all  his 
batteries  to  work.  Already  had  Charles 
several  times  sent  for  the  Elector  and 
the  Landgrave,  and  had  used  every  ex- 
ertion to  detach  them  from  the  Evangeli- 
cal Confession. §  Melancthon,  uneasy 
at  these  secret  conferences,  reduced  the 
Confession  to  its  minimum,  and  entreated 
the  Elector  to  demand  only  the  two  kinds 
in  the  Eucharist  and  the  marriage  of 
priests.  "  To  interdict  the  former  of 
these  points,"  said  he,  "  would  be  to 
alienate  a  great  number  of  Christians 
from  the  communion  ;  and  to  interdict 
the  second  would  be  depriving  the  Church 
of  all  the  pastors  capable  of  edifying  it. 
Will  they  destroy  religion  and  kindle 
civil  war,  rather  than  apply  to  these 
purely  ecclesiastical  constitutions  a  miti- 
gation that  is  neither  contrary  to  sound 
morals  nor  to  faith  ?"||  The  Protestant 
princes  begged  Melancthon  to  go  himself 
and  make  these  proposals  to  the  legate. H 

*  Pronuntiabit  Caesar  contra  vos.     (Ibid.) 

f  Quadam  tristitia  et  quasi  desesperationn 
vexatur.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  163.) 

X  Quid  nobis  sit  sperandum  in  tantis  odiis 
inimicorum.     (Ibid.  p.  146.) 

§  Legati  Norinberg  ad  Senatum.  (Corp. 
Ref.  ii.  p.  161.) 

||  Melancthon  ad  Due.  Sax.  Elect.  (Ibid.  p. 
162.) 

IT  Principes  nostri  miserunt  nos  ad  R.  D.  V. 
(Ibid.  p.  171.) 


718 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


Melancthon  agreed  :  he  began  to  flat- 
ter  himself  with  success ;  and,  in  truth, 
there  were,  even  among  the  Papists,  in- 
dividuals who  were  favourable  to  the 
Reformation.  There  had  recently  ar- 
rived at  Augsburg,  from  beyond  the 
Alps,  certain  propositions  tolerably  Lu- 
theran ;*  and  one  of  the  Emperor's  con- 
fessors boldly  professed  the  doctrine  of 
justification  by  faitlv  cursing  "  those 
asses  of  Germans,  who  cease  not,"  said 
he,  "from  braying  against  this  truth,  "f 
One  of  Charles's  chaplains  approved  even 
the  whole  of  the  Confession.  There 
was  something  farther  still ;  Charles  the 
Fifth  having  consulted  the  grandees  of 
Spain,  who  were  famous  for  their  ortho- 
doxy :  "  If  the  opinions  of  the  Protes- 
tants are  contrary  to  the  articles  of  the 
faith,"  they  had  replied,  "  let  your  ma- 
jesty employ  all  his  power  to  destroy 
this  faction  ;  but  if  it  is  a  question  mere- 
ly of  certain  changes  in  human  ordin- 
ances and  external  usages,  let  all  violence 
be  avoided.":}:  "  Admirable  reply  !"  ex- 
claimed Melancthon,  who  persuaded  him- 
self that  the  Romish  doctrine  was  at  the 
bottom  in  accordance  with  the  Gospel. 

The  Reformation  found  defenders  in 
even  still  higher  stations.  Mary,  sister 
of  Charles  the  Fifth,  and  widow  of  King 
Louis  of  Hungary,  arriving  at  Augs- 
burg three  days  after  the  reading  of  the 
Confession,  with  her  sister-in-law  the 
Queen  of  Bohemia,  Ferdinand's  wife, 
assiduously  studied  the  Holy  Scriptures  ; 
she  carried  them  with  her  in  the  hunt- 
ing parties,  in  which  she  found  little 
pleasure,  and  had  discovered  therein  the 
jewel  of  the  Reform, — the  doctrine  of 
gratuitous  salvation.  This  pious  princess 
made  her  chaplain  read  evangelical  ser- 
mons to  her,  and  often  endeavoured,  al- 
though with  prudence,  to  appease  her 
brother  Charles  with  regard  to  the  Pro- 
testants. § 

Melancthon,  encouraged  by  these  de- 
monstrations, and  at  the  same  time 
alarmed  by  the  threats  of  war  that  the 
adversaries  did  not  cease  from  uttering, 

*  Pervenerunt  ad  nos  propositiones  quaedam 
Italics  satis  Lutherans.     (Ibid.  p.  1G3.) 

f  Istis  Germanis  asinis,  nobis  in  hac  parte 
obgannientibus.     (Ibid.) 

t  Hispanici  proceres  praeclare  et  sapienter 
responderunt  Csesari.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  179.) 

§  *H  aJtX^f)  avTOKparopo{  studet  nobis  placare 
fratrem.     (Ibid.  p.  ]78.) 


thought  it  his  duty  to  purchase  peace  at 
any  cost,  and  resolved  in  consequence  to 
descend  in  his  propositions  as  low  as  pos- 
sible. He  therefore  demanded  an  inter- 
view with  the  legate  in  a  letter  whose  au- 
thenticity has  been  unreasonably  doubt- 
ed.* At  the  decisive  moment  the  heart 
of  the  Reform  champion  fails — his  head 
turns — he  staggers — he  falls  ;  and  in  his 
fall  he  runs  the  risk  of  dragging  with 
him  the  cause  which  martyrs  have  al- 
ready watered  with  their  blood. 

Thus  speaks  the  representative  of  the 
Reformation  to  the  representative  of  the 
Papacy : — 

"  There  is  no  doctrine  in  which  we 
differ  from  the  Roman  Church  ;f  we  ve- 
nerate the  universal  authority  of  the  Ro- 
man Pontiff",  and  we  are  ready  to  obey 
him,  provided  he  does  not  reject  us,  and 
that  of  his  clemency,  which  he  is  accus- 
tomed to  show  towards  all  nations,  he  will 
kindly  pardon  or  approve  certain  little 
things  that  it  is  no  longer  possible  for  us 

to  change Now  then,  will  you 

reject  those  who  appear  as  suppliants 
before   you  ?     Will   you   pursue    them 

with   fire    and   sword  ? Alas ! 

nothing  draws  upon  us  in  Germany  so 
much  hatred,  as  the  unshaken  firmness 
with  which  we  maintain  the  doctrines  of 
the  Roman  Church.:):  But  with  the  aid 
of  God,  we  will  remain  faithful,  even 
unto  death,  to  Christ  and  to  the  Roman 
Church,  although  you  should  reject 
us."§ 

Thus  did  Melancthon  humble  him- 
self. God  permitted  this  fall,  that  future 
ages  might  clearly  see  how  low  the  Re- 
form was  willing  to  descend  in  order  to 
maintain  unity,  and  that  no  one  might 
doubt  that  the  schism  had  come  from 
Rome ;  but  also  assuredly  that  they 
might  learn  how  great  in  every  import- 
ant work  is  the  weakness  of  the  noblest 
instruments. 

Fortunately  there  was  then  another 
man  who  upheld  the  honour  of  the  Re- 
formation. At  this  very  time  Luther 
wrote  to  Melancthon  :  "  There  can  be  no 
concord  between  Christ  and  Belial.     As 

*  See  the  Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  168. 

t  Dogma  nullum  habemus  diversum  ab  Ec- 
clesia  Romana.     (Ibid.  p.  170.) 

X  Quam  quia  Ecclesiae  Romans  dogmata 
summa  constantia  defendimus.     (Ibid.) 

§  Vel  si  recusabitis  nos  in  gratiam  recipere. 
(Ibid.) 


THE  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


719 


far  as  regards  me,  I  will  not  yield  a  hair's 
breadth.*  Sooner  than  yield,  I  should 
prefer  suffering  everything,  even  the 
most  terrible  evils.  Concede  so  much 
the  less,  as  your  adversaries  require  the 
more.  God  will  not  aid  us  until  we  are 
abandoned  by  all. ""J"  And  fearing  some 
weakness  on  the  part  of  his  friends, 
Luther  added  :  "  If  it  were  not  tempting 
God,  you  would  long  ago  have  seen  me 
at  your  side  !"^ 

Never,  in  fact,  had  Luther's  presence 
been  so  necessary,  for  the  legate  had 
consented  to  an  interview,  and  Melanc- 
thon  was  about  to  pay  court  to  Campeg- 
gio.§ 

The  8th  July  was  the  day  appointed 
by  the  legate.  His  letter  inspired  Philip 
with  the  most  sanguine  hopes.  "  The 
cardinal  assures  me  that  he  will  accede 
the  usage  of  the  two  kinds,  and  the  mar- 
riage of  priests,"  said  he ;  "I  am  eager 
to  visit  him  !"|| 

This  visit  might  decide  the  destiny  of 
the  Church.  If  the  legate  accepted 
Philip's  ultimatum,  the  Evangelical  coun- 
tries would  be  replaced  under  the  power 
of  the  Romish  bishops,  and  all  would 
have  been  over  with  the  Reformation  ; 
but  it  was  saved  through  the  pride  and 
blindness  of  Rome.  The  Papists,  be- 
lieving it  on  the  brink  of  the  abyss, 
thought  that  a  last  blow  would  settle  it, 
and  resolved,  like  Luther,  to  concede 
nothing,  "  not  even  a  hair's  breadth." 
The  legate,  however,  even  while  refus- 
ing, assumed  an  air  of  kindness,  and  of 
yielding  to  foreign  influence.  "  I  might 
have  the  power  of  making  certain  con- 
cessions, but  it  would  not  be  prudent  to 
use  it  without  the  consent  of  the  German 
princes  ;1T  their  will  must  be  done ;  one 
of  them  in  particular  conjures  the  Em- 
peror to  prevent  us  from  yielding  the 
least  thing.  I  can  grant  nothing."  The 
Roman    prince,  with  the  most  amiable 


*  At  certe  pro  mea  persona,  ne  pilum  quidem 
cedam.     (L.  Epp.  iv.  p.  88.) 

f  Neque  enim  juvabimur  ni  deserti  prius 
simus.     (Ibid.  p.  91.) 

X  Certe  jamdudum  coram  vidissetis  me. 
(Ibid.  p.  98.) 

§  Ego  multos  prehensare  soleo  etCampegium 
etiam.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  193.) 

||  Propero  enim  ad  Campegium.  (Ibid.  p. 
174.) 

V  Se  nihil  posse  decernere,  nisi  de  voluntate 
principum  Germanise.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  174.) 


smile,  then  did  all  he  could  to  gain  the 
chief  of  the  Protestant  teachers.  Me- 
lancthon  retired  filled  with  shame  at  the 
advances  he  had  made,  but  still  deceived 
by  Campeggio.  "  No  doubt,"  said  he, 
"  Eck  and  Cochlceus  have  been  before- 
hand with  me  at  the  legate's."*  Luther 
entertained  a  different  opinion.  n  I  do 
not  trust  to  any  of  these  Italians,"  said 
he  ;  "  they  are  scoundrels.  When  an 
Italian  is  good,  he  is  very  good ;  but 
then  he  is  a  black  swan." 

It  was  truly  the  Italians  who  were 
concerned.  Shortly  after  the  12th  of 
July  arrived  the  Pope's  instructions. 
He  had  received  the  confession  by  ex- 
press,"]" and  sixteen  days  had  sufficed  for 
the  transmission,  the  deliberation,  and 
the  return.  Clement  would  hear  no 
mention  either  of  discussions  or  of  coun- 
cil. Charles  was  to  march  straight  to 
the  mark,  to  send  an  army  into  Germany, 
and  stifle  the  Reformation  by  force.  At 
Augsburg,  however,  it  was  thought  best 
not  to  go  so  quickly  to  work,  and  re- 
course was  had  to  other  means. 

"  Be  quiet ;  we  have  them,"  said  the 
Romish  doctors.  Sensible  of  the  reproach 
that  had  been  made  against  them,  of 
having  misrepresented  the  Reformation, 
they  accused  the  Protestants  themselves 
as  being  the  cause.  "  These  it  is,"  they 
said,  "  who,  to  give  themselves  an  air  of 
being  in  accord  with  us,  now  dissemble 
their  heresy  ;  but  we  will  now  catch 
them  in  their  own  nets.  If  they  confess 
to  not  having  inserted  in  their  Confession 
all  that  they  reject,  it  will  be  proved  thai 
they  are  trifling  with  us.  If,  on  the  con- 
trary, they  pretend  to  have  said  every- 
thing, they  will  by  that  very  circumstance 
be  compelled  to  admit  all  that  they  have 
not  condemned."  The  Protestant  princes 
were  therefore  called  together,  and  they 
were  asked  if  the  Reformation  was  con- 
fined to  the  doctrines  indicated  in  the 
Apology,  or  if  there  was  something 
more.:}: 

The  snare  was  skilfully  laid.  The 
Papacy  had  not  even  been  mentioned  in 
Melancthon's  paper ;  other  errors  besides 

*  Forte  ad  legatum  veniebant  Eccius  et 
Cochlceus.     (Ibid.  p.  175.) 

f  Nostra  Confessio  ad  Romam  per  veredarios 
missa  est.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  pp.  18G,  219.) 

\  An  plura  velimus  Caesari  praeponere  con- 
troversa  quam  fecerimus.     (Ibid.  p.  188.)  \ 


720 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


had  been  omitted,  and  Luther  himself 
compained  of  it  aloud.  "  Satan  sees 
clearly,"  said  he,  "  that  your  Apology 
has  passed  lightly  over  the  articles  of 
purgatory,  the  worship  of  saints,  and, 
above  all,  of  the  Pope  and  of  Antichrist." 
The  princes  requested  to  confer  with  their 
allies  of  the  towns  ;  and  all  the  Protestants 
assembled  to  deliberate  on  this  momentous 
incident. 

They  looked  for  Melancthon's  expla- 
nation, who  did  not  decline  the  responsi- 
bility of  the  affair.  Easily  dejected 
through  his  own  anxiety,  he  became  bold 
whenever  he  was  directly  attacked.  "  All 
the  essential  doctrines,"  said  he,  "have 
been  set  forth  in  the  Confession,  and 
every  error  and  abuse  that  is  opposed  to 
them  has  been  pointed  oqt.  But  was  it 
necessary  to  plunge  into  all  those  ques- 
tions so  full  of  contention  and  animosity, 
that  are  discussed  in  our  universities  ? 
Was  it  necessary  to  ask  if  all  Christians 
are  priests,  if  the  primacy  of  the  Pope  is 
of  right  divine,  if  there  can  be  indul- 
gences, if  every  good  work  is  a  deadly 
sin,  if  there  are  more  than  seven  sacra- 
ments, if  they  may  be  administered  by  a 
layman,  if  divine  election  has  any  foun- 
dation in  our  own  merits,  if  sacerdotal 
consecration  impresses  an  indelible  cha- 
racter, if  auricular  confession  is  neces- 
sary to  salvation  ?  . . . .  No,  no  !  all  these 
things  are  in  the  province  of  the  schools, 
and  by  no  means  essential  to  faith."* 

It  cannot  be  denied  that  in  the  ques- 
tions thus  pointed  out  by  Melancthon 
there  were  important  points.  However 
that  may  be,  the  Evangelical  committee 
were  soon  agreed,  and  on  the  morrow 
they  gave  an  answer  to  Charles's  minis- 
ters, drawn  up  with  as  much  frankness 
as  firmness,  in  which  they  said  "  that  the 
Protestants,  desirous  of  arriving  at  a  cor- 
dial understanding,  had  not  wished  to 
complicate  their  situation,  and  had  pro- 
posed not  to  specify  all  the  errors  that 
had  been  introduced  into  the  Church,  but 
to  confess  all  the  doctrines  that  were 
essential  to  salvation  ;  that  if,  neverthe- 
less, the  adverse  party  felt  itself  urged 
to  maintain  certain  abuses^  or  to  put  for- 
ward any  point  not  mentioned  in  the 
Confession,  the  Protestants  declared 
themselves  ready  to  reply  in  conformity 

*  Melancthonis  Judicium.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii 
p.  182.)  * 


with  the  Word  of  God."*  The  tone  of 
this  answer  showed  pretty  clearly  that 
the  Evangelical  Christians  did  not  fear 
to  follow  their  adversaries  wherever  the 
latter  should  call  them.  Accordingly 
the  Roman  party  said  no  more  on  this 
business. 

IX.  The  commission  charged  to  re- 
fute  the  Confession  met  twice  a  day,-J- 
and  each  of  the  theologians  who  com- 
posed it  added  to  it  his  refutation  and  his 
hatred. 

On  the  13th  July  the  work  was  finish- 
ed. "  Eck  with  his  band,":):  said  Melanc 
thon,  "  transmitted  it  to  the  Emperor. 
Great  was  the  astonishment  of  this  prince 
and  of  his  ministers  at  seeing  a  work  of 
two  hundred  and  eighty  pages  filled  with 
abuse. §  "  Bad  workmen  lose  much 
wood,"  said  Luther,  "  and  impious  writ- 
ers soil  much  paper."  This  was  not  all : 
to  the  Refutation  were  subjoined  eight 
appendices  on  the  heresies  that  Melanc- 
thon had  dissembled  (as  they  said),  and 
wherein  they  exposed  the  contradictions 
and  "  the  horrible  sects"  to  which  Lu- 
theranism  had  given  birth.  Lastly,  not 
confining  themselves  to  this  official  an- 
swer, the  Romish  theologians,  who  saw 
the  sun  of  power  shining  upon  them, 
filled  Augsburg  with  insolent  and  abusive 
pamphlets. 

There  was  but  one  opinion  on  the  Papist 
Refutation ;  it  was  found  confused,  violent, 
thirsting  for  blood. ||  Charles  the  Fifth 
had  too  much  good  taste  not  to  perceive 
the  difference  that  existed  between  this 
coarse  work  and  the  noble  dignity  of 
Melancthon's  Confession.  He  rolled, 
handled,  crushed,  and  so  damaged  the 
280  pages  of  his  doctors,  that  when  he 
returned  them  two  days  after,  says  Spa- 
latin,  there  were  not  more  than  twelve 
entire.  Charles  would  have  been  ashamed 
to  have  such  a  pamphlet  read  in  the  diet, 
and  he  required,  in  consequence,  that  it 

*  Aus.  Gottes  Wort,  weiter  bericht  zu  thun. 
(F.  Urkundenbuch,  ii.  p.  19.) 

t  Bis  die  convenire  dicuntur.  (Zw.  Epp. 
ii.  p.  472.) 

t  Eccius  cum  sua  commanipulatione.  (Corp 
Ref.  ii.  p.  193.) 

§  Longum  et  plenum  conviciis  scriptum. 
(Ibid.) 

||  Adeo  confusa,  incondita,  violenta,  san- 
guinolenta  et  crudelis  ut  puduerint.  (Corp 
Ref.  ii.  p.  198.) 


THE  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1030. 


721 


should  bo  drawn  up  anew,  shorter  and  I 
more  moderate.*  That  was  not  easy, 
"  for  the  adversaries,  confused  and  stupi- 
fied,"  says  Brenz,  "  by  the  noble  sim- 
plicity of  the  Evangelical  Confession, 
neither  knew  where  to  begin  nor  where  to 
end;  they  accordingly  took  nearly  three 
weeks  to  do  their  work  over  again. "f 

Charles  and  his  ministers  had  great 
doubts  of  its  success;  leaving,  therefore, 
the  theologians  for  a  moment,  they  im- 
agined another  manoeuvre.  "  Let  us 
take  each  of  the  Protestant  princes  sepa- 
rately," said  they :  "  isolated,  they  will  not 
resist."  Accordingly,  on  the  15th  July, 
the  Margrave  of  Brandenburg  was  visit- 
ed by  his  two  cousins,  the  Electors  of 
Mentz  and  of  Brandenburg,  and  by  his 
two  brothers  the  Margraves  Frederick 
and  John  Albert.  "  Abandon  this  new 
faith,"  said  they  to" him,  "and  return  to 
that  which  existed  a  century  ago.  If 
you  do  so,  there  are  no  favours  that  you 
may  not  expect  from  the  Emperor  ;  if  not, 
dread  his  anger. "£ 

Shortly  after,  the  Duke  Frederick  of 
Bavaria,  the  Count  of  Nassau,  De  Rogen- 
dorf,  and  Truchses  were  announced  to 
the  Elector  on  the  part  of  Charles.  "  You 
have  solicited  the  Emperor,"  said  they, 
"  to  confirm  the  marriage  of  your  son 
with  the  Princess  of  Juliers,  and  to  in- 
vest you  with  the  electoral  dignity  ;  but 
his  majesty  declares,  that  if  you  do  not 
renounce  the  heresy  of  Luther,  of  which 
you  are  the  principal  abettor,  he  cannot 
accede  to  your  demand."  At  the  same 
time  the  Duke  of  Bavaria,  employing  the 
most  urgent  solicitations,  accompanied 
with  the  most  animated  gestures^  and 
the  most  sinister  threats,||  called  upon 
the  Elector  to  abandon  his  faith.  "  It  is 
asserted,"  added  Charles's  envoys,  "  that 
you  have  made  an  alliance  with  the 
Swiss.  The  Emperor  cannot  believe  it : 
and  he  orders  you  to  let  him  know  the 
truth." 

The  Swiss !  it  was  the  same  thing  as 


*  Hodie  auctovibus  ipsis  Sophistis,  a  Caesar 
rursus  es«  redditam  ut  emendetur  et  civilius 
componatur.     (Ibid  ) 

f  Nostra  confessione  ita  stupidos,  attonitos, 
etconfusos.     (Ibid.) 

J  Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  206  ;  F.  Urkund.  ii.  p.  9.1. 

§  Mit  reden  und  Gebahrden  prachtig  erzeigt 
(Ibid.  p.  207.) 

I!  Minas  diras  promissis  ingentibus  adjiciens. 
(Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  4S4.) 


91 


rebellion.  This  alliance  was  the  phan- 
tom incessantly  invoked  at  Augsburg  to 
alarm  Charles  the  Fifth.  And  in  reality 
deputies  or  at  least  friends  of  the  Swiss, 
had  already  appeared  in  that  city,  and 
thus  rendered  the  position  still  more 
serious. 

Bucer  had  arrived  two  days  before  the 
reading  of  the  Confession,  and  Capita  on 
the  day  subsequent  to  it.*  There  was 
even  a  report,  that  Zwingle  would  join 
thern.f  But  for  a  long  time  all  in  Augs- 
burg, except  the  Strasburg  deputation, 
were  ignorant  of  the  presence  of  these 
doctors. £  It  was  only  twenty-one  days 
after  their  arrival  that  Melancthon  learnt 
it  positively,^  so  great  was  the  mystery 
in  which  the  Zwinglians  were  forced  to 
enshroud  themselves.  This  was  not 
without  reason  :  a  conference  with 
Melancthon  having  been  requested  by 
them:  "Let  them  write,"  replied  be; 
"  I  should  compromise  our  cause  by  an 
interview  with  them." 

Bucer  and  Capita  in  their  retreat, 
which  was  like  a  prison  to  them,  had 
taken  advantage  of  their  leisure  to  draw 
up  the  Telrapolitan  Confession,  or  the 
confessions  of  the  four  cities.  The  depu- 
ties of  Strasburg,  Constance,  Nemmin- 
gen,  and  Lindau,  presented  it  to  the  Em- 
peror. ||  These  cities  purged  themselves 
from  the  reproach  of  war  and  revolt  that 
had  been  continually  objected  against 
them.  They  declared  that  their  only 
motive  was  Christ's  glory,  and  professed 
the  truth  "  freely,  boldly,  but  without 
insolence  and  without  scurrility. "IT 

Zwingle  about  the  same  time  caused 
a  private  confession  to  be  communicated 
to  Charles,**  which  excited  a  general 
uproar.      "  Docs    he  not  dare  to  say," 

*  Vehiihus  hue,  ego  pridie  solemnitatis  Divi 
Johannis,  Capito  die  dominica  sequente.  (Zw. 
Epp.  ii.  p.  472.) 

f  Rumor  apud  nos  est,  et  te  cum  tuis  Helve- 
tiis  comitia  aivolaturum.  (Ibid.  pp.  431, 
407.) 

|  Ita  latent  ut  non  quibuslibet  sui  copiam 
faciant.     (Corp.  Ref.  p.  196.) 

§  Capito  et  Bucerus  adsunt.  Id  hodie  certo 
comperi.     (Ibid.) 

||  Cingliana;  civitates  propriam  Confessionem 
obtulerunt  Caesari.  (Corp.  Ref.  p.  187.)  This 
Confession  will  be  found  in  JViemeyer,  Collec- 
tio  Confessionum,  p.  740. 

If  Ingenue  ac  fortiter  ;  citra  procaciam  tamen 
et  sannas,  id  fateri  et  dicere  quod  res  est 
(Zw.  Epp   ii.  p.  485.) 

**  See  Niemeyer  Coll.  Conf.  p.  16.. 


722 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


exclaimed  the  Romanists,  "that  the 
mitred  and  withered  race  (by  which  he 
means  the  bishops)  is  in  th-3  Church  what 
hump-backs  and  the  scrofula  are  in  the 
body  ?"* — "  Does  he  not  insinuate,"  said 
the  Lutherans  ;  "  that  we  are  beginning 
to  look  back  after  the  onions  and  garlic 
of  Egypt  ?" — "  One  might  say  with 
great  truth  that  he  had  lost  his  senses," 
exclaimed  Melancthon.'j"  "  All  ceremo- 
nies, according  to  him,  ought  to  be  abo- 
lished ;  all  the  bishops  ought  to  be  sup 
pressed.  In  a  word,  all  is  perfectly 
Helvetic,  that  is  to  say,  supremely  bar- 
barous." 

One  man  formed  an  exception  to  this 
concert  of  reproaches,  and  this  was  Lu- 
ther. y  Zwingle  pleases  me  tolerably," 
wrote  he  to  Jonas,  "  as  well  as  Bucer.":}: 
By  Bucer,  he  meant  no  doubt  the  Te- 
trapolitan  Confession :  this  expression 
should  be  noted. 

Thus  three  confessions  laid  at  the 
feet  of  Charles  the  Fifth,  attested  the 
divisions  that  were  rending  Protestant- 
ism. In  vain  did  Bucer  and  Capito  en- 
deavour to  come  to  an  understanding  with 
Melancthon,  and  write  to  him :  "  We 
will  meet  where  you  will,  and  when 
you  will  ;  we  will  bring  Sturm  alone 
with  us,  and  if  you  desire  it,  we  will  not 
even  bring  him."§  All  was  unavailing. 
It  is  not  enough  for  a  Christian  to  con- 
fess Christ ;  one  disciple  should  confess 
another  disciple,  even  if  the  latter  lies 
under  the  s.hame  of  the  world  ;  but  they 
did  not  then  comprehend  this  duty. 
"  Schism  is  in  the  schism,"  said  the 
Romanists,  and  the  Emperor  flattered 
himself  with  aneasy  victory.  "  Return 
to  the  Church,"  was  the  cry  from  every 
side,  "  which  means,"  interrupted  the 
Strasburgers,  "  let  us  put  the  bit  in  your 
mouths,  that  we  may  lead  you  as  we 
please.  "|| 

All  these  things  deeply  afflicted   the 

*  Pedatum  et  mitratum  genu.3  Episcoporum, 
id  esset  in  Ecclesia,  quod  gibbi  et  strumata  in 
corpore.  (Ibid.)  Zwingle  compares  the 
bishops  to  the  dry  and  fruitless  props  that  sup- 
port the  vines. 

f  Dicas  simplicitcr  mente  captuin  esse. 
(Corp.  Ref.  p.  193.) 

X  Zvvinglius  mihi  sane  placet,  et  Bucerus. 
(L.  Epp.  iv.  p.  110.) 

§  Veniemus  quo  et  quando  tu  voles.  (Corp. 
Ref  ii.  p.  208.) 

||  Una  tamen  omnium  vox  :  Revertimini  ad 
Ecclesiam.     (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  434.) 


Elector,  who  was  besides  still  under  the 
burden  of  Charles's  demands  and  threats. 
The  Emperor  had  not  once  spoken  to 
him,*  and  it  was  everywhere  said  that 
his  cousin  George  of  Saxony  would  be 
proclaimed  Elector  in  his  stead. 

On  the  28th  July,  there  was  a  great 
festival  at  the  court.  Charles,  robed  in 
his  imperial  garments,  whose  value  was 
said  to  exceed  200,000  gold  ducats,  and 
displaying  an  air  of  majesty  which  im- 
pressed respect  and  fear,-|-  conferred  on 
many  princes  the  investiture  of  their 
dignities  ;  the  Elector  alone  was  exclu- 
ded   from   these    favours.       Erelontr  he 

o 

was  made  to  understand  more  plainly 
what  was  reserved  for  him,  and  it  was 
insinuated,  that  if  he  did  not  submit,  the 
Emperor  would  expel  him  from  his 
states,  and  inflict  upon  him  the  severest 
punishment.^: 

The  Elector  turned  pale,  for  he 
doubted  not  that  such  would  certainly  be 
the  termination.  How  with  his  small 
territory  could  he  resist  that  powerful 
monarch  who  had  just  vanquished 
France  and  Italy,  and  now  saw  Germa- 
ny at  his  feet  ?  And  besides,  if  he 
could  do  it,  had  he  the  right  ?  Fright- 
ful nightmares  pursued  John  in  his 
dreams.  He  beheld  himself  stretched 
beneath  an  immense  mountain  under 
which  he  struggled  painfully,  while  his 
cousin  George  of  Saxony  stood  on  the 
summit  and  seemed  to  brave  him. 

John  at  length  came  forth  from  this 
furnace.  "  I  must  either  renounce  God 
or  the  world,"  said  he.  "  Well !  my 
choice  is,  not  doubtful.  It  is  God  who 
made  me  Elector, — me,  who  was  not 
worthy  of  it.  I  fling  myself  into  his 
arms,  and  let  him  do  with  me  what  shall 
seem  good  to  him."  Thus  the  Elector 
by  faith  stopped  the  mouths  of  lions  and 
subdued  kingdoms. § 

All  evangelical  Christendom  had  taken 
part  in  the  struggle  of  John  the  Perse- 
vering. It  was  seen  that  if  lie  should 
now  fall,  all  would  fall  with  him  ;  and 
they  endeavoured  to  support  him.  "  Fear 
not,"  cried  the  Christians  of  Magdeburg, 

'Colloquium  ejus  nondum  frui  potuisse. 
(Seek.  ii.  p.  154.) 

t  Apparuit  Csesar  majestate insignitus 

vestibus  suis  imperialibus.  (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p. 
242.) 

|  Miiller,  Gesch.  der  Protestation,  p.  715. 

§  Hebrews  xi.  33,  34 


THE  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


723 


*'  for  your  highness  is  under  Christ's 
banner."*  "Italy  is  in  expectation," 
wrote  they  from  Venice  ;  "  if*  for  Christ's 
glory  you  must  die,  fear  nothing. "f 
But  it  was  from  a  higher  source  that 
John's  courage  was  derived.  "  I  beheld 
Satan  as  lightning  fall  from  heaven," 
said  his  Master.:]:  The  Elector,  in  like 
manner,  beheld  in  his  dreams  George 
fall  from  the  top  of  the  mountain,  and 
lie  dashed  in  pieces  at  his  feet. 

Once  resolved  to  lose  everything,  John,- 
free,  happy,  and  tranquil,  assembled  his 
theologians.  These  generous  men  de- 
sired to  save  their  master.  "  Gracious 
lord,"  said  Spalatin,  "  recollect  that  the 
Word  of  God,  being  the  sword  of  the 
Spirit,  must  be  upheld,  not  by  the  secular 
power,  but  by  the  hand  of  the  Al- 
mighty."§ — "  Yes  !"  said  all  the  doctors, 
"  we  do  not  wish  that,  to  save  us,  you 
should  risk  your  children*  your  subjects, 
your  states,  your  crown.  .  .  .  We  will 
rather  give  ourselves  into  the  hands  of 
the  enemy,  and  conjure  him  to  be  satis- 
fied with  our  blood. "||  John,  touched  by 
this  language,  refused,  however,  their 
solicitations,  and  firmly  repeated  these 
words,  which  had  become  his  device  : 
"  I  also  desire  to  confess  my  Saviour." 

It  was  on  the  20th  July  that  he  replied 
to  the  pressing  arguments  by  which 
Charles  had  endeavoured  to  shake  him. 
He  proved  to  the  Emperor  that,  being 
his  brother's  legitimate  heir,  he  could 
not  refuse  him  the  investiture,  which, 
besides,  the  Diet  of  Worms  had  secured 
to  him.  He  added,  that  he  did  not  blindly 
believe  what  his  doctors  said,  but  that, 
having  recognized  the  Word  of  God  to 
be  the  foundation  of  their  teaching,  he 
confessed  anew,  and  without  any  hesita- 
tion, all  the  articles  of  the  Apology.  "  I 
therefore  entreat  your  majesty,"  conti- 
nued he,  "  to  psrmit  me  and  mine  to  ren- 
der an  account  to  God  alone  of  w*hat  con- 
cerns the  salvation  of  our  souls. "If     The 


*  Unter  dern  Heerpannyr  Jesu  Christi. 
(Ibid.  p.  134.) 

t  Etiamsi  mors  subeunda  tibi  foret  ob  Christi 
gloriam.     (Corp.  Rcf.  ii.  228.     L.  P.  Roselli.) 

J  Luke  x.  IS. 

§  Gottes  Wort  keines  wegs  durch  weltlich 
Schwert.     (F.  Urkund   ii.  p.  82.) 

||  Sie  wollen  ihnea  an  ihrem  Blute  genii- 
gen  lassen.     (Ibid.  p.  90.) 

1T  Ff  rstemann's  Urkundenbuch,  pp.  80-02, 
113-119. 


Margrave  of  Brandenburg  made  the 
same  reply.  Thus  failed  this  skilful 
manoeuvre,  by  whicli  the  Romanists  had 
hoped  to  break  the  strength  of  the  Re- 
formation. 

Six  weeks  had  elapsed  since  the  Con. 
fession,  and  yet  no  reply.  "  The  Pa- 
pists, from  the  moment  they  heard  the 
Apology,"  it  was  said,  "suddenly  lost 
their  voice."*  At  length  the  Romish 
theologians  handed  their  revised  and  cor- 
rected performance  to  the  Emperor,  and 
persuaded  this  prince  to  present  it  in  his 
own  name.  The  mantle  of  the  state 
seemed  to  them  admirably  adapted  to 
the  movements  of  Rome.  "  These  syco- 
phants," said  Melancthon,  "  have  de- 
sired to  clothe  themselves  with  the 
lion's  skin,  to  appear  to  us  so  much  the 
more  terrible."")"  All  the  states  of  the 
Empire  were  convoked  for  the  next  clay 
but  one. 

On  Wednesday,  3d  August,  at  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  Emperor, 
sitting  on  his  throne  in  the  chapel  of 
the  Palatinate  Palace,  surrounded  by  his 
brother,  and  the  electors,  princes,  and  de- 
puties, the  Elector  of  Saxony  and  his 
allies  were  introduced,  and  the  Count 
palatine,  who  was  called  "  Charles's 
mouthpiece,"  said  to  them :  "  His  ma- 
jesty having  handed  your  Confession  to 
several  doctors  of  different  nations,  illus- 
trious by  their  knowledge,  their  morals, 
and  their  impartiality,  has  read  their  re- 
ply with  the  greatest  care,  and  submits 
it  to  you  as  his  own,  ordaining  that  all 
the  members  and  subjects  of  the  Holy 
Empire  should  accept  it  with  unanimous 
accord.":": 

Alexander  Schweiss  then  took  the 
papers  and  read  the  refutation.  The 
Roman  party  approved  some  articles  of 
the  Confession,  condemned  others,  and 
in  certain  less  salient  passages,  it  dis- 
tinguished between  what  must  be  re- 
jected  and  what  accepted. 

It  gave  way  on  an  important  point ; 
the  opus  operatwm.  The  Protestants 
having  said  in   their  13th    Article  that 

o 

*  Papistas  obmutuisse  ad  ipsorum  Confes- 
sionem.     (Colch.  p.  195.) 

f  Voluerunt  sycophants  theoloyi  Xsovtvv  il- 
lam  sibi  circumdare,  ut  essent  nobis  formida- 
biliores.     (Corp.  Ref.  p.  252.) 

{  Velut  suam  suaque  publica  auctoritate  ro- 
bovatam,  ab  omnibus  unanimi  consensu  accep- 
tandam.     (Urkundenbuch,  ii.  p.  144.) 


724 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


faitli  was  necessary  in  the  Sacrament, 
the  Romish  party  assented  to  it ;  thus 
abandoning  an  error  which  the  Papacy 
had  so  earnestly  defended  against  Luther 
in  that  very  city  of  Augsburg,  by  the 
mouth  of  Cajetan. 

Moreover,  they  recognised  as  truly 
Christian  the  Evangelical  doctrine  on 
the  Trinity,  on  Christ,  on  baptism,  on 
eternal  punishment,  and  on  the  origin  of 
evil. 

But  on  all  the  other  points,  Charles, 
his  princes,  and  his  theologians,  declared 
themselves  immovable.  They  main- 
tained that  men  are  born  with  the  fear 
of  God,  that  good  works  are  meritorious, 
and  that  they  justify  in  union  with  faith. 
They  upheld  the  Seven  Sacraments,  the 
Mass,  transubstantiation,  the  withdrawal 
of  the  cup,  the  celibacy  of  priests,  the 
invocation  of  saints,  and  they  denied  that 
the  Church  was  an  assembly  of  the 
saints. 

This  Refutation  was  skilful  in  some 
respects,  and,  above  all,  in  what  con- 
cerned the  doctrine  of  works  and  i5f  faith. 
But  on  other  points,  in  particular  on  the 
withdrawal  of  the  cup  and  the  celibacy 
of  priests,  its  arguments  were  lamentably 
weak,  and  contrary  to  the  well  known 
facts  of  history. 

While  the  Protestants  had  taken  their 
stand  on  the  Scriptures,  their  adversaries 
supported  the  divine  origin  of  the  hie- 
rarchy, and  laid  down  absolute  submission 
to  its  laws.  Thus,  the  essential  charac- 
ter, which  still  distinguishes  Rome  from 
the  Reformation,  stood  prominently  forth 
in  this  first  combat. 

Among  the  auditors  who  filled  the 
chapel  of  the  Palatinate  Palace,  conceak  d 
in  the  midst  of  the  deputies  of  Nurem- 
berg, was  Joachim  Camerarius,  who, 
while  Schweiss  was  reading,  leant  over 
his  tablets  and  carefully  noted  down  all 
lie  could  collect.  At  the  same  time  others 
of  the  Protestants,  speaking  toone  another, 
were  indignant,  and  even  laughed,  as  one 
of  their  opponents  assuresus.*  "  Rcallv," 
said  they  with  one  consent,  "the  whole 
of  this  Refutation  is  worthy  of  Eck,  Fa- 
ber,  and  Cochloeus!" 

As  for  Charles,  little  pleased  with  these 
theological  dissertations,  he  slept  during 

*  Multi  e  Lutheranis  ineptecachinnabantur. 
(Cochlceus,  p.  895.) 


the  reading  ;*  hut  he  awoke  when 
Schweiss  had  finished,  and  his  awaken- 
ing was  that  cf  a  lion. 

The  Count-palatine  then  declared  that 
his  majesty  found  the  articles  of  this  Re- 
futation orthodox,  catholic,  and  conform- 
able to  the  Gospel  ;  that  he  therefore  re- 
quired the  Protectants  to  abandon  their 
Confession,  now  refuted,  and  to  adhere  to 
all  the  articles  that  had  just  been  set 
forth  ;'j"  that,  if  they  refused,  the  Emperor 
would  remember  his  office,  and  would 
know  how  to  show  himself  the  advocate 
and  defender  of  the  Roman  Church. 

This  language  was  clear  enough  :  the 
adversaries  imagined  they  had  refuted 
the  Protestants  by  commanding  the  latter 
to  consider  themselves  beaten.  Violence 
— arms — war — were  all  contained  in 
these  cruel  words  of  Charles's  minister.  J 
The  princes  represented  that,  as  the  Re- 
futation adopted  some  of  their  articles 
and  rejected  others,  it  required  a  careful 
examination,  and  they  cemscquently  beg- 
ged a  copy  should  be  given  them. 

The  Romish  party  had  along  confer, 
ence  on  this  demand  :  night  was  at  hand  ; 
the  Count-palatine  replied  that,  consider- 
ing the  late  hour  and  the  importance  of 
this  affair,  the  Emperor  would  make 
known  his  pleasure  somewhat  later.  Tho 
diet  separated,  and  Charles  the  Fifth,  ex- 
asperated at  the  audacity  of  the  Evange- 
lical princes,  says  Cochlceus,  returned  in 
ill-humour  to  his  apartments. § 

The  Protestants,  on  the  contrary,  with- 
drew full  of  peace  ;  the  reading  of  the 
Refutation  having  given  them  as  much 
confidence  as  that  of  the  Confession  it- 
self. ||  They  saw  in  their  adversaries  a 
strong  attachment  to  the  hierarchy,  but 
a  great  ignorance  of  the  Gospel — a  cha- 
racteristic feature  of  the  Romish  party  ; 
]  and  this  thought  encouraged  them.  "  Cer- 
jtainly,"  said  they,  "  the  Church  cannot 
|  be  where  there  is  no  knowledge  of 
Christ. ':1T 

*  Iinporator  iterum  obdormivit.  (Corp.  Ref. 
ii.  P.  245.) 

f  Petiit  Css^r  ut  omnes  in  illns  articulos 
consentiant.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  345.) 

J  Orationis  summa  atrox.     (Ibid.  p.  2")3.) 

§  Cassar  non  aequo  animo  ferebat  eorum 
contumaciam.     (Cochl.  p.  195.) 

||  Facti  sunt  erectiore  animo.  (Corp.  Ref. 
ii.  p.  259.) 

II  Ecclesiam  ibi  non  esse,  ubi  ignoratur 
Christus. 


THE  A  !  ;  CONFESSION.     1530. 


Melancthon  alone  was  still  alarmed  jjtions,"  said  they  all,  "-are  inadmissible." 
he  walked  by  sight  and  not  by  faith,  and,  |— "The  Papists  present  us  with  their 


remembering  the  legate's  smiles,  he  had 
another  interview  with  him,  as  early  as 
the  4th  August,  still  demanding  the  cup 
for  the  laity,  and  lawful  wives  for  the 
priests.  "  Than,"  said  he,  "  our  pastors 
will  place  themselves  again  under  the 
government  of  hishops,  and  we  shall  be 
able  to  prevent  those  innumerable  sects 
with  which  posterity  is  threatened."* 
Melancthon's  glance  into  the  future  is 
remarkable  :  it  does  not,  however,  mean 
that  he,  like  many  others,  preferred  a 
dead  unity  to  a  living  diversity. 

Campeggio,  now  certain  of  triumphing 
by  the  sword,  disdainfully  handed  this 
paper  to  Cochlceus,  who  hastened  to  re- 
fute it.  It  is  hard  to  say  whether  Me- 
lancthon or  Campeggio  was  the  most  in- 
fatuated. God  did  not  permit  an  ar- 
rangement that  would  have  enslaved  his 
Church. 

Charles  passed  the  whole  of  the  4th 
and  the  morning  of  the  5th  August  in 
consultation  with  the  Ultramontane  party. 
"  It  will  never  be  by  discussion  that  we 
shall  come  to  an  understanding,"  said 
some  ;  "  and  if  the  Protestants  do  not 
submit  voluntarily,  it  only  remains  for 
us  to  compel  them."  They  nevertheless 
decided,  on  account  of  the  Refutation,  to 
adopt  a  middle  course.  During  the 
whole  of  the  diet,  Charles  pursued  a 
skilful  policy.  At  first  he  refused  every- 
thing, hoping  to  lead  away  the  princes 
by  violence  ;  then  he  conceded  a  few  un- 
important points,  under  the  impression 
that  the  Protestants  having  lost  all  hope, 
would  esteem  so  much  the  more  the  little 
he  yielded  to  them.  This  was  what  he 
did  again  under  the  present  circumstances. 
In  the  afternoon  of  the  5th,  the  Count- 
palatine  announced  that  the  Emperor 
would  give  them  a  copy  of  the  Refuta- 
tion, but  on  these  conditions  ;  namely, 
that  the  Protestants  should  not  reply, 
that  they  should  speedily  agree  with  the 
Emperor,  and  that  they  would  not  print 
or  communicate  to  any  one  the  Refuta- 
tion that  should  be  confided  to  them.f 

This  communication  excited  murmurs 
among  the  Protestants.     "  These  condi- 


paper,"  added  the  Chancellor  Brack, 
"  as  the  fox  offered  a  thin  broth  to  his 
gossip  the  stork." 

Tha  savoury  broth   upon  a  plate  by  Reynard 

was  served  up, 
But  Mistres3  Stork,  with  her  long  beak,  she 

could  not  get  a  sup.* 

"  If  the  Refutation,"  continued  he, 
"  should  come  to  be  known  without  par- 
ticipation (and  how  can  we  prevent  it  ?), 
we  shall  be  charged  with  it  as  a  crime. 
Let  us  beware  of  accepting  so  perfidious 
an  offer.f  We  already  possess  in  the 
notes  of  Camerarius  several  articles  of 
this  paper,  and  if  we  omit  any  point,  no 
one  will  have  the  right  to  reproach  us 
with  it." 

On  the  next  day  (6th  August)  the 
Protestants  declared  to  the  diet  that  they 
preferred  declining  the  copy  thus  offered 
to  them,  and  appealed  to  God  and  to  his 
Majesty.^  They  thus  rejected  all  that 
the  Emperor  proposed  to  them,  even  what 
he  considered  as  a  favour. 

Agitation,  anger,  and  affright,  were 
manifested  on  every  branch  of  that 
august  assembly. §  This  reply  of  the 
Evangelicals  was  war — was  rebellion. 
George  of  Saxony,  the  Princes  of  Bava- 
ria, all  the  violent  adherents  of  Rome, 
trembled  with  indignation  ;  there  was  a 
sudden,  an  impetuous  movement,  an  ex- 
plosion of  murmurs  and  of  hatred  ;  and 
it  might  have  been  feared  that  the  two 
parties  would  have  come  to  blows  in  the 
very  presence  of  the  Emperor,  if  Arch- 
bishop Albert,  the  Elector  of  Branden- 
burg, and  the  Dukes  of  Brunswick,  Po- 
merania,  and  Mecklenburg,  rushing  be- 
tween them,  had  not  conjured  the  Pro- 
testants to  put  an  end  to  this  deplorable 
combat,  and  not  drive  the  Emperor  to 
extremities.  ||  The  diet  separated,  their 
hearts  filled  with  emotion,  apprehension, 
and  trouble. 


*  Quod  nisi  fist,  quid  in  tot  sectis  ad  postero- 
futurum  sit.     (Corp.  Rjf.  ii.  p.  us.) 


*  Gluck  vvie  der  Fuchs  brauchet,  da  er  den 
Storeh  zu  gast  lud.     (Brfick,  Apol.  p.  74.) 

f  Quando  exemplum  per  alios  in  vulgus  ex- 
ire  poterat.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  76.) 

J  Das  Sie  es  Gott  and  Kays.  Maj.  besehlen 
murFten.     (Urkund.  ii.  p.  1SI.) 

§  Und  darob  vvie  man  Spiiren  mag,  ein  Ent- 
zet  zen  gehabt.     (Ibid.) 

||  Hi  accedunt  ad  nostras  principes  et  jubent 


t  P'Ui'kund.   ii-  p.   179;   Corp.  Rsf.  ii.  p. iomitt^re  hoc  eertamen,  ne  Caesar  vehementius 
2o3;  Bruck,  Apol.  p.  72.  jeemmoveatur.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  2,')4.) 


726 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


Never  had  the  diet  proposed  such  fatal 
alternatives.  The  hopes  of  agreement, 
set  forth  in  the  edict  of  convocation,  had 
only  been  a  deceitful  lure  :  now  the  mask 
was  thrown  aside  ;  submission  or  the 
sword — such  was  the  dilemma  offered  to 
the  Reformation.  All  announced  that 
the  day  of  tentatives  was  passed,  and  that 
they  were  beginning  one  of  violence. 

In  truth,  on  the  6th  July,  the  Pope 
iiad  assembled  the  consistory  of  cardi- 
nals in  his  palace  at  Rome,  and  had 
made  known  to  them  the  Protestant  ulti- 
matum ;  namely,  the  cup  for  the  laity, 
the  marriage  of  priests,  the  omission  of 
the  invocation  of  saints  in  the  sacrifice 
of  the  Mass,  the  use  of  ecclesiastical  pro- 
perty already  secularized,  and  for  the 
rest,  the  convocation  of  a  council.  "  These 
concessions;,"  said  the  cardinals,  "are 
opposed  to  the  religion,  the  discipline, 
and  the  laws  of  the  Church.*  We  reject 
them,  and  vote  our  thanks  to  the  Emperor 
for  the  zeal  which,  he  employs  in  bring- 
ing back  the  deserters."  The  Pope 
having  thus  decided,  every  attempt  at 
conciliation  became  useless. 

Campeggio,  on  his  side,  redoubled  in 
zeal.  Pie  spoke  as  if  in  his  person  the 
Pope  himself  were  present  at  Augsburg.f 
"  Let  the  Emperor  and  the  right-think- 
ing princes  form  a  league,"  said  he  to 
Charles ;  "  and  if  these  rebels,  equally 
insensible  to  threats  and  promises,  obsti- 
nately persist  in  their  diabolical  course, 
then  let  his  Majesty  seize  fire  and  sword, 
let  him  take  possession  of  all  the  pro- 
perty of  the  heretics,  and  utterly  eradi- 
cate these  venomous  plants.:}:  Then  let 
him  appoint  holy  inquisitors,  who  shall 
go  on  the  track  of  the  remnants  of  Re- 
form, and  proceed  against  them,  as  in 
Spain  against  the  Moors.  Let  him  put 
the  university  of  Wittembcfg  under  ban, 
burn  the  heretical  books,  and  send  back 
the  fugitive  monks  to  their  convents. 
But  this  plan  must  be  executed  with 
courage." 

*  Oppositas  religioni,  discipline,  legibusque 
Ecclesias.     (Pallav.  i.  p.  234.) 

f  Als  were  der  Papst  sslbst  gegenw'artig 
gewest.     (Biiick,  Apol   f>2.) 

}  Se  alcuni perseverassero  in  questa  dia- 
betica via  quella  S.  M.  potva.  mettere  la  mano 
:il  ferro  e  al  foco  et  radicitus  exlirpare.  questa 
venenata  pianta.  (Instructio  data  Caesari  a  reve- 
rendissimo  Campeggi  in  dicta  Au^ustana. 
1530.) 


Thus  the  jurisprudence  of  Rome  con- 
sisted, according  to  a  prophecy  uttered 
against  the  city  which  is  seated  on  seven 
hills,  in  adorning  itself  with  pearls  that  it 
had  stolen,  and  in  becoming  drunk  with 
the  blood  of  the  saints.* 

While  Charles  was  thus  urged  on  with 
blind  fury  by  the  diet  and  the  Pope,  the 
Protestant  princes,  restrained  by  a  mute 
indignation,  did  not  open  their  mouths,f 
and  hence  they  seemed  to  betray  a  weak- 
ness of  which  the  Emperor  was  eager  to 
profit.  But  there  was  also  strength  con- 
cealed under  this  weakness.  "  It  only 
remains  for  us,"  exclaimed  Melancthon, 
"  to  embrace  our  Saviour's  knees."  In 
this  they  laboured  earnestly.  Melanc- 
thon begged  for  Luther's  prayers  ;  Brenz 
for  those  of  Lis  own  church :  a  general 
cry  of  distress  and  of  faith  ran  through 
Evangelical  Germany.  "  You  shall 
have  sheep,"  said  Brenz,  "  if  you  will 
send  us  sheep  :  you  know  what  I  mean.":): 
The  sheep  that  were  to  be  offered  in 
sacrifice  were  the  prayers  of  the  saints. 

The  Church  was  not  wanting  to  itself. 
"  Assembled  every  day,"  wrote  certain 
cities  to  the  Electors,  "  we  beg  for  you 
.strength,  grace,  and  victory, — victory 
full  of  joy."  But  the  man  of  prayer  and 
faith  was  especially  Luther.  A  calm 
and  sublime  courage,  in  which  firmness 
shines  at  the  side  of  joy — a  courage  that 
rises  and  exults  in  proportion  as  the 
danger  increases — is  what  Luther's 
letters  at  this  time  present  in  every  line. 
The  most  poetical  images  are  pale  beside 
those  energetic  expressions  which  issue 
in  a  boiling  torrent  from  the  Reformer's 
soul.  "  I  have  recently  witnessed  two 
miracles,"  wrote  he  on  the  5th  August 
to  Chancellor  Bruck  ;  "  this  is  the  first. 
As  I  was  at  my  window,  I  saw  the  stars, 
and  the  sky,  and  that  vast  and  magnifi- 
cent firmament  in  which  the  Lord  has 
placed  them.  I  could  nowhere  discover 
the  columns  on  which  the  Master  has 
supported  this  immense  vault,  and  yet  the 
heavens  did  not  fall 

"  And  here  is  the  second.  I  beheld 
thick  clouds  hanging  above  us  like  a  vast 
sea.  I  could  neither  perceive  ground  on 
which  they  reposed,  nor  cords  by  which 

*  Revelation  xvii    and  xviii. 
t  Tacita  indignatio.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  254.) 
%  Habebitis  oves,  si  oves   ad  nos  mittatis  : 
intelligitis  quae  volo.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  24G.) 


THE  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     153(1. 


727 


they  were  suspended;  and  yet  they  did* replied  his  cousin  the  Elector  Joachim, 


not  fall  upon  us,  hut  saluted  us  rapidly 
and  fled  away. 

"  God,"  continued  he,  "  will  choose 
the  manner,  the  time,  and  the  place  suit- 
ahle   for  deliverance,   and    he   will    not 


"  what  is  your  stake  ?" — "  Certainly,' 
replied  the  Margrave,  "  it  is  said  I  shall 
be  expelled  from  this  country.     Well ! 
may  God  protect  me  !"     One  day  Prince 
Wolfean^"  of  Anhalt   met  Doctor  Eck. 


linger.       What  the  men  of  blood  have  "Doctor,"  said   he,    "you   are  exciting 


begun,  they  iiave  not  yet  finished 

Our  rainbow  is  faint their  clouds 

are  threatening the  enemy  comes 

against  us  with  frightful  machines 

But  at  last  it  will  be  seen  to  whom  be- 
longed the  ballistse,  and  from  what  hands 
the  javelins  are  launched.*  It  is  no 
matter  if  Luther  perishes:  if  Christ  is 
conqueror.  Luther  is  conqueror  also."f 

Never  had  the  Roman  party,  who  did 
not  know  what  was  the  victory  of  faith, 
imagined  themselves  more  certain  of 
success. 

The  doctors  having  refuted  the  Con- 
fession, the  Protestants  ought,  they  ima- 
gined, to  declare  themselves  convinced, 
and  all  would  then  be  restored  to  its 
ancient  footing :  such  was  the  Emperor's 
plan  of  campaign.  He  therefore  urges 
and  calls  upon  the  Protestants  ;  but  in- 
stead of  submitting,  they  announce  a 
refutation  of  the  Refutation.  Upon  this 
Charles  looked  at  his  sword,  and  all  the 
princes  who  surrounded  him  did  the 
same. 


to  war,  but  you  will  find  those  who  will 
not  be  behindhand  with  you.  I  have 
broken  many  a  lance  for  my  friends  in 
my  time.  My  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is 
assuredly  worthy  that  I  should  do  as 
much  for  him." 

At  the  sight  of  this  resolution,  each 
one  asked  himself  whether  Charles,  in- 
stead of  curing  the  disease,  was  not 
augmenting  it.  Reflections,  criticisms, 
jests,  passed  between  the  citizens  ;  and 
the  good  sense  of  the  people  manifested 
in  its  own  fashion  what  they  thought  of 
the  folly  of  their  chief.  We  will  adduce 
one  instance. 

It  is  said  that  one  day,  as  the  Emperor 
was  at  table  with  many  Roman-catholic 
princes,  he  was  informed  that  some 
comedians  begged  permission  (according 
to  custom)  to  amuse  their  lordships. 
Firs'  appeared  an  old  man  wearing  a 
mask,  and  dressed  in  a  doctor's  robe, 
who  advanced  with  difficulty  carrying  a 
bundle  of  sticks  in  his  arms,  some 
straight    and    some    crooked.       He    ap- 


John  of  Saxony  understood  what  that  iproached  the  wide  fireplace  of  the  Gothic 

hall,  threw  down  his  load  in  disorder,  and 
immediately  withdrew.*  Charles  and 
the  courtiers  read  on  his  back  the  inscrip- 
tion— John  Reuchlin.  Then  appeared 
another  mask  with  an  intelligent  look, 
who  made  every  exertion  to  pair  the 
straight  and  the  crooked  pieces  ;f  but 
finding  his  labours  useless,  he  shook  his 


meant,  but  he  remained  firm.  "  The 
straight  line,"  said  he  (the  axiom  was 
familiar  to  him),  "  is  the  shortest  road." 
It  is  this  indomitable  firmness  that  has 
secured  for  him  in  history  the  name  of 
John  the  Persevering.  He  was  not  alone  : 
all  those  Protestant  princes  who  had 
grown  up   in   the  midst  of  courts,   and 


obedience  to  the  Emperor,  found  at  that 
time  in  their  faith  a  noble  independence 
that  confounded  Charles  the  Fifth. 


who  were  habituated  to  pay  an  humble  head,  turned  to  the  door,  and  disappeared 

They    read — Erasmus  of   Rotterdam. 

Almost    immediately  after   advanced   a 

monk  with  bright  eye  and  decided  gait, 

With  the  design  of  gaining  the  Mar- [carrying  a  brasier  of  lighted  coals. :j:    Ha 

quis  of  Brandenburg,  they  opened  to  himjput  the  wood  in  order,  set  fire  to  it,  blew 

the    possibility   of  according  him  some  I  and  stirred  it  up,  so  that  the  flame  rose 

possessions  in  Silesia  on  which  he  had  bright  and  sparkling   into  the  air 

claims.     "  If  Christ  is  Christ,"  replied! then  retired,  and  on   his  hackwo- 


he, "  the  doctrine  that  I  have  confessed 
is  truth." — "  But  do  you  know,"  quickly 

*  In  fi-12  videbitur  cujus  toni (L.  Epp. 

iv.  p.  133.) 

f  Vincat  Christu3  modo,  nihil  refart  si  pereat 
Lutherus,  quia  victors  Christo  victor  erit. 
(Ibid.  p.  139.) 


He 

Were  the 


words — Martin  Luther. 


*  Persona  larva  contecta,  habitu  dostorali 
portabat  steuem  lignorum.  (T.  L.  Fabriciud, 
opp.  omnia,  ii.  p.  131.) 

f  Hie  eonabiturcurvarectis  exequare  lignis. 
(T   L.  Fabricius,  opp.  omnia,  p.  ii.  231.) 

X  In  azula  ferens  igncm  et  prunas.  "  (Ibid.) 


728 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


Next  approached  a  magnificent  per-jannounced  the  gloomy  future  which 
sona^e,  covered  with  all  the  imperial  in- 1 threatened  the  Reform.  At  Spire  fcar- 
si<mia,  who,  seeing  the  fire  so  bright, !  ful  spectres,  having  the  shape  of  monks, 
drew  his  sword,  and  endeavoured  by  I  with  angry  eyes  and  hasty  steps,  had  ap- 
violent  thrusts  to  extinguish  it ;  but  theipeared  during  the  night.  "What,  do 
more  he   struck,  the   fiercer  burnt  the  you   want?"    they    had    been    asked. — 


flames,  so  that  at  last  ho  quitted  the 
place  in  indignation.  His  name,  as  it 
would  seem,  was  not  made  known  'to  the 
spectators,  but  all  divined  it.  The  gene- 
ral attention  was  soon  attracted  by  a  new 
character.  A  man,  wearing  a  surplice 
and  a  mantle  of  red  velvet,  with  an  alb 
of  white  wool  that  reached  to  his  heels, 
and  having  a  stole  around  his  neck, 
whose  ends  were  ornamented  with 
pearls,  advanced  majestically.  Behold- 
ing the  flames  that  already  filled  the 
hearth,  he  clapped  his  hands  in  terror, 
and  looking  around  him  sought  to  find 
something  to  extinguish  them.  He  sees 
two  vessels  at  the  very  extremity  of  the 
hall,  one  filled  with  water,  and  the  other 
with  oil.  He  rushes  to  them,  seizes  un- 
wittingly on  that  containing  the  oil,  and 
throws  it  en  the  fire.*  The  flames  then 
spread  with  such  violence  that  the  mask 
fled  in  alarm,  raising  his  hands  to  hea- 
ven ;  on  his  back  was  read  the  name  of 
Leo  X. 

Tho  mystery  was  finished  ;  but  in- 
stead of  claiming  their  remuneration,  the 
pretended  actors  had  disappeared.  No 
one  asked  the  moral  of  this  drama. 

The  lesson,  however,  proved  useless  ; 
and  the  majority  of  the  diet,  assuming 
at  the  same  time  the  part  assigned  to 
the  Emperor  and  the  Pope,  began  to  pre- 
pare the  means  necessary  for  extinguish- 
ing the  fire  kindled  by  Luther.  They  ne- 
gotiated in  Italy  with  the  Duke  of  Man-. 
tua,  who  engaged  to  send  a  few  regi- 
ments of  light  cavalry  across  the  Alps;")" 
and  in  England  with  Henry  VIII.,  who 
had  not  forgotten  Luther's  reply,  and 
who  promised  Charles,  through  his  am- 
bassador, an  immense  subsidy  to  destroy 
the  heretics.! 

At  the  same  time  frightful  prodigies 

*  Currens  it)  amphovam  oleo  plenam.  (T, 
L.  Fabricius,  opp.  omnia,  ii.  p.  232.) 

t  Che  tentaao  col  Duca  di  IVIantona  d'  av'eve 
il  modo  di  condurre  1000  cavalli  leggieri  d 
Italia  in  caso  si  facesse  guerra  in  Germanica 
(Nic.  Tiefolo  Relat.) 

JCui  (Caesari)  ingentem  vim  pecuniae  in 
hoc  sacrum  bellum  contra  haereticos  Anglus 
promisisse  fertur.     (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  484.) 


"  We  are  going,"  they  replied,  "  to  the 
Diet  of  Augsburg  !"  The  circumstance 
had  been  carefully  investigated,  and  was 
found  perfectly  trustworthy.*  "The 
interpretation  is  not  difficult,"  exclaimed 
Melancthon  :  "  Evil  spirits  are  coming  to 
Augsburg  to  counteract  our  exertions, 
and  to  destroy  peace.  They  forebode 
horrible  troubles  to  us."f  No  one' 
doubted  this.  "  Everything  is  advanc- 
ing towards  war,"  said  Erasmus.:}: 
"  The  diet  will  not  terminate,"  wrote 
Brenz,  "  except  by  the  destruction  of  all 
Germany. "§  "  There  will  be  a  slaugh- 
ter  of   the   saints,"    exclaimed    Bucer, 

which  will  be  such  that  the  massacres 
of  Diocletian  will  scarcely  come  up  to 
it. "||  War  and  blood  ! — this  was  the 
general  cry. 

Suddenly,  on  the  night  of  Saturday, 
6th  August,  a  great  disturbance  broke 
out  in  the  city  of  Augsburg.  1f  There 
was  running  to  and  fro  in  the  streets  ; 
messengers  from  the  Emperor  were  gal- 
loping in  every  direction  ;  the  senate  w  as' 
called  together  and  received  an  order  to 
allow  no  one  to  pass  the  gates  of  the 
city.**  At  the  same  time  all  were  afoot 
in  the  imperial  barracks;  the  soldiers  got 
ready  their  arms ;  the  regiments  were 
drawn  up,  and  at  daybreak  (about  three 
o'clock  on  Sunday  morning)  the  Empe- 
ror's troops,  in  opposition  to  the  custom 
constantly  followed  in  the  diet,  relieved 
the  soldiers  of  the  city  and  took  possession 
of  the  gates.  At  the  same  time  it  was 
learnt  that  these  gates  would  not  be 
opened,  and  that  Charles  had   given  or- 

*Res  et  diligenter  inquisita  et  explorata 
maximeque  a^Uviaros.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  259.) 

f  Monachorum  Spirensium  ^anfia  plane  sig- 
nificat  horribilem  tumultuin      (Ibid.  p.  2fi0.) 

\  Vides  rem  plane  tendere  ad  bellum 
(Corp.  R3f.  Aug.  12,  p.  2GS.) 

§  Comitia  no;i  finientur  nisi  totius  Germa- 
nise malo  et  exitio.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  210.) 

||  Laniena  sanctorum  qualis  vix  Diocletian! 
tempore  fuit.     (Buc.  Ep.  Aug.  14,  15.'>0.) 

If  Tumultum  magnum  fuisse  in  civitate. 
(Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  277.) 

**  Facto  autem  intempesta  nocte  Csesar  6e 
natui  mandavit,  ne  quenquam  per  portas  urbis 
su&2  emittant.     (Ibid.  p.  277.) 


THE  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     J  530. 


729 


ders  to  keep  a  strict  watch  upon  thef justified  himself;  and  (he  Emperor  said 
Elector  and  his  allies.*  A  terrible; that  he  accepted  his  replies,  except  with 
awakening  for  those  who  still   flattered  [regard   to  the  faith,  and   begged  him  to 


themselves  with  seeing  the  religious  de- 
bates conclude  peacefully !  Are  not 
these  unheard-of  measures  the  com- 
mencement of  wars  and  the  signal  of  a 
frightful  massacre  ? 

X.  Trouble  and  anger  prevailed  in 
the  imperial  palace,  and  it  was  the  Land- 
grave who  had  caused  them.  Firm  as- 
a  rock  in  the  midst  of  the  tempest  with 
which  he  was  surrounded,  Philip  of 
Hesse  had  never  bent,  his  head  to  the 
blast.  One  day,  in  a  public  assembly, 
addressing  the  bishops,  he  had  said  to 
them,  "  My  lords,  give  peace  to  the  Em- 
pire ;  we  beg  it  of  you.  If  you  will  not 
do  so,  and  if  I  must  fall,  be  sure  that  I 
will  drag  one  or  two  of  you  with  me." 
They  saw  it  was  necessary  -to  employ 
milder  means  with  him,  and  the  Emperor 
endeavoured  to  gain  him  by  showing  a 
favourable  disposition  with  respect  to  the 
county  of  Katzenellenbogen,  about  which 
,he  was  at  variance  with  the  country  of 
Nassau,  and  to  Wurtemberg,  which  he 
claimed  for  his  cousin  Ulric.  On  his 
side  Duke  George  of  Saxony,  his  father- 
in-law,  had  assured  him  that  he  would 
make  him  his  heir  if  he  would  submit 
to  the  Pope.  "  They  carried  him  to  an 
exceeding  high  mountain,  whence  they 
showed  him  all  the  kingdoms  of  the 
world  and  the  glory  thereof, "f  says  a 
chronicler,  but  the  Landgrave  resisted 
the  temptation. 

One  day  he  heard  that  the  Emperor 
had  manifested  a  desire  to  speak  to  him. 
He  leapt  instantly  on  his  horse  and  ap- 
peared before  Charles.:}:  The  latter,  who 
had  with  him  his  secretary  Schweiss  and 
the  Bishop  of  Constance,  represented  that 
he  had  four  complaints  against  him ; 
namely,  of  having  violated  the  Edict  of 
Worms,  of  despising  the  Mass,  of  having, 
during  his  absence,  excited  all  kinds  of 
revolt,  and,  finally,  of  having  transmitted 
to  him  a  book  in  which  his  sovereign 
rights  were  attacked.     The  Landgrave 


*  Daff  man  auf  den  Churfurst  zu   Sachsen 
aufsshen  haben  soil.     (Briick,  Apol.  p.  80.) 

■f  Auf  den   hohen   berg   gefuhrt.     (Lanze's 
Chronik  ) 

|  Von  ihr  selb3t  gen  Hof  geritten.     (Corp. 
Ref.  ii.  p.  105.) 

92 


show  himself  in  that  respect  entirely  sub- 
missive to  his  majesty.  "  What  would 
you  say,"  added  Charles,  in  a  winning 
tone,  "  if  I  elevated  you  to  the  regal  dig- 
nity ?*  But,  if  you  show  yourself  rebel- 
lious to  my  orders,  then  I  shall  behave 
as  becomes  a  Roman  Emperor." 

These  words  exasperated  the  Land- 
grave, but  they  did  not  move  him.  "  I 
am  in  the  flower  of  my  age,"  replied  he, 
"  and  I  do  not  pretend  to  despise  the  joys 
of  life  and  the  favour  of  the  great ;  but 
to  the  deceitful  goods  of  this  world  I  shall 
always  prefer  the  ineffable  grace  of  my 
God."  Charles  was  stupified  ;  he  could 
not  understand  Philip. 

From  this  time  the  Landgrave  had  re- 
doubled his  exertions  to  unite  the  adher- 
ents of  Reform.  The  Zwinglian  cities  felt 
that,  whatever  was  the  issue  of  the  diet, 
they  would  be  the  first  victims,  unless 
the  Saxons  should  give  them  their  hand. 
But  this  there  was  some  difficulty  in  ob- 
taining. 

"  It  does  not  appear  to  me  useful  to 
the  public  weal,  or  safe  for  the  con- 
science," wrote  Melancthon  to  Bucer, 
"  to  load  our  princes  with  all  the  hatred 
your  doctrine  inspires. "f  The  Stras- 
burgers  replied,  that  the  real  cause  of  the 
Papists'  hatred  was  not  so  much  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Eucharist  as  that  of  justifica- 
tion by  faith.  "  All  we,  who  desire  to 
belong  to  Christ,"  said  they,  "  are  one, 
and  we  have  nothing  to  expect  but 
death,  "t 

This  was  true  ;  but  another  motive 
besides  checked  Melancthon.  If  all  the 
Protestants  united,  they  would  feel  their 
strength,  and  war  would  be  inevitable. 
Therefore,  then,  no  union  ! 

The  Landgrave,  threatened  by  the 
Emperor,  rejected  by  the  theologians,  be- 
gan to  ask  himself  what  he  did  at  Augs- 
burg. The  cup  was  full.  Charles's  re- 
fusal to  communicate  the  Romish  Refu- 
tation, except  on  inadmissible  conditions, 
made   it   run    over.       Philip  of  Hesse 

*  Quin  et  in  regem  te  evehendum  curabimug. 
(Rommel,  Philip  der  Gr.  i   p.  2f»S.) 

t  No3tros  principes  onerare  invidia  vestri 
dogmatis.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  221.) 

J  Arctis?ime  quoque  inter  nos  conjuncti  es- 
semus,  quotquot  Christi  esse  vclumus.  (Ibid 
p.  233.) 


730 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


saw  but  one  course  to  take — to  quit  the 
city. 

Scarcely  had  the  Emperor  made  known 
the  conditions  which  he  placed  on  the 
communication  of  the  reply,  than  on 
Friday  evening,  5th  August,  the  Land- 
grave, going  alone  to  the  Count-palatine, 
Charles's  minister,  had  begged  for  an 
immediate  audience  with  his  majesty. 
Charles,  who  did  not  care  about  it,  pre- 
tended to  be  busy,  and  had  put  off  Philip 
until  the  following  Sunday.*  But  the 
latter  answered  that  he  could  not  wait ; 
that  his  wife,  who  was  dangerously  ill, 
entreated  him  to  return  to  Hesse  without 
delay  ;  and  that,  being  one  of  the  young- 
est princes,  the  meanest  in  understand- 
ing, and  useless  to  Charles,  he  humbly 
begged  his  majesty  would  permit  him  to 
leave  on  the  morrow.  The  Emperor  re- 
fused. 

We  may  well  understand  the  storms 
this  refusal  excited  in  Philip's  mind  : 
but  he  knew  how  to  contain  himself; 
never  had  he  appeared  more  tranquil ; 
during  the  whole  of  Saturday  (6th  Au- 
gust), he  seemed  occupied  only  with  a 
magnificent  tourney  in  honour  of  the 
Emperor  and  of  his  brother  Ferdinand. j" 
He  prepared  for  it  publicly  ;  his  servants 
went  to  and  fro,  but  under  that  din  of 
horses  and  of  armour,  Philip  concealed 
very  different  designs.  "  The  Land- 
grave conducts  himself  with  very  great 
moderation,"  wrote  Melancthon  to  Lu- 
ther, the  same  day.:}:  "  He  told  me 
openly  that,  to  preserve  peace,  he  would 
submit  to  conditions  still  harder  than 
those  which  the  Emperor  imposes  on  us, 
and  whatever  he  could  accept  without 
dishonouring  the  Gospel,  he  would  do  so." 

Yet  Charles  was  not  at  ease.  The 
Landgrave's  demand  pursued  him ;  all 
the  Protestants  might  do  the  same,  and 
even  quit  Augsburg  unexpectedly.  The 
clue,  that  he  had  hitherto  so  skilfully 
held  in  his  hands,  was  perhaps  about  to 
be  broken :  it  was  better  to  be  violent 
than  ridiculous.  The  Emperor  there- 
fore resolved  on  striking  a  decisive  blow. 

Cum  imperator  dilationem  respondent^ 
astu  quodam  aceepisset.  (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  pp. 
234,  27H.) 

f  Ad  ludos  equestres  in  honorem  Caesari  in- 
stituendos  publice  sese  apparavit.  (Seek.  ii. 
p.  172.) 

t  Landgvavius  valde  moderate  se  gent. 
(Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  254.) 


The  Elector,  the  princes,  the  deputies, 
are  still  in  Augsburg  :  he  must  at  every 
risk  prevent  them  from  leaving  it.  Such 
were  the  heavy  thoughts  that  on  the  night 
of  the  6th  August,  while  the  Protestants 
were  calmly  sleeping,*  banished  repose 
from  Charles's  eyes ;  and  which  made 
him  hastily  arouse  the  councillors  of 
Augsburg,  and  send  his  messengers  and 
soldiers  through  the  streets  of  the  city. 

The  Protestant  princes  were  still 
slumbering,  when  they  received  on  the 
part  of  the  Emperor,  the  unexpected 
order  to  repair  immediately  to  the  Hall 
of  the  Chapter,  "j" 

It  was  eight  o'clock  when  they  arrived. 
They  found  there  the  electors  of  Bran- 
denburg and  Mentz,  the  Dukes  of  Sax- 
ony, Brunswick,  and  Mecklenburg,  the 
Bishops  of  Salzburg,  Spire,  and  Stras- 
burg,  George  Truchses,  the  Margrave  of 
Baden's  representative,  Count  Martin,  of 
(Elting,  the  Abbot  of  Weingarten,  and 
the  Provost  of  Bamberg.  These  were 
the  commissioners  nominated  by  Charles 
to  terminate  this  great  affair. 

It  was  the  most  decided  among  themr 
Joachim  of  Brandenburg,  who  began  to 
speak.  "  You  know,"  said  he  to  the 
Protestants,  "  with  what  mildness  the 
Emperor  has  endeavoured  to  re-establish 
unity.  If  some  abuses  have  crept  into 
the  Christian  Church,  he  is  ready  to 
correct  them,  in  conjunction  with  the 
Pope.  But  how. contrary  to  the  Gospel 
are  the  sentiments  you  have  adopted! 
Abandon  then  your  errors,  do  not  any 
longer  remain  separate  from  the  Church, 
and  sign  the  Refutation  without  delay. :{: 
If  you  refuse,  then  through  your  fault 
how  many  souls  will  be  lost,  how  much 
blood  shed,  what  countries  laid  waste, 
what  trouble  in  all  the  Empire !  And 
you,"  said  he,  turning  towards  the  Elec- 
tor, "  your  electorate,  your  life,  all  will 
be  torn  from  you,  and  certain  ruin  will 
fall  upon  your  subjects,  and  even  upon 
their  wives  and  children." 

The  Elector  remained  motionless.  At 
any  time  this  language  would  have  been 
alarming  :  it  was   still  more  so  now  that 

*  Ego  vero  somno  sopitus  dulciter  quiesce- 
bam.     (Corp.  Raf.  ii.  p.  273.) 

t  Mane  facto  Cassar .  .  .  convocavit  nostros 
pvincipes.  (Ibid.  p.  277 ;  Bruck,  Apol.  p. 
711.) 

J  Ut  sentential  quam  in  refutatione  audivis- 
sent  subscribant.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  277.) 


THE  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


731 


the  city  was  almost  in  a  state  of  siege. 
"  VVc  now  understand,"  said  the  Protes- 
tants to  one  another,  "  why  the  imperial 
guards  occupy  the  gates  of  the  city."* 
It  was  evident,  indeed,  that  the  Emperor 
intended  violence. j" 

The  Protestants  are  unanimous  :  sur- 
rounded with  soldiers,  at  the  very  gates 
of  the  prison,  and  beneath  the  thousaad 
swords  of  Charles,  they  will  remain  firm. 


day  for  which  Philip  had  requested  the 
Emperor's  leave  of  absence.  He  waits 
until  the  commencement  of  the  night,  and 
then,  about  eight  o'clock,  disguised  in  a 
foreign  dress,  without  bidding  farewell  to 
any  of  his  friends,*  and  taking  every  im- 
aginable precaution,"!*  he  makes  for  the 
gates  of  the  city,  about  the  time  when 
they  are  usually  closed:  Five  or  six 
cavaliers  followed  him  singly,  and   at  a 


All  these  threats  will  not  make  them  take  little  distance.-}:     In  so  critical  a  moment 


one  step  back  wards,  "j:-  It  was  important 
for  them,  however,  to  consider  their  re- 
ply. They  begged  for  a  few  minutes' 
delay,  and  retired. 

To  submit  voluntarily,  or  to  be  reduc- 
ed by  force,*such  was  the  dilemma  Charles 
proposed  to  the  Evangelical  Christians. 

At  the  moment  when  each  was  anxious 


will  not  these  men-at-arms  attract  atten- 
tion ?  Philip  traverses  the  streets  with- 
out danger,  approaches  the  gate,§  passes 
with  a  careless  air  through  the  midst  of 
the  guard,  between  the  scattered  soldiers  ; 
no  one  moves,  all  remain  idly  seated,  as 
if  nothing  extraordinary  was  going  on. 
Philip  has  passed  without  being  recog- 


about  the  issue  of  this  struggle,  in  which  nised.||     His  five  or  six  horsemen  come 
the  destinies  of  Christianity   were  con-  through  in  like  manner.  Behold  them  all  at 


tending,  an  alarming  rumour  suddenly 
raised  the  agitation  of  all  minds  to  its 
height. 

The  Landgrave,  in  the  midst  of  his 
preparations  for  the  tournament,  medi- 
tated the  most  serious  resolution.  Ex- 
cluded by  Charles  from  every  im  porta  at 
deliberation,  irritated  at  the  treatment  the 
Protestants  had  undergone  during  this 
diet,§  convinced  that  they  had  no  more 
chance  of  peace,||  not  doubting  that  their 
liberty  was  greatly  endangered  in  Augs- 
burg, and  feeling  unable  to  conceal  under 
the  appearance  of  moderation  the  indig- 
nation with  which  his  soul  was  filled,  be- 
ing besides  of  a  quick,  prompt,  and  reso- 
lute character,  Philip  had  decided  on 
quitting  the  city  and  repairing  to  his  states, 
in  order  to  act  freely,  and  to  serve  as  a 
support  to  the  Reform. 

But  what  mystery  was  required!  If 
the  Landgrave  was  taken  in  the  act,  no 
doubt  he  would  be  put  under  arrest 
This  daring  step  might  therefore  become 
the  signal  of  those  extreme  measures 
from  which  he  longed  to  escape. 

It  was  Saturday,  the  6th  August,  the 

fuarunt. 


*  1'itelligis  nunc  cur  ports  munit 
(Ibid.) 

f  Quia  volabat  Caesar  nostros  violentia  ad 
suam  santantiarn  cogera.     (Ibid.) 

t  Sed  h£  min3  nostros  nihil  commoverunt : 
perstant  in  santantia,  nac  vel  tantillum  rece- 
dunt.     (Ibid.) 

§  Commotus  indignitata  actionum.  (Corp. 
Ref.  ii.  p.  23'J.) 

||  Spem  pacid  abjecisse.     (Ibid.) 


last  in  the  open  country.  The  little  troop 
immediately  spur  their  horses,  and  flee 
with  headlong  speed  far  from  the  walls 
of  the  imperial  city. 

Yet  Philip  has  taken  his  measures  so 
well,  that  no  one  as  yet  suspects  his 
departure.  When  during  the  night 
Charles  occupies  the  gates  with  his  own 
guards,  he  thinks  the  Landgrave  still  in 
the  city. IT  When  the  Protestants  were 
assembled  at  eight  in  the  morning  in  the 
Chapter-hall,  the  princes  of  both  parties 
were  a  little  astonished  at  the  absence  of 
Philip  of  Hesse.  They  are  accustomed, 
however,  to  see  him  keep  aloof;  he  is  in 
a  pet,  no  doubt.  No  one  imagines  he  is 
h:  tween  twelve  and  fifteen  leagues  from 
Augsburg. 

After  the  termination  of  the  conference, 
and  as  eacl'i  one  was  returning  towards 
his   hotel,   the   Elector  of  Brandenburg 

*  Clam  omnibus  abit.    (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  2G0.) 
f  Multa  cum  cautela.     (Seek.  ii.  p.  172.) 
I  Clam  cum  paucis   equit.ibus.     (Corp.  Ref. 
i  p.  277  :  Mit  5  oder  G  pferden.     Ibid.  p.  203.) 
§  Seckerdorf,  and  M.  de  Rommel  no  doubt 
after  him,  say  that  'the   Landgrave  went  out 
through    a  secret  gate  (porta  urbis  secretiori, 
Seek.  ii.  p.  172  ;  Rommel  i    p.  270.)     I  prefer 
the  contemporary  evidence,  particularly  that  of 
Brenz,  which  says:  Vesperi  prius  juam  porta 
urbis  clauderentur,  urba  elapsus  est.     (Corp. 
Ref    ii.    p.    277.)      The    chief    magistrate  of 
Augsburg,  who  alone  had  the  keys  of  the  wick- 
et, would  never  have  dared  to  favour  the  de- 
parture of  the  Landgrave. 

||  Ubi  erat  ilia  ignotu3.     (Corp.  Raf.  p.  2fil.) 
IT    Existimabat  enim   Cajsar  adhuc   praasto 
adesse.     (Ibid.) 


732 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


and  Lis  friends  on  the  one  hand,  elated 
at  the  speech  they  had  delivered,  the 
Elector  of  Saxony  and  his  allies  on  the 
other,  resolved  to  sacrifice  everything, 
inquiries  were  made  at  the  Landgrave's 
lodgings  as  to  the  reason  of  his  absence  ; 
they  closely  question  Salz,  Nuszbicker, 
Mayer,  and  Schnepf.  At  last  the  Hes- 
sian councillors  can  no  longer  keep  the 
secret.  "  The  Landgrave,"  said  they, 
"  has  returned  to  Hesse." 

This  news  circulated  immediately 
through  all  the  city  ;  and  shook  it  like 
the  explosion  of  a  mine.  Charles  especi- 
ally, who  found  himself  mocked,  and 
frustrated  in  his  expectations — Charles, 
who  had  not  the  least  suspicion,*  trem- 
bled, and  was  enraged. "j"  The  Protes- 
tants, whom  the  Landgrave  had  not 
admitted  to  his  secvet,:j:  are  as  much  as- 
tonished as  the  Roman-catholics  them- 
selves, and  fear  that  this  inconsiderate 
departure  may  be  the  immediate  signal 
for  a  terrible  persecution.  There  was 
only  Luther,  who,  the  moment  he  heard 
of  Philip's  proceeding,  highly  approved 
of  it,  and  exclaimed  :  "Of  a  truth  all 
these  delays  and  indignities  are  enough 
to  fatigue  more  than  one  Landgrave. "§ 

The  Chancellor  of  Hesse  gave  the 
Elector  of  Saxony  a  letter  that  his  master 
had  left  for  him.  Philip  spoke  in  this 
ostensible  document  of  his  wife's  health  ; 
but  he  had  charged  his  ministers  to 
inform  the  Elector  in  private  of  the  real 
causes  of  his.departure.  He  announced, 
moreover,  that  he  had  given  orders  to  his 
ministers  to  assist  the  Protestants  in  all 
things,  and  exhort  his  allies  to  permit 
themselves  in  no  manner  to-  be  turned 
aside  from  the  Word  of  God.  JJ  "  As  for 
me,"  said  he,  "  I  shall  fight  for  the  Word 
of  God,  at  the  risk  of  my  goods,  my 
states,  my  subjects,  and  my  life." 

The  effect  of  the  Landgrave's  departure 
was  instantaneous  :  a  real  revolution  was 
then  effected  in  the  diet.     The  Elector 

*  Cassare  nihil  suspicante.  (Corp.  Ref.  ii. 
p.  277^ 

t  Imperatorreinsperatacommotus.  (Seek. 
ii.  p.  172.) 

J  Unwissend  des  Ch"<-flir3t3n  von  Sachsen 
und  unserer.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  233  ) 

§  Es  mochte  wohl  isia  mora  et  indignitas 
nficheinen  Landgraven  muds  machen.  (L 
Epp.  iv.  p.  134.) 

||  lit  nullo  modo  a  verbo  Dei  ab;trahi  aut 
terreri  se  patiatur.     (Seek.  ii.  p.  172.) 


cf  Mentz  and  the  bishops  of  Franconia, 
Philip's  near  neighbours,  imagined  they 
already  saw  him  on  their  frontiers  at  the 
head  of  a  powerful  army,  find  they 
replied  to  the  Archbishop  of  Salzburg, 
who  expressed  astonishment  at  their 
alarm  :  "  Ah  !  if  you  were  in  our  place 
you  would  do  the  same."  Ferdinand, 
knowing  the  intimate  relations  of  Philip 
with  the  Duke  of  Wurtemberg,  trembled 
for  the  estates  of  this  prince,  at  that  time 
usurped  by  Austria  ;  and  Charles  the 
Fifth,  undeceived  with  regard  to  those 
princes  whom  he  had  believed  so  timid, 
and  whom  he  had  treated  with  so  much 
arrogance,  had  no  doubt  that  this  sudden 
fit  of  Philip's  had  been  maturely  de- 
liberated in  the  common  council  of  the 
Protestants.  All  saw  a  declaration  of 
war  in  the  Landgrave's  sudden  departure. 
They  called  to  mind  that  at  the  moment 
when  they  thought  the  least  about  it, 
they  might  see  him  appear  at  the  head 
of  his  soldiers,  on  the  frontiers  of  his 
enemies,  and  no  one  was  ready  ;  no  one 
even  wished  to  be  ready  !  A  thunder- 
bolt had  fallen  in  the  midst  of  the  diet. 
They  repeated  the  news  to  one  another, 
with  troubled  eyes  and  affrighted  looks. 
All  was  -confusion  in  Augsburg ;  and 
couriers  bore  afar,  in  every  direction, 
astonishment  and  consternation. 

This  alarm  immediately  converted  the 
enemies  of  the  Reform.  The  violence 
of  Charles  and  of  the  princes  was  broken 
in  this  memorable  night  as  if  by  en- 
chantment ;  and  the  furious  wolves  were 
suddenly  transformed  into  meek  and  do- 
cile lambs.* 

It  was  still  Sunday  morning  :  Charle3 
the  Fifth  immediately  convoked  the  diet 
for  the  afternoon. f  "The  Landgrave 
has  quitted  Augsburg,"  said  Count  Fre- 
derick from  the  Emperor  ;  "  his  majesty 
flatters  himself  thai  even  the  friends  of 
that  prince  were  ignorant  of  his  depar- 
ture. It  was  without  the  Emperor's 
knowledge,  and  even  in  defiance  of  his 
express  prohibition,  that  Philip  of  Hesse 
has  left,  thus  failing  in  all  his  duties. 
He  has  wished  to  put  the  diet  out  of  joint.  $ 

*  Sed  hanc  violentiam  ;ib:tu3  Landgravii  in- 
tarrupit     (Corp.  Ref.  p.  277.) 

f  Nam  cum  paucis  post  horis  resciscunf 
Landgravium  elapsum,  convocant  iterum  nos- 
tras     (Ibid  ) 

X  Zertrannuag  dieses  Reichstags  zu  verur- 
sachen.     (Ibid.  p.  2G4.) 


THE  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


733 


Bat  the  Emperor  conjures  you  not  to  per- 1 prospect.  Ho\v,  with  the  enthusiasm 
mit  yourselves  to  be  led  astray  by  him, j that  animated  the  Protestants,  take  up 
and  to  contribute  rather  to  the  happy  issue  j  arms  against  them  !  Were  not  the  abuses 
of  this  national  assembly.  His  majesty's  of  the  Church  everywhere  acknowledged, 
gratitude  will  thus  be  secured  to  you."  and  could  the  Roman  princes  be  sure  of 
The  Protestants  replied,  that  the  de- 'their  own  subjects?  Besides,  what 
parture  of  the  Landgrave  had  taken  J  would  be  the  issue  of  a  war  but  the  in- 
place  without  their  knowledge  ;  that  they  crease  of  the  Emperor's  power? 


had  heard  of  it  with  pain,  and  that  they 
would  have  dissuaded  him.  Neverthe- 
less they  did  not  doubt  that  this  prince 
had  solid  reasons  for  such  a  step  ;  be- 
sides he  had  left  his  councillors  with  full 
powers,  and  that,  as  for  them,  they  were 
ready  to  do  everything  to  conclude  the 
diet  in  a  becoming  manner.  Then,  con- 
fident in  their  rights,  and  decided  to  re- 
sist Charles's  arbitrary  act;:,  they  conti- 
nued :  "  It  is  pretended  that  the  gates 
were  closed  on  our  account.  We  beg 
your  majesty  to  revoke  this  order,  and  to 
prevent  any  similar  orders  being  given 
for  the  future." 

Never  was  Charles  the  Fifth  less  at 
ease  :  he  had  just  spoken  as  a  father, 
and  they  remind  him  that  a  few  hours 
back  he  had  acted  like  a  tyrant.  Some 
subterfuge  was  requisite.  "  It  is  not 
on   your   account,"   replied    the   Count- 


Roman-catholic  states,  and  the  Duke  of 
Bavaria  in  particular,  would  have  been 
glad  to  see  Charles  at  war  with  the  Pro- 
testants, in  the  hope  that  he  would  thus 
consume  his  strength  ;  but  it  was,  on  the 
contrary,  with  their  own  soldiers  that 
the  Emperor  designed- attacking  the  he- 
retics. Henceforth  they  rejected  the 
instrumentality  of  arms  as  eagerly  as 
they  had  at  first  desired  it. 

Everything  had  thus  changed  in  Augs- 
burg :  the  Romish  party  was  paralyzed, 
disheartened,  and  even  broken  up.  The 
sword  already  drawn  was  hastily  thrust 
back  into  the  sheath.  Peace!  peace! 
was  the  cry  of  all. 

XI.  The   diet   now   entered    upon  its 

third  phasis,  and  as  the  time  of  tentatives 

had  been  followed  by  that  of  menaces ; 

now   that  of  arrangements  was  to  suc- 

palatine,  "  that  the   Emperor's   soldiers  ceed  the  period  of  menaces.     New  and 

occupy  the  gates Beware  of  more  formidable  dangers  were  then  to  be 

believing  those  who  tell  you  so encountered    by    the    Reform.     Rome, 

Yesterday  there  was  a   quarrel  between  seeing  the  sword   torn  from    its   hands, 
two  soldiers,*  and  a  mob  was  collected,  had  seized  the  net,  and  enlacing  her  ad- 


This  is  why  the  Emperor  tool 
that  step.  Besides,  such  things  shall  not 
be  done  again  without  the  Elector  of 
Saxony,  in  his  quality  of  marshal  of  the 
Empire,  being  first  informed  of  them." 
An  order  was  given  immediately  to  re- 
open the  gates 


versaries  with  "  cords  of  humanity  and 
bands  of  love,"  was  endeavouring  to  drag 
them  gently  into  the  abyss. 

At  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the 
16th  August,  a  mixed  commission  was 
fr  imed,  which  counted  on  each  side  two 
princes,  two  lawyers,  and  three  theolo- 


No  exertions  were  now  spared  by  thejgians."  In  the  Romish  party,  there  were 
Roman  party  to  convince  the  Protestants  Duke  Henry  of  Brunswick,  the  Bishop 
of  their  good-will:  there  was   an  unac-  of  Augsburg,  the  Chancellors  of  Baden 


customed  mildness  in  the  language  of  the 
Count-palatine  and  in  the  looks  of 
Charles. t  The  princes  of  the  Papal 
party,  once  so  terrible,  were  similarly 
transformed.  They  had  been  hastily 
forced  to  speak  out ;  if  they  desired  war, 
they  must  begin  it  instantly. 

But  they  shrunk  back  at  this  frightful 

*  Es  haba  ein  Trabant  mit  einem  andern  ein 
Unwill  gehabt.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  205.) 

f  Nullo  alio  tempore  mitius  et  benignius 
quam  tunc  cum  protestantibus  egerit.  (Seek. 
.  ii.  p.  172.) 


and  Cologne,  with  Eck,  Cochlceus,  and 
Wimpina;  on  the  part  of  the  Protestants, 
were  the  Margrave  George  of  Branden- 
burg, the  Prince  Electoral  of  Saxony,  the 
Chancellors  Briick  and  Heller,  with  Me- 
lancthon,  Brenz,  and  Schnepf.* 

They  agreed  to  take  as  basis  the  Con- 
fession of  the  Evangelical  states,  and  they 
began  to  read  it  article  by  article.  The 
Romish  theologians  displayed  an  unex- 
pected condescension.  Out  of  twenty- 
one  dogmatical  articles,  there  were  only 

*  P.  Urkundenbuch,  ii.  p.  210. 


734 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


adored ;    and   every   one    knows    these* 
verses  of  Cato's  : 

Si  deus  est  animus,  nobis  ut  carmina  dicunt, 
Hie  tibi  precipue  pura  sit  mente  colendus."* 

£i  Certainly,"    resumed    the    Rornish 
theologians  ;    "  it  is  only  of  works  per- 
formed with  grace  that  we  speak  ;  but  we 
say  that  in  such*  works  there  is  something 
confession.       The    Protestants    rejected! meritorious."     The  Protestants  declared 
especially  as  impossible  the  enumeration  they  could  not  grant  it 


six  or  seven  to  which  they  made  any  ob- 
jection. Original  Sin  stopped  them  some 
time  :  at  length  they  came  to  an  under- 
standing ;  the  Protestants  admitted  that 
Baptism  removed  the  guilt  of  the  sin,  and 
the  Papists  agreed  that  it  did  not  wash 
away  concupiscence.  As  for  the  Church, 
they  granted  that  it  contained  sanctified 
men  and  sinners  ;  they  coincided  also  on 


ot    all    the   sins   prescribed    by    Pvome 
Doctor  Eck  yielded  this  point.* 

There  remained  three  doctrines  only 
on  which  they  differed. 

The  first  was  that  of  Penance.  The 
Ptomish  doctors  taught  that  it  contained 
three  parts:  contrition,  confession,  and 
satisfaction.  The  Protestants  rejected 
the  latter,  and  the  Romanists  clearly 
perceiving  that  with  satisfaction  would 
fall  indulgences,  purgatory,  with  other  of 
their   doctrines    and    profits,   vigorously 


They  had  approximated  however  be- 
yond all  hope.  The  Roman  theologians, 
clearly  understanding  their  position,  had 
purposed  io  appear  agreed  rather  than  be 
so  in  reality.  Every  one  knew,  for  in- 
stance, that  the  Protestants  rejected  tran- 
substantiation  :  but  the  Article  of  the 
Confession  on  this  point,  being  able  to  bo 
taken  in  the  Romish  sense,  the  Papists 
had  admitted  it.  Their  triumph  was  only- 
deferred.  The  general  expressions  that 
were  used  in  all  the  controverted  points, 


maintained  it.     "We  agree,"  said  they,  would  permit  somewhat  later  a  Romish 


that  the  penance  imposed  by  the  priest 
does  not  procure  remission  of  the  guilt  of 
sin :  but  we  maintain  that  it  is  necessary 
to  obtain  remission  of  the  penalty." 

The  second  controverted  point  was  the 
Invocation  of  Saints ;  and  the  third,  and 
principal  one,  was  Justification  by  Faith. 
It  was  of  the  greatest  importance  for  the 
Romanists  to  maintain  the  meritorious 
influence  of  works  :  all  their  system,  in 
reality,  was  based  on  that.  Eck  there- 
fore haughtily  declared  war  on  the  asser- 
tion  that  faith  alone  justifies.  ';  That 
word  sole"  said  he,  "  we  cannot  tolerate. 
It  generates  scandals,  and  renders  men 
brutal  and  impious.  Let  us  send  back 
the  sole  to  the  cobbler,  "f 

But  the  Protestants  would  not  listen  to 
such  reasoning ;  and  even  when  they  put 
the  question  to  each  other,  Shall  we 
maintain  that  faith  alone  justifies  us  gra- 
tuitously ?  "  Undoubtedly,  undoubtedly," 
exclaimed  one  of  them  with  exaggeration, 
"gratuitously  and  uselessly. "%  They  even 
adduced  strange  authorities  :  "  Plato," 
said  they,  "  declares  that  it  is  not  by  ex- 
ternal works,  but   by  virtue  that  God  is 

*  Die  Lund  die  man  nicht  wis32,  die  durff 
man  nicht  beichten.   (F.  Urkunden,  ii.  p.  22S  ) 

f  Man  soil  die  Sole  ein  weil  zum.  Schuster 
Schicken.  (Urkund.  ii.  p.  225  )  This  wretched 
pun  of  Eck's  requires  no  comment 

%  Omnino,  omnino,  addendum  etiam  frustra. 
(Scultet.  p.  2^8.) 


interpretation  to  be  given  to  the  Con- 
fession ;  ecclesiastical  authority  would 
declare  this  the  only  true  one ;  and  Rome, 
thanks  to  a  few  moments  of  dissimulation, 
would  thus  reascend  the  throne.  Have 
we  not  seen  in  our  own  days  the  Thirty- 
nine  Articles  of  the  Anglican  Church 
interpreted  in  accordance  with  the  Coun- 
cil of  Trent?  There  are  causes  in  which 
falsehood  is  never  awanting.  This  plot 
was  as  skilfully  executed,  as  it  was  pro- 
foundly conceived. 

The  Commmissioners  were  on  the 
best  terms  with  one  another,  and  concord 
seemed  restored.  One  single  uneasiness 
disturbed  that  happy  moment  :  the  idea 
of  the  Landgrave  :  "  Ignorant  that  we 
are  almost  agreed,"  said  they,  ':  this 
young  rnad-brain  is  doubtless  already 
assembling  his  army  ;  we  must  bring 
him  back,  and  make  him  a  witness  of 
our  cordial  union."  On  the  morning  of 
the  13th,  one  of  the  members  of  the  Com- 
mission (Duke  Henry  of  Brunswick),  ac- 
companied by  a  councillor  of  the  Em- 
peror, set  out  to  discharge  this  difficult 
mission. f  Duke  George  of  Saxony  sup- 
plied his  place  as  arbitrator. 

*  If  God  is  a  spirit,  as  the  poets  teach,  hu 
should  be  worshipped  with  a  pure  mind. 

t  Brunswigus  coactus  est  abire  irp-*s  *■&* 
uaxtSova  quern  timent  contrahere  exercitum. 
(Scultet.  p.  299.) 


THE  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


735 


They  now  passed  from  the  first  part  of 
the  Confession  to  the  second  :  from  doc- 
trines to  abuses.  Here  the  Romish  theo- 
logians could  not  yield  so  easily,  for  if 
they  appeared  to  agree  with  the  Protest- 
ants, it  was  all  over  with  the  honour  and 
power  of  die  hierarchy.  It  was  ac- 
cordingly for  this  period  of  the  combat 
that  they  had  reserved  their  cunning  and 
their  strength. 

They  began  by  approaching  the  Pro- 
testants as  near  as  they  could,  for  the 
more  they  granted,  the  more  they  might 
draw  the  Reform  to  them  and  stifle  it. 
"  We  think,"  said  they,  "  that  with  the 
permission  of  his  holiness,  and  the  ap- 
probation of  his  majesty,  we  shall  be 
able  to  permit,  until  the  next  council,  the 
communion  in  both  kinds,  wherever  it  is 
practised  already  ;  only,  your  ministers 
should  preach  at  Easter,  that  that  is  not 
of  Divine  institution,  and  that  Christ  is 
wholly  in  each  kind.* 

"  Moreover,"  continued  they,  "  as  for 
the  married  priests,  desirous  of  sparing 
the  poor  women  whom  they  have  seduced, 
of  providing  for  the  maintenance  of  their 
innocent  children,  and  of  preventing 
every  kind  of  scandal,  we  will  tolerate 
them  until  the  next  council,  and  we 
shall  tlfen  see  if  it  will  not  be  right  to 
decree  that  married  men  may  be  admitted 
to  holy  orders,  as  was  the  case  in  the 
primitive  Church  for  many  centuries. | 

"  Finally,  we  acknowledge  that  the 
sacrifice  of  the  Mass  is  a  mystery,  a  re- 
presentation, a  sacrifice  of  commemora- 
tion, a  memorial  of  the  sufferings  and 
death  of  Christ,  accomplished  on  the 
cross.  "$ 

This  was  yielding  -ieuch :  but  the  turn 
of  the  Protestants  was  come  ;  for  if 
Rome  appeared  to  give,  it  was  only  to 
take  in  return. 

The  grand  question  was  the  Church, 
its  maintenance  and  government :  who 
.should  provide  for  it  ?  They  could  see 
only  two  means  :  princes  or  bishops.  If 
they  feared  the  bishops,  they  must  decide 
for  the  princes  :  if  they  feared  the  prin- 
ces,  they  must  decide  for  the   bishops. 

*  Vorschlage  des  Anschlusses  der  Sieben  des 
Gegentheils.     (Urk.  ii.  p.  251.) 

f  Wie  von  alters  in  der  ersten  Kirche  etliche 
Hundert  Jahre,  in  Gebrauch  gewesen.  (Urk. 
ii.  p.  2">4.) 

%  Zu  Errinnerung  und  Gedachtniss.  (Ibid. 
p.  203.) 


They  were  at  that  time  too  distant  from 
the  normal  state  to  discover  a  third  solu- 
tion, and  to  perceive  that  the  Church 
ought  to  be  maintained  by  the  Church 
itself — by  the  christian  people.  "Secu- 
lar princes  in  the  long-run  will  be  defaul- 
ters to  the  government  of  the  Church," 
said  the  Saxon  divines  in  the  opinion,  they 
presented  on  the  18th  August;  "they 
are  not  fit  to  execute  it,  and  besides  it 
would  cost  them  too  dear  :*  the  bishops, 
on  the  contrary,  have  property  destined 
to  provide  for  this  charge." 

Thus  the  presumed  incapacity  of  the 
state,  and  the  fear  they  entertained  of  its 
indifference,  threw  the  Protestants  into 
the  arms  of  the  hierarchy. 

They  proposed  therefore  to  restore  to 
the  bishops  their  jurisdiction,  the  main- 
tenance of  discipline,  and  the  superinten- 
dence of  the  priests,  provided  they  did 
not  persecute  the  Evangelical  doctrine, 
and  did  not  oppress  the  pastors  with  im- 
pious vows  and  burdens".  "  We  may 
not,"  added  they,  "  without  strong  rea- 
sons rend  that  order  by  which  the 
bishops  are  over  the  priests,  and  which 
existed  in  the  Church  from  the  beginning. 
It  is  dangerous  before  the  Lord  to  change 
the  order  of  (governments."  Their  arjju- 
ment  is  not  founded  upon  the  Bible,  as 
may  be  seen,  but  upon  ecclesiastical 
discipline. 

The  Protestant  divines  went  even 
farther,  and,  taking  a  last  step  that 
seemed  decisive,  they  consented  to  ac- 
knowledge the  Pope  as  being  (but  of 
human  right)  supreme  bishop  of  Chris- 
tendom. "  Although  the  Pope  is  Anti- 
christ, we  may  be  under  his  government, 
as  the  Jews  were  under  Pharaoh,  and  in 
later  days  under  Caiaphas."  We  must 
confess  these  two  comparisons  were  not 
flattering  to  the  Pope.  "  Only,"  added 
the  doctors,  "  let  the  sound  doctrine  be 
fully  accorded  to  us." 

The  chancellor  Briick  alone  appears 
to  have  been  conscious  of  the  truth  :  he 
wrote  on  the  margin  with  a  firm  hand  : 
"  We  cannot  acknowledge  the  Pope,  be- 
cause we  say  he  is  Antichrist,  and  be- 
cause he  claims  the  primacy  of  right 
divine. "f 

*  1st  Ihmen  auch  nicht  mo^lich.  Dazu 
Kostet  es  zu  viel.     (Urk.  ii.  p.  247  ) 

j  Cum  dicimus  eum  Antichristum.  (Urk 
p.  247.) 


736 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


Finally,    the    Protestant    theologians! such  concessions,"  said  their  affrighted 


consented  to  agree  with  Rome  as  re- 
gards indifferent  ceremonies,  fasts,  and 
forms  of  worship  ;  and  the  Elector  en- 
gaged to  put  under  sequestration  the  ec- 
clesiastical property  already  secularized, 
until  the  decision  of  the  next  council. 

Never  was  the  conservative  spirit  of 
Lutheranism  more  clearly  manifested. 
"  We  have  promised  our  adversaries  to 
concede  to  them  certain  points  of  church 
government,  that  may  be  granted  with- 
out wounding  the  conscience,1'  wrote 
Melancthon.*  But  he  began  to  be  very 
doubtful  whether  ecclesiastical  conces- 
sions would  not  drag  with  them  doctrinal 
concessions  also.  The  reform  was  drift- 
ing away still  a  few  more  fath- 
oms, and"  it  was  lost.  Already  disunion, 
trouble,  and  affright  began  to  spread 
among  its  ranks.  Melancthon  has  be- 
come more  childish  than  a  child,  said 
one  of  his  friends  ;|  and  yet  he  was  so 
excited,  that  the  Chancellor  of  Lunen- 
burg having  made  some  objections  to 
these  unprecedented  concessions,  the 
little  Master  of  Arts  proudly  raised  his 
head,  and  said  with  a  sharp  and  harsh 
tone  of  voice  :  "  He  who  dares  assert 
that  the  means  indicated  are  not  chris- 
tian is  a  liar  and  a  scoundrel. "|  On 
which  the  Chancellor  immediately  repaid 
him  in  his  own  coin.  These  expres- 
sions cannot,  however,  detract  from  Me- 
lancthon's  reputation  for  mildness.  Af- 
ter so  many  useless  efforts,  he  was  ex- 
hausted, irritated,  and  his  words  cut  the 
deeper,  as  they  were  the  less  expected 
from  him.  He  was  not  the  only  one  de- 
moralized. Brenz  appeared  clumsy, 
rude,  and  uncivil ;  Chancellor  Keller 
had  misled  the  pious  Margrave  of  Bran- 
denburg, and  transformed  the  courage 
of  this  prince  into  pusillanimity  :  no 
other  human  support  remained  to  the 
Elector  than  his  chancellor  Bruck.  And 
even  this  firm  man  began  to  grow  alarm- 
ed at  his  isolation. 

But  he  was  not  alone  :  the  most  ear 
nest  protests  were  received  from  with 
out.     "  If  it  is  true  that  you  are  making 

*  Nos  politica  quT.dim  eoneessuros  quse  sine 
offensione  conscientkr.  (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p. 
302.) 

fPhilippus  ist  kindischer  denn  ein  kind 
warden.     (Baumgartner,  Ibid,  p   363.) 

t  Der  lujje  als  ein  Bosewichst.  (Ibid.  p. 
364.) 


friends  to  the  Saxon  divines,  "  christian 
liberty  is  at  an  end.*  What  is  your 
pretended  concord  ?  a  thick  cloud  that 
you  raise  in  the  air  to  eclipse  the  sun 
that  was  beginning  to  illumine  the 
Church. |  Never  will  the  christian 
people  accept  conditions  so  opposed  to 
the  Word  of  God  ;  and  j'our  only  gain 
will  be  fm-nishing  the  enemies  of  the 
Gospel  with  a  specious  pretext  to  butcher 
those  who  remain  faithful  to  it."  Among 
the  laymen  these  convictions  were  gene- 
ral. "  Better  die  with  Jesus  Christ," 
said  all  Augsburg4  "than  gain  the  fa- 
vour of  the  whole  world  without  him  !" 

No  one  felt  so  much  alarm  as  Luther 
at  the  moment  when  he  saw  the  glorious 
edifice  that  God  had  raised  by  his  hands 
on  the  point  of  falling  to  ruin  in  those  of 
Melancthon.  The  day  on  which  this 
news  arrived,  he  wrote  five  letters, — to 
the  Elector,  to  Melancthon,  to  Spalatin, 
to  Jonas,  and  to  Brenz,  all  equally  filled 
with  courage  and  with  faith. 

"  I  learn,"  said  he,  "  that  you  have 
begun  a  marvellous  work,  namely,  to  put 
Luther  and  the  Pope  in  harmony  ;  but 
the  Pope  is  unwilling,  and  Luther  begs 
to  be  excused. §  And  if,  in  despite  of 
them,  you  succeed  in  this  affair^  then 
after  your  example  I  will  bring  together 
Christ  and  Belial. 

"  The  world  I  know  is  full  of  wran- 
glers who  obscure  the  doctrine  of  justifi- 
cation by  faith,  and  of  fanatics  who  per- 
secute it.  Do  not  be  astonished  at  it,  but 
continue  to  defend  it  with  courage,  for  it 
is  the  heel  of  the  seed  of  the  woman  that 
shall  bruise  the  head  of  the  serpent.  j| 

"  Beware  also  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
bishops,  for  fear  we  should  have  soon  to 
recommence  a  more  terrible  struggle  than 
the  first.  They  will  take  our  concessions 
widely,  very  widely,  always  more  widely, 
and  will  give  us  theirs  narrowly,  very 
narrowly,  and  always  more  narrowly .IT 

*  Actum  est  de  Christiana  libertate.  (Baum- 
gartner, Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  295.) 

f  Quid  ea  concordia  aliud  esset  quam  natse 
jam  et  divulgate  luci  obducere  nubsm.  (ibid. 
p.  293".) 

X  Die  gauge  Stadt  sagt.     (Tbid   p.  207.) 

§  Sed  Papa  nolet  et  Lutherus  deprecatur. 
(L.  Epp.  iv.  p.  144,) 

||  Nam  hie  est  ille  unicus  calcaneus  seminis 
antiquo  serpenti  adversantis.     (Ibid.  p.  151  ) 

H  Ipsi  enim  nostras  concessiones  large,  lar* 


THE  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


737 


All  these  negotiations  are  impossible, 
unless  the  Pope  should  renounce  his  Pa- 
pacy. 

"  A  pretty  motive  indeed  our  adversa- 
ries assign  !  They  cannot,  say  they,  re- 
strain their  subjects,  if  we  do  not  publish 
everywhere  that  they  have  the  truth  for 
them :  as  if  God  only  taught  his  Word, 
in  order  that  our  enemies  might  at  plea- 
sure tyrannize  over  their  people. 

"  They  cry  out  that  we  condemn  all 
the  Church.  No,  wc  do  not  condemn  it ; 
but  as  for  them,  they  condemn  all  the 
Word  of  God,  and  the  Word  of  God  is 
more  than  the  Church."* 

This  important  declaration  of  the  Re- 
formers decides  the  controversy  between 
the  Evangelical  Christians  and  the  Pa- 
pacy :  unfortunately  we  have  often  seen 
Protestants  return,  on  this  fundamental 
point,  to  the  error  of  Rome,  and  set  the 
visible  Church  above  the  Word  of  God. 

"  I  write  to  you  now,"  continues  Lu- 
ther, "  to  believe  with  all  of  us  (and  that 
through  obedience  to  Jesus  Christ),  that 
Campeggio  is  a  famous  demon.")"  I  can- 
not tell  how  violently  these  conditions 
agitate  me  which  you  propose.  The  plan 
of  Campeggio  and  the  Pope  has  been  to 
try  us  first  by  threats,  and  then,  if  they 
do  not  succeed,  by  stratagems  ;  you  have 
triumphed  over  the  first  attack,  and  sus- 
tained the  terrible  coming  of  Caesar : 
now,  then,  for  the  second.  Act  with 
courage,  and  do  not  yield  to  the  adversa- 
ries except  what  can'be  proved  with  evi- 
dence from  the  very  Word  of  God. 

"  But  if,  which  Christ  forbid  !  you  do 
not  put  forward  all  the  Gospel ;  if,  on 
the  contrary,  you  shut  up  that  glorious 
eagle  in  a  sack  ;  Luther — doubt  it  not ! 
— Luther  will  come  and  gloriously  de- 
liver the  eagle. ^  As  certainly  as  Christ 
lives,  that  shall  be  done  !" 

Thus  spoke  Luther,  but  in  vain : 
everything  in  Augsburg  was  tending  to- 
wards approaching  ruin  ;  Melancthon 
had  a  bandage  over  his  eyes  that  nothing 

gius,  larsjissime,  suas  vero,  stricte,  strictius, 
atrictissime.     (Ibid.  p.  145.) 

*  Sed  ab  ipsis  totum  verbum  Dei  quod  plus 
quam  ecclesia  est  damnari.  (L.  Epp.  iv.  p. 
145.) 

t  Quod  Campeggius  est  unus  magnus  et  in- 
■ignis  diabolus.     (Ibid.  p.  147.) 

X  Veniet,  ne  dubita,  veniet  Lutterus,  hanc 
aquilam  liberaturus  magnifice.  (L.  Epp.  iv. 
p.  155.) 

93 


could  tear  off.  He  no  longer  listened  to 
Luther,  and  cared  not  for  popularity. 
"  It  does  not  become  us,"  said  he,  "  to 
be  moved  by  the  clamours  of  the  vul- 
gar :*  we  must  think  of  peace  and  of 
posterity.  If  we  repeal  the  episcopal 
jurisdiction,  what  will  be  the  conse- 
quence to  our  descendants  ?  The  secu- 
lar powers  care  nothing  about  the  inter- 
ests of  religion. \  Besides  too  much  dis- 
similarity in  the  Churches  is  injurious 
to  peace  :  we  must  unite  with  the  bishops, 
lest  the  infamy  of  schism  should  over- 
whelm us  for  ever. "J 

They  too  readily  listened  to  Melanc- 
thon, and  they  vigorously  laboured  to 
bind  to  the  Papacy  by  the  bonds  of  the. 
hierarchy  the  Church  that  God  had  won- 
derfully emancipated.  Protestantism 
rushed  blindfold  into  the  nets  of  its  ene- 
mies. Already  serious  voices  announced 
the  return  of  the  Lutherans  into  the 
bosom  of  the  Romish  Church.  "  They 
are  preparing  their  defection,  and  are 
passing  over  to  the  Papists,"  said  Zwin- 
gle.§  The  politic  Charles  the  Fifth  so 
acted  that  no  haughty  word  should  com- 
promise the  victory ;  but  the  Roman 
clergy  could  not  master  themselves : 
their  pride,  their  insolence  increased  every 
day.  "  One  would  never  believe,"  said 
Melancthon,  "  the  airs  of  triumph  which 
the  Papists  give  themselves."  There- 
was  good  reason  !  the  agreement  was  on 
the  verge  of  conclusion  :  yet  one  or  two 
steps  ....  and  then,  woe  to  Reform  ! 

Who  could  prevent  this  desolating 
ruin  ?  It  was  Luther  who  pronounced 
the  name  towards  which  all  eyes  should 
be  turned :  "  Christ  lives,"  said  he,. 
"  and  he  by  whom  the  violence  of  our 
enemies  has  been  conquered  will  give  us 
strength  to  surmount  their  wiles."  This 
was  in  truth  the  only  resource,  and  it 
did  not  fail  the  Reform. 

If  the  Roman  hierarchy  had  been  wil- 
ling, under  certain  admissible  conditions, 
to  receive  the  Protestants  who  were  ready 
to  capitulate,  it  was  all  over  with  them. 
When   once   it  held  them  in  its  arms,  it 

*  Sed  nos  nihil  decet  vulgi  clamoribus 
moveri.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii  p.  303.) 

t  Profani  jurisdictionem  ecclesiasticmi  et 
similia  negotia  religionem  non  curent.    (Ibid.) 

J  Ne  schismatis  infamia  perpetuo  labore- 
mus.  (Ibid.) 

§  Luthenni  defectionem  parant  ad  Papiatai 
(Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  401.) 


738 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


would  have  stifled  them  ;  but  God  blind- 
ed the  Papacy,  and  thus  saved  his 
Church.  "  No  concessions,"  had  de- 
clared the  Romish  senate ;  and  Cam- 
peggio,  elated  with  his  victory,  repeated, 
"  No  concessions  !"  He  moved  heaven 
and  earth  to  inflame  the  Catholic  zeal  of 
Charles  in  this  decisive  moment.  From 
the  Emperor  he  passed  to  the  princes. 
"  Celibacy,  confession,  the  withdrawal 
of  the  cup,  private  masses  !"  exclaimed 
he  :  "  all  these  are  obligatory  :  we  must 
have  all."  This  was  saying  to  the 
Evangelical  Christians,  as  the  Samnites 
to  the  ancient  Romans  :  "  Here  are  the 
Caudine  Forks  :  pass  through  them  !" 

The  Protestants  saw  the  yoke,  and 
shuddered.  God  revived  the  courage 
of  the  confessors  in  their  weakened 
hearts.  They  raised  their  heads,  and 
rejected  this  humiliating  capitulation. 
The  commission  was  immediately  dis- 
solved. 

This  was  a  great  deliverance  ;  but 
soon  appeared  a  fresh  danger.  The 
Evangelical  Christians  should  have  im- 
mediately quitted  Augsburg  ;  but,  said 
one  of  them,*  "Satan,  disguised  as  an 
angel  of  light,  blinded  the  eyes  of  their 
understanding."     They  remained. 

All  was  not  yet  lost  for  Rome,  and  the 
spirit  of  falsehood  and  of  cunning  might 
again  renew  its  attacks. 

It  was  believed  at  court  that  this  disa- 
greeable termination  of  the  commission 
was  to  be  ascribed  to  some  wrong-headed 
individuals,  and  particularly  to  Duke 
George.  They  therefore  resolved  to  name 
.another,  composed  of  six  members  only  : 
on  the  one  side,  Eck,  with  the  chancel- 
lors of  Cologne  and  Baden;  on  the  other, 
Melancthon,  with  the  chancellors  Briick 
and  Heller.  The  Protestants  consented, 
and  all  was  begun  anew. 

The  alarm  then  increased  among  the 
most  decided  followers  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. "  If  we  expose  ourselves  unceas- 
ingly to  new  dangers,  must  we  not  suc- 
cumb at  last  ?"f  The  deputies  of  Nu- 
remberg in  particular  declared  that  their 
city  would  never  place  itself  again  under 
the  detested  yoke  of  the  bishops.  "  It  is 
the  advice  of  the  undecided  Erasmus  that 

*  Baumgartner  to  Spengler.  (Corp.  Ref  ii. 
p.  3G3.) 

t  Fremuntet  alii  socii  ac  indigtntur  regnum 
Episcoporum  restitui.     (Ibid.  p.  32S.) 


Melancthon  follows,"  said  they.  "  Say 
rather  of  Ahithophel  "  (2  Sam.  xv.),  re- 
plied others.  "  However  it  may  be," 
added  they  ;  "  if  the  Pope  had  bought 
Melancthon,  the  latter  could  have  done 
nothing  better  to  secure  the  victory  for 
him."* 

The  Landgrave  was  especially  indig- 
nant at  this  cowardice.  ';  Melancthon," 
wrote  he  to  Zwingle,  "  walks  backwards 
like  a  crab."f  From  Fried  wald,  whither 
he  had  repaired  after  his  flight  from 
Augsburg,  Philip  of  Hesse  endeavoured 
to  check  the  fall  of  Protestantism.  "  W  hen 
we  begin  to  yield,  we  always  yield  more," 
wrote  he  to  his  ministers  at  Augsburg. 
"  Declare  therefore  to  my  allies  that  I 
reject  these  perfidious  conciliations.  If 
we  are  Christians,  what,  we  should  pur- 
sue is,  not  our  own  advantage,  but  the 
consolation  of  so  many  weary  and  afflict- 
ed consciences,  for  whom  there  is  no  Sal- 
vation if  we  take  away  the  Word  of  God. 
The  bishops  are  not  real  bishops,  for  they 
speak  not  according  to  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures. If  we  acknowledge  them,  what 
would  happen  ?  They  would  remove 
our  ministers,  oppress  the  Gospel,  re- 
establish  ancient  abuses,  and  the  last  state 
would  be  worse  than  the  first.  If  the 
Papists  will  permit  the  free  preaching  of 
the  pure  Gospel,  let  us  come  to  an  un- 
derstanding with  them  ;  for  the  truth  will 
be  the  strongest,  and  will  root  out  all  the 
rest.  But  if  not! — No.  This  is  the 
moment,  not  to  yield,  but  to  remain  firm 
even  to  the  death.  Baffle  these  fearful 
combinations  of  Melancthon,  and  tell, 
from  me,  the  deputies  of  the  cities  to  be 
men,  and  not  women.:}:  Let  us  fear  no- 
thing :  God  is  with  us." 

Melancthon  and  his  friends,  thus  at- 
tacked, sought  to  justify  themselves:  on 
the  one  hand,  they  maintained,  that  if 
they  preserved  the  doctrine  it  would 
finally  overthrow  the  hierarchy.  But 
then  why  restore  it  ?  Was  it  not  more 
than  doubtful  whether  a  doctrine  so  en- 
feebled would  still  retain  strength  suf- 
ficient to  shake  the  Papacy  ?  On  the 
other  hand,  Melancthon  and  his  friends 
pointed  out  two  phantoms  before  which 

*  Si  conductus  quanta  ipse  voluisset  pecunia 
a  Papa  essct.     (Corp.  Ref  ii.  p.  333  ) 

f  Retro  it,  nt  cancer.     (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  50fi.) 
|  Das  sie  nicht  vvevber  seyen  sondern  man- 
ner.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  327.) 


THE  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     15m. 


739 


they  shrunk  in  affright.  The  first  was 
war  :  it  was,  in  their  opinion,  imminent. 
"  It  is  not  only,"  said  they,  "  numberless 
temporal  evils  that  it  will  bring  with  it, — 
the  devastation  of  Germany,  murder, 
violation,  sacrilege,  rapine  ;  but  it  will 
produce  spiritual  evils  more  frightful 
still,  and  will  inevitably  bring  on  the 
perturbation  of  all  religion."*  The 
second  phantom  was  the  supremacy  of 
the  state.  Melancthon  and  his  friends 
foresaw  the  dependence  to  which  the 
princes  would  reduce  the  Church,  the 
increasing  secularization  of  its  institu- 
tions and  of  its*  instruments,  the  spiritual 
death  that  would  result,  and  they  shrunk 
back  with  terror  from  the  frightful  pros- 
pect. "  Good  men  do  not  think  that  the 
court  should  regulate  the  ministry  of  the 
Church,"f  said  Brenz.  "  Have  you  not 
yourselves  experienced,"  added  he  ironi- 
cally, "  with  what  wisdom  and  mildness 
these  boors  ('tis  thus  I  denominate  the 
officials  and  prefects  of  the  princes)  treat 
the  ministers  of  the  Church,  and  the 
Church  itself.  Rather  die  seven  times!" 
— "  I  see,"  exclaimed  Melancthon, "  what 
a  Church  we  shall  have  if  the  ecclesias- 
tical government  is  abolished.  I  discover 
in  the  future  a  tyranny  far  more  intolera- 
ble than  that  which  has  existed  to  this 
day."!  Then,  bowed  down  by  the  ac- 
cusations that  poured  upon  him  from 
every  side,  the  unhappy  Philip  exclaim- 
ed :  "If  it  is  I  who  have  aroused  this 
tempest,  I  pray  his  majesty  to  throw  me, 
like  Jonas,  into  the  sea,  and  to  drag  me 
out  only  to  give  me  up  to  torture  and  to 
the  stake. "§ 

The  Romish  episcopacy  once  recog- 
nised, all  seemed  easy.  In  the  Commis- 
sion of  Six,  they  conceded  the  cup  to  the 
laity,  marriage  to  the  pastors,  and  the 
article  of  prayer  to  saints  appeared  of 
little  importance.  But  they  stopped  at 
three  doctrines  which  the  Evangelicals 
could  not  yield.  The  first  was  the  ne- 
cessity of  human  satisfaction  for  the  re- 

*  Confusio  et  perturbatio  religionum.  (Corp. 
Ref  ii.  p.  3S2  ) 

f  Ut  aula  ministarium  in  ecclesia  ordinet 
bonis  non  videtur  consultum.     (Ibid.  p.  332.) 

%  Video  postea  multo  intolerabiliorem  futu- 
ram  tyrannidem  quam  unquam  antea  fuisse. 
(Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  334.) 

§  Si  mea  causa  haec  tempestas  coacta  est, 
me  statim  vclut  Jonam  in  mare  ejiciat.  (Ibid. 
p.  3S2.) 


mission  of  the  penalties  of  sin ;  the 
second,  the  idea  of  something  meritorious 
in  every  good  work  ;  the  third,  the  utility 
of  private  masses.  "  Ah  !"  quickly  re- 
plied Campeggio  to  Charles  the  Fifth, 
"  I  would  rather  be  cut  in  pieces  than 
concede  anything  about  Masses."* 

"What!"  replied  the  politicians, 
"  when  you  agree  on  all  the  great  doc- 
trines of  salvation,  will  you  for  ever  rend 
the  unit)'  of  the  Church  for  three  such 
trivial  articles  ?  Let  the  theologians 
make  a  last  effort,  and  we  shall  see  the 
two  parties  unite,  and  Rome  embrace 
Wittemberg." 

It  was  not  so  :  under  these  three  points 
was  concealed  a  whole  system.  On  the 
Roman  side,  they  entertained  the  idea 
that  certain  works  gain  the  Divine  favour, 
independently  of  the  disposition  of  him 
who  performs  them,  and  by  virtue  of  the 
will  of  the  Church.  On  the  Evangeli- 
cal side,  on  the  contrary,  they  felt  a  con- 
viction that  these  external  ordinances 
were  mere  human  traditions,  and  that 
the  only  thing  which  procured  man  the 
Divine  favour  was  the  work  that  God  ac- 
complished by  Christ  on  the  cross  ;  while 
the  only  thing  that  put  him  in  possession 
of  this  favour  was  the  work  of  regene- 
ration that  Christ  accomplishes  by  his 
Spirit  in  the  heart  of  the  sinner.  The 
Romanists,  by  maintaining  their  three 
articles,  said :  "  the  Church  saves," 
which  is  the  essential  doctrine  of  Rome  ; 
the  Evangelicals,  by  rejecting  them, 
said  :  "  Jesus  Christ  alone  saves,"  which 
is  Christianity  itself.  This  is  the  great 
antithesis  which  then  existed,  and  which 
still  separates  the  two  Churches.  With 
these  three  points,  which  placed  souls 
under  her  dependence,  Rome  justly  ex- 
pected to  recover  everything ;  and  she 
showed  by  her  perseverance  that  she  un- 
derstood her  position.  But  the  Evange- 
licals were  not  disposed  to  abandon 
theirs.  The  Christian  principle  was 
maintained  against  the  ecclesiastical 
principle  which  aspired  to  swallow  it 
up :  Jesus  Christ  stood  firm  in  presence 
of  the  Church,  and  it  was  seen  that 
henceforward  all  conferences  were  su- 
perfluous. 

Time  pressed :  for  two  months  and  a 
half  Charles  the  Fifth  had  been  labour- 

*  Er  wollte  sich  ehe  auf  Stacker  Zureisseu 
lassen.     (L.  Opp.  xx.  p.  32S.) 


740 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


ing  in  Augsburg,  and  his  pride  suffered 
because  four  or  five  theologians  checked 
the  triumphal  progress  of  the  conqueror 
of  Pavia.  "  What !"  said  they  to  him, 
"  a  few  days  sufficed  to  overthrow  the 
King  of  France  and  the  Pope,  and  you 
cannot  succeed  with  these  Gospellers  !" 
They  determined  on  breaking  off  the 
conferences.  Eck,  irritated  because 
neither  stratagem  nor  terror  had  been 
effectual,  could  not  master  himself  in  the 
presence  of  the  Protestants.  "  Ah  !" 
exclaimed  he,  at  the  moment  of  separa- 
tion, "  why  did  not  the  Emperor,  when 
he  entered  Germany,  make  a  general  in- 
quest about  the  Lutherans  ?  He  would 
then  have  heard  arrogant  answers,  wit- 
nessed monsters  of  heresy,  and  his  zeal 
suddenly  taking  fire,  would  have  led  him 
to  destroy  all  this  faction.*  But  now 
Burck's  mild  language  and  Melancthon's 
concessions  prevent  him  from  getting  so 
angry  as  the  cause  requires."  Eck  said 
these  words  with  a  smile  ;  but  they  ex- 
pressed all  his  thoughts.  The  colloquy 
terminated  on  the  30th  of  August. 

The  Romish  states  made  their  report 
to  the  Emperor.  They  were  face  to  face, 
three  steps  only  from  each  other,  without 
either  side  being  able  to  approach  nearer, 
even  by  a  hair's  breadth. 

Thus,  then,  Melancthon  had  failed  ; 
and  his  enormous  concessions  were  found 
useless.  From  a  false  love  of  peace,  he 
had  set  his  heart  on  an  impossibility. 
Melancthon  was  at  the  bottom  a  really 
christian  soul.  God  preserved  him  from 
his  great  weakness,  and  broke  the  clue 
that  was  about  to  lead  him  to  destruction. 
Nothing  could  have  been  more  fortunate 
for  the  Reformation  than  Melancthon's 
failure  ;  but  nothing  could,  at  the  same 
time,  have  been  more  fortunate  for  him- 
self: his  friends  saw  that  though  he  was 
willing  to  yield  much,  he  could  not  go  so 
far  as  to  yield  Christ  himself,  and  his  de- 
feat justified  him  in  the  eyes  of  the  Pro- 
testants. 

The  Elector  of  Saxony  and  the  Mar- 
graveof  Brandenburg  sent  to  beg  Charles's 
leave  to  depart.  The  latter  refused  at 
first  rather  rudely,  but  at  last  he  began 
to  conjure  the  princes  not  to  create  by 
their  departure  new  obstacles  to  the  ar- 

*  Hsec  inflammassent  Imperatorem  ad  totam 
hanc  factionem  delendam.  (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p. 
335.) 


rangements  they  soon  hoped  to  be  able 
to  conclude.*  We  shall  see  of  what  na- 
ture these  arrangements  were. 

They  appeared  to  redouble  their  ex- 
ertions. If  they  now  let  the  clue  slip,  it 
is  lost  for  ever :  they  laboured  according- 
ly to  reunite  the  two  ends.  There  were 
conferences  in  the  gardens,  conferences 
at  the  churches,  at  St.  George's,  at  St. 
Maurice's,  between  the  Duke  of  Bruns- 
wick and  John  Frederick  the  Elector's 
son,  the  Chancellors  of  Baden  and  of 
Saxony,  the  Chancellor  of  Liege  and  Me- 
lancthon ;  but  all  these  attempts  were  un- 
availing. It  was  to  other  means  they 
were  going  to  have  recourse. 

Charles  the  Fi  fth  had  resolved  to  take  the 
affair  in  hand,  and  to  cut  the  Gordian  knot, 
which  neither  doctor  nor  princes  could 
untie.  Irritated  at  seeing  his  advances 
spurned  and  his  authority  compromised, 
he  thought  that  the  moment  was  come 
for  drawing  the  sword.  On  the  4th 
September  the  members  of  the  Roman 
party,  who  were  still  endeavouring  to 
gain  over  the  Protestants,  whispered  these 
frightful  intentions  in  Melancthon's  ears. 
"  We  scarcely  dare  mention  it,"  said 
they  :  "  the  sword  is  already  in  the  Em- 
peror's hands,  and  certain  people  exas- 
perate him  more  and  more.  He  is  not 
easily  enraged,  but  once  angry  it  is  im- 
possible to  quiet  him."f 

Charles  had  reason  to  appear  exacting 
and  terrible.  He  had  at  length  obtained 
from  Rome  an  unexpected  concession — a 
council.  Clement  VII.  had  laid  the 
Emperor's  request  before  a  Congregation : 
"  How  will  men  Avho  reject  the  ancient 
councils  submit  to  a  new  one  ?"  they  had 
replied.  Clement  himself  had  no  wish 
for  such  an  assembly.  His  birth  and  his 
conduct  made  him  equally  dread  it.:}: 
However,  his  promises  at  the  Castle  of 
St.  Angelo  and  at  Bologna  rendered  it 
impossible  for  him  to  give  a  decided  re- 
fusal. He  answered,  therefore,  that  "  the 
remedy  would  be  worse  than  the  disease  ;§ 

*  Antwort  des  Kaisers,  &c.  (Urkund.  ii. 
p.  313.) 

t  Nescio  an  ausim  dicere,  jam  ferrum  in 
manu  Caesaris  esse.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  342.) 

%  In  earn  (concilii  celebrationem)  Pontificis 
animus  haud  propendebatur.  (Pallavicini.  L 
p.  251.) 

§  Al  contrario,  remedio  e  piu  pericoloso 
e  per  partorir  maggiori  mali.  (Lettere  de 
Principe,  ii.  p.  197.) 


THE  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


741 


but  that  if  the  Emperor,  who  was  so  good 
a  Catholic,  judged  a  council  absolutely 
necessary,  he  would  consent  to  it,  under 
the  express  condition,  however,  that  the 
Protestants  should  submit  in  the  mean- 
while to  the  doctrines  and  rites  of  the 
Church."  Then  as  the  place  of  meeting 
he  appointed  Rome ! 

Scarcely  had  the  news  of  this  con- 
cession spread  abroad,  than  the  fear  of  a 
Reformation  froze  the  Papal  court.  The 
public  charges  of  the  Papacy,  which  were 
altogether  venal,  immediately  fell,  says  a 
cardinal,  and  were  offered  at  the  lowest 
price,*  without  even  being  able  to  find 
purchasers.!  The  Papacy  was  com- 
promised ;  the  merchandise  was  in  great 
danger  ;  and  the  price  current  imme- 
diately declined  on  the  Roman  ex- 
change. 

On  Wednesday,  7th  September,  at 
two  in  the  afternoon,  the  Protestant 
princes  and  deputies  having  been  intro- 
duced into  the  chamber  of  Charles  the 
Fifth,  the  Count-palatine  said  to  them, 
"that  the  Emperor,  considering  their 
small  number,  had  not  expected  they 
would  uphold  new  sects  against  the 
ancient  usages  of  the  Universal  Church  ; 
that,  nevertheless,  being  desirous  of 
appearing  to  the  last  full  of  kindness,  he 
would  require  of  his  Holiness  the  convo- 
cation of  a  council ;  but  that  in  the 
meanwhile  they  should  return  imme- 
diately into  the  bosom  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  and  restore  everything  to  its 
ancient  footing.":): 

The  Protestants  replied  on  the  morrow, 
the  8th  September,  that  they  had  not 
stirred  up  new  sects  contrary  to  the  Holy 
Scriptures  ;§  that,  quite  the  reverse,  if 
they  had  not  agreed  with  their  adversa- 
ries, it  was  because  they  had  desired  to 
remain  faithful  to  the  Word  of  God ; 
that  by  convoking  in  Germany  a  general, 
free,  and  christian  council,  it  would  only 
be  doing  what  preceding  diets  had  pro- 
mised ;  but  that  nothing  should  compel 

*  Evulgatus  concilii  rumor. . .  .publica  Roma 
munera....jam  in  vilissimum  pretium  deci- 
dissent.     (Pallav.  i.  p.  251.) 

t  Che  non  se  non  trovano  danari.  (Lett,  di 
Prin.  iii.  p.  5.) 

|  Interim  restitui  debere  omnia  Papistis. 
(Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  355.  See  also  Erkldrung 
des  Kaisers  Karl  v.     Urkunden,  ii.  p.  391.) 

§  Nit  neue,  Secten  wieder  die  heilige 
Schritft.     (Bruck.  Apol.  p.  136.) 


them  to  re-establish  in  their  churches  an 
order  of  things  opposed  to  the  command- 
ments of  God." 

It  was  eight  in  the  evening  when,  after 
a  long  deliberation,  the  Protestants  were 
again  called  in.  "  His  majesty,"  said 
George  Truchses  to  them,  "  is  equally 
astonished,  both  that  the  Catholic  mem- 
bers of  the  commissions  have  accorded 
so  much,  and  that  the  Protestant  mem- 
bers have  refused  everything.  What  is 
your  party  in  the  presence  of  his  imperial 
majesty,  of  his  Papal  holiness,  of  the 
electors,  princes,  estates  of  the  Empire, 
and  other  kings,  rulers,  and  potentates  of 
Christendom?  It  is  but  just  that  the 
minority  should  yield  to  the  majority. 
Do  you  desire  the  means  of  conciliation 
to  be  protracted,  or  do  you  persist  in 
your  answer  ?  Speak  frankly ;  for  if 
you  persist,  the  Emperor  will  imme- 
diately see  to  the  defence  of  the  Church. 
To-morrow  at  one  o'clock  you  will  bring 
your  final  decision." 

Never  had  such  threatening  words 
issued  from  Charles's  mouth.  It  was 
evident  he  wished  to  subdue  the  Pro- 
testants by  terror  ;  but  this  end  was  not 
attained.  They  replied  the  next  day  but 
one — a  day  more  having  been  accorded 
them — that  new  attempts  at  conciliation 
would  only  fatigue  the  Emperor  and  the 
diet ;  that  they  only  required  regulations 
to  maintain  political  peace  until  the  as- 
sembling of  the  council.*  "  Enough," 
replied  the  redoubtable  Emperor  ;  "  I 
will  reflect  upon  it ;  but  in  the  mean 
time  let  no  one  quit  Augsburg." 

Charles  the  Fifth  was  embarrassed  in 
a  labyrinth  from  which  he  knew  not  how 
to  escape.  The  state  had  resolved  to 
interfere  with  the  Church,  and  saw  itself 
compelled  to  have  immediate  recourse  to 
its  ultima  ratio — the  sword.  Charles 
did  not  desire  war,  and  yet  how  could  he 
now  avoid  it  ?  If  he  did  not  execute  his 
threats,  his  dignity  was  compromised, 
and  his  authority  rendered  contemptible. 
He  sought  an  outlet  on  one  side  or  the 
other,  but  could  find  none.  It  therefore 
only  remained  for  him  to  close  his  eyes, 
and  rush  forward  without  knowing  what 
might  happen.  These  thoughts  disturbed 
him  :  these  cares  preyed  upon  him  ;  he 
was  utterly  confounded. 

*  Urkunden.  ii.  p.  410  ;  Bruck,  Apol.  p.  139. 


742 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


It  was  now  that  the  Elector  sent  to 
beg  Charles  would  not  be  offended  if  he 
left  Augsburg.  "  Let  him  await  my 
answer,"  abruptly  replied  the  Emperor ; 
and  the  Elector  having  rejoined  that  he 
would  send  his  ministers  to  explain  his 
motives  to  his  majesty  :  "  Not  so  many 
speeches,"  resumed  Charles,  with  irrita- 
tion ;  "  let  the  Elector  say  whether  he 
will  stay  or  not  !"* 

A  rumour  of  the  altercation  between 
these  two  powerful  princes  having  spread 
abroad,  the  alarm  became  universal  ;  it 
was  thought  war  would  break  out  imme- 
diately, and  there  was  a  great  cry  in  all 
Augsburg. -\  It  was  evening  :  men  were 
running  to  and  fro  ;  they  rushed  into  the 
hotels  of  the  princes  and  of  the  Protes- 
tant deputies,  and  addressed  them  with 
the  severest  reproaches.  "  His  imperial 
majesty,"  said  they,  "  is  about  to  have 
recourse  to  the  most  energetic  measures !" 
They  even  declared  that  hostilities  had 
begun :  it  was  whispered  that  the  com- 
mander of  Horneck  (Walter  of  Kronberg), 
elected  by  the  Emperor  grand-master  of 
the  Teutonic  order,  was  about  to  enter 
Prussia  with  an  army,  and  dispossess 
Duke  Albert,  converted  by  Luther.:}: 
Two  nights  successively  the  same  tumult 
was  repeated.  They  shouted,  they  quar- 
relled, they  fought,  particularly  in  and 
before  the  mansions  of  the  princes  :  the 
war  was  nearly  commencing  in  Augs- 
burg. 

At  that  crisis  (12th  September),  John 
Frederick,  prince-electoral  of  Saxony, 
quitted  the  city. 

On  the  same  day,  or  on  the  morrow, 
Jerome  VVehe,  chancellor  of  Baden,  and 
Count  Truchses  on  the  one  side  ;  Chan- 
cellor Briick  and  Melancthon  on  the  other, 
met  at  six  in  the  morning  in  the  church 
of  St.  Maurice. § 

Charles,  notwithstanding  his  threats, 
could  not  decide  on  employing  force.  He 
could  no  doubt  by  a  single  word  to  his 
Spanish  bands  or  to  his  German  lansque- 
nets have  seized  on  these  inflexible  men, 
and  treated  them  like  Moors.     But  how 


*  Kurtz  mit  Solchen  worten  ob  er  erwarten 
wolte  oder  nicht?     (Briick,  Apol.  p.  143.) 

■f  Ein  beschwerlich  Geschrey  zu  Augsbourg 
den  selben  abend  ausgebrochen.    (Ibid  p.  145.) 

X  Man  wiirde  ein  Kriegs-volk  in  Preussen 
Schicken.     (Briick,  Apol.  p.  143.) 

§  Ibid.  p.  155-160. 


could  Charles,  a  Netherlander,  a  Spani- 
ard, who  had  been  absent  ten  years  from 
the  Empire,  dare,  without  raising  all 
Germany,  offer  violence  to  the  favourites 
of  the  nation  ?  Would  not  the  Roman- 
catholic  princes  themselves  see  in  this 
act  an  infringement  of  their  privileges  ? 
War  was  unseasonable.  "  Lutheranism 
is  extending  already  from  the  Baltic  to 
the  Alps,"  wrote  Erasmus  to  the  legate  : 
"  You  have  but  one  thing  to  do :  tolerate 
it."* 

The  negotiation  begun  in  the  Church 
of  St.  Maurice  was  continued  between 
the  Margrave  of  Brandenburg  and  Count 
Truchses.  The  Roman  party  only 
sought  to  save  appearances,  and  did  not 
hesitate,  besides,  to  sacrifice  everything. 
It  asked  merely  for  a  few  theatrical  de- 
corations— that  the  Mass  should  be  cele- 
brated in  the  sacerdotal  garment,  with 
chanting,  reading,  ceremonies,  and  its 
two  canons. |  All  the  rest  was  referred 
to  the  next  council,  and  the  Protestants, 
till  then,  should  conduct  themselves  so  as 
to  render  account  to  God,  to  the  council, 
and  to  his  majesty. 

But  on  the  side  of  the  Protestants  the 
wind  had  also  changed.  Now  they  will 
no  longer  have  peace  with  Rome  :  the 
scales  had  at  last  fallen  from  their  eyes, 
and  they  discovered  with  affright  the 
abyss  into  which  they  had  so  nearly 
plunged.  Jonas,  Spalatin,  and  even 
Melancthon  were  agreed.  "  We  have 
hitherto  obeyed  the  commandment  of  St. 
Paul,  Be  at  peace  with  all  vien,"  said 
they ;  "  now  we  mdst  obey  this  com- 
mandment of  Christ,  Beware  ye  of  the 
leaven  of  the  Pharisees,  which  is  hypo- 
crisy. On  the  side  of  our  adversaries  is 
nothing  but  cunning  and  perfidy,  and 
their  only  aim  is  to  stifle  our  doctrine, 
which  is  truth  itself.^  They  hope  to 
save  the  abominable  articles  of  Purga- 
tory, Indulgences,  and  the  Papacy,  be- 
cause we  have  passed  them  by  in  si- 
lence.§     Let    us    beware   of   betraying 

*  A  mare  Baltico  ad  Helvetios.  (Erasm. 
Epp.  xiv.  p.  1 .) 

f  Ingewohnlichen  Kleidungen  mit  Gesang 
und  Lesen.  (Urk  ii.  p.  418.)  The  canon  was 
a  frame  of  card-board  placed  on  the  altar  be- 
fore the  priest,  and  which  contained  the  Apos- 
tles' Creed  with  various  prayers. 

|  Estel  List  gefahiliche  Tiicke,  &c.  (Jonas. 
Urkund.  ii.  p   423.) 

§  Die  grauliche  artikel.      (Spalat.  Ibid.  p. 


THE  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


743 


Christ  and  his  Word  in  order  to  please 
antichrist  and  the  devil."* 

Luther  at  the  same  time  redoubled  his 
entreaties  to  withdraw  his  friends  from 
Augsburg.  "  Return,  return,"  cried  he 
to  them  ;  "  return,  even  if  it  must  be  so, 
cursed  by  the  Pope  and  the  Emperor. -J- 
You  have  confessed  Jesus  Christ,  offered 
peace,  obeyed  Charles,  supported  insults, 
and  endured  blasphemies.  I  will  can- 
onize ycju,  I,  as  faithful  members  of 
Jesus  Christ.  You  have  done  enough, 
and  more  than  enough  :  now  it  is  for  the 
Lord  to  act,  and  he  will  act !  They 
have  our  Confession,  they  have  the 
Gospel  ;  let  them  receive  it,  if  they  will ; 

and  if  they  will  not,  let  them  go . 

If  a  war  should  come,  let  it  come  !  We 
have  prayed  enough  ;  and  we  have  dis- 
cussed enough.  The  Lord  is  preparing 
our  adversaries  as  the  victim  for  the 
sacrifice  ;  he  will  destroy  their  magnifi- 
cence, and  deliver  his  people.  Yes  !  he 
will  preserve  us  even  from  Babylon,  and 
from  her  burning  walls." 

XII.  Thus  Luther  gave  the  signal  of 
departure.  They  replied  to  the  Refor- 
mer's appeal,  and  all  prepared  to  quit 
Augsburg  on  Saturday,  17th  September. 
At  ten  at  night  Duke  Ernest  of  Lune- 
burg  assembled  the  deputies  of  Nurem- 
berg and  the  ministers  of  the  Landgrave 
in  his  hotel,  and  announced  to  them  that 
the  Elector  was  determined  to  leave  the 
next  morning,  without  informing  any 
one,  and  that  he  would  accompany  him. 
"  Keep  the  secret,"  said  he  to  them, 
"  and  know  that,  if  peace  cannot  be  pre- 
served, it  will  be  a  trifling  matter  for  me 
to  lose,  combating  with  you,  all  that  God 
has  given  me."| 

The  -  Elector's  preparations  betrayed 
his  intentions.  In  the  middle  of  the  night 
Duke  Henry  of  Brunswick  arrived  hast- 
ily at  his  hotel,  beseeching  him  to  wait,§ 
and,  towards  morning,  Counts  Truchses 

428  )  De  Primatu  PaptE,  de  Purgatorio,  de 
Indulgentiis.  (Melancthon,  Cord.  Ref.  ii.  p. 
374.) 

*  Dem  Teufel  und  antichrist  zu  gefallen. 
(Urk.  ii.  p  431  ) 

t  Vel  maledicti  a  Papa  et  Ceesare.  (L.  Epp. 
iv.  p.  lf>2-171.) 

$  Alles  das,  so  Ihm  Gots  geben  h'att,  dorob 
zu  vertieren  ein  geringes  ware.  (Corp  Ref. 
ii.  p.  379.) 

§  In  der  selben  Nacht.  (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p. 
379.) 


and  Mansfeldt  announced  that,  on  the 
morrow  between  seven  and  eight,  the 
Emperor  would  give  him  his  conge. 

On  Monday,  19th  September,  the  Elec- 
tor purposing  to  leave  Augsburg  imme- 
diately after  his  audience  with  Charles, 
breakfasted  at  seven  o'clock,  then  sent 
off  his  baggage  and  his  cooks,*  and  or- 
dered his  officers  to  be  ready  at  ten 
o'clock.  At  the  moment  when  John  quit- 
ted the  hotel  to  wait  upon  the  Emperor, 
all  the  members  of  his  household  were 
drawn  up  on  each  side  booted  and  spur- 
red ;f  but,  having  been  introduced  to 
Charles,  he  was  requested  to  wait  two, 
four,  or  six  days  longer. 

As  soon  as  the  Elector  was  alone  with 
his  allies,  his  indignation  burst  forth,  and 
he  even  became  violent.  "  This  new 
delay  will  end  in  nothing,":}:  he  said  ; 
"  I  am  resolved  to  set  out,  happen  what 
may.  It  seems  to  me,  from  the  manner 
in  which  things  are  arranged,  that  I  have 
now  completely  the  air  of  a  prisoner." 
The  Margrave  of  Brandenburg  begged 
him  to  be  calm.  "  I  shall  go,"  the  Elec- 
tor still  replied.  At  last  he  yielded,  and 
having  appeared  again, before  Charles  the 
Fifth,  he  said,  "  I  will  wait  until  Friday 
next ;  and,  if  nothing  is  done  by  that  time, 
I  shall  leave  forthwith." 

Great  was  the  anxiety  of  the  Protes- 
tants during  these  four  days  of  expecta- 
tion. Most  of  them  doubted  not  that,  by 
acceding  to  Charles's  prayers,  they  had 
delivered  themselves  into  the  hands  of 
their  enemies.  "  The  Emperor  is  deli- 
berating whether  he  ouo;ht  to  hang-  us  or 
let  us  live,"  wrote  Brenz.§  Fresh  ne- 
gotiations of  Truchses  were  without  suc- 
cess. || 

All  that  now  remained  for  the  Empe- 
ror was  to  draw  up,  in  common  with  the 
Romish  states,  the  recess  of  the  diet. 
This  was  done  ;  and,  that  the  Protestants 
might  not  complain  of  its  having  been 
prepared  without  their  knowledge,  he  as- 
sembled them  in  his  palace  on  Thursday, 
22d  September,  the  day  previous  to  that 
fixed  for  the  Elector's  departure,  and  had 

*  Praemissis  fere  omnibus  impedimentis  una 
cum  cocis.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  3Sf>.) 

f  Gestiefelt  und  gespornt.     (Ibid.  p.  380.) 

|  Etvvas  darob  schwermiitig  und  hitzig  er- 
zeight.     (Ibid.  p.  380.) 

§  Adhuc  delibsrat  Caesar  pendendum  no 
nobis  sit,  an  diutius  vivendum.    (Corp.  Ref.  ii.) 

f  Urkunden.  ii.  p.  4!)5-472. 


744 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


his  project  read  to  them  by  the  Count- 
palatine.  This  project  was  insult  and 
war.  The  Emperor  granted  to  the  Elec- 
tor, the  five  princes,  and  the  six  cities,* 
a  delay  of  six  months,  until  the  15th 
April  next  year,  to  come  to  an  arrange- 
ment with  the  Church,  the  Pope,  the  Em- 
peror, and  all  the  princes  and  monarchs 
of  Christendom.  This  was  clearly  an- 
nouncing to  them  that  the  Romanists  were 
very  willing  to  delay  until  the  usual  pe- 
riod for  bringing  armies  into  the  field. 

Nor  was  this  all :  this  delay  was  grant- 
ed only  on  the  express  condition  that  the 
Protestants  should  immediately  join  the 
Emperor  in  reducing  the  Anabaptists, 
and  all  those  who  opposed  the  holy  sacra- 
ment, by  which  were  meant  the  Zwin- 
glian  cities.  He  wished  by  this  means 
to  tie  the  hands  of  the  Protestants,  and 
prevent  the  two  families  of  the  Reform 
from  uniting  during  the  winter. 

Finally,  the  Protestants  were  for- 
bidden to  make  any  innovations,  to  print 
or  sell  anything  on  the  objects  of  faith, 
or  to  draw  any  one  whatever  to  their  sect, 
"  since  the  Confession  had  been  soundly 
refuted  by  the  Holy  Scriptures."  Thus 
they  officially  proclaimed  the  Reform  a 
sect,  and  a  sect  contrary  to  the  Word  of 
God. 

Nothing  was  more  calculated  to  dis- 
please the  friends  of  the  Gospel,  who  re- 
mained in  Charles's  presence  astonished, 
alarmed,  and  indignant. f  This  had  been 
foreseen  ;  and,  at  the  moment  when  the 
Protestants  were  about  to  enter  the  Em- 
peror's chamber,  Truchses  and  Wehe, 
making  signs  to  them,  mysteriously  slip- 
ped a  paper  into  their  hands,  containing 
a  promise  that,  if,  on  the  15th  April,  the 
Protestants  required  a  prolongation  of 
the  delay,  their  request  would  certainly 
be  granted4  But  Bruck,  to  whom  the 
paper  was  given,  was  not  deceived.  "  A 
subtle  ambuscade,"  said  he  ;  "a  master- 
piece of  knavery  !  God  will  save  his 
own,  and  will  not  permit  them  to  fall 
into  the  snare. "§     This  trick,  in  fact, 

*  Nuremberg  and  Rentlingen,  to  which  were 
added  the  cities  of  Kempten,  Heilbrunn, 
Windsheim,  and  Weissemberg.  (Corp.  Ref.  ii. 
p.  474-478.) 

t  Protestantes  vehementer  hoc  decreto  mi- 
nime  expectato  territi.  *  (Seek.  ii.  p.  200.) 

X  Brack,  Apologie,  p  182. 

§  Betriige,  meisterstuck,  aber  Gott  errettet 
die  semen.     (Ibid.) 


served  only  still  more  to  increase  the 
courage  of  the  Protestants. 

Bruck,  without  discussing  the  recess 
in  a  political  point  of  view,  confined  him- 
self to  what  was  principally  at  stake,  the 
Word  of  God.  "  We  maintain,"  said 
he,  "  that  our  Confession  is  so  based  on 
the  holy  Word  of  God,  that  it  is  impos- 
sible to  refute  it.  We  consider  it  as  the 
very  truth  of  God,  and  we  hope  by  it  to 
stand  one  day  before  the  judgrnent-seat 
of  the  Lord."  He  then  announced  that 
the  Protestants  had  refuted  the  Refuta- 
tion of  the  Romish  theologians,  and  hold- 
ing in  his  hand  the  famous  Apology  of 
the  Confession  of  Augsburg  written  by 
Melancthon,  he  stepped  forward,  and 
offered  it  to  Charles  the  Fifth.  The 
Count-palatine  took  it,  and  the  Emperor 
was  already  stretching  out  his  hand, 
when  Ferdinand  having  whispered  a 
few  words,  he  motioned  the  Count,  who 
immediately  returned  the  Apology  to 
Doctor  Bruck.*  This  paper  and  the 
"  Commonplaces,"  are  the  masterpieces 
of  the  Reformer.  The  embarrassed 
Emperor  told  the  Protestants  to  come 
again  at  eight  the  next  morning. 

Charles  the  Fifth,  resolving  to  employ 
every  means  to  get  his  decree  accepted, 
began  by  entreaties  ;  and  scarcely  was 
the  Margrave  of  Brandenburg  seated  to 
take  his  evening  repast,  when  Truchses 
and  Wehe,  appearing  before  him,  used 
every  kind  of  discourse  and  argument, 
but  without  success. j- 

The  next  day  (Friday,  23d  Septem- 
ber), the  Evangelical  princes  and  the 
deputies  of  the  cities,  assembling  at  five 
in  the  morning  in  the  Margrave's  hotel, 
the  recess  was  there  read  anew  in  the 
presence  of  Truchses  and  Wehe,  and 
Chancellor  Brack  detailed  seven  rea- 
sons for  its  rejection.  "  I  undertake," 
said  Wehe,  "  to  translate  the  recess  into 
German  in  such  a  manner  that  you  can 
accept  it.  As  for  the  word  sect,  in  par- 
ticular, it  is  the  clerk  who  placed  it  there 
by  mistake.":):  The  mediators  retired 
in  haste  to  communicate  to  Charles  the 
complaints  of  the  Protestants 

*  Auf  Konig  Ferdinandus  wincke  wieder 
geben.     (Apologie,  p.  184.) 

t  Nach  essen  allerley  Rede  Disputation  und 
Persuasion  furgewendt.     (Urk.  ii.  p.  601.) 

|  Sondern  vom  Schreiber  gesetzt,  der  dia 
nicht  geacht.     (Urk.  ii.  p.  606.) 


THE  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


745 


Charles  and  his  ministers  gave  up 
every  idea  of  reconciliation,  and  hoped 
for  nothing  except  through  fear.  The 
Protestants  having  arrived  at  eight 
o'clock  at  the  imperial  palace,  they  were 
made  to  wait  an  hour;  the  Elector  of 
Brandenburg  then  said  to  them  in 
Charles's  name :  "  His  majesty  is  asto- 
nished beyond  measure  that  you  still 
maintain  your  doctrine  to  be  based  on  the 
holy  Scriptures.  If  you  said  the  truth, 
his  majesty's  ancestors,  so  many  kings 
and  emperors,  and  even  the  ancestors  of 
the  Elector  of  Saxony,  would  have  been 
heretics  !  There  is  no  Gospel,  there  is 
no  Scripture,  that  imposes  on  us  the  ob- 
ligation of  seizing  by  violence  the  goods 
of  another,  and  of  saying  afterwards  that 
we  cannot  conscientiously  restore  them. 
It  is  for  this  reason,"  added  Joachim, 
after  these  words,  which  he  had  accom- 
panied with  a  sardonic  smile,  "  I  am 
commissioned  to  inform  you,  that  if  you 
refuse  the  recess,  all  the  Germanic  states 
will  place  their  lives  and  their  property 
at  the  Emperor's  disposal,  and  his  ma- 
jesty himself  will  employ  the  resources 
of  all  his  kingdoms  to  complete  this 
affair  before  leaving  the  Empire." 

"  We  do.  not  accept  it,"  replied  the 
Protestants  firmly, — "  His  majesty  also 
has  a  conscience,"  then  resumed  the 
Elector  of  Brandenburg,  in  a  harsh  tone  ; 
"  and  if  you  do  not  submit,  he  will  con- 
cert with  the  Pope  and  the  other  poten- 
tates on  the  best  means  of  extirpating  this 
sect  and  its  new  errors."  But  in  vain 
did  they  add  threat  to  threat :  the  Pro- 
testants remained  calm,  respectful,  and 
unshaken.  "  Our  enemies,  destitute  of 
all  confidence  in  God  !"  said  they, 
"  would  shake  like  a  reed  in  presence  of 
the  Emperor's  anger,  and  they  imagine 
that  we  should  tremble  in  like  manner ; 
but  we  have  called  unto  God,  and  he  will 
keep  us  faithful  to  his  truth." 

The  Protestants  then  prepared  to  take 
their  final  leave  of  the  Emperor.  This 
prince,  whose  patience  had  been  put  to  a 
severe  trial,  approached  to  shake  hands 
according  to  custom  :  and  beginning 
with  the  Elector  of  Saxony,  he  said  to 
him  in  a  low  voice  :  "  Uncle,  uncle  ! 
I  should  never  have  expected  this  of 
you."  The  Elector  was  deeply  affected  : 
his  eyes  filled  with  tears :  but,  firm  and 
resolute,  he  bent  his  head  and  quitted 
94 


Charles  without  reply.  It  was  now  two 
in  the  afternoon. 

While  the  Protestants  were  returning 
to  their  hotels,  calm  and  happy,  the  Ro- 
mish princes  returned  to  theirs,  confused 
and  dispirited,  uneasy  and  divided. 
They  doubted  not  that  the  conge  that  had 
just  been  given  the  Protestants  would  be 
regarded  by  them  as  a  declaration  of 
war,  and  that  on  quitting  Augsburg,  they 
would  rush  to  arms.  This  thought  ter- 
rified them.  Accordingly,  the  Elector 
of  Saxony  had  hardly  reached  his  palace, 
when  he  saw  Dr.  Ruhel,  councillor  of 
the  Elector  of  Mentz,  hastening  towards 
him,  commissioned  by  his  master  to  de- 
liver this*  message  :  "  Although  my  bro- 
ther the  Elector  (Joachim  of  Branden- 
burg) has  declared  that  all  the  states  of 
the  Empire  are  ready  to  support  the 
Emperor  against  you,  know  that  both 
myself  and  the  ministers  of  the  Elector- 
palatine  and  of  the  Elector  of  Treves 
immediately  declared  to  his  majesty  that 
we  do  not  adhere  to  this  declaration,  see- 
ing that  we  think  very  favourably  of 
you.*  I  intended  saying  this  to  the  Em- 
peror in  your  presence,  but  you  left  so 
precipitately,  that  I  was  unable." 

Thus  spoke  the  primate  of  the  Ger- 
man Church,  and  even  the  choice  of  his 
messenger  was  significant :  Dr.  Ruhel 
was  Luther's  brother-in-law.  John  beg- 
ged him  to  thank  his  master. 

As  this  envoy  retired,  there  arrived 
one  of  the  gentlemen  of  Duke  Henry  of 
Brunswick,  a  zealous  Romanist.  He 
was  at  first  refused  admittance  on  ac- 
count of  the  departure,  but  returned 
hastily,  just  as  Brlick's  carriage  was 
leaving  the  court-yard  of  the  hotel.  Ap- 
proaching the  carriage-door,  he  said : 
"  The  Duke  informs  the  Elector  that  he 
will  endeavour  to  put  things  in  a  better 
train,  and  will  come  this  winter  to  kill  a 
wild  boar  with  him."f  Shortly  after, 
the  terrible  Ferdinand  himself  declared 
that  he  would  seek  every  means  of  pre- 
venting an  outbreak.:}:  All  these  mani- 
festations of  the  affrighted  Roman-catho- 
lics showed  on  which  side  was  the  real 
strength. 

At  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the 

*  Wlhsten  auch  nicht  andersdenn  wohlund 
gut.     (Urk.  p.  210.) 

t  Ein  Sawe  fahen  helfen.     (Ibid.  211.) 
%  Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  397. 


746 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


Elector  of  Saxony,  accompanied  by  the 
Dukes  of  Luneburg  and  the  Princes  of 
Anhalt,  quitted  the  walls  of  Augsburg 
"  God  be  praised,"  said  Luther,  "  that 
our  dear  prince  is  at  last  out  of  hell."* 

As  he  saw  these 'intrepid  princes  thus 
escaping  from  his  hands,  Charles  the 
Fifth  gave  way  to  a  violence  that  was 
not  usual  with  him."]"  "  They  want  to 
teach  me  a  new  faith,"  cried  he :  "  but 
it  is  not  with  the  doctrine  that  we  shall 
finish  this  matter :  we  must  draw  the 
sword,  and  we  shall  then  see  who  is  the 
strongest.^:  There  was  a  concert  of  in- 
dignation around  him.  They  were  as- 
tonished at  the  audacity  of  Briick,  who 
had  dared  call  the  Romanists — rferetics  !§ 
But  nothing  irritated  them  so  much  as 
the  spirit  of  proselytism  which  in  those 
glorious  days  characterized  Evangelical 
Germany  ;  and  the  anger  of  the  Papists 
was  particularly  directed  against  the 
Chancellor  of  Luneburg,  "  who,"  said 
they,  "had  sent  more  than  a  hundred 
ministers  into  different  places  to  preach 
the  new  doctrine,  and  who  had  even 
publicly  boasted  of  it."|| — "  Our  adver- 
saries thirst  for  our  blood,"  wrote,  as 
they  heard  these  complaints,  the  depu- 
ties of  Nuremberg,  who  remained  almost 
alone  at  Augsburg. 

On  the  4th  October,  Charles  the  Fifth 
wrote  to  the  Pope  ;  for  it  was  from  Rome 
that  the  new  crusade  was  to  set  out. 
"The  negotiations  are  broken  off;  our 
adversaries  are  more  obstinate  than  ever  ; 
and  I  am  resolved  to  employ  my  strength 
and  my  person  in  combating  them.  For 
this  reason  I  beg  your  holiness  will  de- 
mand the  support  of  all  christian 
princes." 

The  enterprise  began  in  Augsburg  it- 
self. The  day  on  which  he  wrote  to  the 
Pope,  Charles,  in  honor  of  St.  Francis 
of  Assisi,  whose  feast  it  was,  re-esta- 
blished the  Cordeliers  in  that  city,  and  a 
monk  ascending  the  pulpit  said  :  "  All 
those  who  preach  that  Jesus  Christ  alone 


*  Ein  mal  aus  de  Holle  los  ist. 
p.  175.) 

t  Der   Kaiser    ist    fast    hitzig 
(Corp.  Ref.  ii.  591.) 

X  Es  gehoren  die  Fauste  dar  zu. 
592  ;  Urkund   ii.  p.  710.) 

§  Fur  ketzer  an^ezogen.    (Ibid.) 

||  Bis  in  die  Hundert  Prediger  in  andere 
Lande  Schiken  helfen  daselbst  die  neue  Lehre 
zu  predigen.    (Urkund.  ii.  p.  G4G.) 


(L.  Epp.  iv. 
im  Handel. 
(Ibid.  p. 


has  made  satisfaction  for  our  sins,  and 
that  God  saves  us  without  regard  to  our 
works,  are  thorough  scoundrels.  There 
are,  on  the  contrary,  two  roads  to  salva- 
tion :  the  common  road,  namely,  the  ob- 
servance of  the  commandments  ;  and  the 
perfect  road,  namely,  the  ecclesiastical 
state."  Scarcely  was  the  sermon  finished 
ere  they  began  to  remove  the  benches 
placed  in  the  church  for  the  Evangelical 
preaching,  breaking  them  violently  (for 
they  were  fixed  with  chains),  and  throw- 
ing them  one  upon  another.  Within 
these  consecrated  walls  two  monks,  in 
particular,  armed  with  hammers  and 
pincers,  tossed  their  arms,  and  shouted 
like  men  possessed.  "  From  this  fright- 
ful uproar,"'  exclaimed  some,  "  one 
would  say  they  were  pulling  down  a 
house."*  It  was  in  truth  the  house  of 
God  that  they  wished  to  begin  destroying. 

After  the  tumult  was  appeased,  they 
sang  Mass  ;  then  a  Spaniard  desiring  to 
recommence  breaking  the  benches,  and 
being  prevented  by  one  of  the  citizens, 
they  began  to  hurl  chairs  at  each  other ; 
one  of  the  monks,  leaving  the  choir,  ran 
up  to  them  and  was  soon  dragged  into 
the  fray  ;  at  length  the  captain  of  police, 
arrived  with  his  men,  who  distributed 
their  well-directed  blows  on  every  side. 
Thus  recommenced  in  Germany  the  re- 
storation of  Roman-catholicisin  :  popu- 
ar  violence  lias  often  been  one  of  its 
most  powerful  allies. 

On  the  13th  October  the  recess  was 
read  to  all  the  Romish  states,  and  on  the 
same  day  they  concluded  a  Roman 
league,  j" 

Two  cities  had  signed  the  Confession, 
and  two  others  had  assented  to  it ;  the 
Imperialists  hoped,  however,  that  these 
powerless  municipalities,  affrighted  at 
the  imperial  authority,  would  withdraw 
from  the  Protestant  union.  But  on  the 
17th  October,  instead  of  two  or  four 
cities,  sixteen  imperial  cities,  among 
which  were  the  most  important  in  Ger- 
many, declared  it  was  impossible  to  grant 
any  support  against  the  Turks,  so  long 
as  public  peace  was  not  secured  in  Ger- 
many itself4 

*  Ein  alt  Haus  abbrechen.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii. 

p.  400.) 

t  Ratschlag,  &c.     (Urkund.  ii.  737-740.) 
\  Wo  sie   nicht  einen  gemeinen   Friedens 

versichert.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  pp.  411,  41G.) 


THE  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


747 


An  event  more  formidable  to  Charles 
had  just  taken  place.  The  unity  of  the 
Reformation  had  prevailed.  "  We  are 
one  in  the  fundamental  articles  of  faith," 
had  said  the  Zwinglian  cities,  "  and  in 
particular  (notwithstanding  some  dis- 
putes about  words  among  our  theologi- 
ans), we  are  one  in  the  doctrine  of  the 
communion  in  the  body  and  blood  of  our 
Lord'.  Receive  us."  The  Saxon  depu- 
ties immediately  gave  their  hands.  No- 
thing unites  the  children  of  God  so  much 
as  the  violence  jf  their  adversaries. 
"  Let  us  unite,"  said  all,  "  for  the  con- 
solation of  our  brethren  and  the  terror 
of  our  enemies."* 

In  vain  did  Charles,  who  was  intent 
on  keeping  up  the  division  among  the 
Protestants,  convoke  the  deputies  of  the 
Zwinglian  cities  ;  in  vain,  desiring  to 
render  them  odious,  had  he  accused  them 
of  fastening  a  consecrated  wafer  to  a 
wall  and  firing  bullets  at  it  ;f  in  vain 
did  he  overwhelm  them  with  fierce  threats; 
— all  his  efforts  were  useless.  At  length 
the  Evangelical  party  was  one. 

The  alarm  increased  among  the  Roman 
party,  who  resolved  on  fresh  concessions. 
"  The  Protestants  call  for  public  peace," 
said  they :  "  well  then,  let  us  draw  up 
articles  of  peace."  But,  on  the  29th 
October,  the  Protestants  refused  these 
offers,  because  the  Emperor  enjoined 
peace  to  all  the  world,  without  binding 
himself.  "An  Emperor  has  the  right  to 
command  peace  to  his  subjects,"  haugh- 
tily answered  Charles  ;  "  but  it  has  never 
been  heard  that  he  commanded  it  to  him- 
self. "% 

Nothing  remained  but  to  draw  the 
sword  ;  and  for  that  Charles  made  every 
preparation.  On  the  25th  October,  he 
wrote  to  the  cardinals  at  Rome :  "  We 
inform  you  that  we  shall  spare  neither 
kingdoms  nor  lordships ;  and  that  we 
shall  venture  even  our  soul  and  our 
body  to  complete  things  so  necessary." 

Scarcely  had  Charles's  letter  been 
Received,  before  his  major-domo,  Pedro 
de  la  Cueva,  arrived  in  Rome  by  express. 
"  The  season  is  now  too  far  advanced  to 

*  Diesem  Theil  desto  mehr  Freude  und 
Trost  und  dem  gegentheil  Erschrecken.  (Ur- 
kund.  ii.  p.  728.) 

■f  An  ein«  Wand  geheftet  und  dazu  ge- 
8chossen.     (Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  423.) 

|  These  negotiations  will  be  found  in  Fors- 
termann's  Urkunden,  pp.  750-793. 


attack  the  Lutherans  immediately,"  said 
he  to  the  Pope ;  "  but  prepare  everything 
for  this  enterprise.  His  majesty  thinks 
it  his  duty  to  prefer  before  all  things  the 
accomplishment  of  your  designs."  Thus 
Clement  and  the  Emperor  were  also 
united,  and  both  sides  began  to  concen- 
trate their  forces. 

On  the  evening  of  the  11th  Novem- 
ber, the  recess  was  read  to  the  Protestant 
deputies,  and  on  the  12th  they  rejected 
it,  declaring  that  they  did  not  acknow- 
ledge the  Emperor's  power  to  command 
in  matters  of  faith.*  The  deputies  of 
Hesse  and  of  Saxony  departed  immedi- 
ately after,  and  on  the  19th  November 
the  recess  was  solemnly  read  in  the  pre- 
sence of  Charles  the  Fifth,  and  of  the 
princes  and  deputies  who  were  still  in 
Augsburg.  This  report  was  more  hos- 
tile than  the  project  communicated  to 
the  Protestants.  It  bore,  among  other 
things  (this  is  only  a  sample  of  the  ur- 
banity of  this  official  doctrine),  that  "  to 
deny  free-will  was  the  error  not  of  a 
man,  but  of  a  brute." — "  We  beg  his 
majesty,"  said  the  Elector  Joachim,  af- 
te,r  it  was  read,  "  not  to  leave  Germany, 
until  by  his  cares  one  sole  and  same 
faith  be  re-established  in  all  the  Em- 
pire." 

The  Emperor  replied,  that  he  would 
not  go  farther  than  his  states  of  the  Low 
Countries.  They  desired  deeds  should 
follow  close  upon  words.  It  was  then 
nearly  seven  in  the  evening ;  a  few 
torches,  lighted  here  and  there  by  the 
ushers,  and  casting  a  pale  light,  alone 
illuminated  this  assembly :  they  sepa- 
rated without  seeing  each  other ;  and 
thus  ended,  as  it  were  by  stealth,  that 
diet  so  pompously  announced  to  the  chris- 
tian world. 

On  the  22d  November,  the  recess  was 
made  public,  and  two  days  after  Charles 
the  Fifth  set  out  for  Cologne.  The  ruler 
of  two  worlds  had  seen  all  his  power 
baffled  by  a  few  Christians  ;  and  he  who 
had  entered  the  imperial  city  in  triumph, 
now  quitted  it  gloomy,  silent,  and  dispi- 
rited. The  mightiest  power  of  the  earth 
was  broken  against  the  power  of  God. 

But  the  Emperor's  ministers  and  offi- 
cers, excited  by  the  Pope,  displayed  so 
much  the  more  energy.  The  states  of 
the  Empire  were  bound  to  furnish  Charles 

*  Urkunden,  ii.  p.  823  ;  Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  437. 


748 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


for  three  years,  40,000  foot,  8000  horse, 
and  a  considerable  sum  of  money  ;*  the 
Margrave  Henry  of  Zenete,  the  Count  of 
Nassau,  and  other  nobles,  made  consider- 
able levies  on  the  side  of  the  Rhine ;  a 
captain  going  through  the  Black  Forest 
called  its  rude  inhabitants  to  his  standard, 
and  there  enrolled  six  companies  of  lans- 
quenets ;  King  Ferdinand  had  written  to 
all  the  knights  of  the  Tyrol  and  of  Wur- 
temberg  to  gird  on  their  cuirasses  and  to 
seize  their  swords  ;  Joachim  of  Talheim 
collected  the  Spanish  bands  in  the  Low 
Countries,  and  ordered  them  towards  the 
Rhine ;  Peter  Scher  solicited  from  the 
Duke  of  Lorraine  the  aid  of  his  arms  ; 
and  another  chief  hastily  moved  the  Spa- 
nish army  of  Florence  in  the  direction 
of  the  Alps.  There  was  every  reason  to 
fear  that  the  Germans,  even  the  Roman- 
catholics,  would  take  Luther's  part ;  and 
hence  principally  foreign  troops  were 
levied. f  Nothing  but  war  was  talked  of 
in  Augsburg. 

On  a  sudden  a  strange  rumour  was 
heard.:}:  The  signal  is  given,  said  every 
one.  A  free  city,  lying  on  the  confines 
of  the  Germanic  and  Roman  world, — a 
city  at  war  with  its  bishop,  in  alliance 
with  the  Protestants,  and  which  passes 
for  reformed  even  before  really  being  so, 
has  been  suddenly  attacked.  A  courier 
from  Strasburg  brings  this  news  to  Augs- 
burg, and  it  circulator-!  throughout  the 
town  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning. 
Three  days  after  Michaelmas,  some  armed 
men,  sent  by  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  pillag- 
ed the  suburbs  of  Geneva,  and  threaten- 
ed to  take  possession  of  the  city,  and  put 
all  to  the  edge  of  the  sword.  Every  one 
in  Augsburg  was  amazed.  "  Ho!"  ex- 
claimed Charles  the  Fifth,  in  French, 
"  the  Duke  of  Savoy  has  begun  too 
soon."§  It  was  reported  that  Magaret, 
governor  of  the  Low  Countries,  the  Pope, 
the  Dukes  of  Lorraine  and  Guelders,  and 
even  the  King  of  France,  were  directing 
their  troops  against  Geneva.  It  was  there 
that  the  army  of  Rome  intended  fixing 
its  point  d'appui.     The   avalanche  was 

*  40,000  zu  Tuss  und  8000  zu  Ross.  (Corp. 
Ref.  ii.  p.  399.) 

f  Legati  Norinb.  ad  Senatum,  11th  October. 
(Corp.  Ref.  ii.  p.  402) ;  Legati  Sax.  ad  Elec- 
torem,  10th  October.     (Urkund.  ii.  p.  711.) 

X  Shortly  before  the  close  of  the  diet. 

§  Hatt  der  Kayser  unter  andern  in  Franzo- 
sisch  geredet.     (Ibid.  p.  421.) 


gathering  on  the  first  slopes  of  the  Alps, 
whence  it  would  rush  over  all  Switzer- 
land, and  then  roll  into  Germany,  bury- 
ing the  Gospel  and  the  Reformation  under 
its  huge  mass.* 

Never  had  this  sacred  cause  appeared 
to  be  in  such  great  danger,  and  never  in 
reality  had  it  gained  so  noble  a  triumph. 
The  coup  de  main  attempted  on  those 
hills,  where  six  years  later  Calvin  was 
to  take  his  station,  and  plant  the  standard 
of  Augsburg  and  of  Nazareth,  having 
failed,  all  fears  were  dispelled,  and  the 
victory  of  the  confessors  of  Christ,  for  an 
instant  obscured,  shone  forth  anew  in  all 
its  splendour. 

While  the  Emperor  Charles,  surround- 
ed by  numerous  train  of  princes,  was 
approaching  the  banks  of  the  Rhine  sad 
and  dispirited,  the  Evangelical  Christians 
were  returning  in  triumph  to  their  homes. 
Luther  was  the  herald  of  the  victory 
gained  at  Augsburg  by  Faith.  "  Though 
our  enemies  should  have  around  them, 
beside  them,  with  them,  not  only  that 
puissant  Roman  Emperor,  Charles,  but 
still  more  the  Emperor  of  the  Turks  and 
his  Mahomet,"  said  he,  "  they  could  not 
intimidate,  they  could  not  frighten  me. 
It  is  I  who  in  the  strength  of  God  am 
resolved  to  frighten  and  overthrow  them. 
They  shall  yield  to  me — they  shall  fall ! 
and  1  shall  remain  upright  and  firm.  My 
life  shall    be  their  headsman,  and  my 

death  their  hell  !f God  blinds  them 

and  hardens  their  hearts  ;  he  is  driving 
them  towards  the  Red  Sea  :  all  the  horses 
of  Pharaoh,  his  chariots  and  his  horse- 
men, cannot  escape  their  inevitable  des- 
tiny. Let  them  go  then,  let  them  perish, 
since  they  will  it  so !:}:  As  for  us,  the 
Lord  is  with  us." 

Thus  the  Diet  of  Augsburg,  destined 
to  crush  the  Reformation,  was  what 
strengthened  it  for  ever.  It  has  been 
usual  to  consider  the  peace  of  Augsburg 
(1555)  as  the  period  when  the  Reform 
was  definitively  established.  That  is 
the  date  of  legal  Protestantism  ;  Evan- 
gelical Christianity  has  another — the 
autumn  of  1530.     In  1555  was  the  vic- 

*  Geneva  expugnata,  bellum  etiam  urbibus 
Germanise  Superioris  inferretur.  (Corp.  Ref. 
ii.  p.  402.) 

f  Mein  leben  soil  ihr  Henker  seyn.  (L. 
Opp.  xx.  p.  304.) 

J  Vadant  igitur  et  pereant,  quomodo  sic  vo- 
lunt.     (L.  Epp.  iv.  p.  167.) 


THE  AUGSBURG  CONFESSION.     1530. 


749 


tory  of  the  sword  and  of  diplomacy  ;  in 
1530  was  that  of  the  Word  of  God  and 
of  Faith ;  and  this  latter  victory  is  in  our 
eyes  the  truest  and  the  firmest.  The 
evangelical  history  of  the  Reformation 
in  Germany  is  nearly  finished  at  the 
epoch  we  have  reached,  and  the  diplo- 
matic history  of  legal  Protestantism 
begins.  Whatever  may  be  done  now, 
whatever  may  be  said,  the  Church  of 
the  first  ages  has  reappeared ;  and  it  has 
reappeared  strong  enough  to  show  that  it 


will  live.  There  will  still  be  conferen- 
ces and  discussions ;  there  will  still  be 
leagues  and  combats ;  there  will  even  be 
deplorable  defeats;  but  all  that  is  a 
secondary  movement  The  great  move- 
ment is  accomplished  :  the  cause  of  Faith 
is  won  by  Faith.  The  effort  has  been 
made  :  the  Evangelical  doctrine  has  taken 
roDt  in  the  world,  and  neither  the  storms 
of  men,  nor  the  powers  of  hell,  will  ever 
be  able  to  tear  it  up. 


SWITZERLAND-CONQUESTS. 


►745 


BOOK  XV. 


SWITZERLAND— CONQUESTS.     1526—1530. 


I.  The  divisions  which  the  Reforma- 
tion disclosed  within  its  bosom,  on  its 
appearance  before  the  Diet  of  Augsburg, 
humbled  it  and  compromised  its  exist- 
ence ;  but  we  must  not  forget  that  the 
cause  of  these  divisions  was  one  of  the 
conditions  of  the  existence  of  the  regene- 
rated Church.  No  doubt  it  would  have 
been  desirable  for  Germany  and  Swit- 
zerland to  have  agreed  ;  but  it  was  of 
still  greater  importance  that  Germany 
and  Switzerland  should  have  each  its  ori- 
ginal Reform.  If  the  Swiss  Reformation 
had  been  only  a  feeble  copy  of  the  German, 
there  would  have  been  uniformity,  but 
no  duration.  The  tree,  transplanted  into 
Switzerland,  without  having  taken  deep 
root,  would  soon  have  been  torn  up  by 
the  vigorous  hand  that  was  erelong  about 
to  seize  upon  it.  The  regeneration  of 
Christianity  in  these  mountains  proceeded 
from  forces  peculiar  to  the  Helvetic 
Church,  and  received  an  organization  in 
conformity  with  the  ecclesiastical  and 
political  condition  of  that  country.  By 
this  very  originality  it  communicated  a 
-particular  energy  to  the  principles  of  the 
Reformation,  of  much  greater  conse- 
quence to  the  common  cause  than  a  ser- 
vile uniformity.  The  strength  of  an 
army  arises  in  great  measure  from  its  be- 
ing composed  of  soldiers  of  different  arms. 

The  military  and  political  influence  of 
Switzerland  was  declining.  The  new 
developments  of  the  European  nations. 
subsequent  to  the  sixteenth  century,  were 
about  to  banish  to  their  native  mountains 
those  proud  Helvetians,  who  for  so  long 
a  period  had  placed  their  two-handed 
swords  in  the  balance  in  which  the 
destinies  of  nations  were  weighed.  The 
Reformation  communicated  a  new  in- 
fluence in  exchange  for  that  which  was 
departing.  Switzerland,  where  the  Gos- 
pel appeared  in  its  simplest  and  purest 
•form,  was  destined  to  give  in  these  new 
times  to  many  nations  of  the  two  worlds 
a  more  salutary  and   glorious  impulse 


than  that  which  had  hitherto  proceeded 
from  its  halberds  and  its  arquebuses. 

The  history  of  the  Swiss  Reformation 
is  divided  into  three  periods,  in  which 
the  light  of  the  Gospel  is  seen  spreading 
successively  over  three  different  zones. 
From  1519  to  1526  Zurich  was  the 
centre  of  the  Reformation,  which  was 
then  entirely  German,  and  was  propagat- 
ed in  the  eastern  and  northern  parts  of 
the  Confederation.  Between  1526  and 
1532  the  movement  was  communicated 
from  Berne  :  it  is  at  once  German  and 
French,  and  extended  to  the  centre  of 
Switzerland  from  the  gorges  of  the  Jura 
to  the  deepest  valleys  of  the  Alps.  In 
1532  Geneva  became  the  focus  of  the 
light  ;  and  the  Reformation,  which  was 
here  essentially  French,  was  established 
on  the  shores  of  the  Leman  lake,  and 
gained  si  rength  in  every  quarter.  It  is 
of  the  second  of  these  periods — that  of 
Berne — of  which  we  are  now  to  treat. 

Although  the  Swiss  Reformation  is  not 
yet  essentially  French,  still  the  most 
active  part  in  it  is  taken  by  Frenchmen. 
Switzerland  Romande*  is  yoked  to  the 
chariot  of  Reform,  and  communicates  to 
it  an  accelerated  motion.  In  the  period 
we  are  about  to  treat  of,  there  is  a  mix- 
ture of  races,  of  forces,  and  of  characters, 
from  which  proceeds  a  greater  commo- 
tion. In  no  part  of  the  christian  world 
will  the  resistance  be  so  stubborn  ;  but 
nowhere  will  the  assailants  display  so 
mucli  courage.  This  petty  country  of 
Switzerland  Romande,  enclosed  within 
the  colossal  arms  of  the  Jura  and  the 
Alps,  was  for  centuries  one  of  the  strong- 
est fortresses  of  the  Papacy.  It  is  about 
to  be  carried  by  storm  ;  it  is  going  to 
turn  its  arms  against  its  ancient  masters  ; 
and  from  these  few  hillocks,  scattered  at 
the   foot   of   the   highest  •  mountains   in 

*  The  French  part  of  Switzerland,  compris- 
ing the  cantons  of  Geneva,  Vaud,  Neuchatel, 
and  part  of  those  of  Frifcurg,  Berne,  and  Valais. 


746* 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


Europe,  will  proceed  the  reiterated 
shocks  that  will  overthrow,  even  in  the 
most  distant  countries,  the  sanctuaries  of 
Rome,  their  images  and  their  altars. 

There  are  two  movements  in  the 
Church :  one  is  effected  inwardly,  and 
its  object  is  its  preservation  ;  the  other 
is  effected  outwardly,  and  the  object 
aimed  at  is  its  propagation.  There  is 
thus  a  doctrinal  Church  and  a  missionary 
Church.  These  two  movements  ought 
never  to  be  separated,  and  whenever  they 
are  disunited,  it  is  because  the  spirit  of 
man,  and  not  the  spirit  of  God  pre- 
vails. In  the  apostolic  ages  these 
two  tendencies  were  evolved  at  the 
same  time  and  with  equal  power.  In 
the  second  and  third  centuries  the  exter- 
nal tendency  prevailed  ;  after  the  Coun- 
cil of  Nice  (325)  the  doctrinal  movement 
resumed  the  superiority  ;  at  the  epoch  of 
the  irruption  of  the  northern  tribes  the 
missionary  spirit  revived  ;  but  erelong 
came  the  times  of  the  hierarchy  and  of 
the  schoolmen,  in  which  all  doctrinal 
powers  warred  within  the  Church  to 
found  therein  despotic  government  and 
an  impure  doctrine — the  Papacy.  The 
revival  of  Christianity  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  which  emanated  from  God,  was 
destined  to  renovate  these  two  doctrines, 
but  by  purifying  them.  Then  indeed 
the  spirit  of  God  acted  at  once  externally 
and  internally.  In  the  days  of  the  Refor- 
mation there  were  tranquil  and  internal 
developments  ;  but  there  was  also  a  more 
powerful  and  aggressive  action.  Men  of 
God  had  for  ages  studied  the  Word,  and 
had  peacefully  explained  its  salutary 
lessons.  Such  had  been  the  work  of 
Vesalia,  Goch,  Groot,  Radewin,  Ruy- 
brook,  Tauler,  Thomas  a  Kempis,  and 
John  Wessel  ;  now,  something  more  was 
required.  The  power  of  action  was  to 
be  united  with  the  power  of  thought. 
The  Papacy  had  been  allowed  all  neces- 
sary time  for  laying  aside  its  errors ; 
for  ages  men  had  been  in  expectation  ; 
it  had  been  warned,  it  had  been  entreat- 
ed ;  all  had  been  unavailing.  Popery 
being  unwilling  to  reform  itself,  it  be- 
came necessary  for  men  of  God  to  take 
its  accomplishment  upon  themselves. 
The  calm  and  moderate  influence  of  the 
precursors  of  the  Reform  was  succeeded 
by  the  heroic  and  holy  revolutionary 
work  of  the  Reformers  :  and  the  revolu- 


tion they  effected  consisted  in  overthrow- 
ing the  usurping  power  to  re-establish 
the  legitimate  authority.  "  To  every- 
thing there  is  a  season,"  says  the  Preacher, 
"  and  a  time  to  every  purpose  under 
heaven  :  a  time  to  plant,  and  a  time  to 
pluck  up  that  which  is  planted  ;  a  time 
to  break  down,  and  a  time  to  build  up."* 
Of  all  Reformers,  those  who  carried  the 
aggressive  spirit  to  its  highest  degree 
were  the  men  who  came  from  France, 
and  more  especially  Farel,  whose  labours 
we  have  now  to  consider. 

Never  were  such  mighty  effects  ac- 
complished by  so  puny  a  force.  In  the 
government  of  God  we  pass  in  an  instant 
from  the  greatest  to  the  least  of  things. 
We  now  quit  the  haughty  Charles  V. 
and  all  that  court  of  princes  over  which 
he  presides,  to  follow  the  steps  of  a 
schoolmaster ;  and  we  leave  the  palaces 
of  Augsburg  to  take  our  seats  in  the 
lowly  cottages  of  Switzerland. 

The  Rhone,  after  issuing  near  St. 
Gothard  from  the  mountains  of  the  Furka, 
from  beneath  an  immense  sea  of  eternal 
ice,  rolls  its  noisy  waters  through  a 
rugged  valley  separating  the  two  great 
chains  of  the  Alps  ;  then  issuing  from 
the  gorge  of  St.  Maurice,  it  wanders 
through  a  more  smiling  and  fertile  COUn- 
try.  The  sublime  Dent  du  Midi  on  the 
south,  the  proud  Dent  de  Morcles  on  the 
north,  picturesquely  situated  opposite 
each  other,  point  out  from  afar  to  the 
traveller's  eye  the  beginning  of  this  lat- 
ter basin.  On  the  tops  of  these  moun- 
tains are  vast  glaciers  and  threatening 
peaks,  near  which  the  shepherds  in  the 
midst  of  summer  lead  their  numerous 
flocks  to  pasture ;  while  in  the  plain,  the 
flowers  and  fruits  of  southern  climes 
grow  luxuriantly,  and  the  laurel  blooms 
beside  the  most  exquisite  grapes. 

At  the  opening  of  one  of  the  lateral 
valleys  that  lead  into  the  Northern  Alps, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Grande  Eau  that 
falls  in  thunder  from  the  glaciers  of  the 
Diablerets,  is  situated  the  small  town  of 
Aigle,  one  of  the  most  southern  in  Swit- 
zerland. For  about  fifty  years  it  had 
belonged  to  Berne,  with  the  four  parishes 
(mandemens)  which  are  under  its  juris- 
diction, namely,  Aigle,  Bex,  Allon,  and 
the  chalets  scattered  in  the  lofty  valley* 

•  Eccles.  iii.  1,2,3. 


SWITZERLAND— CONQUESTS. 


f747 


of  *he  Ormonds.  It  is  in  this  country  that 
the  second  epoch  of  the  Swiss  Reforma- 
tion was  destined  to  begin. 

In  the  winter  of  1526-1527,  a  foreign 
schoolmaster,  named  Ursinus,  arrived  in 
this  humble  district.  He  was  a  man 
of  middle  stature,  with  red  beard  and 
quick  eyes,  and  who,  to  a  voice  of 
thunder  (says  Beza),  united  the  feelings 
of  a  hero  :  his  modest  lessons  were  inter- 
mingled with  new  and  strange  doctrines. 
The  benefices  being  abandoned  by  their 
titularies  to  ignorant  curates,  the  people, 
who  were  naturally  of  rude  and  turbulent 
habits,  had  remained  without  any  cultiva- 
tion. Thus  did  this  stranger,  who  was 
no  other  than  Farel,  meet  with  new  obsta- 
cles at  every  step. 

Whilst  Lefevre  and  most  of  his  friends 
had  quitted  Strasburg  to  re-enter  France, 
after  the  deliverance  of  Francis  I.,  Farel 
had  turned  his  steps  towards  Switzerland ; 
and  on  the  very  first  day  of  his  journey, 
he  received  a  lesson  that  he  frequently 
recalled  to  mind. 

He  was  on  foot,  accompanied  by  a 
single  friend.  Night  had  closed  around 
them,  the  rain  fell  in  torrents,  and  the 
travellers,  in  despair  of  finding  their 
road,  had  sat  down  midway,  drenched 
with  rain.*  "  Ah  !"  said  Farel,  "  God, 
by  showing  me  my  helplessness  in  these 
little  things,  has  willed  to  teach  me  what 
I  am  in  the  greatest,  without  Jesus 
Christ !"  At  last  Farel,  springing  up, 
plunged  into  the  marshes,  waded  through 
the  waters,  crossed  vineyards,  fields,  hills, 
forests,  and  valleys,  and  at  length  reached 
his  destination,  covered  with  mud  and 
soaked  to  the  skin. 

In  this  night  of  desolation,  Farel  had 
received  a  new  baptism.  His  natural 
energy  had  been  quelled ;  he  became, 
for  some  time  at  least,  wise  as  a  serpent 
and  harmless  as  a  dove ;  and,  as  not 
unfrequently  happens  to  men  of  such  dis- 
position, he  at  first  overstepped  his  aim. 
Believing  that  he  was  following  the  ex- 
ample of  the  Apostles,  he  sought,  in  the 
words  of  CEcolampadius,  "  to  circumvent 
by  pious  frauds  the  old  serpent  that  was 
hissing  around  him."f     He  represented 

*  Gravabat  nox,  opprimebnt  pluvia 

coegit  vise  difficultas  in  media  sedere  via  sub 
pluvia.  (Farel  to  Capito  and  Bucer ;  Neucha- 
tel,  MS.) 

f  Piis  artibus  et  apostolicis  versatiis  ad  cir- 
cumveniendum  ilium  opus  est.  (CEcol.  to 
95 


himself  to  be  a  schoolmaster,  and  waited 
until  a  door  should  be  opened  to  him  to 
appear  as  a  Reformer.* 

Scarcely  had  Magister  Ursinus  quitted 
the  schoolroom  and  his  primers,  than, 
taking  refuge  in  his  modest  chamber, 
he  became  absorbed  in  the  Greek  and 
Hebrew  Scriptures,  and  the  most  learned 
treatises  of  the  theologians.  The  strug- 
gle between  Luther  and  Zwingle  was 
commencing.  To  which  of  these  two 
chiefs  should  the  French  Reform  attach 
itself  ?  Luther  had  been  known  in 
France  for  a  much  longer  time  than 
Zwingle  ;  yet  Farel  decided  in  favour 
of  the  latter.  Mysticism  had  charac- 
terized the  Germanic  nations  during  the 
Middle  Ages,  and  scholasticism  those  of 
Roman  descent.  The  French  were  in 
closer  relation  with  the  dialectician 
Zwingle  than  with  the  mystic  Luther; 
or  rather,  they  were  the  mediators  be- 
tween the  two  great  tendencies  of  the 
Middle  Ages;  and,  while  giving  to  the 
christian  thought  that  correct  form  which 
seems  to  be  the  province  of  southern 
nations,  they  became  the  instruments  of 
God  to  spread  through  the  Church  the 
fulness  of  life  and  of  the  Spirit  of  Christ. 

It  was  in  this  little  chamber  at  Aigle 
that  Farel  read  the  first  publication  ad- 
dressed to  the  German  by  the  Swiss 
Reformer. f  "  With  what  learning,"  cries 
he,  "  does  Zwingle  scatter  the  darkness  ! 
with  what  holy  ingenuity  he  gains  over 
the  wise,  and  what  captivating  meekness 
he  unites  with  a  forcible  erudition  !  Oh, 
that  by  the  grace  of  God  this  work  may 
win  over  Luther,  so  that  the  Church 
of  Christ,  trembling  from  such  violent 
shocks,  may  at  length  find  peace  !"J 

The  schoolmaster  Ursinus,  excited  by 
so  noble  an  example,  gradually  set  about 
instructing  the  parents  as  well  as  the 
children.  He  at  first  attacked  the  doc- 
trine of  purgatory,  and  next  the  invoca- 
tion of  Saints.  "  As  for  the  Pope,  he  is 
nothing,"  said  he,  "or  almost  nothing, 
in  these  parts  ;§  and  as  for  the  priests, 

Farel,  27th  December,  1526.  Neuchatel 
MS.) 

*  Ubi  ostium  patuerit,  tunc  adversaries 
liberius  obsistetur.     (Ibid.) 

t  Pia  et  arnica  ad  Lutheri  sermonem  apologia. 
(Opp.  vol.  ii.  t.  2,  p.  1.) 

I  Ut  Christi  succussa  undique  Ecclesia,  pacis 
non  nihil  sentiat.     (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  26.) 

§  Papa  aut  nullus  aut  modicus  hie  est.  (Zw; 
Epp.  ii.  p.  36.) 


748* 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


provided  they  annoy  the  people  with  all 
that  nonsense,  which  Erasmus  knows  so 
well  how  to  turn  into  ridicule,  that  is 
enough  for  them." 

Ursinus  had  been  some  months  at 
Aigle:  a  door  was  opened  to  him;  a 
llock  had  been  collected  there,  and  he 
believed  the  looked  for  moment  had  ar- 
rived. 

Accordingly,  one  day  the  prudent 
schoolmaster  disappears.  u  1  am  Wil- 
liam Farel,"  said  he,  "  minister  of  the 
Word  of  God."  The  terror  of  the  priests 
and  magistrates  was  great,  when  they 
saw  in  the  midst  of  them  that  very  man 
whose  name  had  already  become  so  for- 
midable. The  schoolmaster  quitted  his 
humble  study  ;  he  ascended  the  pulpit, 
and  openly  preached  Jesus  Christ  to  the 
astonished  multitude.  The  work  of  Ur- 
sinus was  over :  Farel  was  himself 
again.*  It  was  then  about  the  month  of 
March  or  April,  1527,  and  in  that  beau- 
tiful valley,  whose  slopes  were  brighten- 
ing in  the  warm  rays  of  the  sun,  all  was 
fermenting  at  the  same  time,  the  flowers, 
the  vineyards,  and  the  hearts  of  this  sensi- 
ble but  rude  people. 

Yet  the  rocks  that  the  torrent  meets  as 
it  issues  from  the  Diahlerets,  and  against 
which  it  dashes  at  every  step  as  it  falls 
from  eternal  snows,  are  more  trifling 
obstacles  than  the  prejudice  and  hatred 
that  were  shown  erelong  in  this  populous 
valley  to  the  Word  of  God. 

The  Council  of  Berne,  by  a  license  of 
the  9th  of  March,  had  commissioned  Fa- 
rel to  explain  the  Holy  Scriptures  to  the 
people  of  Aigle  and  its  neighbourhood. 
But  the  arm  of  the  civil  magistrate,  by 
thus  mingling  in  religious  affairs,  served 
only  to  increase  the  irritation  of  men's 
minds.  The  rich  and  lazy  incumbents, 
the  poor  and  ignorant  curates,  were  the 
first  to  cry  out.  "  If  this  man,"  said  they 
one  to  another,  "  continues  preaching,  it 
is  all  over  with  our  benefices  and  our 
Church."! 

In  the  midst  of  this  agitation,  the  bai- 
liff of  Aigle  and  the  governor  of  the  four 
mandemens,  Jacques  de  Roverea,  instead 
of  supporting  the  minister  of  their  excel- 
lencies of  Berne,  eagerly  embraced  the 

*  The  name  of  Ursinus  was  doubtless  taken 
from  the  bear  (ursa),  which  was  on  the  shield 
of  Berne.     Ursinus  meant  Bernese. 

t  J.  J.  Hottinger,  H.  K.  G.,  iii.  p.  364. 


cause  of  the  priests.  "  The  Emperor," 
said  they,  "  is  about  to  declare  war 
against  all  innovators.  A  great  army  will 
shortly  arrive  from  Spain  to  assist  the 
Archduke  Ferdinand.'"*  Farel  stood 
firm.  Upon  this  the  bailiff  and  Roverea, 
exasperated  by  such  boldness,  interdicted 
the  heretic  from  every  kind  of  instruc- 
tion, whether  as  minister  or  schoolmaster. 
But  Berne  caused  to  he  posted  on  the 
doors  of  all  the  churches  in  the  four 
mandemens  a  new  decree,  dated  the  3d 
of  July,  in  which  their  excellencies,  ma- 
nifesting great  displeasure  at  this  inter- 
diction "  of  the  very  learned  Farel  from 
the  propagation  of  the  Divine  Word, I  or- 
dered all  the  officers  of  the  state  to  allow 
him  to  preach  publicly  the  doctrines  of 
the  Lord." 

This  new  proclamation  was  the  signal 
of  revolt.  On  the  25th  July  great  crowds 
assembled  at  Aigle,  at  Bex,  atOllon,  and 
in  the  Ormonds,  crying  out,  "  No  more 
submission  to  Berne  !  down  with  Farel !" 
From  words  they  soon  proceeded  to  ac- 
tions. At  Aigle  the  insurgents,  headed 
by  the  fiery  syndic,  tore  down  the  edict, 
and  prepared  to  fall  upon  the  Reformed. 
These,  uniting  with  promptitude,  sur- 
rounded Farel,  resolved  to  defend  him. 
The  two  parties  met  face  to  face,  and 
blood  was  near  flowing.  The  firm  coun- 
tenance of  the  friends  of  the  Gospel 
checked  the  partisans  of  the  priests,  who 
dispersed,  and  Farel,  quitting  Aigle  for  a 
few  days,  carried  his  views  farther. 

In  the  middle  of  the  beautiful  valley 
of  the  Leman,  on  hills  which  overlook 
the  lake,  stands  Lausanne,  the  city  of  the 
bishop  and  of  the  Virgin,  placed  under 
the  patronage  of  the  Dukes  of  Savoy.  A 
host  of  pilgrims,  assembling  from  all  the 
surrounding  places,  knelt  devoutly  before 
the  image  of  Our  Lady,  and  made  costly 
purchases  at  the  great  fair  of  indulgences 
that  was  held  in  its  precincts.  Lausanne, 
extending  its  episcopal  crosier  from  its 
lofty  towers,  pretended  to  keep  the  whole 
country  at  the  feet  of  the  Pope.  But  the 
eyes  of  many  began  to  be  opened,  thanks 
to  the  dissolute  life  of  the  canons  and 
priests.     The   ministers   of  the    Virgin 

*  Ferdinando  adventurum  esse  ingentem  ex 
Hispania  exercitum.  (Zwinglius,  Epp.  ii. 
p.  64  ;  dated  11  May,  1527.) 

t  Inhibita  verbi  divini  propagatio.  (Chou- 
pard  MS.) 


SWITZERLAND— CONQl  J  ESTS. 


749 


were  seen  in  public  playing  at  games  of 
chance,  which  they  seasoned  with  mock- 
ery and  blasphemy.  They  fought  in  the 
churches  ;  disguised  as  soldiers,  they  de- 
9Ci  ttded  by  night  from  the  cathedral  hill, 
and  roaming  through  the  streets,  sword 
in  hand  and  in  liquor,  surprised,  wound- 
ed, and  sometimes  even  killed  the  worthy 
citizens ;  they  debauched  married  wo- 
men, seduced  young  girls,  changed  their 
residences  into  houses  of  ill-fame,  and 
heartlessly  turned  out  their  young  chil- 
dren to  beg  their  bread.*  Nowhere, 
perhaps,  was  better  exemplified  the  de- 
scription of  the  clergy  given  us  by  one 
of  the  most  venerable  prelates  of  the  six- 
teenth century  :  "  Instead  of  training  up 
youth  by  their  learning  and  holiness  of 
life,  the  priests  train  birds  and  dogs  ;  in- 
stead of  books,  they  have  children  ;  they 
sit  with  topers  in  the  taverns,  and  give 
way  to  drunkenness."! 

Among  the  theologians  in  the  court  of 
the  bishop  Sebastian  of  Montfaucon,  was 
Natalis  Galeotto,  a  man  of  elevated  rank 
and  great  urbanity,  fond  of  the  society 
of  scholars,  and  himself  #1111111  of  learn- 
ing,^: but  nevertheless  very  z  salous  about 
fasts  and  all  the  ordinances  of  the  Church. 
Farel  thought  that,  if  this  man  could  be 
gained  over  to  the  Gospel,  Lausanne, 
"  slumbering  at  the  foot  of  its  steeples," 
would  perhaps  awaken,  and  all  the  coun- 
try with  it.  He  therefore  addressed  him- 
self to  him.  "  Alas!  alas  !"  said  Farel, 
"  religion  is  no  longer  but  an  empty 
mockery,  since  people,  who  think  only  of 
their  appetites,  are  the  kings  of  the 
Church.  Christian  people,  instead  of 
celebrating  in  the  sacrament  the  death 
of  the  Lord,  live  as  if  they  commemo- 
rated  Mercury,  the  god  of  fraud.  In- 
stead of  imitating  the  love  of  Christ,  they 
emulate  the  lewdness  of  Venus  ;  and 
when  they  do  evil,  they  fear  more  the 
presence  of  a  wretched  swineherd  than 
of  Cod  Almighty. "§ 

*  Histoire  de  la  Reformation  Suisse  by  Ru- 
ch;it,  i.  p.  •'!■'). 

f  Pro  libros  sibi  liberos  comparant,  pro  stu- 
dio concubinas  amant.  (Trithcim  Just.  Vitae 
Sacerdot.ilis,  p.  7G5.)  The  play  upon  libros 
and  liberos  (books  and  children)  cannot  be 
conveyed  in  English. 

J  Urbanus,  doctus,  magnus,  consuetudine 
doctorum  obligatus.  (Farel  to  Galeotto,  Neu- 
chatel  MS.) 

§  Fluris  faciunt  miserrimi  subulci  aspectum 


But  Galeotto  made  no  reply,  and  Pare! 
persevered,  "Knock;  cry  out  with  all 
your  might,"  wrote  he  in  a  second  Letter; 
"  redouble  your  attacks  upon  our  Lord."* 
Still  there  was  no  answer.  Farel  re- 
turned to  the  charge  a  third  time,  and 
Natalis,  fearing  to  reply  in  person,  com- 
missioned ins  secretary,  who  forwarded 
a  letter  to  Farel  full  of  insulting  lan- 
guage.f  For  a  season  Lausanne  was 
inaccessible. 

After  having  thus  contended  with  a 
priest,  Farel  was  destined  to  struggle 
with  a  monk.  The  two  arms  of  the 
hierarchy  by  which  the  Middle  Ages 
were  governed  had  been  chivalry  and 
monachism.  The  Latter  still  remained 
fiir  the  service  of  the  Papacy,  although 
falling  into  decay.  "  Alas  !"  exclaimed 
a  celebrated  Carthusian,  '■  what  an  oh- 
stinate  devil  would  fear  to  do,  a  reprobate 
and  arrogant  monk  will  commit  without 
hesitation."^: 

A  mendicant  friar,  who  dared  not  op- 
pose the  reformer  in  a  direct  manner  at 
Aigle,  ventured  into  the  village  of  No- 
ville,  situated  on  the  low  grounds  depo- 
sited by  the  Rhone  as  it  falls  into  the 
lake  of  Geneva.  The  friar,  ascending 
the  pulpit,  exclaimed,  "  It  is  the  devil 
himself  who  preaches  by  the  mouth  of 
the  minister,  and  all  those  who  listen  to 
him  will  be  damned."  Then,  taking 
courage,  he  slunk  along  the  hank  of  the 
Rhone,  and  arrived  at  Aigle  with  a  meek 
and  humble  look,  not  to  appear  there 
against  Farel,  whose  powerful  eloquence 
terribly  alarmed  him,  but  to  beg  in  be- 
half of  his  convent  a  few  barrels  of  the 
most  exquisite  wine  in  all  Switzerland. 
He  had  not  advanced  many  steps  into  the 
town  before  he  met  the  minister.  At 
this  sight  he  trembled  in  every  limb. 
"  Why  did  you  preach  in  such  a  manner 
at  Noville?"  demanded  Farel.  The 
monk,  fearful  that  the  dispute  would  at- 
tract public  attention,  and  yet  desirous 
of  replying  to  the  point,  whispered  in  his 
ear,  "  I  have  heard  say,  that  you  are  a 

quam  omnipotentis  Dei.     (Farel  to  Galeotto, 

Neuchatel  MS.) 

*  Pulsare,  vociferari  perge,  nee  prius  cessa 

quam,&c.     (Ibid.) 

t  Naeniis  totas  iraplevit  etconviciis.    (Ibid.) 
I  Quod   agere  veretur   ob^tinatus    diabolus, 

intrepide  agit  reprobus  et.  contumax  monachus. 

(Jacob  von  Juterbock ;   de  Negligentia  Pre- 

latorum.) 


750* 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


heretic  and  misleader  of  the  people." 
"  Prove  it,"  said  Farel.  Then  the  monk 
"  began  to  storm,"  says  Farel,*  and, 
hastening  down  the  street,  endeavoured 
to  shake  off  his  disagreeable  companion, 
"  turning  now  this  way,  now  that,  like  a 
troubled  conscience. "f  A  few  citizens 
beginning  to  collect  around  them,  Farel 
said  to  them,  pointing  to  the  monk,  "You 
see  this  fine  father  ;  he  has  said  from  the 
pulpit  that  I  preach  nothing  but  lies." 
Then  the  monk,  blushing  and  stammer- 
ing, began  to  speak  of  the  offerings  of 
the  faithful  (the  precious  wine  of  Yvorne, 
for  which  he  had  come  begging),  and 
accused  Farel  of  opposing  them.  The 
crowd  had  now  increased  in  number,  and 
Farel,  who  only  sought  an  opportunity 
of  proclaiming  the  true  worship  of  God, 
exclaimed,  with  a  loud  voice,  "  It  is  no 
man's  business  to  ordain  any  other  way  of 
serving  God  than  that  which  He  has 
commanded.  We  must  keep  his  com- 
mandments without  turning  either  to  the 
right  hand  or  to  the  left.4  Let  us  wor- 
ship God  alone  in  spirit  and  in  truth, 
offering  to  him  a  broken  and  a  contrite 
heart." 

The  eyes  of  all  the  spectators  were 
fixed  on  the  two  actors  in  this  scene,  the 
monk  with  his  wallet,  and  the  reformer 
with  his  glistening  eye.  Confounded  by 
Farel's  daring  to  speak  of  any  other 
worship  than  that  which  the  holy  Roman 
Church  prescribed,  the  friar  was  out  of 
his  senses ;  he  trembled,  and  was  agitated, 
becoming  pale  and  red  by  turns.  At 
last,  taking  his  cap  off  his  head,  from 
under  his  hood,  he  flung  it  on  the  ground, 
trampling  it  under  foot,  and  crying  :  "  I 
am  amazed  that  the  earth  does  not  gape 
and  swallow  us  up  ! "  § Farel 

*  Commenga  de  se  tempester ;  in  the  nar- 
rative he  gives  of  this  adventure  to  the  nuns 
of  Vevay.    (Neuchatel  MS.) 

f  Tournant  maintenant  de  §a,  maintenant  de 
la,  comme  fait  la  conscience  mal  assuree. 
(Ibid.) 

X  II  n'appartient  a  personne  vivante  d'or- 
donner  autre  maniere  de  faire  service  a.  Dieu, 
que  celle  qu'il  a  commandee.  Nous  devons 
garder  ses  commandemens,  sans  tirer  ni  a  la 
dextre,  ni  a.  la  senestre.     (Neuchatel  MS.) 

§  Hors  de  sens,  trembloit,  s'agitoit,  palissoit, 
et  rougissoit  tour  a  tour.  Enfin  tirant  son 
bonnet  de  sa  tete,  hors  du  chaperon,  il  le  rua 
a  terre,  jettant  et  mettant  son  pied  sus,  en 
s'ecriant:  "  Je  suis  esbahi  comme  la  terre  ne 
nous  abyme  !"     (Ibid.) 


wished  to  reply,  but  in  vain.  The  friar 
with  downcast  eyes  kept  stamping  on  his 
cap,  "  bawling  out  like  one  out  of  his 
wits  :"  and  his  cries  resounding  through 
the  streets  of  Aigle,  drowned  the  voice 
of  the  reformer.  At  length  one  of  the 
spectators,  who  stood  beside  him,  plucked 
him  by  the  sleeve,  and  said,  "  listen  to 
the  minister,  as  he  is  listening  to  you." 
The  affrighted  monk,  believing  himself 
already  half-dead,  started  violently  and 
cried  out :  "  Oh,  thou  excommuniate  ! 
layest  thou  thy  hand  upon  me  ?" 

The  little  town  was  in  an  uproar ;  the 
friar  at  once  furious  and  trembling,  Fa- 
rel following  up  his  attack  with  vigour, 
and  the  people  in  confusion  and  amaze- 
ment. At  length  the  magistrate  ap- 
peared, ordered  the  monk  and  Farel  to 
follow  him,  and  shut  them  up,  "  one  in 
one  tower  and  one  in  another."* 

On  the  Saturday  morning  Farel  was 
liberated  from  his  prison,  and  conducted 
to  the  castle  before  the  officers  of  justice, 
where  the  monk  was  already  present. 
The  minister  began  to  address  them  : 
"  My  lords,  to  whom  our  Saviour  enjoins 
obedience  without  any  exception,  this 
friar  has  said  that  the  doctrine  which  I 
preach  is  against  God.  Let  him  make 
good  his  words,  or,  if  he  cannot,  permit 
your  people  to  be  edified."  The  violence 
of  the  monk  was  over.  The  tribunal 
before  which  he  was  standing,  the  cour- 
age of  his  adversary,  the  power  of  the 
movement  which  he  could  not  resist,  the 
weakness  of  his  cause — all  alarmed  him, 
and  he  was  now  ready  to  make  matters 
up.  "  Then  the  friar  fell  upon  his  knees, 
saying  :  My  lords,  I  entreat  forgiveness 
of  you  and  of  God.  Next  turning  to 
Farel  :  And  also,  Magister,  what  I 
preached  against  you  was  grounded  on 
false  reports.  I  have  found  you  to  be  a 
good  man,  and  your  doctrine  good,  and  I 
am  prepared  to  recall  my  words. "f 

Farel  was  touched  by  this  appeal,  and 
said  :  "  My  friend,  do  not  ask  forgive- 
ness of  me,  for  I  am  a  poor  sinner  like 
other  men,  putting  my  trust  not  in  my 


*  L'un  en  une  tour,  et  l'autre  en  l'autre. 
(Neuchatel  MS.) 

t  Lors  le  frere  se  jeta  a  genoux,  disant : 
Messeigneurs,  je  demande  merci  a  Dieu  et  a 

vous Et  aussi,  Magister,  ce  que  j'ai 

preche  contre  vous  a  ete  par  de  faux  rapports 
&c.     (Neuchatel  MS.) 


SWITZERLAND— CONQUESTS. 


751 


own  righteousness,  but  in  the  death  of 
Jesus."* 

One  of  the  lords  of  Berne  coming  up 
at  this  time,  the  friar,  who  already  ima- 
gined himself  on  the  brink  of  martyr- 
dom, began  to  wring  his  hands,  and  to 
turn  now  towards  the  Bernese  council- 
lors, now  towards  the  tribunal,  and  then 
to  Farel,  crying,  "  Pardon,  pardon  !" — 
"  Ask  pardon  of  our  Saviour,"  replied 
Farel.  The  lord  of  Berne  added  : 
"  Come  to-morrow  and  hear  the  minis- 
ter's sermon ;  if  he  appears  to  you  to 
preach  the  truth,  you  shall '  confess  it 
openly  before  all ;  if  not,  you  will  de- 
clare your  opinion :  this  promise  in  my 
hand."  The  monk  held  out  his  hand, 
and  the  judges  retired.  "  Then  the 
friar  went  away,  and  I  have  not  seen 
him  since,  and  no  promises  or  oaths  were 
able  to  make  him  stay. "I  Thus  the 
Reformation  advanced  in  Switzerland 
Romande. 

But  violent  storms  threatened  to  de- 
stroy the  work  that  was  hardly  begun. 
Romish  agents  from  the  Valais  and  from 
Savoy  had  crossed  the  Rhone  at  St.  Mau- 
rice, and  were  exciting  the  people  to 
energetic  resistance.  Tumultuous  as- 
semblages took  place,  in  which  danger- 
ous projects  were  discussed  ;  the  procla- 
mations of  the  government  were  torn 
down  from  the  church-doors ;  troops  of 
citizens  paraded  the  city  ;  the  drum  beat 
in  the  streets  to  excite  the  populace 
against  the  reformer :  everywhere  pre- 
vailed riot  and  sedition.  Thus  on  the 
16th  February,  Farel  ascended  the  pulpit 
for  the  first  time  after  a  short  absence, 
some  Papist  bands  collected  round  the 
gate  of  the  church,  raised  their  hands  in 
tumult,  uttered  savage  cries,  and  com- 
pelled the  minister  to  break  off  in  his 
sermon. 

The  council  of  Berne  thereupon  de- 
creed that  the  parishioners  of  the  four 
mandemens  should  assemble.  Those  of 
Bex  declared  for  the  Reform  ;  Aigle 
followed  their  example,  but  with  indeci- 
sion ;  and  in  the  mountains  above  Ollon, 
the  peasants  not  daring  to  maltreat  Farel, 


*  Je  suis  pauvre  pecheur  comme  les  autres, 
ayant  ma  fiance,  non  en  ma  justice,  mais  a  la 
mort  de  Jesus.     (Ibid.) 

f  Puis  quand  le  frere  fut  parti,  depuis  ne 
l'ai  vu,  et  nulles  promesses  ni  sermens  ne  l'ont 
pu  faire  demeurer.     (Ibid.) 


set  their  wives  at  him,  who  rushed  upon 
him  with  their  fulling-clubs.     But  it  was 
especially    the    parish    of  the  Ormonds 
which,  calm  and  proud  at  the  foot  of  its 
glaciers,  signalized    itself  by  its  resist- 
ance.    A  companion  of  Farel's  labourers, 
named  Claude  (probably  Claude  de  Glon- 
tinis),    when    preaching    there   one  day 
with  great  animation,  was  suddenly  in- 
terrupted by    the    ringing  of  the  bells, 
whose  noise    was  such  that  one   might 
have  said  all  hell  was  busy  pulling  them. 
"  In   fact,"   says  another    herald  of  the 
Gospel,  Jacques  Comralis,  who  chanced 
to   be  present,    "  it   was  Satan  himself, 
who,  breathing  his  anger  into  some  of 
his  agents,  filled  the  ears  of  the  auditors 
with  all  this  uproar."*     At  another  time, 
some  zealous  Reformers  having  thrown 
down  the  altars  of  Baal,  according  to  the 
language    of  the   times,  the   evil    spirit 
began  to  blow  with  violence  in  all  the 
chalets  scattered   over  the  sides  of  the 
mountains  ;  the  shepherds  issued  preci- 
pitously like   avalanches,  and  fell   upon 
the  Church  and  the  Reformers.     "  Let 
us  only  find  these  sacrilegious  wretches," 
cried  the  furious  Ormondines  ;   "  we  will 
hang  them, — we  will  cut  off  their  heads, 
we  will  burn   them, — we  will  throw 
their   ashes    into    the    Great    Water,  "f 
Thus  were  these  mountaineers  agitated, 
like  the  wind  that   roars   in   their  lofty 
valleys  with  a  fury  unknown  to  the  in- 
habitants of  the  plains. 

Other  difficulties  overwhelmed  Farel. 
His  fellow-labourers  were  not  all  of  them 
blameless.  One  Christopher  Ballista, 
formerly  a  monk  of  Paris,  had  written 
to  Zvvingle  :  "  I  am  but  a  Gaul,  a  barba- 
rian,^: but  you  will  find  me  a  man  pure 
as  snow,  without  any  guile,  of  open  heart, 
through  whose  windows  all  the  world 
may  see."§  Zwingle  sent  Ballista  to 
Farel,  who  was  loudly  calling  for  labour- 
ers in  Christ's  vineyard.  The  fine  lan- 
guage of  the  Parisian   at  first  charmed 


*  Sed  Sathan  per  ejus  servos,  voluit  aures 
auditorum  ejus  sono  cymbali  implere.  (Neu- 
chatel  MS.) 

t  Quo  invento  suspenderetur  primum,  deinde 
dignus  comburi,  alterius  capitis  obtruncatione, 
novissime  in  aquis  mergeretur.  (Neuchatel 
MS.) 

.  \  Me  quantumvis  Galium  et  barbarum.  (Zw. 
Epp.  ii.  p.  205.) 

§  Absque  ullo  fuco,  niveum,  et  aperti  fenes- 
tratique  pectoris.     (Ibid.) 


752 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


the  multitude ;  but  it  was  soon  found 
necessary  to  beware  of  these  priests  and 
monks  disgusted  with  Popery.  "  Brought 
up  in  the  slothfulness  of  the  cloister, 
gluttonous  and  lazy,"  says  Farel,  "  Bal- 
lista  could  not  conform  to  the  abstemi- 
ousness and  rude  labours  of  the  Evan- 
gelists, and  soon  began  to  regret  his 
monk's  hood.  When  he  perceived  the 
people  beginning  to  distrust  him,  he  be- 
came like  a  furious  monster,  vomiting 
waggon-loads  of  threats."*  Thus  ended 
his  labours. 

Notwithstanding  all  these  trials,  Farel 
was  not  discouraged.  The  greater  the 
difficulties,  the  more  his  energy  increased. 
"  Let  us  scatter  the  seed  everywhere," 
said  he,  "and  let  civilized  France,  pro- 
voked to  jealousy  by  this  barbarous 
nation,  embrace  piety  at  last.  Let  there 
not  be  in  Christ's  body  either  fingers,  or 
hands,  or  feet,  or  eyes,  or  ears,  or  arms, 
existing  separately  and  working  each  for 
itself,  but  let  there  be  only  one  heart 
that  nothing  can  divide.  Let  not  variety 
in  secondary  things  divide  into  many 
separate  members  that  vital  principle 
which  is  one  and  simple. f  Alas !  the 
pastures  of  the  Church  are  trodden  under 
foot,  and  its  waters  are  troubled !  Let 
us  set  our  minds  to  concord  and  peace. 
When  the  Lord  shall  have  opened  heaven, 
there  will  not  be  so  many  disputes  about 
bread  and  water.:}:  A  fervent  charity — 
that  is  the  powerful  battering-ram  with 
which  we  shall  beat  down  those  proud 
walls,  those  material  elements,  with 
which  men  would  confine  us."§ 

Thus  wrote  the  most  impetuous  of  the 
Reformers.  These  words  of  Farel,  pre- 
served for  three  centuries  in  the  city 
where  he  died,  disclose  to  us  more 
clearly  the  intimate  nature  of  the  great 
Revolution  of  the  sixteenth  century,  than 
all   the    venturesome    assertions   of    its 

Quam  beatus  liic  venter  incanduit !  quot 
minarum  plaustra !  Solent  tales  bellua;,  &c 
(Neuchatel  MS.) 

t  Ne  in  digitos,  manus,  pedes,  oculos,  nares, 
aures,  brachia,  cor  quod  unum  est  discindatur, 
et  quae  in  rebus  est  varietas,  principium  non 
taciat  multiplex.     (Ibid.) 

J  An  allusion  to  the  controversies  on  ana- 
baptism  and  the  real  presence.  Non  tanta  erit 
super  aqua  et  pane  contentio,  nee  super  gra- 
mme, solutaque  obsidione.  (Neuchatel  MS.) 
The  sense  of  these  latter  words  is  obscure. 

§  Charitas  fortissimus  aries.  (Farel  to  Bu- 
cer,  10th  May,  1529.) 


Popish  interpreters.  Christian  unity 
thus  from  these  earliest  moments  found  a 
zealous  apostle.  The  nineteenth  century 
is  called  to  resume  the  work  which  the 
sixteenth  century  was  unable  to  accom- 
plish. 

II.  Of  all  the  Swiss  cantons,  Berne 
appeared  the  least  disposed  to  the  Re- 
formation. A  military  state  may  be 
zealous  for  religion,  but  it  will  be  for 
an  external  and  a  disciplined  religion  ; 
it  requires  an  ecclesiastical  organization 
that  it  can  see,  and  touch,  and  manage 
at  its  will.  It  fears  the  innovations  and 
the  free  movements  of  the  Word  of  God : 
it  loves  the  form  and  not  the  life.  Na- 
poleon, by  restoring  religion  in  France 
in  the  Concordat,  has  given  us  a  me- 
morable example  of  this  truth.  Such, 
also,  was  the  case  with  Berne.  Its  go- 
vernment, besides,  was  absorbed  by  po- 
litical interests,  and  although  it  had  little 
regard  for  the  Pope,  it  cared  still  less  to 
see  a  Reformer  put  himself,  as  Zwingle 
did,  at  the  head  of  public  affairs.  As 
for  the  people,  feasting  on  the  "  butter 
of  their  kine  and  milk  of  their  sheep, 
with  fat  of  lambs,"*  they  remained 
closely  shut  up  within  the  narrow  circle 
of  their  material  wants.  Religious  ques- 
tions were  not  to  the  taste  either  of  the 
rulers  or  of  their  fellow-citizens. 

The  Bernese  government,  being  with- 
out experience  in  religious  matters,  had 
proposed  to  check  the  movement  of  the 
Reform  by  its  edict  of  1523.  As  soon 
as  it  discovered  its  mistake,  it  moved  to- 
wards the  cantons  that  adhered  to  the 
ancient  faith  ;  and  while  that  portion  of 
the  people  whence  the  Great  Council 
was  recruited,  listened  to  the  voice  of 
the  Reformers,  most  of  the  patrician 
families,  who  composed  the  Smaller 
Council,  believing  their  power,  their  in- 
terests, and  their  honor  menaced,  at- 
tached themselves  to  the  old  order  of 
things.  From  this  opposition  of  the  two 
councils  there  arose  a  general  uneasi- 
ness, but  no  violent  shocks.  Sudden 
movement,  repeated  starts,  announced 
from  time  to  time  that  incongruous  mat- 
ters were  fermenting  in  the  nation ;  it 
was  like  an  indistinct  earthquake,  which 
raises  the  whole  surface  without  causing 

*  Deut.  xxxii.,  14 


SWITZERLAND— CONQUESTS. 


753 


any   rents:    then    anon    all    returns   to:  Evangelical  majority.      The    union  of 

apparent    tranquillity.*      Berne,    which  |  Church   and  State,  which   had  hitherto 

was  always  decided  in  its  politics,  turnedl  checked  the  progress  of  the  Reform  in 

in   religious  matters  at  one  time  to  the  Switzerland,  was  now  ahout  to  accelerate 


right,  and  at  another  to  the  left ;  and  de- 
clared that  it  would  be  neither  Popish 
nor  Reformed.  To  gain  time  was,  for 
the  new  faith,  to  gain  everything. 

What  was  done  to  turn  aside  Berne 
from  the  Reformation,  was  the  very  cause 
of  precipitating  it  into  the  new  way. 
The  haughtiness  with  which  the  five 
primitive  cantons  arrogated  the  guardian- 
ship of  their  confederates,  the  secret 
conferences  to  which  Berne  was  not 
even  invited,  and  the  threat  of  ad- 
dressing the  people  in  a  direct  manner, 
deeply  offended  the  Bernese  oligarchs. 
Thomas  Murner,  a  Carmelite  of  Lucerne, 
one  of  those  rude  men  who  act  upon  the 
populace,  but  who  inspire  disgust  in 
elevated  minds,  made  the  cup  run  over. 
Furious  against  the  Zurich  calendar,  in 
which  the  names  of  the  saints  had  been 
purposely  omitted,  he  published  in  oppo- 
sition to' it  the  "Almanack  of  Heretics 
and  Church-robbers,"  a  tract  filled  with 
lampoons  and  invectives,  in  which  the 
portraits  of  the  Reformers  and  of  their 
adherents,  among  whom  were  many  of 
the  most  considerable  men  of  Berne, 
were  coupled  with  the  most  brutal  in- 
scriptions, f  Zurich  and  Berne  in  con- 
junction demanded  satisfaction,  and  from 
this   time  the  union 


its  movements. 

The  Reformer  Ilaller  was  not  alone 
in  Berne.  Kolb  had  quitted  the  Car- 
thusian monastery  at  Nuremberg,  in 
which  he  had  been  compelled  to  take 
refuge,  and  had  appeared  before  his  com- 
patriots, demanding  no  other  stipend  than 
the  liberty  of  preaching  Jesus  Christ. 
Already  bending  under  the  weight  of 
years,  his  head  crowned  with  hoary 
locks,  Kolb,  young  in  heart,  full  of  fire, 
and  of  indomitable  courage,  presented 
boldly  before  the  chiefs  of  the  nation 
that  Gospel  which  had  saved  him.  Ilal- 
ler, on  the  contrary,  although  only  thir- 
ty-five years  old,  moved  with  a  mea- 
sured step,  spoke  with  gravity,  and  pro- 
claimed the  new  doctrines  with  unusual 
circumspection.  The  old  man  had  taken 
the  young  man's  part,  and  the  youth  that 
of  the  graybeard. 

Zwingle,  whose  eye  nothing  escaped, 
saw  that  a  favourable  hour  for  Berne  was 
coming,  and  immediately  gave  the  sig- 
nal. "  The  dove  commissioned  to  ex- 
amine the  state  of  the  waters  is  return- 
ing with  an  olive-branch  into  the  ark," 
wrote  he  to  Haller ;  "  come  forth  now, 
thou  second  Noah,  and  take  possession 
of  the  land.  Enforce,  be  earnest,  and 
of  these  two  states 'fix  deeply  in  the  hearts  of  men  the  hooks 


dailv  became  closer. 

This  change  was  soon  perceived  at 
Berne.  The  elections  of  1527  placed  a 
considerable  number  of  friends  of  the 
Reform  in  the  Great  Council  ;  and  this 
body,  forthwith  resuming  its  right  to 
nominate  the  members  of  the  Smaller 
Council,  which  had  been  usurped  for 
twenty  years  by  the  Bannerets  and  the 
Sixteen,  removed  from  the  government 
the  most  decided  partisans  of  the  Roman 
hierarchy,  and  among  others  Gaspard  de 
Mulinen  and  Sebastian  de  Stein,:}:  and 
filled  the  vacancies  with  members  of  the 

*  Hundeshagen,  Conflikte  der  Bernischen 
Kirche,  p.  19. 

t  Quum  nudus-tertius  Murneri  Calendanum 
legissem,  partim  ridendo  hominis  stultissimam 
impudentiam.  (CEcolamp.  to  Zwingle,  Febr., 
1527,  Epp.  ii.  p.  20.) 

%  Mullinen  e  Senatoria  digitate  protrusus 
est.  Lapides  quoque.  (Haller  to  Zwingle, 
April  25,  1527.     Ibid.  p.  49.) 


and  grapnels  of  the  Word  of  God,  so 
that  they  can  never  again  be  rid  of 
them."* — "Your  bears,"  wrote  he  to 
Thomas  ab  Hofen,  "  have  again  put  forth 
their  claws.  Please  God  that  they  do 
not  draw  them  back  until  they  have 
torn  everything  in  pieces  that  opposes 
Jesus  Christ." 

Haller  and  his  friends  were  on  the 
point  of  replying  to  this  appeal,  when 
their  situation  became  complicated. 
Some  Anabaptist,  who  formed  every- 
where the  extreme  party,  arriving  in 
Berne  in  1527,  led  away  the  people  from 
the  Evangelical  preachers  "  on  account 
of  the  presence  of  idols."f  Haller  had 
a  useless  conference  with  them.     "  To 

*  Aculeos  ac  hamos,  sic  in  mortalium  pec- 
tora  dimitte,  ut  etiam  si  velint,  non  possint. 
(Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  tO.) 

f  Ne  plebem  dehortentur  ab  auditione  con- 
cionum  nostrarum  ob  idolorum  preesentiam. 
(Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  49.) 


754 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


what  dangers  is  not  Christianity  ex- 
posed," cried  he,  "  wherever  these  furies 
have  crept  in  !"*  There  has  never  been 
any  revival  in  the  Church,  without  the 
hierarchical  or  radical  sects  immediately 
endeavouring  to  disturb  it.  Haller,  al- 
though alarmed,  still  maintained  his  un- 
alterable meekness.  "  The  magistrates 
are  desirous  of  banishing  them,"  said 
he  ;  "  but  it  is  our  duty  to  drive  out 
their  errors,  and  not  their  persons.  Let 
us  employ  no  other  weapons  than  the 
sword  of  the  Spirit. "f  It  was  not  from 
Popery  that  the  Reformers  had  learnt 
these  principles.  A  public  disputation 
took  place.  Six  Anabaptists  declared 
themselves  convinced,  and  two  others 
were  sent  out  of  the  country. 

The  decisive  movement  was  drawing 
near.  The  two  great  powers  of  the  age, 
the  Gospel  and  the  Papacy,  were  stirring 
with  equal  energy  ;  the  Bernese  councils 
were  to  speak  out.  They  saw  on  the  one 
hand  the  five  primitive  cantons  taking 
daily  a  more  threatening  attitude,  and 
announcing  that  the  Austrian  would  soon 
reappear  in  Helvetia,  to  reduce  it  once 
more  into  subjection  to  Rome  ;  and  on 
the  other  they  tfeheld  the  Gospel  every 
day  gaining  ground  in  the  Confederation. 
Which  was  destined  to  prevail  in  Swit- 
zerland— the  lances  of  Austria  or  the 
Word  of  God  ?  In  the  uncertainty  in 
which  the  councils  were  placed,  they 
resolved  to  side  with  the  majority.  Where 
could  they  discover  a  firm  footing,  if  no,t 
there?  Vox  populi,  vox  Dei.  "No  one," 
said  they,  "  can  make  any  change  of  his 
own  private  authority  :  the  consent  of  all 
is  necessary. ''£ 

The  government  of  Berne  had  to  de- 
cide between  two  mandates,  both  emanat- 
ing from  its  authority  :  that  of  1523,  in 
favour  of  the  free  preaching  of  the  Gos- 
pel, and  that  of  1526,  in  favour  "  of  the 
sacraments,  the  saints,  the  mother  of  God, 
and  the  ornaments  of  the  churches." 
State  messengers  set  out  and  traversed 
every  parish  :  the  people  gave  their  votes 
against  every  law  contrary  to  liberty, 
and  the  councils,  supported  by  the  na- 

*  Consideravimus  omnes  periculum  urbis 
nostra;  et  totius  Christianismi,  ubi  illae  furiae 
irrepserint.     (Ibid.  p.  50.) 

t  Nostrum  est,  omnio  gladio  spiritus  refel- 
lere.     (Ibid.) 

t  Ut  privafa  auctoritate  nemo  quippiam  im- 
mutare  praesumat.     (Haller  to  Vadian). 


tion,  decreed  that  "  the  Word  of  God 
should  be  preached  publicly  and  freely, 
even  if  it  should  be  in  opposition  to  the 
statutes  and  doctrines  of  men."  Such 
was  the  victory  of  the  Gospel  and  of  the 
people  over  the  oligarchy  and  the  priests. 

Contentions  immediately  arose  through- 
out the  canton,  and  eve,ry  parish  became 
a  battle-field.  The  peasants  began  to 
dispute  with  the  priests  and  monks,  in 
reliance  on  the  Hbly  Scriptures.  "  If 
the  mandate  of  our  lords,"  said  many, 
"  accords  to  our  pastors  the  liberty  of 
preaching,  why  should  it  not  grant  the 
flock  the  liberty  of  acting  ?" — "  Peace, 
peace  !"  cried  the  councils,  alarmed  at 
their  own  boldness.  But  the  flocks  reso- 
lutely declared  that  they  would  send 
away  the  Mass,  and  keep  their  pastors 
and  the  Bible.*  Upon  this  the  Papal 
partisans  grew  violent.  "  Heretics,  ras- 
cals, wantons,"  said  the  banneret  Kuttlerf 
to  the  good  people  of  Emmenthal ;  and 
these  peasants  obliged  him  to  make  an 
apology.  The  bailiff  of  Trachselvvald 
was  more  cunning.  Seeing  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Rudersweil  listening  with  eager- 
ness to  the  Word  of  God,  which  a  pious 
minister  was  preaching  to  them,  he  came 
with  fifers  and  trumpeters,  and  inter- 
rupted the  sermon,  inviting  the  village 
girls  by  words  and  by  lively  tunes  to 
quit  the  church  for  the  dance. 

These  singular  provocations  did  not 
check  the  Reform.  Six  of  the  city  com- 
panies (the  shoe-makers,,  weavers,  mer- 
chants, bakers,  stone-masons,  and  car- 
penters) abolished  in  the  churches  and 
convents  of  their  district  all  masses,  anni- 
versaries, advowsons,  and  prebends. 
Three  others  (the  tanners,  smiths,  and 
tailors)  prepared  to  imitate  them  ;:j:  the 
seven  remaining  companies  were  unde- 
cided, except  the  butchers,  who  were  en- 
thusiasts for  the  Pope.  Thus  the  major- 
ity of  the  citizens  had  embraced  the 
Gospel.  Many  parishes  throughout  the 
canton  had  done  the  same  ;  and  the 
avoyer  d'Erlach,  the  great  adversary  of 
the  Reformation,  could  no  longer  keey 
the  torrent  within  bounds. 

*  Incolas  vallis  Emmenthal  Senatum  adiisse 
missamque  missam  fecisse.  (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p 
104.) 

t  Pueros,  hereticos,  et  homines  lascivos 
(Ibid.  p.  106,) 

X  Haller  to  Zwingle,  4th  November,  1527 
(Epp.  ii.  p.  105.) 


SWITZERLAND— CONQUESTS. 


755 


Yet  the  attempt  was  made  :  the  bailiffs] protested,  therefore,  in  the  name  of  the 
were  ordered  to  note  the  irregularities  confederation  against  the  proposed  dis- 
and  dissolute  lives  of  the  monks  and  cussion.  "  Your  ministers,"  wrote  they 
nuns;  all  women  of  loose  morals  were  to  Berne,  "dazzled  and  confounded  at 
even  turned  out  of  the  cloisters.*  But  Baden  by  the  brightness  of  truth,  would 
it  was  not  against  these  abuses  alone  that 'desire  by  this  new  discussion    to  hide 


the  Reformation  was  levelled ;  it  was 
against  the  institutions  themselves,  and 
against  Popery  on  which  they  were 
founded.     The  people  must  therefore  de- 


their  shame  ;  but  we  entreat  you  to  desist 
from  a  plan  so  contrary  to  our  ancient 
alliances." — "  [t  is  not  we  who  have  in- 
fringed   them,"  replied    Berne  ;  "  it  is 


cide. — "The  Bernese  clergy,"  said  they,  much  rather  your  haughty  missive  that 
"must  be   convoked,  as   at  Zurich,  and  has  destroyed  them.     We  will  not  aban- 
don the  Word  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 


let  the  two  doctrines  be  discussed  in  a 
solemn  conference.  We  will  proceed 
afterwards  in  conformity  with  the  re- 
sult." 

On  the  Sunday  following  the  festival 
of  Saint  Martin  (11th  November),  the 
council  and  citizens  unanimously  resolved 
that  a  public  disputation  should  take 
place  at  the  beginning  of  the  succeeding 


Upon  this  the  Roman  cantons  decided  to 
refuse  all  safe-conduct  to  those  who  should 
proceed  to  Berne.  This  wits  giving  to- 
ken of  sinister  intentions. 

The  four  bishops  of  Lausanne,  Con- 
stance, Basle,  and  Sion,  being  invited  to 
the  conference  under  pain  of  forfeiting 
all    their    privileges    in    the    canton   of 


year.       "  The    glory  of   God    and    his  Berne,  replied  that,  since  it  was  to  be  a 


Word,"  said  they,  "  will  at  length  ap- 
pear !"  Bernese  and  strangers,  priests 
and  laymen,  all  were  invited  by  letter  or 
by  printed  notice  to  come  and  discuss 
the  controverted  points,  but  by  Scripture 
alone,  without  the  glosses  of  the  ancients, 
and  renouncing  all  subtleties  and  abusive 
language. f  Who  knows,  said  they,  if 
all  the  members  of  the  ancient  Swiss 
confederation  may  not  be  thus  brought 
to  unity  of  faith  ? 

Thus,  within  the  walls  of  Berne,  the 
struggle  was  about  to  take  place  that 
would  decide  the  fate  of  Switzerland  ; 
for  the  example  of  the  Bernese  must  ne- 
cessarily lead  with  it  a  great  part  of  the 
Confederation. 

The  Five  Cantons,  alarmed  at  this  in- 
telligence, met  at  Lucerne,  when  they 
were  joined  by  Fribourg,  Soleure  and 
Claris.  There  was  nothing  either  in  the 
letter  or  in  the  spirit  of  the  federal  com- 
pact to  obstruct  religious  liberty.  "Every 
state,"  said  Zurich,  "  is  free  to  choose 
the  doctrine  that  it  desires  to  profess." 
The  Waldstettes,^:  on  the  contrary,  wish- 
ed to  deprive  the  cantons  of  this  inde- 
pendence, and  to  subject  them  to  the 
federal  majority  and  to  the  Pope.     They 

*  J.  J.  Hottinge*,  H.  Kirchen,  viii.,  p.  394. 

■(•  Solam  sacram  Scripturam,  absque  veterum 
glossematis.  (Haller  to  Zwingle,  19th  No- 
vember 1527.     Epp.  ii.  p.  113.) 

X  The   inhabitants   of  the   primitive  demo- 
cratic cantons,  Schwytz,  Uri,  Uriderwald,  and 
Lucerne,  to  which  Zug  may  be  added 
96 


disputation  according  to  the  Scriptures, 
they  had  nothing  to  do  with  it.  Thus 
did  these  priests  forget  the  words  of  one 
of  the  most  illustrious  Roman  doctors  of 
the  fifteenth  century  :  "  In  heavenly 
things  man  should  be  independent  of  his 
fellows,  and  trust  in  God  alone."  * 

The  Romanist  doctors  followed  the 
example  of  the  bishops.  Eck,  Murner, 
Cochlosus,  and  many  others  said  every- 
where :  "  We  have  received  the  letter 
of  this  leper,  of  this  accursed  heretic 
Zwingle.f  They  want  to  take  the  Bible 
for  their  judge ;  but  has  the  Bible  a 
voice  against  those  who  do  it  violence  ? 
We  will  not  go  to  Berne  ;  we  will  not 
crawl  into  that  obscure  corner  of  the 
world ;  we  will  not  go  and  combat  in 
that  gloomy  cavern,  in  that  school  of  he- 
retics. Let  these  villains  come  out  into 
the  open  air,  and  contend  with  us  on 
level  ground,  if  they  have  the  Bible  on 
their  side,  as  they  say."  The  Emperor 
ordered  the  discussion  to  be  adjourned ; 
but  on  the  very  day  of  its  opening,  the 
council  of  Berne  replied,  that  as  every 
one  was  already  assembled,  delay  was 
impossible. 

Then,  in  despite  of  the  doctors  and 
bishops,  the  Helvetic  Church  assembled 

*  John  Goch,  Dialogus  de  quatuor  erroribus, 
p.  237. 

f  Epistolam  leprosi,  damnati,  haeretici  Zwin- 
glii  accepi.  (Eck  to  G.  A.  Zell,  Zw.  Epp.  ii. 
p.  126.) 


756 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


to  decide  upon  its  doctrines.  Had  it  a 
right  to  do  so  1  No  ; — not  if  priests  and 
bishops  were  appointed,  as  Rome  pre- 
tends, to  form  a  mystic  bond  between  the 
Church  and  our  Lord  ;  Yes — if  they 
were  established,  as  the  Bible  declares, 
only  to  satisfy  that  law  of  order  by  vir- 
tue of  which  all  society  should  have  a 
directing  power.  The  opinions  of  the 
Swiss  Reformers  in  this  respect  were  not 
doubtful.  The  grace  which  creates  the 
minister  comes  from  the  Lord,  thought 
they ;  but  the  Church  examines  this 
grace,  acknowledges  it,  proclaims  it  by 
the  elders,  and  in  every  act  in  which 
faith  is  concerned,  it  can  always  appeal 
from  the  minister  to  the  Word  of  God. 
Try  the  spirits — prove  all  things,  it  says 
to  the  faithful.  The  Church  is  the  judge 
of  controversies ;  *  and  it  is  this  duty,  in 
which  it  should  never  be  found  wanting, 
that  it  was  now  about  to  fulfil  in  the  dis- 
putation at  Berne. 

The  contest  seemed  unequal.  On  one 
side  appeared  the  Roman  hierarchy,  a 
giant  which  had  increased  in  strength 
during  many  centuries  ;  and  on  the 
other,  there  was  at  first  but  one  weak 
and  timid  man,  the  modest  Berthold  Hal- 
ler.  "  I  cannot  wield  the  sword  of  the 
Word,"  said  he  in  alarm  to  his  friends. 
"  If  you  do  not  stretch  out  your  hands  to 
me,  all  is  over."    He  then  threw  himself 


Zwingle  did  not  hesitate.  He  de- 
manded permission  of  the  Council  of 
Zurich  to  visit  Berne,  in  order  to  show 
there  "  that  his  teaching  was  full  of  the 
fear  of  God,  and  not  blasphemous  ; 
mighty  to  spread  concord  through  Swit- 
zerland, and  not  to  cause  troubles  and 
dissension."  *  At  the  very  time  that 
Haller  received  news  of  Zwingle's  com- 
ing, fficolampadius  wrote  to  him :  "I 
am  ready,  if  it  be  necessary,  to  sacrifice 
my  life.  Let  us  inaugurate  the  new 
year  by  embracing  one  another  to  the 
glory  of  Jesus  Christ."  Other  doctors 
wrote  to  the  same  effect.  "  These,  then," 
cried  Haller  with  emotion,  '.'  these  are 
the  auxiliaries  that  the  Lord  sends  to 
my  infirmity,  to  aid  me  in  fighting  this 
rude  battle  ! " 

It  was  necessary  to  proceed  with  cir- 
cumspection, for  the  violence  of  the  oli- 
garchs and  of  the  Five  Cantons  was  well 
known. f  The  doctors  of  Glaris,  Schaff- 
hausen,  St.  Gall,  Constance,  Ulm,  Lindau 
and  Augsburg,  assembled  at  Zurich,  to 
proceed  under  the  same  escort  as  Zwingle, 
Pellican,  Collin,  Megander,  Grossman, 
the  commander  Schmidt,  Bullinger,  and 
a  great  number  of  the  rural  clergy, 
selected  to  accompany  the  reformer. 
"When  all  this  game  traverses  the  coun- 
try," said  the  pensioners,  "  we  will  go  a- 
hunting,  and  see  if  we  cannot  kill  some, 


trembling  at  the  feet  of  the  Lord,  and  or  at  least  catch  them  and  put  them  into 
soon  arose  enlightened  and  exclaiming,  |  a  cage  " 


"Faith  in  the  Saviour  gives  me  courage, 
and  scatters  all  my  fears."  "j" 

Yet  he  could  not  remain  alone:  all  his 
looks  were  turned  towards  Zwingle  :  "  It 
was  I  took  the  bath  at  Baden,"  wrote 
CEcolampadius  to  Haller,  "and  now  it  is 
Zwingle  who  should  lead  off"  the  bear- 
dance  in  Berne. "| — "  We  are  between 
the  hammer  and  the  anvil,"  wrote  Hal- 
ler to  Zwingle  ;  "  we  hold  the  wolf  by 
the  ears,  and  know  not  how  to  let  him 
go.§  The  houses  of  De  Watteville,  Noll, 
Tremp,  and  Berthold  are  open  to  you. 
Come,  then,  and  command  the  battle  in 
person." 

*  Judex  controversiarum — 1  John  iv.  1 ;  1 
Thess.  v.  21. 

f  Fides  in  Dominum  me  animat,  ut  nihil 
verear.     (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  123.) 

%  An  allusion  to  the  dispute  at  Baden 
celebrated  bathing-place,  and  to  the  arms  oft  p.  123} 
Berne.     (Ibid.  p.  118.)  %  Crescit,  Domino  gloria,  mihi   animus  in 

§  Lupum  auribus  tenemus.    (Zurich  MS.)   |hac  pugna.     (Zw.  Epp.  Vadiano.) 


Three  hundred  chosen  men,  selected 
from  the  companies  of  Zurich  and  from 
the  parishes  within  its  precincts,  donned 
their  breastplates  and  shouldered  their 
arquebuses  ;  but,  in  order  not  to  give  the 
journey  of  these  doctors  the  appearance 
of  a  military  expedition,  they  took  neither 
colours,  fife,  nor  drum  ;  and  the  trum- 
peter of  the  city,  a  civil  officer,  rode 
alone  at  the  head  of  the  company. 

On  Tuesday  the  2d  of  January  they 
set  out.  Never  had  Zwingle  appeared 
more  cheerful.  "  Glory  be  to  the  Lord," 
said  he,  "  my  courage  increases  every 
day.":):  The  burgomaster  Roust,  the 
town-clerk  of  Mangoldt,  with  Funck  and 


*  Neque   ad   perturbationem    nostra   almse 
Helvetiae.     (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  120.) 

f  Oligarchs  in  angulis  obmurmurent.  (Ibid 


SWITZERLAN  D— CONQUESTS. 


757 


Jaekli,  both  masters  of  arts,  and  all  four 
delegated  by  the  council,  were  on  horse- 
back near  him.  They  reached  Berne 
on  the  4th  of  January,  having  had  only 
one  or  two  unimportant  alarms. 

The  Cordeliers'  Church  was  to  serve 
as  the  place  of  conference.  Tillmann, 
the  city  architect,  had  made  arrange- 
ments according  to  a  plan  furnished  by 
Zwingle.*  A  large  platform  had  been 
erected  on  which  were  placed  two  tables, 
and  around  them  sat  the  champions  of 
the  two  parties.  On  the  evangelical 
side  were  remarked,  besides  Haller, 
Zwingle,  and  CEcolampadius,  many  dis- 
tinguished men  of  the  Reformed  Church, 
strangers  to  Switzerland,  as  Bucer,  Ca- 
pita, and  Ambrose  Blarer.  On  the  side 
of  the  papacy,  Dr.  Treger  of  Friburg, 
who  enjoyed  a  high  reputation,  appeared 
to  keep  up  the  fire  of  the  combat.  As 
for  the  rest,  whether  through  fear  or  con- 
tempt, the  most  famous  Roman  doctors 
were  absent. 

The  first  act  was  to  publish  the  regu- 
lations of  the  conference.  "  No  proof 
shall  be  proposed  that  is  not  drawn  from 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  no  explanation 
shall  be  given  of  those  scriptures,  that 
does  not  come  from  Scripture  itself,  ex- 
plaining obscure  texts  by  such  as  are 
clear."  After  this,  one  of  the  secreta- 
ries, rising  to  call  over  the  roll,  shouted 
with  a  loud  voice  that  re-echoed  through 
the  church, — The  Bishop  of  Constance  ! 
No  one  replied.  He  did  the  same  for  the 
bishops  of  Zion,  Basle,  and  Lausanne. 
Neither  of  these  prelates  was  present 
at  this  meeting,  either  in  person  or  by 
deputy.  The  Word  of  God  being  des- 
tined to  reign  alone,  the  Roman  hierar- 
chy did  not  appear.  These  two  powers 
cannot  walk  together.  There  were  pre- 
sent about  three  hundred  and  fifty  Swiss 
and  German  ecclesiastics. 

On  Tuesday,  7th  January,  1528,  the 
burgomaster  Vadianus,  of  St.  Gall,  one 
of  the  presidents,  opened  the  disputation. 
After  him  the  aged  Kolb  stood  up,  and 
said  :  "  God  is  at  this  moment  agitating 
the  whole  world,  let  us,  therefore,  hum- 
ble ourselves  before  him,"  and  he  pro- 
nounced with   fervour  a  confession    of 


*  Tillmannus  urbis  architectus  locum  juxta 
tuam  deformationem  operabit.  (Ibid.  ii.  p. 
123.) 


When  this  was  done;  the  first  thesis 
was  read.  It  was  thus  drawn  up.  "The 
Holy  Christian  Church,  of  which  Christ 
is  the  sole  head,  is  born  of  the  Word  of 
God,  abideth  in  it,  and  listeneth  not  to 
the  voice  of  a  stranger." 

Alexis  Grat,  a  Dominican  monk, — 
"  The  word  sole  is  not  in  Scripture. 
Christ  has  left  a  vicar  here  below." 

Haller. — "  The  vicar  that  Christ  left 
is  the  Holy  Ghost." 

Treger. — "  See  then  to  what  a  pass 
things  have  come  these  last  ten  years. 
This  man  calls  himself  a  Lutheran,  that 
a  Zwinglian  ;  a  third,  a  Carlstadtian  ;  a 
fourth  an  fficolampadist ;  a  fifth,  an  Ana- 
baptist.  ..." 

Bucer. — "  Whosoever  preacheth  Je- 
sus as  the  only  Saviour,  we  recognize  as 
our  brother.  Neither  Luther,  nor  Zwin- 
gle, nor  CEcolampadius,  desires  the  faith-- 
ful  to  bear  his  name.  Besides,  you 
should  not  boast  so  much  of  a  mere  ex- 
ternal unity.  When  antichrist  gained 
the  upperhand  throughout  the  world,  in 
the  East  by  Mahomet,  in  the  West  by 
the  Pope,  he  was  able  to  keep  the  people 
in  unity  of  error.  God  permits  divisions, 
in  order  that  those  who  belong  to  him 
may  learn  to  look  not  to  men,  but  to  the 
testimony  of  the  Word,  and  to  the  assur- 
ance of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  their  hearts. 
Thus  then,  dearly  beloved  brethren,  to 
the  Scriptures,  the  Scriptures  !*  O 
Church  of  Berne,  hold  fast  to  the  teach- 
ing of  Him  who  said,  Come  unto  me,  and 
not,  Come  unto  my  vicar  /" 

The  disputation  then  turned  succes- 
sively on  Tradition,  the  Merits  of  Christ, 
Transubstantiation,  the  Mass,  Prayer  to 
the  Saints,  Purgatory,  Images,  Celibacy, 
and  the  Disorders  of  the  Clergy.  Rome 
found  numerous  defenders,  and  among 
others,  Murer,  priest  of  Rapperswyl, 
who  had  said  :  "  If  they  wish  to  bum 
the  two  ministers  of  Berne,  I  will  under- 
take to  carry  them  both  to  the  stake." 

On  Sunday,  the  19th  of  January,  the 
day  on  which  the  doctrine  of  the  Mass 
was  attacked,  Zwingle,  desirous  of  act- 
ing on  the  people  also,  went  into  the  pul- 
pit, and  reciting  the  Apostles'  Creed, 
made  a  pause  after  these  words :  "  He 
ascended  into  heaven,  and  sitteth  on  the 
right  hand  of  God  the  Father  Almighty  ; 

*  Darum  fromme  Christen  !  Zur  Schrift, 
zur  Schrift !     (Acta  Zw.  ii.  p.  92.) 


758 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


from  thence  he  shall  come  to  judge  the 
quick  and  the  dead."  "These  three 
articles,"  said  he,  "  are  in  contradiction 
to  the  Mass."  All  his  hearers  redoubled 
their  attention  ;  and  a  priest,  clothed  in 
his  sacerdotal  vestments,  who  was  pre- 
paring to  celebrate  the  holy  sacrifice  in 
one  of  the  chapels,  stopped  in  astonish- 
ment at  Zwingle's  words.  Erect  before 
the  consecrated  altar  on  which  lay  the 
chalice  and  the  body  of  the  Saviour,  with 
eyes  fixed  upon  the  reformer,  whose 
words  electrified  the  people,  a  prey  to 
the  most  violent  struggles,  and  beaten 
down  by  the  weight  of  truth,  the  agitated 
priest  resolved  to  sacrifice  every  thing 
for  it.  In  the  presence  of  the  whole  as- 
sembly, he  stripped  off  his  priestly  orna- 
ments, and  throwing  them  on  the  altar, 
he  exclaimed  :  "  Unless  the  Mass  reposes 
on  a  more  solid  foundation,  I  can  cele- 
brate it  no  longer!"  The  noise  of  this 
conversion,  effected  at  the  very  foot  of 
the  altar,  immediately  spread  through  the 
city,*  and  it  was  regarded  as  an  import- 
ant omen.  So  long  as  the  Mass  remains, 
Rome  has  gained  everything  :  as  soon  as 
the  Mass  falls,  Rome  has  lost  all.  The 
Mass  is  the  creative  principle  of  the  whole 
system  of  Popery. 

Three  days  later,  on  the  22d  January, 
was  the  feast  of  St.  Vincent,  the  patron 
of  the  city-  The  disputation  that  had 
been  carried  on  during  Sunday  was  sus- 
pended on  that  day.  The  canons  asked 
the  council  what  they  were  to  do.  "  Such 
of  you,"  replied  the  council,  "  as  re- 
ceive the  doctrine  of  the  theses  ought 
not  to  say  Mass  ;  the  others  may  per- 
form divine  worship  as  usual,  "f  Every 
preparation  was  accordingly  made  for 
the  solemnity.  On  St.  Vincent's  eve 
the  bells  from  every  steeple  announced 

*  Das  lachet  menklich  und  ward  durch  die 
gantzen  Stadt  kundt.  (Bulling,  i.  p.  436.) 
In  this  and  other  quotations,  we  preserve  the 
orthography  of  the  times. 

t  Bullinger  says,  on  the  contrary,  that  the 
council  positively  forbade  the  Mass.  But  Bul- 
linger, who  is  a  very  animated  writer,  is  not 
always  exact  in  diplomatic  matters.  The 
council  would  not  have  come  to  such  a  resolu- 
tion before  the  close  of  the  discussion.  Other 
contemporary  historians  and  official  documents 
leave  no  room  for  doubt  on  this  point.  Stet- 
tler,  in  his  Chronicle,  pars  ii.  p.  6,  ad  an- 
num 1528,  details  these  proceedings  as  in  the 
text. 


the  festival  to  the  inhabitants  of  Berne. 
On  the  morrow  the  sacristans  lit  up  the 
tapers  ;  incense  filled  the  temple,  but  no 
one  appeared.  No  priests  to  say  Mass, 
no  faithful  to  hear  it !  Already  there 
was  a  vast  chasm  in  the  Roman  sanctu- 
ary, a  deep  silence,  as  on  the  field  of 
battle,    where   none    but   the  dead    are 

lying- 
in  the  evening  it  was  the  custom  for 
the  canons  to  chaunt  vespers  with  great 
pomp.  The  organist  was  at  his  post,  but 
no  one  else  appeared.  The  poor  man 
left  thus  alone,  beholding  with  sorrow 
the  fall  of  that  worship  by  which  he 
gained  his  bread,  gave' utterance  to  his 
grief  by  playing  a  mourning-hymn  in- 
stead of  the  majestic  Magnificat :  "  Oh, 
wretched  Judas,  what  hast  thou  done, 
that  thou  hast  thus  betrayed  our  Lord  ?" 
After  this  sad  farewell,  he  rose  and  went 
out.  Almost  immediately,  some  men, 
excited  by  the  passions  of  the  moment, 
fell  upon  his  beloved  organ,  an  accom- 
plice in  their  eyes  of  so  many  supersti- 
tious rites,  and  their  violent  hands  broke 
it  to  pieces.  No  more  Mass,  no  more 
organ,  no  more  anthems !  A  new  Sup- 
per and  new  hymns  shall  succeed  the 
rites  of  Popery. 

On  the  next  day  there  was  the  same 
silence.  Suddenly,  however,  a  band  of 
men  with  loud  voices  and  hasty  steps  was 
heard.  It  was  the  Butchers'  Company 
that,  at  this  moment  so  fatal  to  Rome, 
desired  to  support  it.  They  advanced, 
carrying  small  fir-trees  and  green 
branches,  for  the  decoration  of  their  cha- 
pel. In  the  midst  of  them  was  a  foreign 
priest,  behind  whom  walked  a  few  poor 
scholars.  The  priest  officiated ;  the 
sweet  voices  of  the  scholars  supplied  the 
place  of  the  mute  organ,  and  the  butchers 
retired  proud  of  their  victory. 

The  discussion  was  drawing  to  a  close : 
the  combatants  had  dealt  vigorous  blows. 
Burgauer,  pastor  of  St.  Gall,  had  main- 
tained the  real  presence  in  the. Host ;  but 
on  the  19th  January  he  declared  himself 
convinced  by  the  reasonings  of  Zwingle, 
fficolampadius,  and  Bucer ;  and  Mat- 
thias, minister  of  Saengen,  had  done  the 
same. 

A  conference  in  Latin  afterwards  took 
place  between  Farel  and  a  Parisian  doc- 
tor.    The  latter  advanced  a  strange  ar- 


SWITZERLAND— CONQUESTS. 


759 


gument.  "  Christians,"  said  he,  "  are 
enjoined  to  obey  the  devil  ;*  for  it  is  said, 
Submit  unto  thine  adversary  (Matt.  v. 
25) ;  now,  our  adversary  is  the  devil. 
How  much  more,  then,  should  we  submit 
to  the  Church  !"  Loud  bursts  of  laugh- 
ter greeted  this  remarkable  syllogism. 
A  discussion  with  the  Anabaptists  termi- 
nated the  conference. 

The  two  councils  decreed  that  the  Mass 
should  be  abolished,  and  that  every  one 
might  remove  from  the  churches  the  or- 
naments he  had  placed  there. 

Immediately  twenty-five  altars  and  a 
great  number  of  images  were  destroyed 
in  the  cathedral,  yet  without  disorder  or 
bloodshed ;  and  the  children  began  to 
sing  in  the  streets  (as  Luther  informs 
us)  :f— 

By  the  Word  at  length  we're  saved 
From  a  God  in  a  mortar  brayed. 

The  hearts  of  the  adherents  of  the 
Papacy  were  filled  with  bitterness  as  they 
heard  the  objects  of  their  adoration  fall 
one  after  another.  "  Should  any  man," 
said  John  Schneider,  "  take  away  the 
altar  of  the  Butchers'  Company,  I  will 
take  away  his  life."  Peter  Thorman 
eompai'ed  the  cathedral  stripped  of  its 
ornaments  to  a  stable.  "  When  the  good 
folks  of  the  Oberland  come  to  market," 
added  he,  "  they  will  be  happy  to  put  up 
their  cattle  in  it."  And  John  Zehender, 
member  of  the  Great  Council,  to  show 
the  little  value  he  set  on  such  a  place  of 
worship,  entered  it  riding  on  an  ass,  in- 
sulting and  cursing  the  Reform.  A  Ber- 
nese, who  chanced  to  be  there,  having 
said  to  him,  "  It  is  by  God's  will  that 
these  images  have  been  pulled  down," — 
"Say  rather  by  the  devil's,"  replied 
Zehender  ;  "  when  have  you  ever  been 
with  God  so  as  to  learn  his  will  ?"  He 
was  fined  twenty  livres,  and  expelled 
from  the  council 4  "  What  times  !  what 
manners  !  "  exclaimed  many  ;  "  what 
culpable  neglect !  How  easy  would  it 
have  been  to  prevent  so  great  a  misfor- 
tune !  Oh  !  if  our  bishops  had  only  been 
willing  to  occupy  themselves  more  with 

*  Nos  tenemur  obedire  diabolo.  (J.  J.  Hot- 
tinger,  iii.  p.  405). 

f  Pusri  in  plateis  cantant :  se  esse  a  Deo 
pisto  libsratos.     (L.  Epp.  iii.  p.  290). 

X  History  of  Berne,  by  Tillier,  iii.  p.  257. 


learning  and  a  little  less  with  their  mis- 
tresses !"* 

This  Reform  was  necessary.  When 
Christianity  in  the  fourth  century  had 
seen  the  favour  of  princes  succeed  to  per- 
secution, a  crowd  of  heathens  rushing 
into  the  church  had  brought  with  them 
the  images,  pomps,  statues,  and  demigods 
of  Paganism,  and  a  likeness  of  the  mys- 
teries of  Greece  and  Asia,  and  above  all 
of  Egypt,  had  banished  the  Word  of 
Jesus  Christ  from  the  Christian  oratories. 
This  Word  returning  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  a  purification  must  necessarily 
take  place  ;  but  it  could  not  be  done 
without  grievous  rents. 

The  departure  of  the  strangers  was 
drawing  near.  On  the  28th  January, 
the  day  after  that  on  which  the  images 
and  altars  had  been  thrown  down,  while 
their  piled  fragments  still  encumbered 
here  and  there  the  porches  and  the  aisles 
of  the  cathedral,  Zwingle  crossing  these 
eloquent  ruins,  once  more  ascended  the 
pulpit  in  the  midst  of  an  immense  crowd. 
In  great  emotion,  directing  his  eyes  by 
turns  on  these  fragments  and  on  the  peo- 
ple, he  said  :  "  Victory  has  declared  for 
the  truth,  but  perseverance  alone  can 
complete  the  triumph.  Christ  persevered 
even  until  death.  Fcrendo  vincitur  for- 
tuna.  Cornelius  Scipio,  after  the  disaster 
at  Cannas,  having  learnt  that  the  generals 
surviving  the  slaughter  meditated  quitting 
Italy,  entered  the  senate-house,  although 
not  yet  of  senatorial  age,  drew  his  sword, 
and  constrained  the  affrighted  chiefs  to 
swear  that  they  would  not  abandon  Rome. 
Citizens  of  Berne,  to  you  I  address  the 
same  demand :  do  not  abandon  Jesus 
Christ." 

We  may  easily  imagine  the  effect  pro- 
duced on  the  people  by  such  words,  pro- 
nounced with  Zwingle's  energetic  elo- 
quence. 

Then,  turning  towards  the  fragments 
that  lay  near  him :  "  Behold,"  said  he, 
"  behold  these  idols  !  Behold  them  con- 
quered, mute,  and  shattered  before  us! 
These  corpses  must  be  dragged  to  the 
shambles,  and  the  gold  you  have  spent 
upon  these  foolish  images  must  hence- 
forward be  devoted  to-comforting  in  their 
misery  the  living  images  of  God.    Feeble 

*  Si  studiorum  quam  scortorum  nostri  epi9- 
copi  amantiores  essent.  (Ruchat,  i.  p.  576. 
Letter  of  J.  de  Munster,  priest  at  Soleure.) 


760 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


souls,  ye  shed  tears  over  these  sad  idols ; 
do  ye  not  see  that  they  break,  do  ye  not 
hear  that  they  crack  like  any  other  wood, 
or  like  any  other  stone  ?  Look  !  here  is 
one  deprived  of  its  head...(Zwingle  point- 
ed to  the  image,  and  all  the  people  fixed 
their  eyes  upon  it) ;  here  is  another 
maimed  of  its  arms.*  If  this  ill  usage 
had  done  any  harm  to  the  saints  that  are 
in  heaven,  and  if  they  had  the  power 
ascribed  to  them,  would  you  have  been 
able,  I  pray,  to  cut  off  their  arms  and 
their  heads?" 

"Now  then,"  said  the  powerful  orator 
in  conclusion,  "  stand  fast  in  the  liberty 
wherewith  Christ  has  made  you  free,  and 
be  not  entangled  again  with  the  yoke  of 
bondage  (Gal.  v.  1).  Fear  not  !  That 
God  who  has  enlightened  you,  will 
enlighten  your  confederates  also,  and 
Switzerland,  regenerated  by  the  Holy 
Ghost,  shall  flourish  in  righteousness  and 
peace." 

The  words  of  Zwingle  were  not  lost. 
The  mercy  of  God  called  forth  that  of 
man.  Some  persons  condemned  to  die 
for  sedition,  were  pardoned,  and  all  the 
exiles  were  recalled.  u  Should  we  not 
have  done  so,"  said  the  council,  "  had  a 
great  prince  visited  us  ?  Shall  we  not 
much  more  do  so,  now  that  the  King  of 
kings  and  the  Redeemer  of  our  souls  has 
made  his  entry  among  us,  bearing  an 
everlasting  amnesty  ?"f 

The  Romish  cantons,  exasperated  at 
the  result  of  the  discussion,  sought  to 
harass  the  return  of  the  doctors.  On  ar- 
riving before  Bremgarten,  they  found  the 
gates  closed.  The  bailiff  Schutz,  who 
had  accompanied  them  with  two  hundred 
men-at-arms,  placed  two  halberdiers  be- 
fore Zwingle's  horse,  two  behind  him, 
and  one  on  each  side  ;  then  putting  him- 
self at  the  Reformer's  left  hand,  while 
the  burgomaster  Roust  stationed  himself 
on  the  right,  he  ordered  the  escort  to 
proceed,  lance  in  rest.:}:  The  avoyers  of 
the  town  being  intimidated,  came  to  a 
parley  ;  the  gates  were  opened  ;  the 
escort  traversed  Bremgarten  amidst  an 
immense  crowd,  and  on  the  1st  February 

*  Hie  liit  einer,  dem  ist's  houpt  ab,  dem 
andern  ein  arm,  &c.     (Zw.  Opp.  ii.  p.  228.) 

t  Da  der  Konig  aller  K6nige....(Haller,  by 
Kirchhofer,  p.  439.) 

X  Mit  iren  Spyessen  fur  den  hauffen.  (Bull, 
chr.  i.  p.  439.) 


reached  Zurich  without  accident,  which 
Zwingle  re-entered,  says  Luther,  like  a 
conqueror.* 

The  Roman -catholic  party  did  not  dis- 
semble the  check  they  had  received. 
"  Our  cause  is  falling,"  said  the  friends 
of  Rome.f  "  Oh  !  that  we  had  had  men 
skilled  in  the  Bible !  The  impetuosity 
of  Zwingle  supported  our  adversaries ;  his 
ardour  was  never  relaxed.  That  brute 
has  more  knowledge  than  was  imagined.:}: 
Alas!  alas!  the  greater  party  has  van- 
quished the  better."§ 

The  Council  of  Berne,  desirous  of 
separating  from  the  Pope,  relied  upon  the 
people.  On  the  30th  January,  messen- 
gers going  from  house  to  house  convoked 
the  cit'zens  ;  and  on  the  2d  February, 
the  burgesses  and  inhabitants,  masters 
and  servants,  uniting  in  the  cathedral, 
and  forming  but  one  family,  with  hands 
upraised  to  heaven,  swore  to  defend  the 
two  councils  in  all  they  should  undertake 
for  the  good  of  the  State  or  of  the  Church. 

On  the  7th  February,  1528,  the  coun- 
cil published  a  general  edict  of  Reform, 
and  "  threw  for  ever  from  the  necks  of 
the  Bernese  the  yoke  of  the  four  bishops, 
who,"  said  they,  "  know  well  how  to 
shear  their  sheep,  but  not  how  to  feed 
them. "|| 

At  the  same  time  the  Reformed  doc- 
trines were  spreading  among  the  people. 
In  every  quarter  might  be  heard  earnest 
and  keen  dialogues,  written  in  rhyme  by 
Manuel,  in  which  the  pale  and  expiring 
Mass,  stretched  on  her  deathbed,  was 
loudly  calling  for  all  her  physicians,  and 
finding  their  advice  useless,  at  last  dic- 
tating with  a  broken  voice  her  last  will 
and  testament,  which  the  people  received 
with  loud  bursts  of  laughter. 

The  Reformation  generally,  and  that 
of  Berne  in  particular,  has  been  re- 
proached as  being  brought  about  by  po- 
litical motives.  But,  on  the  contrary, 
Berne,  which  of  all  the  Helvetic  states 
was  the  greatest  favourite  of  the  court  of 
Rome — which  had  in  its  canton  neither  a 

*  Zwingel  triumphator  et  imperator  glorio- 
sus.     (L.  Epp.  iii.  p.  290.) 

t  Ruunt  res  nostrae.  (Letter  of  the  priest 
J.  de  Muller,  an  eye-witness  of  the  discussion. 
Rachat.  i.  p.  575.) 

J  Doctior  tamen  haec  bellua  est  quam  puta- 
bam.     (Ibid.) 

§  Vicitque  pars  major  meliorem.     (Ibid.) 

H  Bull.  Chron.  i.  p.  466. 


SWITZERLAND— CONQUESTS. 


761 


bishop  to  dismiss  nor  a  powerful  clergy 
to  humiliate — Berne,  whose  most  influ- 
ential families,  the  Weingartens,  Manu- 
els,  Mays,  were  reluctant  to  sacrifice  the 
pay  and  the  service  of  the  foreigner,  and 
all  whose  traditions  were  conservative, 
ought  to  have  opposed  the  movement. 
The  Word  of  God  was  the  power  that 
overcame  this  political  tendency.* 

At  Berne,  as  elsewhere,  it  was  neither 
a  learned,  nor  a  democratic,  nor  a  secta- 
rian spirit  that  gave  birth  to  the  Reforma- 
tion. Undoubtedly  the  men  of  letters, 
the  liberals,  the  sectarian  enthusiasts, 
rushed  into  the  great  struggle  of  the  six- 
teenth century  ;  but  the  duration  of  the 
Reform  would  not  have  been  long  had  it 
received  its  life  from  them.  The  primi- 
tive strength  of  Christianity,  reviving 
after  ages  of  long  and  complete  prostra- 
tion, was  the  creative  principle  of  the 
Reformation  ;  and  it  was  erelong  seen  to 
separate  distinctly  from  the  false  allies 
that  had  presented  themselves,  to  reject 
an  incredulous  learning  by  elevating  the 
study  of  the  classics,  to  check  all  dema- 
gogic anarchy  by  upholding  the  princi- 
ples of  true  liberty,  and  to  repudiate  the 
enthusiastic  sects  by  consecrating  the 
rights  of  the  Word  and  of  the  christian 
people. 

But  while  we  maintain  that  the  Re- 
formation was  at  Berne,  as  elsewhere,  a 
truly  christian  work,  we  are  far  from 
saying  that  it  was  not  useful  to  the  can- 
ton in  a  political  sense.  All  the  European 
states  that  have  embraced  the  Reforma- 
tion have  been  elevated,  while  those 
which  have  combated  it  have  been  low- 
ered. 

III.  It  now  became  a  question  of  pro- 
pagating throughout  all  the  canton  the 
reform  accomplished  in  the  city.  On 
the  17th  February,  the  council  invited 
the  rural  parishes  to  assemble  on  the 
following  Sunday  to  receive  and  delibe- 
rate upon  a  communication.  The  whole 
Church,  according  to  the  ancient  usage 
of  Christendom,  was  about  to  decide  for 
itself  on  its  dearest  interests. 

The  assemblies  were  crowded ;  all 
conditions  and  ages  were  present.  Be- 
side the  hoary  and  the  trembling  head  of 
the  aged  man  might  be  seen  the  spark- 

*  Hundeshagen,  conflicte  der  Bernerkirche, 
p.  22. 


ling  eye  of  the  youthful  shepherd.  The 
messengers  of  the  council  first  read  the 
edict  of  the  Reformation.  They  next 
proclaimed  that  those  who  accepted  it 
should  remain,  and  that  those  who  re- 
jected it  should  withdraw. 

Almost  all  the  assembled  parishioners 
remained  in  their  places.  An  immense 
majority  of  the  people  chose  the  Bible. 
In  some  few  parishes  this  decision  was 
accompanied  with  energetic  demonstra- 
tions. At  Arberg,  Zofingen,  Brugg, 
Arau,  and  Buren,  the  images  were  burnt. 
"  At  Stauffberg,"  it  was  said,  "  idols 
were  seen  carrying  idols,  and  throwing 
one  another  into  the  flames."* 

The  images  and  the  Mass  had  disap- 
peared from  this  vast  canton.  "  A  great 
cry  resounded  far  and  wide,"  writes 
Bullingeivj-  In  one  day  Rome  had  fallen 
throughout  the  country,  without  treach- 
ery, violence,  or  seduction,  by  the 
strength  of  truth  alone.  In  some  places, 
however,  in  the  Hasli,  at  Frutingen, 
Unterseen,  and  Grindewald,  the  malcon- 
tents were  heard  to  say  :  "  If  they  abolish 
the  Mass,  they  should  also  abolish  tithes." 
The  Roman  form  of  worship  was  pre- 
served in  the  Upper  Simmenthal,  a  proof 
that  there  was  no  compulsion  on  the  part 
of  the  state. 

The  wishes  of  the  canton  being  thus 
manifested,  Berne  completed  the  Refor- 
mation. All  excesses  in  gambling, 
drinking,  and  dancing,  and  all  unbecom- 
ing dress,  were  forbidden  by  proclama- 
tion. The  houses  of  ill-fame  were  de- 
stroyed, and  their  wretched  inhabitants 
expelled  from  the  city4  A  consistory 
was  appointed  to  watch  over  the  public 
morals. 

Seven  days  after  the  edict,  the  poor 
were  received  into  the  Dominican  clois- 
ter, and  a  little  later  the  convent  of  the 
Island  was  changed  into  an  hospital  ;  the 
princely  monastery  of  Konigsfield  was 
also  devoted  to  the  same  useful  purpose. 
Charity  followed  everywhere  in  the  steps 

*  Da  tregt  ein  Gotz  den  andern  in  das  f  hiiwr. 
(Bull.  Chron.  ii.  p.  1.)  A  man  whose  busi- 
ness it  was  to  shear  the  flocks,  and  who  had 
been  nicknamed  Gotz-scherer  (idol-shearer), 
had  made  himself  very  distinguished  among 
those  who  carried  the  images  to  the  fire.  Such 
was  the  origin  of  this  popular  legend,  and  it 
is  the  key  to  many  others. 

t  Das  wyt  und  breit  ein  gross  geschrey  und 
wunder  gepa.     (Bull.  Chron.  ii.  p.  1.) 

X  J.  J.  Hottinger,  iii.  p.  414. 


762 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


of  faith.  "We  will  show,"  said  the 
council,  "  that  we  do  not  use  the  property 
of  the  convents  to  our  own  advantage  ;" 
and  they  kept  their  word.  The  poor  were 
clothed  with  the  priests'  garments  ;  the 
orphans  were  decorated  with  the  orna- 
ments of  the  Church.  So  strict  were 
they  in  these  distributions,  that  the  state 
was  forced  to  borrow  money  to  pay  the 
annuities  of  the  monks  and  nuns  ;  and 
for  eight  days  there  was  not  a  crown  in 
the  public  treasury.*  Thus  it  was  that 
the  State,  as  it  has  been  continually  re- 
peated, grew  rich  with  the  spoils  of  the 
Church  !  At  the  same  time  they  invited 
from  Zurich  the  ministers  Hotimeister, 
Megander,  and  Rhellican,  to  spread 
throughout  the  canton  the  knowledge  of 
the  classics  and  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

At  Easter  the  Lord's  Supper  was  cele- 
brated for  the  first  time  according  to  the 
Evangelical  rites.  The  two  councils 
and  all  the  people,  with  few  exceptions, 
partook  of  it.  Strangers  were  struck 
with  the  solemnity  of  this  first  commu- 
nion. The  citizens  of  Berne  and  their 
wives,  dressed  in  decent  garments,  which 
recalled  the  ancient  Swiss  simplicity, 
approached  Christ's  table  with  gravity 
and  fervour  ;f  the  heads  of  the  state 
showed  the  same  holy  devotion  as  the 
people,  and  piously  received  the  bread 
from  the  hands  of  Berthold  Haller.  Each 
one  felt  that  the  Lord  was  among  them. 
Thus  Hoffmeister,  charmed  at  this  so- 
lemn service,  exclaimed  :  "  How  can  the 
adversaries  of  the  Word  refuse  to  em- 
brace the  truth  at  last,  seeing  that  God 
himself  renders  it  so  striking  a  testimo- 
ny !"t 

Yet  everything  was  not  changed .  The 
friends  of  the  Gospel  witnessed  with  pain 
the  sons  of  the  chief  families  of  the  re- 
public parading  the  streets  in  costly 
garments,  inhabiting  sumptuous  houses 
in  the  city,  dwelling  in  magnificent  man- 
sions in  the  country — true  seignorial 
abodes,  following  the  chase  with  hound 
and  horn,  sitting  down  to  luxurious  ban- 

*  Hoc  unum  tibi  dico  secretissime.  (Haller 
to  Zwingle,  21st  January,  1530.) 

t  Relucet  enim  in  illorum  vestitu  et  habitu 
nescio  quid  veteris  illius  Helvetia:  simplicita- 
tis.  (Hoffmeister  to  Zwingle.  Zw.  Epp.  ii. 
p.  167.) 

X  Ea  res  magnam  spem  mihi  injecit  de  illis 
lucrandis  qui  hactenus  fuerunt  male  morigeri 
Terbo      (Ibid.) 


quets,  conversing  in  licentious  language, 
or  talking  with  enthusiasm  of  foreign 
wars  and  of  the  French  party.  "  Ah  !" 
said  that  pious  people,  "  could  we  but 
see  old  Switzerland  revive  with  its  old 
virtues !" 

There  was  soon  a  powerful  reaction. 
The  annual  renewal  of  the  magistrature 
being  about  to  take  place,  the  councillor 
Butschelbach,  a  violent  adversary  of  the 
Gospel,  was  ejected  for  adultery ;  four 
other  senators  and  twenty  members  of. 
the  Great  Council  were  also  replaced  by 
friends  of  the  Reformation  and  of  public 
morality.  Emboldened  by  this  victory, 
the  Evangelical  Bernese  proposed  in  the 
diet  that  every  Swiss  should  renounce 
foreign  service.  At ,  these  words  the 
warriors  of  Lucerne  started  under  their 
weighty  armour,  and  replied  with  a 
haughty  smile :  "  When  you  have  re- 
turned to  the  ancient  faith  we  will  listen 
to  your  homilies."  All  the  members  of 
the  government,  assembled  at  Berne  in 
sovereign  council,  resolved  to  set  the 
example,  and  solemnly  abjured  the  pay 
of  foreign  princes.  Thus  the  Reforma- 
tion showed  its  faith  by  its  works. 

Another  struggle  took  place.  Above 
the  lake  of  Thunn  rises  a  chain  of  steep 
rocks,  in  the  midst  of  which  is  situated  a 
deep  cavern,  where,  if  we  may  believe 
tradition,  the  pious  Breton,  Beatus,  came 
in  ancient  times  to  devote  himself  to  all 
the  austerities  of  an  ascetic  life ;  but 
especially  to  the  conversion  of  the  sur- 
rounding district  that  was  still  heathen. 
It  was  affirmed  that  the  head  of  this  saint, 
who  had  died  in  Gaul,  was  preserved  in 
this  cavern  ;  and  hence  it  was  visited  by 
pilgrims  from  every  quarter.  The  pious 
citizens  of  Zug,  Schwytz,  Uri,  and  Argo- 
via,  groaned,  as  they  thought  that  the 
holy  head  of  the  apostle  of  Switzerland 
would  hereafter  remain  in  a  land  of  here- 
tics. The  abbot  of  the  celebrated  con- 
vent of  Muri  in  Argovia  and  some  of  his 
friends  set  out,  as  in  ancient  times  the 
Argonauts  went  in  quest  of  the  Golden 
Fleece.  They  arrived  in  the  humble 
guise  of  poor  pilgrims,  and  entered  the 
cavern ;  one  skilfully  took  away  the 
head,  another  placed  it  mysteriously  in 
his  hood,  and  they  disappeared.  The 
head  of  a  dead  man  ! — and  this  was  all 
that  Rome  saved  from  the  shipwreck. 
But  even  this  conquest  was  more  than 


SWITZERLAND— CONQUESTS. 


703 


doubtful.  The  Bernese,  who  had  gained 
information  of  this  procession,  sent  three 
deputies  on  the  18th  May,  who,  accord- 
ing to  their  report,  found  this  famous 
head,  and  caused  it  to  be  decently  in- 
terred before  their  eyes  in  the  cemetery 
belonging  to  the  convent  of  Interlaken. 
This  contest  about  a  skull  characterizes 
the  Church  that  had  just  given  way  in 
Berne  before  the  vivifying  breath  of  the 
Gospel.     Let  the  dead  bury  their  dead. 

The  Reformation  had  triumphed  in 
Berne ;  but  a  storm  was  gathering  un- 
perceived  in  the  mountains,  which  threat- 
ened to  overthrow  it.  The  State  in  union 
with  the  Church  recalled  its  ancient  re- 
nown. Seeing  itself  attacked  by  arms, 
it  took  up  arms  in  its  turn,  and  acted  with 
that  decision  which  had  formerly  saved 
Rome  in  similar  dangers. 

A  secret  discontent  was  fermenting 
among  the  people  of  the  valleys  and 
mountains.  Some  were  still  attached  to 
the  ancient  faith  ;  others  had  only  quitted 
the  Mass  because  they  thought  they 
would  be  exempted  from  tithes.  Ancient 
ties  of  neighbourhood,  a  common  origin, 
and  similarity  of  manners  had  united  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Obwald  (Unterwalden) 
to  those  of  the  Hasli  and  of  the  Bernese 
Oberland,  which  were  separated  only  by 
Mount  Brunig  and  the  high  pass  of  the 
Yoke.  A  rumour  had  been  set  afloat 
that  the  government  of  Berne  had  pro- 
faned the  spot  where  the  precious  remains 
of  Beatus,  the  apostle  of  these  mountains, 
were  preserved,  and  indignation  immedi- 
ately filled  these  pastoral  people,  who 
adhere  firmer  than  others  to  the  customs 
and  superstitions  of  their  forefathers. 

But  while  some  were  excited  by  at- 
tachment to  Rome,  others  were  aroused 
by  a  desire  for  liberty.  The  subjects  of 
the  monastery  of  Interlaken,  oppressed 
'  by  the  monkish  rule,  began  to  cry  out, 
;'  We  desire  to  become  our  own  masters, 
and  no  longer  pay  rent  or  tithes."  The 
provost  of  the  convent  in  affright  ceded 
all  his  rights  to  Berne  for  the  sum  of 
one  hundred  thousand  florins  ;*  and  a 
bailiff,  accompanied  by  several  council- 
lors, went  and  took  possession  of  the 
monaster)'.  A  report  was  soon  spread 
that  they  were  about  to  transfer  all  the 

*  Totum  regnum  suum  tradiderunt  in  manus 
magistrate  nostri.  (Haller  to  Zwingle,  31st 
March.) 

97 


property  of  the  convent  to  Berne  ;  and 
on  the  21st.  of  April  bands  of  men  from 
Grindehvald,  Lauterbrunnen,  Ringel- 
berg,  Brienz,  and  other  places,  crossed 
the  lake,  or  issued  from  their  lofty  val- 
leys, and  taking  forcible  possession  of  the 
cloister,  swore  to  go  even  to  Berne  in 
quest  of  the  goods  which  the  citizens  had 
dared  to  talfe  from  them. 

They  were  quieted  for  a  time  ;  but  in 
the  beginning  of  June,  the  people,  at  the 
instigation  of  Unterwalden,  again  arose 
in  all  the  Hasli.  The  Landsgcmcinde* 
having  been  convoked,  it  decided  by  a 
majority  of  forty  voices  for  the  re-esta- 
blishment of  the  Mass.  The  pastor 
Jaekli  was  immediately  expelled  ;  a  few 
men  crossed  the  Bruni";,  and  brought 
back  some  priests  from  Unterwalden,  to 
the  sound  of  fifes  and  trumpets.  They 
were  seen  from  afar  descending  the 
mountain,  and  shouts,  both  loud  and  long, 
replied  to  them  from  the  bottom  of  the 
valley.  At  last  they  arrived  : — all  em- 
braced one  another,  and  the  people  cele- 
brated the  Mass  anew  with  great  demon- 
strations  of  joy.  At  the  same  time,  the 
people  of  Frutigen  and  of  the  fertile 
valley  of  Adelboden  assailed  the  cas- 
tellan Reuter,  carried  off  his  flocks,  and 
established  a  Roman-catholic  priest  in  the 
place  of  their  pastor.  At  Aeschi  even 
the  women  took  up  arms,  drove  out  the 
pastor  from  the  church,  and  brought 
back  the  images  in  triumph.  The  revolt 
spread  from  hamlet  to  hamlet  and  from 
valley  to  valley,  and  again  took  possession 
of  Interlaken.  All  the  malcontents  as- 
sembled there  on  the  2"d  October,  and 
swore,  with  hands  upraised  to  heaven, 
boldly  to  defend  their  rights  and  liberty. 

Never,  perhaps,  had  the  republic  been 
in  greater  danger.  All  the  kings  of 
Europe,  and  almost  all  the  cantons  of 
Switzerland,  were  opposed  to  the  Gospel. 
The  report  of  an  army  from  Austria, 
destined  to  interpose  in  favour  of  the 
Pope,  spread  through  the  Reformed  can- 
tons.f  Seditious  meetings  took  place 
every  day4  and  the  people  refused  to 
pay   their   magistrates   either  quit-rent, 

*  The  assembly  of  all  the  people. 

f  Audisti  nimirum  quam  se  apparent  Aus- 
trian ad  bellum,  adversus  quos  ignoratur. 
Suspicantur  quidam  in  Helvetios.  ((Ecol.  to 
Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  161.) 

\  Seditiosorum  concursus  sunt  quotidiani. 
(Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  227.) 


7(34 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


service,  tithes,  or  even  obedience,  unless 
they  shut  their  eyes  to  the  designs  of  the 
Roman-catholics.  The  council  became 
confused.  Amazed  and  confounded,  ex- 
posed to  the  mistrust  of  some  and  to  the 
insults  of  others,  they  had  the  cowardice 
to  separate  under  the  pretext  of  getting 
in  the  vintage,  and  folding  their  arms,  in 
the  presence  of  this  great  danger,  waited 
until  a  Messiah  should  descend  from 
heaven  (says  a  reformer)  to  save  the 
republic*  The  ministers  pointed  out 
the  danger,  forewarned  and  conjured 
them ;  but  each  one  turned  a  deaf  ear. 
"  Christ  languishes  in  Berne,"  said  Hal- 
ler,  "  and  appears  nigh  perishing."!  The 
people  were  all  in  commotion ;  they  as- 
sembled, made  speeches,  murmured,  and 
shed  tears  !  Everywhere — in  all  their 
tumultuous  meetings — might  be  heard 
this  complaint  of  Manuel  on  Papists  and 
the  Papacy  4 

With  rage  our  foes  their  hateful  threats  de- 
nounce, 
Because,  0  Lord,  we  love  Thee  best  of  all ; 
Because  at  sight  of  Thee  the  idols  fall ; 
And  war  and  bloodshed,  shuddering,  we  re- 
nounce. 

Beme  was  like  a  troubled  sea,  and 
Haller,  who  listened  to  the  roaring  of  the 
waves,  wrote  in  the  deepest  anguish  : 
"  Wisdom  has  forsaken  the  wise,  counsel 
has  departed  from  the  councillors,  and 
energy  from  the  chiefs  and  from  the 
people !  The  number  of  the  seditious 
augments  every  day.  Alas  !  what  can 
the  Bear,  oppressed  with  sleep,  oppose  to 
so  many  and  to  such  sturdy  hunters  ?§ 
If  Christ  withdraw  himself,  we  shall  all 
perish." 

These  fears  were  on  the  point  of  being 
realized.  The  smaller  cantons  claimed 
to  have  the  power  of  interfering  in  mat- 
ters of  faith  without  infringing  the  federal 
compact.  While  six  hundred  men  of 
Uri  kept  themselves  ready  to  depart, 
eight  hundred  men  of  Unterwalden,  bear- 
ing pine-branches  in  their  hats,  symbols 
of  the  old  faith,  with  haughty  heads  and 
gloomy    and    angry    looks,    crossed    the 


*  Nunc,  nunc  suum  Messiam  advenisse  spe- 
rantes.     (Ibid.) 

t  Ita  languet  Christus  apud  nos.     (Ibid.) 

X  Dass  wir  hand  d'Gotzen  geworfen  hin 
(Hymn  and  Prayer.) 

§Quid  haec  inter  tot  et  tantos  venatores 
robustos.     (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  223.) 


Brunig  under  the  ancient  banner  of  the 
country,  which  was  borne  by  Gaspard 
de  Flue,  a  very  unworthy  grandson  of 
the  great  Nicholas.*  This  was  the  first 
violation  of  the  national  peace  for  many 
years.  Uniting  at  Hasli  with  the  men 
of  Brienz,  this  little  army  crossed  the 
lake,  passed  under  the  cascades  of  Geis- 
bach,  and  arrived  at  Unterseen,  thirteen 
hundred  strong,  and  ready  to  march  on 
Berne  to  re-establish  the  Pope,  the  Idols, 
and  the  Mass  in  that  rebellious  city. 
In  Switzerland,  as  in  Germany,  the  Re- 
formation at  its  outset  met  with  a  peasant 
war.  At  the  first  success,  new  comba- 
tants would  arrive  and  pour  through  the 
passes  of  the  Brunig  upon  the  unfaith- 
ful republic.  The  army  was  only  six 
leagues  from  Berne,  and  already  the 
sons  of  Unterwalden  were  proudly  bran- 
dishing their  swords  on  the  banks  of  the 
lake  of  Thum. 

Thus  were  the  federal  alliances  trod- 
den under  foot  by  those  very  persons 
who  aspired  to  the  name  of  conservatives. 
Berne  had  a  right  to  repel  this  criminal 
attack  by  force.  Suddenly  calling  to 
mind  her  ancient  virtues,  the  city  roused 
herself,  and  vowed  to  perish  rather  than 
tolerate  the  intervention  of  Unterwalden, 
the  restoration  of  the  Mass,  and  the  fiery 
violence  of  the  peasants. ■(•  There  was  at 
that  moment  in  the  hearts  of  the  Bernese 
one  of  those  inspirations  that  come  from 
above,  and  which  save  nations  as  well  as 
individuals.  "  Let  the  strength  of  the 
city  of  Berne,"  exclaimed  the  Avoyer  d' 
Erlach,  "  be  in  God  alone,  and  in  the 
loyalty  of  its  people."  All  the  council 
and  the  whole  body  of  the  citizens  replied 
by  noisy  acclamations.  The  great  "banner 
was  hastily  brought  forth,  the  townspeo- 
ple ran  to  arms,  the  companies  assembled, 
and  the  troops  of  the  republic  marched 
out  with  the  valiant  avoyer  at  their 
head. 

Scarcely  had  the  Bernese  government 
acted  thus  energetically,  before  it  saw 
the  confidence  of  its  friends  increase,  and 
the  courage  of  its  adversaries  diminish. 
God  never  abandons  a  people  who  are 
true  to  themselves.     Many  of  the  Ober- 


*  A  celebrated  hermit  who  prevented  a 
civil  war  in  Switzerland  in  1481. 

t  Quam  missam  reducem  aut  violentiam 
villanorum  pati.  (Haller  to  Zwingle,  26th 
October.) 


SWITZERLAND -CONQUESTS. 


res 


landers  became  intimidated,  and  deserted 
the  ranks  of  the  revolt.  At  the  same 
time  deputies  from  Basle  and  Lucerne 
represented  to  Unterwalden  thai  it  was 
trampling  the  ancient  alliances  under 
foot.  The  rebels,  disheartened  by  the 
firmness  of  the  republic,  abandoned  Un- 
ferseen,  and  retired  to  the  convent  of 
Interlaken.  And  soon  after,  when  they 
beheld  the  decision  of  their  adversaries, 
distressed  besides  by  the  cold  rains  that 
fell  incessantly,  and  fearing  that  the 
snow,  by  covering  the  mountains,  would 
prevent  their  return  to  their  homes,  the 
men  of  Unterwalden  evacuated  Interla- 
ken during  the  night.  The  Bernese,  to 
the  number  of  five  thousand  men,  entered 
it  immediately,  and  summoned  the  in- 
habitants of  the  Hasli  and  of  the  baili- 
wick of  Interlaken  to  assemble  on  the 
4th  November  in  the  plain  that  surrounds 
the  convent.*  The  day  being  arrived, 
the  Bernese  army  drew  up  in  order  of 
battle,  and  then  formed  a  circle  within 
which  D'Erlach  ordered  the  peasants  to 
enter.  Hardly  had  he  placed  the  rebels 
on  the  left  and  the  loyal  citizens  on  the 
right,  before  the  muskets  and  artillery 
fired  a  general  discharge,  whose  report 
re-echoing  among  the  mountains,  filled 
the  insurgents  with  terror,  who  thought 
it  the  signal*  of  their  death.  But  the 
avoyer  only  intended  to  show  they  were 
in  the  power  of  the  republic.  D'Erlach, 
who  addressed  them  immediately  after 
this  strange  exordium,  had  not  finished 
his  speech,  before  they  all  fell  on  their 
knees,  and,  confessing  their  crime,  beg- 
ged for  pardon.  The  republic  was  satis- 
fied :  the  rebellion  was  over.  The  ban- 
ners of  the  district  were  carried  to  Berne, 
and  the  Eagle  of  Interlaken,  in  union  with 
the  Wild-goat  of  Hasli,  hung  for  a  time 
beneath  the  Bear,  as  a  trophy  of  this  vic- 
tory. Four  of  the  chiefs  were  put  to 
death,  and  an  amnesty  was  granted  to  the 
remainder  of  the  rebels.  "  The  Bernese," 
said.Zwingle,  '•  as  Alexander  of  Macedon 
in  times  of  old,  have  cut  the  Gordian  knot 
with  courage  and  with  glory. "f  Thus 
thought  the  Reformer  of  Zurich  ;  but  ex- 
perience was  one  day  to  teach  him,  that 

*  Tradition  says  that  it  was  on  the  spot 
where  the  hotel  of  Interlaken  now  stands. 

j-  Bernenses  pro  sua  dignitate  nodum  hunc 
quemadmodum  Alexander  Macedo,  Gordium 
dissectari.     (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  243.) 


to  cut  such  knots  is  required  a  different 
sword  from  that  of  Alexander  and  of 
D'Erlach.  However  that  may  be,  peace 
was  restored,  and  in  the  valleys  of  the 
Hasli  no  other  noise  was  heard  than  the 
sublime  tumult  borne  afar  by  the  Reich- 
enbacb  and  all  the  surrounding  torrents, 
as  they  pour  from  the  mountain-tops  theii 
multitudinous  and  foaming  waters. 

While  we  repudiate  on  behalf  of  the 
Church  the  swords  of  the  Helvetic  bands, 
it  would  be  unwise  not  to  acknowledge 
the  political  advantages  of  this  victory. 
The  nobles  had  imagined  that  the  Refor- 
mation of  the  Church  would  endanger 
the  very  existence  of  the  State.  They 
now  had  a  proof  to  the  contrary  :  they 
saw  that  when  a  nation  receives  the  Gos- 
pel, its  strength  is  doubled.  The  gene- 
rous confidence  with  which,  in  the  hour 
of  danger,  they  had  placed  some  oi  the 
adversaries  of  the  Reformation  at  the 
head  of  affairs  and  of  the  army,  produced 
the  happiest  results.  All  were  now  con- 
vinced that  the  Reformation  would  not 
trample  old  recollections  underfoot:  pre- 
judices were  removed,  hatred  was  ap- 
peased, the  Gospel  gradually  rallied  all 
hearts  around  it,  and  the  ancient  and  re- 
markable saying  was  verified,  which  was 
so  often  repeated  by  the  friends  and 
enemies  of  that  powerful  republic — 
"  God  is  become  a  citizen  of  Berne." 

IV.  The  reformation  of  Berne  was 
decisive  for  several  cantons.  The  same 
wind  that  had  blown  from  on  high  with 
so  much  power  on  the  country  of  De 
Watteville  and  Mailer,  threw  down  "  the 
idols"  in  a  great  part  of  Switzerland. 
In  many  places  the  people  were  indignant 
at  seeing  the  Reformation  checked  by 
the  timid  prudence  of  diplomatists  ;  but 
when  diplomacy  was  put  to  flight  at 
Berne,  the  torrent  so  long  restrained 
poured  violently  onwards. 

Vadianus,  burgomaster  of  St.  Gall, 
who  presided  at  the  Bernese  disputation, 
had  scarcely  returned  home,  when  the 
citizens,  with  the  authority  of  the  magis- 
trates, removed  the  images  from  the 
church  of  St.  Magnus,  carried  to  the 
mint  a  hand  of  the  patron  saint  in  silver, 
with  other  articles  of  plate,  and  distri- 
buted among  the  poor  the  money  they 
received  in  exchange  ;  thus,  like  Mary, 
pouring  their  precious  ointment  on  the 


766 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


head  of  Christ.*  The  people  of  St.  Gall, 
being  curious  to  unveil  the  ancient 
mysteries,  laid  their  hands  on  the  abbey 
itself,  on  the  shrines  and  crosses  which 
had  so  long  been  presented  to  their 
adoration  ;  but  instead  of  saintly  relics, 
they  found,  to  their  great  surprise,  noth- 
ing but  some  resin,  a  few  pieces  of  money, 
several  paltry  wooden  images,  some  old 
rags,  a  skull,  a  large  tooth,  and  a  snail's 
shell !  Rome,  instead  of  that  noble  fall 
which  marks  the  ends  of  great  characters, 
sunk  in  the  midst  of  stupid  superstitions, 
shameful  frauds,  and  the  ironical  laugh- 
ter of  a  whole  nation. 

Such  discoveries  unfortunately  excited 
the  passions  of  the  multitude.  One  eve- 
ning some  evil  disposed  persons,  wishing 
to  alarm  the  poor  nuns  of  St.  Catherine, 
who  had  obstinately  resisted  the  Reform, 
surrounded  the  convent  with  loud  cries. 
In  vain  did  the  nuns  barricade  the  doors  ; 
the  walls  were  soon  scaled,  and  the  good 
wine,  meat,  confectionaries,  and  all  the 
far  from  ascetic  delicacies  of  the  cloister 
became  the  prey  of  these  rude  jesters. 
Another  persecution  awaited  them. 
Doctor  Schappeler  having  been  appointed 
their  catechist,  they  were  recommended 
to  lay  aside  their  monastic  dress,  and  to 
attend  his  heretical  sermons  "  clothed 
like  all  the  world,"  said  the  sister  Wibo- 
rath.  Some  of  them  embraced  the 
Reform,  but  thirty  others  preferred  exile. f 
On  the  5th  February  1528,  a  numerous 
synod  framed  the  constitution  of  the 
church  of  St.  Gall. 

The    struggle    was    more    violent    at 


broken  at  Matt,  at  Elm,  at  Bettschwan- 
den,  and  as  each  man  remained  aloof  in 
his  own  house  and  village,  there  was  no 
longer  in  the  canton  either  council  of 
state  or  tribunal  of  justice.  At  Schwan- 
den,  the  minister  Peter  Rumelin,  having 
invited  the  Roman-catholics  to  a  disputa- 
tion with  him  in  the  church,  the  latter, 
instead  of  discussing,  marched  in  pro- 
cession to  the  sound  of  drums  round  the 
place  of  worship  in  which  the  Reformed 
were  assembled,  and  then  rushing  into 
the  pastor's  house,  which  was  situated  in 
the  middle  of  the  city,  destroyed  the 
stoves  and  the  windows  :  the  irritated 
Reformed  took  their  revenge  and  broke 
the  images.  On  the  15th  April?  1529, 
an  agreement  was  concluded,  by  virtue 
of  which  every  man  was  free  to  choose 
between  the  Mass  and  the  Sermon. 

At  Wesen,  where  Schwytz  exercised 
sovereignty  conjointly  with  Glaris,  the 
deputies  of  the  former  canton  threatened 
the  people.  Upon  this  the  young  men 
took  the  images  out  of  the  churches, 
carried  them  to  an  open  place  near  the 
banks  of  the  picturesque  lake  of  Wallen- 
stadt,  above  which  soar  the  mountains  of 
the  Ammon  and  of  the  Seven  Electors, 
and  cried  :  "  Look  !  this  road  (that  by 
the  lake)  leads  to  Coire  and  to  Rome  ; 
that  (to  the  south)  to  Glaris  ;  this  other 
(to  the  west)  to  Schwytz  ;  and  the  fourth 
(by  the  Ammon)  to  St.  Gall.  Take 
which  you  please !  But  if  you  do  not 
move  off,  you  shall  be  burnt !"  After 
waiting  a  few  moments,  these  young 
people  flung  the  motionless  images  into 


Glaris.     The  seeds  of  the  Gospel  truth,  |  the  fire,  and  the  Schwytz  deputies,  eye- 


which  Zwingle  had  scattered  there,  had 
prospered  but  little.  The  men  in  power 
anxiously  rejected  every  innovation,  and 
the  people  loved  better  "to  leap  and 
dance,  and  work  miracles,  glass  in  hand" 
as  an  old  chronicle  says,  "  than  to  busy 
themselves  about  the  Gospel."  The 
Landsgemeinde  having  pronounced,  on 
the  15th  May  1528,  "in  favour  of  the 
Mass  by  a  majority  of  thirty-three  voices, 
the  two  parties  were  marked  out  with 
greater  distinctness  :    the   images  were 

*  War  gemiinzet  und  den  Armen  ausgetheilt. 
(J.  J.  Hottinger,  iii.  p.  415.  St.  Matthew 
xxvi.  7.) 

t  Arx.  Gesch.  St.  Gall,  ii.  p.  529.  J.  J. 
Hottinger,  p.  416.  Miiller  ;  Hottinger,  ii.  p. 
91. 


witnesses  of  this  execution,  withdrew  in 
consternation,  and  filled  the  whole  canton 
with  projects  of  vengeance  that  were  but 
too  soon  realized. 

In  the  canton  of  Appenzell,  where  a 
conference  had  been  opened,  there  sud- 
denly appeared  a  band  of  Roman-catho- 
lics, armed  with  whips  and  clubs,  and 
crying  out :  "  Where  are  these  preach- 
ers ?  we  are  resolved  to  put  them  out  of 
the  village  !"  These  strange  doctors 
wounded  the  ministers  and  dispersed  the 
assembly  with  their  whips.  Out  of  the 
eight  parishes  of  the  canton,  six  embraced 
the  Reform,  and  Appenzell  became 
finally  divided  into  little  sections,  the 
one  Romanist  and  the  other  Reformed. 

In  the   Grisons  religious  liberty  was 


SWITZERLAND— CONQUESTS. 


767 


proclaimed  ;  the  parishes  had  the  election 
of  their  pastors,  several  castles  were 
rased  to  the  ground  to  render  all  return 
to  arbitrary  government  impossible, 
and  the  affrighted  bishop  went  and  hid 
in  the  Tyrol  his  anger  and  his  desire  for 
vengeance.  "  The  Grisons,"  said 
Zwingle,  "  advance  daily.  It  is  a  nation 
that  by  its  courage  reminds  us  of  the 
ancient  Tuscans,  and  by  its  candour  of 
the  ancient  Swiss."* 

Schaffhausen,  after  having  long 
"halted  between  two  opinions,"  at  the 
summons  of  Zurich  and  of  Berne  removed 
the  images  from  its  churches  without 
tumult  or  disorder.  At  the  same  time 
the  Reformation  invaded  Thurgovia,  the 
valley  of  the  Rhine,  and  other  bailiwicks 
subordinate  to  these  cantons.  In  vain 
did  the  Roman- catholic  cantons,  that 
were  in  the  majority,  protest  against 
it.  "  When  temporal  affairs  are  con- 
cerned," replied  Zurich  and  Berne,  "  we 
will  not  oppose  a  plurality  of  votes  ;  but 
the  Word  of  God  cannot  be  subjected  to 
the  suffrages  .of  men."  All  the  districts 
that  lie  along  the  banks  of  the  Thur,  of 
the  Lake  of  Constance,  and  of  the  Upper 
Rhine,  embraced  the  Gospel.  The  in- 
habitants of  Mammeren,  near  the  place 
where  the  Rhine  issues  from  the  lake, 
flung  their  images  into  the  water.  But 
the  statue  of  St.  Blaise,  after  remaining 
some  time  upright,  and  contemplating  the 
ungrateful  spot  whence  it  was  banished, 
swam  across  the  lake  to  Catahorn,  situ- 
ated on  the  opposite  shore,  if  we  may 
believe  the  account  of  a  monk  named 
Lang.f  Even  while  running  away 
Popery  worked  its  miracles. 

Thus  were  the  popular  superstitions 
overthrown  in  Switzerland,  and  some- 
times not  without  violence.  Every  great 
development  in  human  affairs  brings 
with  it  an  energetic  opposition  to  that 
which  has  existed.  It  necessarily  con- 
tains an  aggressive  element,  which  ought 
to  act  freely,  and  by  that  means  open 
the  new  path.  In  the  times  of  the  Re- 
formation the  doctors  attacked  the  Pope, 
and  the  people  the  images.  The  move- 
ment almost  always  exceeded  a  just 
moderation.  In  order  that  human  nature 
may  take  one  step   in  advance,  its  pio- 

*  Gens  animo  veteres  Tuscos  referens,  can- 
dore  veteres  Helvetios.     (Zw.  Epp.) 
t  J.  J.  Hottinger,  iii.  p.  420. 


neers  must  take  many.  Every  super- 
fluous step  should  be  condemned,  and 
yet  we  must  acknowledge  their  necessi- 
ty. Let  us  not  forgel  this  in  the  history 
of  the  Reformation,  and  especially  in 
that  of  Switzerland. 

Zurich  was  reformed  ;  Berne  had  just 
become  so :  Basle  still  remained,  before 
the  great  cities  of  the  Confederation  were 
gained  over  to  the  Evangelical  faith. 
The  reformation  of  this  learned  city  was 
the  most  important  consequence  resulting 
from  that  of  the  warlike  Berne 

For  six  years  the  Gospel  had  been 
preached  in  Basle.  The  meek  and 
pious  GEcolampadius  was  always  waiting 
for  happier  times.  "  The  darkness," 
said  he,  "  is  about  to  retire  before  the 
rays  of  truth."*  But  his  expectation 
was  vain.  A  triple  aristocraey — the 
superior  clergy,  the  nobles,  and  the  uni- 
versity— checked  the  free  expansion  of 
christian  convictions.  It  was  the  middle 
classes  who  were  destined  to  effect  the 
triumph  of  the  Reformation  in  Basle. f 
Unhappily  the  popular  wave  invades 
nothing  without  tossing  up  some  foul 
scum. 

It  is  true  that  the  Gospel  had  many 
friends  in  the  councils:  but  being  nun 
of  a  middle  party,  they  tacked  back- 
wards and  forwards  like  Erasmus,  in- 
stead of  sailing  straight  to  the  port. 
They  ordered  "  the  pure  preaching  of 
the  Word  of  God  ;"  but  stipulated  at 
the  same  time  that  it  should  be  "  without 
Lutheranism."  The  aged  and  pious 
bishop  Utenheim,  who  was  living  in  re- 
tirement at  Bruntrut,  tottered  daily  into 
the  church,  supported  by  two  domestics, 
to  celebrate  Mass  with  a  broken  voice. 
Gundelsheim,  an  enemy  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, succeeded  him  erelong  ;  and  on  the 
23d  September,  followed  by  many  exiles 
and  with  a  train  of  forty  horses,  he  made 
his  triumphal  entry  into  Basle,  proposing 
to  restore  everything  to  its  ancient  foot- 
ing. This  made  GEcolampadius  write 
in  alarm  to  Zwingle  :  "  Our  cause  hangs 
upon  a  thread." 

But  in  the  citizens  the  Reform  found 
a  compensation  for  the  disdain  of  the 
great,  and  for  the  terrors  inspired  by  the 

*  Sperabam  enim   tenebras  veritatis   radio 
essuras  tandem.     (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  136.) 
f  Major  pars  civitatis  quas  toto  corde  dolet 
tantis  nos  dissidiis  laborare.     (Ibid.  p.  36.) 


768 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


new  bishop.  They  organized  repasts 
for  fifty  and  a  hundred  guests  each  ; 
(Ecolampadius  and  his  colleagues  took 
their  seats  at  these  tables  with  the  peo- 
ple, where  energetic  acclamations  and 
reiterated  cheers  greeted  the  work  of 
the  Reformation.  In  a  short  time  even 
the  council  appeared  to  incline  to  the 
side  of  the  Gospel.  Twenty  feast-days 
were  retrenched,  and  the  priests  were 
permitted  to  refuse  celebrating  the  Mass. 
"  It  is  all  over  with  Rome,"  was  now 
the  cry.  But  (Ecolampadius,  shaking 
his  head,  replied ;  "  I  am  afraid  that,  by 
wishing  to  sit  on  the  two  stools,  Basle 
will  at  last  fall  to  the  ground."* 

This  was  at  the  period  of  his  return 
from  his  discussion  at  Berne.  He  ar- 
rived in  time  to  close  'the  eyes  of  his 
pious  mother ;  and  then  the  reformer 
found  himself  alone,  succumbing  under 
the  weight  of  public  and  domestic  cares  ; 
for  his  house  was  like  an  inn  for  all  fu- 
gitive Christians.  "  I  shall  marry  a 
Monica,"f  he  had  often  said,  "  or  else  I 
shall  remain  a  bachelor."  He  thought 
he  had  now  discovered  the  "  christian 
sister  "  he  was  in  search  of.  ,  This  was 
Wilibrandis,  daughter  of  one  of  the  Em- 
peror Maximilian's  knights,  and  widow 
of  a  master  of  arts  named  Keller, — 
a  woman  already  proved  by  many  trials. 
He  married  her,  saying  :  "  I  look  to  the 
ordinances  of  God,  and  not  to  the  scowl- 
ing faces  of  men."  This  did  not  pre- 
vent the  sly  Erasmus  from  exclaiming  : 
"  Luther's  affair  is  called  a  tragedy,  but 
I  maintain  it  is  a  comedy,  for  each  act 
of  the  drama  ends  in  a  wedding." 
This  witticism  has  been  often  repeated. 
For  a  long  time  it  was  the  fashion  to 
account  for  the  Reformation  by  the  de- 
sire of  the  princes  for  the  church-pro- 
perty, and  of  the  priests  for  marriage. 
This  vulgar  method  is  now  stigmatized 
by  the  best  Roman  controversialists  as 
"  a  proof  of  a  singularly  narrow  mind. 
— The  Reformation  originated,"  add 
they,  "  in  a  true  and  christian,  although 
unenlightened  zeal."^; 

*  Vereorque  ne  dum  semper  utraque  sella 
sedere  velit,  utraque  extrudatur  aliquando. 
(Z\v.  Epp.  ii.  p.  157.) 

f  The  name  of  St.  Augustin's  mother. 

t  See  Mohler's  Symbolik,  both  in  the  pre- 
face and  in  the  body  of  the  work.  This  is 
one  of  the  most  important  writings  produced 
by  Rome  since  the  time  of  Bossuet. 


The  return  of  CEcolampadius  had  still 
more  important  consequences  for  Basle 
than  it  had  for  himself.  The  discussion 
at  Berne  caused  a  great  sensation  there. 
"  Berne,  the  powerful  Berne,  is  reform- 
ing !"  was  passed  from  mouth  to  mouth. 
"  How,  then ! "  said  the  people  one  to 
another,  "  the  fierce  bear  has  come  out 

of  his    den he  is  groping  about 

for  the  rays  of  the  sun and  Basle, 

the  city  of  learning — Basle,  the  adopted 
city  of  Erasmus  and  of  GCcolampadius, 
remaining  in  darkness  ! " 

On  Good  Friday  (10th  April,  1528). 
without  the  knowledge  of  the  council 
and  OEcolampadius,  five  workmen  of  the 
Spinners'  Company  entered  the  church 
of  St.  Martin,  which  was  that  of  the  re- 
former, and  where  the  Mass  was  al- 
ready abolished,  and  carried  away  all 
the  "  idols."  On  Easter  Monday,  after 
the  evening  sermon,  thirty-four  citizens 
removed  all  the  images  from  the  church 
of  the  Augustines. 

This  was  going  too  far.  Were  they 
desirous,  then,  of  drawing  Basle  and  its 
councils  from  that  just  medium  in  which 
they  had  till  this  moment  so  wisely  halt- 
ed ?  The  council  met  hastily  on  Tues- 
day morning,  and  sent  the  five  men  to 
prison ;  but,  on  the  intercession  of  the 
burghers,  they  were  released,  and  the 
images  suppressed  in  five  other  churches. 
These  half-measures  sufficed  for  a  time. 
On  a  sudden  the  flame  burst  out  anew 
with  greater  violence.  Sermons  were 
preached  at  St.  Martin's  and  St.  Leo- 
nard's against  the  abominations  of  the 
cathedral  ;  and  at  the  cathedral  the  Re- 
formers were  called  "  heretics,  knaves, 
and  profligates."*  The  Papists  cele- 
brated mass  upon  mass.  The  burgo- 
master Meyer,  a  friend  of  the  Reform, 
had  with  him  the  majority  of  the  people  ; 
the  burgomaster  Meltinger,  an  intrepid 
leader  of  the  |fartisans  of  Rome,  pre- 
vailed in  the  councils :  a  collision  be- 
came inevitable.  "  The  fatal  hour  ap- 
proaches," says  GCcolampadius,  "  ter- 
rible for  the  enemies  of  God."  f 

On  Wednesday  the  23d  December, 
two  days  before  Christmas,  three  hun- 
dred   citizens    from    all    the  companies, 

*  Ketzer,  schelmen,  und  bilben.  (Bulling, 
ii.  p.  36.) 

f  Maturatur  fatalis  hora  et  tremenda  hosti- 
bus  Dei.     (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  213.) 


SWITZERLAND— CONQUESTS. 


709 


pious  and  worthy  men,  assembled  in  the 
hall  of  the  Gardeners'  Company,  and 
there  drew  up  a  petition  to  the  senate. 
During  this  time  the  friends  of  Popery, 
who  resided  for  the  most  part  in  Little 
Basle  and  the  suburb  of  St.  Paul,  took 
up  arms,  brandishing  their  swords  and 
lances  against  the  Reformed  citizens  at 
the  very  moment  that  these  were  bear- 
ing their  petition  to  the  council,  and  en- 
deavoured, although  ineffectually,  to  bar 
their  road.  Meltinger  haughtily  refused 
to  receive  the  petition,  and  charged  the 
burghers,  on  the  faith  of  their  civic  oath, 
to  return  to  their  homes.  The  burgo- 
master Meyer,  however,  took  the  address, 
and  the  senate  ordered  it  to  be  read. 

"Honoured,  wise,  and  gracious  Lords," 
it  ran,  "  we,  your  dutiful  fellow-citizens 
of  the  companies,  address  you  as  well- 
beloved  fathers,  whom  we  are  ready  to 
obey  at  the  cost  of  our  goods  and  of  our 
lives.  Take  God's  glory  to  heart ;  re- 
store peace  to  the  city ;  and  oblige  all 
the  Pope's  preachers  to  discuss  freely 
with  the  ministers.  If  the  Mass  be  true, 
we  desire  to  have  it  in  our  churches  ; 
but  if  it  is  an  abomination  before  God, 
why,  through  love  for  the  priests,  should 
we  draw  down  His  terrible  anger  upon 
ourselves  and  upon  our  children  ?  " 

Thus  spoke  the  citizens  of  Basle. 
There  was  nothing  revolutionary  either 
in  their  language  or  in  their  proceedings. 
They  desired  what  was  right  with  de- 
cision, but  also  with  calmness.  All 
might  still  proceed  with  order  and  de- 
corum. But  here  begins  a  new  period  : 
the  vessel  of  Reform  is  about  to  enter  the 
port,  but  not  until  it  has  passed  through 
violent  storms. 

V.  It  was  the  bishop's  partisans  who 
first  departed  from  the  legal  course. 
Filled  with  terror  on  learning  that  medi- 
ators were  expected  from  Zurich  and 
Berne,  they  ran  into  the  city,  crying 
that  an  Austrian  army  was  coming  to 
their  aid,  and  collected  stones  in  their 
houses.  The  Reformed  did  the  same. 
The  disturbance  increased  hourly,  and 
in  the  night  of  the  25th  December  the 
Papists  met  under  arms  :  priests  with 
arquebuse  in  hand  were  numbered 
among  their  ranks. 

Scarcely  had  the  Reformed  learnt  this, 
when  some  of  them  running  hastily  from 


house  to  house,  knocked  at  the  doors  and 
awoke  their  friends,  who,  starting  out  of 

bed,  seized  their  muskets  and  repaired 
to  the  Gardeners'  Hall,  the  rendezvous 
of  their  party.  They  soon  amounted  to 
three  thousand. 

Both  parties  passed  the  night  under 
arms.  At  every  moment  a  civil  war, 
and  what  is  worse,  "  a  war  of  hearths," 
might  break  out.  It  was  at  last  agreed 
that  each  party  should  nominate  dele- 
gates to  treat  with  the  senate  on  this 
matter.  The  Reformed  chose  thirty 
men  of  respectability,  courage,  faith, 
and  experience,  who  took  up  their  quar- 
ters at  the  Gardeners'  Hall.  The  par- 
tisans of  the  ancient  faith  chose  also  a 
commission,  but  less  numerous  and  less 
respectable :  their  station  was  at  the 
Fishmongers'  Hall.  The  council  was 
constantly  sitting.  All  the  gates  of  the 
city,  except  two,  were  closed ;  strong 
guards  were  posted  in  every  quarter. 
Deputies  from  Lucerne,  Uri,  Schaffhau- 
sen,  Zug,  Schwytz,  Mulhausen,  and 
Strasburg,  arrived  successively.  The 
agitation  and  tumult  increased  from  hour 
to  hour. 

It  was  necessary  to  put  an  end  to  so 
violent  a  crisis.  The  senate,  faithful  to 
its  ideas  of  half-measures,  decreed  that 
the  priest  should  continue  to  celebrate 
the  Mass  ;  but  that  all,  priests  and  mi- 
nisters, should  preach  the  Word  of  God, 
and  for  this  purpose  should  meet  once 
a-week  to  confer  upon  the  holy  Scrip- 
tures. They  then  called  the  Lutherans 
together  in  the  Franciscan  church,  and 
the  Papists  in  that  belonging  to  the  Do- 
minicans. The  senate  first  repaired  to 
the  former  church,  where  they  found 
two  thousand  five  hundred  citizens  as- 
sembled. The  secretary  had  hardly 
read  the  ordinance  before  a  great  agita- 
tion arose.  "That  shall  not  be,"  cried 
one  of  the  people.*  "  We  will  not  put 
up  with  the  Mass,  not  even  with  a  single 
one  !"  cried  another ;  and  all  repeated, 
No  Mass, — no  Mass, — we  will  die 
sooner !"f 

The  senate  having  next  visited  the 
Dominican  church,  all  the  Romanists,  to 
the  number  of  six  hundred,  among  whom 

Quidam  e  plebe  clamitabat :  Hoc  non  fiet ! 
(Zw    Epp.  ii.  p.  255.) 

f  Nos  plane  ea  non  feremus,  aut  moriemur 
ornnes.     (Ibid.) 


770 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


were  many  foreign  servants,  cried  out : 
"  We  are  ready  to  sacrifice  our  lives  for 
the  Mass.  We  swear  it,  we  swear  it !" 
repeated  they  with  uplifted  hands.  "  If 
they  reject  the  Mass — to  arms  !  to 
arms  !"* 

The  senate  withdrew  more  embar- 
rassed than  ever. 

The  two  parties  were  again  assembled 
three  days  after.  CEcolampadius  was 
in  the  pulpit.  "Be  meek  and  tracta- 
ble," said  he;  and  he  preached  with 
such  unction  that  many  were  ready  to 
burst  into  tears. f  The  assembly  offered 
up  prayers,  and  then  decreed  that  it 
would  accept  a  new  ordinance,  by  virtue 
of  which,  fifteen  days  after  Pentecost, 
there  should  be  a  public  disputation,  in 
which  no  arguments  should  be  employed 
but  such  as  were  drawn  from  the  Word 
of  God  :  after  this  a  general  vote  should 
take  place  upon  the  Mass,  that  the  ma- 
jority should  decide  the  question,  and 
that  in  the  meanwhile  the  Mass  should 
be  celebrated  in  three  churches  only  ;  it 
being  however  understood,  that  nothing 
should  be  taught  there  that  was  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

The  Romanist  minority  rejected  these 
propositions  :  "  Basle,"  said  they,  "  is  not 
like  Berne  and  Zurich.  Its  revenues 
are  derived  in  great  measure  from  coun- 
tries opposed  to  the  Reformation  !"  The 
priests  having  refused  to  resort  to  the 
weekly  conferences,  they  were  suspend- 
ed ;  and  during  a  fortnight  there  was 
neither  sermon  nor  mass  at  the  cathedral, 
or  in  the  churches  of  St.  Ulric,  St.  Peter, 
and  St.  Theodore. 

Those  who  remained  faithful  to  Rome 
resolved  upon  an  intrepid  defence.  Mel- 
tinger  placed  Sebastian  Muller  in  the 
pulpit  at  St.  Peter's,  from  which  he  had 
been  interdicted,  and  this  hot-headed 
priest  vented  such  abusive  sarcasms 
against  the  Reform,  that  several  of  the 
Evangelicals,  who  were  listening  to  the 
sermon,  were  insulted  and  nearly  torn  in 
pieces. 

It  was  necessary  to  arouse  Basle  from 
this  nightmare,  and  strike  a  decisive 
blow.     "  Let  us  remember  our  liberty," 

*  At  altera  pars  minitabat  praelia  si  missam 
rejicerent.     (Ibid.) 

t  Ut  nemo  non  commoveretur  et  profecto 
fere  mi  hi  lacrymas  excussisset  (Zw  Epp 
ii.  p.  255. 


said  the  reformed  citizens,  "  and  what  we 
owe  to  the  glory  of  Christ,  to  public  jus- 
tice, and  to  our  posterity."*  They  then 
demanded  that  the  enemies  of  the  Re- 
formation, friends  and  relations  of  the 
priests,  who  were  the  cause  of  all  these 
delays  and  of  all  these  troubles,  should 
no  longer  sit  in  the  councils  until  peace 
was  re-established.  This  was  the  8th  Fe- 
bruary. The  council  notified  that  they 
would  return  an  answer  on  the  morrow. 

At  six  o'clock  in  the  evening,  twelve 
hundred  citizens  were  assembled  in  the 
corn-market.  They  began  to  fear  that 
the  delay  required  by  the  senate  con- 
cealed some  evil  design.  "  We  must 
have  a  reply  this  very  night,"  they  said. 
The  senate  was  convoked  in  great  haste. 

From  that  period  affairs  assumed  a 
more  threatening  attitude  in  Basle. 
Strong  guards  were  posted  by  the  burgh- 
ers in  the  halls  of  the  different  guilds ; 
armed  men  patrolled  the  city,  and  bivou- 
acked in  the  public  places,  to  anticipate 
the  machinations  of  their  adversaries  ;  j* 
the  chains  were  stretched  across  the 
streets;  torches  were  lighted,  and  resinous 
trees,  whose  flickering  light  scattered  the 
darkness,  were  placed  at  intervals  through 
the  town  ;  six  pieces  of  artillery  were 
planted  before  the  town  hall ;  and  the 
gates  of  the  city,  as  well  as  the  arsenal 
and  the  ramparts,  were  occupied.  Basle 
was  in  a  state  of  siege. 

There  was  no  longer  any  hope  for  the 
Romish  party.  The  burgomaster,  Mel- 
tinger,  an  intrepid  soldier  and  one  of  the 
heroes  of  Marignan,  where  he  had  led 
eight  hundred  men  into  battle,  lost  cour- 
age. In  the  darkness  he  gained  the 
banks  of  the  Rhine  with  his  son-in-law, 
the  councillor  Eglof  d'Offenburg,  em- 
barked unnoticed  in  a  small  boat,  and 
rapidly  descended  the  stream  amid  the 
fogs  of  the  night4  Other  members  of 
the  council  escaped  in  a  similar  manner. 

This  gave  rise  to  new  alarms.  "  Let 
us  beware  of  their  secret  manoeuvres," 
said  the  people.  "  Perhaps  they  are 
going  to  fetch  the  Austrians,  with  whom 
they  have  so  often  threatened  us  !"    The 

*  Cogitans  quid  glorias  Christi,  quid  justitiffi 
publicae,  quidque  posteritati  suae  deberet. 
(CEcol.  Zurich  MS.) 

t  Ne  quid  forte  ab  adversariis  insidiarum 
strueretur.     (Ibid.) 

J  Clam  conscensa  navicula  fuga,  nescio  se- 
natu,  elapsus  est.     (OScol.  Zurich  MS.) 


SWITZERLAND— CONQUESTS. 


771 


affrighted  citizens  collected  arms  from 
every  quarter,  and  at  break  of  day  they 
had  two  thousand  men  on  foot.  The 
beams  of  the  rising  sun  fell  on  this  reso- 
lute but  calm  assembly. 

It  was  midday.  The  senate  had  come 
to  no  decision :  the  impatience  of  the 
burghers  could  be  restrained  no  longer. 
Forty  men  were  detached  to  visit  the 
posts.  As  this  patrol  was  passing  the 
cathedral,  they  entered  it,  and  one  of  the 
citizens,  urged  by  curiosity,  opened  a 
closet  with  his  halberd,  in  which  some 
images  had  been  hidden.  One  of  them 
fell  out,  and  was  broken  into  a  thousand 
pieces  against  the  stone  pavement.*  The 
sight  of  these  fragments  powerfully 
moved  the  spectators,  who  began  throw- 
ing down  one  after  another  all  the  images 
that  were  concealed  in  this  place.  None 
of  them  offered  any  resistance :  heads, 
feet,  and  hands — all  were  heaped  in  con- 
fusion before  the  halberdiers.  "  I  am 
much  surprised,"  said  Erasmus,  "  that 
they  performed  no  miracle  to  save  them- 
selves ;  formerly  the  saints  worked  fre- 
quent prodigies  for  much  smaller  of- 
fences !""j"  Some  priests  ran  to  the  spot, 
and  the  patrol  withdrew. 

A  rumour,  however,  having  spread  that 
a  disturbance  had  taken  place  in  this 
church,  three  hundred  men  came  to  the 
support  of  the  forty.  "  Why,"  said  they, 
"  should  we  spare  the  idols  that  light  up 
the  flames  of  discord  ?"  The  priests  in 
alarm  had  closed  the  gates  of  the  sanc- 
tuary, drawn  the  bolts,  raised  barricades, 
and  prepared  everything  for  maintaining 
a  siege.  But  the  townspeople,  whose 
patience  had  been  exhausted  by  the  de- 
lays of  the  council,  dash  against  one  of 
the  doors  of  the  church  :  it  yields  to  their 
blows,  and  they  rush  into  the  cathedral. 
The  hour  of  madness  has  arrived.  These 
men  are  no  longer  to  be  recognized,  as 
they  brandish  their  swords,  rattle  their 
pikes,  and  utter  formidable  cries :  are 
they  Goths,  or  are  they  fervent  worship- 
pers of  God,  animated  by  the  zeal  which 
in  times  of  yore  inflamed  the  prophets 
and  the  kings  of  Israel  1  However  that 
might  be,  these  proceedings  were  disor- 
derly, since   public   authority  alone  can 

*  Cum  halpardis  quasi  per  ludum  aperirent 
armarium  idolorum,  unumque  idolum  educe- 
rent.     (Ibid.) 

t  Erasm.  Opp.  p.  291. 
98 


interfere  in  public  reforms.  Images, 
altars,  pictures — all  were  thrown  down 
and  destroyed.  The  priests  who  had 
fled  into  the  vestry,  and  there  concealed 
themselves,  trembled  in  every  limb  at 
the  terrible  noise  made  by  the  fall  of  their 
holy  decorations.  The  work  of  destruc- 
tion was  completed  without  one  of  them 
venturing  to  save  the  objects  of  his  wor- 
ship, or  to  make  the  slightest  remon- 
strance. The  people  next  piled  up  the 
fragments  in  the  squares  and  set  fire  to 
them ;  and  during  the  chilly  night  the 
armed  burghers  stood  round  and  warmed 
themselves  at  the  crackling  flame.* 

The  senate  collected  in  amazement, 
and  desired  to  interpose  their  authority 
and  appease  the  tumult ;  but  they  might 
as  well  have  striven  to  command  the 
winds.  The  enthusiastic  citizens  replied 
to  their  magistrates  in  these  haughty 
words  :  "  What  you  have  not  been  able 
to  effect  in  three  years,  we  will  complete 
in  one  hour."f 

In  truth  the  anger  of  the  people  was 
no  longer  confined  to  the  cathedral. 
They  respected  all  kinds  of  private  pro- 
perty ;%  but  they  attacked  the  churches 
of  St.  Peter,  St.  Ulric,  St.  Alban,  and  of 
the  Dominicans  ;  and  in  all  these  temples 
"  the  idols"  fell  under  the  blows  of  these 
good  citizens  of  Basle,  whom  an  extraor- 
dinary zeal  inflamed.  Already  they 
were  making  preparations  to  cross  the 
bridge  and  enter  Little  Basle,  which  was 
devoted  to  the  cause  of  Popery,  when  the 
alarmed  inhabitants  begged  to  be  allowed 
to  remove  the  images  themselves,  and 
with  heavy  hearts  they  hastily  carried 
them  into  the  upper  chambers  of  the 
church,  whence  they  hoped  to  be  able 
after  a  time  to  restore  them  to  their  old 
position. 

They  did  not  stop  at  these  energetic 
demonstrations ;  the  most  excited  talked 
of  going  to  the  town-hall,  and  of  constrain- 
ing the  senate  to  accede  to  the  wishes  of 
the  people  ;  but  the  good  sense  of  the  ma- 
jority treated  these  brawlers  as  they  de- 
served, and  checked  their  guilty  thoughts. 

The  senators  now  perceived  the  neces- 
sity of  giving  a  legal  character  to  this 

*  Lignis  imaginum  usi  sunt  vigiles,  pro  ar- 
cendo  frigore  nocturno.     (Zurich  MS.) 

f  De  quo  vos  per  triennium  deliberastis, 
nihil  efficientes,  nos  intra  horam  omnem  ab- 
solvemus.     (fficol.  Capitoni,  Basle  MS.) 

%  Nulli  enim  vel  obolum  abstulerunt.     (lb.) 


772 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


popular  movement,  and  of  thus  changing 
a  tumultuous  revolution  into  a  durable 
reformation.*  Democracy  and  the  Gos- 
pel were  thus  established  simultaneously 
in  Basle.  The  senate,  after  an  hour's 
deliberation,  granted  that  in  future  the 
burghers  should  participate  in  the  elec- 
tion of  the  two  councils ;  that  from  this 
day  the  Mass  and  images  should  be  abo- 
lished throughout  all  the  canton,  and  that 
in  every  deliberation  which  concerned 
the  glory  of  God  or  the  good  of  the  state 
the  opinion  of  the  guilds  should  betaken. 
The  people,  delighted  at  having  obtained 
these  conditions,  which  secured  their  po- 
litical and  religious  liberty,  returned  joy- 
ful to  their  houses.  It  was  now  the  close 
of  day. -j- 

On  the  morrow,  Ash-Wednesday,  it 
was  intended  to  distribute  the  ruins  of  the 
altars  and  other  ornaments  of  the  Church 
among  the  poor,  to  serve  them  for  fire- 
wood. But  these  unhappy  creatures,  in 
their  eagerness  for  the  fragments,  having 
begun  to  dispute  about  them,  they  con- 
structed great  piles  in  the  cathedral  close 
and  set  fire  to  them.  "  The  idols,"  said 
some  wags,  "  are  really  keeping  their 
Ash- Wednesday  to-day  !"  The  friends 
of  Popery,  turning  away  their  horror- 
stricken  eyes  from  this  sacrilegious  sight, 
says  G5colampadius,  shed  tears  of  blood. 
"  Thus  severely  did  they  treat  the  idols," 
continues  the  reformer,  "  and  the  Mass 
died  of  grief  in  consequence."^:  On  the 
following  Sunday  hymns  in  German  were 
sung  at  every  church  ;  and  on  the  18th 
February  a  general  amnesty  was  pub- 
lished. Everything  was  changed  in 
Basle.  The  last  had  become  first,  and 
the  first  last.  While  G5colampadius, 
who  a  few  years  before  had  entered  the 
city  as  a  stranger,  without  resources  and 
without  power,  found  himself  raised  to 
the  first  station  in  the  Church,  Erasmus-, 
disturbed  in  the  quiet  study  whence  dur- 
ing so  long  a  period  he  had  issued  his 
absolute  commands  to  the  world  of  letters, 
saw  himself  compelled  to  descend  into 
the  arena.  But  this  king  of  the  schools 
had  no  desire  to  lay  down  his  sceptre  be- 

*  Cedendum  plebi.  (OZcol.  Capitoni,  Basle 
MS.) 

t  His  conditionibus  plebsketa  domum  rediit, 
sub  ipsum  noctis  crepusculum.  (Ibid.  Zu- 
rich MS.) 

t  Ita  saevitum  est  in  idola,  ac  missa  prse  do- 
lore  expiravit.     (OZcol.  Cap.  Zurich  MS.) 


fore  the  sovereign  people.  For  a  long 
time  he  used  to  turn  aside  his  head  when 
he  met  his  friend  fficolampadius.  Be- 
sides he  feared  by  remaining  at  Basle  to 
compromise  himself  with  his  protectors. 
"  The  torrent,"  said  he,  "  which  was 
hidden  underground  has  burst  forth  with 
violence,  and  committed  frightful  ra- 
vages.* My  life  is  in  danger :  G5co- 
lampadius  possesses  all  the  churches. 
People  are  continually  bawling  in  my 
ears ;  I  am  besieged  with  letters,  cari- 
catures, and  pamphlets.  It  is  all  over  : 
I  am  resolved  to  leave  Basle.  Only 
shall  I  or  shall  I  not  depart  by  stealth  ? 
The  one  is  more  becoming,  the  other  more 
secure." 

Wishing  as  much  as  possible  to  make 
his  honour  and  his  prudence  agree,  Eras- 
mus desired  the  boatman  with  whom  he 
was  to  descend  the  Rhine  to  depart  from 
an  unfrequented  spot.  This  was  opposed 
by  the  senate,  and  the  timid  philosopher 
was  compelled  to  enter  the  boat  as  it  lay 
near  the  great  bridge,  at  that  time  cover- 
ed with  a  crowd  of  people.  He  floated 
down  the  river,  sadly  bade  adieu  to  the 
city  he  had  so  much  loved,  and  retired 
to  Fribursr  in  Brisgau  with  several  other 
learned  men. 

New  professors  were  invited  to  fill  the 
vacant  chairs  in  the  university,  and  in 
particular  Oswald  Myconius,  Phrygio, 
Sebastian  Munster,  and  Simon  Gryneeus. 
At  the  same  time  was  published  an  eccle- 
siastical order  and  ja.  confession  of  faith, 
one  of  the  most  precious  documents  of 
this  epoch. 

Thus  had  a  great  transformation  been 
effected  without  the  loss  of  a  single  drop 
of  blood.  Popery  had  fallen  in  Basle  in 
despite  of  the  secular  and  spiritual  power. 
"  The  wedge  of  the  Lord,"  says  ffico- 
lampadius,  "  has  split  this  hard  knot."f 

We  cannot,  however,  help  acknow- 
ledging that  the  Basle  Reformation  may 
afford  ground  for  some  objections.  Lu- 
ther had  opposed  himself  to  the  power  of 
the  many.  "  When  the  people  prick  up 
their  ears,  do  not  whistle  too  loud.  It  is 
better  to  suffer  at  the  hand  of  one  tyrant, 
that  is  to  say,  of  a  king,  than  of  a  thou- 

*  Basilica  torrens  quidem,  qui  sub  terra  labe- 
batur,  subito  eruinpens,  &c.  (Er.  Epp.  ad 
Pirkheimer,  July,  1539.) 

t  Malo  nodo  suus  cuneus  obvenit.  (fficol. 
ICapit.) 


SWITZERLAND— CONQUESTS. 


773 


sand  tyrants,  that  is  to  say,  of  the  people."  I     VI.  The   recoil  of  the  discussion    at 
On  this  account  the  German  Reformer  Berne  had  overthrown  Popery  in  a  con- 


has  been  reproached  for  acknowledging 
no  other  policy  than  servilism. 

Perhaps  when  the  Swiss  Reformation 
is  canvassed,  a  contrary  objection  will 
be  made  against  it,  and  the  Reform  at 
Basle,  in  particular,  will  be  looked  upon 
as  a  revolution. 

The  Reformation  must  of  necessity 
bear  the  stamp  of  the  country  in  which 
it  was  accomplished  :  it  will  be  monar- 
chical in  Germany,  republican  in  Switz- 
erland. Nevertheless,  in  religion  as  in 
politics,  there  is  a  great  difference  be- 
tween reformation  and  revolution. 

In  neither  of  these  spheres  does  Chris- 
tianity desire  either  despotism,  servitude, 
stagnation,  retrogression,  or  death.  But 
while  looking  for  progress,  it  seeks  to 
accomplish  it  by  reformation  and  not  by 
revolution. 

Reformation  works  by  the  power  of 
the  Word,  of  doctrine,  cultivation  and 
truth  ;  while  revolution,  or  rather  revolt, 
operates  by  the  power  of  riot,  of  the 
sword,  and  of  the  club. 

Christianity  proceeds  by  the  inner 
man,  and  charters  themselves,  if  they 
stand  alone,  cannot  satisfy  it.  No  doubt 
constitutions  are  one  of  the  blessings  of 
our  age  ;  but  it  is  not  sufficient  for  these 
securities  to  be  committed  to  parchment ; 
they  must  be  written  in  the  heart,  and 
guaranteed  by  the  manners  of  the 
people. 

Such  were  the  principles  of  the  Swiss 
Reformers,  such  were  those  of  the  Re- 
form at  Basle,  and  by  these  it  is  distin- 
guished from  a  revolution. 

There  were,  it  is  true,  some  excesses. 
Never  perhaps  has  a  reformation  been 
accomplished  among  men  without  some 
mixture  of  revolution.  But  it  was  doc- 
trines, however,  that  were  in  question  at 
Basle  :  these  doctrines  had  acted  power- 
fully on  the  moral  convictions  and  on  the 
lives  of  the  people  ;  the  movement  had 
taken  place  within  before  it  showed  itself 
without.  But  more  than  this  :  the  Re- 
formation was  not  satisfied  with  taking 
away  ;  it  gave  more  than  it  took  ;  and, 
far  from  confining  itself  to  the  work  of 
destruction,  it  scattered  rich  blessings 
over  all  the  people.* 

*  Hagenbach,     Vorlesungen,    ii.    pp.     125, 

200. 


siderable  part  of  German  Switzerland. 
It  was  also  felt  in  many  of  the  churches 
of  French  Switzerland,  lying  at  the  foot 
of  the  Jura,  or  scattered  amid  the  pine- 
forests  of  its  elevated  valleys,  and  which 
up  to  this  time  had  shown  the  most  abso- 
lute devotion  to  the  Roman  pontiff. 

Farel,  seeing  the  Gospel  established  in 
the  places  where  the  Rhone  mingles  its 
sandy  waters  with  the  crystal  Leman, 
turned  his  eyes  to  another  quarter.  He 
was  supported  by  Berne.  This  state, 
which  possessed  jointly  with  Frihurg  the 
bailiwicks  of  Morat,  Orbe,  and  Granson, 
and  which  had  alliances  with  Lausanne, 
Avenches,  Payerne,  Neuchatel,  and  Ge- 
neva, saw  that  both  its  interest  and  its 
duty  alike  called  it  to  have  the  Gospel 
preached  to  its  allies  and  subjects.  Fa- 
rel was  empowered  to  carry  it  among 
them,  always  with  reserve  of  the  con- 
sent of  the  respective  governments. 

One  day,  therefore,  journeying  to- 
wards Morat,  Farel  arrived  and  preached 
the  Gospel  at  the  foot  of  those  towers  and 
battlements  that  had  been  attacked  at 
three  different  periods  by  the  armies  of 
Conrad  the  Salic,  Rodolph  of  Hapsburg, 
and  Charles  the  Bold.  Erelong  the 
friends  of  the  Reform  amounted  to  a 
great  number.  A  general  vote  having 
nevertheless  declared  in  favour  of  the 
Pope,  Farel  proceeded  to  Lausanne. 

He  was  at  first  driven  away  by  the 
bishop  and  the  clergy,  but  soon  reap- 
peared provided  with  a  letter  from  the 
lords  of  Berne.  "  We  send  him  to  you," 
said  their  excellencies  to  the  authorities 
of  the  city,  "  to  defend  his  own  cause 
and  ours.  Allow  him  to  preach  the 
Word  of  God,  and  beware  that  you  touch 
not  a  hair  of  his  head." 

There  was  great  confusion  in  the 
councils.  Placed  between  Berne  and 
the  bishop,  what  could  they  do  ?  The 
Council  of  Twenty- four,  finding  the  mat- 
ter very  serious,  convoked  the  Council 
of  Sixty  ;  and  this  body,  excusing  itself, 
they  convoked  the  Council  of  Two  Hun- 
dred, on  the  14th  November,  1529.  But 
these  in  their  turn  referred  the  business 
to  the  smaller  council.  No  one  would 
have  anything  to  do  with  it.  The  inha- 
bitants of  Lausanne,  it  is  true,  com- 
plained  loudly  of  the  holy  members  of 


774 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


their  chapters,  whose  lives '  (they  said) 
were  one  long  orgy ;  but  when  their 
eyes  turned  on  the  austere  countenance 
of  Reform,  they  were  still  more  terrified. 
Besides,  how  deprive  Lausanne  of  her 
bishop,  her  court,  and  her  dignitaries  ? 
What !  no  more  pilgrims  in  the  church- 
es,— no  more  suitors  in  the  ecclesiastical 
courts, — no  more  purchasers  in  the 
markets,  or  boon  companions  in  the  ta- 
verns !  The  widowed  and  desolate  Lau- 
sanne would  no  longer  behold  the  noisy 
throng  of  people,  that  were  at  once  her 
wealth  and  her  glory  ! — Better  far  a  dis- 
order that  enriches,  than  a  Reform  that 
impoverishes  !  Farel  was  compelled  to 
depart  a  second  time. 

He  returned  to  Morat,  and  soon  the 
Word  gained  over  the  hearts  of  the 
people.  On  feast-days,  the  roads  from 
Payerne  and  Avenches  were  covered 
with  merry  bands,  who  laughingly  said 
to  one  another,  "  Let  us  go  to  Morat  and 
hear  the  preachers  !"  and  exhorted  each 
other  slily,  as  they  went  along  the  road, 
"  not  to  fall  into  the  nets  of  the  heretics." 
But  at  night,  all  was  changed.  Grasped 
by  the  strong  hand  of  truth,  these  very 
people  returned, — some  in  deep  thought, 
others  discussing  with  animation  the  doc- 
trines they  had.  heard.  The  fire  was 
sparkling  throughout  all  this  district,  and 
spreading  in  every  direction  its  long  rays 
of  light.  This  was  enough  for  Farel : 
he  required  new  conquests. 

At  a  short  distance  from  Morat  lay  one 
of  the  strongholds  of  Popery — the  Earl- 
dom of  Neuchatel.  Joan  of  Hochberg, 
who  had  inherited  this  principality  from 
her  ancestors,  had  married,  in  1504, 
Louis  of  Orleans,  Duke  of  Longueville. 
This  French  nobleman  having  supported 
the  King  of  France  in  1512,  in  a  war 
against  the  Swiss,  the  cantons  had  taken 
possession  of  Neuchatel,  but  had  restored 
it  to  his  widow  in  1529. 

Few  countries  could  have  presented 
greater  difficulties  to  the  daring  reform- 
er. The  princess  of  Longueville,  resid- 
ing in  France  in  the  suite  of  Francis  I., 
a  woman  of  courtly  habits,  vain,  extra- 
vagant, always  in  debt,  and  thinking  of 
Neuchatel  only  as  a  farm  that  should 
bring  her  in  a  large  revenue,  was  de- 
voted to  the  Pope  and  Popery.  Twelve 
canons  with  several  priests  and  chaplains 
formed  a  powerful  clergy,  at  whose  head 


was  the  provost  Oliver  of  Hochberg,  na- 
tural brother  to  the  princess.  Auxili- 
aries full  of  zeal  flanked  this  main  army. 
On  the  one  side  there  was  the  abbey  of 
the  Premonstrantes  of  Fontaine- Andre, 
three  quarters  of  a  league  beyond  the 
town,  the  monks  of  which,  after  having 
in  the  twelfth  century  cleared  the  ground 
with  their  own  hands,*  had  gradually  be- 
come powerful  lords  ;  and,  on  the%other 
side,  the  Benedictines  of  the  Island  of 
St.  John,  whose  abbot,  having  beeli  de- 
posed by  the  Bernese,  had  taken  refuge, 
burning  with  hatred  and  vengeance,  in 
his  priory  at  Corcelles. 

The  people  of  Neuchatel  had  a  great 
respect  for  ancient  rights,  and  it  was 
easy  to  take  advantage  of  this  state  of 
feeling,  considering  the  general  igno- 
rance, to  maintain  the  innovations  of 
Popery.  The  canons  improved  the  op- 
portunity. For  the  instructions  of  the 
Gospel  they  substituted  pomps  and  shows. 
The  church,  situated  on  a  steep  rock, 
was  filled  with  altars,  chapels,  and  images 
of  saints ;  and  religion,  descending  from 
this  sanctuary,  ran  up  and  down  the 
streets,  and  was  travestied  in  dramas  and 
mysteries,  mingled  with  indulgences, 
miracles,  and  debauchery.^ 

The  soldiers  of  Neuchatel,  however, 
who  had  made  the  campaign  of  1529 
with  the  Bernese  army,  brought  back  to 
their  homes  the  liveliest  enthusiasm  for 
the  Evangelical  cause.  It  was  at  this 
period  that  a  frail  boat,  quitting  the 
southern  bank  of  the  lake,  on  the  side 
opposite  Morat,  and  carrying  a  French- 
man of  mean  appearance,  steered  to- 
wards the  Neuchatel  shore.  Farel,  for  it 
was  he,  had  learnt  that  the  village  of 
Serriere,  situated  at  the  gates  of  Neu- 
chatel, depended  in  spiritualities  on  the 
evangelical  city  of  Bienne,  and  that 
Emer  Beynon,  the  priest  of  the  place, 
"  had  some  liking  for  the  Gospel."  The 
plan  of  his  campaign  was  immediately 
drawn  up.  He  appeared  before  parson 
Emer,  who  received  him  with  joy  ;  but 
what  could  be  done  ?  for  Farel  had  been 
interdicted  from  preaching  in  any  church 
whatever  in  the  earldom.  The  poor 
priest  thought  to  reconcile  everything  by 

*  Propriis  manibus.  (Hist,  of  Neuchatel, 
by  F.  de  Chambrier,  p.  13.) 

f  Memoires  sur  l'Eglise  collegiale  de  Neu- 
chatel, p.  240. 


SWITZERLAND— CONQUESTS. 


775 


permitting  Farel  to  mount  on  a  stone  in 
the  cemetery,  and  thus  preach  to  the  peo- 
ple, turning  his  back  upon  the  church.* 

A  great  disturbance  arose  in  Neucha- 
tel.  On  one  side  the  government,  the 
canons,  and  the  priests,  cried  "  Heresy  !" 
but,  on  the  other,  "  some  inhabitants  of 
Neuchatel,  to  whom  God  had  given  a 
knowledge  of  the  truth, "f  flocked  to 
yerriere.  In  a  short  time  these  last  could 
not  contain  themselves :  "  Come,"  said 
they  to  Farel,  "  and  preach  to  us  in  the 
town." 

This  was  at  the  beginning  of  Decem- 
ber. They  entered  by  the  gate  of  the 
castle,  and  leaving  the  church  on  the  hill 
to  the  left,  they  passed  in  front  of  the 
canons'  houses,  and  descended  through 
the  narrow  streets  inhabited  by  the  citi- 
zens. On  reaching  the  market-cross, 
Farel  ascended  a' platform  and  addressed 
the  crowd,  which  gathered  together  from 
all  the  neighbourhood, — weavers,  vine- 
dressers, husbandmen,  a  worthy  race, 
possessing  more  feeling  than  imagination. 
The  preacher's  exterior  was  grave,  his 
discourse  energetic,  his  voice  like  thun- 
der :  his  eyes,  his  features,  his  gestures, 
all  showed  him  a  man  of  intrepidity. 
The  citizens,  accustomed  to  run  about 
the  streets  after  the  mountebanks,  were 
touched  by  his  powerful  language. 
"  Farel  preached  a  sermon  of  such  great 
efficacy,"  says  a  manuscript,  "  that  he 
gained  over  much  people.":]: 

Some  monks,  however,  with  shaven 
crowns,§  glided  among  his  hearers,  seek- 
ing to  excite  them  against  the  heretical 
minister.  "  Let  us  beat  out  his  brains," 
said  some.  "  Duck  him,  duck  him  !" 
cried  others,  advancing  to  throw  Farel 
into  a  fountain,  which  may  still  be  seen 
near  the  spot  where  he  preached.  But 
the  reformer  stood  firm. 

This  first  preaching  was  succeeded  by 
others.  To  this  Gospel  missionary  every 
place  was  a  church  ;  every  stone,  every 
bench,    every    platform    was    a    pulpit. 

*  M.  de  Perrot,  ex-pastcr  of  Serriere,  and 
author  of  a  work  entitled  "  L'Eglise  et  la  Re- 
formation," has  shown  me  the  stone  on  which 
Farel  stood. 

f  "  Aucuns  de  Neuchatel,  auxquels  Dieu 
avaient  donne  connoissance  de  la  verite,"  &c. 
(Choupart  MS.) 

J  Quoted  in  the  Choupart  MS. 

§  Rasorum  remoramenta.  (Farellus  Molano, 
Neuchatel  MS.) 


Already  the  cutting  winds  and  the  snows 
of  December  should  have  kept  the  Neu- 
chatelans  around  their  firesides  ;  "  the 
canons  made  a  vigorous  defence  ;"*  and 
in  every  quarter  "  the  shorn  crowns" 
were  in  agitation,  supplicating,  menacing, 
howling,  and  threatening, — but  all  was 
useless.  No  sooner  did  this  man  of  small 
stature  rise  up  in  any  place,  with  his 
pale  yet  sunburnt  complexion,  with  red 
and  unkempt  beard,  with  sparkling  eye 
and  expressive  mouth,  than  the  monks' 
labour  was  lost :  the  people  collected 
around,  for  it  was  the  Word  of  God  that 
fell  from  his  lips.f  All  eyes  were  fixed 
on  him  :  with  open  mouth  and  attentive 
ears  they  hung  upon  his  words 4  And 
scarcely  does  he  begin  to  speak,  when — 
Oh  !  wonderful  work  of  God  !  he  himself 
exclaims — this  multitude  believes  as  if  it 
had  but  one  soul. 

The  Word  of  God  carried  the  town,  as 
it  were,  at  the  first  assault ;  and  throwing 
down  the  devices  Rome  had  taken  ages 
to  compose,  established  itself  in  triumph 
on  the  ruins  of  human  traditions.  Farel 
saw  in  imagination  Jesus  Christ  himself 
walking  in  spirit  through  the  midst  of  this 
crowd,  opening  the  eyes  of  the  blind, 
softening  the   hard   heart,  and   working 

miracles  §, so  that  scarcely  had    he 

returned  to  his  humble  residence  before 
he  wrote  to'-his  friends  with  a  heart  full 
of  emotion  :  "  Render  thanks  with  me  to 
the  Father  of  mercies,  in  that  he  has 
shown  his  favour  to  those  bowed  down  by 
a  weighty  tyranny ;"  and  falling  on  his 
knees,  he  worshipped  God.|| 

But  during  this  time  what  were  the 
adherents  of  the  Pope  doing  in  Neucha- 
tel? 

The  canons,  members  of  the  General 
Audiences,  of  which  they  formed  the 
first  estate,  treated  both  priests  and  lay- 
men with  intolerable  haughtiness.  Lay- 
ing the  burden  of  their  offices  on  poor 
curates,  they  publicly  kept  dissolute 
women,  clothed  them  sumptuously,  en- 
dowed their  children  by  public  acts, 
fought  in  the  church,  haunted  the  streets 

*  Contra  tyrannica  praecepta.  (Far.  Mol. 
Neuchatel  MS.) 

f  Ad  verbum  festinarent.     (Ibid.) 

%  Avide  audientes.     (Ibid.) 

§  Quid  Christus  in  suis  egerit.     (Ibid.) 

||  Gratias  ergo,  Fratres,  mecum  agite  Patri 
misericordiarum,  quod  sit  propitius  gravi  pres- 
sis  tirannide.     (Ibid.) 


776 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


by  night,  or  went  into  a  foreign  country 
to  enjoy  in  secret  the  produce  of  their 
avarice  and  of  their  intrigues.  Some 
poor  lepers  placed  in  a  house  near  the 
city  were  maintained  by  the  produce  of 
certain  offerings.  The  rich  canons,  in 
the  midst  of  their  banquets,  dared  take 
away  the  bread  of  charity  from  these 
unhappy  wretches. 

The  abbey  of  Fontaine-Andre  was  at 
a  little  distance  from  the  town.  Now  the 
canons  of  Neuchatel  and  the  monks  of 
Fontaine  were  at  open  war.  These 
hostile  powers,  encamped  on  their  two 
hills,  disputed  each  other's  property, 
wrested  away  each  other's  privileges, 
launched  at  one  another  the  coarsest  in- 
sults, and  even  came  to  blows.  "  De- 
baucher  of  women  !"  said  the  canons  to 
the  abbot  of  Fontaine-Andre,  who  re- 
turned the  compliment  in  the  same  coin. 
It  is  the  Reformation  which,  through 
faith,  has  re-established  the  moral  law  in 
Christendom, — a  law  that  Popery  had 
trodden  under  foot. 

For  a  long  time  these  conventual  wars 
had  disturbed  the  country.  On  a  sud- 
den they  cease.  A  strange  event  is 
passing  in  Neuchatel, — the  Word  of  God 
is  preached  there.  The  canons,  seized 
with  affright  in  the  midst  of  their  disor- 
ders, look  down  from  their  lofty  dwell- 
ings on  this  new  movement.  The  report 
reaches  Fontaine-Andre.  The  monks 
and  priests  suspend  their  orgies  and  their 
quarrels.  The  heathen  sensualism  that 
had  invaded  the  Church  is  put  to  the  rout ; 
Christian  spiritualism  has  reappeared. 

Immediately  the  monks  and  canons,  so 
long  at  war,  embrace  and  unite  against 
the  Reformer.  "  We  must  save  reli- 
gion," said  they,  meaning  their  tithes, 
banquets,  scandals,  and  privileges.  Not 
one  of  them  could  oppose  a  doctrine  to 
the  doctrine  preached  by  Farel :  to  insult 
him  was  their  sole  weapon.  At  Corcel- 
les,  however,  they  went  farther.  As  the 
minister  was  proclaiming  the  Gospel 
near  the  priory,  the  monks  fell  upon  him  ; 
in  the  midst  of  them  was  the  prior  Ro- 
dolph  de  Benoit,  storming,  exciting,  and 
striving  to  augment  the  tempest.  He 
even  had  a  dagger  in  his  hand,  according 
to  one  writer.*  Farel  escaped  with 
difficulty. 

*  Rosselet  in  Annotat.  Farel  Lebeu  von 
Kirchofer. 

* 


This  was  not  enough.  Popery,  as  it 
always  does,  had  recourse  to  the  civil 
power.  The  canons,  the  abbot,  and  the 
prior,  solicited  the  governor  George  de 
Rive  at  the  same  time.  Farel  stood  firm. 
"  The  glory  of  Jesus  Christ,"  said  he, 
"  and  the  lively  affection  his  sheep  bear 
to  his  Word,  constrain  me  to  endure 
sufferings  greater  than  tongue  can  de- 
scribe."* Erelong,  however,  he  was 
compelled  to  yield.  Farel  again  crossed 
the  lake  ;  but  this  passage  was  very  dif- 
ferent from  the  former.  The  fire  was 
kindled  ! — On  the  22d  December  he  was 
at  Morat ;  and  shortly  after  at  Aigle. 

He  was  recalled  hence.  On  the  7th 
January,  religion  was  put  to  the  vote  at 
Morat,  and  the  majority  was  in  favour  of 
the  Gospel.  But  the  Romish  minority, 
supported  by  Friburg,  immediately  un- 
dertook to  recover  its  ancient  position  by 
insults  and  bad  treatment.  "  Farel  ! 
Farel  !"  cried  the  reformed  party. f 

A  few  days  after  this,  Farel,  accom- 
panied by  a  Bernese  messenger,  scaled 
that  magnificent  amphitheatre  of  moun- 
tains above  Vevay,  whence  the  eye 
plunges  into  the  waters  of  the  Leman  ; 
and  soon  he  crossed  the  estates  of  Count 
John  of  Gruyere,  who  was  in  the  habit 
of  saying,  "  We  must  burn  this  French 
Luther  !"|  Scarcely  had  Farel  reached 
the  heights  of  St.  Martin  de  Vaud,§  when 
he  saw  the  vicar  of  the  place  with  two 
priests  running  to  meet  him.  "  Heretic  ! 
devil  !"  cried  they.  But  the  knight, 
through  fear  of  Berne,  remained  behind 
his  walls,  and  Farel  passed  on. 

The  Reformer,  not  allowing  himself  to 
be  ^topped  by  the  necessity  of  defending 
himself  in  Morat,  or  by  the  inclemency 
of  the  season,  immediately  carried  the 
Gospel  to  those  beautiful  hills  that  soar 
between  the  smiling  waters  of  lakes  Mo- 
rat and  Neuchatel  into  the  villages  of  the 
Vully.  This  manoeuvre  was  crowned 
with  the  most  complete  success.  On  the 
15th  February  four  deputies  from  the 
Vully  came  to  Morat  to  demand  permis- 

*  At  levia  facit  omnia  Christus,  added  he. 
Farel  to  Dumoulin,  15th  December.  (Neu- 
chatel MS.) 

t  Choupart  MS.  (Chambrier,  Hist,  de  Neu- 
chatel, p.  293.) 

X  Missive  of  Berne  to  the  Count  of  Gruyere, 
5th  and  16th  January  1530. 

§  To  the  left  of  the  modern  road  from  Vevay 
to  Friburg. 


SWITZERLAND— CONQUESTS. 


777 


sion  to  embrace  the  Reform,  which 
was  immediately  granted  to  them.  "  Let 
our  ministers  preach  the  Gospel,"  said 
their  excellencies  of  Berne  to  the  Fri- 
burgers,  "  and  we  will  let  your  priests 
play  their  monkey  tricks.  We  desire  to 
force  no  man."*  The  Reform  restored 
freedom  of  will  to  the  christian  people. 
It  was  about  this  time  that  Farel  wrote 
his  beautiful  letter  "  To  all  lords,  people, 
and  pastors,"  which  we  have  so  often 
quoted,  f 

The  indefatigable  reformer  now  went 
forward  to  new  conquests.  A  chain  of 
rocks  separates  the  Juran  valley  of  Er- 
guel,  already  evangelized  by  Farel,  from 
the  country  of  the  ancient  Rauraci,  and 
a  passage  cut  through  the  rock  serves  as 
a  communication  between  the  two  dis- 
tricts. It  was  the  end  of  April  when 
Farel,  passing  through  the  Pierrc-Per- 
tui$7%  descended  to  the  village  of  Tavan- 
nes,  and  entered  the  church  just  as  the 
priest  was  saying  Mass.  Farel  went 
into  the  pulpit  :  the  astonished  priest 
stopped, — the  minister  filled  his  hearers 
with  emotion,  and  seemed  to  them  an 
angel  come  down  from  heaven.  Imme- 
diately the  images  and  the  altars  fell,  and 
"  the  poor  priest  who  was  chanting  the 
?4ass  could  not  finish  it."§  To  put  down 
Popery  had  required  less  time  than  the 
priest  had  spent  at  the  altar. 

A  great  part  of  the  bishopric  of  Basle 
was  in  a  few  weeks  gained  over  to  the 
Reformation. 

During  this  time  the  Gospel  was  fer- 
menting in  Neuchatel.  The  young  men 
who  had  marched  with  Berne  to  deliver 
Geneva  from  the  attacks  of  Savoy,  re- 
counted in  their  jovial  meetings  the  ex- 
ploits of  the  campaign,  and  related  how 
the  soldiers  of  Berne,  feeling  cold,  had 
taken  the  images  from  the  Dominican 
church  at  Geneva,  saying :  "  Idols  of 
wood  are  of  no  use  but  to  make  a  fire 
with  in  winter." 

Farel    re-appeared    in    Neuchatel.  || 

*  Missive  of  Berne,  Choupart  MS. 

t  A  tous  seigneurs,  peuples,  et  pasteurs. 
See  above,  Vol.  III.  book  xii. 

%  Petra  Pertusa. 

§  Done  le  pauvre  pretre  qui  chantoit  sa 
messe  ne  la  peut  pas  achever.  (Old  MS. 
quoted  in  the  Choupart  MS.) 

||  Farellus  suo  more  magna  fortitudine  jam- 
jam  agit.  Megander  to  Zwingle,  6th  Aug. 
1530. 


Being  master  of  the  lower  part  of  the 
town,  he  raised  liis  eyes  to  the  lofty  rocks 
on  which  soared  the  cathedral  and  the 
castle.  The  best  plan,  thought  lie,  is  to 
bring  these  proud  priests  down  to  us. 
One  morning  Ins  young  friends  spread 
themselves  in  tin-  streets,  and  posted  up 
Large  placards  healing  these  words : 
••  All  those  who  say  Mass  arc  robbers, 
murderers,  and  seducers  of  lite  /n7>/>/e."* 
Great  was  the  uproar  in  Neuchatel. 
The  canons  summoned  their  people, 
called  together  their  clerks,  and  march- 
ing at  the  head  of  a  large  troop,  armed 
with  swords  and  clubs,  descended  into  the 
jtown,  tore  down  the  sacrilegious  placards, 
and  cited  Farel  before  the  tribunal  as  a 
slanderer,  demanding  ten  thousand 
crowns  damages. 

The  two  parties  appeared  in  court,  and 
this  was  all  that  Farel  desired.  "  I  con- 
fess the  fact,"  said  he,  "  but  I  am  justi- 
fied in  what  I  have  done.  Where  are 
there  to  be  found  more  horrible  murder- 
ers, than  these  seducers  who  sell  para- 
dise, and  thus  nullify  the  merits  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  ?  I  will  prove  my 
assertion  by  the  Gospel."  And  he  pre- 
pared to  open  it,  when  the  canons,  flushed 
with  anger,  cried  out :  "  The  common 
law  of  Neuchatel,  and  not  the  Gospel,  is 
in  question  here !  Where  are  the  wit- 
nesses ?"  But  Farel,  always  returning 
to  that  fearful  assertion,  proved  by  the 
Word  of  God  that  the  canons  were  really 
guilty  of  murder  and  robbery.  To  plead 
such  a  cause  was  to  ruin  Popery.  The 
court  of  Neuchatel,  that  had  never  heard 
a  similar  case,  resolved  according  to 
ancient  custom  to  lay  it  before  the  Coun- 
cil of  Besanqon,!  which  not  daring  to 
pronounce  the  first  estate  of  the  General 
xAudiences  guilty  of  murder  and  robbery, 
referred  the  matter  to  the  Emperor  and 
to  a  general  council.  Bad  causes  gain 
nothing  by  making  a  disturbance. 

At  every  step  they  wished  to  drive  him 
back,  Farel  made  one  in  advance.  The 
streets  and  the  houses  were  still  his  tem- 
ple. One  day  when  the  people  of  Neu- 
chatel were  around  him,  "  Why,"  cried 
they,  "  should  not  the  Word  of  God  be 
proclaimed  in  a  church  ?"  They  then 
hurried  Farel  along  with  them,  opened 

*  De  Chambrier,  Hist,  de  Neuchatel,  i.  p. 
293. 

t  Prendre  les  entraives. 


778 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


the  doors  of  the  Hospital  Chapel,  set  the 
minister  in  the  pulpit,  and  a  numerous 
crowd  stood  silent  before  him.  "  In  like 
manner  as  Jesus  Christ,  appearing  in  a 
state  of  poverty  and  humility,  was  born 
in  a  stable  at  Bethlehem,"  said  the  Re- 
former ;  "  so  this  hospital,  this  abode  of 
the  sick  and  of  the  poor,  is  to-day  become 
his  birthplace  in  the  town  of  Neuchatel." 
Then  feeling  ill  at  ease  in  the  presence 
of  the  painted  and  carved  figures  that 
decorated  the  chapel,  he  laid  his  hands 
on  these  objects  of  idolatry,  removed  them, 
and  broke  them  in  pieces. 


VII.  At  the  distance  of  a  league  from 
Neuchatel,  beyond  the  mountain,  extends 
the  Val  de  Ruz,  and  near  its  entrance, 
in  a  precipitous  situation,  where  roars  an 
impetuous  torrent  surrounded  by  steep 
crags,  stands  the  town  of  Valangin.  An 
old  castle,  built  on  a  rock,  raises  its  vast 
walls  into  the  air,  overlooking  the  humble 
dwellings  of  the  townspeople,  and  extend- 
ing its  jurisdiction  over  five  valleys  of 
these  lofty  and  severe  mountains  at  that 
time  covered  with  forests  of  pine,  but 
now  peopled  by  the  most  active  industry.* 

In  this   castle    dwelt   Guillemette  de 


Popery,  which  anger  had  blinded,  now  Vergy,   dowager-countess   of  Valangin, 


took  a  step  that  it  undoubtedly  had  a 
right  to  take,  but  which  destroyed  it :  it 
had  recourse  to  the  secular  arm,  and  the 
governor  sent  a  deputation  to  the  Bernese 
council,  praying  the  removal  of  Farel 
and  his  companions. 

But  almost  at  the  same  time  deputies 
from  the  townspeople  arrived  at  Berne. 
"  Did  not  these  hands  bear  arms  at  Inter- 
laken  and  at  Bremgarten  to  support  your 
Reformation  ?  and  will  you  abandon  us 
in  ours  ?" 

Berne  hesitated.  A  public  calamity 
was  at  that  time  filling  the  whole  city 
with  mourning.  One  of  the  most  illus- 
trious citizens  of  the  republic,  the  Ban- 
neret of  Weingarten,  attacked  by  the 
plague,  was  expiring  amid  the  tears  of 
his  sons  and  of  his  fellow-citizens.  Be- 
ing informed  of  the  arrival  of  the  Neu- 
chatelans,  he  rallied  his  waning  strength  : 
"  Go,"  said  he,  "  and  beg  the  senate  in 
my  name  to  ask  for  a  general  assembly 
of  the  people  of  Neuchatel  for  Sunday 
next."f  This  message  of  the  dying  ban- 
neret decided  the  council. 

The  deputies  from  Berne  arrived  in 
Neuchatel  on  the  7th  August.  Farel 
thought  that  during  the  debates  he  had 
time  to  make  a  new  conquest,  and  quitted 
the  city.  His  zeal  can  be  compared  only 
to  St.  Paul's.  His  body  was  small  and 
feeble,  but  his  activity  was  wholly  apos- 
tolic :  danger  and  bad  treatment  wasted 
him  every  day,  but  he  had  within  him  a 
divine  power  that  rendered  him  victo- 
rious. 


*  Choupart  MS. 

t  Wingarterus  iste  infectus  peste  apud  sena- 
tum  nostrum,  pia  legatione.  (Megander  to 
Zwingle.) 


strongly  attached  to  the  Romish  religion 
and  full  of  respect  for  the  memory  of  her 
husband.  A  hundred  priests  had  chanted 
high  mass  at  the  count's  burial ;  many 
penitent  young  women  had  been  married, 
and  large  alms  distributed ;  the  curate 
of  Locle  had  been  sent  to  Jerusalem,  and 
Guillemette  herself  had  made  a  pilgrim- 
age for  the  repose  for  the  soul  of  her  de- 
parted lord. 

Sometimes,  however,  the  Countess  of 
Gruyere  and  other  ladies  would  come 
and  visit  the  widow  of  Vergy,  who  as- 
sembled in  the  castle  a  number  of  young 
lords.  The  fife  and  tambourine  re-echoed 
under  its  vaulted  roofs,  chattering  groups 
collected  in  the  immense  embrasures  of 
its  Gothic  windows,  and  merry  dances 
followed  hard  upon  a  long  silence  and 
gloomy  devotion. f  There  was  but  one 
sentiment  that  never  left  Guillemette — 
this  was  her  hatred  against  the  Reforma- 
tion. 

Guillemette  and  the  priests  had  in  fact 
reason  to  tremble.  The  15th  August 
was  a  great  Romish  festival — Our  Lady 
of  August,  or  the  Assumption.  All  the 
faithful  of  the  Val  de  Ruz  were  preparing 
to  keep  it.  This  was  the  very  day  Fa- 
rel selected.  Animated  by  the  fire  and 
courage  of  Elijah,  he  set  out  for  Valan- 
gin, and  a  young  man,  his  fellow-coun- 
tryman, and,  as  it  would  appear,  a  dis- 
tant relation,  Anthony  Boyve,  an  ardent 
Christian  and  a  man  of  decided  character, 
went  along  with  him.:):     The  two  mis- 

*  Here  are  situated  Chaux  de  Fonds,  Locle, 
&c. 

t  Chambrier,  Hist,  de  Neuchatel,  p.  276. 

X  Annals  of  Boyve  and  a  family  MS. — This 
family  has  since  given  several  pastors  to  the 
church  of  Neuchatel. 


SWITZERLAND— CONQUESTS. 


779 


sionaries  climbed  the  mountain,  plunged 
into  the  pine  forest,  and  then  descending 
again  into  the  valley,  they  traversed 
Valangin,  where  the  vicinity  of  the  cas- 
tle did  not  give  them  much  encourage- 
ment to  pause,  and  arrived  at  a  vil- 
lage, probably  Boudevilliers,  proposing 
to  preach  the  Gospel  there.* 

Already  on  all  sides  the  people  were 
thronging  to  the  church  ;  Farel  and  his 
companion  entered  also  with  a  small 
number  of  the  inhabitants  who  had  heard 
him  at  Neuchatel.  The  reformer  im- 
mediately ascended  the  pulpit,  and  the 
priest  prepared  to  celebrate  the  Mass. 
The  combat  begins.  While  the  voice  of 
Farel  is  preaching  Jesus  Christ  and  his 
promises,  the  voices  of  the  priests  and  of 
the  choir  are  chanting  the  missal.  The 
solemn  moment  approaches :  the.  ineffable 
transubstantiation  is  about  to  take  place: 
the  priest  pronounces  the  sacred  words 
over  the  elements.  At  this  instant  the 
people  hesitate  no  longer;  ancient  habits, 
an  irresistible  influence,  draw  them  to- 
wards the  altar ;  the  preacher  is  desert- 
ed ;  the  kneeling  crowd  has  recovered  its 

old  worship  ;  Rome  is  triumphant 

Suddenly  a  young  man  springs  from  the 
crowd, — traverses  the  choir, — rushes  to 
the  altar, — snatches  the  host  from  the 
hands  of  the  priest,  and  cries,  as  he  turns 
towards  the  people  :  "  This  is  not  the 
God  whom  you  should  worship.  He  is 
above, — in  heaven, — in  the  majesty  of  the 
Father,  and-  not,  as  you  believe,  in  the 
hands  of  a  priest,  "f  This  man  was  An- 
thony Boyve. 

Such  a  daring  act  at  first  produced  the 
desired  effect.  The  Mass  was  interrupt- 
ed, the  chantings  ceased,  and  the  crowd, 
as  if  struck  by  a  supernatural  interven- 
tion, remained  silent  and  noiseless.  Fa- 
rel, who  was  still  in  the  pulpit,  immedi- 
ately took  advantage  of  this  calm,  and 
proclaimed  that  Christ  "  whom  the  hea- 
ven must  receive  until  the  times  of 
restitution  of  all  things. ''t  Then  the 
priests  and  choristers  with  their  adher- 

*  There  are  two  original  manuscripts  (both 
quoted  in  the  Choupart  MS.)  which  give  an 
account  of  this  transaction.  One  says  that 
Farel  preached  at  Valangin,  the  other  indicates 
a  village  near  Valangin.  Ruchat  has  adopted 
the  former  version  ;  I  think  the  latter  prefer- 
able. The  second  MS.  appears  to  me  older 
and  more  correct  than  tho  first. 

t  Choupart  MS.  \  Acts  iii.  21. 

99 


ents  rushed  to  the  towers,  ran  up  into  the 
belfry,  and  sounded  the  tocsin. 

These  means  succeeded  :  a  crowd  was 
collected,  and  if  Pare!  had  not  retired, 
his  death  and  Boyve's  would  have  been 
inevitable.  "But  God,"  says  the  chro- 
nicle, "delivered  them."  They  crossed 
the  interval  that  separates  Boudevilliers 
from  Valangin,  and  drew  near  the  steep 
gorges  of  the  torrent  of  the  Seyon.  But 
how  traverse  that  town,  which  the  tocsin 
had  already  alarmed  ? 

Leaving  Chaumont  and  its  dark  forests 
to  the  left,  these  two  heralds  -of  the  Gos- 
pel took  a  narrow  path  that  wound  be- 
neath the  castle  :  they  were  stealing 
cautiously  along,  when  suddenly  a  show- 
er of  stones  assailed  them,  and  at  the 
same  time  a  score  of  individuals, — priests. 
men,  and  women, — armed  with  clubs, 
fell  furiously  upon  them.  "  The  priests 
had  not  the  gout  either  in  their  feet  or 
arms,"  says  a  chronicler  ;  "the  ministers 
were  so  beaten  that  they  nearly  lost  their 
lives."* 

Madame  de  Vergy,  who  descended  to 
the  terrace,  far  from  moderating  the 
anger  of  the  priests,  cried  out :  "  Drown 
them  ! — drown  them  !  throw  them  into 
Seyon — these  Lutheran  dogs,  who  have 
despised  the  Host  !"f  In  fact,  the  priests 
were  beginning  to  drag  the  two  heretics 
towards  the  bridge.  Never  was  Farel 
nearer  death. 

On  a  sudden,  from  behind  the  last  rock 
that  hides  Valangin  in  the  direction  of 
the  mountain,  there  appeared  "  certain 
good  persons  of  the  Val  de  Ruz  coming 
from  Neuchatel":}:  and  descending  into 
the  valley.  "  What  are  you  doing  V 
asked  they  of  the  priests,  with  the  in- 
tention no  doubt  of  saving  Farel  ;  "  put 
them  rather  in  a  place  of  safety,  that 
they  may  answer  for  their  proceedings  ? 
Would  you  deprive  yourselves  of  the 
only  means  in  your  power  of  discovering 
those  infected  by  the  poison  of  heresy  ?" 

The  priests  left  off  at  these  words,  and 
conducted  .the  prisoners  to  the  castle. 
As   they   were    passing   before    a   little 

*  Les  pretres  n'avoient  pas  la  goutte  aux 
pieds  et  aux  bras,  et  ils  les  battirent  tellement 
que  peu  s'en  fallut  qu'ils  ne  perdissent  la  vie. 
(Choupart  MS.) 

f  A  l'eau  !  a  l'eau  !  jettez  les  dans  le  Seyon 
ces  chiens  de  Lutheriens  qui  ont  meprise  le 
bon  Dieu  !     (Choupart  MS.) 

\  Choupart  MS. 


780 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


chapel,  containing  an  image  of  the  Vir-I  praises  unto  God."  Messire  de  Bellegarde, 
gin,  "Kneel  down,"  said  they  to  Farel  j  ever  ready  to  persecute  the  Gospel,  was 
and  Boyve,  showing  them  the  statue  ;  |  preparing  for  them  a  cruel  end,  when 
"  prostrate  yourselves  before  Our  Lady  !"j  some  townsmen  of  Neuchatel  arrived  to 
Farel  began  to  admonish  them  ;  "Wor-:  claim  them.  Madame  de  Valangin 
ship  one  God  alone  in  spirit  and  in  truth," 'dared  not  refuse,  and  at  the  demand  of 


said  he  to  them,  "  and  not  dumb  images 
without  life  or  power."  But  they,  con- 
tinues the  chronicle,  "  greatly  vexed  at 
his  words  and  his  firmness,  inflicted  on 
him  so  many  blows,  that  he  was  covered 


the  Bernese  even  instituted  an  inquiry, 
"  to  put  a  good  face  on  the  matter,"  says 
a  manuscript.  "  Nevertheless  that  priest 
who  had  beaten  Farel  most,  never  after 
failed  to  eat  daily  at  the  lady's  table,  by 


with   blood,  which  even  spilled  on  the  |  way  of  recompense."*     But  this  was  of 
walls  of  the   chapel.     For  a  long  time  little  consequence  :  the  seed  of  truth  had 


after   the   traces   of    it    might   still    be 
seen."* 

They  resumed  their  march — they  en- 
tered the  town — they  climbed  the  steep 
road  that  led  to  the  esplanade  where 
Guillemette  de  Vergy  and  her  attendants 
waited  for  the  "Lutherans;"  so  that, 
continues  the  chronicle,  "  from  beating 
them  thus  continually,  they  conducted 
them  all  covered  with  filth  and  blood  to 
the  prisons,  and  let  them  down  almost 
lifeless  into  the  dungeon  (crolon)  of  the 
castle  of  Valangin."  Thus  had  Paul  at 
Lystra  been  stoned  by  the  Jews,  drawn 
out  of  the"  city,  and  left  for  dead.f  The 
Apostles  and  the  Reformers  preached  the 
same  doctrine  and  suffered  the  same 
treatment. 

It  mav  perhaps  be  said,  that  Farel  and 
Bovve  were  too  violent  in  their  attack  ; 
but  the  Church  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
which  had  fallen  back  into  the  legal 
spirit  of  Judaism,  and  into  all  the  cor- 
ruptions that  flow  from  it,  needed  an 
energetic  opposition  to  lead  it  again  to 
the  principle  of  grace.  Augustin  and 
St.  Paul  reappeared  in  the  Church  of  the 
sixteenth  century  ;  and  when  we  read  of 
Boyve  rushing  in  great  emotion  on  those 

who  were  about  to  worship  the  bread  of  |  At  these  words  all  his  hearers  arose.  "  To 
the  Mass,  may  we  not  recall  to  mind  the  'the  church !"  cried  they ;  "  to  the  church !" 


been  sown  in  the  Val  de  Ruz. 

At  Neuchatel  the  Bernese  supported 
the  Evangelical  citizens.  The  governor, 
whose  resources  were  exhausted,  sent 
ambassadors  to  the  princess,  "  begging 
her  to  cross  the  mountains,  to  appease 
her  people,  who  were  in  terrible  trouble  in 
consequence  of  this  Lutheran  religion.""}" 

Meantime  the  ferment  increased.  The 
townspeople  prayed  the  canons  to  give  up 
the  Mass  :  they  refused  ;  whereupon  the 
citizens  presented  them  their  reasons  in 
writing,  and  begged  them  to  discuss  the 
question  with  Farel.  Still  the  same  re- 
fusal ! — "  But,  for  goodness'  sake,  speak 
either  for  or  against !"  It  was  all  of  no 
use  ! 

On  Sunday,  the  23d  of  October,  Farel, 
who  had  returned  to  Neuchatel,  was 
preaching  at  the  hospital.  He  knew 
that  the  magistrates  of  the  city  had 
deliberated  on  the  expediency  of  conse- 
crating the  cathedral  itself  to  the  Evan- 
gelical worship.  "  What  then,"  said  he, 
"  will  you  not  pay  as  much  honour  to  the 
Gospel  as  the  other  party  does  to  the 
Mass  ?....*..  And  if  this  superstitious 
act  is  celebrated  in  the  high  church,  shall 
not  the  Gospel  be  proclaimed  there  also  ?" 


action  of  St.  Paul,  rending  his  clothes, 
and  running  in  among  the  people,  who 
were  desirous  of  worshipping  "  men  of 
like  passions  with  themselves?"^: 

Farel  and  Boyve,  thrust  into  the 
dungeons  of  the  castle,  could,  like  Paul 
and  Silas  in  the  prison  at  Philippi,  "  sing 

*  Choupart  MS.  Mais  eux  rudement  faches 
de  ses  propos  et  Constance,  lui  donnerent  tant 
de  coups,  qu'ils  le  mirent  tout  en  sang,  jusques 
la  que  son  sang  jailissoit  sur  les  murailles  de 
la  chapelle.  On  en  voyoit  long  temps  apres 
encore  les  marques. 

f  Acts  xiv.  19.  t  Ibid.  14. 


Impetuous  men  are  desirous  of  putting 
their  heads  to  work,  to  accomplish  what 
the  prudence  of  the  burgesses  had  pro- 
posed.^:    They  leave  the  hospital,  and 

*  Choupart  MS. 

f  Letter  from  the  Governor  to  the  Princess. 

j  This  is  the  conclusion  I  draw  from  various 
papers,  and  in  particular  from  the  report  of  the 
meeting  held  at  Neuchatel  by  the  Bernese  de- 
puties, in  which  the  heads  of  the  burgesses 
declare,  that  it  appeared  to  them  a  very  good 
matter  to  take  down  the  altars,  &c.  Hitherto 
only  one  phasis  of  this  action  has  been  seen, — 
the  popular  movement ;  and  the  other,  namely, 


SWITZERLAND— CONQUESTS. 


781 


take  Farel  with  them.  They  climb  the 
steep  street  of  the  castle  :  in  vain  would 
the  canons  and  their  frightened  follow- 
ers stop  the  crowd  :  they  force  a  passage. 
Convinced  that  they  are  advancing  for 
God's  glory,  nothing  can  check  them. 
Insults  and  shouts  assail  them  from  every 
side,  but  in  the  name  of  the  Truth  they 
are  defending,  they  proceed  :  they  open 
the  gates  of  the  Church  of  our  Lady  ; 
they  enter,  and  here  a  fresh  struggle 
begins.  The  canons  and  their  friends 
assembled  around  the  pulpit  endeavour 
to  stop  Farel  ;  birj;  all  is  useless.  They 
have  not  to  deal  with  a  band  of  rioters. 
God  has  pronounced  in  his  Word,  and 
the  magistrates  themselves  have  passed 
a  definitive  resolution.  The  townspeo- 
ple advance,  therefore,  against  the  sacer- 
dotal coterie  ;  they  form  a  close  battalion, 
in  the  centre  of  which  they  place  the  re- 
former. They  succeed  in  making  their 
way  through  the  opposing  crowd,  and  at 
last  place  the  minister  in  the  pulpit  with- 
out any  harm  befalling  him.* 

Immediately  all  is  calm  within  the 
church  and  without ;  even  the  adversa- 
ries are  silent,  and  Farel  delivers  "  one 
of  thg  most  effective  sermons  he  had 
hitherto  preached."  Their  eyes  are 
opened  ;  their  emotion  increases ;  their 
hearts  are  melted ;  the  most  obstinate 
appear  converted ;  and  from  every  part 
of  the  old  church  these  cries  resound  : 
"  We  will  follow  the  Evangelical  religion, 
both  we  and  our  children,  and  in  it  will 
we  live  and  die."f 

Suddenly  a  whirlwind,  as  it  were, 
sweeps  over  this  multitude,  and  stirs  it 
up  like  a  vast  sea.  Farel's  hearers 
desire  to  imitate  the  pious  King  Josiah.J 
"  If  we  take  away  these  idols  from  before 
our  eyes,  will  it  not  be  aiding  us,"  said 
they,  "  in  taking  them  from  our  own 
hearts  1  Once  these  idols  broken,  how 
many  souls  among  our  fellow-citizens, 
now  disturbed  and  hesitating,  will  be 
decided  by  this  striking  manifestation  of 
the  truth !  We  must  save  them  as  it 
were  by  fire."§ 

This  latter  motive  decides  them,  and 
then  begins  a  scene  that  fills  the  Roman- 
ists with  horror,  and  which  must,  accord- 

the  legal  resolution  of  the  magistrates  of  the 
city,  seems  to  have  been  overlooked. 
*  Choupart  MS.  t  Ibid- 

X  2  Chron.  xxxiv.  7.  §  Choupart  MS. 


ing  to   them,   bring   down    the   terrible 
judgment  of  God  on  the  city. 

The  very  spot  where  this  takes  place 
would  seem  to  add  to  its  solemnity.  To 
the  north  th'e  castle-walls  rise  above  the 
pointed  crags  of  the  gloomy  but  pictu- 
resque valley  of  the  Seyon,  and  the 
mountain  in  front  of  the  castle  presents 
to  the  eye  little  more  than  bare  rocks, 
vines,  and  black  firs.  But  to  the  south, 
beneath  the  terrace  on  which  this  tumul- . 
tuous  scene  is  passing,  extend  the  wide 
and  tranquil  waters  of  the  lake  with  its 
fertile  and  picturesque  shores  ;  and  in  the 
distance  the  continuous  summits  of  the 
higher  Alps  with  their  dazzling  snows, 
their  immense  glaciers,  and  gigantic 
peaks,  lie  before  the  enraptured  eye. 

On  this  platform  the  people  of  Neu- 
chatel  were  in  commotion,  paying  little 
attention  to  these  noble  scenes  of  nature. 
The  governor,  whose  castle  adjoined  the 
church,  was  compelled  to  remain  an  idle 
spectator  of  the  excesses  that  he  could 
not  prevent ;  he  was  content  to  leave  us 
a  description  of  them.  "  These  daring 
fellows,"  says  he,  "  seize  mattocks, 
hatchets,  and  hammers,  and  thus  march 
against  the  images  of  the  saints."  They 
advance — they  strike  the  statues  and  the 
altars — they  dash  them  to  pieces.  The 
figures  carved  in  the  fourteenth  century 
by  the  "  imagers"  of  Count  Louis  are 
not  spared ;  and  scarcely  do  the  statues 
of  the  counts  themselves,  which  were 
mistaken  for  idols,  escape  destruction. 
The  townspeople  collect  all  these  frag- 
ments of  an  idolatrous  worship ;  they 
carry  them  out  of  the  church,  and  throw 
them  from  the  top  of  the  rock.  The 
paintings  meet  with  no  better  treatment. 
"  It  is  \he  devil,"  thought  they  with  the 
early  Christians,  "  who  taught  the  world 
this  art  of  statues,  images,  and  all  sorts 
of  likenesses."*  They  tear  out  the  eyes 
in  the  pictures  of  the  saints,  and  cut  off 
their  noses.  The  crucifix  itself  is  thrown 
down,  for  this  wooden  figure  usurps  the 
homage  that  Jesus  Christ  claims  in  the 
heart.  One  image,  the  most  venerated 
of  all,  still  remains  :  it  is  our  Lady  of 
Mercy,  which  Mary  of  Savoy  had  pre- 
sented to  the  collegiated  church ;  but 
Our  Lady  herself  is  not  spared.     A  hand 

*  Diabolum  saeculo  intulisse  artifices  sta- 
tuarum  et  imaginum  et  omnis  generis  simu- 
lacrorum.     (Tertullian,  de  idolatria,  cap.  3.) 


782 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


more  daring  than  the  rest  strikes  it,  as  in 
the  fourth  century,  the  colossal  statue  of 
Serapis  was  struck.*  "  They  have  even 
bored  out  the  eyes  of  Our  Lady  of  Mercy, 
which  the  departed  lady  your  mother  had 
caused  to  be  made,"  wrote  the  governor 
to  the  Duchess  of  Longueville. 

The  Reformed  went  still  further : 
they  seized  the  patens  in  which  lay  the 
corpus  Domini,  and  flung  them  from  the 
top  of  the  rock  into  the  torrent ;  after 
which,  being  desirous  of  showing  that 
the  consecrated  wafers  are  mere  bread, 
and  not   God  himself,   they   distributed 

them  one  to  another  and  ate  them 

At  this  sight  the  canons  and  chaplains 
could  no  longer  remain  quiet.  A  cry 
of  horror  was  heard  ;  they  ran  up  with 
their  adherents,  and  opposed  force  to 
force.  At  length  began  the  struggle 
that  had  been  so  much  dreaded. 

The  provost  Oliver  of  Hochberg,  the 
canons  Simon  of  Neuchatel  and  Pontus 
of  Soleilant,  all  three  members  of  the 
privy  council,  had  repaired  hastily  to 
the  castle,  as  well  as  the  other  council- 
lors of  the  princess.  Until  this  moment 
they  had  remained  silent  spectators  of 
the  scene ;  but  when  they  saw  the  two 
parties  were  coming  to  blows,  they  or- 
dered all  "  the  supporters  of  the  Evan- 
gelical doctrine  "  to  appear  before  the 
governor.  This  was  like  trying  to  chain 
the  winds.  Besides,  why  should  the 
Reformers  stop  %  They  were  not  acting 
without  legitimate  authority .f  "  Tell 
the  governor,"  replied  the  townspeople 
haughtily,  "  that  in  the  concerns  of  God 
and  of  our  souls  he  has  no  command 
over  us. "J 

George  de  Rive  then  discovered  that 
his  authority  failed  against  a  power  su- 
perior to  his  own.  He  must  yield,  and 
save  at  least  some  remnants.  He  hast- 
ened therefore  to  remove  the  images  that 
still  remained,  and  to  shut  them  up  in 
secret  chambers.  The  citizens  of  Neu- 
chatel allowed  him  to  execute  this  mea- 
sure. "  Save  your  gods,"  thought  they, 
"  preserve  them  under  strong  bars,  lest 

*  Socrates  v.  10. 

t  "  Par  les  quatre  du  dit  Neuchatel,"  by  the 
Four  (the  municipal  authorities)  of  the  said 
Neuchatel,  remarks  the  priest  Besancenet. 
See  also  the  recess  of  the  council  held  at 
Neuchatel  by  MM.  of  Berne,  4th  November, 
1530. 

J  The  Governor's  letter  to  the  Princess. 


perchance  a  robber  should  deprive  you 
of  the  objects  of  your  adoration."*  By 
degrees  the  tumult  died  away,  the  popu- 
lar torrent  returned  within  its  channel, 
and  a  little  after,  in  commemoration  of 
this  great  day,  they  inscribed  these  words 
on  a  pillar  of  the  church : — 

L'AN  1530,  LE  23  OCTOBRE,  FUT  OTEE 
ET  ABATTUE  L'lDOLATRIE  DE  CEANT 
PAR  LES  BOURGEOIS. f 

An  immense  revolution  had  been  ef- 
fected. Doubtless  it  would  have  been 
better  if  the  images  had  been  taken 
away  and  the  Gospel  substituted  in  their 
place  with  calmness,  as  at  Zurich  ;  but 
we  must  take  into  consideration  the  dif- 
ficulties that  so  profound  and  contested 
a  change  brings  with  it,  and  make  al- 
lowance for  the  inexperience  and  ex- 
cesses inseparable  from  a  first  explosion. 
He  who  should  see  in  this  revolution  its 
excesses  only,  would  betray  a  singularly 
narrow  mind.  It  is  the  Gospel  that  tri- 
umphed on  the  esplanade  of  the  castle. 
It  was  no  longer  a  few  pictures  or  le- 
gends that  were  to  speak  to  the  imagina- 
tion of  the  Neuchatelans  :  the  revelation 
of  Christ  and  of  the  Apostles,  'as  ft  had 
been  preserved  in  the  Holy  Scriptures, 
was  restored  to  them.  In  place  of  the 
mysteries,  symbols,  and  miracles  of 
Popery,  the  Reformation  brought  them 
sublime  tenets,  powerful  doctrines,  holy 
and  eternal  truths.  Instead  of  a  Mass, 
void  of  God,  and  filled  with  human 
puerilities,  it  restored  to  them  the  Supper 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  his  invisible 
yet  real  and  mighty  presence,  his  pro- 
mises giving  peace  to  the  soul,  and  his 
Spirit,  which  changes  the  heart,  and  is  a 
sure  pledge  of  a  glorious  resurrection. 
All  is  gain  in  such  an  exchange. 

VIII.  The  governor  and  his  trusty 
friends  had  not,  however,  lost  all  hope. 
"  It  is  only  a  minority,"  said  they  at  the 
castle,  "  which  has  taken  part  in  the  de- 
struction of  the  images  ;  the  majority 
of  the  nation  still  obeys  the  ancient  doc- 

*  Cur  vos  sub  validissimis  clavibus.  ingenti- 
busque  sub  claustris  conservatis,  ne  forte  fur 
aliquis  irreptat  ?  (Arnobius  contra  gentes,  vi. 
p.  257.) 

t  On  the  23d  of  October,  1530,  idolatry  was 
overthrown  and  removed  from  the  church  by 
the  citizens. 


SWITZERLAND— CONQUESTS. 


763 


trine."  M.  de  Rive  had  yet  to  learn 
that  if,  in  a  popular  movement,  only  the 
minority  appears,  it  is  in  some  oases  he- 
cause  the  majority,  being  of  the  same 
mind  with  it,  prefers  leaving  the  action 
to  others.  However  that  may  be,  the 
governor,  thinking  himself  upon  sure 
ground,  resolved  to  put  the  preservation 
of  the  Mass  to  the  vote.  If  the  majority 
were  doubtful,  the  combined  influence 
of  the  government  and  clergy  would 
make  it  incline  to  the  side  of  Rome. 
The  friends  of  the  Reformation  per- 
ceiving this  trick,  and  feeling  the  neces- 
sity of  securing  the  integrity  of  the 
votes,  demanded  the  presence  of  Bernese 
commissioners.  This  was  at  first  re- 
fused. But  Neuchatel,  divided  into  two 
hostile  parties,  might  at  any  time  see  her 
streets  run  blood :  De  Rive  therefore 
called  Berne  to  his  aid. 

Anthony  Noll  and  Sulpice  Archer, 
both  members  of  the  council,  .  with 
Jacques  Tribolet,  bailiff  of  the  Isle  of 
St.  John,  all  three  devoted  to  the  Reform, 
made  their  entry  into  Neuchatel  on  the 
4th  November, — an  eventful  day  for  the 
principality,  and  one  which  would  de- 
cide on  its  reformation.  The  deputies 
proceeded  to  the  castle,  and  there  spoke 
with  haughtiness.*  "  Their  excellencies 
of  Berne,"  said  they  to  the  governor, 
"  are  much  astonished  that  you  should 
oppose  the  true  and  pure  Word  of  God. 
Desist  immediately,  or  else  your  state 
and  lordship  may  suffer  for  it. "y 

George  de  Rive  was  amazed  ;  he  had 
thought  to  summon  helpers,  and  he  had 
found  masters.  He  made,  however,  an 
attempt  to  escape  from  the  strait  in  which 
he  was  caught.  The  Roman-catholic 
cantons  of  Lucerne,  Friburg,  and  So- 
leure,  were  also  allies  of  the  state.  The 
governor  insinuated  to  the  Bernese  depu- 
ties, that  he  might  well  claim  their  inter- 
vention. At  these  words  the  deputies 
indignantly  arose,  and  declared  to  M.  de 
Rive,  that  if  he  did  so,  he  might  be  the 
cause  of  his  sovereign's  losing  Neucha- 
tel. The  governor  saw  the  impossibility 
of  escaping  from  the  net  into  which  he 
had  fallen.  There  remained  no  alterna- 
tive  but  submission,  and  to  watch  the 

*  Trois  ambassadeurs  qui  me  tinrent  assez 
gros  et  rudes  propos.  (The  Governor  to  the 
Princess.) 

j  Ibid. 


J  current  of  events  which  it  was  impossible 
for  him  to  direct. 

It  was  not  thus  with  the  canons  and 
the  nobles.  Not  considering  themselves 
|  beaten,  they  surrounded  the  Bernese  ; 
and  mingling,  as  I  hey  always  do  in  simi- 
lar cases,  religion  and  politics, endeavour 
ed  to  shake  them.  "Do  you  not  see,' 
said  they,  "that  unless  we  support  the 
spiritual  power,  we  shall  compromise 
the  civil  power?  The  surest  bulwark 
of  the  throne  is  the  altar  !  These  men, 
whose  defenders  you  have  become,  are 
but  a  handful  of  mischief-makers  :  the 
majority  are  for  the  Mass!" — "Turn 
which  way  you  like,"  replied  one  of  the 
stubborn  Bernese,  "  even  though  the  ma- 
jority should  be  on  your  side,  still  you 
must  go  that  way  ;  never  will  our  lord- 
ships abandon  the  defenders  of  the  Evan- 
gelical faith."* 

The  people  assembled  at  the  castle  for 
the  definitive  vote.  The  destiny  of  Neu- 
chatel was  about  to  be  decided.  On  one 
hand  were  crowded  around  the  governor 
the  privy  council,  the  canons,  and  the 
most  zealous  of  the  Romanists  ;  on  the 
other  were  to  be  seen  the  four  aldermen, 
the  town-council,  and  a  great  number  of 
the  citizens,  gravely  ascending  the  steep 
avenue  leading  to  the  government-house, 
and  drawing  up  in  front  of  their  adver- 
saries. On  both  sides  there  was  the  same 
attachment  to  the  faith  they  had  em- 
braced, the  same  decision ;  but  around 
the  canons  were  many  anxious  minds, 
troubled  hearts,  and  downcast  eyes,  while 
the  friends  of  the  Reform  advanced  with 
uplifted  heads,  firm  looks,  and  hearts  full 
of  hope. 

George  de  Rive,  wishing  to  gain  over 
their  minds,  began  to  address  them.  He 
described  the  violence  with  which  the 
Reformed  had  broken  the  images,  and 
thrown  down  the  altars ;  "  And  yet," 
continued  he,  "  who  founded  this  church  ? 
It  was  the  piincess's  predecessors,  and 
not  the  citizens.  For  which  reason,  I 
demand  that  all  those  who  have  violently 
infringed  our  sovereign's  authority,  be 
obliged  to  restore  what  they  have  taken 
away,  so  that  the  holy  Mass,  and  the  ca- 
nonical hours  may  be  celebrated  anew."f 

*  Chambrier,   Hist,   de  Neuchatel,  p.  29G. 
e   governor's  letter.     Quand  bien  le  plus 
ra  des  votres,  si  passerez  vous  par  la,  &c.) 
f  Choupart  MS. ;  Reces  du  MM.  de  Berne. 


(Th 
sera 


784 


rflSTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


Upon  this  the  prudho?nmes  of  Neucha- 
tel  advanced.  They  were  not  a  troop  of 
young  and  giddy  persons,  as  the  Papists 
had  pretended ;  they  were  grave  citizens, 
whose  liberties  were  guaranteed,  and 
who  had  weighed  what  they  had  to  say. 
"  By  the  illumination  of  the  Holy  Ghost," 
replied  they,  "  and  by  the  holy  doctrines 
of  the  Gospel,  which  are  taught  us  in  the 
Aire  Word  of  God,  we  will  show  that  the 
Mass  is  an  abuse,  without  any  utility, 
'and  which  conduces  much  more  to  the 
damnation  than  to  the  salvation  of  souls. 
And  we  are  ready  to  prove  that  by  taking 
away  the  altars,  we  have  done  nothing 
that  was  not  right  and  acceptable  to 
God."* 

Thus  the  two  parties  met  face  to  face 
with  "  great  hatred  and  division,"  says 
the  Bernese  report.  The  arbitrators 
consulted  together.  The  governor  per- 
sisted, feeling  that  this  movement  would 
decide  the  future.  A  few  votes  would 
suffice  for  the  triumph  of  Rome,  and  he 
reckoned  on  gaining  them  by  his  assur- 
ance. "  You  should  understand,"  said 
he,  "  that  the  majority  of  this  town,  men 
and  women,  adhere  firmly  to  the  ancient 
faith.  The  others  are  hotheaded  young 
soldiers,  vain  of  their  persons,  and  puffed 
up  with  the  new  doctrine."! — "  Well !" 
replied  the  Bernese  deputies,  "  to  prevent 
all  mischief,  let  us  settle  this  difference 
by  the  plurality  of  suffrages,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  treaty  of  peace  made  at 
Bremgarten  between  the  cantons." 

This  was  what  the  Reformed  desired. 
"  The  vote  !  the  vote  !"  cried  they  ac- 
cording to  the  expression  consecrated  to 
such  cases.:}:  But  the  lord  of  Prangins 
and  the  priests,  who  had  desired  it  when 
they  were  alone,  shrunk  back  in  the 
presence  of  Berne.  "  We  ask  for  time," 
said  they.  If  the  Reformed  allowed 
themselves  to  be  cheated  by  these  dila- 
tory measures,  it  was  all  over.  When 
once  the  Bernese  had  quitted  Neuchatel, 
the  governor  and  the  clergy  would  easily 
have  the  upperhand.  They  therefore 
remained  firm.     "  No,  no  !"  said  they, 

*  Choupart  MS. ;  Reces  du  MM.  de  Berne. 

t  Devez  entendre  que  la  pluspart  de  cette 
ville,  hommes  et  femmes,  tiennent  fermement 
a  l'ancienne  foi.  Les  autres  sont  jeunes  gens 
de  guerre,  forts  de  leurs  personnes,  remplis  de 
la  nouvelle  doctrine,  avants  le  feu  a  la  tete. 
(Ibid.) 

X  Le  plus,  the  majority. 


"  now  ! — no  delay  ! — not  a  day  !  not  an 
hour !"  But  the  governor,  in  the  face  of 
a  proceeding  that  would  decide  the  legal 
fall  of  Popery,  trembled,  and  obstinately 
opposed  the  cries  of  the  people.  The 
magistrates  were  already  indignant,  the 
burghers  murmured,  and  the  most  violent 
looked  at  their  swords.  "  They  were 
resolved  to  compel  us,  sword  in  hand," 
wrote  the  governor  to  the  princess.  A 
fresh  storm  was  gathering  over  Neucha- 
tel. Yet  a  few  more  minutes'  resistance, 
and  it  would  burst  forth  upon  the  church, 
the  town,  and  the  castle,  destroying  not 
only  statues,  images,  and  altars,  but 
"  there  would  have  remained  dead  men," 
said  the  lord  of  Rive.*  He  gave  way  in 
trouble  and  affright. 

At  the  news  of  this  concession,  the 
partisans  of  Rome  saw  all  their  danger. 
They  confer,  they  concert  their  measures, 
and  in  an  instant  their  resolution  is 
taken:  they  are  resolved  to  fight.j  "  My 
lord,"  said  they,  turning  to  M.  de  Rive, 
and  touching  the  hilt  of  their  swords, 
"all  of  us  who  adhere  to  the  holy  Sacra- 
ment are  resolved  to  die  martyrs  for  our 
holy  faith. "\  This  demonstration  did 
not  escape  the  notice  of  the  young  sol- 
diers who  had  returned  from  the  Gene- 
vese  war.  One  minute  more  and  the 
swords  would  have  been  drawn,  and  the 
platform  changed  into  a  battlefield." 

Monseigneur  de  Prangins,  more  wily 
than  orthodox,  shuddered  at  the  thought. 
"I  cannot  suffer  it,"  said  he  to  the  most 
violent  of  his  party  ;  "  such  an  enterprise 
would  forfeit  my  mistress's  state  and 
lordship. "§ — "  I  consent,"  said  he  to  the 
Bernese,  "  to  take  the  votes,  with  reserve 
nevertheless  of  the  sovereignty,  rights, 
and  lordship  of  Madame." — "  And  we," 
replied  the  townspeople,  "  with  the  re- 
serve of  our  liberties  and  privileges." 

The  Romanists,  seeing  the  political 
power  they  had  invoked  now  failing  them, 
felt  that  all  was  lost.  They  will  save 
their  honour  at  least  in  this  great  ship- 
wreck ;  they  will  subscribe  their  names, 
that  posterity  may  know  who  had  re- 
mained faithful  to  Rome.  These  proud 
supporters  of  the  hierarchy  advance  to- 
wards the  governor ;  tears  course  down 
their  rough  cheeks,  betraying  thus  their 
stifled   anger.     They  write  their  signa- 

*  The  Governor's  letter  to  the  Princess. 
f  Ibid.  |  Ibid.  §  Ibid. 


SWITZERLAND— CONQ.UESTS. 


765 


tures  as  witnesses  at  the  foot  of  the  sol- 
emn testament  that  Popery  is  now  draw- 
ing up  in  Neuchatel,  in  the  presence  of 
the  Bernese  deputies.  They  then  added, 
with  tears  in  their  eyes,  "  that  the  names 
and  sui-names  of  the  good  and  of  the  per- 
verse had  been  written  in  perpetual  me- 
mory, and  declared  that  they  were  still 
good  and  faithful  burghers  of  Madame, 
and  would  do  her  service  unto  death."* 
The  reformed  townspeople  were  con- 
vinced that  it  was  only  by  frankly  bear- 
ing testimony  to  their  religious  convic- 
tions that  they  could  discharge  their  debt 
before  God,  their  sovereign,  and  their 
fellow-citizens.  So  that  the  Catholics 
had  scarcely  protested  their  fidelity  to- 
wards their  lady,  when,  turning  towards 
the  governor,  the  Reformed  cried  out : 
"  We  say  the  same  in  every  other  thing 
in  which  it  shall  please  our  Mistress  to 
command  us,  save  and  except  the  Evan- 
gelical faith,  in  which  we  will  live  and 

die."t 

Everything  was  then  prepared  for 
taking  the  votes.  The  church  of  our 
lady  was  opened,  and  the  two  parties  ad- 
vanced between  the  shattered  altars,  torn 
pictures,  mutilated  statues,  and  all  those 
ruins  of  Popery,  which  clearly  foretold 
to  its  partisans  the  last  and  irrevocable 
defeat  it  was  about  to  undergo.  The 
three  Lords  of  Berne  took  their  station 
beside  the  governor  as  arbitrators  of  the 
proceedings  and  presidents  of  the  assem- 
bly, and  the  voting  began. 

George  de  Rive,  notwithstanding  the 
despondency  of  his  friends,  was  not  alto- 
gether without  hope.  All  the  partisans 
of  the  ancient  worship  in  Neuchatel  had 
been  forewarned  ;  and  but  a  few  days 
previously  the  Reformed  themselves,  by 
refusing  the  voting,  had  acknowledged 
the  numerical  superiority  of  their  adver- 
saries. But  the  friends  of  the  Gospel  in 
Neuchatel  had  a  courage  and  a  hope 
that  seemed  to  repose  on  a  firmer  basis. 
Were  they  not  the  victorious  party,  and 

*  Alors  iceux  dirent  en  pleurant  que  les 
noms  et  les  surnoms  des  bons  et  des  pervers 
fussent-ecrits  en  perpetuelle  memoire,  et  qu'ils 
protestoient  etre  bons  et  fideles  bourgeois  de 
Madame,  et  lui  faire  service  jusqu'^a  la  mort. 

f  Governor's  letter.  Nous  disons  le  sem- 
blable  en  toute  autre  chose  ou  il  plaira  a 
Madame  nous  commander,  sauf  et  reserve 
icelle  foi  evangelique,  dans  laquelle  nous 
voulons  vivre  et  mourir. 


could  they  be  vanquished   in  the  midst 
of  their  triumph  ? 

The  two  parties,  however,  moved  for- 
ward, confounded  one  with  the  other, 
and  each  man  gave  his  vote  in  silence. 
They  counted  each  other :  the  result  ap- 
peared uncertain  ;  fear  froze  each  partv 
by  turns.  At  length  the  majority  seemed 
to  declare  itsejf; — they  took  out  the 
votes, — the  result  was  proclaimed.  A 
majority  of  eighteen  voices  gave  the  vic- 
tory to  the  Reformation,  and  the  last  blow 
to  the  Papacy ! 

The  Bernese  lords  immediately  hast- 
ened to  profit  by  this  advantage.  "  Live 
henceforth,"  said  they,  "  in  good  under- 
standing with  one  another  ;  let  the  Mass 
be  no  longer  celebrated  ;  let  no  injury  be 
done  to  the  priests  ;  and  pay  to  your 
Lady,  or  to  whomsoever  they  may  be 
justly  due,  all  tithes,  quit- rent,  cense,  and 
revenues."  These  different  points  were 
proclaimed  by  the  assembly,  and  a  re- 
port was  immediately  drawn  up,  to  which 
the  deputies,  the  governors,  and  the  ma- 
gistrates of  the  city  of  Neuchatel  affixed 
their  respective  seals.* 

Farel  did  not  appear  in  all  this  busi- 
ness :  one  might  have  said  that  the  re- 
former was  not  at  Neuchatel :  the  citi- 
zens appealed  only  to  the  Word  of  God  ; 
and  the  governor  himself,  in  his  long  re- 
port to  the  princess,  does  not  once  men- 
tion him.  It  was  the  Apostles  of  our 
Lord,  St.  Peter,  St.  John,  St.  Paul,  and 
St.  James,  who  by  their  divine  writings 
re-established  the  true  foundations  of  the 
Church  in  the  midst  of  the  people  of 
Neuchatel.  The  Word  of  God  was  the 
law  of  the  prudhommes  of  Neuchatel. 
In  vain  will  the  Roman  Church  say, 
"  But  these  very  Scriptures, — it  is  I  who 
give  them  to  you  ;  you  cannot  therefore 
believe  in  them  without  believing  in  me." 
It  is  not  from  the  Church  of  Rome  that 
the  Protestant  Church  receives  the  Bible. 
Protestantism  has  always  existed  in  the 
Church.  It  has  existed  alone  in  every 
place  where  men  have  been  engaged  in 
the  study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  of  their 
divine  origin,  of  their  interpretation,  and 
in  their  dissemination.  The  Protestant- 
ism of  the  sixteenth  century  received  the 
Bible  from  the   Protestantism  of  every 

*  Reces  de  MM.  de  Berne,  MS.  Et  que 
l'on  paie  a  Madame  ou  a  qui  il  sera  du  juste- 
ment  dimes,  cens,  rentes  et  revenus. 


78(3 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


ao-e.     When  Rome  speaks  of  the  hierar- 
chy, she  is  on  her  own  ground  :   as  soon 

'  as  she  speaks  of  the  Scriptures,  she  is  on 
ours.  If  Farel  had  been  put  forward  in 
Neuchatel,  he  would  not  perhaps  have 
been  able  to  stand  against  the  Pope ;  but 
the  Word  of  Christ  alone  was  concerned, 
and  Rome  must  fall  before  Jesus. 

Thus  terminated,  by  a  mutual  contract, 
/hat   day  at  first  so  threatening.     If  the 

/Reformed  had  sacrificed  any  of  their 
/  convictions  to  a  false  peace,  disorder 
would  have  been  perpetuated  in  Neu- 
chatel. A  bold  manifestation  of  the  truth 
and  the  inevitable  shocks  that  accompa- 
nied it,  far  from  destroying  society,  pre- 
served it.  This  manifestation  is  the  wind 
that  lifts  the  vessel  from  the  rocks  and 
brings  it  into  the  harbour. 


Fauche  doubts  not  that  it  is  a  miracle  of 
the  saint,  and  hastens  to  return  to  the 
Mass.  In  vain  does  his  neighbour  Sauge 
protest  to  him  upon  oath  that,  during  the 
night,  he  had  made  a  hole  in  the  statue, 
filled  it  with  gunpowder,  and  closed  it 
up  again.  Fauche  will  listen  to  nothing, 
and  resolves  to  flee  from  the  vengeance 
of  the  saints.  He  went  and  settled  with 
his  family  at  Morteau  in  Franche  Comte.* 
Such  are  the  miracles  upon  which  the 
divinity  of  Rome  reposes  ! 

By  degrees  everything  became  settled  : 
some  of  the  canons,  as  Jacques  Baillod, 
William  de  Pury,  and  Benedict  Cham- 
brier,  embraced  the  Reformation.  Others 
were  recommended  by  the  governor  to 
the  priory  of  Motiers,  in  the  Val  de 
Travers  ;  and,  in  the  middle  of  Novem- 


The   Lord  of  Prangins  felt   that,  be-  ber,  at  the  time  when  the  winds  begin  to 

rage  among  the  mountains,  several 
canons,  surrounded  by  a  few  singing- 
boys, — sad  relics  of  the  ancient,  power- 
ful, rich,  voluptuous,  and  haughty  chapter 
of  Neuchatel,  painfully  climbed  up  the 
gorges  of  the  Jura,  and  went  to  conceal 
in  these  lofty  and  picturesque  valleys  the 
disgrace  of  a  defeat,  which  their  long 
disorders  and  their  insupportable  tyranny 
had  but  too  justly  provoked. 

During  this  time  the  new  worship  was 
organized.  In  room  of  the  high-altar 
were  substituted  two  marble  tables  to 
receive  the  bread  and  wine  ;  and  the 
Word  of  God  was  preached  from  a  pulpit 
stripped  of  every  ornament.  The  pre- 
eminence of  the  Word,  which  character- 
izes the  Evangelical  worship,  replaced  in 
the  church  of  Neuchatel  the  pre- 
eminence of  the  sacrament,  which  char- 
acterizes Popery.  Towards  the  end  of 
the  second  century,  Rome,  that  ancient 
metropolis  of  all  religions,  after  having 
welcomed  the  christian  worship  in  its 
primitive  purity,  had  gradually  trans- 
formed it  into  mysteries  ;  a  magic  power 
had  been  ascribed  to  certain  forms ;  and 
the  reign  of  the  sacrifice  offered  by  the 
priest  had  succeeded  to  the  reign  of  the 
Word  of  God*  The  preaching  of  Farel 
had  restored  the  Word  to  the  rights 
which  belong  to  it  ;  and  those  vaulted 
roofs,  which  the  piety  of  Count  Ulric  II. 
had,  on  his  return  from  Jerusalem,  dedi- 
cated to  the  worship  of  the  Virgin,  served 
at  last,  after  four  centuries,  to  nourish 

*  Boyve  Annals,  MS. 


tween  fellow-citizens,  "  it  is  better  to 
touch  one  another,  even  if  it  be  by  colli- 
sion, than  to  avoid  each  other  continu- 
ally." The  free  explanation  that  had 
taken  place  had  rendered  the  opposition 
of  the  two  parties  less  irritating.  "  I 
give  my  promise,"  said  the  governor,  "  to 
undertake  nothing  against  the  vote  of 
this  day,  for  I  am  myself  a  witness  that 
it  has  been  honest,  upright,  without 
danger,  and  without  coercion."* 

It  was  necessary  to  dispose  of  the 
spoils  of  the  vanquished  party  :  the 
governor  opened  the  castle  to  them. 
Thither  were  transported  the  relics,  the 
ornaments  of  the  altars,  the  church 
papers,  and  even  the  organ  ;  and  the 
Mass,  expelled  from  the  city,  was  there 
mournfully  chanted  every  day. 

All  the  ornaments,  however,  did  not 
take  this  road.  Some  days  after,  as  two 
citizens,  named  Fauche  and  Sauge,  were 
going  out  together  to  their  vineyards, 
they  passed  a  little  chapel,  in  which  the 
latter  had  set  up  a  wooden  figure  of  St. 
John.  He  said  to  his  companion,  "  There 
is  an  image  I  shall  heat  my  stove  with 
to-morrow."  And,  in  fact,  as  he  returned, 
he  carried  away  the  saint  and  laid  it 
down  in  front  of  his  house. 

The  next  morning  he  took  the  image 
and  put  it  on  the  fire.  Immediately  a 
horrible  explosion  spread  dismay  through 
this    humble    family.       The    trembling 

*  Ungefahrlich,  ungezwringen,  aufrecht  und 
redlich.  (Berne  to  the  Governor,  17th  Dec. 
1530.) 


SWITZERLAND— CONQUESTS. 


787 


the  faithful,  as  in  the  time  of  the  Apostles, 
"  in  the  words  of  faith  and  of  good  doc- 
trine."* 

IX.  The  convention,  drawn  up  under 
the  mediation  of  Berne,  stipulated  that 
"  the  change  should  take  place  only  in 
the  city  and  parish  of  Neuchatel." 
Must  the  rest  of  the  country  remain  in 
darkness  ?  This  was  not  Farel's  wish, 
and  the  zeal  of  the  citizens,  in  its  first 
fervour,  effectually  seconded  him.  They 
visited  the  surrounding  villages,  exhort- 
ing some,  combating  others.  Those  who 
were  compelled  to  labour  with  their 
hands  during  the  day  went  thither  at 
night.  "  Now,  I  am  informed,"  writes 
the  governor  to  the  princess,  "  that  they 
are  working  at  a  reformation  night  and 
day." 

George  de  Rive,  in  alarm,  convoked 
the  magistrates  of  all  the  districts  in  the 
earldom.  These  good  folks  believed 
that  their  consciences,  as  well  as  their 
places,  depended  upon  Madame  de  Lon- 
gueville.  Affrighted  at  the  thought  of 
freely  receiving  a  new  conviction  from 
the  Word  of  God,  they  were  quite  ready 
to  accept  it  from  the  countess  as  they 
would  a  new  impost.  A  sad  helotism, 
in  which  religion  springs  from  the  soil, 
instead  of  descending  from  heaven ! 
"  We  desire  to  live  and  die  under  the 
protection  of  our  lady,"  said  the  magis- 
trates to  the  Lord  of  Rive,  "  without 
changing  the  ancient  faith,  until  it  be  so 
ordered  by  lier.,'\  Rome,  even  after  her 
fall,  could  not  receive  a  deeper  insult. 

These  assurances  of  fidelity  and  the 
absence  of  the  Bernese  restored  De  Rive's 
confidence,  and  he  secretly  prepared  a 
reaction  among  the  nobles  and  the  lower 
1  classes.  There  is  in  every  historical 
catastrophe,  in  the  fall  of  great  establish- 
ments, and  in  the  spectacle  of  their  ruins, 
something  which  excites  and  improves 
the  mind.  This  was  what  happened  at 
the  period  in  question.  Some  were  more 
zealous  for  Popery  after  its  fall  than  in 
its  day  of  power.  The  priests  gliding 
into  the  houses  said  Mass  to  a  few  friends 
mysteriously    called  together   around   a 

*  1  Tim.  iv.  6. 

f  Choupart  MS.  Nous  voulons  vivre  et 
mourir  sous  la  protection  de  Madame,  sans 
changer  l'ancienne  foi,  jusqu'  a  ce  que  par  elle 
en  soit  ordonne. 

100 


temporary  altar.  If  a  child  was  born, 
the  priest  noiselessly  arrived,  breathed  on 
the  infant,  made  the  sign  of  the  cross  on 
its  forehead  and  breast,  and  baptized  it 
according  to  the  Roman  ritual.*  Thus 
they  were  rebuilding  in  secret  what  had 
been  overthrown  in  the  light  of  day. 
At  length  a  counter-revolution  was 
agreed  upon  ;  and  Christmas  day  was 
selected  for  the  restoration  of  Roman- 
catholicism.  While  the  Christians'  songs 
of  joy  should  be  rising  to  heaven,  the 
partisans  of  Rome  were  to  rush  into  the 
church,  expel  the  heretical  assembly, 
overthrow  the  pulpit  and  the  holy  table, 
restore  the  images,  and  celebrate  the 
Mass  in  triumph.  Such  was  the  plan 
of  the  Neuchatelan  vespers. "j" 

The  plot  got  wind.  Deputies  from 
Berne  arrived  at  Neuchatel  on  the  very 
eve  of  the  festival.  '•  You  must  see  to 
this,"  said  they  to  the  governor  :  "  if  the 
Reformed  are  attacked,  we,  their  co- 
burghers,  will  protect  them  with  all  our 
power."  The  conspirators  laid  down  their 
arms,  and  the  Christmas  hymns  were  not 
disturbed. 

This  signal  deliverance  augmented  the 
devotion  and  zeal  of  the  friends  of  the 
Gospel.  Already  Emer  Beynon  of  Ser- 
riere,  where  Farel  had  one  day  landed 
from  a  small  boat,  ascending  the  pulpit*, 
had  said  to  his  parishioners :  "  If  I  have 
been  a  good  priest,  I  desire  by  the  grace 
of  God  to  be  a  still  better  pastor."  It 
was  necessary  for  these  words  to  be 
heard  from  every  pulpit.  Farel  recom- 
menced a  career  of  labours,  fatigues,  and 
struggles,  which  the  actions  of  the  apos- 
tles and  missionaries  alone  can  equal. 

Towards  the  end  of  the  year  1530,  he 
crossed  the  mountain  in  the  middle  of 
winter,  entered  the  church  of  Valangin, 
went  into  the  pulpit,  and  began  to  preach 
at  the  very  moment  that  Guillemette  de 
Vergy  was  coming  to  Mass.  She  en- 
deavoured to  shut  the  reformer's  mouth, 
but  in  vain,  and  the  aged  and  noble  dow- 
ager retired  precipitately  saying  :  "  I  do 
not  think  this  is  according  to  the  old 
Gospels  ;  if  there  are  any  new  ones 
that  encourage  this,  I  am  quite  amazed. "j: 
The  people  of  Valangin  embraced  the 

*  Berne  to  Neuchatel,  17th  December. 
T  Berne  to  the  Governor,  23d  December. 
\  Chambrier,  Hist,  de  Neuchatel  et  Valan- 
gin, p.  299.     Je  ne  crois  pas  que  ce  soit  selon 


788 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


Gospel.  The  affrighted  lieutenant  ran 
to  Neuchatel,  thence  to  Berne,  and  on 
the  11th  February  1521  laid  his  com- 
plaint before  the  council ;  but  all  was 
useless.  "  Why,"  said  their  excellen- 
cies of  Berne  to  him,  "  why  should  you 
disturb  the  water  of  the  river  ?  let  it  flow 
J?eely  on." 

Farel  immediately  turned  to  the  pa- 
/shes  on  the  slopes  between  the  lake  and 
Mount  Jura.  At  Corcelles  a  fanatic 
/crowd,  well  armed  and  led  on  by  the 
'  curate  of  Neuchatel,  rushed  into  the 
church  where  the  minister  was  preach- 
ing, and  he  did  not  escape  without  a 
wound.  At  Bevay,  the  abbot  John  of 
Livron  and  his  monks  collected  a  nume- 
rous body  of  friends,  surrounded  the 
church,  and  having  thus  completed  the 
blockade,  entered  the  building,  dragged 
the  minister  from  the  pulpit,  and  drove 
him  out  with  blows  and  insults.  Each 
time  he  reappeared,  they  pursued  him 
as  far  as  Auvernier  with  stones  and  gun- 
shots. 

While  Farel  was  thus  preaching  in  the 
plain,  he  sent  one  of  his  brethren  into  the 
valley  ;  it  was  John  de  Bely,  a  man  of 
good  family  from  Crest  in  Dauphiny. 
Beyond  Valangin,  at  a  little  distance  from 
Fontaine,  on  the  left  side  of  the  road  to 
Cernier,  was  a  stone  that  remains  to  this 
day.  It  was  here  in  the  open  air,  as  if 
in  a  magnificent  temple,  that  this  herald 
of  the  Gospel  began  to  proclaim  salva- 
tion by  grace.*  Before  him  stretched 
the  declivity  of  Chaumont,  dotted  with 
the  pretty  villages  of  Fenin,  Villars, 
Sole,  and  Savagnier,  and  beyond,  where 
the  mountains  fell  away,  might  be  seen 
the  distant  and  picturesque  chain  of  the 
Alps.  The  most  zealous  of  his  hearers 
entreated  him  to  enter  the  church.  .  He 
did  so  ;  but  suddenly  the  priest  and  his 
curate  "  arrived  with  great  noise."  They 
proceeded  to  the  pulpit,  dragged  Bely 
down ;  and  then  turning  to  the  women 
and  young  persons  of  the  place,  "  excited 
them  to  beat  him  and  drive  him  away."f 

John  de  Bely  returned  to  Neuchatel, 
hooted  and  bruised,  like  his  friend  after 

les  vieux  evangiles ;  s'il  y  en  a  de  nouveaux 
qui  fassent  cela  faire,  j'en  suis  esbahie. 

*  It  does  not  appear  that  Bely  could  have 
stood  and.  preached  on  this  stone,  as  is  gene- 
rally said,  unless  what  now  remains  is  but  a 
fragment  of  the  original. 

t  MS.  AA.  in  the  Choupart  MS. 


the  affair  at  Valangin  ;  but  these  evan- 
gelists followed  the  traces  of  the  Apostle 
Paul,  whom  neither  whips  nor  scourges 
could  arrest.*  De  Bely  often  returned 
to  Fontaine.  The  Mass  was  abolished 
erelong  in  this  village ;  Bely  was  its 
pastor  for  twenty-seven  years  ;  his  de- 
scendants have  more  than  once  exercised 
the  ministry  there,  and  now  they  form 
the  most  numerous  family  of  agricultur- 
ists in  the  place. 

Farel,  after  evangelizing  the  shores  of 
the  lake  to  the  south  of  Neuchatel,  had 
gone  to  the  north  and  preached  at  St. 
Blaise.  The  populace,  stirred  up  by  the 
priests  and  the  lieutenant,  had  fallen  upon 
him,  and  Farel  escaped  from  their  hands, 
severely  beaten,  spitting  blood,  and 
scarcely  recognisable.  His  friends  had 
thrown  him  hurriedly  into  a  boat,  and 
conveyed  him  to  Morat,  where  his  wounds 
detained  him  for  some  time.j" 

At  the  report  of  this  violence  the  re- 
formed Neuchatelans  felt  their  blood  boil. 
If  the  lieutenant,  the  priest,  and  his  flock 
have  bruised  the  body  of  Christ's  ser- 
vant, which  is  truly  the  altar  of  the  living 
God,  why  should  they  spare  dead  idols  ? 
Immediately ,  they  rush  to  St.  Blaise, 
throw  down  the  images,  and.  do  the  same 
at  the  abbey  of  Fontaine-Andre, — a 
sanctuary  of  the  ancient  worship. 

The  images  still  existed  at  Valangin, 
but  their  last  hour  was  about  to  strike. 
A  Frenchman,  Anthony  Marcourt,  had 
been  nominated  pastor  of  Neuchatel. 
Treading  in  Farel's  footsteps,  he  repaired 
with  a  few  of  the  citizens  to  Valangin  on 
the  14th  June,  a  great  holiday  in  that 
town.;}:  Scarcely  had  they  arrived  when 
a  numerous  crowd  pressed  around  the 
minister,  listening  to  his  words.  The 
canons,  who  were  on  the  watch  in  their 
houses,  and  Madame  de  Vergy  and  M. 
de  Bellegarde  from  their  towers,  sought 
how  they  could  make  a  diversion  against 
this  heretical  preaching  ?  They  could 
not  employ  force  because  of  Berne. 
They  had  recourse  to  a  brutal  expedient, 
worthy  of  the  darkest  days  of  Popery, 

*  2  Cor.  xi.  24,  25. 

t  De  Perrot:  L'Eglise  et  la  Reformation,  ii. 
p.  233. 

X  This  incident  is  generally  -attributed  to 
Farel,  but  Choupart,  following  an  older  manu- 
script, says,  le  ministre  de  Neuchatel,  by 
which  title  he  always  means  Marcourt,  and 
never  Farel. 


SWITZERLAND— CONQUESTS. 


7v 


and  which,  bv  insulting  the  minister, 
might  divert  (they  imagined)  the  atten- 
tion of  the  people,  and  change  it  into 
shouts  and  laughter.  A  canon,*  assisted 
by  the  countess's  coachman,  went  to  the 
stables  and  took  thence  two  animals, 
which  they  led  to  the  spot  where  Mar- 
court  was  preaching.  We  will  throw  a 
veil  over  this  scene  :  it  is  one  of  those 
disgraceful  subjects  which  the  pen  of 
history  refuses  to  transcribe. f  But  never 
did  punishment  follow  closer  upon  crime. 
The  conscience  of  the  hearers  was 
aroused  at  the  sight  of  this  infamous 
spectacle.  The  torrent,  that  such  a  pro- 
ceeding was  intended  to  check,  rushed 
out  of  its  channel.  The  indignant  peo- 
ple, undertaking  the  defence  of  that  re- 
ligion which  their  opponents  had  wished 
to  insult,  entered  the  church  like  an 
avenging  wave ;  the  ancient  windows 
were  broken,  the  shields  of  the  lords  were 
demolished,,  the  relics  scattered  about,  the 
books  torn,  the  images  thrown  down,  and 
the  altar  overturned.  But  this  was  not 
enough  :  the  popular  wave,  after  sweep- 
ing out  the  church,  flowed  back  again, 
and  dashed  against  the  canons'  houses. 
Their  inhabitants  fled  in  consternation 
into  the  forests,  and  everything  was  de- 
stroyed in  their  dwellings. 

Guillemette  de  Vergy  and  M.  de  Bel- 
legarde,  agitated  and  trembling  behind 
their  battlements,  repenting,  but  too  late, 
of  their  monstrous  expedient,  are  the 
only  ones  who  have  not  yet  suffered  the 
popular  vengeance.  Their  restless  eyes 
watch  the  motions  of  the  indignant  towns- 
people. The  work  is  completed !  the 
last  house  is  sacked  !  The  burghers 
consult  together. — O  horror  ! — they  turn 
towards  the  castle, — they  ascend  the 
hill, — they  draw  near.  Is  then  the  abode 
of  the  noble  counts  of  Arberg  about  to 
be  laid  waste  ?  But  no  ! — "  We  come," 
said  the  delegates  standing  near  the  gate 
of  the  'castle,  "  we  are  come  to  demand 
justice  for  the  outrage  committed  against 
religion  and  its  minister."  They  are 
permitted  to  enter,  and  the  trembling 
countess  orders  the  poor  wretches  to  be 

*  Some  historians  say  "  the  coachman  of  the 
countess  ;"  but  Choupart,  on  three  different 
occasions,  writes  a  canon.  The  latter  is  no 
doubt  more  revolting ;  but  there  is  nothing 
incredible  in  it. 

t  De  equo  admissario  loquitur  qui  equam 
init. 


punished  who  had  acted  solely  by  her 
orders.  But  at  the  same  time  she  sends 
deputies  to  Berne,  complaining  of  the 
"  great  insults  that  had  been  offered 
her."*  Berne  declared  that  the  Re- 
formed  should  pay  for  the  damage  ;  but 
that  the  countess  should  grant  then  the 
free  exercise  of  their  worship.  Jacques 
Veluzat,  a  native  of  Champagne,  was  the 
first  pastor  of  Valangin.  A  little  later 
we  shall  see  new  struggles  at  the  foot  of 
Mount  Jura. 

Thus  was  the  Reformation  established 
at  Valangin,  as  it  had  been  at  Neucha- 
tel  :  the  two  capitals  of  these  mountains 
were  gained  to  the  Gospel.  Erelong  it 
received  a  legal  sanction.  Francis,  Mar- 
quis of  Rothelin,  son  of  the  Duchess  of 
Longueville,  arrived  in  the  principality 
in  March,  1531,  with  the  intention  of 
playing  on  this  small  theatre  the  part  of 
a  Francis  1.  But  he  soon  found  out  that 
there  are  revolutions  which  an  irresisti- 
ble hand  has  accomplished,  and  that  must 
be  submitted  to.  Rothelin  excluded 
from  the  estates  of  the  earldom  the  ca- 
nons who  had  hitherto  formed  the  first 
power,  and  replaced  them  by  four  ban- 
nerets and  four  burgesses.  Then,  avail- 
ing himself  of  the  principle  that  all  aban- 
doned property  falls  to  the  state,  he  laid  his 
hands  upon  their  rich  heritage,  and  pro- 
claimed freedom  of  conscience  through- 
out all  the  country.  All  the  necessary 
forms  having  been  observed  with  Ma- 
dame, the  politic  M.  de  Rive  became  re- 
formed also.  Such  was  the  support 
Rome  received  from  the  State,  to  which 
she  had  looked  for  her  deliverance. 

A  great  energy  characterized  the  Re- 
formation of  French  Switzerland  ;  and 
this  is  shown  by  the  events  we  have  just 
witnessed.  Men  have  attributed  to  Fa- 
rel  this  distinctive  feature  of  his  work  ; 
but  no  man  has  ever  created  his  own 
times  ;  it  is  always,  on  the  contrary,  the 
times  that  create  the  man.  The  greater 
the  epoch,  the  less  do  individualities  pre- 
vail in  it.  All  the  good  contained  in  the 
events  we  have  just  related  came  from 
that  Almighty  Spirit,  of  which  the  strong- 
est men  are  but  weak  instruments.  All 
the  evil  proceeded  fcom  the  character  of 
the  people ;  and,  indeed,  it  was  almost 
always  Popery  that  began  these  scenes 

*  Curate  of  Bezancenet's  chronicle.  Des 
grands  vituperes  qu'on  lui  avait  faits. 


roo 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


of  violence.  Farel  submitted  to  the  in- 
fluence of  his  time,  rather  than  the  time 
received  his.  A  great  man  may  be  the 
personification  and  the  type  of  the  epoch 
for  which  God  destines  him  :  he  is  never 
its  creator. 

But  it  is  time  to  quit  the  Jura  and  its 

beautiful  valleys,  brightened  by  the  ver- 

al  sun,  to  direct  our  step  towards  the 

.lps    of    German    Switzerland,    along 


which  thick  clouds  and  horrible  tempests 
are  beginning  to  gather.  The  free  and 
courageous  people,  who  dwell  below  the 
eternal  glaciers,  or  on  the  smiling  banks 
of  the  lakes,  daily  assume  a  fiercer  as- 
pect, and  the  collision  threatens  to  be 
sudden,  violent,  and  terrible.  We  have 
just  been  witnessing  a  glorious  con- 
quest :  a  dreadful  catastrophe  awaits  us. 


BOOK  XVI. 


SWITZERLAND— OATASTROPHE.     1528—1531. 


I.  It  was  the  will  of  God  that  the  very 
gates  of  his  revived  Church  there 
should  be  two  great  examples  to  serve  as 
lessons  for  future  generations.  Luther 
and  the  German  Reformation,  declining 
the  aid  of  the  temporal  power,  rejecting 
the  force  of  arms,  and  looking  for  victory 
only  in  the  confession  of  the  truth,  were 
destined  to  see  their  faith  crowned  with 
the  most  brilliant  success ;  while  Zwin- 
gle  and  the  Swiss  Reformation,  stretch- 
ing out  their  hands  to  the  mighty  ones  of 
the*  earth,  and  grasping  the  sword,  were 
fated  to  witness  a  ■  horrible,  cruel,  and 
bloody  catastrophe  fall  upon  the  Word 
of  God — a  catastrophe  which  threatened 
to  engulf  the  Evangelical  cause  in  the 
most  furious  whirlpool.  God  is  a  jea- 
lous God,  and  gives  not  his  glory  to 
another ;  he  claims  to  perform  his  own 
work  himself,  and  to  attain  his  ends  sets 
other  springs  in  motion  than  those  of  a 
skilful  diplomacy. 

We  are  far  from  forgetting  that  we 
are  called  upon  to  relate  facts  and  not  to 
discuss  theories  ;  but  there  is  a  principle 
which  the  history  we  are  narrating  sets 
forth  in  capital  letters  :  it  is  that  profess- 
ed in  the  Gospel,  where  it  says  :  The 

WEAPONS  OF  OUR  WARFARE  ARE  NOT  CAR- 
NAL,    BUT     MIGHTY     THROUGH     GOD  !        Ill 

maintaining  this  truth  we  do  not  place 
ourselves  on  the  ground  of  any  particu- 
lar school,  but  on  that  of  universal  con- 
science and  of  the  Word  of  God. 


Of  all  carnal  support  that  religion  can 
invoke,  there  is  none  more  injurious  to 
it  than  arms  and  diplomacy.  The  latter 
throws  it  into  tortuous  ways  ;  the  former 
hurries  it  into  paths  of  bloodshed  ;  and 
Religion,  from  whose  brow  has  been  torn 
the  double  wreath  of  truth  and  meekness, 
"presents  but  a  degraded  and  humiliated 
countenance  that  no  person  can,  that  no 
person  desires  to  recognise. 

It  was  the  very  extension  of  the  Re- 
form in  Switzerland  that  exposed  it  to 
the  dangers  under  which  it  sunk.  So 
long  as  it  was  concentrated  at  Zurich,  it 
continued  a  religious  matter  ;  but  when 
it  had  gained  Berne,  Basle,  Schaffhau- 
sen,  St.  Gall,  Glaris,  Appenzell,  and  nu- 
merous bailiwicks,  it  formed  inter-canto- 
nal relations  ;  and — here  was  the  error 
and  misfortune — while  the  connexion 
should  have  taken  place  between  church 
and  church,  it  was  formed  between  state 
and  state. 

As  soon  as  spiritual  and  political  mat- 
ters became  mingled  together,  the  latter 
took  the  upperhand.  Zwingle  erelong- 
thought  it  his  duty  to  examine  not  only 
doctrinal,  but  also  federal  questions  ;  and 
the  illustrious  reformer  might  be  seen, 
unconscious  of  the  snares  beneath  his 
feet,  precipitating  himself  into  a  course 
strewn  with  rocks,  at  the  end  of  which  a 
cruel  death  awaited  him. 

The  primitive  Swiss  cantons  had  re- 
signed the  right  of  forming  new  alliances 


SWITZERLAND -CATASTROPHE. 


791 


without  the  consent  of  all  ;  but  Zurich 
and  Berne  had  reserved  the  power. 
Zwingle  thought  himself  therefore  quite 
at  liberty  to  promote  an  alliance  with 
the  Evangelical  states.  Constance  was 
the  first  city  that  gave  her  adhesion. 
But  this  christian  co-burghery,  which 
might  become  the  germ  of  a  new  confe- 
deration, immediately  raised  up  nume- 
rous adversaries  against  Zwingle,  even 
among  the  partisans  of  the  Reformation. 
There  was  yet  time  :  Zwingle  might 
withdraw  from  public  affairs,  to  occupy 
himself  entirely  with  those  of  the  Gos- 
pel. But  no  one  in  Zurich  had,  like 
him,  that  application  to  labour,  that  cor- 
rect, keen,  and  sure  eye,  so  necessary 
for  politicians.  If  he  retired,  the  vessel 
of  the  state  would  be  left  without  a  pilot. 
Besides,  he  was  convinced  that  political 
acts  alone  could  save  the  Reform.  He 
resolved,  therefore,  to  be  at  one  and  the 
same  time  the  man  of  the  State  and  of 
the  Church.  The* registers  prove  that 
in  his  latter  years  he  took  part  in  the 
most  important  deliberations ;  and  he 
was  commissioned  by  the  council  of  his 
canton  to  write  letters,  compose  procla- 
mations, and  draw  up  opinions.  Already, 
before  the  dispute  with  Berne,  looking! 
upon  war  as  possible,  he  had  traced  out 
a  very  detailed  plan  of  defence,  the  ma- 
nuscript of  which  is  still  in  existence.* 
In  1528  he  did  still  more  ;  he  showed  in 
a  remarkable  paper,  how  the  republic 
should  act  with  regard  to  the  Empire, 
France,  and  other  European  states,  and 
with  respect  to  the  several  cantons  and 
bailiwicks.  Then,  as  if  he  had  grown 
grey  at  the  head  of  the  Helvetic  troops 
(and  it  is  but  just  to  remark  that  he  had 
lonfr  lived  among  soldiers),  he  explained 
the  advantages  there  would  be  in  sur- 
prising the  enemy  ;  and  he  described 
even  the  nature  of  the  arms,  and  the 
manner  of  employing  them.  In  truth, 
an  important  revolution  was  then  taking 
place  in  the  art  of  war.  The  pastor  of 
Zurich  is  at  once  the  head  of  the  state 
and  general  of  the  army  :  this  double — 
this  triple  part  of  the  reformer  was  the 
ruin  of  the  Reformation  and  of  himself. 
Undoubtedly  we  must  make  allowances 
for  the  men  of  this  age,  who,  being  ac- 
customed to  see  Rome  wield  two  swords 
for  so  many  centuries,  did  not  understand 

*  Escher  et  Hottinger,  Archives,  ii.  p.  263. 


that  they  must  take  up  one  and  leave  the 
other.  We  must  admire  the  strength 
of  that  superior  genius,  which,  while 
pursuing  a  political  course,  in  which  the 
greatest  minds  would  have  been  absorb- 
ed, ceased  not  however  to  display  an  in- 
defatigable activity  as  pastor,  preacher, 
divine,  and  author.  We  must  acknow- 
ledge that  the  republican  education  of 
Zwingle  had  taught  him  to  confound  his 
country  with  his  religion,  and  that  there 
was  in  this  great  man  enough  to  fill  up 
many  lives.  We  must  appreciate  that 
indomitable  courage  which,  relying  upon 
justice,  feared  not,  at  a  time  when  Zurich 
had  but  one  or  two  weak  cities  for  allies, 
to  confront  the  redoubtable  forces  of  the 
Empire  and  of  the  Confederation  ;  but 
we  should  also  see  in  the  great  and  ter- 
rible lesson  that  God  gave  him,  a  pre- 
cept for  all  times  and  for  every  nation  ; 
and  finally,  understand  what  is  so  often 
forgotten,  "  that  the  kingdom  of  Christ  is 
not  of  this  world." 

The  Roman-catholic  cantons,  on  hear- 
ing of  the  new  alliances  of  the  Reformed; 
felt  a  violent  indignation.  William  of 
Diesbach,  deputy  from  Berne  at  the  diet, 
was  forced  to  submit  to  the  keenest  re- 
proaches. The  sitting,  for  some  time 
interrupted,  was  resumed  immediately 
after  his  departure.  "  They  may  try  to 
patch  up  the  old  faith,"  said  the  Ber- 
nese, as  he  withdrew,  "  it  cannot,  how- 
ever, last  any  longer."*  In  truth,  they 
patched  away  with  all  their  might,  but 
with  a  sharp  and  envenomed  needle 
that  drew  blood.  Joseph  Am  Berg  of 
Schwytz  and  Jacques  Stocker  of  Zug, 
bailiffs  of  Thurgovia,  treated  with  cru- 
elty all  who  were  attached  to  the  Gos- 
pel. They  enforced  against  them  fines, 
imprisonment,  torture,  the  scourge,  con- 
fiscation, and  banishment ;  they  cut  out 
the  ministers'  tongues,  beheaded  them, 
or  condemned  them  to  be  burnt. f  At 
the  same  time  they  took  away  the  Bibles 
and  all  the  evangelical  books;  and  if 
any  poor  Lutherans,  fleeing  from  Austria, 
crossed  the  Rhine  and  that  low  valley 
where  its  calm  waters  flow  between  the 
Alps  of  the  Tyrol  and  of  Appenzell, — if 
these  poor  creatures,  tracked  by  the  lan- 

*  Mogen  sie  blatzen  am  alten  Glauben. 
(Hottinger,  Zwingli,  p   3S9.) 

t  Die  Zungen  geschlitzt,  mit  dem  Schwerdt 
richten  und  verbrannt.     (Bull.  ii.  p.  31.) 


792 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


squenets,  came  to  seek  a  refuge  in  Swit- 
zerland, they  were  cruelly  given  up  to 
their  persecutors. 

The  heavier  lay  the  hands  of  the 
bailiff  on  Thurgovia-  and  the  Rhienthal, 
the  greater  conquests  did  the  Gospel 
make.  The  Bishop  of  Constance  wrote 
to  the  Five  Cantons,  that  if  they  did  not 
act  with  firmness,  all  the  country  would 
embrace  the  Reform.  In  consequence 
of  this,  the  cantons  convoked  at  Frauen- 
feld  all  the  prelates,  nobles,  judges,  and 
persons  of  note  in  the  district ;  and  a 
second  meeting  taking  place  six  days 
after  (6th  December  1528)  at  Weinfeld, 
deputies  from  Berne  and  Zurich  en- 
treated the  assembly  to  consider  the 
honour  of  God  above  all  things,  and  in 
no  respect  to  care  for  the  threats  of  the 
world.*  A  great  agitation  followed 
upon  this  discourse.  At  last  a  majority 
called  for  the  preaching  of  the  Word  of 
God  :  the  people  came  to  the  same  de- 
cision ;  and  the  Rheinthal,  as  well  as 
Bremgarten,  followed  this  example. 

What  was  to  be  done  ?  The  flood 
had  become  hourly  encroaching.  Must 
then  the  Forest  Cantons  open  their  val- 
leys to  it  at  last  ?  Religious  antipathies 
put  an  end  to  national  antipathies  ;  and 
these  proud  mountaineers,  directing  their 
looks  beyond  the  Rhine,  thought  of  in- 
voking the  succour  of  Austria,  which 
they  had  vanquished  at  Morgarten  and 
at  Sempach."("  The  fanatical  German 
party  that  had  crushed  the  revolted 
Swabian  peasants  was  all-powerful  on 
the  frontiers.  Letters  were  exchanged  ; 
messengers  passed  to  and  fro  across  the 
river ;  at  last  they  took  advantage  of  a 
wedding  in  high  rank  that  was  to  take 
place  at  Feldkirch  in  Swabia,  six  leagues 
from  Appenzell.  On  the  16th  February 
1529,  the  marriage  party,  forming  a 
brilliant  cavalcade,  in  the  midst  of  which 
the  deputies  of  the  Five  Cantons  were 
concealed,  made  their  entry  into  Feld- 
kirch, and  Am  Berg  had  an  immediate 
interview  with  the  Austrian  governor. 
"  The  power  of  the  enemies  of  our  an- 
cient faith  has  so  increased/'  said  the 
Swiss,  "  that  the  friends  of  the  Church 
can  resist  them  no  longer.  We  there- 
fore   turn  our    eyes  to    that    illustrious 


*  Die  Eer  Gottes,  uwer  Seelen  Heil. 
ling.  Chron.  ii.  p.  28.) 
t  Ibid.  p.  48. 


(Bul- 


prince  who  has  saved  in  Germany  the 
faith  of  our  fathers." 

This  alliance  was  so  very  unnatural, 
that  the  Austrians  had  some  difficulty  in 
believing  it  to  be  sincere.  "  Take  hos- 
tages," said  the  Waldstettes,  "  write  the 
articles  of  the  treaty  with  your  own 
hands  ;  command,  and  we  will  obey  !  " 
— "  Very  good  !  "  replied  the  Austrians  ; 
"  in  two  months  you  find  us  again  at 
Waldshut,  and  we  will  let  you  know  our 
conditions." 

A  rumour  of  these  negotiations  being 
spread  abroad  excited  great  dissatisfac- 
tion, even  in  the  partisans  of  Rome.  In 
no  place  did  it  burst  out  with  greater 
force  than  in  the  council  of  Zug.  The 
opposing  parties  were  violently  agitated  ; 
they  stamped  their  feet,  they  started 
from  their  seats,  and  were  nearly  coming 
to  blows ;  but  hatred  prevailed  over 
patriotism.  The  Waldstette  deputies 
appeared  at  Waldshut ;  they  suspended 
the  arms  of  their  cantons  by  the  side  of 
those  of  the  oppressors  of  Switzerland  ; 
they  decorated  their  hats  with  peacocks' 
feathers  (the  badge  of  Austria),  and 
laughed,  drank,  and  chattered  with  the 
Imperialists.  This  strange  alliance  was 
at  last  concluded.*  "  Whoever  shall 
form  new  sects  among  the  people,"  it 
ran,  "  shall  be  punished  with  death  ; 
and,  if  need  be,  with  the  help  of  Aus- 
tria. This  power,  in  case  of  emergency, 
shall  send  into  Switzerland  six  thousand 
foot  soldiers,  and  four  hundred  horse, 
with  all  requisite  artillery.  If  necessary, 
the  reformed  cantons  shall  be  blockaded, 
and  all  provisions  intercepted."  To  the 
Romish  cantons,  then,  belongs  the  initia- 
tive of  this  measure  so  much  decried. 
Finally,  Austria  guaranteed  to  the 
Waldstettes  the  possession,  not  only  of 
the  common  bailiwicks,  but  of  all  the 
conquests  that  might  be  made  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Rhine. 

Dejection  and  consternation  imme- 
diately pervaded  all  Switzerland.  The 
national  complaint,  which  Bullinger  has 
preserved,  was  sung  in  every  direc- 
tion : — 

Wail,  Helvetians,  wail, 

For  the  peacock's  plume  of  pride 
To  the  forest-cantons'  savage  bull 

In  friendship  is  allied. 

*  Bullinger  gives  the  treaty  at  full  length. 
(Chron.  ii.  p.  49-59.) 


SWITZERLAND— CATASTROPHE. 


793 


All  the  cantons  not  included  in  this 
alliance,  with  the  exception  of  Friburg, 
assembled  in  diet  at  Zurich,  and  re- 
solved to  send  a  deputation  to  their  moun- 
tain confederates,  with  a  view  to  recon- 
ciliation. The  deputation,  admitted  at 
Schwytz  in  the  presence  of  the  people, 
was  able  to  execute  its  mission  without 
tumult.  At  Zug  there  was  a  cry  of 
"  No  sermon  !  no  sermon  !  "  At  Altorf 
the  answer  was :  "  Would  to  God  that 
your  new  faith  was  buried  for  ever ! " 
At  Lucerne  they  received  this  haughty 
reply  :  "  We  shall  know  how  to  defend 
ourselves,  our  children,  and  our  chil- 
dren's children,  from  the  poison  of  your 
rebellious  priests."  It  was  at  Unter- 
walden  that  the  deputation  met  with  the 
worst  reception.  "  We  declare  our  al- 
liance at  an  end,"  said  they.  "  It  is 
we, — it  is  the  other  Waldstettes  who  are 
the  real  .Swiss.  We  graciously  admitted 
you  into  our  confederation,  and  now  you 
claim  to  become  our  masters ! — The 
Emperor,  Austria,  France,  Savoy,  and 
Valais  will  assist  us  !  "  The  deputies 
retired  in  astonishment,  shuddering  as 
they  passed  before  the  house  of  the  se- 
cretary of  state,  where  they  saw  the 
arms  of  Zurich,  Berne,  Basle,  and  Stras- 
burg  hanging  from  a  lofty  gibbet. 

The  deputation  had  scarcely  returned 
to  Zurich  and  made  their  report,  when 
men's  minds  were  inflamed.  Zwingle 
proposed  to  grant  no  peace  to  Unterwal- 
den,  if  it  would  not  renounce  foreign  ser- 
vice, the  alliance  with  Austria,  and  the 
government  of  the  common  bailiwicks. 
"  No  !  no  !"  said  Berne,  that  had  just 
stifled  a  civil  war  in  its  own  canton,  "  let 
us  not  be  so  hasty.  When  the  rays  of 
the  sun  shine  forth,  each  one  wishes  to 
set  out ;  but  as  soon  as  it  begins  to  ruin, 
every  man  loses  heart !  The  Word  of 
God  enjoins  peace.  It  is  not  with  pikes 
and  lances  that  faith  is  made  to  enter  the 
heart.  For  this  reason,  in  the  name  of 
our  Lord's  sufferings,  we  entreat  you  to 
moderate  your  anger." 

This  christian  exhortation  would  have 
succeeded,  if  the  fearful  news  that  reach- 
ed Zurich,  on  the  very  day  when  the 
Bernese  delivered  their  moderate  speech, 
had  not  rendered  it  unavailing. 

On  Saturday  the  22d  May,  Jacques 
Keyser,  a  pastor  and  father  of  a  family 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  GreifFensee, 


after  coasting  the  fertile  shores  of  this 
little    lake,   Crossed  the    rich  pastures  of 
the  bailiwick  of  Gruningen,  passed  near 
the  Teutonic  house  of  Bubikon   and  the 
convent  of  Ruti,  and  readied  thai  simple 
and   wild   district  bathed    by  the    upper 
part  of  Lake  Zurich.     Making  his  way 
to  Oberkirk,  a  parish  in  the.  Gaster  dis- 
trict,  between  the  two  lakes  of  Zurich 
and  Wallenstadt,  of  which  he  had  been 
nominated   pastor,  and  where  he  was  to 
preach  on  the  morrow,  he  crossed  on  foot 
the   lengthened   and    rounded    Hunks  of 
the   Buchberg,  fronting   the  picturesque 
heights  of  the  Amnion.     He  was   confi- 
dently advancing  into  those  woods  which 
for  many  weeks  he  had  often  traversed 
without  obstruction,  when  he  was  sud- 
denly seized  by  six  men,  posted  there  to 
surprise  him,  and  carried  off'  to  Schwytz.' 
"  The  bailiff's,"  said  they  to  the  magis- 
trates,   "  have    ordered    all    innovating 
ministers  to  be  brought  befoYe  the  tribu- 
nals :    here  is  one  that  we  bring  you." 
Although  Zurich  and  Glaris  interposed ; 
although    the    government    of    Gaster, 
where  Keyser  had  been  taken,  did  not 
then  belong  to  Schwytz ;  the  Landsge- 
meinde  desired  a  victim,  and  on  the  29th 
May  they  condemned  the  minister  to  be 
bnrnt  alive.     On  being  informed  of  his 
sentence,  Keyser  burst  into  tears.*     But 
when  the  hour  of  execution  arrived,  he 
walked  cheerfully  to  death,  freely  con- 
fessed his  faith,  and  gave  thanks  to  the 
Lord  even  with  his  latest  breath.     "  Go 
and  tell  them  at  Zurich  how  he  thanks 
us !"    said  one  of   the   Schwytz  magis- 
trates, with  a  sarcastic  smile,  to  the  Zu- 
rich deputies.      Thus  had  a  fresh  martyr 
fallen  under  the  hands  of  that  formidable 
power  that  is   "  drunk  with  the  blood  of 
the  saints. "f 

The  cup  was  full.  The  flumes  of 
Keyser's  pile  became  the  signal  of  war. 
Exasperated  Zurich  uttered  a  cry  that 
resounded  through  all  the  confederation. 
Zwingle  above  all  called  for  energetic 
measures.  Everywhere, — in  the  streets, 
in  the  councils,  and  even  in  the  pulpits, 
— he  surpassed  in  daring  even  the  most 
valiant  captains.  He  spoke  at  Zurich, 
— he  wrote  to  Berne.  "  Let  us  be  firm, 
and  fear  not  to  take  up  arms,"  said  he. 
"  This  peace,  which  some  desire  so  much, 


*  Weinet  hafftig. 
f  Rev.  xvii.  6. 


(Bull  ii.  p.  149.) 


r94 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


is  not  peace,  but  war:  while  the  war 
that  we  call  for  is  not  war  but  peace.* 
We  thirst  for  no  man's  blood,  but  we  will 
clip  the  wings  of  the  oligarchy  .f  If  we 
shun  it,  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  and  the 
ministers'  lives  will  never  be  secure 
among  us." 

Thus  spoke  Zwingle.  In  every  part 
of  Europe  he  beheld  the  mighty  ones  of 
the  earth  aiding  one  another  to  stifle  the 
reviving  animation  of  the  Church  ;  and 
he  thought  that  without  some  decisive 
and  energetic  movement,  Christianity, 
overwhelmed  by  so  many  blows,  would 
soon  fall  back  into  its  ancient  slavery. 
Luther  under  similar  circumstances  ar- 
rested the  swords  ready  to  be  crossed, 
and  demanded  that  the  Word  of  God  alone 
^should  appear  on  the  field  of  battle. 
Zwingle  thought  not  thus.  In  his  opinion 
war  was  not  revolt,  for  Switzerland  had 

f  no  master.  "  Undoubtedly,"  said  he, 
"  we  must  t-ust  in  God  alone  ;  but  when 
He  gives  us  a  just  cause,  we  must  also 
know  how  to  defend  it,  and,  like  Joshua 
and  Gideon,  shed  blood  in  behalf  of  our 
country  and  our  God." 

I£  we  adopt  the  principles  of  justice 
which  govern  the  rulers  of  nations,  the 
advice  of  Zwingle  was  judicious  and  irre- 
proachable. It  was  the  duty  of  the  Swiss 
magistrates  to  defend  the  oppressed 
against  the  oppressor.  But  is  not  such 
language,  which  might  have  been  suita- 
ble in  the  mouth  of  a  magistrate,  blama- 
ble  in  a  minister  of  Christ?  Perhaps 
Zwingle  forgot  his  quality  of  pastor,  and 
considered  himself  only  as  a  citizen,  con- 
sulted by  his  fellow-citizens  ;  perhaps  he 
wished  to  defend  Switzerland,  and  not 
the  Church,  by  his  counsels  ;  but  it  is  a 
question  if  he  ought  ever  to  have  forgot- 
ten the  Church  and  his  ministry.  We 
think  we  may  go  even  further ;  and  while 
granting  all  that  may  be  urged  in  favour 
of  the  contrary  supposition,  we  may  deny 

.  that  the  secular  power  ought  ever  to  in- 
terfere with  the  sword  to  protect  the 
faith. 

To  accomplish  his  designs,  the  re- 
former needed  even  in  Zurich  the  great- 
est unity.  But  there  were  many  men  in 
that  city  devoted  to  interests  and  super- 
stitions  which   were    opposed    to   him. 

*  Bellum  cui  nos  instamus,  pax  est,  non  bel- 
lum.     (Vita  Zwinglii  per  0.  Myconium.) 
t  Oligarchiae  nervi  succidantur.     (Ibid.) 


"  How  long,"  had  he  exclaimed  in  the 
pulpit  on  the  1st  December  1528,  "  will 
you  support  in  the  council  these  unbe- 
lievers, these  impious  men,  who  oppose 
the  Word  of  God  ?"*  They  had  decided 
upon  purging  the  council,  as  required  by 
the  reformer;  they  had  examined  the 
citizens  individually ;  and  then  had  ex- 
cluded all  the  hostile  members. 

II.  On  Saturday  the  15th  June  1529. 
seven  days  after  Keyser's  martyrdom,  all 
Zurich  was  in  agitation.  The  moment 
was  come  when  Unterwalden  should  send 
a  governor  to  the  common  bailiwicks  : 
and  the  images,  having  been  burnt  in 
those  districts,  Unterwalden  had  sworn 
to  take  a  signal  revenge. f  Thus  the 
consternation  had  become  general. 
"  Keyser's  pile,"  thought  they,  "  will  be 
rekindled  in  all  our  villages."  Manv 
of  the  inhabitants  flocked  to  Zurich,  and 
on  their  alarmed  and  agitated  features, 
one  might,  in  imagination,  have  seen  re- 
flected the  flames  that  had  just  consumed 
the  martyr. 

These  unhappy  people  found  a  power- 
ful advocate  in  Zwingle.  The  reformer 
imagined  that  he  had  at  last  attained  the 
object  that  he  never  ceased  to  pursue — 
the  free  preaching  of  the  Gospel  in 
Switzerland.  To  inflict  a  final  blow 
would,  in  his  idea,  suffice  to  bring  this 
enterprise  to  a  favourable  issue.  "  Greedy 
pensioners,"  said  Zwingle  to  the  Zurich- 
ers,  "  profit  by  the.ignorance  of  the  moun- 
taineers to  stir  up  these  simple  souls 
against  the  friends  of  the  Gospel.  Let 
us  therefore  be  severe  upon  these  haughty 
chiefs.  The  mildness  of  the  lamb  would 
only  serve  to  render  the  wolf  more  fero- 
cious.^: Let  us  propose  to  the  Five  Can- 
tons to  allow  the  free  preaching  of  the 
Word  of  the  Lord,  to  renounce  their 
wicked  alliances,  and  to  punish  the  abet- 
tors of  foreign  service.  As  for  the  Mass, 
idols,  rites,  and  superstitions,  let  no  one 
be  forced  to  abandon  them.  It  is  for  the 
Word  of  God  alone  to  scatter  with  its 
powerful  breath  all  this  idle  dust.§     Be 

"  Den  rath  reinigen.  (Fussli  Beytr'age,  iv. 
p.»91.) 

t  Den  gotzen  brand,  an  inen  mitt  der  Hand 
zu  rachen.     (Bull:  Chron.  ii.  p.  193.) 

J  Lupus  lenitate  agni,  magis  magisque  vorax 
fit.     (Zwing.  Epp.  ii.  p.  296.) 

§  Dei  verbum  enim  hos  pulveres  omnes  facile 
flatu  suo  disperget.     (Ibid.) 


SWITZERLAND— CATASTROPHE. 


795 


firm,  noble  lords,  and  in  despite  of  cer- 
tain black  horses,  as  black  at  Zurich  as 
they  are  at  Lucerne,*  but  whoso  malice 
will  never  succeed  in  overturning  the 
chariot  of  Reform,  we  shall  clear  this 
difficult  pass,  and  arrive  at  the  unity  of 
Switzerland  and  at  unity  of  faith."  Thus 
Zwingle,  while  calling  for  force  against 
political  abuses,  asked  only  liberty  for 
the  Gospel  ;  but  he  desired  a  prompt  in- 
tervention, in  order  that  this  liberty  might 
be  secured  to  it.  (Ecolampadius  thought 
the  same  :  "  It  is  not  a  time  for  delay," 
said  he,  "  it  is  not  a  time  for  parsimony 
and  pusillanimity  !  So  long  as  the  venom 
shall  not  be  utterly  removed  from  this 
adder  in  our  bosoms  we  shall  be  exposed 
to  the  greatest  dangers. "f 

The  council  of  Zurich,  led  away  by 
the  reformer,  promised  the  bailiwicks  to 
support  religious  liberty  among  them  ; 
and  scarcely  had  they  learnt  that  Antho- 
ny ab  Acker  of  the  Unterwalden  was 
proceeding  to  Baden  with  an  army,  than 
they  ordered  five  hundred  men  to  set  out 
for  Bremgarten  with  four  pieces  of  artil- 
lery. This  was  the  5th  June,  and  on 
the  same  evening  the  standard  of  Zurich 
waved  over  the  convent  of  Mouri. 

The  war  of  religion  had  begun.  The 
horn  of  the  Waldstettes  re-echoed  afar 
in  the  mountains  :  men  were  arming  in 
every  direction,  and  messengers  were 
sent  off  in  haste  to  invoke  the  assistance 
of  the  Valais  and  of  Austria.  Three 
days  later  (Tuesday  the'  8th  June),  six 
hundred  Zurichers,  under  the  command 
of  Jacques  Werdmuller,  set  out  for  Rap- 
perschwyl  and  the  district  of  Gaster  ; 
and,  on  the  morrow,  four  thousand  men 
repaired  to  Cappel,  under  the  command 
of  the  valiant  Captain  George  Berguer, 
to  whom  Conrad  Schmidt,  pastor  of  Kuss- 
nacht,  had  been  appointed  chaplain. 
"  We  do  not  wish  you  to  go  to  the  war," 
said  Burgomaster  Roust  to  Zwingle  j 
"  for  the  Pope,  the  Archduke  Ferdinand, 
the  Romish  cantons,  the  bishops,  the  ab- 
bots, and  the  prelates  hate  you  mortally. 
Stay  with  the  council  :  we  have  need  of 
you." — "No!"  replied  Zwingle,  who 
was  unwilling  to  confide  so  important  an 
enterprise  to  any  one  ;  "  when  my  bre- 
thren expose  their  lives  I  will  not  remain 


*  The  Pensioners. — Exceptis  aliquot  nigris 
equis.     (Zvving.  Epp.  ii.  298.) 

t  Venenum  adomestico  illo  colubro.      (Ibid.) 

101 


quietly  at  home  by  my  fireside.  Besides, 
the  army  also  requires  a  watchful  eye, 
that  looks  continually  around  it."  Then, 
taking  down  his  glittering  halberd,  which 
he  had  carried  (as  they  say)  at  Marig- 
nan,  and  placing  it  on  his  shoulder,  the 
reformer  mounted  his  horse  and  set  out 
with  the  army.*  The  walls,  towers.  ;u\<\ 
battlements  were  covered  with  a  crowd 
of  old  men,  children,  and  women,  among 
whom  was  Anna,  Zwingle's  wife. 

Zurich  had  called  for  the  aid  of 
Berne ;  but  that  city,  whose  inhabitants 
showed  little  disposition  for  a  religious 
war,  and  which  besides  was  not  pleased 
at  seeing  the  increasing  influence  of  Zu- 
rich, replied,  "  Since  Zurich  has  begun 
the  war  without  us,  let  her  finish  it  in 
like  manner."  The  Evangelical  states 
were  disunited  at  the  very  moment  of 
struggle. 

The  Romish  cantons  did  not  act  thus. 
It  was  Zug  that  issued  the  first  summons  ; 
and  the  men  of  Uri,  of  Schwytz,  and  of 
Unterwalden  had  immediately  begun  the 
march.  On  the  8th  June,  the  great  ban- 
ner floated  before  the  townhouse  of  Lu- 
cerne, and  on  the  next  day  the  army  set 
out  to  the  sound  of  the  antique  horns  that 
Lucerne  pretended  to  have  received  from 
the  Emperor  Charlemagne. 

On  the  10th  June,  the  Zurichers,  who 
were  posted  at  Cappel,  sent  a  herald  at 
daybreak  to  Zug,  who  was  commissioned, 
according  to  custom,  to  denounce  to  the 
Five  Cantons  the  rupture  of  the  alliance. 
Immediately  Zug  was  filled  with  cries 
and  alarm.  This  canton,  the  smallest  in 
Switzerland,  not  having  yet  received  all 
the  confederate  contingents,  was  not  in  a 
condition  to  defend  itself.  The  people 
ran  to  and  fro,  sent  off  messengers,  and 
hastily  prepared  for  battle  ;  the  warriors 
fitted  on  their  armour,  the  women  shed 
tears,  and  the  children  shrieked. 

Already  the  first  division  of  the  Zurich 
army,  amounting  to  two  thousand  men, 
under  the  command  of  William  Thoming, 
and  stationed  near  the  frontier  below 
Cappel,  was  preparing  to  march,  when 
they  observed,  in  the  direction  of  Baar, 
a  horseman,  pressing  the  flanks  of  his 
steed,  and  galloping  up  as  fast  as  the 
mountain  which  he  had  to  ascend  would 


*  Soudern  sass  auf  ein  Ross,  und  fuhrte 
eine  hubsche  Helparten  aufden  Achseln. 
(Fuss  li.  Beytr.  iv.  p.  103.) 


796 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


permit.  It  was  Aebli,  landamman  of  I deputies  of  the  Zurich  Council  who  came 
Glaris.  "  The  Five  Cantons  are  pre- 'to  give  reality  to  his  fears.  Berne, 
pared,"  said  he,  as  he   arrived,  "  but  I] maintaining  the  character  that  it  had  so 


have  prevailed  upon  them  to  halt,  if  you 
will  do  the  same.  For  this  reason  I  en- 
treat my  lords  and  the  people  of  Zurich, 
for  the  love  of  God  and  the  safety  of  the 
Confederation,  to  suspend  their  march  at 
the  present  moment."  As  he  said  these 
words,  the  brave  Helvetian  shed  tears.* 
"  In  a  few  hours,"  continued  he,  "  I 
shall  be  back  again.  I  hope,  with  God's 
grace,  to  obtain  an  honourable  peace, 
and  to  prevent  our  cottages  from  being 
filled  with  widows  and  orphans." 

Aebli  was  known  to  be  an  honourable 
man,  friendly  to  the  Gospel,  and  opposed 
to  foreign  service  :  his  words,  therefore, 
moved  the  Zurich  captains,  who  resolved 
to  halt.  Zwingle  alone,  motionless  and 
uneasy,  beheld  in  his  friend's  interven- 
tion the  machinations  of  the  advei'sary. 
Austria,  occupied  in  repelling  the  Turks, 
and  unable  to  succour  the  Five  Cantons, 
had  exhorted  them  to  peace.  This,  in 
Zwingle's  opinion,  was  the  cause  of  the 
propositions  brought  to  them  by  the  lan- 
damman of  Glaris.  .So  at  the  moment 
Aebli  turned  round  to  return  to  Zug,"|" 
Zwingle  approaching  him  said  with  ear- 
nestness, "  Gossip  landamman,  you  will 
render  to  God  an  account  of  all  this. 
Our  adversaries  are  caught  in  a  sack  : 
this  is  why  they  give  you  sweet  words. 
By  and  by  they  will  fall  upon  us  una- 
wares, and  there  will  be  none  to  deliver 
us."  Prophetic  words,  whose  fulfilment 
went  beyond  all  foresight !  "  Dear  gos- 
sip !"  z-eplied  the  landamman,  "  I  have 
confidence  in  God  that  all  will  go  well. 
Let  each  one  do  his  best."  And  he  de- 
parted. 

Then,  instead  of  advancing  upon  Zug, 
the  army  began  to  erect  tents  along  the 
edge  of  the  forest  and  the  brink  of  the 
torrent  a  few  paces  from  the  sentinels  of 
the  Five  Cantons ;  while  Zwingle,  seated 
in  his  tent,  silent,  and  in  deep  thought, 
anticipated  some  distressing  news  from 
hour  to  hour. 

He  had  not  long  to  wait.     It  was  the 

*  Das  redt  er  mitt  weynenden  Ougen.  (Bull, 
ii.  p.  169.) 

t  Alls  nun  der  Amman  wiederumm  zu  den 
5  orten  ryten  wollt.  (Bull.  Chron.  ii.  p.  170.) 
Zwingle  was  godfather  to  one  of  Aebli's 
children. 


often  filled  as  representative  of  the  fede- 
ral policy,  declared  that  if  Zurich  or  the 
cantons  would  not  make  peace,  they 
should  know  how  to  compel  them  ;  this 
state  at  the  same  time  convoked  a  diet  at 
Arau,  and  sent  five  thousand  men  into 
the  field,  under  the  command  of  Sebas- 
tian Diesbach.  Zwingle  was  struck 
with  consternation. 

Aebli's  message,  supported  by  that  of 
Berne,  was  sent  back  by  the  council  to 
the  army  ;  for,  according  to  the  princi- 
ples of  the  time,  "  wherever  the  banner 
waves,  there  is  Zurich." — "  Let  us  not 
be  staggered,"  cried  the  reformer,  ever 
decided  and  firm ;  "  our  destiny  depends 
upon  our  courage  ;  to-day  they  beg  and 
entreat,  and  in  a  month,  when  we  have 
laid  down  our  arms,  they  will  crush  us. 
Let  us  stand  firm  in  God.  Before  all 
things,  let  us  be  just :  peace  will  come 
after  that."  But  Zwingle,  transformed 
to  a  statesman,  began  to  lose  the  influence 
which  he  had  gained  as  a  servant  of  God. 
Many  could  not  understand  him,  and 
asked  if  what  they  had  heard  was  really 
the  language  of  a  minister  of  the  Lord. 
"  Ah  !"  said  one  of  his  friends,  who  per- 
haps knew  him  best,  Oswald  Myconius, 
"  Zwingle  certainly  was  an  intrepid  man 
in  the  midst  of  danger  ;  but  he  always 
had  a  horror  of  blood,  even  of  his  most 
deadly  enemies.  The  freedom  of  his 
country,  the  virtues  of  ovir  forefathers, 
and,  above  all,  the  glory  of  Christ,  were 
the  sole  end  of  his  designs.* — I  speak  the 
truth,  as  if  in  the  presence  of  God," 
adds  he. 

While  Zurich  was  sending  deputies  to 
Arau,  the  two  armies  received  reinforce- 
ments. The  men  of  Thurgovia  and  St. 
Gall  joined  their  banners  to  that  of  Zu- 
rich ;  the  Valaisans  and  the  men  of  St. 
Gothard  united  with  the  Romanist  can- 
tons. The  advanced  posts  were  in  sight 
of  each  other  at  Thunn,  Leematt,  and 
Goldesbrunnen,  on  the  delightful  slopes 
of  the  Albis. 

Never,  perhaps,  did  Swiss  cordiality 
shine  forth  brighter  with  its  ancient  lus- 
tre. The  soldiers  called  to  one  another 
in  a  friendly  manner,  shook  hands,  styled 

*  Libertas  patriae,  virtutes  avita%  et  imprimis 
gloria  Christi.     (Osw.  Myc.  De  vita  Zw.) 


SWITZERLAND— CATASTROPHE. 


797 


themselves  confederates  and  brothers. 
"We  shall  not  fight,"  said  they.  "A 
storm  is  passing  over  our  heads,  but  we 
will  pray  to  God,  and  he  will  preserve  us 
from  every  harm."  Scarcity  afflicted 
the  army  of  the  Five  Cantons,  While 
abundance  reigned  in  the  camp  of  Zu- 
rich.* Some  young  famishing  Wald- 
stettes one  day  passed  the  outposts :  the 
Zurichers  made  them  prisoners,  led  them 
to  the  camp,  and  then  sent  them  back 
laden  With  provisions,  with  still  greater 
good-nature  than  was  shown  by  Henry 
IV.  at  the  siege  of  Paris.  At  another 
time,  some  warriors  of  the  Five  Cantons, 
having  placed  a'  bucket  filled  with  milk 
On  the  frontier  line,  cried  out  to  the  Zu- 
richers that  they  had  no  bread.  The 
latter  came  down  immediately,  and  cut 
their  bread  into  the  enemies'  milk  :  then 
the  soldiers  of  the  two  parties  began  with 
jokes  to  eat  out  of  the  same  dish — some 
on  this  side,  some  on  that.  The  Zurich- 
ers were  delighted  that,  notwithstanding 
the  prohibition  of  their  priests,  the  Wald- 
stettcs  ate  with  heretics.  When-  one  of 
the  troop  took  a  morsel  that  was  on  the 
side  of  his  adversaries,  these  sportively 
struck  him  with  their  spoons,  and  said  to 
him  :  "  Do  not  cross  the  frontier  !"  Thus 
did  these  good  Helvetians  make  war  upon 
one  another  ;  and  hence  it  was  that  the 
Burgomaster  Sturm  of  Strasburg,  one  of 
the  mediators,  exclaimed  :  "  You  Confe- 
derates are  a  s'ngular  people"!  When 
you  are  disunited,  you  live  still  in  har- 
mony with  one  another,  and  your  ancient 
friendship  never  slumbers. "| 

The  most  perfect  order  reigned  in  the 
camp  of  Zurich.  Every  day  Zwingle, 
the  commander  Schmidt,  Zink  abbot  of 
Cappel,  or  some  other  minister,  preached 
among  the  soldiers.  No  oath  or  dispute 
was  heard  ;  every  disorderly  woman  was 
turned  out  of  the  camp ;  prayers  were 
offered  up  before  and  after  every  meal ; 
and  each  man  obeyed  his  chiefs.  There 
were  no  dice,  no  cards,  no  games  calcu- 
lated to  excite  quarrels ;  but  psalms, 
hymns,  national  songs,  bodily  exercise, 
wrestling,  or  pitching  the  stone,  were  the 
military  recreations  of  the  Zurichers. 1 

*  A  measure  of  corn  was  sold  for  a  florin, 
and  one  of  wine  far  a  half-batz,  about  three 
halfpence.     (Bull.  Chron.  ii    p    IS2.) 

t  Wenn  ihr  schon  uneins  sind,  so  sind  ir  eins. 
(Bull.  Chron.  ii.  p.  183.) 

f  Sondern  sang,  sprang,  wurf,  und  Stiess  die 
Steine.     (Fussli  Beyt.  iv.  p.  10ft.) 


The  spirit  tliiii  animated  the  reformer 
had  passed  into  the  army. 

The  assembly  at  Amu,  transported  to 

Steinhausen  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
two  camps,  decreed  that  eaeh  army 
should  hear  the  complaints  of  the  oppo- 
site party.  The  reception  of  the  depu- 
ties of  the  Five  Cantons  by  the  Zurich- 
ers was  tolerably  calm  ;  it  was  not  so  in 
the  other  camp. 

On  the  15th  June,  fifty  Zurichers,  sur- 
rounded by  a  crowd  of  peasants,  pro- 
ceeded on  horseback  to  the  Waldstettes. 
The  sound  of  the  trumpet,  the  roll  of  the 
drum,  and  repeated  salvos  of  artillery 
announced  their  arrival.  Nearly  twelve 
thousand  men  of  the  smaller  cantons,  in 
good  order,  with  uplifted  heads  and  ar- 
rogant looks,  were  under  arms.  Eseher 
of  Zurich  spoke  first,  and  many  persons 
from  the  rural  districts  enumerated  their 
grievances  after  him,  which  the  Wald- 
stettes thought  exaggerated.  "  When 
have  we  ever  refused  you  the  federal 
right?"  asked  they.  "  Yes,  yes  !"  re- 
plied Funk,  Zwingle's  friend  ;  "  we 
know  how  you  exercise  it.  That  pastor 
(Keyser)  appealed  to  it,  and  you  referred 
him — to  the  executioner  !"  "  Funk,  you 
would  have  done  better  to  have  held  your 
tongue,"  said  one  of  his  friends.  But 
the  words  had  slipped  out ;  a  dreadful 
tumult  suddenly  arose  ;  all  the  army  of 
the  Waldstettes  was  in  agitation  ;  the 
most  prudent  begged  the  Zurichers  to 
retire  promptly,  and  protected  their  de- 
parture. 

At  length  the  treaty  was  concluded  on 
the  26th' June  1529.  Zwingle  did  not 
obtain  all  he  desired.  Instead  of  the  free 
preaching  of  the  Word  of  God,  the 
treaty  stipulated  only  liberty  of  con- 
science ;  it  declared  that  the  common 
bailiwicks  should  pronounce  for  or 
against  the  Reform  by  a  majority  of 
votes.  Without  decreeing  the  abolition 
of  foreign  pensions,  it  was  recommended 
to  the  Romish  cantons  to  renounce  the 
alliance  formed  with  Austria ;  the  Five 
Cantons  were  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the 
war,  Murner  to  retract  his  insulting 
words,  and  an  indemnity  was  secured  to 
Keyser's  family.* 

An  incontrovertible  success  had  just 
crowned  the  warlike  demonstration  of 
Zurich.      The    Five    Cantons    felt    it. 

*  Supra,  p.  753.  The  treaty  is  given  entire 
in  Bullinger,  ii.  p.  1S5,  and  Ruchat,  ii. 


798 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


Gloomy,  irritated,  silently  champing  the 
bit  that  had  been  placed  in  their  mouths, 
their  chiefs  could  not  decide  upon  giving 
up  the  deed  of  their  alliance  with  Aus- 
tria. Zurich  immediately  recalled  her 
troops,  the  mediators  redoubled  their  so- 
licitations, and  the  Bernese  exclaimed  : 
"  If  you  do  not  deliver  up  this  document, 
we  will  ourselves  go  in  procession  and 
tear  it  from  your  archives.'*'  At  last  it 
was  brought  to  Cappel  on  the  26th  June, 
two  hours  after  midnight.  All  the  army 
was  drawn  out  at  eleven  in  the  forenoon, 
and  they  began  to  read  the  treaty.  The 
Zurichers  looked  with  astonishment  at  its 
breadth  and  excessive  length,  and  the 
nine  seals  which  had  been  affixed,  one 
of  which  was  in  gold.  But  scarcely  had. 
a  few  words  been  read,  when  Aebli. 
snatching  the  parchment,  cried  out  : 
"Enough,  enough!" — "Read  it,  read 
it!"  said  the  Zurichers;  "  we  desire  to 
learn  their  treason  !"  But  the'  Bailiff  of 
Glaris  replied  boldly  :  "  I  would  rather 
be  cut  in  a  thousand  pieces  than  permit 
it."  Then  dashing  his  knife  into  the 
parchment,  he  cut  it  in  pieces  in  the  pre- 
sence of  Zwingle  and  the  soldiers,*  and 
threw  the  fragments  to  the  secretary  to 
commit  them  to  the  flames.  "  This  pa- 
per was  not  Swiss,"  says  Bullinger  with 
sublime  simplicity. 

The  banners  were  immediately  struck. 
The  men  of  Unterwalden  retired  in  an- 
ger ;  those  of  Schwytz  swore  they  would 
for  ever  preserve  their  ancient  faith ; 
while  the  troops  of  Zurich  returned  in 
triumph  to  their  homes.  But  the  most 
opposite  thoughts  agitated  Zwingle's 
mind.  "  I  hope,"  said  he,  doing  violence 
to  his  feelings,  "  that  we  bring  back  an 
honourable  peace  to  our  dwellings.  It 
was  not  to  shed  blood  that  we  set  out.f 
God  has  once  again  shown  the  great  ones 
of  the  earth  that  they  can  do  nothing 
against  us."  But  when  he  gave  way  to 
his  natural  disposition,  a  very  different 
order  of  thoughts  took  possession  of  his 
mind.  He  was  seen  walking  apart  in 
deep  dejection,  and  anticipating  the  most 
gloomy  future.  In  vain  did  the  people 
surround  him  with  joyful  shouts.     "  This 

*  Tabellce  foederis  a  praetore  Pagi  Glaronen- 
sis  gladio  concisse  et  deletce,  id  quod  ipse  vidi. 
(Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  310.) 

f  Cum  non  caedem  factum  pvofecti  sumus. 
(Ibid.) 


peace,"  said  he,  "  which  you  consider  a 
triumph,  you  will  soon  repent  of,  striking 
your  breasts."  It  was  at  this  time  that, 
venting  his  sorrow,  he  composed,  as  he 
was  descending  the  Albis,  a  celebrated 
hymn  often  repeated  to  the  sound  of  mu- 
sic in  the  fields  of  Switzerland,  among 
the  burghers  of  the  Confederate  cities, 
and  even  in  the  palaces  of  kings.  The 
hymns  of  Luther  and  of  Zwingle  play 
the  same  part  in  the  German  and  Swiss 
Reformation  as  the  Psalms  in  that  of 
France. 

Do  thou  direct  thy  chariot,  Lord, 

And  guide  it  at  thy  will ; 
Without  thy  aid  our  strength  is  vain, 

And  useless  all  our  skill. 
Look  down  upon  thy  saints  brought  low, 

And  prostrate  laid  beneath  the  foe. 

Beloved  Pastor,  who  hast  saved 

Our  souls  from  death  and  sin, 
Uplift  thy  voice,  awake  thy  sheep 

That  slumbering  lie  within 
Thy  fold, "and  curb  with  thy  right  hand 
The  rage  of  Satan's  furious  band. 

Send  down  thy  peace,  and  banish  strife, 

Let  bitterness  depart ; 
Revive  the  spirit  of  the  past 

In  every  Switzer's  heart; 
Then  shall  thy  Church  for  ever  sing 
The  praises  of  her  heavenly  King. 

An  edict,  published  in  the  name  of  the 
Confederates,  ordered  the  revival  every- 
where of  the  old  friendship  and  brotherly 
concord ;  but  decrees  are  powerless  to 
work  such  miracles. 

This  treaty  of  peace  was  nevertheless 
favourable  to  the  Reform.  No  doubt  it 
met  with  a  violent  opposition  in  some 
places.  The  nuns  of  the  vale  of  St. 
Catherine  in  Thurgovia,  deserted  by 
their  priests  and  excited  by  some  noble- 
men beyond  the  Rhine,  who  styled  them 
in  their  letters,  "  Chivalrous  women  of 
the  house  of  God,"  sang  Mass  them- 
selves, and  appointed  one  of  their  num- 
ber preacher  to  the  convent.  Certain 
deputies  from  the  Protestant  cantons  hav- 
ing had  an  interview  with  them,  the  ab- 
bess and  three  of  the  nuns  secretly 
crossed  the  river  by  night,  carrying  with 
them  the  papers  of  the  monastery  and  the 
ornaments  of  the  church.  But  such  iso- 
lated resistance  as  this  was  unavailing. 
Already  in  1529  Zwingle  was  able  to 
hold  a  synod  in  Thurgovia,  which  organ- 
ized the  church  there,  and  decreed  that 


SWITZERL.A  ND— C  VIV' 


799 


the  property  of  the  convents  should  be 
consecrated  to  the  instruction  of  pious 
young  men  in  sacred  learning.  Thus 
concord  and  peace  seemed  at  last  to  !pe 
re-established  in  the  Confederation. 

III.   When,   however,    the    conqu 
abandons  himself  to  his  triumph,  in  that 
very  confidence  he  often  finds  desl  ru 
Zurich  and  Zwingle  were  to  exemplify 

this  mournful  lesson  of  history.  Taking- 
advantage  of  the  national  peace,  they  re- 
doubled their  exertions  for  the  triumph 
of  the  Gospel.  This  was  a  legitimate 
zeal,  but  it  was  not  always  wisely 
directed.  To  attain  the  unity  of  Swit- 
zerland by  unity  of  faith  was  the  object 
of  the  Zuriehers  ;  but  they  forgot  that, 
by  desiring  to  force  a  unity,  it  is  broken 
to  pieces,  and  that  freedom  is  the  only 
medium  in  which  contrary  elements  can 
be  dissolved,  and  a  salutary  union  estab- 
lished. While  Rome  aims  at  unity  by 
anathemas,  imprisonment,  and  the  stake, 
christian  truth  demands  unity  through 
liberty.  And  let  us  not  fear  that,  unity, 
expanding  each  individuality  beyond 
measure,  will  produce  by  this  means  an 
infinite  multiplicity.  While  we  urge 
every  mind  to  attach  itself  to  the  Word 
of  God,  we  give  it  up  to  a  power  capable 
of  restoring  its  diverging  opinions  to  a 
wholesome  unity. 

Zwingle  at  first  signalized  his  victory 
by  legitimate  conquests.  He  advanced 
with  courage.  "  His  eye  and  his  arm 
were  everywhere."  "  A  few  wretched 
mischief-makers,"  says  Salat,  a  Romanist 
chronicler,  "  penetrating  into  the  Five 
Cantons,  troubled  men's  souls,  distributed 
their  frippery,  scattered  everywhere 
little  poems,  little  tracts,  little  testaments, 
and  ceased  not  from  saying  that  the  peo- 
ple ought  not  to  believe  the  priests."* 
This  was  not  all  ;  while  the  Reform  was 
destined  to  be  confined  around  the  lake 
of  the  Waldstettes  to  a  few  fruitless 
efforts,  it  made  brilliant  conquests  among 
the  cantons, — the  allies  and  subjects  of 
Switzerland  ;  and  all  the  blows  there  in- 
dicted on  the  Papacy  re-echoed  among 
the  lofty  valleys  of  the  primitive  cantons, 
and  filled  them  with  affright.  Nowhere 
had  Popery  shown  itself  more  determined 
than  in  the  Swiss  mountains.     A  mix- 

*  Die  sectischen  haltend  vil  elends  Hiidel 
volk  gefunden,  &-c.  (Salat,  Chron  ) 


i:i"   of  i-  rctian 

roughness   existed    :!;   re.       Rome    was 

[uer,  and  yet  she  beheld 

ively 

wrested  from  '•  r. 

In   i 

the  citi  ;  shaffhausi 

:    God"    (/<•   Ion   Dicu)  from    the 
.  'Ot   ui'  :i 

a    the   Roman 
-'   hip  still  counted  in  this  city;  then 
ibolished  the  Mass,  and  stretched 
out  their  hands  to  Zurich  and  to  B>< 

At  Zurzack,  near  the  confluence  of  the 
Pvhine  and  the  Aar,  at  the  mon 
the  priest  of  the  place,  a  man  devoted  to 
the  ancient  worship,  .was  preaching  with 
zeal,  a  person  named  Tlifel  (devil),  rais- 
ing his  head,  said  to  him  :  "  Sir,  you 
are  heaping  insults  on  good  men,  and 
you  are  loading  the  Pope  and  the  saints  of 
the  Roman  calendar  with  honour  ;  pray 
where  do  we  find  that  in  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures ?"  This  question,  put  in  a  serious 
tone  of  voice,  raised  a  sly  smile  on  many 
faces,  and  the  people  with  their  eyes 
fixed  on  the  pulpit  awaited  the  reply. 
The  curate  in  astonishment  and  at  his 
wit's  end,  answered  with  a  trembling 
voice  :  "  Devil  is  thy  name  ;  thou  actest 
like  the  devil,  and  thou  art  the  devil  ! 
For  this  reason  I  will  have  nothing  to  do 
with  thee."  Then  hastily  leaving  the 
pulpit,  he  ran  away  as  if  Satan  himself 
had  been  behind  him.  Immediately  the 
images  were  torn  down,  and  the  Mass 
abolished.  The  Roman-catholics  sought 
to  console  themselves  by  repeating  every- 
where :  "  At  Zurzaek  it  was  the  devil 
who  introduced  the  Reformation."* 

The  priests  and  warriors  of  the  Forest 
Cantons  beheld  the  overthrow  of  the 
Romish  faith  in  countries  that  lay  nearer 
to  them.  In  the  canton  of  Glaris, 
whence  by  the  steep  passes  of  the  Klaus 
and  the  Pragel,f  the  Reform  might  sud- 
denly fall  upon  Uri  and  Schwytz,  two 
men  met  face  to  face.  At  Mollis,  Frido- 
lin  Brunner,  questioning  himself  every 
day  by  what  means  he  could  advance 
the  cause  of  Christ,:]:  attacked  the  abuses 
of  the  Church   with  the  energy  of  his 

*  That  der  Tiiffel  den  ersten  Angriff. 

f  This  is  the  road  by  which  the  army  of 
Suwaroff  escaped  in  1799. 

%  Nam  cotidie  cogitare  soleo  quanam  re 
Christianum  adjuvem  profectum  (Zw.  Epp. 
ii.  p.  13.) 


800 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


friend  Zwingle,*  and  endeavoured  to 
spread  among  the  people,  who  were  pas- 
sionately fond  of  war,  the  peace  and 
charity  of  the  Gospel.  At  Glaris,  on  the 
contrary,  Valentine  Tschudi  studied  with 
all  the  circumspection  of  his  friend 
Erasmus  to  preserve  a  just  medium  be- 
tween Rome  and  the  Reform.  And 
although, — thanks  to  the  preaching  of 
Fridolin ! — the  doctrines  of  purgatory, 
indulgences,  meritorious  works,  and 
intercession  of  the  saints,  were  looked  at 
by  the  Glaronais  as  mere  follies  and 
fables,-}-  they  still  believed  with  Tschudi 
that  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ  were 
substantially  in  the  bread  of  the  Lord's 
Supper. 

At  the  same  time  a  movement  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  Reform  was  taking  place  in 
that  high  and  savage  valley,  where  the 
Linth,  roaring  at  the  foot  of  vast  rocks 
with  jagged  crests — enormous  citadels 
which  seemed  built  in  the  air, — bathes 
the  villages  of  Schwunden  and  Ruti  with 
its  waters.  The  Roman-catholics,  alarm- 
ed at  the  progress  of  the  Gospel,  and 
wishing  to  save  these  mountains  at  least, 
had  scattered  with  liberal  hands  the 
money  they  derived  from  their  foreign 
pensions ;  and  from  that  time  violent 
hatred  had  been  seen  to  divide  old  friends, 
and  men  who  appeared  to  have  been  won 
over  to  the  Gospel  basely  sought  for  a 
pretext  to  conceal  a  disgraceful  flight.^ 
"  Peter§  and  I,"  wrote  Rasdorfer,  pastor 
of  Ruti,  in  despair,  "  are  labouring  in 
the  vineyard,  but,  alas!  the  grapes  we 
gather  are  not  employed  for  the  sacrifice, 
and  the  very  birds  do  not  cat  them.  We 
iish,  but  after  having  toiled  all  night,  we 
find  that  we  have  only  caught  leeches. || 
Alas  !  we  are  casting  pearls  before  dogs. 
and  roses  before  swine  !"  This  spirit  of 
revolt  against  the  Gospel  soon  descended 
from  these  valleys  with  the  noisy  waters 

Audeo  ego  intrepide  omnem  ecclesiee 
abusum  et  omnia  hnmana  precepta  in  emmcia- 
tione  verbi  Dei  damnare.     (Ibid.) 

t  Nugas  esse  et  fabulas.     (Ibid.) 

f  Jam  a?re  convicti  palinodiam  canunl. 
(Zvv.  Epp.  ii.  p.  292.) 

§  Pierre  Rumelin,  pastor  of  Schwanden. 

||  Tota  enim  nocte  piscantes,  sanguisugas, 
aspendios  cepirnus.  (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  13.) 
Rasdorfer  evidently  alludes  to  what  Pliny  says 
of  a  kind  of  vine  termed  Aspendios :  E  diverso 
aspendios,  damnata  aris.  Ferunt  earn  nee  ab 
alite  ulla  attingi.  (Hist.  Nat.  lib.  xiv.  cap. 
xviii.  §  22.) 


of  the  Linth  as  far  as  Glaris  and  Mollis. 
"  The  council,  as  if  it  had  been  composed 
only  of  silly  women,  shifted  its  sails 
every  day,"  said  Rasdorfer  ;*  "  one  day 
it  will  have  the  cowl,  on  the  next  it  will 
not."f  Glaris,  like  a  leaf  carried  along 
by  one  of  its  torrents,  and  which  the 
waves  and  eddies  drive  in  different  direc- 
tions, wavered,  wheeled  about,  and  was 
nearly  being  swallowed  up. 

But  this  crisis  Came  to  an  end  :  the 
Gospel  suddenly  regained  strength,  and 
on  Easter  Monday  1530,  a  general  as- 
sembly of  the  people  "  put  the  Mass  and 
the  altars  to  the  vote."  A  powerful 
party  that  relied  upon  the  Five  Cantons 
vainly  opposed  the  Reform.  It  was  pro- 
claimed, and  its  vanquished  and  discon- 
certed enemies  were  forced  to  content 
themselves,  says  Bullinger,  with  myste- 
riously concealing  a  few  idols,  which 
they  reserved  for  better  days. 

In  the  meanwhile,  the  Reform  ad- 
vanced in  the  exterior  Rhodes  of  Appen- 
zell,:j:  and  in  the  district  of  Sargans.  But 
what  most  exasperated  the  cantons  that 
remained  faithful  to  the  Romish  doctrines, 
was  to  see  it  pass  the  Alps  and  appear  in 
Italy,  in  those  beautiful  districts  round 
Lake  Maggiore,  where,  near  the  embou- 
chure of  the  Maggia,  within  the  walls  of 
Locarno,  in  the  midst  of  laurels,  pome- 
granates, and  cypresses,  flourished  the 
noble  families  of  Orelli,  Muralto,  Mago- 
ria,  and  Duni,  and  where  floated  since 
1512  the  sovereign  standard  of  the  can- 
tons. "What!"  said  the  Waldstettes, 
"  is  it  not  enough  that  Zurich  and  Zwin- 
gle infest  Switzerland  !  They  have  the 
impudence  to  carry  their  pretended  Re- 
form even  into  Italy, — even  into  the 
country  of  the  Pope  !" 

Great  irregularities  prevailed  there 
among  the  clergy  :  "  Whoever  wishes  to 
ba  damned  must  become  a  priest,"  was 
a    common    saying. §      But   the   Gospel 

*  Vertit  vela  indies  senatus  noster  muliercu- 
larum  more.     (Ibid.) 

f  Vult  jam  cucullum,  post  nonvult.  (Ibid.) 
That  is,  at  one  time  it  recognises,  at  another 
rejects,  the  Abbot  of  Saint  Gall. 

X  See  Benedict  Noll's  letter  to  Zwingle, 
Epp.  ii.  p.  635. 

§  St.  Chorles  Barromeo,  Archbishop  of  Mi- 
lan, snpprpssed  somewhat  later  several  con- 
vents in  this  district :  "  Monialium  non  dicam 
collegia,  sed  amantium  contubernia,"  said  lie. 
(Die  evangel  Gem.  in  Locarno  von  F.  Meyer, 
i.  p.  109.) 


SWITZERLAND— C  ATASTROPHE. 


801 


succeeded  in  making  its  way  even  into 
that  district.  A  monk  of  Como,  Egidio 
a  Porta,  who  had  taken  the  cowl  in  1511, 
against  the  wishes  of  his  family,*  strug- 
gled for  years  in  the  Augustine  convent, 
and  nowhere  found  peace  for  his  soul. 
Motionless,  environed,  as  it  appeared  to 
him,  with  profound  night,  he  cried  aloud  : 
"  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  that  I  should  do  ?" 
Erelong  the  monk  of  Como  thought  he 
heard  these  Words  in  his  heart :  "  Go  to 
Ulric  Zwingle  and  he  will  tell  thee." 
He  rose  trembling  with  emotion.  "  It  is 
you,"  wrote  he  to  Zwingle  immediately, 
"  but  no  !  it  is  not  you,  it  is  God  who, 
through  you,  will  deliver  me  from  the 
nets  of  the  hunters."  "  Translate  the 
New  Testament  into  Italian,"  replied 
Zwingle ;  "  I  will  undertake  to  get  it 
printed  at  Zurich."  This  is  what  Re- 
form did  for  Italy  more  than  three  cen- 
turies ago. 

Egidio  therefore  remained.  He  com- 
menced translating  the  Gospel  ;  but  at 
one  time  he  had  to  beg  for  the  convent, 
at  another  to  repeat  his  "  hours,"  and 
then  to  accompany  one  of  the  fathers  on 
his  journeys. \  Everything  that  sur- 
rounded him  increased  his  distress.  He 
saw  his  country  reduced  to  the  greatest 
misery  by  desolating  wars, — men  form- 
erly rich,  holding  out  their  hands  for 
alms, — crowds  of  women  driven  by  want 
to  the  most  shameful  degradation.  He 
imagined  that  a  great  political  deliver- 
ance could  alone  bring  about  the  reli- 
gious independence  of  his  fellow-coun- 
trymen. 

On  a  sudden  he  thought  that  this  hap- 
py hour  was  arrived.  He  perceived  a 
band  of  Lutheran  lansquenets  descending 
the  Alps.  Their  serried  phalanxes,  their 
threatening  looks  were  directed  towards 
the  banks  of  the  Tiber.  At  their  head 
marched  Freundsberg,  wearing  a  chain 
of  gold  around  his  neck,  and  saying  : 
"  If  I  reach  Rome  I  will  make  use  of  it 
to  hang  the  Pope."  "  God  wills  to  save 
us,"  wrote  Egidio  to  Zwingle  :  "  write 
to  the  constable  ;J  entreat  him  to  deliver 

*  Subduxi  memet  a  parentum  patrocinio, 
cucullumque  nigrum  ex  anirno  suscepi.  (Zw. 
Epp.  i.  p.  443.) 

t  Confratras  nonnulli  viri  certe  et  pietate  et 
eruditione  nequaquam  contemptibiles.  (Ibid 
p.  533.) 

%  Bourbon,  wbo  commanded  in  Italy  on  be- 
half of  the  Emperor.  (Supra,  book  xii.  p.  8I-) 
101 


the  people  over  whom  he  rules, — to  take 
from  the  shaven  crowns,  whose  God  is 
their  belly,  the  wealth  which  renders 
them  so  proud, — and  to  distribute  it 
among  the  people  who  arc  dying  of  hun- 
ger. Then  let  each  one  preach  without 
fear  the  pure  Word  of  tlio  Lord. — The 
strength  of  Antichrist  is  near  its  fall  !" 

Thus,  about  the  end  of  1520,  Egidio 
already  dreamt  of  the  Reformation  of 
Italy.  From  that  time  his  letters  cease  : 
the  monk  disappeared.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  the  arm  of  Rome  was  able 
to  reach  him,  and  that,  like  so  many 
others,  he  was  plunged  into  the  gloomy 
dungeon  of  some  convent. 

In  the  spring  of  1530,  a  new  epoch 
commenced  for  the  Italian  bailiwicks. 
Zurich  appointed  Jacques  Werdmliller 
bailiff  of  Locarno  ;  he  was  a  grave  man, 
respected  by  all,  and  who  even  in  1524 
had  kissed  the  feet  of  the  Pope  ;  he  had 
since  then  been  won  over  to  the  Gospel, 
and  had  sat  down  at  the  feet  of  the  Sa- 
viour.* "  Go,"  said  Zurich,  "  and  bear 
yourself  like  a  Christian,  and  in  all  that 
concerns  the  Word  of  God  conform  to 
the  ordinances."  Werdmuller  met  with 
nothing  but  darkness  in  every  quarter. 
Yet,  in  the  midst  of  this  gloom,  a  feeble 
glimmering  seemed  to  issue  from  a  con- 
vent situated  on  the  delightful  shores  of 
Lake  Maggiore.  Among  the  Carmelites 
at  Locarno  was  a  monk  named  Fontana, 
skilled  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  ani- 
mated with  the  same  spirit  that  had  en- 
lightened the  monk  of  Como.  The  doc- 
trine of  salvation,  "  without  money  and 
without  price,"  which  God  proclaims  in 
the  Gospel,  filled  him  with  love  and  joy. 
"  As  long  as  I  live,"  said  he,  "  will  I 
preach  upon  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  ;"f 
for  it  was  particularly  in  these  Epistles 
that  he  had  found  the  truth.  Two  monks, 
of  whose  names  we  are  ignorant,  shared 
his  sentiments.  Fontana  wrote  a  letter 
;'  to  all  the  Church  of  Christ  in  Germa- 
ny," which  was  forwarded  to  Zwingle. 
We  may  imagine  we  hear  that  man  of 
Macedonia,  who  appeared  in  a  vision  to 
Paul  in  the  night,  calling  him  to  Europe, 
and  saying,  "Come  over  and  help  us"% 
— "  O,  trusty  and  well-beloved  of  Christ 

*  Luke  x.  39. 

f  Se  dum  vivat  satis  de  Epistolis  Pauli  con- 
cionaturum  esse.     (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  497.) 
\  Acts  xvi   9. 


802 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


Jesus,"  cried  the  monk  of  Locarno  to 
Germany,  "  remember  Lazarus,  the  beg- 
gar, in  the  Gospel, — remember  that  hum- 
ble Canaanitish  woman,  longing  for  the 
crumbs  that  fell  from  the  Lord's  table  ! 
hungry  as  David,  I  have  recourse  to  the 
show-bread  placed  upon  the  altar.  A 
poor  traveller  devoured  by  thirst,  I  rush 
to  the  springs  of  living  water.*  Plunged 
in  darkness,  bathed  in  tears,  we  cry  to 
you  who  know  the  mysteries  of  God  to 
send  us  by  the  hands  of  the  munificent 
J.  Werdmuller  ail  the  writings  of  the 
divine  Zwingle,  of  the  famous  Luther, 
of  the  skilful  Melanethon,  of  the  mild 
QEcolampadius,  of  the  ingenious  Pornera- 
nus,  of  the  learned  Lambert,  of  the  ele- 
gant Brenz,  of  the  penetrating  Bucer,  of 
the  studious  Leo,  of  the  vigilant  Hiitten, 
and  of  the  other  illustrious  doctors,  if 
there  are  any  more.  Excellent  princes, 
pivots  of  the  Church,  our  holy  mother, 
make  haste  to  deliver  from  the  slavery 
of  Babylon  a  city  of  Lombardy  that  has 
not  yet  known  the  Gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ.  We  are  but  three  who  have 
combined  together  to  fight  on  behalf  of 
the  truth  ;f  but  it  was  beneath  the  blows 
of  a  small  body  of  men,  chosen  by  God 
and  not  by  the  thousands  of  Gideon,  that 
Midian  fell.  Who  knows  if  from  a  small 
spark  God  may  not  cause  a  great  confla- 
gration V 

Thus  three  men  on  the  banks  of  the 
Maggfa  hoped  at  that  time  to  reform 
Italy.  They  uttered  a  call  to  which,  for 
three  centuries,  the  Evangelical  world 
has  not  replied.  Zurich,  however,  in 
these  days  of  its  strength  and  of  its  faith, 
displayed  a  holy  boldness,  and  dared  ex- 
tend her  heretical  arms  beyond  the  Alps. 
Hence,  Uri,  Schwytz,  Unterwalden,  and 
all  the  Romanists  of  Switzerland  gave 
vent  to  loud  and  terrible  threats,  swear- 
ing to  arrest  even  in  Zurich  itself  the 
course  of  these  presumptuous  invasions. 

But  the  Znrichers  did  not  confine  them- 
selves to  this  :  they  gave  the  Confede- 
rates more  serious  cause  of  fear  by  wag- 
ing incessant  war  against  the  convents, 
-—those  cenin  s  of  Ultramontane  fanati- 
cism.    The  extensive  monastery  of  Wet- 

"Debilis  ct  infirmus  n.pud  piscinam,  salutem 
mei  et  patrirc  toto  mentis  affectu  citissirns  ex- 
pecto.     (Hottinger,  stjcuI.  in,  pars  2,  p.  619.) 

t  Confederati  conjunctique  in  expeditionem 
veritntis  tres  tantum  numero  sumus.  (Hottin- 
ger saecul.  16,  pars  2,  p.  630.) 


tingen,  around  which  roll  the  waters  of 
the  Limmat,  and  which,  by  its  proximity 
to  Zurich,  was  exposed  more  than  any 
other  to  the  breath  of  Reform,  was  in 
violent  commotion.  On  the  23d  August 
1529.  a  great  change  took  place  ;  the  ice 
was  broken  and  the  downfal  complete. 
The  monks  ceased  to  sing  Mass  ;  they 
cut  off  each  other's  beards,  not  without 
shedding  a  few  tears ;  they  laid  down 
their  frocks  and  their  hoods,  and  clothed 
themselves  in  becoming  secular  dresses.* 
Then,  in  astonishment  at  this  metamor- 
phosis, they  listened  devoutly  to  the  ser- 
mon which  Sebastian  Benli  of  Zurich 
came  and  preached  to  them,  and  erelong 
employed  themselves  in  propagating  the 
Gospel,  and  in  singing  psalms  in  Ger- 
man. Thus  Wettingen  fell  into  the  cur- 
rent of  that  river  which  seemed  to  be 
everywhere  reviving  the  Confederation. 
The  cloister,  ceasing  to  be  a  house  for 
gaming,  gluttony,  and  drunkenness,  was 
changed  into  a  school.  Two  monks  alone 
in  all  the  monastery  remained  faithful  to 
the  cowl. 

The  commander  of  Mulinen,  without 
troubling  himself  about  the  threats  of  the 
Romish  cantons,  earnestly  pressed  the 
commandery  of  St.  John  at  Hitzkirch 
towards  the  Reformation.  The  question 
was  put  to  the  vote,  and  the  majority  de- 
clared in  favour  of  the  Word  of  God. 
"Ah!"  said  the  commander,  "I  have 
been  long  pushing  behind  the  chariot. "f 
On  the  4th  September  the  commandery 
was  reformed.  It  was  the  same  with  that 
of  Wadenswyl,  with  the  convent  of  Pfef- 
fers,  and  others  besides.  Even  at  Mury 
the  majority  declared  for  the  Gospel ;  but 
the  minority  prevailed  through  the  sup- 
port of  the  Five  Cantons.:):  A  new  tri- 
umph, and  one  of  greater  value,  was  des- 
tined to  indemnify  the  Reform,  and  to 
raise  the  indignation  of  the  Waldstettes 
to  the  highest  pitch. 

The  Abbot  of  St.  Gall,  by  his  wealth, 
by  the  number  of  his  subjects,  and  the 
influence  which  he  exercised  in  Switzer- 
land, was  one  of  the  most  formidable  ad- 
versaries of  the  Gospel.     In  1529,  there. 

*  Bekleitend  sich  in  erbare  gemeine  Land- 
skleyder.     (Bull.  Chron.  ii.  p.  221.) 

t  Diu  me  in  hoc  curru  promovendo  laboras- 
se,  priusqnam  tam  longe  processit.     (Zw.  Epp. 

"    P-  334->  '  .        „  „ 

t  Das  das  minder  must  das  meer  sin.  (Bull. 

p.  241.) 


SWITZERLAND— CATASTROPHE 


803 


fore,  at  the  moment  when  the  army  of 
Zurich  took   the  field  against  the  Five 
Cantons,  the  Abbot  Francis  of  Ge; 
in  alarm  and  at  the  brink  of  death,  c 
himself  to   be   hastily  removed   into  the 
strong  castle  of  Roixrschach,  not  thinking 
himself  secure   except  within   its  walls. 
Four  days  after  this,  the  illustrious  Ya- 
dianus,  burgomaster  of  St.  Gall,  entered 
the  convent,  and  announced  the  intention 
of  the  people  to  resume  the  use  of  their1 
cathedral-church,    and    to    remove  the' 
images.     The  monks  were  astonished  at1 
such   audacity,  and  having  in  vain  pro-1 
tested  and  cried  for  help,  put  their  most! 
precious  eifects  in  a  place  of  safety,  and ; 
fled  to  Einsideln. 

Among  these  was  Kilian  Kouffi,  head-  j 
steward   of  the  abbey,   a  cunning  and 
active  monk.  and.  like  Zwingle,  a  native 
of  the  Tockenburg.     Knowing  how  im- 
portent  it  was  to  find  a  successor  to  the 
abbot,  before  the  news  of  his  death  was! 
bruited  abroad,  he  came  to  an  under- 
standing with  those  who   waited  on  the' 
prelate  ;  and  the  latter  dying  on  Tuesday' 
in   Holy  Week,  the  meals  were  carried: 
as   usual   into    his    chamber,   and   with 
downcast  eyes  and  low  voice  the  attend- 
ants made  every  inquiry  about  his  health. ; 
While  this  farce  was  going  on  round  the! 
dead  body,  the  monks  who  had  assembled 
at  Einsideln  repaired  in  all  haste  to  Rap- 
perswyl,  in  the  territory  of  St.  Gall,  and, 
there  elected  Kilian,  who  had  so  skilfully; 
managed  the  affair.    The  new  abbot  went 
immediately  to  Rohrschach,  and  on  Good 
Friday  he  there  proclaimed  his  own  elec-j 
tion   and   the  death  of  his  predecessor.' 
Zurich   and  Glaris  declared  they  would 
not  recognise  him,  unless  he  could  prove; 
by  the  Holy  Scriptures  that  a  monkish 
life  was  in  conformity  with  the  Gospel. 
"  We  are  ready  to  protect  the  house  of 
God,"  said  they  ;  "  and  it  is  for  this  rea- 
son  we    require  that  it  be   consecrated 
anew  to  the  Lord.     But  we  do  not  forget 
that   it   is   our   duty  also  to   protect  the 
people.     It  is  in  the  bosom  of  a  free  peo- 
ple that  the  free  Church  of  Christ  should 
raise  its  head."     At  the  same  time  the 
ministers  of  St.  Gall  published  forty-two 
theses,  in  which  they  asserted  that  con- 
vents  were    not   "  houses  of   God,   but 
houses  of  the  devil."*     The  abbot,  sup- 


*  Thesis  S. 


(Bull. 
102 


ii.  p.  115.) 


ported  by  Lucerne  and  Schwytz,  which 
with  Zurich  and  Glaris  exercised  sove- 
reign power  in  St.  Gall,  n  plied  that  he 
would  not  dispute  about  rights  which  he 
held  from  kings  .1:1!  The  two 

natives  of  the  Tockenburg,  Zwingl 
Kilian,  were  thi  id  St. 

Gall, — the  one  claiming' the  peopl 
the  abbey,  and  the  other  the  abbey  for 
the  people.  The  army  of  Zurich  1 
approached  Wyl,  Kilian  seized  upon  the 
treasures  and  muniments  of  the  convent, 
and  fled  precipitately  beyond  the  Rhine. 
Then  when  peace  was  concluded,  the 
crafty  monk  clothed  himself  in  a  secular 
dress,  and  crept   my  far  as 

Einsideln,  whence  on  a  sudden  he  made 
all  Switzerland  re-echo  with  his  cries. 
Zurich  replied  only  by  publishing  in 
conjunction  with  Glaris  a  constitution, 
by  which  a  governor,  "  confirmed  in  the 
evangelical  faith,"  should  preside  over 
the  district,  with  a  council  of  twelve 
members,  while  the  election  of  pastors 
was  left  to  the  parishes.*  Not  long  after- 
wards, the  abbot,  expelled  and  a  fugitive, 
while  crossing  a  river  near  Bregentz, 
fell  from  his  horse,  got  entangled  in  his 
frock,  and  was  drowned.  Of  the  two 
combatants  from  the  Tockenburg,  it  was 
Zwingle  who  gained  the  victory. 

The  convent  was  put  up  to  sale,  and  was 
purchased  by  the  town  of  St.  Gall,  "  with 
the  exception,"  says  Bullinger,  "  of  a 
detached  building,  called  Hell,  where  the 
monks  were  left  who  had  not  embraced 
the  Reform."f  The  time  having  arrived 
when  the  governor  sent  by  Zurich  was  to 
give  place  to  one  from  Lucerne,  the  peo- 
ple of  St.  Gall  called  upon  the  latter  to 
■  to  their  constitution.  "  A  gover- 
nor has  never  been  known,"  replied  he, 
"  to  make  an  oath  to  peasants ;  it  is  the 
peasants  who  should  make  an  oath  to  the 
governor !"  Upon  this  he  retired :  the 
Zurich  governor  remained,  and  the  in- 
ion  of  the  Five  Cantons  against 
Zurich,  which  so  daringly  assisted  the 
people  of  St.  Gall  in  recovering  their 
liberties,  rose  to  the  highest  paroxysm  of 
anger. 

A.  few  victories,  however,  consoled  in 

*  Die  Pfarer  soil  den  Gmeinden  irs  gfallens 
zu  erkiessen  Zua;estelt  syn.     (Bull.  ii.  p.  208.) 

t  Alein  was  ein  gebuw  die  Hell  genampt, 
das  lies3  man  den  Munchen  blyten.  (Ibid.  p. 
271.) 


804 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


some  degree  the  partisans  of  Rome. 
Soleure  was  for  a  long  time  one  of  the 
most  contested  battle  fields.  The  citizens 
and  the  learned  were  in  favour  of  Reform : 
the  patricians  and  canons  for  Popery. 
Philip  Grotz  of  Zug  was  preaching  the 
Gospel  there,  and  the  council  having 
desired  to  compel  him  to  say  Mass,  one 
hundred  Reformed  appeared  in  the  hall 
of  assembly  on  the  13th  September  1529, 
and  with  energy  called  for  liberty  of 
conscience.  Zurich  and  Berne  having 
supported  this  demand,  it  was  granted  to 
them. 

Upon  this  the  most  fanatical  of  the 
Roman-catholics,  exasperated  at  the  con- 
cession, closed  the  gates  of  the  city, 
pointed  the  guns,  and  made  a  show  of 
expelling  the  friends  of  the  Reform. 
The  council  prepared  to  punish  these 
agitators,  when  the  Reformed,  willing 
to  set  an  example  of  christian  modera- 
tion, declared  they  would  forgive  them.* 
The  Great  Council  then  published 
throughout  the  canton  that  the  dominion 
of  conscience  belonging  to  God  alone, 
and  faith  being  the  free  gift  of  His 
grace,  each  one  might  follow  the  religion 
which  he  thought  best.  Thirty-four  par- 
ishes declared  for  the  Reformation,  and 
only  two  for  the  Mass.  Almost  all  the 
rural  districts  were  in  favour  of  the 
Gospel ;  but  the  majority  of  the  city 
sided  with  the  Pope.f  Haller,  whom 
the  Reformed  of  Soleure  had  sent  for, 
arrived,  and  it  was  a  day  of  triumph  for 
them.  It  was  in  the  middle  of  winter: 
"  To-day,"  ironically  observed  one  of 
the  Evangelical  Christians,  "  our  patron 
saint  (St.  Ours)  will  sweat !"  And  in 
truth — oh  !  wonderful  ! — drops  of  mois- 
ture fell  from  the  holy  image.  It  was 
simply  a  little  holy  water  that  had  frozen" 
and  then  thawed.  But  the  Romanists 
would  listen  to  no  raillery  on  so  illus- 
trious a  prodigy,  reminding  us  of  the 
blood  of  St.  Januarius  at  Naples.  All 
the  city  resounded  with  piteous  cries, — 
the  bells  were  tolled, — a  general  pro- 
cession moved  through  the  streets, — and 
high  mass  was  sung  in  honour  of  the 
heavenly  prince  who  had  shown  in  so 
marvellous  a  manner  the  pangs  he  felt 

*  Ruchat,  ii.  p.  139. 

t  Major  pars  agri  abolita  superstitione  a 
parte  nostra  stat.  Major  et  potior  pars  urbis  a 
papistis.     (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  489.) 


for  his  dearly  beloved.  "  It  is  the  fat 
minister  of  Berne  (Haller)  who  is  the 
cause  of  the  saint's  alarm,"  said  the 
devout  old  women.  One  of  them  de- 
clared that  she  would  thrust  a  knife 
into  his  body  ;  and  certain  Roman -catho- 
lics threatened  to  go  to  the  Cordeliers' 
church  and  murder  the  pastors  who 
preached  there.  Upon  this  the  Re- 
formed  rushed  to  that  church  and  called 
for  a  public  discussion  :  two  hundred  of 
their  adversaries  posted  themselves  at 
the  same  time  in  the  church  of  St.  Ours 
and  refused  the  discussion.  Neither  of 
the  two  parties  was  willing  to  be  the 
first  to  abandon  the  camp  in  which  it  was 
entrenched.  The  senate  wishing  to  clear 
the  two  churches  thus  transformed  into 
citadels,  announced  that  at  Martinmas, 
i.  e.  nine  months  later,  a  public  dis- 
cussion should  take  place.  .  But  as  the 
Reformed  found  the  delay  too  long,  both 
parties  remained  for  a  whole  week  more 
under  arms.  Commerce  was  interrupted, 
— the  public  offices  were  closed — mes- 
sengers ran  to  and  fro, — arrangements 
were  proposed ; — but  the  people  were  so 
stiffnecked,*  that  no  one  would  give 
way.  The  city  was  in  a  state  of  siege. 
At  last  all  were  agreed  about  the  dis- 
cussion, and  the  ministers  committed 
four  theses  to  writing,  which  the  canons 
immediately  attempted  to  refute. 

Nevertheless  they  judged  it  a  still  bet- 
ter plan  to  elude  them.  Nothing  alarmed 
the  Romanists  so  much  as  discussion. 
"  What  need  have  we  of  any  ?"  said 
they.  "  Do  not  the  writings  of  the  two 
parties  declare  their  sentiments  ?"  The 
conference  was,  therefore,  put  off  until 
the  following  year.  Many  of  the  Re- 
formed, indignant  at  these  delays,  impru- 
dently quitted  the  city ;  and  the  councils, 
charmed  at  this  result,  winch  they  were 
far  from  expecting,  hastily  declared  that 
the  people  should  be  free  in  the  canton, 
but  that  in  the  city  no  one  should  attack 
the  Mass.  From  that  time  the  Reformed 
were  compelled  every  Sunday  to  leave 
Soleure  and  repair  to  the  village  of 
Zuchsweil  to  hear  the  Word  of  God. 
Thus  Popery,  defeated  in  so  many  places, 
triumphed  in  Soleure. 

Zurich  and  the  other  reformed  cantons 
attentively  watched  these  successes  of 

*  Tam  durae  cervicis  populus  eat.  (Zw. 
Epp.  ii.  p.  4-89.) 


SVVITZKRLAND-C  Vi'AXTROPHK. 


305 


their  adversaries,  and  lent  a  fearful  ear 
to  the  threats  of  the  Roman-catholics, 
who  ceased  not  from  announcing  the 
intervention  of  the  Emperor  ;  when  <>n  a 
sudden  a  report  was  heard  that  nine  hun- 
dred Spaniards  had  entered  theGrisonsj 
that  they  were  led  by  the  Chatelain  oi 
Musso,  recently  invested  with  the  title 
of  marquis  by  Charles  the  Fifth;  thai 
the  chatelain's  brother-in-law,  Didier  ds 
Enibs,  was  also  marching  against  the 
Swiss  at  the  head  of  three  thousand 
imperial  lansquenets  ;  and  that,  the  Em- 
perof  himself  was  ready  to  support  them 
with  all  his  forces.  The  Grisons  ut 
a  cry  of  alarm.  The  Waldstetfc 
mained  motionless;  but  all  the  reformed 
cantons  assembled  their  troops; and  e\e\  en 
thousand  men  began  their  march.*  The 
Emperor  and  the  Duke  of  Milan  having 
soon  after  declared  that  they*  would  not 
support  the  chatelain,  this  adventurer 
beheld  his  castle  rased  to  the  ground, 
arid  was  compelled  to  retire  to  the  banks 
of  the  Sesia,  giving  guarantees  of  future 
tranquillity  ;  while  the  Swiss  soldiers  re- 
turned to  their  homes,  fired  with  indigna- 
tion against  the  Five  Cantons,  who  by 
their  inactivity  had  infringed  the  federal 
alliance. "j"  "Our  prompt  and  energetic 
resistance,"  said  they,  "  has  undoubtedly 
baffled  their  perfidiou^  designs ;  but  the 
reaction  is  only  adjourned.  Although 
the  parchment  of  the  Austrian  alliance 
has  been  torn  in  pieces,  the  alliance 
itself  still  exists.  The  truth  has  freed 
us,  but  soon  the  imperial  lansquenets 
will  come  and  try  to  place  us  again 
under  the  yoke  of  slavery.  ' 

Thus  in  consequence  of  so  many  vio- 
lent shocks,  the  two  parties  that  divided 
Switzerland  had  attained  the  highest 
degree  of  irritation.  The  gulf  thai 
separated  them  widened  daily.  The 
clouds — the  forerunners  of  the  tempesrt 
— drove  swiftly  along  the  mountains, 
and  gathered  threateningly  above  the 
valleys.  Under  these  circumstances 
Zwingle  and  Ids  friends  thought  it  their 
duty  to  raise  their  voices,  and  if  possible 
to  avert  the  storm.  Thus  Nicholas  de 
Flue  had  in  former  days  thrown  himself 
between  the  hostile  parties. 

On  the  5th  September,  1530,  the  prin- 

*  Bull.  Chron.  ii.  p.  357. 
t  Ward  ein  grosser  Unwilt  wicder  sie.   (Ibid. 
p.  461.) 


cipal  ministers  of  Zurich,  Heme,  Basle, 
and  Strasburg, — CEcolampadius,  ( lapito, 

nl er,  Leo  Juda,  and  My<*>nius, — 
were  assembled  at  Zurich  in  Zwingle's 
house.  Desirous  of  taking  a  lolemn 
step  \\  Ith  (lie  Fh  e  ' '  r.'^i*.  they  drew 
up  an  address  thai  w  b  i  pr<    enl  id  to  the 

lerates  at  the  meeting  of  the  I  >iet 
at  Baden.  However  unfavourable  the 
deputies  were,  as  ii  body,  to  thi  e  hereti- 
cal ministers,  the)  nevertheless  listened 
to  this  epistle,  lint  tn >t  withoul  signs  of 
impatience  and.  weariness."  "  Yen  are 
aware,    gracious    lords,  that    concord    in- 

ss  die  pow<  r  of  states,  and  thai  dis- 
cord overthrows  them. f  You  are  your- 
selves a  proof  of  the  first  of  these  truths. 
Setting  out  from  a  small  beginning,  you 
have,  1>>  a  good  understanding  one  with 
another,  arrived  at  a  greal  end.  May 
Cod  condescend  to  prevent  you  also 
from  giving  a  striking  proof  of  the  se- 
cond! Whence  comes  disunion,  if  not 
from  selfishness?  and  how  can  we  de- 
stroy this  fatal  passion,  except  by  re- 
ceiving from  Cod  the  love  of  the  com- 
mon weal  ?  For  this  reason  we  conjure 
you  to  allow  the  Word  of  Cod  to  be 
freely  preached  among  you,  as  did  your 
pious  ancestors.  When  has  there  ever 
existed   a  government,  even  among  the 

heathens,  which  saw  not  that  the  hand 
of  Cod  alone  Upholds  a  nation  ?  Do  not 
two  drops  of  quicksilver  unite  so  soon 
as  you  remove  that  which  separates 
them  I  Away  then  with  thai  which  se- 
parates you  from  our  cities,  that  is,  the 
absence  of  the  Word  oi'  <  lod  ;  and  im- 
mediately the  Almighty  ( iod  will  unite 
us.  as  our  fathers  were  united.  Then 
placed  in  vour  mountains,  as  in  the  cen- 
tre i.f  Christendom,  you  will  he  an  ex- 
ample to  it,  its  protection  and  its  refuge; 
and  after  having  passed  through  this  vale 
of  tears,  being  the  terror  oi  the  wicked 
and  the  consolation  of  the  faithful,  you 
will  at  last  be  established  in  eternal  hap- 
s." 

Thus  frankly  did  these  men  of  God 
address  their  brothers,  the  Waldstettes. 

But    their    voice    was    not    attended   to. 
"  The  ministers'  sermon  is  rather  long,"! 

'  i,  .eta  -i  epistola  nostra  in  comitiis  Ba- 
densibus.  ((Ecol.  to  Bucer.  28th  December, 
1530.') 

f  Wie  init  einhalligkeit  Idnine  Ding  gross 
wcrdsnd.     (Zw.  Opp.  ii.  p.  7S  ) 

\  Libellumsupplicem  ad  quinque  pagosbre- 


806 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


said  some  of  the  deputies  yawning  and 
stretching  their  arms,  while  others  pre- 
tended t&  see  in  it  fresh  cause  of  com- 
v      plaint  against  the  cities. 

This  proceeding  of  the  ministers  was 
useless :  the  Waldstettes  rejected  the 
Word  of  God,  which  they  had  been  en- 
treated to  admit ;  they  rejected  the 
hands  that  were  extended  towards  them 
in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ.  They 
called  for  the  Pope  and  not  for  the  Gos- 
pel. All  hope  of  reconciliation  ap- 
peared lost. 

Some  persons,  however,  had  at  that 
time  a  glimpse  of  what  might  have 
saved  Switzerland  and  the  Reformation, 
— the  autonomy  (self-government)  of  the 
Church,  and  its  independence  of  politi 
cal  interests.  Had  they  been  wise 
enough  to  decline  the  secular  power  to 
secure  the  triumph  of  the  Gospel,  it  is 
probable  that  harmony  might  have  been 
gradually  established  in  the  Helvetic 
cantons,  and  that  the  Gospel  would  have 
conquered  by  its  Divine  strength.  '  The 
power  of  the  Word  of  God  presented 
chances  of  success  that  were  not  afforded 
by  pikes  and  muskets.  The  energy  of 
faith,  the  influence  of  charity,  would 
have  proved  a  securer  protection  to 
Christians  against  the  burning  piles  of 
Waldstettes  than  diplomatists  and  men- 
at-arms.  None  of  the  Reformers  un- 
derstood this  so  clearly  as  CEcolampadius. 
His  handsome  countenance,  the  serenity 
of  his  features,  the  mild  expression  of 
his  eyes,  his  long  and  venerable  beard, 
the  spirituality  of  his  expression,  a  cer- 
tain dignity  that  inspired  confidence  and 
respect,  gave  him  rather  the  air  of  an 
apostle  than  of  a  reformer.  It  was  the 
power  of  the  inner  word  that  he  particu- 
larly extolled ;  perhaps  he  even  went 
too  far  in  spiritualism.  But,  however 
that  may  be,  if  any  man  could  have 
saved  Reform  from  the  misfortunes  that 
were  about  to  befall  it — that  man  was 
he.  In  separating  from  the  Papacy,  he 
desired  not  to  set  up  the  magistrate  in  its 
stead.  "  The  magistrate  who  should 
take  away  from  the  churches  the  au- 
thority that  belongs,  to  them,"  wrote  he 
to  Zwingle,  "  would  be  more  intolerable 
than  Antichrist  himself  (i.  e.  the  Pope)."* 

viorum  vellent.     (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  511.)   Fasti- 
diunt  tam  sancta.     (OEcol.) 

*  Intolerabilior  enim  Antichristo  ipso  ma- 


— "  The  hand  of  the  magistrate  strikes 
with  the  sword,  but  the  hand  of  Christ 
heals.  Christ  has  not  said, — If  thy 
brother  will  not  hear  thee,  tell  it  to  the 
magistrate,  but — tell  it  to  the  Church. 
The  functions  of  the  State  are  distinct 
from  those  of  the  Church.  The  State  is 
free  to  do  many  things  which  the  purity 
of  the  Gospel  condemns."*  CEcolampa- 
dius  saw  how  important  it  was  that  his 
convictions  should  prevail  among  the 
Reformed.  This  man,  so  mild  and  so 
spiritual,  feared  not  to  stand  forth  boldly 
in  defence  of  doctrines  then  so  novel. 
He  expounded  them  before  a  synod  as- 
sembly,  and  next  developed  them  before 
the  senate  of  Basle. "j"  It  is  a  strange 
circumstance  that  these  ideas,  for  a  mo- 
ment at  least,  were  acceptable  to  Zwin- 
gle ;$  but  they  displeased  an  assembly 
of  the  brethren  to  whom  he  communi- 
cated them  ;  the  politic  Bucer  above  all 
feared  that  this  independence  of  the 
Church  would  in  some  measure  check 
the  exercise  of  the  civil  power. §  The 
exertions  of  fficolampadius  to  constitute 
the  Church,  were  not,  however,  entirely 
unsuccessful.  In  February,  1531,  a 
diet  of  four  reformed  cantons  (Basle, 
Zurich,  Berne,  and  St.  Gall)  was  held 
at  Basle,  in  which  it  was  agreed,  that 
whenever  any  difficulty  should  arise 
with  regard  to  doctrine  or  worship,  an 
assembly  of  divines  and  laymen  should 
be  convoked,  which  should  examine 
what  the  Word  of  God  said  on  the  mat- 
ter. ||  This  resolution,  by  giving  greater 
unity  to  the  renovated  Church,  gave  it 
also  fresh  strength. 

IV.  But  it  was  too  late  to  tread  in 
this  path,  which  would  have  prevented  so 
many  disasters.  The  Reformation  had 
already  entered  v  °th  all  her  sails  set 
upon  the  stormy  ocean  of  politics,  and 
terrible  misfortunes  were  gathering  over 
her.     The  impulse  communicated  to  the 

stratus,  qui  Ecclesiis  auctoritatem  suam  adi- 
mit.     (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  510.) 

*  Ipsorum  functio  alia  est  et  ecclesiastica, 
multaque  ferre  et  facere  potest  qua?  puritas 
evangelica  non  agnoscit.     (Ibid.) 

f  Orationis  meas  quam,  1  rat  rum  nomine, 
coram  senatu  habui.     (Ibid.) 

\  Ut  mihi  magis  ac  rnagis  arridet.  (Ibid.  p. 
51S.) 

§  Ut  non  impediat  alicubi  magistratum 
Christianum.     (Bucer  to  Zw.  p.  836.) 

I  J.  J.  Hottinger,  iii.  p.  554. 


SWITZERLAND-CATASTROPHE. 


807 


Reform  came  from  another  than  (Eco- 
lampadius.  Zwingle's  proud  and  pierc- 
ing eyes, — his  harsh  features, — bis  bold 
step, — all  proclaimed  in  him  a  resolute 
mind  and  the  man  of  action.  Nurtured 
in  the  exploits  of  the  heroes  of  antiquity, 
he  threw  himself,  to  save  Reform,  in  the 
footsteps  of  Demosthenes  andtCato,  rather 
than  in  those  of  St.  John  and  St.  Paul. 
His  prompt  and  penetrating  looks  were 
turned  to  the  right  and  to  the  left, — to 
the  cabinets  of  kings  and  the  councils  of 
the  people,  whilst  they  should  have  been 
directed  solely  to  God.  We  have  already 
seen,  that  as  early  as  1527,  Zwingle, 
observing  how  all  the  powers  were  rising 
against  the   Reformation,  had  conceived 


Zwingle  played  two  parts  al  once — he 
was  a  reformer  ami  a  magistrate.     But 

these  are  two  characters  that  ought  not 
more  to  be  united  than  those  of  a  minis- 
ter and  of  a  soldier.  We  will  not  blame 
the  soldiers,  we  will  not  blame  the  ma- 
gistrates ;  in  forming  leagues  and  draw- 
ing the  sword,  they  act  according  to  their 
point  of  view,  although  it  is  not  the  same 
as  ours  ;  but  we  will  decidedly  blame  the 
christian  minister,  who  becomes  a  diplo- 
matist or  a  general. 

In  October  1529,  as  we  have  already 
observed,  Zwingle  repaired  to  Marburg, 
whither  he  had  been  invited  by  Philip  of 
Hesse  ;  and  while  neither  of  them  had 
been   able  to  come  to  an  understanding 


the  plan  of  a  co-burghery  or  Christian  with  Luther,  the  Landgrave  and  the  Swiss 
State,*  which  should  unite  all  the  friends; Reformer,  animated  by  the  same  bold 
of  the  Word  of  God  in  one  holy  and  land  enterprising  spirit,  soon  agreed  to- 
powerful  league.     This  was  so  much  the  i  gether. 

easier,  as  Zwingle's  reformation  had  woni  The  two  reformers  differed  not  less  in 
over  Strasburg,  Augsburgh,  Ulm,  Reut-I  their  political  than  in  their  religious  sys- 
lingen,  Lindau,  Memmingen,  and  other  tern.  Luther,  brought  up  in  the  cloister 
towns  of  Upper  Germany.  Constance  j  and  in  monastic  submission,  was  imbued 
in  December  1527,  Berne  in  June  1528,  i  in  youth  with  the  writings  of  the  fathers 
St.  Gall  in  November  of  the  same  year, ,  of  the  Church  ;  Zwingle,  on  the  other 
Bienne  in  1529,  Mulhausen  in  February,  j  hand,  reared  in  the  midst  of  Swiss  liberty, 
Basle  in  March,  Schaffhausen  in  Septem-jhad,  during  those  early  years  which  de- 
ber,  and  Strasburg  in  December,  entered  cide  the  course  of  aH  the  others,  imbibed 


into  this  alliance. ;  This  political  phase 
of  Zwingle's  character  is  in  the  eyes  of 
some  persons  his  highest  claim  to  glory 


the  history  of  the  ancient  republics. 
Thus,  while  Luther  was  in  favour  of  a 
passive  obedience,  Zwingle  demanded  that 


we  do  not  hesitate  to  acknowledge  it  as  the  tyrants  should  be  opposed, 
his  greatest  fault.  The  Reformer,  de-j  These  two  men  were  the  faithful  re- 
serting  the  paths  of  the  Apostles,  allowed  J  presentatives  of  their  respective  nations, 
himself  to  be  led  astray  by  the  perverse  |  In  the  north  of  Germany,  the  princes 
example  of  Popery.  The  primitive  I  and  nobility  were  the  essential  part  of 
Church  never  opposed  their  persecutors  j  the  nation,  and  the  people — strangers  to 
but  by  the  dispositions  of  the  Gospel  of  j  all  political  liberty — had  only  to  obey, 
peace.  Faith  was  the  only  sword  by  j  Thus,  at  the  epoch  of  the  Reformation, 
which  it  vanquished  the  mighty  ones  of  j  they  were  contented  to  follow  the  voice 
the  earth.     Zwingle  felt  clearly  that  by  of  their  doctors  and  chiefs. 


entering  into  the  ways  of  worldly  politi- 
cians, he  was  leaving  those  of  a  minister 
of  Christ  :  he  therefore  sought  to  justify 


In  Switzer- 
land, in  the  south  of  Germany,  and  on 
the  Rhine,  on  the  contrary,  many  cities, 
after  long  and  violent  struggles,  had  won 
himself.  "  No  doubt,  it  is  not  by  human  their  civil  liberty  ;  and  hence  we  see  in 
strength,"  said  he,  "it  is  by  the'strength  almost  every  place  the  people  taking  a 
of  God  alone  that  the  Word  of  the  Lord  decided  part  in  the  Reform  of  the  Chureh. 
should  be  upheld.  But  God  often  makes  There  was  good  in  this;  but  evil  was 
use -of  men  as  instruments  to  succour|  close  at  hand.  The  Reformers,  them-  ( 
men.  Let  us  therefore  unite,  and  from  selves  men  of  the  people,  who  dared  not 
the  sources  of  the  Rhine  to  Strasburg  let  |  act  upon  princes,  might  be  tempted  to 
us  form  but  one  people  and  one  alii-  [  hurry  away  the  people.  It  was  easier 
ance."t  |  for  the  Reformation  to  unite  with  republics 

*  Civitas  Christiana.  gen  Strasbourg  ein  Volk  und  Bundniss  wiirde. 

fDass  von  oben  hinab  hie  dises  Rhyns,  bisl(Zw.  Opp.  ii.  p.  23.) 


808 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


than  with  kings.  This  facility  nearly 
proved  its  ruin.  The  Gospel  was  thus 
to  learn  that  its  alliance  is  in  heaven. 

There  was,  however,  one  prince  with 
whom  the  reformed  party  of  the  free 
states  desired  to  be  in  union  :  this  was 
Philip  of  Hesse.  It  was  he  who  in  great 
measure  prompted  Zwingle's  warlike 
pz*ojects.  Zwingle  desired  to  make  him 
some  return,  and  to  introduce  his  new 
friend  into  the  evangelical  league.  But 
Berne,  watchful  to  avert  anything  that 
might  irritate  the  Emperor  and  its  an- 
cient confederates,  rejected  this  proposal, 
and  thus  excited  a  lively  discontent  in 
the  "  Christian  City." — «  What !"  cried 
they,  "  do  the  Bernese  refuse  an  alliance 
that  would  be  honourable  for  us,  accept- 
able to  Jesus  Christ,  and  terrible  to  our 
adversaries'?"* — "The  Bear,"  said  the 
high-spirited  Zwingle,  "  is  jealous  of  the 
Lion  (Zurich) ;  but  there  will  be  an  end 
to  all  these  artifices,  and  victory  will  re- 
main with  the  bold."  It  would  appear, 
indeed,  according  to  a  letter  in  cipher, 
that  the  Bernese  at  last  sided  with  Zwin- 
gle, requiring  only  that  this  alliance 
with  a  prince  of  the  Empire  should  not 
be  made  public. f 

Still  (Ecolampadius  had  not  given  way, 
and  his  meekness  contended,  although 
modestly,  with  the  boldness  of  his  im- 
petuous friend.  He  was  convinced  that 
faith  was  destined  to  triumph  only  by  the 
cordial  union  of  all  believers.  A  valua- 
ble relief  came  to  reanimate  his  exertions. 
The  deputies  of  the  christian  co-burgh- 
ery,  being  assembled  at  Basle  in  1580, 
the  envoys  from  Strasburg  endeavoured 
to  reconcile  Luther  and  Zwingle.  (Eco- 
lampadius wrote  to  Zwingle  on  the  sub- 
ject, begging  him  to  hasten  to  Basle4 
and  not  show  himself  too  unyielding. 
"  To  say  that  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ  are  really  in  the  Lord's  Supper, 
may  appear  to  many  too  hard  an  ex- 
pression," said  he,  "  but  is  it  not  softened, 
when  it  is  added — spiritually  and  not 
bodily  ?"§ 

*  Ipsis  et  nobis  honestius,  ob  religionis  et 
caritatis  causam,  Christo  gratius,  ob  conjunctas 
vires  utilius,  hostibusque  terribilius.  (Zvv. 
Epp.  ii.  p.  481.) 

t  Tantum  recusaverunt  aperte  agere.  (Ibid, 
p.  487.)  The  cipher  3  appears  to  indicate  the 
Bernese. 

X  Si  potes,  mox  advola.  (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  547  ) 

§  Christi  corpus  et  sanguinem  adeese  vero 


Zwingle  was  immovable.  "  It  is  to 
flatter  Luther  that  you  hold  such  lan- 
guage, and  not  to  defend  the  truth.* 
Edere  est  credere. .""J-  Nevertheless  there 
were  men  present  at  the  meeting,  who 
were  resolved .  upon  energetic  measures. 
Brotherly  love  was  on  the  eve  of  triumph- 
ing :  peace  was  to  be  obtained  by  union. 
The  Elector  of  Saxony  himself  proposed 
a  concord  of  all  Evangelical  Christians  : 
the  Landgrave  invited  the  Swiss  cities  to 
accede  to  it.  A  report  spread  that  Lu- 
ther and  Zwingle  were  about  to  make  the 
same  confession  of  faith.  Zwingle,  call, 
ing  to  mind  the  early  professions  of  the 
Saxon  Reformer,  said  one  day  at  table 
before  many  witnesses,  that  Luther  would 
not  think  so  erroneously  about  the  Eu- 
charist, if  he  were  not  misled  by  Me- 
lancthon.:]:  The  union  of  the  whole  Re- 
form seemed  about  to  be  concluded  :  it 
would  have  vanquished  by  its  own  wea- 
pons. But  Luther  soon  showed  that 
Zwingle  was  mistaken  in  his  expectation. 
He  required  a  written  engagement  by 
which  Zwingle  and  (Ecolampadius  should 
adhere  to  his  sentiments,  and  the  negotia- 
tions were  broken  off  in  consequence. 
Concord  having  failed,  there  remained 
nothing  but  war.  (Ecolampadius  must 
be  silent,  and  Zwingle  must  act. 

And  in  truth  from  that  hour  Zwingle 
advanced  more  and  more  along  that  fatal* 
path  into  which  he  was  led  by  his  cha- 
racter, his  patriotism,  and  his  early  ha- 
bits. Stunned  by  so  many  violent  shocks, 
attacked  by  his  enemies  and  by  his  bre- 
thren, he  staggered  and  his  head  grew 
dizzy.  From  this  period  the  reformer 
almost  entirely  disappears,  and  we  see  in 
his  place  the  politician,  the  great  citizen, 
who,  beholding  a  formidable  coalition 
preparing  its  chains  for  every  nation, 
stands  up  energetically  against  it.  The 
Emperor  had  just  formed  a  close  alliance 
with  the  Pope.  If  his  deadly  schemes 
were  not  opposed,  it  would  be  all  over,  in 
Zwingle's  opinion,  with  the  Reformation, 

in  ccena  fortasse  cuipiam  durius  sonat,  sed 
mitigatur  dum  adjungitur  animo  non  corpore. 
(Ibid.) 

*  Hsec  omnia  fieri  pro  Luthero  neque  pro 
veritate  propugnandi  causa.     (Ibid,  p   550.) 

t  To  eat  is  to  balieve.     (Ibid.) 

%  Memini  dudum  Tiguri  te  dicentem  cum 
convivio  me  exciperes,  Lutherum  non  adeo 
perperam  de  Eucharistia  sentire,  nisi  quod 
Melanctbon  ex  alio  eum  cogeret.  (Zw.  Epp. 
ii.  p.  5G2.) 


SWITZERLAND— CATASTROPHIC 


H00 


with  religious  and  political  liberty,  and 
evenwith  the  Confederation  itself.  "  The 
Emperor."  said  he,  "is  stirring  up  friend 
against  friend,  enemy  against  enemy  : 
and  then  he  endeavours  to  raise  out  of  this 
confusion  the  glory  of  the  Papacy,  am! 
above  all  his  own  power.  He  excites  the 
Chatelain  of  Musso  against  the  Grisons— 
Duke  George  of  Saxony  against  Duke 
John — the  Bishop  of  Constance  against 
the  city — the  Duke  of  Savoy  against 
Berne — the  Five  Cantons  against  Zurich 
— and  the  Bishops  of  the  Rhine  against 
the  Landgrave ;  then,  when  the  confusion 
shall  have  become  general,  he  will  fall 
upon  Germany,  will  offer  himself  as  a 
mediator,  and  ensnare  princes  and  cities 
by  fine  speeches,  until  he  has  them  all 
under  his  feet.  Alas !  what  discord, 
what  disasters,  under  the  pretence  of  re- 
establishing the  Empire  and  restoring 
religion  !"*  Zwinjde  went  farther.  The 
reformer  of  a  small  town  in  Switzerland, 
rising  to  the  most  astonishing  political 
conceptions,  called  for  a  European  alli- 
ance against  such  fatal  designs.  The  son 
of  a  peasant  of  the  Tockenburg  held  up 
his  head  against  the  heir  of  so  many 
crowns.  "  That  man  must  either  be  a 
traitor  or  a  coward,"  wrote  he  to  a  sena- 
tor of  Constance,  "  who  is  content  to 
stretch  and  yawn,  when  he  ought  to  be 
collecting  men  and  arms  on  every  side, 
to  show  the  Emperor  that  in  vain  he 
strives  to  re-establish  the  Romish  faith,  to 
enslave  the  free  cities,  and  to  subdue  the 
Helvetians.!  He  showed  us  only  six 
months  ago  how  he  would  proceed.  To- 
day he  will  take  one  city  in  hand,  to- 
morrow another ;  and  so,  step  by  step, 
until  they  are  all  reduced.  Then  their 
arms  .will  be  taken  away,  their  treasures, 
their   machines    of  war,    and    all    their 

power Arouse  Lindau,  and  all  your 

neighbours ;  if  they  do  not  awake, 
public  liberty  will  perish  under  the  pre- 
text of  religion.  We  must  place  no  con- 
fidence in  the  friendship  of  tyrants. 
Demosthenes  teaches  us  that  there  is 
nothing  so  hateful  in  their  eyes  as 
rijK  tojv  ttoUuiv  e\cvQepiat>X      The   Emperor 

*  Qu-e  dissidia,  quas  turbas,  quae  mala,  quas 
clades  !     (Zw.  Epp    ii.  p.  429.) 

\  Rominam  fidem  restituere,  urbes  liberas 
capere,  Helvetios  in  ordinem  cogere.  (Ibid. 
March  1530  ) 

|  "  The  freedom  of  cities."  These  words 
are  in  Greek  in  the  original. 


with  one  hand  offers  us  I, read,  but  in  the 
other  he  conceals  a  stone."*  And  a  few 
months  later  Zwingle  wrote  to  his  friends 
inConstance:  "Be  boldj  fear  not  the 
schemes  of  Charles.  The  razor  will  cut 
him  who  is  sharpening  it."f 

\  v.  ay,  then,  with  delay  !  Should  they 
wail  until  Charles  the  Fifth  claimed  the 
ancient  castle  of  Hapsburg  ?  The  Pa- 
pacy and  the  Empire,  it  was  said  ;it  Zu- 
rich, are  so  confounded  together,:}:  that 
one  cannot  exist  or  perish  without  the 
other.  "Whoever  rejects  Popery  should 
i  I  cl  the  Empire,  and  whoever  rejects 
the  Emperor  should  reject  the  Pope. 

It  appears  thatZuingle's  thoughts  even 
went  beyond  a  simple  resistance.  When 
once  the  Gospel  had  ceased  to  be  his 
principal  study,  there  v.  as  nothing  that. 
could  arrest  him.  "A  single  individual," 
said  he,  "must  not  take  it  into  his  head  to 
dethrone  a  tyrant ;  this  would  be  a  revolt, 
and  the  kingdom  of  God  commands 
peace,  righteousness,  and  joy.  But  if  a 
whole  people  with  common  accord,  or  if 
the  majority  at  least,  rejects  him,  without 
committing  any  excess,  it  is  God  himself 
who  acts."§  Charles  V.  was  at  that  time 
a  tyrant  in  Zwingle's  eyes;  and  the  re- 
former hoped  that  Europe,  awakening  at 
length  from  its  long  slumber,  would  be 
the  hand  of  God  to  hurl  him  from  his 
throne. 

Never  since  the  time  of  Demosthenes 
and  of  the  two  Catos  had  the  world  seen 
a  more  energetic  resistance  to  the  power 
of  its  oppressors.  Zwingle  in  a  political 
point  of  view,  is  one  of  the  greatest  cha- 
racters of  modern  times  :  we  must  pay 
him  this  honour,  which  is,  perhaps,  for  a 
minister  of  God,  the  greatest  reproach. 
Everything  was  prepared  in  his  mind  to 
brin"-  about  a  revolution  that  would  have 
changed  the  history  of  Europe.  He 
knew  what  he  desired  to  substitute  in 
place  of  the  power  he  wished  to  over- 
throw. He  had  already  cast  his  eyes 
upon  the  prince  who  was  to  wear  the^  im- 
perial crown  instead  of  Charles.  It  was 
his  friend  the  Landgrave.     "  Most  gra- 

*  Caesar  altera  manu  panem  ostentat,  altera 
lapidem  celat.    (Zw.  Epp.  March  1530.) 

f  Incidet  in  cotem  aliquando  novacula. 
(Ibid.  p.  541.) 

\  Bapst  und  Keyserthumen  habend  sich  der- 
ma-Ken in  einandern  geflickt.  (Bull.  ii.  p. 
343.) 

§  So  ist  es  mit  Gott.     (Zw.  Opp.) 


810 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


cious  prince,'"'  wrote  he  on  the  2d  No- 
vember 1529,  "  I  write  to  you  as  a  child 
to  a  lather ;   it  is  because  1  hope  that  God 

has  chosen  you  for  great  events I 

dare   think,    but   1    dare    not    speak    of 

them.* However,   we   must   bell 

the  cat  at  last. "J" All  that  I  can  do 

with  my  feeble  means  to  manifest  the 
truth,  to  save  the  Universal  Church,  to 
augment  your  power  and  the  power  of 
those  who  love  God — with  God's  help,  I 
will  do."  Thus  was  this  great  man  led 
astray.  It  is  the  will  of  God  that  there 
be  spots  even  in  those  who  shine  bright- 
est in  the  eyes  of  the  world,  and  that  only 
one  upon  earth  shall  say — "  Which  of 
you  convinced)  me  of  sin  V  We  are 
now  viewing  the  faults  of  the  Reforma- 
tion: they  arise  from  the  union  of  reli- 
gion with  politics.  I  could  not  take  upon 
myself  to  pass  them  by  ;  the  recollection 
of  the  errors  of  our  predecessors  La  per- 
haps the  most  useful  legacy  they  have 
bequeathed  to  us. 

It  appears  already  that  at  Marburg 
Zwingle  and  the  Landgrave  had  drawn 
out  the  first  sketch  of  a  general  alliance 
against  Charles  V.  The  Landgrave  had 
undertaken  to  bring  over  the  princes, 
Zwingle  the  free  cities  of  Southern  Ger- 
many and  Switzerland.  He  went  still 
further,  and  formed  a  plan  of  gaining 
over  to  this  league  the  republics  of  Italy 
— the  powerful  Venice  at  least — that  she 
might  detain  the  Emperor  beyond  the 
Alps,  and  prevent  him  from  leading  all 
his  forces  into  Germany.  Zwingle,  who 
had  earnestly  pleaded  against  all  foreign 
alliances,  and  proclaimed  on  so  many 
occasions  that  the  only  ally  of  the  Swiss 
should  be  the  arm  of  the  Almighty,  be- 
gan now  to  look  around  for  what  he  had 
condemned,  and  thus  prepared  the  way 
for  the  terrible  judgment  that  was  about 
to  strike  his  family,  his  country,  and  his 
Church. 

He  had  hardly  returned  from  Marburg, 
and  had  made  no  official  communication 
to  the  great  council,  when  he  obtained 
from  the  senate  the  nomination  of  an 
ambassador  to  Venice.  Great  men,  after 
their  first  success,  easily   imagine  that 

*  Spero  Deum  te  ad  rnagnas  res quas 

quidem  cogitare  sed  non  dicere  licet.  (Zw. 
Epp.  ii.  p.  GGG.) 

t  Sed  fieri  non  potest  quin  tintinnabulum 
aliquando  feli  adnectatur.     (Ibid.) 


i  they  can  do  everything.  It  was  not  a 
statesman  who  was  charged  with  this 
mission,  but  one  of  Zwingle'"  s  friends, 
who  had  accompanied  him  into  Germany, 
to  the  court  of  the  future  chief  of  the 
Empire — the  Greek  professor,  Rudolph 
Collin,  a  bold  and  skilful  man,  and  who 
knew  Italian.  Thus  the  Reform  stretched 
its  hands  to  the  Doge  and  the  Procurator 
of  St.  Marc.  The  Bible  was  not  enough 
for  it — it  must  have  the  Golden  Book  : 
never  did  a  greater  humiliation  befall 
God's  work.  The  opinion  which  Pro- 
testants then  entertained  of  Venice  may, 
however,  partly  excuse  Zwingle.  There 
was  in  that  city  more  independence  of 
the  Pope,  more  freedom  of  thought,  than 
in  all  the  rest  of  Italy.  Luther  himself 
about  this  time  wrote  to  Gabriel  Zwil- 
ling,  pastor  at  Torgau  :  "  With  what  joy 
;do  I  learn  what  you  write  to  me  concern- 
ing the  Venetians.  God  be  praised  and 
glorified,  for  that  they  have  received  his 
Word  !r:* 

Collin  was  admitted,  on  the  26th  De- 
cember, to  an  audience  with  the  Doge 
and  senate,  who  looked  with  an  air  of 
astonishment  at  this  schoolmaster,  this 
strange  ambassador,  without  attendants, 
and  without  parade.  They  could  not 
even  understand  his  credentials,  in  so 
singular  a  style  were  they  drawn  up,  and 
Collin  was  forced  to  explain  their  mean- 
ing. "  I  am  come  to  you,"  said  he,  "  in 
the  name  of  the  council  of  Zurich  and 
of  the  cities  of  the  christian  co-burghery 
— free  cities  like  Venice,  and  to  which 
common  interests  should  unite  you.  The 
power  of  the  Emperor  is  formidable  to 
the  Republics  ;  he  is  aiming  at  a  univer- 
sal monarchy  in  Europe  ;  if  he  succeeds, 
all  the  free  states  will  perish.  We  must 
therefore  check  hirn."+  The  Doge  re- 
plied that  the  Republic  had  just  conclud- 
ed an  alliance  with  the  Emperor,  and 
betrayed  the  distrust  that  so  mysterious 
a  mission  excited  in  the  Venetian  senate. 
P>ut  afterwards,  in  a  private  conference,! 
the  Doge,  wishing  to  preserve  a  retreat 
on  both  sides,  added,  that  Venice  grate- 
fully received  the  message  from  Zurich, 

*  Laetua  audio  de  Venetis  qua?  scribifl,  quod 
verbum  Dei  reccpcrint,  Deo  gratia  ac  gloria. 
(7th  March  152S.     L.  Epp.  iii.  p.  2S9.) 

t  P'ormidandam  rebus-publicis  potentiam 
Caesaris,  qua?  omnino  ad  Europas  monarchiam 
vergit.     (Zvv.  Epp.  ii.  p.  4  15.) 

J  Postea  privatim  alia  respondisse.     (Ibid.) 


SWITZERLAND— CATASTROPHE. 


811 


and  that  a  Venetian  regiment,  armed  and 
paid  by  the   Republic    itself,  should  he 

always  ready  to  support  the  Evangelical 
Swiss.  The  chancellor,  covered  with 
his  purple  robe,  attended  Collin  to  the 
door,  and,  at  the  very  gates  of  the  ducal 
palace,  confirmed  the  promise  of  support. 
The  moment  the  Reformation  passed  the 
magnificent  porticos  of  St.  Mure  it  was 
seized  with  giddiness ;  it  could  but  stag- 
ger onwards  to  the  abyss.  Tiny  dis- 
missed poor  Collin  by  placing  in  his  hands 
a  present  of  twenty  crowns.  The  ru- 
mour of  these  negotiations  soon  spread 
abroad,  and  the  less  suspicious,  Capito 
for  example,  shook  their  heads,  and 
could  see  in  this  pretended  agreement 
nothing  but  the  accustomed  perfidy  of 
Venice.* 

This  was  not  enough.  The  cause  of 
the  Reform  was  fated  to  drink  the  cup  of 
degradation  to  the  very  dregs.  Zwingle, 
seeing  that  his  adversaries  in  the  Empire 
increased  daily  in  numbers  and  in  pow- 
er, gradually  lost  his  ancient  aversion 
for  France  ;  and,  although  there  was 
now  a  greater  obstacle  than  before  be- 
tween him  and  Francis  I., — the  blood  of 
his  brethren  shed  by  that  monarch, — he 
showed  himself  favourably  disposed  to  a 
union  that  he  had  once  so  forcibly  con- 
demned. 

Lambert  Maigret,  a  French  general, 
who  appears  to  have  had  some  leaning  to 
the  Gospel — which  is  a  slight  excuse  for 
Zwingle — entered  into  correspondence 
with  the  reformer,  giving  him  to  under- 
stand that  the  secret  designs  of  Charles 
V.  called  for  an  alliance  between  the 
King  of  France  and  the  Swiss  Repub- 
lics.' "  Apply  yourself,"  said  this  diplo- 
matist to  him  in  1530,  "  to  a  work  so 
agreeable  to  our  Creator,  and  which,  by 
God's  grace,  will  be  very  easy  to  your 
Mightiness. "f  Zwingle  was  at  first^as- 
tomshed  at  these  overtures.  "  The  King 
of  France,"  thought  he,  "  cannot  know 
which  way  to  turn.":}:  Twice  he  took 
no  heed  of  this  prayer  ;  but  the  envoy 
of  Francis  I.  insisted  that  the  reformer 

*  Perfidiam  adversus  Caesarem,  fidern  videri 
volunt.     (Capito,  Zw.  Epp    ii.  p.  445.) 

t  Operi  Creatori  nostro  acceptissimo,  Domi- 
nation i  tuae  facillimo,  media  gratia  Dei.  (Zw. 
Epp.  ii.  p.  413.) 

J  Rcgem  admodum  desesperare  et  inopem 
concilii  esse,  ut  nesciat  quo  se  vertat.  (Ibid. 
p.  414.) 

103 


should  communicate'  to  him  a  plan  of  al- 
liance.    At  the  third  »f  the  am- 
lor,  the  simple  child  of  tin-  Tock- 
i  nburg  mou 

liis  advances.  (all, 

it  cannol  be  without  French  assistance  ; 
and  why  should  no1  the  Reformation  con- 
tract an  alliance  with  Francis  1.,  the  ob- 
jecl  of  which  would  ho  to  establish  a 
power  in  the  Empire  that  should  in  its 
turn  oblige  the  King  to  tolerate  the  Re- 
form in  his  own  dominions  ?  Everything 
I  to  meet  the  wishes  of  Zwingle  ; 
tir-  fall  of  the  tyrant  was  at  band,  and 
he  would  drag  the  Pope  along  with  him. 
He  communicated  the  general  s  overtures 
to  the  secret  council,  and  Collin  set  out, 
commissioned  to  bear  the  required  pro- 
ject to  the  French  ambassador.*  "  In 
ancient  times/'  it  ran,  "  no  kings  or  peo- 
ple ever  resisted  the  Roman  Empire  with 
such  firmness  as  those  of  France  and 
Switzerland.  Let  us  not  degenerate 
from  the  virtues  of  our  ancestors.  His  ^ 
most  Christian  Majesty — all  whose  wish- 
es are,  that  the  purity  of  the  Gospel  may 
remain  undefiledf — engages  therefore  to 
conclude  an  alliance  with  the  christian 
co-bur^hcry  that  shall  be  in  accordance 
with  the  Divine  law,  and  that  shall  Ix: 
submitted  to  the  censure  of  the  evange- 
lical theologians  of  Switzerland."  Then 
followed  an  outline  of  the  different  arti- 
cles of  the  treaty. 

Lanzerant,  another  of  the  king's  en- 
voys, replied  the  same  day  (27th  Febru- 
ary) to  this  astonishing  project  of  alli- 
ance about  to  be  concluded  between  the 
reformed  Swiss  and  the  persecutor  of  the 
French  Reformed,  under  reserve  of  the 

censure  of  the  theologians 

This  was  not  what  France  desired  :  it 
was  Lombardy,  and  not  the  Gospel  that 
he  kins  wanted.  For  that  purpose,  he 
needed  the  support  of  all  the  Swiss.  But 
an  alliance  which  ranged  the  Roman-ca- 
tholic cantons  against  him,  would  not 
suit  him.  Being  satisfied,  therefore,  for 
the  present  with  knowing  the  sentiment.-* 
of  Zurich,  the  French  envoys  began  to 
look  coolly  upon  the  Reformer's  scheme. 
"  The  matters  you  have  submitted  to  us 

*  Bis  negavi,  at  tertio  misi,  non  sine  consci- 
entia  Probulatarum.     (Zw.  Epp   ii.  p.  422.) 

f  Nihil  enirn  aeqai  esse  in  votis  Christianis- 
simi  Regis,  atque  ut  Evangelii  puritas  illibata 
permaneat.     (Ibid.  p.  417.) 


812 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION 


are  admirably  drawn  up,"  said  Lanze- 
/jiant  to  the  Swiss  commissioner,  "  but  I 
can  scarcely  understand  them,  no  doubt 
because   of  the   weakness  of  my  mind. 

We   must    not    put    any 

seed  into  the  ground,  unless  the  soil  be 
properly  prepared  for  it/' 

Thus,  the  Reform  acquired  nothing 
but  shame  from  these  propositions.  Since 
it  had  forgotten  these  precepts  of  the 
Word  of  God  :  "Be  ye  not  unequally 
yoked  together  with  unbelievers  V*  how 
could  it  fail  to  meet  with  striking  re- 
verses ?  Already  Zwingle's  friends  be- 
gan to  abandon  him.  The  Landgrave, 
who  had  pushed  him  into  this  diplomatic 
career,  drew  towards  Luther,  and  sought 
to  check  the  Swiss  Reformer,  particular- 
ly after  this  saying  of  Erasmus  had 
sounded  in  the  ears  of  the  great :  "  They 
ask  us  to  open  our  gates,  ci'ying  aloud — 

the  Gospel !  the  Gospel ! 

Raise  the  cloak,  and  under  its  mysteri- 
ous folds  you  will  find — democracy." 
**  While  the  Reform,  by  its  culpable 
proceedings,  was  calling  dow7n  the  chas- 
tisement of  Heaven,  the  Five  Cantons, 
that  were  to  be  the  instruments  of  its 
punishment,  accelerated  with  all  their 
might  those  fatal  days  of  anger  and  of 
vengeance.  They  were  irritated  at  the 
progress  of  the  Gospel  throughout  the 
Confederation,  while  the  peace  they  had 
signed  became  every  day  more  irksome 
to  them.  "  We  shall  have  no  repose," 
said  they,  "  until  we  have  broken  these 
bonds  and  regained  our  former  liber- 
ty."! A  general  diet  was  convoked  at 
Baden  for  the  8th  January,  1531.  The 
Five  Cantons  then  declared  that  if  jus- 
tice was  not  done  to  their  grievances, 
particularly  with  respect  to  the  abbey  of 
St.  Gall,  they  would  no  more  appear  in 
diet.  "  Confederates  of  Glaris,  Schaff- 
hausen,  Friburg,  Soleure,  and  Appen- 
zell,"  cried  they,  "  aid  us  in  making  our 
ancient  alliances  respected,  or  we  will 
ourselves  contrive  the  means  of  checking 
this  guilty  violence  ;  and  may  the  Holy 
Trinity  assist  us  in  this  work  !"J 

But  they  did  not  confine  themselves  to 
threats.     The  treaty  of  peace  had  ex 


*  2  Cor.  vi.  13. 

t  Nitt  ruwen  bias 
iBull.  ii.  p.  324.) 

J  Darzu  helfe  uns 
(Bull.  ii.  p.  330.) 


sy   der    banden    ledig 
die   helig    dryfaltikeit. 


pressly  forbidden  all  insulting  language 
— "  for  fear,"  it  is  said,  "  that  by  insults 
and  calumnies,  discord  should  again  be 
excited,  and  greater  troubles  .than  the 
former  should  arise."  Thus  was  con- 
cealed in  Ae  treaty  itself  the  spark 
whence  the  conflagration  was  to  proceed. 
In  fact,  to  restrain  the  rude  tongues  of 
the  Waldstettes  was  impossible.  Two 
Zurichers,  the  aged  prior  Ravensbuhler, 
and  the  pensioner  Gaspard  Gbdli,  who 
had  been  compelled  to  renounce,  thp  one 
his  convent,  and  the  other  his  pension, 
especially  aroused  the  anger  of  the  peo- 
ple against  their  native  city.  They  used 
to  say  everywhere  in  these  valleys,  and 
with  impunity,  that  the  Zurichers  were 
heretics  ;  that  there  was  not  one  of  them 
who  did  not  indulge  in  unnatural  sins, 
and  who  was  not  a  robber  at  the  very 
least;* — that  Zwingle  was  a  thief,  a 
murderer,  and  an  arch-heretic  ;  and  that, 
on  one  occasion  at  Paris  (where  he  had 
never  been,  he  had  committed  a  horrible 
offence,  in  which  Leo  Juda  had  been  his 
pander.-]-  "  I  shall  have  no  rest,"  said  a 
pensioner,  "  until  I  have  thrust  my  sword 
up  to  the  hilt  in  the  heart  of  this  impious 
wretch."  Old  commanders  of  troops, 
who  were  feared  by  all  on  account  of 
their  unruly  character ;  the  satellites 
who  followed  in  their  train ;  insolent 
young  people,  sons  of  the  first  persons 
in  the  state,  who  thought  everything  was 
lawful  against  miserable  preachers,  and 
their  stupid  flocks  ;  priests  inflamed  with 
hatred,  and  treading  in  the  footsteps  of 
these  old  captains  and  giddy  young  men, 
who  seemed  to  take  the  pulpit  of  a  church 
for  the  bench  of  a  pot-house  :  all  poured 
torrents  of  insults  on  the  Reform  and  its 
adherents.  "  The  townspeople,"  ex- 
claimed with  one  accord  these  drunken 
soldiers  and  these  fanatic  priests,  "  are 
heretics,  soul-stealers,  conscience-slay- 
ers!, and  Zwingle — that  horrible  man, 
who  commits  infamous  sins — is  the  Lu- 
theran God."X 

They  went  still  further.  Passing  from 
words  to  deeds,  the  Five  Cantons  perse- 
cuted the  poor  people   among  them  who 

*  Es  were  kein  Zurvcher  er  hatte  chuy  und 
merchen  gehygt.     (Bull.  p.  33(5.) 

t  Alls  derzu  Parys  ein  Esel  gehygt;  und 
habe  imm  Leo  Jud  denaelben  geliept.  (Bull, 
ii.  p.  33G  ) 

X  Der  lutherisdben  Gott.     (Ibid.  p.  337.) 


SWITZERLAND— CATASTROPHE. 


813 


loved  the  Word  of  God,  flung  them  into 
prison,  imposed  lines  upon  them,  brutally 
tormented  them,  and  mercilessly  expelled 
them  from  their  country.  The  people 
of  Schwytz  did  even  worse.  Not  fear- 
ing to  announce  their  sinister  designs, 
they  appeared  at  a  Landsgemeinde  wear- 
ing pine-branches  in  their  hats,  in  sign 
of  war,  and  no  one  opposed  them.  k-  The 
Abbot  of  St.  Gall,"  said  they,  "  is  a 
prince  of  the  Empire,  and  holds  his  in- 
vestiture from  the  Emperor.  Do  they 
imagine  that  Charles  V.  will  not  avenge 
him  ?"— "  Have  not  these  heretics,"  said 
others,  "  dared  to  form  a  Christian  Fra- 
ternity, as  if  old  Switzerland  was  a  hea- 
then country  ?"  Secret  councils  were 
continually  held  in  one  place  or  another.* 
New  alliances  were  sought  with  the  Va- 
lais,  the  Pope,  and  the  Emperorf — bla- 
mable  alliances,  no  doubt,  but  such  as 
they  might  at  least  justify  by  the  pro- 
verb :  "  Birds  of  a  feather  go  together ;" 
which  Zurich  and  Venice  could  not 
say. 

The  Valaisans  at  first  refused  their 
support :  they  preferred  remaining  neu- 
ter ;  but  on  a  sudden  their  fanaticism 
was  inflamed.  A  sheet  of  paper  was 
found  on  an  altar — such  at  least  was  the 
report  circulated  in  their  valleys, — in 
which  Zurich  and  Berne  were  accused 
of  preaching  that  to  commit  an  offence 
against  nature  is  a  smaller  crime  than  to 
hear  Mass  \\  Who  had  placed  this  mys- 
terious paper  on  the  altar  ?  Came  it 
from  man  ?     Did  it  fall  from  heaven  ?  . 

They   knew  not ;  but  however 

that  might  be,  it  was  copied,  circulated, 
and  read  everywhere  ;  and  the  effects  of 
this  fable,  invented  by  some  villain,  says 
Zwingle,§  was  such  that  Valais  immedi- 
ately granted  the  support  it  had  at  first 
refused !  The  Waldstettes,  proud  of 
their  strength,  then  closed  their  ranks ; 
their  fierce  eyes  menaced  the  heretical 
cantons ;  and  the  winds  bore  from  their 
mountains  to  their  neighbours  of  the 
towns  a  formidable  clang  of  arms. 

*  Radt  schlagtend  und  tagentend  heymlich 
v.  c.     (Bull.  ii.  p.  336.) 

t  Niiwe  frundschaften,  by  den  Walliseren, 
dem  Bapst,  und  den  Keysserischen.     (Ibid.) 

X  Ut  si  quis  rem  obscsnam  cum  jumento 
sive  bove  habeat,  minus  peccare  quam  si  mis- 
gam  inaudiat.     (Zw.  Epp.  p.  G10.) 

§  Perfidorum  ac  sceleratorum  hominum  com- 
mentum.     (Ibid.)  » 


At  the  sight  of  thi  ling  mani- 

festations th"  evangelical  cities  were  in 
commotion.  They  first  assembled  at 
Basle  in  February  1531,  then  at  Zurich 
in  March.  ••  What  is  to  be  done  .''"  said 
the  deputies  from  Zurich,  after  setting 
forth  their  grievances;  "how  can  we 
punish  these  infamous  calumnies,  and 
force  these  threatening  anus  to  fall  '." — 
•■  \\  e  understand,''  replied  Berne  "that 
you  would  have  recourse  to  violence; 
but  think  of  these  secrel  and  formidable 
alliances  thai  are  formingwith  the  Pop< , 
the  Emperor,  the  King  of  France,  with 
SO  many  princes,  in  a  word  with  all  the 
priests'  party,  to  accelerate  our  ruin  ; — 
think  on  the  innocence  of  so  many  pious 
souls  in  the  Five  ('anions,  who  deplore 
these  perfidious  machinations; — think 
how  easy  it  is  to  begin  a  war,  but  that 
no  one  can  tell  when  it  will  end."*  Sad 
foreboding!  which  a  catastrophe,  beyond 
all  human  foresight,  accomplished  hut  too 
soon.  "Let  us  therefore  send  a  deputa- 
tion to  the  Five  Cantons,"  continued 
Berne  ;  "  let  us  call  upon  them  to  punish 
these  infamous  calumnies  in  accordance 
with  the  treaty  ;  and  if  they  refuse,  let 
us  break  off  all  intercourse  with  them." 
— "  What  will  be  the  use  of  this  mis- 
sion ?"  asked  Basle.  "Do  we  not  know 
the  brutality  of  this  people  ?  And  is  it 
not  to  be  feared  that  the  rough  treatment 
to  which  our  deputies  will  be  exposed, 
may  make  the  matter  worse  ?  Let  us 
rather  convoke  a  general  diet."  Schaff- 
hausen  and  St.  Gall  having  concurred 
in  this  opinion,  Berne  summoned  a  diet 
at  Baden  for  the  10th  April,  at  winch 
deputies  from  all  the  cantons  were  assem- 
bled. 

Many  of  the  principal  men  among  the 
Waldstettes  disapproved  of  the  violence 
of  the  retired  soldiers  and  of  the  monks. 
They  saw  that  these  continually  repeated 
insults  would  injure  their  cause.  "  The 
insults  of  which  you  complain,"  said 
they  to  the  diet,  "  afflict  us  no  less  than 
you.  We  shall  know  how  to  punish 
them,  and  we  have  already  done  so. 
But  there  are  violent  men  on  both  sides. 
The  other  day  a  man  of  Basle  having 
met  on  the  highroad  a  person  who  was 
coming  from  Berne,  and-  having  learnt 
that  he  was  going  to  Lucerne  : — '  To  go 

*  Aber  sin  end  und  ussgang  mochte  nieman 
bald  wiissen.     (Bull.  ii.  p.  346.) 


814 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


from  Berne  to  Lucerne,'  exclaimed  he, 
'  is  passing  from  a  father  to  an  arrant 
knave  !'  "  The  mediating  cantons  in- 
vited the  two  parties  to  banish  every 
cause  of  discord. 

But  the  war  of  the  Chatelain  of  Musso 
having  then  broken  out,  Zwingle  and 
Zurich,  who  saw  in  it  the  first  act  of  a 
vasl  conspiracy,  destined  to  stifle  the  Re- 
form in  every  place,  called  their  allies 
together.  "  We  must  waver  no  longer," 
said  Zwingle;  "the  rupture  of  the  alli- 
ance on  the  part  of  the  Five  Cantons, 
and  the  unheard  of  insults  with  which 
they  load  us,  impose  upon  us  the  obliga- 
tion of  marching  against  our  enemies,* 
before  the  Emperor,  who  is  still  detained 
by  the  Turks,  shall  have  expelled  the 
Landgrave,  seized  upon  Strasburg,  and 
subjugated  even  ourselves."  All  the 
blood  of  the  ancient  Swiss  seemed  to  boil 
in  this  man's  veins ;  and  while  Uri, 
Schwytz,  and  Unterwalden  basely  kissed 
the  hand  of  Austria,  this  Zu richer — the 
greatest  Helvetian  of  the  age — faithful 
to  the  memory  of  old  Switzerland,  but 
not  so  to  still  holier  traditions,  followed  in 
the  glorious  steps  of  Stauflacher  and 
Winkelried. 

The  warlike  tone  of  Zurich  alarmed 
its  confederates.  Basle  proposed  a  sum- 
mons, and  then,  in  case  of  refusal,  the 
rupture  of  the  alliance.  Schaffhauscn 
and  St.  Gall  were  frightened  even  at  this 
step  :  "  The  mountaineers,  so  proud,  in- 
domitable, and  exasperated,"  said  they, 
"  will  accept  with  joy  the  dissolution  of 
the  Confederation,  and  then  shall  we  be 
more  advanced  ?"  Such  was  the  pos- 
ture of  affairs,  when,  to  the  great  aston- 
ishment of  all,  deputies  from  Uri  and 
Sehywtz  made  their  appearance.  They 
were  coldly  received  ;  the  cup  of  honour 
was  not  offered  to  them  ;  and  they  had  to 
walk,  according  to  their  own  account,  in 
the  midst  of  the  insulting  cries  of  the 
people.  They  unsuccessfully  endea- 
voured to  excuse  their  conduct.  "  We 
have  long  been  waiting,"  was  the  cold 
reply  of  the  diet,  "to  see  your  actions 
and  your  words  agree. "f  The  men  of 
Schwytz  and  of  Uri  returned  in  sadness 
to  their  homes  ;  and  the  assembly  broke 
up,  full  of  sorrow  and  distress. 

*  Sy  gwaltig  ze  iibevziehen.  (Bull.  ii.  p.  306.) 
t  Und  wortt  und  werk  mit  einandern  gan- 
gen  werind.     (Bull.  ii.  p.  367.) 


Zwingle  beheld  with  pain  the  deputies 
of  the  evangelical  towns  separating  with- 
out having  come  to  any  decision.  He 
no  longer  desired  only  a  reformation  of 
the  Church  ;  he  wished  for  a  transforma- 
tion in  the  Confederacy  ;  and  it  was  this 
latter  reform  that  he  now  was  preaching 
from  the  pulpit,  according  to  what  we 
learn  from  Bullinger.*  He  was  not  the 
only  person  who  desired  it.  For  a  long 
time  the  inhabitants  of  the  most  popu- 
lous and  powerful  towns  of  Switzerland 
had  complained  that  the  Waldstettes, 
whose  contingent  of  men  and  .money 
was  much  below  theirs,  had  an  equal 
share  in  the  deliberations  of  the  diet,, 
and  in  the  fruits  of  their  victories.  This 
had  been  the  cause  of  division  after  the 
Burgundian  War.  The  Five  Cantons, 
by  means  of  their  adherents,  had  the 
majority.  Now  Zwingle  thought  that 
the  reins  of  Switzerland  should  be  placed 
in  the  hands  of  the  great  cities,  and, 
above  all,  in  those  of  the  powerful  can- 
tons of  Berne  and  Zurich.  New  times, 
in  his  opinion,  called  for  new  forms.  It 
was  not  sufficient  to  dismiss  from  every 
public  office  the  pensioners  of  foreign 
princes,  .and  substitute  pious  men  in 
their  place ;  the  federal  compact  must 
be  remodelled,  and  settled  upon  a  more 
equitable  "basis.  A  national  constituent 
assembly  would  doubtless  have  responded 
to  his  wishes.  These  discourses,  which 
were  rather  those  of  a  tribune  of  the 
people  than  of  a  minister  of  Jesus 
Christ,  hastened  on  the  terrible  cata- 
strophe. 

And  indeed  the  animated  words  of  the 
patriot  reformer  passed  from  the  church 
where  they  had  been  delivered  into  the 
councils  and  the  halls  of  the  guilds,  into 
the  streets  and  the  fields.  The  burning 
words  that  fell  from  the  lips  of  this  man 
kindled  the  hearts  of  his  fellow-citizens. 
The  electric  spark,  escaping  with  noise 
and  commotion,  was  felt  even  in  the 
most  distant  cottage.  The  ancient  tra- 
ditions of  wisdom  and  prudence  seemed 
forgotten.  Public  opinion  declared  itself 
energetically.  On  the  29th  and  30th 
April,  a  number  of  horsemen  rode  hasti- 
ly out  of  Zurich;  they  were 'envoys 
from  the  council,  commissioned  to  remind 

*  Trang  gar  haiTti™;  uff  eine  gemeine  Re- 
formation gemeiner  Eydgenoschaft.  (Bull.  ii. 
p.  368.) 


SWITZERLAND— CATASTR< 


815 


all  the  allied  cities  of  the  encroachment 
of  the  Five  Cantons,  and  to  call  for  a 
prompt  and  definitive  decision.  Reach- 
ing their  several  destinations,  the  mes- 
sengers recapitulated  the  grievances.* 
"  Take  care,"  said  they  in  conclusion  ; 
"great  dangers  are  impending  overall 
of  us.  The  Emperor  and  King  Ferdi- 
nand are  making  vast  preparations; 
they  are  about  to  enter  Switzerland  with 
large  sums  of  money,  and  with  a  nu- 
merous army." 

Zurich  joined  actions  to  words.  This 
state,,  being  resolved  to  make  every  ex- 
ertion to  establish  the  free  preaching  of 
the  Gospel  in  those  bailiwicks  where  it 
shared  the  sovereignty  with  the  Roman- 
catholic  cantons,  desired  to  interfere  by 
force  wherever  negotiations  could  not 
prevail.  The  federal  rights,  it  must  be 
confessed,  were  trampled  under  foot  at 
St.  Gall,  in  Thurgovia,  in  the  Rhein- 
thal  ;  and  Zurich  substituted  arbitrary 
decisions  in  their  place,  that  excited  the 
indignation  of  the  Waldstettes  to  the 
highest  degree.  Thus  the  number  of 
enemies  to  the  Reform  kept  increasing  ; 
the  tone  of  the  Five  Cantons  became 
daily  more  threatening,  and  the  inhabit- 
ants of  .the  canton  of  Zurich,  whom 
their  business  called  into  the  mountains, 
were  loaded  with  insults,  and  sometimes 
badly  treated.  These  violent  proceed- 
ings excited  in  turn  the  anger  of  the 
reformed  cantons.  Zwingle  traversed 
Thurgovia,  St.  Gall,  and  the  Tocken- 
burg,  everywhere  organizing  synods, 
taking  part  in  their  proceedings,  and 
preaching  before  excited  and  enthusiastic 
crowds.  In  all  parts  he  met  with  con- 
fidence and  respect.  At  St.  Gall  an  im- 
mense crowd  assembled  under  his  win- 
dows, and  a  concert  of  voices  and  instru- 
ments expressed  to  the  reformer  the  pub- 
lic gratitude  in  harmonious  songs.  "  Let 
us  not  abandon  ourselves,"  he  repeated 
continually,  "  and  all  will  go  well."  It 
was  resolved  that  a  meeting  should  be 
held  at  Arau  on  the  12th  May,  to  de- 
liberate on  a  posture  of  affairs  that  daily 
became  more  critical.  This  meeting 
was  to  be  the  beginning  of  sorrows. 

V.  Zwingle 's  scheme  with  regard  to 
the   establishment  of  a   new   Helvetian 

*  They  are  to  be  found  in  Bullinger,  ii.  p. 
368-376. 


constitution  did  not  pr<  vail  in  tl 
Arau.     Perhaps  it  was  thoughl  belt 

see  the  result  of  the  crisis.  Perh 
more  Christian,  a  more  federal  vi<  w — 
the  hope  of  procuring  the  unity  of  Swit- 
zerland by  unity  of  faith— o<  i  i 
men's  minds  more  than  the  pre-eminence 
of  the  cities.  In  truth,  ifaqertain  num. 
ber  of  cantons  remained  with  the  Pope, 
the  unity  of  the  Confederation  was  de- 
stroyed, it  might  be  for  ever.  But  if  all 
the  Confederation  was  brought  over  to 
the  same  faith,  the  ancient  1  lelvetie  unity 
would  be  established  on  the  strongest 
and  surest  foundation.  Now  was  the 
time  for  acting — or  never;  and  there 
must  be  no  fear  of  employing  a  violent 
remedy  to  restore  the  whole  body  to 
health. 

Nevertheless,  the  allies  shrunk  back 
at  the  thought  of  restoring  religious 
liberty  or  political  unity  by  means  of 
arms ;  and  to  escape  from  the  difficulties 
in  which  the  Confederation  was  placed, 
they  sought  a  middle  course  between  war 
and  peace.  "  There  is  no  doubt,"  said 
the  deputies  from  Berne,  "  that  the  be- 
haviour of  the  cantons  with  regard  to  the 
Word  of  God  fully  authorizes  an  armed 
intervention ;  but  the  dangers  that  threaten 
us  on  the  side  of  Italy  and  the  Empire — 
the  danger  of  arousing  the  lion  from  his 
slumber — the  general  want  and  misery  . 
that  afflict  our  people — the  rich  harvests 
that  will  soon  cover  our  fields,  and  that 
the  war  would  infallibly  destroy — the 
great  number  of  pious  men  among  the 
Waldstettes,  and  whose  innocent  blood 
would  flow  along  with  that  of  the  guilty  : 
— all  these  motives  enjoin  us  to  leave  the 
sword  in  the  scabbard.  Let  us  rather 
close  our  markets  against  the  Five  Can- 
tons ;  let  us  refuse  them  corn,  salt,  wine, 
steel,  and  iron  ;  we  shall  thus  impart 
authority  to  the  friends  of  peace  among 
them,  and  innocent  blood  will  be  spared."* 
The  meeting  separated  forthwith  to  carry 
this  intermediate  proposition  to  the  differ- 
ent Evangelical  cantons,  and  on  the  15th 
May  again  assembled  at  Zurich. 

Convinced  that  the  means  apparently 
the  most  violent  were  nevertheless  both 
the  surest  and  the  most  humane,  Zurich 
resisted  the  Bernese  proposition  with  all 
its  might.     "  By  accepting  this  proposi- 

*  Und  dadurch  unshuldiez  Bliit  erspart 
wurde.     (Bull.  ii.  p.  3S3.) 


816 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


tion,"  said  they,  "we  sacrifice  the  advan- 
tages that  we  now  possess,  and  we  give 
the  Five  Cantons  time  to  arm  themselves, 
and  to  fall  upon  us  first.  Let  us  take 
care  that'  the  Emperor  does-  not  then 
attack  us  on  one  side,  while  our  ancient 
confederates  attack  us  on  the  other  ;  a 
just  war  is  not  in  opposition  to  the  Word 
of  God ;  but  this  is  contrary  to  it — taking 
the  bread  from  the  mouths  of  the  inno- 


marched  from  fault  to  fault ;  it  pretended 
to  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  poor,  and 
was  now  about  to  refuse  them  bread ! 

On  the  Sunday  following — it  was 
Whitsunday — the  resolution  was  publish- 
ed from  the  pulpits.  Zwingle  walked 
towards  his,  where  an  immense  crowd 
was  waiting  for  him.  The  piercing  eye 
of  this  great  man  easily  discovered  the 
dangers  of    the    measure  in  a  political 


cent  as  well  as  the  guilty  ;  straitening  point  of  view,  and    his  christian   heart 


by  hunger  the  sick,  the  aged.  \  re 
women,  children,  and  all  who  are  deeply 
afflicted   by  the  injustice   of  the  Wald- 
stettes.*     We  should  beware  of  exciting 


deeply  felt  all  its  cruelty.  His  soul  was 
overburdened,  his  eyes  downcast.  If  at 
this  moment  the  true  character  of  a 
minister  of  the  Gospel  had  awoke  within 


by  this  means  the  anger  of  the  poor,  and  him  ; — if  Zwingle  with  his  powerful 
transforming  into  enemies  many  who  at: voice  had  called  on  the  people  to  humili- 
the  present  time  are  our  Mends  and  ouriation  before  God,  to  forgiveness  of  tres- 


brothers  ! 

We  must  acknowledge  that  this  lan- 
guage, which  was  Zwingle's,  contained 
much  truth.     But  the  other  cantons,  and 
Berne,  in  particular,  were  immoveable. 
"  When  we  have  once  shed  the  blood  of 
our  brothers,"'  said  they.  "  we  shall  never 
be  able  to  re.store.life  to  those  who  have 
lost   it  ;     while,    from    the    moment   the 
Waldstettes  have  given   us  satisfaction, 
we  shall  be  able  to  put  an  end  to  all  these 
severe  measures.     We  are  resolved  not 
to    begin    the    war/'      There    were    no 
means  of  running  counter  to  such  a  de- 
claration.    The  Zurichers  consented  to 
refuse  supplies  to  the  Waldstettes  ;  but 
it  was  with  hearts  full  of  anguish,  as  if 
they  had  foreseen  all  that  this  deplorable 
measure    would    cost    them."}"       It    was 
agreed  that  the  severe  step  that  was  now 
about  to  be  taken  should  not  be  suspended 
except  by  common  consent,  and  that,  as 
it  would  create  great  exasperation,  each 
one  should  hold  himself  prepared  to  repel 
the  attacks  of ,  the  enemy.      Zurich  and 
Berne  were  commissioned  to  notify  this 
determination  to  the  Five  Cantons  ;  and 
Zurich,  discharging  its  task  with,  promp- 
titude, immediately  forwarded  an  order 
to  every  bailiwick  to  suspend  all  commu- 
nication with  the  Waldstettes,  command- 
ing them  at  the  same  time  to  abstain  from 
ill-usage  and  hostile  language.      Thus 
the  Reformation,  "becoming  imprudently 
mixed    up  with   political  "combinations, 

*  Kranke  alte  shwangere  wyber,  kinder  und 
sunst  betrabte.     (Bull,  ii.  p.  3S4.) 

t  Schmerzlich  und  kummersachlieh.  (Ibid. 
p.  386.) 


.  and  to  prayer  ;  safety  might  yet 
have  dawned  on  "  broken-hearted"  Swit- 
zerland. But  it  was  not  so.  More  and 
more  the  Christian  disappears  in  the 
Reformer,  and  the  citizen  alone  remains  ; 
but  in  that  character  he  soars  far  above 
all,  and  his  policy  is  undoubtedly  the 
most  skilful.  He  see*  clearly  that  every 
delay  may  ruin  Zurich  ;  and  after  having 
made  his  way  through  the  people,  and 
closed  the  book  of  theiHIrice  of  Peace, 
he  hesitates  not  to  attacl?  the  resolution 
which  he  has  just  communicated  to  the 
people,  and  on  the  very  festival  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  to  preach  war.  "  He  who 
fears  not  to  call  his  adversary  a  criminal," 
says  he  in  his  usual  forcible  language, 
"  must  be  ready  to  follow  the  word  with 
a  blow.*  If  he  does  not  strike,  he  will 
lie  stricken.  Men  of  Zurich  !  you  deny 
food  to  the  Five  Cantons,  as  to  evil-doers  : 
well !  let  the  blow  follow  the  threat, 
rather  than  reduce  poor  innocent  crea- 
tures to  starvation.  If,  by  not  taking  the 
offensive,  you  appear  to  believe  that 
there  is  not  sufficient  reason  for  punish- 
ing the  Waldstettes,  und  yet  you  refuse 
them  food  and  drink,  you  will  force  them 
by  this  line  of  conduct  to  take  up  arms, 
to  raise  their  hands,  and  to  inflict  punish- 
ment upon  you.  This  is  the  fate  that 
awaits  you." 

These  words  of  the  eloquent  reformer 
moved  the  whole  assembly.  Zwingle's 
politic  mind  already  so  influenced  and 
misled  all  the  people  that  there  were  few 
souls     christian     enough    to    feel    how 

*  Das  er  wortt  und  faust  mitt  einander  gan 
lasse.     (Bull.  ii.  p.  388.) 


SWITZERLAND— CATASTROPHK. 


817 


strange  it  was  that  on  the  very  day  when 
they  were  celebrating  the  outpouring  of 
the  Spirit  of  peace  and  love  upon  the 
Christian  Church,  the  mouth  of  a  minis- 
ter of  God  should  utter  a  provocation  to 
war.  They  looked  at  this  sermon  only 
in  a  political  point  of  view :  "  It  is  a 
seditious  discourse;  it  is  an  excitement  to 
civil  war  !"  said  some.  "  No,"  replied 
others,  "  it  is  the  language  that  the 
safety  of  the  state  requires  !"  All  Zurich 
was  agitated.  •'  Zurich  has  too  much  fire," 
said  Berne.  '•'  Berne  has  too  much  cun- 
ning," replied  Zurich.*  Zwingle's  gloomy 
prophecy  was  too  soon  to  be  fulfilled ! 

No  sooner  had  the  reformed  cantons 
communicated  to  the  Waldstettes  this 
pitiless  decree  than  they  hastened  its  exe- 
cution ;  and  Zurich  showed  the  greatest 
strictness  respecting  it.  Not  only  the 
markets  of  Zurich  and  of  Berne,  but  also 
those  of  the  free  bailiwicks,  those  of  St. 
Gall,  of  the  Tockenburg,  of  the  district 
of  Sargans  and  of  the  valley  of  the  Rhine, 
a  country  partly  under  the  sovereignty 
of  the  Waldstettes,  were  shut  against  the 
Five  Cantons.  A  formidable  power  had 
suddenly  encompassed  with  barrenness, 
famine,  and  death,  the  noble  founders  of 
Helvetian  liberty.  Uri,  Schwytz,  Un- 
terwalden,  Zug,  and  Lucerne,  were,  as 
it  seemed,  in  the  midst  of  a  vast  desert. 
Their  own  subjects,  thought  they  at 
least,  the  communes  that  have  taken  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  them,  would  range 
themselves  on  their  side  !  But  no  ;  Brem- 
garten,  and  even  Mellingen,  refused  all 
succour.  Their  last  hope  was  in  Wesen 
and  the  Gastal.  Neither  Berne  nor  Zu- 
rich have  anything  to  do  there  ;  Schwytz 
and  Glaris  alone  rule  over  them  ;  but  the 
power  of  their  enemies  has  penetrated 
everywhere.  A  majority  of  thirteen 
votes  had  declared  in  favour  of  Zurich 
at  the  Landsgemeinde  of  Glaris;  and 
Glaris  closed  the  gates  of  Wesen  and  of 
the  Gastal  against  Schwytz.  In  vain  did 
Berne  itself  cry  out :  "  How  can  you 
compel  subjects  to  refuse  supplies  to  their 
lords?"  In  vain  did  Schwytz  raise  its 
voice  in  indignation  ;  Zurich  immediately 
sent  to  Wesen gunpowder  and  bul- 
lets.    It  is  upon  Zurich,  therefore,  that 

*  It  was  Zwingle  who  characterized  the  two 
cities  : — 

Bern  :  klage  Zuiich  ware  zu  hitzig: 
Zurich  :  Bern  ware  zu  witzig. — (Stettler.) 
103 


falls  all  the  odium  of  a  measure  which 
that  city  had  at  first  so  earnestly  com- 
bated. At  Arau,  at  Bremgarterij  at  Mel- 
lingen, in  liw  free  bailiwicks,  were  se\. 
eral  carriages  laden  with  provisions  !I>.' 
the  Waldsti  it' s.  They  were  stopped, 
unloaded,  and  upset:  with  them  were 
barricades  erected  on  the  roads  Leading 
to  Lucerne,  Schw\t/.  and  Zug.  Air 
a  year  of  dearth  had  made  provisions 
scarce  in  the  Five  Cantons; — already 
had  a  frightful  epidemic,  the  Sweating 
Sickness,  scattered  everywhere  despond- 
ency and  death:  hut  now  the  hand  of 
man  was  joined  to  the  hand  of  *  I  ■  I  ;  the 
evil  increased,  and  the  poor  inhabitants 
of  these  mountains  beheld  unheard  of  ca- 
lamities approach  with  hasty  steps. 
more  bread  for  their  children — no  more 
wine  to  revive  their  exhausted  strength 
— no  more  salt  for  their  flocks  and  herds  ! 
Everything  failed  them  that  man  requires 
for  subsistence.*  One  could  not  see  such 
things,  and  be  a  man,  without  a  broken 
heart.  In  the  confederate  cities,  and  out 
of  Switzerland,  numerous  voices  were 
raised  against  this  implacable  measure. 
What  good  can  result  from  it?  Did  aol 
St.  Paul  write  to  the  Romans  :  "  If  thine 
enemy  hunger,  feed  him  ;  if  he  thirst, 
give  him  drink :  for  in  so  doing  thou 
shalt  heap  coals  of  fire  dh  his  head  ?"f 
And  when  the  magistrates  wished  to  con- 
vince certain  refractory  communes  of  the 
utility  of  the  measure  :  "  We  desir 
religious  war,"  cried  they.  "  If  the 
Waldstettes  will  not  believe  in  God,  1"! 
them  stick  to  the  devil  !" 

But  it  was  especially  in  the  Five  Can- 
tons that  earnest  complaints  were  heard. 
The  most  pacific  individuals,  and  even 
the  secret  partisans  of  the  Reform,  see- 
ing famine  invade  their  habitations,  fell 
the  deepest  indignation.  The  em  i 
of  Zurich  skilfully  took  advantage  of  this 
disposition  ;  they  fostered  these  mur- 
murs;  and  soon  the  cry  of  anger  and 
distress  re-echoed  from  all  the  mountains. 
In  vain  did  Berne  represent  to  the  Wald- 
stettes that  it  is  more  cruel  to  refuse  men 
the  nourishment  of  the  soul  than  to  cut 
off  that  of  the  body.  "  God,"  replied 
these    mountaineers    in    their    despair, 

*  Deshalb  sy  bald  gro9sen  mangel  erlittend 
an  allem  dem  das  der  Mensh  gelaben  soil. 
(Ball.  ii.  p.  396.) 

f  Ibid. — Romans  xii.  20. 


818 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


"  God  causes  tne  fruits  of  the  earth  to 
grow  freely  for  all  men  !"*  They  were 
not  content  with  groaning  in  their  cot- 
tages, and  venting  their  indignation  in 
councils ;  they  filled  all  Switzerland  with 
complaints  and  menaces. f  "  They  wish 
to  employ  famine  to  tear  us  from  our 
ancient  faith  ;  they  wish  to  deprive  our 
wives  and  our  children  of  bread,  that  they 
may  take  from  us  the  liberty  we  derive 
from  our  forefathers.  When  did  such 
things  ever  take  place  in  the  bosom  of 
the  Confederation  ?  Did  we  not  see,  in 
the  last  war,  the  Confederates  with  arms 
in  their  hands,  and  who  were  ready  to 
draw  the  sword,  eating  together  from  the 
same  dish  ?  They  tear  in  pieces  old 
friendships — they  trample  our  ancient 
manners  underfoot — they  violate  treaties 
—they  break  alliances.  .  .  .  We  invoke 
the  charters  of  our  ancestors.  Help  ! 
help  !  .  .  .  Wise  men  of  our  people,  give 
us  your  advice,  and  all  you  who  know 
how  to  handle  the  sling  and  the  sword, 
come  and  maintain  with  us  the  sacred 
possessions,  for  which  our  fathers,  de- 
livered from  the  yoke  of  the  stranger, 
united  their  arms  and  their  hearts." 

At  the  same  time  the  Five  Cantons 
s^nt  into  Alsace,  Brisgau,  and  Swabia, 
to  obtain  salt,  wine,  and  bread ;  but  the 
administration  «f  the  cities  was  implaca- 
ble ;  the  orders  were  everywhere  given 
and  everywhere  strictly  executed.  Zu- 
rich and  the  other  allied  cantons  inter- 
cepted all  communication,  and  sent  back 
to  Germany  the  supplies  that  had  been 
forwarded  to  their  brethren.  These  Five 
Cantons  were  like  a  vast  fortress,  all  the 
issues  from  which  are  closely  guarded 
by  watchful  sentinels.  The  afflicted 
Waldstettes,  on  beholding  themselves 
alone  with  famine  between  their  lakes 
and  their  mountains,  had  recourse  to  the 
observances  of  their  worship.  All  sports, 
dances,  and  every  kind  of  amusement 
were  interdicted  ;t  prayers  wei'e  directed 
to  be  offered  up ;  and  long  processions 
covered  the  roads  of  Einsideln  and  other 

*  Hartmann  von  Hallwyll  to  Albert  of  Mu- 
linen,  7th  August. 

t  Klagtend  sich  allent  halben  wyt  und  breit. 
(Bull.  ii.  p.  397.) 

J  Stelltent  ab  spielen,  Tanzen. — Tschudi  der 
Capeller  krieg,  1531.  This  MS.  is  attributed 
to  Egidius  Tschudi,  who  must  have  written  it 
in  1533,  in  favour  of  Five  Cantons,  and  was 
printed  in  the  "  Helvetia,"  vol,  ii.  p.  163. 


resorts  of  pilgrims.  They  assumed  the 
belt,  and  staff,  and  arms  of  the  brother- 
hood to  which  they  each  belonged  ;  each 
man  carried  a  chaplet  in  his  hands,  and 
repeated  paternosters  ;  the  mountains  and 
the  valleys  re-echoed  with  their  plaintive 
hymns.  But  the  Waldstettes  did  still 
more  :  they  grasped  their  swords — .they 
sharpened  the  points  of  their  halberds — 
they  brandished  their  weapons  in  the  di- 
rection of  Zurich  and  of  Berne,  and  ex- 
claimed with  rage  :  "  They  block  up 
their  roads,  but  we  will  open  them  with 
our  right  arms  !"*  No  one  replied  to 
this  cry  of  despair;  but  there  is  a  just 
Judge  in  heaven  to  whom  vengeance  be- 
longs, and  who  will  soon  reply  in  a  terri- 
ble manner,  by  punishing  those  misguid- 
ed persons,  who,  forgetful  of  christian 
mercy,  and  making  an  impious  mixture 
of  political  and  religious  matters,  pretend 
to  secure  the  triumph  of  the  Gospel  by 
famine  and  by  armed  men. 

Some  attempts,  however,  were  made 
to  arrange  matters  ;  but  these  very  efforts 
proved  a  great  humiliation  for  Switzer- 
land and  for  the  Reform.  It  was  not  the 
ministers  of  the  Gospel,  it  was  France — 
more  than  once  an  occasion  of  discord  to 
Switzerland — that  offered  to  restore  peace. 
Every  proceeding  calculated  to  increase 
;ts  influence  among  the  cantons  was  of 
service  to  its  policy.  On  the  14th  May, 
Maigret  and  Dangertin  (the  latter  of 
whom  had  received  the  Gospel  truth,  and 
consequently  did  not  dare  return  to 
France),-!-  after  some  allusions  to  the 
spirit  which  Zurich  had  shown  in  this 
affair — a  spirit  little  in  accordance  with 
the  Gospel — said  to  the  council :  '"  The 
king  our  master  has  sent  you  two  gentle- 
men to  consult  on  the  means  of  preserv- 
ing concord  among  you.  If  war  and  tu- 
mult invade  Switzerland,  all  the  society 
of  the  Helvetians  will  be  destroyed.:):  and 
whichever  party  is  the  conqueror,  he  will 
be  as  much  ruined  as  the  other."  Zu- 
rich having  replied  that  if  the  Five  Can- 
tons would  allow  the  free  preaching  of 
the  Word  of  God,  the  reconciliation  would 
be  easy,  the  French  secretly  sounded  the 

*  Trowtend  auch  die  Straassen  uff  ?,u  thun 
mit  gwalt.     (Bull.  ii.  p.  397.) 

t  Ep.  Rugeri  ad  Bulling.,  12th  November 
1560. 

X  Universa  societas  Helvetiorum  dilabetur, 
si  tumultus  et  bellum  inter  earn  eruperit. 
(Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  604.) 


SWITZERLAND— CATASTROPHE. 


819 


Waldstettes,  whose  answer  was:  "  We! course  to  war  for  maintaining  liberty  of 
will  never  permit  the  preaching  of  the  conscience  in  the  common  bailiwicks; 
Word  of  God,  as  the  people  of  Zurich  but  it  was  unjust — it  was  a  usurpation, 

to  constrain  the  Five  Cantons  in  amatter 


understand  it 

These  more  or  less  interested  exertions 
of  the  foreigners  having  failed,  a  general 
diet  became  the  only  chance  of  safety 
that  remained  for  Switzerland.  One  was 
accordingly  convoked  at  Bremgarten. 
It  was  opened  in  presence  of  deputies 
from  France,  from  the  Duke  of  Milan, 
from  the  Countess  of  Neuchatel,  from 
the  Grisons,  Valais,  Thurgovia,  and  the 
district  of  Sargans ;  and  met  on  five  dif- 
ferent occasions, — on  the  14th  and  20th 
June,  on  the  9th  July,  and  the  10th  and 
23d  August.  The  chronicler  Bullinger, 
who  was  pastor  of  Bremgarten,  delivered 
an  oration  at  the  opening,  in  which  he 
earnestly  exhorted  the  Confederates  to 
union  and  peace. 

A  gleam  of  hope  for  a  moment  cheered 
Switzerland.  The  blockade  had  become 
less  strict;  friendship  and  good  neigh- 
bourhood had  prevailed  in  many  places 
over  the  decrees  of  the  state.  Unusual 
roads  had  been  opened  across  the  wildest 
mountains  to  convey  supplies  to  the  Wald- 
stettes. Provisions  were  concealed  in  bales 
of  merchandise  ;  and  while  Lucerne  im- 
prisoned and  tortured  its  own  citizens, 
who  were  found  with  the  books  of  the 
Zurichers,f  Berne  punished  but  slightly 
the  peasants  who  had  been  discovered 
bearing  food  for  Unterwalden  and  Lu- 
cerne ;  and  Glaris  shut  its  eyes  on  the 
frequent  violation  of  its  orders.  The 
voice  of  charity,  that  had  been  momen- 
tarily stifled,  pleaded  with  fresh  energy, 
the  cause  of  their  confederates  before  the 
reformed  cantons. 

But  the  Five  Cantons  were  inflexible. 
"  We  will  not  listen  to  any  proposition 
before  the  raising  of  the  blockade,"  said 
they.  "  We  will  not  raise  it,"  replied 
Berne  and  Zurich,  "  before  th#  Gospel  is 
allowed  to  be  freely  preached,  not  only 
in  the  common  bailiwicks,  but  also  in  the 
Five  Cantons."  This  was  undoubtedly 
going  too  far,  even  according  to  the 
natural  law  and  the  principles  of  the 
Confederation.  The  councils  of  Zurich 
might  consider  it  their  duty  to  have  re- 

*  Responderunt  verbi  Dei  predicationem  non 
laturos,  quomodo  nos  intelligamus.  (Zw.  Epp. 
ii.  p  007.) 

t  Bull.  ii.  p.  30. 

104 


that  concerned  their  own  territory.  Ne- 
vertheless the  mediators  succeeded,  no), 
without  much  trouble,  in  drawing  up  a 
plan  of  conciliation  that  seemed  to  har- 
monize with  the  wishes  of  both  parties, 
The  conference  was  broken  up,  and  this 
project  was  hastily  transmitted  to  the 
different  states  for  their  ratification. 

The  diet  met  again  a  few  days  after ; 
but  the  Five  Cantons  persisted  in  the  it- 
demand,  without  yielding  in  any  one 
point.  In  vain  did  Zurich  and  Berne 
represent  to  them,  that,  by  persecuting 
the  Reformed,  the  cantons  violated  the 
treaty  of  peace  ;  in  vain  did  the  medi- 
ators~exhaust  their  strength  in  warnings 
and  entreaties.  The  parties  appeared  at 
one  time  to  approximate,  and  then  on  a 
sudden  they  were  more  distant  and  more 
irritated  than  ever.  The  Waldstettes  at 
last  brake  up  the  third  conference  by  de- 
claring, that  far  from  opposing  the  Evan- 
gelical truth,  they  would  maintain  it,  as 
it  had  been  taught  by  the  Redeemer,  by 
his  holy  Apostles,  by  the  Four  Doctors, 
and  by  their  holy  mother,  the  Church — a 
declaration  that  seemed  a  bitter  irony  to 
the  deputies  from  Zurich  and  Berne. 
Nevertheless  Berne,  turning  towards  Zu- 
rich as  they  were  separating,  observed : 
"  Beware  of  too  much  violence,  even 
should  they  attack  you  !" 

This  exhortation  was  unnecessary. 
The  strength  of  Zurich  had  passed  away. 
The  first  appearance  of  the  Reformation 
and  of  the  Reformers  had  been  greeted 
with  joy.  The  people,  who  groaned 
under  a  twofold  slavery,  believed  they 
saw  the  dawn  of  libery.  But  their  minds, 
abandoned  for  ages  to  superstition  and 
ignorance,  being  unable  immediately  to 
realize  the  hopes  they  had  conceived,  a 
spirit  of  discontent  soon  spread  among^ 
the  masses.  The  change  by  which 
Zwingle,  ceasing  to  be  a  man  of  the 
Gospel,  became  the  man  of  the  State, 
took  away  from  the  people  the  enthu- 
siasm necessary  to  resist  the  terrible 
attacks  they  would  have  to  sustain. 
The  enemies  of  the  Reform  had  a  fair 
chance  against  it,  so  soon  as  its  friends 
abandoned  the  position  that  gave  them 
strength.     Besides,  Christians  could  not 


820 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


have  recourse  to  famine  and  to  war  to 
secure  the  triumph  of  the  Gospel,  with- 
out their  consiences  becoming  troubled. 
The  Zurichers  "  walked  not  in  the  Spirit, 
but  in  the  fesh ;  now,  the  works  of  the 
fiesh  are  hatred,  variance,  emulations, 
wrath,  strife,  seditions."*  The  danger 
without  was  increasing,  while  within, 
hope,  agreement,  and  courage  were  far 
from  being  augmented  :  men  saw  on  the 
contrary  the  gradual  disappearance  of  that 
harmony  and  lively  faith  which  had  been 
the  strength  of  the  Reform.  The  Refor- 
mation hud  grasped  the  sword,  and  that 
very  sword  pierced  its  heart. 

Occasions  of  discord  were  multiplied 
in  Zurich.  By  the  advice  of  Zwingle, 
the  number  of  nobles  Avas  diminished  in 
the  two  councils,  because  of  their  opposi- 
tion to  the  Gospel  ;  and  this  measure 
spread  discontent  among  the  most  hon- 
ourable families  of  the  canton.  The 
millers  and  bakers  were  placed  under 
certain  regulations,  which  the  dearth 
rendered  necessary,  and  a  great  part  of 
the  townspeople  attributed  this  proceed- 
ing to  the  sermons  of  the  Reformer,  and 
became  irritated  against  him.  Rodolph 
Lavater,  bailiffof  Kibourg,  was  appointed 
captain-general,  and  the  officers  who 
were  of  longer  standing  than  he  were 
offended.  Many  who  had  been  formerly 
the  most  distinguished  by  their  zeal  for 
the  Reform,  now  openly  opposed  the 
cause  they  had  supported.  The  ardour 
with  which  the  ministers  of  peace  de- 
manded war,  spread  in  every  quarter  a 
smothered  dissatisfaction,  and  many  per- 
sons gave  vent  to  their  indignation.  This 
unnatural  confusion  of  Churcli  and  State 
which  had  corrupted  Christianity  after 
the  age  of  Constantine,  was  hurrying 
on  the  ruin  of  the  Reformation.  The 
majority  of  the  Great  Council,  ever 
ready  to  adopt  important  and  salutary 
resolutions,  was  abolished.  The  old 
.magistrates,  who  were  still  at  the  head 
of  affairs,  allowed  themselves  to  be  car- 
ried away  by  feelings  of  jealousy  against 
men  whose  non-official  influence  pre- 
vailed over  theirs.  All  those  who  hated 
the  doctrine  of  the  Gospel,  whether  from 
love  of  the  world  or  from  love  to  the 
Pope,  boldly  raised  their  heads  in  Zurich. 
The  partisans  of  the  monks,  the  friends 

*  Galatians,  v.  19,  20. 


of  foreign  service,  the  malcontents  of 
every  class,  coalesced  in  pointing  out 
Zwingle  as  the  author  of  all  the  suffer- 
ings of  the  people. 

Zwingle  was  heart-broken.  He  saw 
that  Zurich  and  the  Reformation  were 
hastening  to  their  ruin,  and  he  could  not 
check  them.  How  could  he  do  so,  since, 
without  suspecting  it,  he  had  been  the 
principal  accomplice  in  these  disasters ? 
What  was  to  be  done  %  Shall  the  pilot 
remain  in  the  ship  which  he  is  no  longer 
permitted  to  save  ?  There  was  but  one 
means  of  safety  for  Zurich  and  for 
Zwingle.  He  should  have  retired  from 
the  political  stage,  and  fallen  back  on 
that  kingdom,  tvhich  is  not  of  this  world  ; 
he  should,  like  Moses,  have  kept  his 
hands  and  his  heart  night  and  day 
raised  towards  heaven,  and  energetically 
preached  repentance,  faith,  and  peace. 
But  religious  and  political  matters  were 
united  in  the  mind  of  this  great  man  by 
such  old  and  dear  ties,  that  it  was  im- 
possible for  him  to  distinguish  their  line 
of  separation.  This  confusion  had  be- 
come his  dominant  idea  ;  the  Christian 
and  the  citizen  were  for  him  one  and 
the  same  character  ;  and  hence  it  re- 
sulted, that  all  resources  of  the  state — 
even  cannons  and  arquebuses — were  to 
be  placed  at  the  service  of  the  Truth. 
When  one  peculiar  idea  thus  seizes  upon 
a  man,  we  see  a  false  conscience  formed 
within  him,  which  approves  of  many 
things  condemned  by  the  Word  of  God. 

This  was  now  Zwingle's  condition. 
War  appeared  to  him  legitimate  and 
desirable ;  and  if  that  was  refused,  he 
had  only  to  withdraw  from  public ,-$fe  : 
he  was  for  everything  or  nothing.  He 
therefore,  on  the  26th  July,  appeared  be- 
fore the  Great  Council,  with  dimmed  eyes 
and  disconsolate  heart :  "  It  is  now  eleven 
years,"  said  he,  "since  I  have  been 
preaching  the  Gospel  among  you,  and 
that  I  have  warned  you  faithfully  and 
paternally  of  the  woes  that  are  hanging 
over  you  ;  but  no  attention  is  paid  to  my 
words ;  the  friends  of  foreign  alliances, 
the  enemies  of  the  Gospel,  are  elected 
to  the  council,  and  while  you  refuse  to 
follow  my  advice,  1  am  made  responsi- 
ble for  every  misfortune.  I  cannot  ac- 
cept such  a  position,  and  I  ask  for  my 
dismissal."  The  reformer  retired  bathed 
in  tears. 


SWITZERLAND  -CATASTROPHK. 


821 


The  council  shuddered  as  they  heard 
these  words.  All  the  old  feelings  of 
respect  which  they  had  so  long  enter- 
tained for  Zwingle  were  revived  ;  to  lose 
him  now  was  to  ruin  Zurich.  The  burgo- 
master and  the  other  magistrates  received 
orders  to  persuade  him  to  recall  his  fatal 
resolution.  The  conference  took  place 
on  the  same  day  ;  Zwingle  asked  time 
for  consideration.  For  three  clays  and 
three  nights  he  sought  the  road  that  he 
should  follow.  Seeing  the  dark  storm 
that  was  collecting  from  all  quarters,  he 
considered  whether  he  ought  to  quit  Zu- 
rich and  seek  refuge  on  the  lofty  hills 
of  the  Tockenburg,  where  he  had  been 
reared,  when  his  country  and  his  Church 
were  on  the  point  of  being  assailed  and 
beaten  down  by  their  enemies,  like  corn 
by  the  hailstorm.  He  groaned  arid  cried 
to  the  Lord.  He  would  have  put  away 
the  cup  of  bitterness  that  was  presented 
to  his  soul,  but  could  not  gather  up  the 
resolution.  At  length  the  sacrifice  was 
accomplished,  and  the  victim  was  placed 
shuddering  upon  the  altar.  Three  days 
after  the  first  conference,  Zwingle  re- 
appeared in  the  council :  "  I  will  stay 
with  you,"  said  he,  "  and  I  will  labour 
for  the  public  safety — until  death  !" 

From  this  moment  he  displayed  new 
zeal.  On  the  one  hand,  he  endeavoured 
to  revive  harmony  and  courage  in  Zu- 
rich ;  on  the  other,  he  set  about  arousing 
and  exciting  the  allied  cities  to  increase 
and  concentrate  all  the  forces  of  the  Re- 
formation. Faithful  to  the  political  cha- 
racter he  imagined  he  had  received  from 
God  himself — persuaded  that  it  was  in 
the  doubts  and  want  of  energy  of  the 
Bernese  that  he  must  look  for  the  cause 
of  all  the  evil,  the  Reformer  repaired  to 
Bremgarten  with  Collin  and  Steiner,  du- 
ring the  fourth  conference  of  the  diet, 
although  he  incurred  great  danger  in  the 
attempt.  He  arrived  secretly  by  night, 
and  having  entered  the  house  of  his 
friend  and  disciple,  Bullinger,  he  invited 
the  deputies  of  Berne  (J.J.  de  Watteville 
and  Jur  Hag)  to  meet  him  there  with  the 
greatest  secresy,  and  prayed  them  in  the 
most  solemn  tone  earnestly  to  reflect  up- 
on the  dangers  of  the  Reform.  "  I  fear," 
said  he,  "  that  in  consequence  of  our  un- 
belief, this  business  will  not  succeed.  By 
refusing  supplies  to  the  Five  Cantons,  we 
have  begun  a  work  that  will  be  fatal  to 


us.  What  is  to  be  done?  Withdraw 
the  prohibition  ?  The  cantons  will  thou 
be  more  insolenl  and  haughty  than  ever. 
Enforce  it?    They  will  take  the  offensive, 

and  if  their  attack  succeed,  you  will  he- 
hold  our  fields  red  with  the  blood  of  the 
believers,  the  doctrine  of  truth  casl  down, 
the  Church  of  Christ  laid  waste,  all  so- 
cial relations  overthrown,  our  adversaries 
more  hardened  and  irritated  against  the 
Gospel,  and  crowds  of  priests  and  monks 
again  fill  our  rural  districts,  streets,  and 
temples And  yet,"  added  Zwin- 
gle, after  a  few  instant.-;  of  emotion  and 
silence.  "  that  also  will  have  an  end." 
The  Bernese  were  filled  with  agitation 
by  the  solemn  voice  of  the  reformer. 
"  We  see,"  replied  they,  "  all  that  is  to 
be  feared  for  our  common  cause,  and  we 
will  employ -every  care  to  prevent  such 
great  disasters." — "I  who  write  these 
things  was  present  and  heard  them,"  adds 
Bullinger.* 

It  was  feared  that  if  the  presence  of 
Zwingle  at  Bremgarten  became  known 
to  the  deputies  of  the  Five  Cantons,  they 
would  not  restrain  their  violence.  Du- 
ring this  nocturnal  conference  three  of 
the  town-councillors  were  stationed  as 
sentinels  in  front  of  Bullinger's  house. 
Before  daybreak,  the  reformer  and  his 
two  friends,  accompanied  by  Bullinger 
and  the  three  councillors,  passed  through 
the  deserted  streets  leading  to  the  gate 
on  the  road  to  Zurich.  Three  different 
times  Zwingle  took  leave  of  Bullinger, 
who  was  erelong  to  be  his  successor. 
His  mind  was  filled  with  a  presentiment 
of  his  approaching  death  ;  he  could  not 
tear  himself  from  that  young  friend  whose 
face  he  was  never  to  see  again  ;  he 
blessed  him  amidst  floods  of  tears.  "  O 
my  dear  Henry  !"  said  he,  "  may  God 
protect  you  !  Be  faithful  to  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  to  his  Church  !"  At 
length  they  separated  ;  but  at  that  very 
moment,  says  Bullinger,  a  mysterious 
personage,  clad  hi  a  robe  as  white  as 
snow,  suddenly  appeared,  and  after  fright- 
ening the  soldiers  who  guarded  the  gate, 
plunged  suddenly  into  the  water,  and 
vanished.  Bullinger,  Zwingle,  and  their 
friends  did  not  perceive  it ;  Bullinger 
himself  sought  for  it  all  around,  but  to 

*  These  words  are  in  Latin  :  Haec  ipse,  qui 
hsc  scribo,  ab  illis  audivi,  praesens  colloquio. 
(Bull.  ii.  p.  49  ) 


822 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


no  purpose  ;*  still  the  sentinels  persisted 
in  the  reality  of  this  frightful  apparition. 
Bullinger  in  great  agitation  returned  in 
darkness  and  in  silence  to  his  house. 
His  mind  involuntarily  compared  the  de- 
parture of  Zwingle  and  the  white  phan- 
tom ;  and  he  shuddered  at  the  frightful 
omen  which  the  thought  of  this  spectre 
impressed  upon  his  mind. 

Sufferings  of  another  kind  pu 
Zwingle  to  Zurich.  He  had  thought  that 
by  consenting  to  remain  at  the  head  of 
affairs,  he  would  recover  all  his  ancient 
influence.  But  he  was  deceived  :  the 
people  desired  to  see  him  there,  and  yet 
they  would  not  follow  him.  The  Zu- 
richers  daily  became  more  and  more  in- 
disposed towards  the  war  which  they  had 
at  first  demanded,  and  identified  them- 
selves with  the  passive  system  of  Berne. 
Zwingle  remained  for  some  time  stupe- 
fied and  motionless  before  this  inert  mass, 
which  his  most  vigorous  exertions  could 
not  move.  But  soon  discovering  in  every 
quarter  of  the  horizon  the  prophetic  signs, 
precursors  of  the  storm  about  to  burst 
upon  the  ship  of  which  he  was  the  pilot, 
he  uttered  cries  of  anguish,  and  showed 
the  signal  of  distress.  "  I  see,"  exclaim- 
ed he  one  day  to  the  people  from  the 
pulpit,  whither  he  had  gone  to  give  utter- 
ance to  his  gloomy  forebodings, — "  I  see 
that  the  most  faithful  warnings  cannot 
save  you :  you  will  not  punish  the  pen- 
sioners of  the  foreigner They 

have  too  firm  a  support  among  us  !  A 
chain  is  prepared — behold  it  entire — it 
unrolls  link  after  link, — soon  they  will 
bind  me  to  it,  and  more  than  one  pious 

Zuricher  with  me It   is  against 

me  they  are  enraged  !  I  am  ready  ;  I 
submit  to  the   Lord's   will.     But  these 

people  shall  never  be  my  masters 

As  for  thee,  O  Zurich,  they  will  give 
thee  thy  reward ;  they  will  strike  thee 
on  the  head.  Thou  wiliest  it.  Thou 
refusest  to  punish  them  ;  well !  it  is  they 
who  will  punish  thee.f  But  God  will 
not  the  less  preserve  his  Word,  and  their 
haughtiness  shall  come  to  an  end."  Such 
was  Zwingle's  cry  of  agony  ;  but  the 
immobility  of  death  alone  replied.     The 


*  Ein  menschen  ineinschneeweissen  Kleid. 
(Bull.  ii.  p.  49.) 

t  Straal'en  willt  sy  nitt,  des  werden  sy  dich 
straafen.     (Bull.  ii.  p.  52.) 


hearts  of  the  Zurichers  were  so  hardened 
that  the  sharpest  arrows  of  the  reformer 
could  not  pierce  them,  and  they  fell  at  his 
feet  blunted  and  useless. 

But  events  were  pressing  on,  and  jus- 
tified all  his  fears.  The  Five  Cantons 
had  rejected  every  proposition  that  had 
been  made  to  them.  "  Why  do  you  talk 
of  punishing  a  few  wrongs  ?"  they  had 
replied  to  the  mediators  ;  "  it  is  a  ques- 
tion of  quite  another  kind.  Do  you  not 
require  that  we  should  receive  back 
among  us  the  heretics  whom  we  have 
banished,  and  tolerate  no  other  priests 
than  those  who  preach  conformably  to 
the  Word  of  God  ?  We  know  what 
that  means.  No — no — we  will  not 
abandon  the  religion  of  our  fathers  ;  and 
if  we  must  see  our  wives  and  our  chil- 
dren deprived  of  food,  our  hands  will 
know  how  to  conquer  what  is  refused  to 
us  :  to  that  we  pledge  our  bodies — our 
goods — our  lives."  It  was  with  this 
threatening  language  that  the  deputies 
quitted  the  Diet  of  Bremgarten.  They 
had  proudly  shaken  the  folds  of  their 
mantles,  war  had  fallen  from  them. 

The  terror  was  general,  and  the 
alarmed  citizens  beheld  everywhere 
frightful  portents,  terrific  signs,  appar- 
ently foreboding  the  most  horrible  events. 
It  was  not  only  the  white  phantom  that 
had  appeared  at  Bremgarten  at  Zwingle's 
side  :  the  most  fearful  omens,  passing 
from  mouth  to  mouth,  filled  the  people 
with  the  most  gloomy  presentiments. 
The  history  of  these  phenomena,  how- 
ever strange  it  may  appear,  characterizes 
the  period  of  which  we  write. 

On  the  26th  July,  a  widow  chancing 
to  be  alone  before  her  house  in  the  village 
of  Castelenschloss,  suddenly  beheld  a 
frightful  spectacle — blood  springing  from 
the  earth  all  around  her!*     She  rushed 

in   alarm   into   the   cottage but,  oh 

horrible  !  blood  is  flowing  everywhere — 
from  the  wainscot  and  from  the  stones  ;f 
— it  falls  in  a  stream  from  a  basin  on  a 
shelf,  and  even  the  child's  cradle  over- 
flows with  it.  The  woman  imagines  that 
the  invisible  hand  of  an  assassin  has 
been  at  work,  and  rushes  in  distraction 

*  Ante  et  post  earn  puvns  sanguis  ita  acritev 
ex  dura  terra  effluxit,  ut  ex  vena  incisa.  (Zvv. 
Epp.  ii.  p.  G27.) 

t  Sed  etiam  sanguis  ex  terra,  lignis,  et  lapi- 
dibus  effluxit.     (Zw.  Epp.  ii.  p.  627.) 


SWITZERLAND— CATASTROPHE. 


823 


out  of  doors,  crying  murder  !  murder!* 
The  villagers  and  the  monks  of  a  neigh- 
bouring convent  assemble  at  the  cry — 
they  succeed  in  partly  effacing  the 
bloody  stains ;  but  a  little  later  in  the 
day,  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  house, 
sitting  down  in  terror  to  eat  their  even- 
ing meal  under  the  projecting  ea^-es, 
suddenly  discover  blood  bubbling  up  in 
a  pond — blood  flowing  from  the  loft — 
blood  covering  all  the  walls  of  the  house. 
Blood — blood — everywhere  blood  !  The 
bailiff  of  Schenkenberg  and  the  pastor 
of  Dalheim  arrive — inquire  into  the  mat- 
ter— and  immediately  report  it  to  the 
lords  of  Berne  and  to  Zwingle. 

Scarcely  had  this  horrible  recital — 
the  particulars  of  which  are  faithfully 
preserved  in  Latin  and  in  German — 
filled  all  minds  with  the  idea  of  a  horri- 
ble butchery,  than  in  the  western  quar- 
ter of  the  heavens  there  appeared  a 
frightful  comet,f  whose  immense  train 
of  a  pale  yellow  colour  turned  towards 
the  south.  At  the  time  of  its  setting, 
this  apparition  shone  in  the  sky  like  the 
fire  of  a  furnace.:):  One  night — on  the 
15th  August  as  it  would  appear^ — Zwin- 
gle and  George  Muhler,  formerly  abbot 
of  Wettingen,  being  together  in  the 
cemetery  of  the  cathedral,  both  fixed  their 
eyes  upon  this  terrific  meteor.  "  This 
ominous* globe,"  said  Zwingle,  "  is  come 
to  light  the  path(  that  leads  to  my  grave. 
It  will  be  at.  the  cost  of  my  life  and  of 
many  good  men  with  me.  Although  I 
am  rather  shortsighted,  I  foresee  great 
calamities  in  the  future. ||  The  Truth 
and  the  Church  will  mourn  ;  but  Christ 
will  never  abandon  us."  It  was  not 
only   at  Zurich  that   this   flaming    star 

*  Ut  eadem  excurrerct  ciedem  clamitans. 
(Zw.  Ep.  ii.  p.  627.) 

f  Ein  gar  eschrocklicher  comet.  (Bull.  ii. 
p.  4(5.)  It  was  Halley's  comet,  that  returns 
about  every  7G  vears.  It  appeared  last  in 
1835. 

\  Wie  ein  fhuwr  in  einer  ess.  (Ibid.)  Per- 
haps Bollinger  alludes  in  this  way  to  the  phe- 
nomenon remarked  by  Appian,  astronomer  to 
Charles  V.,  who  observed  this  comet  at  In- 
goldstadt,  and  who  says  that  the  tail  disap- 
peared as  the  nucleus  approached  the  hori- 
zon. In  1456,  its  appearance  had  already  ex- 
cited great  terror. 

§  Cometam  jam  tribus  noctibus  viderunt 
apud  nos  alii,  ego  una  tantum,  puto  15  Au- 
gust!.    (Zw.  Epp.  p.  634.) 

||  Ego  cseculus  non  unam  calamitatem  ex- 
pecto.     (Ibid.  p.  626.) 


spread  consternation.  Vadianus  being 
one  night  on  an  eminence  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  St.  Gall,  surrounded  by  his 
friends  and  disciples,  after  having  ex- 
plained to  them  the  names  of  the  stars 
and  the  miracles  of  the  Creator,  stopped 
before  this  comet,  which  denounced  the 
anger  of  God ;  and  the  famous  Theo- 
phrasius  declared  thai  it  foreboded  not 
only  great  bloodshed,  but  most  especially 
the  death  of  learned  and  illustrious  men. 
This  mysterious  phenomenon  prolonged 
its  frightful  visitation  until  the  3d  Sep- 
tember. 

When  once  the  noise  of  these  omens 
was  spread  abroad,  men  could  no  longer 
contain  themselves.  Their  imaginations 
were  excited ;  they  heaped  fright  upon 
fright :  each  place  had  its  terrors.  Two 
banners  waving  in  the  clouds  had  been 
seen  on  the  mountain  of  the  Brunig  ;  at 
Zug  a  buckler  had  appeared  in  the  hea- 
vens ;  on  the  banks  of  the  Reuss,  re- 
iterated explosions  were  heard  during 
the  night ;  on  the  lake  of  the  Four  Can- 
tons, ships  carrying  aerial  combatants 
cruised  about  in  every  direction.  War 
— war  ; — blood — blood ! — these  were  the 
general  cries. 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  agitation, 
Zwingle  alone  seemed  tranquil.  H^ 
rejected  none  of  these  presentiments,  but 
he  contemplated  them  with  calmness". 
"  A  heart  that  fears  God,"  said  he,  "  cares 
not  for  the  threats  of  the  world.  To 
forward  the  designs  of  God,  whatever 
may  happen, — this  is  his  task.  A  car- 
rier who  has  a  long  road  to  go  must 
make  up  his  mind  to  wear  his  waggon 
and  his  gear  during  the  journey.  If  he 
carry  his  merchandise  to  the  appointed 
spot,  that  is  enough  for  him.  We  are 
the  waggon  and  the  gear  of  God.  There 
is  not  one  of  the  articles  that  is  not  worn, 
twisted,  or  broken;  but  our  great  Driver 
will  not  the  less  accomplish  by  our  means 
his  vast  designs.  Is  it  not  to  those  who 
fall  upon  the  field  of  battle  that  the  no- 
blest crown  belongs  ?  Take  courage, 
then,  in  the  midst  of  all  these  dangers, 
through  which  the  cause  of  Jesus  Christ 
must  pass.  Be  of  good  cheer  !  although 
we  should  never  here  below  see  its 
triumphs  with  our  own  eyes.  The 
Judge  of  the  combat  beholds  us,  and  it  is 
he  who  confers  the  crown.  Others  will 
enjoy  upon  earth  the  fruits  of  our  labours; 


824 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


while  we,  already  in  heaven,  shall  enjoy 
an  eternal  reward."* 

Thus  spoke  Zwingle,  as  he  advanced 
calmly  towards  the  threatening  noise  of 
the  tempest,  which,  by  its  repeated 
flashes  and  sudden  explosions,  foreboded 
death. 

VI.  The  Five  Cantons,  assembled  in 
diet  at  Lucerne,  appeared  full  of  deter- 
mination, and  war  was  decided  upon. 
"  We  will  call  upon  the  cities  to  respect 
our  alliances,"  said  they,  "  and  if  they 
refuse,  we  will  enter  the  common  baili- 
wicks by  force  to  procure  provisions,  and 
we  will  unite  our  banners  in  Zug  to 
attack  the  enemy."  The  Waldstettes 
were  not  alone.  The  Nuncio,  being 
solicited  by  his  Lucerne  friends,  had  re 
quired  that  auxiliary  troops,  paid  by  the 
Pope,  should  be  put  in  motion  towards 
Switzerland,  and  he  announced  their  near 
arrival. 

These  resolutions  carried  terror  into 
Switzerland  ;  the  mediating  cantons  met 
again  at  Arau,  and  drew  up  a  plan  that 
should  leave  the  religious  question  just 
as  it  had  been  settled  by  the  treaty  of 
1529.  Deputies  immediately  bore  these 
propositions  to  the  different  councils 
Lucerne  haughtily  rejected  them.  "  Tell 
tnose  who  sent  you,"  was  the  reply 
"  that  we  do  not  acknowledge  them  as 
our  schoolmasters.  We  would  rather 
die  than  yield  the  least  thing  to  the  pre- 
judice of  our  faith."  The  mediators 
returned  to  Arau,  trembling  and  discour- 
aged. This  useless  attempt  increased 
the  disagreement  among  the  Reformed, 
and  gave  the  Waldstettes  still  greater 
confidence.  Zurich,  so  decided  for  the 
reception  of  the  Gospel,  now  became 
daily  more  irresolute  !  The  mem- 
bers of  the  council  distrusted  each 
other ;  the  people  felt  no  interest  in  this 
war  ;  and  Zwingle,  notwithstanding  his 
unshaken  faith  in  the  justice  of  his  cause, 
had  no  hope  for  the  struggle  that  was 
about  to  take  place.  Berne,  on  its  side, 
did  not  cease  to  entreat  Zurich  to  avoid 
precipitation.  "  Do  not  let  us  expose 
ourselves  to  the  reproach  of  too  much 
haste,  as  in  1529,"  was  the  general 
remark   in   Zurich.      "  We    have    sure 

*  Zw.  Opp.  Comment,  in  Jeremiam.  This 
work  was  composed  the  very  year  of  Zwingle's 
death. 


friends  in  the  midst  of  the  Waldstettes  ; 
let  us  wait  until  they  announce  to  us, 
as  they  have  promised,  some  real  danger." 

It  was  soon  believed  that  these  tempo- 
rizers were  right.  In  fact  the  alarming 
news  ceased.  That  constant  rumour  of 
war,  which  incessantly  came  from  the 
Waldstettes,  discontinued.  There  were 
no  more  alarms — no  more  fears !  Deceit- 
ful omen !  Over  the  mountains  and 
valleys  of  Switzerland  hangs  that  gloomy 
and  mysterious  silence,  the  forerunner  of 
the  tempest. 

Whilst  they  were  sleeping  at  Zurich, 
the  Waldstettes  were  preparing  to  con- 
quer their  rights  by  force  of  arms.  The 
chiefs,  closely  united  to  each  other  by 
common  interests  and  dangers,  found  a 
powerful  support  in  the  indignation  of  the 
people.  In  a  diet  of  the  Five  Cantons, 
held  at  Brunnen  on  the  banks  of  the 
Lake  of  Lucerne,  opposite  Grutli,  the 
alliances  of  the  Confederation  were  read  ; 
and  the  deputies,  having  been  summoned 
to  declare  by  their  votes  whether  they 
thought  the  war  just  and  lawful,  all 
hands  were  raised  with  a  shudder.  Im- 
mediately the  Waldstettes  had  prepared 
their  attack  with  the  profoundest  mystery. 
All  the  passes  had  been  guarded — all 
communication  between  Zurich  and  the 
Five  Cantons  had  been  rendered  impos-' 
sible.  The  friends  upon  wlfom  the 
Zurichers  had  reckoned  on  the  banks  of 
the  Lakes  Lucerne  and  Zug,  and  who 
had  promised  them  intelligence,  were 
like  prisoners  in  their  mountains.  The 
terrible  avalanche  was  about  to  slip  from 
the  icy  summits  of  the  mountain,  and  to 
roll  into  the  valleys,  even  to  the  gates  of 
Zurich,  overthrowing  everything  in  its 
passage,  without  the  least  forewarning  of 
its  fall.  The  mediators  had  returned 
discouraged  to  their  cantons.  A  spirit 
of  imprudence  and  of  error — sad  fore- 
runner of  the  fall  of  republics  as  well  as 
of  kings — had  spread  over  the  whole  city 
of  Zurich.  The  council  had  at  first 
given  the  order  to  call  out  the  militia ; 
then,  deceived  by  the  silence  of  the 
Waldstettes,  it  had  imprudently  revoked 
the  decree,  and  Lavater,  the  commander 
of  the  army,  had  retired  in  discontent  to 
Rybourg,  and  indignantly  thrown  far 
from  him  that  sword  which  they  had 
commanded  him  to  leave  in  the  scabbard. 
Thus  the  winds  were  about  to  be  un- 


SWITZERLAND— CATASTROPHE. 


825 


chained  from  the  mountains  ;   the  waters  (name  of  the  Fivf  Cantons,  letters  of  per- 
of  the  great  deep,  aroused  by  a  terrible  petual  alliance.*     The   majority  saw  in 

this  step  nothing  but  a  trick  ;  bul  Zwingle 


earthquake,  were  about  to  open  ;  and 
yet  the  vessel  of  the  state,  sadly  aban- 
doned, sported  up  and  down  with  indiffer 
ence  over  the  frightful  gulf, — its  yards 
struck,  its  sails  loose  and  motionless — 
without  compass  or  crew — without  pilot, 
watch,  or  helm. 

Whatever  were  the  exertions  of  the 
Waldstettes,  they  could  not  entirely 
stifle  the  rumour  of  war,  which  from 
chalet  to  chalet  called  all  their  citizens 
to  arms.  God  permits  a  cry  of  alarm — 
a  single  one,  it  is  true — to  resound  in  the 
ears  of  the  people  of  Zurich.  On  the 
4th  October,  a  little  boy,  who  knew  not 
what  he  was  doing,  succeeded  in  cross- 
ing the  frontier  of  Zug,  and  presented 
himself  with  two  loaves  at  the  gate  of 
the  reformed  monastery  of  Cappel,  situ- 
ated in  the  farthest  limits  of  the  canton 
of  Zurich.  He  was  led  to  the  abbot,  to 
whom  the  child  gave  the  loaves  without 
saying  a  word.  The  superior,  with 
whom  there  chanced  to  be  at  this  time  a 
councillor  from  Zurich,  Henry  Peyer, 
sent  by  his  government,  turned  pale  at 
the  sight.  "  If  the  Five  Cantons  intend 
entering  by  force  of  arms  into  the  free 
bailiwicks,"  had  said  these  two  Zurichers 
to  one  of  their  friends  in  Zug,  "  you  will 
send  your  son  to  us  with  one  loaf;  but 
you  will  give  him  two  if  they  are  march- 
ing at  once  upon  the  bailiwicks  and  upon 
Zurich."  The  abbot  and  the  councillor 
wrote  with  all  speed  to  Zurich.  "  Be 
upon  your  guard  !  take  up  arms,"  said 
they  ;  but  no  credit  was  attached  to  this 
information.  The  council  were  at  that 
time  occupied  in  taking  measures  to  pre- 
vent the  supplies  that  had  arrived  from 
Alsace  from  entering  the  cantons. 
Zwingle  himself,  who  had  never  ceased 
to  announce  war,  did  not  believe  it. 
"  These  pensioners  are  really  clever 
fellows,"  said  the  reformer.  "  Their 
preparations  may  be  after  all  nothing 
but  a  French  manoeuvre.* 

He  was  deceived — they  were  a  reality. 
Four  days  were  to  accomplish  the  ruin 
of  Zurich.  Let  us  retrace  in  succession 
the  history  of  these  disastrous  moments. 

On  Sunday,  8th  October,  a  messenger 
appeared  at  Zurich,  and  demanded,  in  the 

*  Dise  ire  Rustung  mochte  woll  eine  fran- 
sjasische  prattik  sein.     (Bull.  ii.  p.  86  ) 


began  to  discern  the  thunderbolt  in  the 
black  cloud  that  was  drawing  near.  He 
was  in  the  pulpit:  if  was  the  last  time  he 
was  destined  to  appear  in  it  ;  and  as  if  he 
iiad  scon  a  formidable  spectre  of  Rome 
rise  frightfully  above  the  ^.lps,  calling 
upon  him  and  upon  bis  people  to  abandon 
the  faith : — "No,  no!"  cried  he,  "never 
will  I  deny  my  Redeemer  !,: 

At  the  same  moment  a  messenger  ar- 
rived in  haste  from  Mulincn,  commander 
of  the  Knights-hospitallers  of  St.  John  at 
Hitzkylch.  "  On  Friday,  6th  October," 
said  he  to  the  councils  of  Zurich,  "  the 
people  of  Lucerne  planted  their  banner 
in  the  Great  Square. f  Two  men  that  I 
sent  to  Lucerne  have  been  thrown  into 
prison.  To-morrow  morning,  Monday, 
9th  October,  the  Five  Cantons  will  enter 
the  bailiwicks.  Already  the  country- 
people,  frightened  and  fugitive,  are  run- 
ning to  us  in  crowds." — "  It  is  an  idle 
story,"  said  the  councils.:):  Nevertheless 
they  recalled  the  commander-in-chief 
Lavater,  who  sent  off  a  trusty  man,  ne- 
phew of  James  Winckler,  with  orders 
to  repair  to  Cappel,  and  if  possible  as  far 
as  Zug,  to  reconnoitre  the  arrangements 
of  the  cantons. 

The  Waldstettes  were  in  reality  as- 
sembling round  the  banner  of  Lucerne. 
The  people  of  this  canton  ;  the  men  of 
Schwytz,  Uri,  Zug,  and  Unterwalden  ; 
refugees  from  Zurich  and  Berne,  with  a 
few  Italians,  formed  the  main  body  of  the 
army,  which  had  been  raised  to  invade 
the  free  bailiwicks.  Two  manifestoes 
were  published — one  addressed  to  the 
cantons,  the  other  to  foreign  princes  and 
nations. 

The  Five  Cantons  energetically  set 
forth  the  attacks  made  upon  the  treaties, 
the  discord  sown  throughout  the  Confe- 
deration, and  finally  the.  refusal  to  sell 
them  provisions — a  refusal  whose  only 
aim  was  (according  to  them)  to  excite 
the  people  against  the  magistrates,  and  to 
establish  the  Reform  by  force.     "  It  is 

*  Die  ewige  Bund  abgefordert.  (J.  J.  Hot- 
tinger,  ii i -  p.  577.)  According  to  Bullinger, 
this  did  not  take  place  until  Monday. 

f  Ire  paner  in  den  Brunnen  gesteckt.  (Bull, 
ii.  p.  86.) 

J  Ein  gepoch  und  progcrey  und  unt  darauff 
setzend.     (Ibid.) 


826 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


not  true,"  added  they,  ."that — as  they 
cease  not  to  cry  out — we  oppose  the 
preaching  of  the  truth  and  the  reading 
of  the  Bible.  As  obedient  members  gj" 
the  Church,  we  desire  to  receive  all  that 
our  holy  mother  receives.  But  we  re- 
ject all  the  books  and  the  innovations  of 
Zwingle  and  his  companions."* 

Hardly  had  the  messengers  charged 
with  these  manifestoes  departed  before 
the  first  division  of  the  army  began  to 
march,  and  arrived  in  the  evening  in  the 
free  bailiwicks.  The  soldiers  having 
entered  the  deserted  churches,  and  hav- 
ing seen  the  images  of  the  saints  removed 
and  the  altars  broken,  their  anger  was 
kindled  ;  they  spread  like  a  torrent  over 
the  Vhole  country,  pillaged  everything 
they  met  with,  and  were  particularly  en- 
raged against  the  houses  of  the  pastors, 
where  they  destroyed  the  furniture  with 
oaths  and  maledictions.  At  the  same 
time  the  division  that  was  to  form  the 
main  army  marched  upon  Zug,  thence  to 
move  upon  Zurich. 

Cappel,  at  three  leagues  from  Zurich, 
and  about  a  league  from  Zug,  was  the 
first  place  they  would  reach  in  the  Zu- 
rich territory,  after  crossing  the  frontier, 
of  the  Five  Cantons.  Near  the  Albis, 
between  two  hills  of  similar  height,  the 
Granges  on  the  north,  and  the  Ifclsberg 
on  the  south,  in  the  midst  of  delightful 
pastures,  stood  the  ancient  and  wealthy 
convent  of  the  Cistertians,  in  whose 
church  were  the  tombs  of  many  ancient 
and  noble  families  of  these  districts.  The 
Abbot  Wolfgang  Joner,  a  just  and  pious 
man,  a  great  friend  of  the  arts  and  let- 
ters, and.  a  distinguished  preacher,  had 
reformed  his  convent  in  1527.  Full  of 
compassion,  rich  in  good  works,  particu- 
larly towards  the  poor  of  the  canton  of 
Zug  and  the  free  bailiwicks,  he  was  held 
in  great  honour  throughout  the  whole 
country. -j-  He  predicted  what  would  be 
the  termination  of  the  war ;  yet  as  soon 
as  danger  approached,  he  spared  no  la- 
bour to  serve  his  country. 

It  was  on  Sunday  night  that  the  abbot 
received  positive  intelligence  of  the  pre- 
parations at  Zug.    He  paced  up  and  down 

*  AIs  wir  vertruwen  Gott  und  der  Welt 
antwurt  zu  geben.     (Bull,  ii   p.  101.) 

t  That  armen    liiten  vil  guts und  by 

aller  Erbarkeit  in  grossern  ansahen.  (Bull. 
iii.  p.  151.) 


his  cell  with  hasty  steps  ;  sleep  fled  from 
his  eyes ;  he  drew  near  his  lamp,  and 
addressing  his  intimate  friend,  __  Peter 
Simmler,  who  succeeded  him,  and  who 
was  then  residing  at  Kylchberg,  a  village 
on  the  borders  of  the  lake,  atid  about  a 
league  from  the  town,  he  hastily  wrote 
these  words  :  "  The  great  anxiety  and 
trouble  which  agitate  me  prevent  me 
from  busying  myself  with  the  manage- 
ment of  the  house,  and  induce  me  to 
write  to  you  all  that  is  preparing.     The 

time  is  come the  scourge  of  God 

appears.* After  many  journeys 

and  inquiries,  we  have  learnt  that  the 
FiveCantons  will  march  to-day  (Monday) 
to  seize  upon  Hitzkylch,  while  the  main 
army  assembles  its  banners  at  Baar,  be- 
tween Zug  and  Cappel.  Those  from 
the  valley  of  the  Adige  and  the  Italians 
will  arrive  to-day  or  to-morrow."  This 
letter,  through  some  unforeseen  circum- 
stance, did  not  reach  Zurich  till  the 
evening. 

Meanwhile  the  messenger  whom  La- 
vater  had  sent — the  nephew  of  J.  Winck- 
ler — creeping  on  his  belly,  gliding  un- 
perceived  past  the  sentinels,  and  clinging 
to  the  shrubs  that  overhung  the  preci- 
pices, had  succeeded  in  making  his  way 
where  no  road  had  been  cleared.  On 
arriving  near  Zug,  he  had  discovered 
with  alarm  the  banner  and  the  militia 
hastening  from  all  sides  at  beat  of  drum  : 
then  traversing  again  these  unknown 
•passes,  he  had  returned  to  Zurich  with 
this  information. f 

It  was  high  time  that  the  bandage 
should  fall  from  the  eyes  of  the  Zurich- 
ers  ;  but  the  delusion  Was  to  endure  to 
the  last.  The  council  which  was  called 
together  met  in  small  number.  "  The 
Five  Cantons,"  said  they,  "  are  making 
a  little  noise  to  frighten  us,  and  to  make 
us  raise  the  blockade.":}:  The  council, 
however,  decided  on  sending  Colonel 
Rodolph  Dumysen  and  Ulric  Funk  to 
Cappel,  to  see  what  was  going  on ;  and 
each  one,  tranquillized  by  this  unmean- 
ing step,  retired  to  rest. 

They  did  not  slumber  long.     Every 

*  Die  Zyt  ist  hie,  das  die  nit  gottes  sich  vvil 
erzeigen.     (Bull.  p.  S7.) 

f  Naben  den  Wachten,  durch  umwag  und 
gestrupp.     (Bull.  iii.  p.  37.) 

X  Sy  machtend  alein  ein  geprog.     (Ibid,  p 
103.) 


SWITZERLAND— CATASTROPHE. 


827 


hour  brought  fresh  messengers  of  alarm 
to  Zurich.  "  The  banners  of  four  can- 
tons are  assembled  at  Zug,"  said  they. 
"  They  are  only  waiting  for  Uri.  The 
people  of  the  free  bailiwicks  are  flock- 
ing to  Cappel,  and  demanding  arms. 
Help  !  help  !" 

Before  the  break  of  day  the  council 
was  again  assembled,  and  it  ordered  the 
convocation  of  the  Two  Hundred.  An 
old  man,  whose  hair  had  grown  gray  on 
the  battle-field  and  in  the  council  of  the 
state — the  banneret  John  Schweizer — 
raising  his  head  enfeebled  by  age,  and 
darting  the  last  beam,  as  it  were,  from 
his  eyes,  exclaimed,  "  Now — at  this 
very  moment,  in  God's  name,  send 
an  advanced  guard  to  Cappel,  and  let  the 
army,  promptly  collecting  round  the 
banner,  follow  it  immediately."  He 
said  no  more ;  but  the  charm  was  not 
yet  broken.  "  The  peasants  of  the  free 
bailiwicks,'"'  said  some,  "  we  know  to  be 
hasty,  and  easily  carried  away.  They 
make  the  matter  greater  than  it  really 
is.  The  wisest  plan  is  to  wait  for  the 
report  of  the  councillors."  In  Zurich 
there  was  no  longer  either  arm  to  defend 
or  head  to  advise. 

It  was  seven  in  the  morning,  and  the 
assembly  was  still  sitting,  when  Ro- 
dolph  Gwerb,  pastor  of  Rifferschwyl. 
near  Cappel,  arrived  in  haste.  "  The 
people  of  the  lordship  of  Knonau,"  said 
he,  "  are  crowding  round  the  convent,  j 
and  loudly  calling  for  chiefs  and  for  aid.  i 
The  enemy  is  approaching.  Will  our' 
lords  of  Zurich  (say  they)  abandon 
themselves,  and  us  with  them  ?  Do  they 
wish  to  give  us  up  to  slaughter  ?"  The 
pastor,  who  had  witnessed  these  mourn- 
ful scenes,  spoke  with  animation.  The 
councillors,  whose  infatuation  was  to  be 
prolonged  to  the  end,  were  offended  at 
his  message.  "  They  want  to  make  us 
act  imprudently,"  replied  they,  turning 
in  their  arm-chairs. 

They  had  scarcely  ceased  speaking 
before  a  new  messenger  appears,  wear- 
ing on  his  features  the  marks  of  the 
greatest  terror  :  it  was  Schwyzer,  land- 
lord of  the  "  Beech  Tree"  on  Mount  Al- 
bis.  "  My  lords  Dumysen  and  Funck," 
said  he,  "  have  sent  me  to  you  with  all 
speed  to  announce  to  the  council  that  the 
Five  Cantons  have  seized  upon  Hytz- 
kilch,  and  that  they  are  now  collecting 
105 


all  their  troops  at  Baar.  My  lords  re. 
main  in  the  bailiwicks  to  aid  the  fright- 
ened inhabitants." 

This  time  the  most  confident  turned 
pale.  Terror,  so  long  restrained,  passed 
like  a  flash  of  lightning  through  every 
heart.*  Hytzkilch  was  in  the  power  of 
the  enemy,  and  the  war  was  begun. 

It  was  resolved  to  expedite  to  Capprl 
a  flying  camp  of  six  hundred  men  with 
six  guns;  but  the  command  was  intrust- 
ed to  George  Goldli,  whose  brother  was 
in  the  army  of  the  Five  Cantons,  and  he 
was  enjoined  to  keep  on  the  defensive 
Goldli  and  his  troops  had  just  left  tin- 
city,  when  the  captain-general  Lavater, 
summoning  into  the  hall  of  the  Smaller 
Council  the  old  banneret  Schweizer, 
William  Toning,  captain  of  the  ajque- 
busiers,  J.  Dennikon,  captain  of  the  ar- 
tillery, Zwingle,  and  some  others,  said  to 
them,  "  Let  us  deliberate  promptly  on 
the  means  of  saving  the  canton  and  the 
city.  Let  the  tocsin  immediately  call 
out  all  the  citizens."  The  captain-ge- 
neral feared  that  the  councils  would 
shrink  at  this  proceeding,  and  he  wished 
to  raise  the  Landsturm  by  the  simple 
advice  of  the  army  and  of  Zwingle. 
"  We  cannot  take  it  upon  ourselves," 
said  they,  "  the  two  councils  are  still 
sitting  ;  let  us  lay  this  proposition  before 
them."  They  hasten  towards  the  place 
of  meeting ;  but,  fatal  mischance  !  there 
were  only  a  few  members  of  the  Smaller 
Council  on  the  benches.  "  The  consent 
of  the  Two  Hundred  is  necessary,"  said 
they.  Again  a  new  delay,  and  the  ene- 
mv  is  on  the  march.  Two  hours  after 
noon  the  Great  Council  met  again,  but 
only  to  make  long  and  useless  speeches. f 
At  length  the  resolution  was  taken,  and 
at  seven  in  the  evening  the  tocsin  began 
to  sound  in  all  the  country  districts. 
Treason  united  with  this  dilatoriness,  and 
persons  who  pretended  to  be  envoys  from 
Zurich  stopped  the  Landsturm  in  many 
places,  as  being  contrary  to  the  opinion 
of  the  council.  A  great  number  of  citi- 
zens went  to  sleep  again. 

It  was  a  fearful  night.  The  thick 
darkness — a  violent  storm — the  alarm- 
bell  ringing  from  every  steeple — the  peo- 

*  Dieser  Bottschaft  erschrack  menklich 
iibel.     (Bull.  iii.  p.  104.) 

t  Ward  so  vil  und  lang  darim  gerad  schlagt 
(Bull.  iii.  p.  104.) 


828 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


[>le  running  to  arms — the  noise  of  swords 
and  guns — the  sound  of  trumpets  and  of 
drums,  combined  with  the  roaring  of  the 
tempest,  the  distrust,  discontent,  and  even 
treason,  which  spread  affliction  in  every 
quarter — the  sobs  of  women  and  of  chil- 
dren— the  cries  which  accompanied 
many  a  heart-rending  adieu — an  earth- 
quake which  occurred  about  nine  o'clock 
at  night,  as  if  nature  herself  had  shud- 
dered at  the  blood  that  was  about  to  be 
spilt,  and  which  violently  shook  the 
mountains  and  valleys  :*  all  increased 
the  terrors  of  this  fatal  night, — a  night  to 
be  followed  by  a  still  more  fatal  day. 

While  these  events  were  transpiring, 
the  Zurichers  encamped  on  the  heights 
of  Cappel  to  the  number  of  about  one 
thousand  men,  fixed  their  eyes  on  Zug 
and  upon  the  lake,  attentively  watching 
every  movement.  On  a  sudden,  a  little 
before  night,  they  perceived  a  few  barks 
filled  with  soldiers  coming  from  the  side 
of  Arth,  and  rowing  across  the  lake 
towards  Zug.  Their  number  increases 
— one  boat  follows  another — soon  they 
distinctly  hear  the  bellowing  of  the  bull 
(the  horn)  of  Uri,f  and  they  discern  the 
banner.  The  barks  draw  near  Zug ; 
they  are  moored  to  the  shore,  which  is 
lined  with  an  immense  crowd.  The 
warriors  of  Uri  and  the  arquebusiers  of 
the  Adige  spring  up  and  leap  on  shore, 
where  they  are  received  with  acclama- 
tions, and  take  up  their  quarters  for  the 
night :  behold  the  enemies  assembled  ! 
The  council  are  informed  with  all  speed. 

The  agitation  was  still  greater  at  Zu- 
rich than  at  Cappel :  the  confusion  was 
increased  by  uncertainty.  The  enemy 
attacking  them  on  different  sides  at  once, 
they  knew  not  where  to  carry  assistance. 
Two  hours  after  midnight  five  hundred 
men  with  four  guns  quitted  the  city  for 
Bremgarten,  and  three  or  four  hundred 
men  with  five  guns  for  Wadenshwyl. 
They  turned  to  the  right  and  to  the  left, 
while  the  enemy  was  in  front. 

Alarmed  at  its  own  weakness,  the 
council  resolved  to  apply  without  delay 
to  the  cities  of  the  christian  co-burghery. 
"  As  this  revolt,"  wrote  they,  "  has  no 

*  Ein  startrer  Erdbidem,  der  das  Land,  auch 
Berg  und  Thai  gwaltiglich  ershutt.  (Tschudi, 
Helvetia,  ii.  p.  186.) 

f  Vil  schiffen  uff  Zag  faren,  und  hort  man 
luyen  den  Uri  Stier.     (Bull.  iii.  p.  109.) 


other  origin  than  the  Word  of  God,  we 
entreat  you  once — twice — thrice,  as  loud- 
ly, as  seriously,  as  firmly,  and  as  ear- 
nestly, as  our  ancient  alliances  and  our 
christian  co-burghery  permit  and  com- 
mand us  to  do — to  set  forth  without  de- 
lay with  all  your  forces.  Haste  !  haste  ! 
haste  !  Act  as  promptly  as  possible* — 
the  danger  is  yours  as  well  as  ours." 
Thus  spake  Zurich  ;  but  it  was  already 
too  late. 

At  break  of  day  the  banner  was  raised 
before  the  town-house  ;  instead  of  flaunt- 
ing proudly  in  the  wind,  it  hung  droop- 
ing down  the  staff — a  sad  omen  that 
filled  many  minds  with  fear.  Lavater 
took  up  his  station  under  the  standard  ; 
but  a  long  period  elapsed  before  a  few 
hundred  soldiers  could  be  got  together."]" 
In  the  square  and  in  all  the  city  disorder 
and  confusion  prevailed.  The  troops, 
fatigued  by  a  hasty  march  or  by  long 
waiting,  were  faint  and  discouraged. 

At  ten  o'clock,  only  700  men  were 
under  arms.  The  selfish,  the  lukewarm, 
the  friends  of  Rome  and  of  the  foreign 
pensioners,  had  remained  at  home.  A 
few  old  men  who  had  more  courage  than 
strength — several  members  of  the  two 
councils  who  were  devoted  to  the  holy 
cause  of  God's  Word — many  ministers 
of  the  Church  who  desired  to  live  and 
die  with  the  Reform — the  boldest  of  the 
townspeople  and  a  certain  number  of 
peasants,  especially  those  from  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  city — such  were  the  de- 
fenders who,  wanting  that  moral  force 
so  necessary  for  victory,  incompletely 
armed,  without  uniform,  crowded  in 
disorder  around  the  banner  of  Zurich. 

The  army  should  have  numbered  at 
least  4000  men  ;  they  waited  still  ;  the 
usual  oath  had  not  been  administered  ; 
and  yet  courier  after  courier  arrived, 
breathless  and  in  disorder,  announcing 
the  terrible  danger  that  threatened  Zu- 
rich. All  this  disorderly  crowd  is  agi- 
tated— they  no  longer  wait  for  the  com- 
mands of  their  chiefs,  and  many  without 
taking  the  oath  rush  through  the  gates. 
About  200  men  thus  set  out  in  confu- 
sion. All  those  who  remained  prepared 
to  depart. 

*  Ylentz,  ylentz,  ylentz,  uffs  aller  schnellist. 
(Bull.  iii.  p.  110.) 

t  Sammlet  sich  doch  das  volck  gmachsam 
(Ibid.  p.  112.) 


SWITZERLAND-CATASTROPHE. 


820 


Then  was  Zvv ingle  seen  to  issue  from 
a  house  before  which  a  caparisoned 
horse  was  stamping  impatiently  ;  it  was 
his  own.  His  look  was  firm,  but  dim- 
med by  sorrow.  He  parted  from  his 
wife,  his  children,  and  his  numerous 
friends,  without  deceiving  himself,  and 
with  a  bruised  heart.*  He  observed  the 
thick  waterspout,  which,  driven  by  a 
terrible  wind,  advanced  whirling  towards 
him.  Alas  !  he  had  himself  called  up 
this  hurricane  by  quitting  the  atmosphere 
of  the  Gospel  of  peace,  and  throwing 
himself  into  the  midst  of  political  pas- 
sions. He  was  convinced  that  he  would 
be  the  first  victim.  Fifteen  days  before 
the  attack  of  the  Waldstettes,  he  had 
said  from  the  pulpit :  "  I  know  what  is 
the  meaning  of  all  this  : — it  is  all  about 
me.  All  this  comes  to  pass — in  order 
that  I  may  die."f  The  council,  accord- 
ing to  an  ancient  custom,  had  called  upon 
him  to  accompany  the  army  as  its  chap- 
lain. Zwingle  did  not  hesitate.  He 
prepared  himself  without  surprise  and 
without  anger, — with  the  calmness  of  a 
Christian  who  placed  himself  confidently 
in  the  hands  of  his  God.  If  the  cause 
of  Reform  was  doomed  to  perish,  he  was 
ready  to  perish  with  it.  Surrounded  by 
his  weeping  wife  and  friends — by  his 
children  who  clung  to  his  garments  to 
detain  him,  he  quitted  that  house  where 
he  had  tasted  so  much  happiness.  At 
the  moment  that  his  hand  was  upon  his 
horse,  just  as  he  was  about  to  mount,  the 
animal  violently  started  back  several 
paces,  and  when  he  was  at  last  in  the 
saddle,  it  refused  for  a  time  to  move, 
rearing  and  prancing  backwards,  like 
that  horse  which  the  greatest  captain  of 
modern  times  had  mounted  as  he  was 
about  to  cross  the  Niemen.  Many  in 
Zurich  at  that  time  thought  with  the  sol- 
dier of  the  Grand  Army  when  he  saw 
Napoleon  on  the  ground  :  "  It  is  a  bad 
omen !  a  Roman  would  go  back  !"j 
Zwingle  having  at  last  mastered  his 
horse,  gave  the  reins,  applied  the  spur, 
started  forward,  and  disappeared. 

At  eleven  o'clock  the  flag  was  struck, 

*  Anna  Rheinhard  par  G.  Meyr  of  Knonau. 
(Bull.  iii.  p.  33.) 

fUt  ego  tollar  fiunt  omnia.  (De  vita  et 
obitu  Zwinglii,  Myconius.) 

%  Segur  :  "Hist,  de  Napoleon  et  de  la  Grande 
Armee,  i.  p.  142. 


and  all  who  remained  in  the  square — 
about   500    men — began    their    march 

along  with  it.  The  greater  pari  were 
torn  with  difficulty  from  the  arms  of 
their  families,  and  walked  sad  and  silent, 
as  if  they  were  going  to  the  Bcaffold  in- 
stead of  battle.  There  was  no  order — 
no  plan  ;  the  men  were  isolated  and 
scattered,  some  running  before,  some 
after  the  colours,  their  extreme  confu- 
sion presenting  a  fearful  appearance  ;* 
so  much  so,  that  those  who  remained  he- 
hind — the  women,  the  children,  and  the 
old  men,  filled  with  gloomy  forebodings, 
beat  their  breasts  as  they  saw  them  pass, 
and  many  years  after,  the  remembrance 
of  this  day  of  tumult  and  mourning  drew 
this  groan  from  Oswald  Myconius  : 
"  Whenever  I  recall  it  to  mind,  it  is  as 
if  a  sword  pierced  my  heart."  Zwingle, 
armed  according  to  the  usage  of  the 
chaplains  of  the  Confederation,  rode 
mournfully  behind  this  distracted  multi- 
tude. Myconius,  when  he  saw  him,  was 
nigh  fainting. f  Zwingle  disappeared, 
and  Oswald  remained  behind  to  weep. 

He  did  not  shed  tears  alone ;  in  all 
quarters  were  heard  lamentations,  and 
every  house  was  changed  into  a  house 
of  prayer.:}:  In  the  midst  of  this  univer- 
sal sorrow,  one  woman  remained  silent  ; 
her  only  cry  was  a  bitter  heart,  her  only 
language  the  mild  and  suppliant  eye  of 
faith: — this  was  Anna,  Zwingle's  wife. 
She  had  seen  her  husband  depart — her 
son,  her  brother,  a  great  number  of  inti- 
mate friends  and  near  relations,  whose 
approaching  death  she  foreboded.  But 
her  soul,  strong  as  that  of  her  husband, 
offered  to  God  the  sacrifice  pf  her  holiest 
affections.  Gradually  the  defenders  of 
Zurich  precipitate  their  march,  and  the 
tumult  dies  away  in  the  distance. 

VII.  This  night,  which  was  so  stormy 
in  Zurich,  had  not  been  calmer  at  Cappel. 
They  had  received  the  most  alarming  re- 
ports one  after  another.  It  was  necessa- 
ry to  take  up  a  position  that  would  allow 
the  troops  assembled  round  the  convent 

*  Nullus  ordo,  nulla  consilia.  nullae  mentes, 
tanta  animorum  dissonantia,  tam  horrenda  fa- 
des ante  et  post  signa  sparsim  currentium 
hominum.     (De  vita  et  ob.  Zwinglii.) 

f  Quern  ut  vidi  repentino  dolore  cordis  vix 
consistebam.     (Ibid.) 

X  Manebamus  non  certe  sine  jugibus  suspi- 
riis,  non  sine  precibus,  ad  Deum.     (Ibid.) 


830 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


to  resist  the  enemy's  attack  until  the  ar-|  stranger  to  whom  our  hands«have  been 
rival  of  the  reinforcements  that  were  ex-  extended,  and  all  the  disorders  in  which 


pected  from  the  city.  They  cast  their 
eyes  on  a  small  hill,  which  lying  to  the 
north  towards  Zurich,  and  traversed  by 
the  highroad,  presented  an  uneven  but 
sufficiently  extensive  surface.  A  deep 
ditch  that  surrounded  it  on  three  sides 
defended  the  approaches ;  but  a  small 
bridge,  that  was  the  only  issue  on  the 
side  of  Zurich,  rendered  a  precipitate  re- 
treat very  dangerous.  On  the  south-west 
was  a  wood  of  beech-trees ;  on  the  south, 
in  the  direction  of  Zug,  was  the  high- 
road and  a  marshy  valley.  "  Lead  us 
to  the  Granges,"  cried  all  the  soldiers. 
They  were  conducted  thither.  The  ar- 
tillery was  stationed  near  some  ruins. 
The  line  of  battle  was  drawn  up  on  the 
side  of  the  monastery  and  of  Zug,  and 
sentinels  were  placed  at  the  foot  of  the 
slope. 

Meantime,  the  signal  is  given  at  Zug 
and  Baar  :  the  drums  beat :  the  soldiers 
of  the  Five  Cantons  take  up  their  arms. 
A  universal  feeling  of  joy  animates  them. 
The  churches  are  opened,  the  bells  ring, 
and  the  serried  ranks  of  the  cantons  en- 
ter the  cathedral  of  St.  Oswald ;  Mass  is 
celebrated  ;  the  Host  is  offered  up  for 
the  sins  of  the  people,  and  all  the  army 
begin  their  march  at  nine  o'clock,  with 
banners  flying.  The  avoyer  John  Golder 
commands  the  contingent  of  Lucerne  ; 
the  landamman  Jacques  Troguer,  that 
of  Uri ;  the  landamman  Rychmut,  a 
mortal  enemy  of  the  Reformation,  that 
of  Schwytz;  the  landamman  Zellger,that 
of  Unterwalden  ;  and  Oswald  Dooss  that 
of  Zug.  Eight  thousand  men  march  in 
order  of  battle :  all  the  picked  men  of 
the  Five  Cantons  are  there.  Fresh  and 
active  after  a  quiet  night,  and  having  only 
one  short  league  to  cross  before  reaching 
the  enemy,  these  haughty  Waldstettes 
advance  with  a  firm  and  regular  step 
under  the  command  of  their  chiefs. 

On  reaching  the  common  meadow  of 
Zug,  they  halt  to  take  the  oath :  every 
hand  is  upraised  to  heaven,  and  all  swear 
to  avenge  themselves.  They  were  about 
to  resume  their  march,  when  some  aged 
men  made  signs  to  them  to  stop.  "  Com- 
rades," they  said,  "  we  have  long  offended 
God.  Our  blasphemies,  our  oaths,  our 
wars,  our  revenge,  our  pride,  our  drunk- 
enness, our  adulteries,  the  gold  of  the 


we  have  indulged,  have  so  provoked  his 
anger,  that  if  he  should  punish  us  to-day, 
we  should  only  receive  the  desert  of  our 
crimes."  The  emotion  of  the  chiefs  had 
passed  into  the  ranks.  All  the  army 
bend  the  knee  in  the  midst  of  the  plain  ; 
deep  silence  prevails,  and  every  soldier, 
with  bended  head,  crosses  himself  de- 
voutly, and  repeats  in  a  low  voice  five 
paters,  as  many  aves,  and  the  credo.  One 
might  have  said  that  they  were  for  a  time 
in  the  midst  of  a  vast  and  stilly  desert. 
Suddenly  the  noise  of  an  immense  crowd 
is  again  heard.  The  army  rises  up. 
"  SoMiers,"  said  the  captains,  "you  know 
the  cause  of  this  war.  Bear  your  wives 
and  your  children  continually  before 
your  eyes." 

Then  the  chief  usher  [grand  sautier) 
of  Lucerne,  wearing  the  colours  of  the 
canton,  approaches  the  chiefs  of  the  army: 
they  place  in  his  hands  the  declaration 
of  war,  dated  on  that  very  day,  and 
sealed  with  the  arms  of  Zug.  He  then 
sets  off  on  horseback,  preceded  by  a 
trumpeter,  to  carry  this  paper  to  the 
commander  of  the  Zurichers. 

It  was  eleven  in  the  morning.  The 
Zurichers  soon  discovered  the  enemy's 
army,  and  cast  a  sorrowful  glance  on  the 
small  force  they  were  able  to  oppose  to 
it.  Every  minute  the  danger  increased. 
All  bent  their  knees,  their  eyes  were 
raised  to  heaven,  and  every  Zuricher 
uttered  a  cry  from  the  bottom  of  his  heart, 
praying  for  deliverance  from  God.  As 
soon  as  the  prayer  was  ended,  they  got 
ready  for  battle.  There  were  at  that 
time  about  twelve  hundred  men  under 
arms. 

At  noon  the  trumpet  of  the  Five  Can- 
tons sounded  not  far  from  the  advanced 
posts.  Goldli,  having  collected  the  mem- 
bers of  the  two  councils  who  happened 
to  be  with  the  army,  as  well  as  the  com- 
missioned and  non-commissioned  officers, 
and  having  ranged  them  in  a  circle,  or- 
dered the  secretary  Rheinhard  to  read 
the  declaration  of  which  the  Sautier  of 
Lucerne  was  the  bearer.  After  the 
reading,  Goldli  opened  a  council  of  war. 
"  We  are  few  in  number,  and  the  forces 
of  our  adversaries  are  great,"  said  Lan- 
dolt,  bailiff  of  Marpac,  "  but  I  will  here 
await  the  enemy  in  the  name  of  God." 


SWITZERLAND— CATASTROPHE. 


831 


"Wait!"  cried  the  captain  of  the  hal- 
berdiers, Rodolph  Zigler  ;  "  impossible  ! 
let  us  rather  take  advantage  of  the  ditch 
that  cuts  the  road  to  effect  our  retreat, 
and  let  us  everywhere  raise  a  levee  en 
masse."  This  was  in  truth  the  only 
means  of  safety.  But  Rudi  Gallmann, 
considering  every  step  backwards  as  an 
act  of  cowardice,  cried  out,  stamping  his 
feet  forcibly  on  the  earth,  and  casting  a 
fiery  glance  around  him,  "  Here — here 
shall  be  my  grave  !"* — "  It  is  now  too 
late  to  retire  with  honour,"  said  other 
officers.  "This  day  is  in  the  hands  of 
God.  Let  us  suffer  whatever  he  lays 
upon  us."     It  was  put  to  the  vote. 

The  members  of  the  council  had 
scarcely  raised  their  hands  in  token  of 
assent,  when  a  great  noise  was  heard 
around  them.  "  The  captain  !  the  cap- 
tain !"  cried  a  soldier  from  the  outposts 
who  arrived  in  haste.  "  Silence,  silence !" 
replied  the  ushers,  driving  him  back  ; 
"they  are  holding  a  council!" — "It  is 
no  longer  time  to  hold  a  council,"  replied 
the  soldier.  "  Conduct  me  immediately 
to  the  captain.".  ..."  Our  sentinels  are 
falling  back,"  cried  he  with  an  agitated 
voice,  as  he  arrived  before  Goldli.  "  The 
enemy  is  there — they  are  advancing 
through  the  forest  with  all  their  forces 
and  with  great  tumult."  He  had  not 
ceased  speaking,  before  the  sentinels, 
who  were  in  truth  retiring  on  all  sides, 
ran  up,  and  the  army  of  the  Five  Can- 
tons was  soon  seen  climbing  the  slope  of 
Ifelsberg  in  face  of  the  Granges,  and 
pointing  their  guns.  The  leaders  of  the 
Waldstettes  were  examining  the  position, 
and  seeking  to  discover  by  what  means 
their  army  could  reach  that  of  Zurich. 
The  Zurichers  were  asking  themselves 
the  same  question.  The  nature  of  the 
ground  prevented  the  Waldstettes  from 
passing  below  the  convent,  but  they  could 
arrive  by  another  quarter.  Ulric  B  ai- 
der, under  bailiff  of  Husen  in  the  canton 
of  Zurich,  fixed  his  anxious  look  on  the 
beech-wood.  "  It  is  thence  that  the 
enemy  will  fall  upon  us  !"  "  Axes — 
axes  !"  immediately  cried  several  voices  ; 
"  let  us  cut  down  the  trees  !"f  Goldli, 
the  abbot,  and  several  others,  were  op 

*  Da,  da  mus  min  Rilchhof  sin.  (Bull.  ii. 
p.  118) 

t  Ettliche  schriiwend  nach  Achsen  das  man 
das  Waldi  verhallte.  )  (Bull.  iii.  p.  118.) 


posed  to  this :  "If  we  stop  up  the  wood, 
by  throwing  down  tlie  trees,  we  shall 
ourselves  be  unable  to  work  our  guns  in 
that  direction,"  s;ii<l  they. — "  Well  !  at 
least  let  us  place  sonic  arquebusiera  in 
that  quarter." — "We  arc  already  s> 
small  a  number,"  replied  the  captain, 
"  that  it  will  be  imprudent  to  divide  the 
forces."  Neither  wisdom  nor  courage 
were  to  save  Zurich.  They  once  morel 
invoked  the  help  of  God,  and  waited  in 
expectation. 

At  one  o'clock  the  Five  Cantons  fired 
the  first  gun  :  the  ball  passing  over  the 
convent,  fell  below  the  Granges  ;  a 
second  passed  over  the  line  of  battle  ;  a 
third  struck  a  hedge  close  to  the  ruins. 
The  Zurichers,  seeing  the  battle  was  be- 
gun, replied  with  courage ;  but  the  slow- 
ness and  awkwardness  with  which  the 
artillery  was  served  in  those  days  pre- 
vented any  great  loss  being  inflicted  on 
either  side.  When  the  enemy  perceived 
this,  they  ordered  their  advanced  guard 
to  descend  from  Ifelsberg  and  to  reach 
the  Granges  through  the  meadow  ;  and 
soon  the  whole  army  of  the  Cantons  ad- 
vanced in  this  direction,  but  with  diffi- 
culty and  over  bad  roads.  Some  arque- 
busiers of  Zurich  came  and  announced 
the  disorder  of  the  Cantons.  "  Brave 
Zurichers,"  cried  Rudi  Gallmann,  "  if  we 
attack  them  now,  it  is  all  over  with  them." 
At  these  words  some  of  the  soldiers  pre- 
pared to  enter  the  wood  on  the  left,  to  fall 
upon  the  disheartened  Waldstettes.  But 
Goldli  perceiving  this  movement,  cried 
out :  "  Where  are  you  going  ? — do  you 
not  know  that  we  have  agreed  not  to 
separate  ?"  He  then  ordered  the  skir- 
mishers to  be  recalled,  so  that  the  wood 
remained  entirely  open  to  the  enemy. 
They  were  satisfied  with  discharging  a 
k\v  random  shots  from  time  to  time  to 
prevent  the  Cantons  from  establishing 
themselves  there.  The  firing  of  the 
artillery  continued  until  three  o'clock, 
and  announced  far  and  wide,  even  to 
Bremgarten  and  Zurich,  that  the  battle 
had  begun. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  great  banner  of 
Zurich  and  all  those  who  surrounded  it, 
among  whom  was  Zwingle,  came  ad- 
vancing in  disorder  towards  the  Albis. 
For  a  year  past  the  gaiety  of  the  re- 
former had  entirely  disappeared :  he  was 
grave,  melancholy,  easily  moved,  having 


832 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


a  weight  on  his  heart  that  seemed  to 
crush  it.  Often  would  he  throw  himself 
weeping  at  the  feet  of  his  Master,  and 
seek  in  prayer  the  strength  of  which  he 
stood  in  need.  No  one  had  ever  ob- 
served in  him  any  irritation ;  on  the  con- 
trary, he  had  received  with  mildness  the 
counsels  that  had  been  offered,  and  had 
remained  tenderly  attached  to  men 
whose  convictions  were  not  the  same  as 
his  own.  He  was  now  advancing  mourn- 
fully along  the  road  to  Cappel ;  and  John 
Maaler  of  Winterthour,  who  was  riding 
a  few  paces  behind  him,  heard  his  groans 
and  sighs,  intermingled  with  fervent 
prayers.  If  any  one  spoke  to  him,  he 
was  found  firm  and  strong  in  the  peace 
that  proceeds  from  faith  ;  but  he  did  not 
conceal  his  conviction  that  he  should 
never  see  his  family  or  church  again. 
Thus  advanced  the  forces  of  Zurich.  A 
woful  march !  resembling  rather  a  funeral 
procession  then  an  army  going  to  battle. 

As  they  approached  they  saw  express 
after  express  gallopping  along  the  road 
from  Cappel,  begging  the  Zurichers  to 
hasten  to  the  defence  of  their  brothers.* 

At  Adliswil,  having  passed  the  bridge 
under  which  flow  the  impetuous  waters 
of  the  Sihl,  and  traversed  the  village 
through  the  midst  of  women,  children, 
and  old  men,  who,  standing  before  their 
cottages,  looked  with  sadness  on  this 
disorderly  troop,  they  began  to  ascend 
the  Albis.  They  were  about  half  way 
from  Cappel  when  the  first  cannon-shot 
was  heard.  They  stop,  they  listen  :  a 
second,  a  third  succeeds.  .  .  .  There  is  no 
longer  any  doubt.  The  glory,  the  very 
existence  of  the  republic  are  endangered, 
and  they  are  not  present  to  defend  it ! 
The  blood  curdles  in  their  veins.  On  a 
sudden  they  arouse,  and  each  one  begins 
to  run  to  the  support  of  his  brothers.  But 
the  road  over  the  Albis  was  much 
steeper  than  it  is  in  our  days.  The 
badly  harnessed  artillery  could  not 
ascend  it ;  the  old  men,  the  citizens, 
little  habituated  to  marching,  and  covered 
with  weighty  armour,  advanced  with 
difficulty :  and  yet  they  formed  the 
greater  portion  of  the  troops.  They 
were  seen  stopping  one  after  another, 
panting  and  exhausted,  along  the  sides 

*  Dan  ein  Manung  uffdie  atider,  von  Cappel 
kamm.     (Bull.  iii.  p.  1]3.) 


of  the  road  near  the  thickets  and  ravines 
of  the  Albis,  leaning  against  a  beech  or 
an  ash  tree,  and  looking  with  dispirited 
eyes  to  the  summit  of  the  mountain  co- 
vered with  thick  pines. 

They  resume  their  march,  however ; 
the  horsemen  and  the  most  intrepid  of 
the  foot-soldiers  hasten  onwards,  and 
having  reached  the  "  Beech  Tree,"  on 
the  top  of.  the  mountain,  halt  to  take 
council. 

What  a  prospect  then  extended  before 
their  eyes !  Zurich,  the  lake  and  its 
smiling  shores — those  orchards,  those 
fertile  fields,  those  vine-clad  hills,  almost 
the  whole  of  the  canton.  Alas  !  soon, 
perhaps,  to  be  devastated  by  the  Forest- 
bands. 

•  Scarcely  had  these  noble-minded  men 
begun  to  deliberate,  when  fresh  messen- 
gers from  Cappel  appear  before  them 
and  exclaim,  "  Hasten  forwards  !  "  At 
these  words  many  of  the  Zurichers  pre- 
pared to  gallop  towards  the  enemy.* 
Toning,  the  captain  of  the  arquebusiers, 
stopt  them.  "  My  good  friends,"  cried 
he  to  them,  "  against  such  great  forces 
what  can  we  do  alone  ?  Let  us  wait 
here  until  our  people  are  assembled,  and 
then  let  us  fall  upon  the  enemy  with  the 
whole  army." — "  Yes,  if  we  had  an 
army,"  bitterly  replied  the  captain-gene- 
ral, who,  in  despair  of  saving  the  repub- 
lic, thought  only  of  dying  with  glory  ; 
"  but  we  have  only  a  banner  and  no  sol- 
diers."— "Flow  can  we  stay  calmly 
upon  these  heights,"  said  Zwingle, 
"  while  we  hear  the  shots  that  are  fired 
at  our  fellow-citizens  ?  In  the  name  of 
God  I  will  march  towards  our  warriors, 
prepared  to  die  in  order  to  save  them."")" 
— "  And  I  too,"  added  the  aged  banneret 
Schweizer.  "As  for  you,"  continued 
he,  turning  with  a  contemptuous  look  to- 
wards Toning,  "  wait  till  you  are  a  little 
recovered." — "  I  am  quite  as  much  re- 
freshed as  you,"  replied  Toning,  the  co- 
lour mantling  on  his  face,  "  and  you 
shall  soon  see  whether  I  cannot  fight." 
All  hastened  their  steps  towards  the  field 
of  battle. 

The  descent  is  rapid  ;    they   plunge 

*  Uff  rossen  h'aftig  ylttend  zum  augriff. 
(Bull.  iii.  p.  113.) 

f  Ich  will  Kacht,  in  den  namen  Gotts,  zu 
den  biderben  luten  und  willig  mitt  und  under 
inen  sterben.     (Ibid.  p.  123.) . 


SWITZERLAND— CATASTROPHE. 


83H 


into  the  woods,  pass  through  the  village  I  paring  the  skilful  manoeuvre  that  was  to 


of  Husen,  and  at  length  arrive  near  the 
Granges.  It  was  three  o'clock  when 
the  banner  crossed  the  narrow  bridge 
that  led  thither  ;  and  there  were  so  few- 
soldiers  round  it  that  every  one  trembled 
as  he  beheld  this  venerated  standard  thus 
exposed  to  the  attacks  of  so  formidable 
an  enemy.  The  army  of  the  Cantons 
was  at  that  moment  deploying  before  the 
eyes  of  the  new-comers.  Zwingle  gazed 
upon  this  terrible  spectacle.  Behold, 
then,  these  phalanxes  of  soldiers  ! — a 
few  minutes  more,  and  the  labours  of 
eleven  years  will  be  destroyed  perhaps 
for  ever!.... 

A  citizen  of  Zurich,  one  Leonard 
Bourkhard,  who  was  ill-disposed  towards 
the  reformer,  said  to  him  in  a  harsh  tone, 
"  Well,  Master  Ulric,  what  do  you  say 
about  this  business?  Are  the  radishes 
salt  enough  ?...who  will  eat  them  now  ?"* 
"  I,"  replied  Zwingle,  "  and  many  a 
brave  man  who  is  here  in  the  hands  of 
God ;  for  we  are  his  in  life  and  in 
death."— "And  I  too — I  will  help  eat 
them,"  resumed  Bourkhard  immediately, 
ashamed  of  his  brutality, — "  I  will  risk 
my  life  for  them."  And  he  did  so,  and 
many  others  With  him,  adds  the  chroni- 
cle. 
"  It  was  four  o'clock ;  the  sun  was 
sinking  rapidly  ;  the  Waldstettes  did  not 
advance,  and  the  Zurichers  began  to 
think  that  the  attack  would  be  put  off 
till  the  morrow.  In  fact,  the  chiefs  of 
the  Five  Cantons  seeing  the  great  banner 
of  Zurich  arrive,  the  night  near  at  hand, 
and  the  impossibility  of  crossing  under 
the  fire  of  the  Zurichers  the  marsh  and 
the  ditch  that  separated  the  combatants, 
were  looking  for  a  place  in  which  their 
troops  might  pass  the  night.  "  If,  at 
this  moment,  any  mediators  had  appear- 
ed," says  Bullinger,  "  their  proposals 
would  have  been  accepted." 

The  soldiers,  observing  the  hesitation 
of  their  chiefs,  began  to  murmur  loudly. 
"  The  big  ones  abandon  us,"  said  one. 
"  The  captains  fear  to  bite  the  fox's  tail," 
said  another.  "  Not  to  attack  them," 
cried  they  all,  "  is  to  ruin  our  cause." 
During  this  time  a  daring  man  was  pre- 

*  Sind  die  Ruben  gesaltzen !  wer  will  sie 
ausessen.     (J.  J.  Hott.  iii.  p.  383.) 


decide    the    late   of  the  day.      A  warrior 
of  Uri,  John  Jauch,  formerly  bailiff  of 

Sargans,    a  good    marksman    and    expe- 
rienced soldier,  having  taken  a  few  men 
with  him,  moved  towards  the  right  of  the 
army  of  the   Five   Cantons,    crept    into 
the  midst  of  the   clump  of  beech-trees 
that,  by  forming  a  semicircle  to  the  east, 
unite  the  hill  of  [felsberg  to  thai  of  the 
Granges,*    found   the    u 1    empty,    ar- 
rived  to  within    a    (vw   paces  of'tiie  Zu- 
riehers,  and   there,    hidden    b  (hind  the 
trees,  remarked  unperceived  the  small- 
ness  of  their  numbers,  and  their  want  of 
caution.      Then,  stealthily   retiring,  he 
went   to   the  chiefs  at  the  very  moment 
the  discontent  was  on  the  point  of  burst- 
ing out.     "  Now  •  is  the  time  to  attack 
the  enemy,"  cried  he.     "  Dear  gossip," 
replied  Troquer,  captain-in-chief  of  Uri, 
"  you  do  not  mean  to  say  that  wo  should 
set  to  work  at  so  late  an  hour  ;  besides, 
the   men   are  preparing  their  quarters, 
and   everybody  knows  what  it  cost  our 
fathers  at  Naples  and  Marignan  for  hav- 
ing commenced  the  attack  a  little  before 
night.     And  then  it  is  Innocents'  day, 
and  our  ancestors  have  never  given  bat- 
tle  on    a    feast-day. "f— "Don't    think 
about   the  Innocents  of  the   calendar," 
replied  Jauch,  "  but  let  us  rather  remem- 
ber the  innocents  that  we  have  left  in  our 
cottages."     Gaspard  Goldli  of   Zurich, 
brother  of  the  commander  of  the  Granges, 
added  his  entreaties  to  those  of  the  war- 
rior of  Uri.     "  We  must  either  beat  the 
Zurichers   to-night,"    said    he,    "or    be 
beaten  by  them  to-morrow.     Take  your 
choice." 

All  was  unavailing ;  the  chiefs  were 
inflexible,  and  the  army  prepared  to  take 
up  its  quarters.  Then  the  warrior  of 
Uri,  understanding  like  his  fellow-coun- 
tryman Tell  that  great  evils  require 
great  remedies,  drew  his  sword  and 
cried  :  "  Let  all  true  confederates  follow 
me."t     Then  hastily  leaping  to  his  sad- 


*  This  wood  no  longer  connects  the  two 
hills.  The  present  pastor  of  Cappel  told  me 
that  when  first  he  went  into  that  district  the 
wood  was  much  more  extensive  than  it  is  at 
present. 

t  Au  einem  solchen  Tag  Blut  ze  vergiessen. 
(Tschudi,  Helv.  ii.  p.  189.) 

J  Welche  redlicher  Eidgnossen  wart  sind, 
die  louffind  uns  nach.     (Bull.  iii.  p.  525.) 


834 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


die,  he  spurred  his  horse  into  the  forest  ;* 
and   immediately  arquebusiers,   soldiers 
from  the  Adige,  and   many   other  war- 
riors of    the    Five    Cantons,    especially 
from  Unterwalden — in  all  about  300  men, 
rushed  into  the  wood  after  him.     At  this 
sight  Jauch  no  longer  doubts  of  the  vic- 
tory of  the  Waldstettes.     He  dismounts 
and   falls   upon    his  knees,   "  for,"  says 
Tschudi,    "he  was  a  man  who   feared 
God."     All  his  followers  do  the  same, 
and  together  invoke  the  aid  of  God,  of 
his  holy  mother,  and  of  ail  the  heavenly 
host.     They  then  advance  ;  but  soon  the 
warrior  of  Uri,  wishing  to  expose  no  one 
but  himself,  halts  his  troops,  and  glides 
from  tree  to  tree  to  the  verge  of  the  wood. 
Observing  that  the  enemy  was  as  incau- 
tious as  ever,  he  rejoins  his  arquebusiers, 
leads  them  stealthily  forward,  and  posts 
them  silently   behind    the    trees  of   the 
forest,!  enjoining  them  to  take  their  aim 
so  as  not  to  miss   their   men.     During 
this  time  the  chiefs  of  the  Five  Cantons, 
foreseeing  that  this  rash  man  was  about 
to  bring  on  the   action,  decided  against 
their  will,    and  collected  their  soldiers 
around  the  banners. 

VIII.  The  Zurichers,  fearing  that  the 
enemy  would  seize  upon  the  road  that 
led  to  their  capital,  were   then  directing 
part  of  their  troops  and  their  guns  to  a 
low  hill   by  which  it  was   commanded. 
At  the  very  moment  that  the  invisible 
arquebusiers  stationed  among  the  beech 
trees  were  taking  their  aim,  this  detach- 
ment passed  near  the  little  wood.     The 
deepest  silence  prevails  in  this  solitude  : 
each  one  posted  there  picks  out  the  man 
he  desires  to  bring  down,  and  Jauch  ex- 
claims :  "  In  the  name  of  the  Holy  Tri- 
nity— of  God  the  Father,  the  Son,  and 
the  Holy  Ghost — of  the  Holy  Mother  of 
God,   and   of   all  the    heavenly    host — 
fire !"     At  the  word  the    deadly  balls 
issue   from  the   wood,  and  a  murderous 
carnage  in  the   ranks  of  Zurich  follows 
this    terrible    discharge.       The    battle, 
which   had  begun  four  hours   ago,  and 
which  had  never  appeared  to  be  a  seri- 
ous attack,   now  underwent  an   unfore- 


*  Sass  ylends  wiederum  uff  sin  Ross.  (Tschu 
di,  Helv.  ii.  p.  191.) 

•f-  Zertheilt  die  Hagken  hinter  die  Baum  im 
Wald  in  grosser  Stjtle.  (Tschudi,  Helv.  ii.  p. 
191.) 


seen  change.     The  sword  was  not  again 
to  be  returned  to  the   scabbard   until  it 
had   been  bathed   in  torrents   of  blood. 
Those   of  the    Zurichers  who   had    not 
fallen  at  this  first  discharge,  lie   flat  on 
the  ground,  so  that  the  balls  pass  over 
their  heads  ;  but  they  soon  spring  up, 
saying  :  "  Shall  we  allow  ourselves  to  be 
butchered  ?     No  !  let  us  rather    attack 
the   enemy !"     Lavater  seizes  a  lance, 
and  rushing  into  the  foremost  rank  ex- 
claims :  "  Soldiers,   uphold  the    honour 
of  God   and  of  our   lords,   and    behave 
like  brave  men  !"     Zwingle,  silent  and 
collected,  like  nature  before  the  bursting 
of  the  tempest,  was  there  also  halberd  in 
hand.     "  Master  Ulric,"   said   Bernard 
Sprungli,    "speak    to    the    people    and 
encourage    them."      "  Warriors  !"  said 
Zwingle,  "  fear  nothing.     If  we  are  this 
day  to    be  defeated,   still  our  cause  is 
good.     Commend  yourselves  to   God !" 
The  Zurichers  quickly  turn  the  artil- 
lery they  were  dragging  to  another  quar- 
ter, and  point  it   against  the  wood ;  but 
their  bullets,  instead  of  striking  the  ene- 
my, only  reach  the  top  of  the  trees,  and 
tear  off  a  few  branches  that  fall  upon  the 
skirmishers.* 

Rychmuth,  the  landamman  of 
Schwytz,  came  up  at  a  gallop  to  recall 
the  volunteers  ;  but  seeing  the  battle  be- 
gun, he  ordered  the  whole  army  to  ad- 
vance. Immediately  the  five  banners 
moved  forward. 

But  already  Jauch's  skirmishers,  rush- 
in  o-  from  among  the  trees,  had  fallen  im- 
petuously upon  the  Zurichers,  charging 
with  their  long  and  pointed  halberds. 
"Heretics!  sacrilegists !"  cried  they, 
"  we  have  you  at  last  !" — "  Man-sellers, 
idolaters,  impious  Papists  !"  replied  the 
Zurichers,  "  is  it  really  you  ?"  At  first 
a  shower  of  stones  fell  from  both  par- 
ties and  wounded  several  ;  immediately 
they  come  to  close  quarters.  The  re- 
sistance of  the  Zurichers  was  terrible. f 
Each  struck  with  the  sword  or  with  the 
halberd  :  at  last  the  soldiers  of  the  Five 
Cantons  were  driven  back  in  disorder. 
The  Zurichers  advanced,  but  in  so  doing 
lost  the  advantages  of  their  position, 
and  got  entangled  in  the   marsh.     Some 


*  Denn  das  die  Aest  auf  sie  fielent.  (Tschu- 
di, p.  182.) 

f  Der  angriff'  war  hart  und  wahrt  dcr  Wie- 
derstand  ein  gute  Wyl.     (Tschudi,  p.  192.) 


SWITZERLAND-CATASTROPHE. 


835 


Roman-catholic  historians  pretend  that 
this  flight  of  their  troops  was  a  strata- 
gem to  draw  the  Zurichers  into  the 
snare.* 

In  the  mean  time  the  army  of  the 
Five  Cantons  hasten  through  the  wood. 
Burning  with  courage  and  with  anger, 
they  eagerly  quicken  their  steps  ;  from 
the  midst  of  the  beech-trees  there  re- 
sounded a  confused  and  savage  noise — a 
frightful  murmur ;  the  ground  shook  ; 
one  might  have  said  that  the  forest  was 
uttering  a  horrible  roar,  or  that  witches 
were  holding  their  nocturnal  revels. f 
In  vain  do  the  bravest  of  the  Zurichers 
offer  an  intrepid  resistance  :  the  Wald- 
stettes  have  the  advantage  in  every  quar- 
ter. "  They  are  surrounding  us,"  cried 
some.  "  Our  men  are  fleeing,"  said 
others.  A  man  from  the  canton  of  Zug, 
mingling  with  the  Zurichers,  and  pre- 
tending to  be  of  their  party,  exclaims  : 
"  Fly,  fly,  brave  Zurichers,  you  are  be- 
trayed !"  Thus  everything  is  against 
Zurich.  Even  the  hand  of  Him  who  is 
the  disposer  of  battles,  turns  against  this 
people.  Thus  was  it  also  in  times  of 
old  that  God  frequently  chastised  his 
own  people  of  Israel  by  the  Assyrian 
sword.  A  panic  terror  seizes  upon  the 
bravest,  and  the  disorder  spreads  every- 
where with  frightful  rapidity. 

In  the  meanwhile  the  aged  Schweizer 
had  raised  the  great  banner  with  a  firm 
hand,  and  all  the  picked  men  of  Zurich 
were  drawn  up  around  it ;  but  soon  their 
ranks  were  thinned.  John  Kammli, 
charged  with  the  defence  of  the  stand- 
ard, having  observed  the  small  number 
of  combatants  that  remained  upon  the 
field  of  battle,  said  to  the  banneret : 
"  Let  us  lower  the  banner,  my  lord,  and 
save  it,  for  our  people  are  flying  shame- 
fully :" — "  Warriors,  remain  firm,"  re- 
plied the  aged  banneret,  whom  no  dan- 
ger had  ever  shaken.  The  disorder 
augmented — the  number  of  fugitives 
increased  every  minute  ;  the  old  man 
stood  fast,  amazed  and  immoveable  as 
an  aged  oak  beaten  by  a  frightful  hur- 
ricane.    He  received  unflinchingly  the 

*  Catholici  autem,  positis  insidiis,  retroces- 
serunt,  fugam  simulantes.  (Cochlceus,  Acta 
Luth.  p.  214.) 

f  Der  Boden  erzittert ;  und  nit  anders  war, 
denn  als  ob  der  Wald  lut  bruelete.  (Tschudi, 
p.  123.) 

106 


blows  that  fell  upon  him,  and  alone  re- 
sisted the  terrible  storm.  Kammli  seized 
him  by  the  arm  :  "  My  lord,"  said  he 
again,  "lower  the  banner,  or  else  we 
shall  lose  it :  there  is  no  more  glory  to 
be  reaped  here !"  The  banneret,  who 
was  already  mortally  wounded,  exclaim- 
ed :  "  Alas  !  must  the  city  of  Zurich  be 
so  punished  !"  Then,  dragged  off  bys> 
Kammli,  who  held  him  by  the  arm,  he 
retreated  as  far  as  the  ditch.  The 
weight  of  years,  and  the  wounds  with 
which  he  was  covered,  did  not  permit 
him  to  cross  it.  He  fell  in  the  mire  at 
the  bottom,  still  holding  the  glorious 
standard,  whose  folds  dropped  on  the 
other  bank. 

The  enemy  ran  up  with  loud  shouts, 
being  attracted  by  the  colours  of  Zu- 
rich, as  the  bull  by  the  gladiator's  flag. 
Kammli  seeing  this,  unhesitatingly  leaps 
to  the  bottom  of  the  ditch,  and  lays  hold 
of  the  stiff  and  dying  hands  of  his  chief, 
in  order  to  preserve  the  precious  ensign, 
which  they  tightly  grasped.  But  it  is  in 
vain ;  the  hands  of  the  aged  Schweizer 
will  not  loose  the  standard.  "  My  lord 
banneret !"  cried  this  faithful  servant,  "it 
is  no  longer  in  your  power  to  defend  it." 
The  hands  of  the  banneret,  already  stiff- 
ened in  death,  still  refuse  ;  upon  which 
Kammli  violently  tears  away  the  sacred 
standard,  leaps  upon  the  other  bank,  and 
rushes  with  his  treasure  far  from  the 
steps  of  the  enemy.  The  last  Zurichers 
at  this  moment  reach  the  ditch,  they  fall 
one  after  another  upon  the  expiring  ban- 
neret, and  thus  hasten  his  death. 

Kammli,  however,  having  received  a 
wound  from  a  gun-shot,  his  march  was 
retarded,  and  soon  the  Waldstettes  sur- 
round him  with  their  swords.  The  Zu- 
richer,  holding  the  banner  in  one  hand, 
and  his  sword  in  the  other,  defends  him- 
self bravely.  One  of  the  Waldstettes 
catches  hold  of  the  staff — another  seizes 
the  flag  itself  and  tears  it.  Kammli  with 
one  blow  of  his  sword  cuts  down  the 
former,  and  striking  around  him,  calls 
out :  "  To  the  rescue,  brave  Zurichers ! 
save  the  honour  and  the  banner  of  our 
lords."  The  assailants  increase  in  num- 
ber, and  the  warrior  is  about  to  fall, 
when  Adam  Nseff  of  Wollenwyd  rushes 
up  sword  in  hand,  and  the  head  of  the 
Waldstette  who  had  torn  the  colours  rolls 
upon  the  plain,  and  his  blood  gushes  out 


836 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


upon  the  flag  of  Zurich.  Dumysen, 
member  of  the  Smaller  Council,  supports 
Naeff  with  his  halberd,  and  both  deal 
such  lusty  blows,  that  they  succeed  in 
disengaging  the  standard-bearer.  He, 
although  dangerously  wounded,  springs 
forward,  holding  the  blood-stained  folds 
of  the  banner  in  one  hand,  which  he 
carries  off  hastily,  dragging  the  staff  be- 
hind him.  With  fierce  look  and  fiery 
eye,  he  thus  passes  sword  in  hand  through 
the  midst  of  friends  and  enemies  :  he 
crosses  plains,  woods,  and  marshes,  every- 
where leaving  traces  of  his  blood,  which 
flows  from  numerous  wounds.  Two  of 
his  enemies,  one  from  Schwytz,  the  other 
from  Zug — were  particularly  eager  in 
his  pursuit.  "  Heretic  !  villain  !"  cried 
they,  "  surrender  and  give  us  the  ban- 
ner."— "  You  shall  have  my  life  first," 
replied  the  Zuricher.  Then  the  two 
hostile  soldiers,  who  were  embarrassed 
by  their  cuirasses,  stopped  a  moment  to 
take  them  off.  Kammli  took  advantage 
of  this  to  get  in  advance  :  he  ran  ;  Hu- 
ber,  Dumysen,  and  Dantler  of  Naenikon 
were  at  his  side.  They  all  four  thus 
arrived  near  Husen,  half-way  up  the  Al- 
bis.  They  had  still  to  climb  the  steepest 
part  of  the  mountain.  Huber  falls  cover- 
ed with  wounds.  Dumysen,  the  colonel- 
general,  who  had  fought  as  a  private 
soldier,  almost  reaches  the  church  of 
Husen,  and  there  he  falls  lifeless  :  and 
two  of  his  sons,  in  the  flower  of  youth, 
soon  lie  stretched  on  the  battle-field 
that  has  drunk  their  father's  blood. 
Kammli  takes  a  few  steps  further  ;  but 
halts  erelong,  exhausted  and  panting,  near 
a  hedge  that  he  would  have  to  clear,  and 
discovers  his  two  enemies,  and  other 
Waldstettes  running  from  all  sides,  like 
birds  of  prey,  towards  the  wavering 
standard  of  Zurich.  The  strength  of 
Kammli  sinks  rapidly,  his  eyes  grow  dim, 
thick  darkness  surrounds  him  :  a  hand 
of  lead  fastens  him  to  the  ground.  Then, 
mustering  all  his  expiring  strength,  he 
flings  the  standard  on  the  other  side  of 
the  hedge,  exclaiming :  "  Is  there  any 
brave  Zuricher  near  me  ?  Let  him  pre- 
serve the  banner  and  the  honour  of  our 
lords  !  As  for  me,  I  can  do  no  more  !" 
Then  casting  a  last  look  to  heaven,  he 
adds  :  "  May  God  be  my  helper  !"  He 
fell  exhausted  by  this  last  effort.  Dantzler, 
who  came  up,   flung   away  his  sword, 


sprung  over  the  hedge,  seized  the  banner, 
and  cried,  "  With  the  aid  of  God,  I  will 
carry  it  off."  He  then  rapidly  climbed 
the  Albis,  and  at  last  placed  the  ancient 
standard  of  Zurich  in  safety.  God,  on 
whom  these  warriors  fixed  all  their  hopes, 
had  heard  their  prayers,  but  the  noblest 
blood  of  the  republic  had  been  spilt. 

The  enemy  were  victorious  at  all 
points.  The  soldiers  of  the  Five  Can- 
tons, and  particularly  those  of  Unterwal- 
den,  long  hardened  iu  the  wars  of  the 
Milanese,  showed  themselves  more  mer- 
ciless towards  their  confederates  than 
they  had  ever  been  towards  foreigners. 
At  the  beginning  of  the  battle,  Goldli 
had  taken  flight,  and  soon  after  he  quitted 
Zurich  for  ever.  Lav  ate  r,  the  captain- 
general,  after  having  fought  valiantly, 
had  fallen  into  the  ditch.  He  was 
dragged  out  by  a  soldier,  and  had 
escaped. 

The  most  distinguished  men  of  Zurich 
fell  one  after  another  under  the  blows  of 
the  Waldstettes.*  Budi  Gallmann  found 
the  glorious  tomb  he  had  wished  for,  and 
his  two  brothers  stretched  beside  him  left 
their  father's  house  desolate.  Toning, 
captain  of  the  arquebusiers,  died  for  his 
country  as  he  had  foretold.  All  the 
pride  of  the  population  of  Zurich,  seven 
members  of  the  Smaller  Council,  nine- 
teen members  of  the  Two  Hundred, 
sixty-five  citizens  of  the  town,  four  hun- 
dred* and  seventeen  from  the  rural  dis- 
tricts :  the  father  in  the  midst  of  his  .chil- 
dren,— the  brother  surrounded  by  his 
brothers, — lay  on  the  field. 

Gerold  Meyer  of  Knonau,  son  of  Anna 
Zwingle  ;  at  that  time  twenty-two  years 
of  age,  and  already  a  member  of  the 
council  of  Two  Hundred, — a  husband 
and  a  father, — had  rushed  into  the  fore- 
most ranks  with  all  the  impetuosity  of 
youth.  "  Surrender,  and  your  life  shall 
be  spared,"  cried  some  of  the  warriors 
of  the  Five  Cantons,  who  desired  to  save 
him.  "  It  is  better  for  me  to  die  with 
honour  than  to  yield  with  disgrace,"  re- 
plied the  son  of  Anna,  and  immediately 
struck  by  a  mortal  blow,  he  fell  and  ex- 
pired not  far  from  the  castle  of  his  an- 
cestors. 

*  Optimi  et  docti  viri,  qu'os  necessitas  trax- 
erat  in  commune  periculum  patriae  et  ecclesia? 
veritatisque  defensandse,  quam  et  suo  sanguine 
redemerunt.     (Pell.  Vit.  MS.  p.  6). 


SWITZERLAND-CATASTROPHE. 


837 


The  ministers  were  those  who  paid 
proportionally  the  greatest  tribute  on 
this  bloody  day.  The  sword  that  was 
at  work  on  the  heights  of  Cappel  thirsted 
for  their  blood  :  twenty-five  of  them  fell 
beneath  its  stroke.  The  Waldstettes 
trembled  with  rage  when  they  discover- 
ed one  of  these  heretical  preachers,  and 
sacrificed  him  with  enthusiasm,  as  a 
chosen  victim,  to  the  Virgin  and'  the 
saints.  There  has,  perhaps,  never  been 
any  battle  in  which  so  many  men  of  the 
Word  of  God  have  bitten  the  dust. 
Almost  everywhere  the  pastors  had 
marched  at  the  head  of  their  flocks. 
One  might  have  said  that  Cappel  was  an 
assembly  of  christian  churches  rather 
than  an  army  of  Swiss  companies.  The 
Abbot  Joner,  receiving  a  mortal  wound 
near  the  ditch,  expired  in  sight  of  his 
own  monastery.  The  people  of  Zug,  in 
pursuit  of  the  enemy,  uttered  a  cry  of 
anguish  as  they  passed  his  body,  remem- 
bering all  the  good  he  had  done  them.* 
Schmidt  of  Kunrach,  stationed  on  the 
field  of  battle  in  the  midst  of  his  par- 
ishioners, fell  surrounded  by  forty  of 
their  bodies.f  Geroldseck,  John  Hal- 
ler,  and  many  other  pastors,  at  the  head 
of  their  flocks,  suddenly  met  in  a  terrible 
and  unforeseen  manner  the  Lord  whom 
they  had  preached. 

But  the  death  of  one  individual  far 
surpassed  all  others.  Zwingle  was  at 
the  post  of  danger,  the  helmet  on  his 
head,  the  sword  hanging  at  his  side,  the 
battle-axe  in  his  hand. J  Scarcely  had 
the  action  begun,  when,  stooping  to  con- 
sole a  dying  man,  says  J.  J.  Hottinger, 
a  stone  hurled  bv  the  vigorous  arm  of  a 
Waldstette  struck  him  on  the  head  and 
closed  his  lips.  Yet  Zwingle  arose, 
when  two  other  blows  which  struck  him 
successively  on  the  leg,§  threw  him  down 
again.  Twice  more  he  stands  up  ;  but 
a  fourth  time  he  receives  a  thrust  from  a 
lance,  he  staggers,  and  sinking  beneath 
so  many  wounds,  falls  on  his  knees. 
Does  not  the  darkness  that  is  spreading 

*  Es  klagtend  inn  insonders  die  Ziiger. 
(Bull.  iii.  p.  151.) 

'    f  Uffder  Walstett  warder  funden,  under  und 
by  sinen  Kussnachern.     (Ibid.  p.  147.) 

t  The  chaplains  of  the  Swiss  troops  still 
wear  a  sword.  Zwingle  did  not  make  use  of 
his  arms. 

§  Hatt  anch  in  den  Schenklen  yween  Stiche. 
(Tschudi,  Helv.  ii.  p.  194.) 


around  him  announce  a  still  thicker 
darkness  that  is  about  to  cover  the 
Church  ?  Zwingle  turns  away  from 
such  sad  thoughts;  once  more  he  uplifts 
that  head  which  had  been  so  bold,  and 
gazing  with  calm  eye  upon  the  trickling 
blood,  exclaims :  "  What  evil  is  this  ? 
They  can  indeed  kill  the  body,  but  they 
cannot  kill  the  soul  !"*  These  were  his 
last  words. 

He  had  scarcely  uttered  them  ere  he 
fell  backwards.  There  under  a  tree 
(Zwingle's  Pear-tree)  in  a  meadow,  he 
remained  lying  on  his  back,  with  clasped 
hands  and  eyes  upturned  to  heaven.")" 

While  the  bravest  were  pursuing  the 
scattered  soldiers  of  Zurich,  the  strag- 
glers of  the  Five  Cantons  had  pounced 
like  hungry  ravens  on  the  field  of  battle. 
Torch  in  hand,  these  wretches  prowled 
among  the  dead,  casting  looks  of  irrita- 
tion around  them,  and  lighting  up  the 
features  of  their  expiring  victims  by 
the  dull  glimmering  of  these  funereal 
torches.  They  turned  over  the  bodies 
of  the  wounded  and  the  dead ;  they 
tortured  and  they  stripped  them.:}:  If 
they  found  any  who  were  still  sensible, 
they  cried  out,  "  Call  upon  the  saints 
and  confess  to  our  priests  !"  If  the 
Zurichers,  faithful  to  their  creed,  re- 
jected these  cruel  invitations,  these  men, 
who  were  as  cowardly  as  they  were 
fanatical,  pierced  them  with  their  lances, 
or  dashed  out  their  brains  with  the  butt- 
ends  of  their  arquebuses.  The  Roman- 
catholic  historian,  Salat  of  Lucerne, 
makes  a  boast  of  this.  "  They  were 
left  to  die  like  infidel  dogs,  or  were  slain 
with  the  sword,  or  the  spear,  that  they 
might  go  so  much  the  quicker  to  the 
devil,  with  whose  help  they  had  fought 
so  desperately. "§  If  any  of  the  soldiers 
of  the  Five  Cantons  had  recognised  a 
Zuricher  against  whom   they  had    any 

*  In  genua  prolapsum  dixisse :  "  Ecquid 
hoc  infortunii  ?  Age  !  corpus  quidem  occjdere 
possunt,  animam  non  possunt."  (Osw.  My- 
conius,  Vit.  Zw.) 

f  Was  er  nach  lebend,  lag  an  dem  Ruggen 
und  hat  seine  beide  hand  zamen  gethan,  wie 
die  betenden,  sach  mit  synem  angen  obsich  in 
hymel.     (B.  iii.  p.  136.) 

J  Ein  gross  pliinderen,  ein  ersuchen  und 
usgiessen  der  todten  und  der  wunden.  (Bull. 
iii.  p.  135.) 

§  Damit  sie  desto  eher  zum  Teufel,  damit 
sie  mit  alien  vieren  fechtend,  gefiihrt  wiirdend. 
(Salat.) 


838 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


grudge,  with  dry  eyes,  disdainful  mouth, 
and  features  changed  by  anger,  they 
drew  near  the  unhappy  creature,  writh- 
ing in  the  agonies  of  death,  and  said : 
"  Well  !  has  your  heretical  faith  pre- 
served you  ?  Ah  ha !  it  was  pretty 
clearly  seen   to-day   who  had  the  true 

faith To-day  we  have  dragged 

your  Gospel  in  the  mud,  and  you  too, 
even  you  are  covered  with  your  own 
blood.  God,  the  Virgin,  and  the  saints 
have  punished  you."  Scarcely  had 
they  uttered  these  words  before  they 
plunged  their  swords  into  their  enemy's 
bosom.  "  Mass  or  death !"  was  their 
watchword. 

Thus  triumphed  the  Waldstettes  ;  but 
the  pious  Zurichers  who  expired  on  the 
field  of  battle  called  to  mind  that  they 
had  for  God  one  who  has  said  :  "  If  ye 
endure  chastening,  God  dealeth  with  you 
as  with  sons ;  for  what  son  is  he  whom 
the  father  chasteneth  not  V — "  Though 
he  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in  Mm:'9'  It 
is  in  the  furnace  of  trial  that  the  God 
of  the  Gospel  conceals  the  pure  gold  of 
bis  most  precious  blessings.  This  pun- 
ishment was  necessary  to  turn  aside  the 
Church  of  Zurich  from  the  "  broad 
ways"  of  the  world,  and  lead  it  back  to 
the  "  narrow  ways"  of  the  Spirit  and  the 
life.  In  a  political  history,  a  defeat  like 
that  of  Cappel  would  be  styled  a  great 
misfortune  ;  but  in  a  history  of  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ,  such  a  blow, 
inflicted  by  the  hand  of  the  Father  him- 
self, ought  rather  to  be  called  a  great 
blessing. 

Meanwhile  Zwingle  lay  extended  under 
the  tree,  near  the  road  by  which  the  mass 
of  the  people  was  passing.  The  shouts 
of  the  victors,  the  groans  of  the  dying, 
those  flickering  torches  borne  from  corpse 
to  corpse,  Zurich  humbled,  the  cause  of 
Reform  lost, — all  cried  aloud  to  him  that 
God  punishes  his  servants  when  they 
have  recourse  to  the  arm  of  man.  If 
the  German  Reformer  had  been  able  to 
approach  Zwingle  at  this  solemn  moment, 
and  pronounce  these  oft-repeated  words  : 
"  Christians  fight  not  with  sword  and 
arquebus,  but  with  sufferings  and  the 
cross,"*  Zwingle  would  have  stretched 
out  his  dying  hand,  and  said,  "  Amen  !" 

*  Christen  sind  nicht  die  fur  sich  selbst  mit 
dem  Schwerdt  oder  Biichsen  streiten,  sondern 
mit  dem  Kreuz  und  Leyden.     (Luth.  Opp.) 


Two  of  the  soldiers  who  were  prowling 
over  the  field  of  battle,  having  come  near 
the  reformer  without  recognising  him, 
'•  Do  you  wish  for  a  priest  to  confess 
yourself?"  asked  they.  Zwingle,  with- 
out speaking  (for  he  had  not  strength), 
made  signs  in  the  negative.  "  If  you 
cannot  speak,"  replied  the  soldiers,  "  at 
least  think  in  thy  heart  of  the  Mother  of 
God,  and  call  upon  the  saints  !"  Zwingle 
again  shook  his  head,  and  kept  his  eyes 
still  fixed  on  heaven.*  Upon  this  the 
irritated   soldiers    began  to  curse    him. 

No  doubt,"  said  they, «"  you  are  one 
of  the  heretics  of  the  city  !"  One  of 
them,  being  curious  to  know  who  it  was, 
stooped  down  and  turned  Zwingle's  head 
in  the  direction  of  a  fire  that  had  been 
lighted  near  the  spot."|"  The  soldier  im- 
mediately let  him  fall  to  the  ground.  "  I 
think,"  said  he,  surprised  and  amazed, 
"  I  think  it  is  Zwingle !"  At  this  moment 
Captain  Fockinger  of  Unterwalden,  a 
veteran  and  a  pensioner,  drew  near  :  he 
had  heard  the  last  words  of  the  soldier. 
"  Zwingle  !"  exclaimed  he  ;  "  that  vile 
heretic  Zwingle  !  that  rascal,  that 
traitor !"  Then  raising  his  sword,  so 
long  sold  to  the  stranger,  he  struck  the 
dying  Christian  on  the  throat,  exclaiming 
in  a  violent  passion,  "  Die,  obstinate 
heretic  !"  Yielding  under  this  last  blow, 
the  reformer  gave  up  the  ghost :  he  was 
doomed  to  perish  by  the  sword  of  a  mer- 
cenary. "  Precious  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord  is  the  death  of  his  saints."  The 
soldiers  ran  to  other  victims.  All  did 
not  show  the  same  barbarity.  The 
night  was  cold ;  a  thick  hoar-frost 
covered  the  fields  and  the  bodies  of  the 
dying.  The  Protestant  historian,  Bull- 
inger,  informs  us  that  some  Waldstettes 
gently  raised  the  wounded  in  their  arms, 
bound  up  their  wounds,  and  carried  them 
to  the  fires  lighted  on  the  field  of  battle. 
"  Ah  !"  cried  they,  "  why  have  the  Swiss 
thus  slaughtered  one  another  !" 

The  main  body  of  the  army  had 
remained  on  the  field  of  battle  near  the 
standards.  The  soldiers  conversed 
around  the  fires,  interrupted  from  time 
to  time  by  the  cries  of  the  dying.  Du- 
ring this  time  the  chiefs  assembled  in 

*  Und  sach  uber  sich  in  Hymel.  (Bull,  iii. 
p.  136.) 

t  Veyn  Fuwr  besach.  (Tschudi,  Helv.  n. 
p.  194.) 


SWITZERLAND— CATASTROPHE. 


839 


the  convent  sent  messengers  to  carry  the 
news  of  their  signal  victory  to  the  con- 
federate  cantons,  and  to  the  Roman- 
catholic  powers  of  Germany. 

At  length  the  day  appeared.  The 
Waldstettes  spread  over  the  field  of  battle, 
running  here  and  there,  stopping,  con- 
templating, struck  with  surprise  at  the 
sight  of  their  most  formidable  enemies 
stretched  lifeless  on  the  plain  ;  but  some- 
times also  shedding  tears  as  they  gazed 
on  corpses  which  reminded  them  of  old 
and  sacred  ties  of  friendship.  At  length 
they  reached  the  pear-tree  under  which 
Zwingle  lay  dead,  and  an  immense 
crowd  collected  around  it.  His  counte- 
nance still  beamed  with  expression  and 
with  life.  "  He  has  the  look,"  said 
Bartholomew  Stacker  of  Zug,  who  had 
loved  him,  "  he  has  the  look  of  a  living 
rather  than  of  a  dead  man.*  Such  he 
was  when  he  kindled  the  people  by  the 
fire  of  his  eloquence."  All  eyes  were 
fixed  upon  the  corpse.  John  Schonbrun- 
ner,  formerly  canon  of  Zurich,  who  had 
retired  to  Zug  at  the  epoch  of  the  Refor- 
mation, could  not  restrain  his  tears ; 
"  Whatever  may  have  been  thy  creed," 
said  he,  "  I  know,  Zwingle,  that  thou 
hast  been  a  loyal  confederate  !  May  thy 
soul  rest  with  God  !" 

But  the  pensioners  of  the  foreigner,  on 
whom  Zwingle  had  never  ceased  to  make 
war,  required  that  the  body  of  the  heretic 
should  be  dismembered,  and  a  portion 
sent  to  each  of  the  Five  Cantons.  "  Peace 
be  to  the  dead  !  and  God  alone  be  their 
Judge  !"  exclaimed  the  avoyer  Golder 
and  the  landamman  Thoss  of  Zug.  Cries 
of  fury  answered  their  appeal,  and  com- 
pelled them  to  retire.  Immediately  the 
drums  beat  to  muster ;  the  dead  body 
-was  tried,  and  it  was  decreed  that  it 
should  be  quartered  for  treason  against 
the  Confederation,  and  then  burnt  for 
heresy.  The  executioner  of  Lucerne 
carried  out  the  sentence.  Flames  con- 
sumed Zwingle's  disjointed  members ; 
the  ashes  of  swine  were  mingled  with 
his:  and  a  lawless  multitude  rushing 
upon  his  remains,  flung  them  to  the  four 
winds  of  heaven. f 

*  NichteinemTodten  sonderneinem  Leben- 
den  gleich.  (Zwingli  for  dass  Volk  von  J.  J. 
Hottinger.) 

t  Tschudi  Helvet.  ii.  p.  195.  "Cadaver 
Zwinglii in  quatuor  partes  secatur,  in  ignem 


Zwingle  was  dead.  A  great  light  hud 
been  extinguished  in  the  Church  of  God. 
Mighty  by  the  Word  as  were  the  other 
reformers,  he  had  been  more  so  than 
they  in  action  ;  but  this  very  power  had 
been  his  weakness,  and  he  had  fallen 
under  the  weight  of  his  own  strength. 
Zwingle  was  not  forty -eight  years  old 
when  he  died.  If  the  might  of  God 
always  accompanied  the  might  of  man, 
what  would  he  not  have  done  for  the 
Reformation  in  Switzerland,  and  even  in 
the  Empire  !  But  he  had  wielded  an 
arm  that  God  had  forbidden ;  the  helmet 
had  covered  his  head,  and  he  had  grasped 
the  halberd.  His  more  devoted  friends 
were  themselves  astonished,  and  ex- 
claimed :  "  we  know  not  what  to  say  ! .  . . 
a  bishop  in  arms  !"*  The  bolt  had  fur- 
rowed the  cloud,  the  blow  had  reached 
the  reformer,  and  his  body  was  no  more 
than  a  handful  of  dust  in  the  palm  of  a 
soldier. 

IX.  Frightful  darkness  hung  over 
Zurich  during  the  night  that  followed 
the  afflicting  day  of  Cappel.  It  was 
seven  in  the  evening  when  the  first  news 
of  the  disaster  arrived.  .  .  .  Vague  but 
alarming  reports  spread  at  first  with  the 
rapidity  of  lightning.  It  was  known 
that  a  terrible  blow  had  been  inflicted, 
but  not  of  what  kind  ;  but  soon  a  few- 
wounded  men,  who  arrived  from  the 
field  of  battle,  cleared  up  the  frightful 
mystery.  "  Then,"  said  Bullinger, 
whom  we  shall  allow  to  speak,  "  there 
arose  suddenly  a  loud  and  horrible  cry 
of  lamentation  and  tears,  bewailing  and 
groaning  "  The  consternation  was  so 
much  the  greater  that  no  one  had  ex- 
pected this  disaster.  "  There  is  not 
enough  for  a  breakfast,"  had  said  some 
haughty  worldly  men  ;  "  With  one  blow 
we  shall  be  masters  of  the  Five  Chalets" 
had  said  another  ;  and  an  old  soldier 
added  with  disdainful  sneer,  "  We  shall 
soon  have  scattered  these  five  dunghills." 
The  christian  portion,  convinced  that 
Zurich  was  fighting  in  a  good  cause,  had 
not  doubted  that  victory  would  be  on  the 
side  of  truth.  .  .  .  Thus  their  first  stupe- 

conjicitur,  in  cinerem  resolvitur."    (Myc.  de 
Vit.  Zw.) 

*  Ego  nihil  certe  apud  me  possum  statuere, 
maxime  de  Episcopo  in  armis.  (Zuickius  Eco- 
lampadio,  8th  November  1531,  Zurich  MS.) 


840 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


faction  was  succeeded  by  a  violent  out- 
burst of  rage.  With  blind  fury  the  mob 
accused  all  their  chiefs,  and  loaded  with 
insults  even  those  Who  had  defended  their 
country  at  the  price  of  their  blood.  An 
immense  crowd — agitated,  pale,  and  be- 
wildered, filled  all  the  streets  of  the  city. 
They  meet,  they  question  and  reply  ; 
they  question  again,  and  the  answer  can- 
not be  heard,  for  the  shouts  of  the  people 
interrupted  or  drowned  the  voice  of  the 
speakers.  The  councillors  who  had  re- 
mained in  Zurich,  repaired  in  haste  to 
the  town-hall.  The  people,  who  had 
already  assembled  there  in  crowds,  look- 
ed on  with  threatening  eyes.  Accusa- 
tions of  treason  burst  from  every  mouth, 
and  the  patricians  were  pointed  out  to 
the  general  indignation.  They  must  have 
victims.  "  Before  going  to  fight  against 
the  enemy  on  the  frontiers,"  said  the  mob, 
"  we  should  defend  ourselves  against  those 
who  are  within  our  walls."  Sorrow  and 
fear  excited  the  minds  of  all.  That  savage 
instinct  of  the  populace,  which  in  great 
calamities  leads  them,  like  a  wild  beast, 
to  thirst  for  blood,  was  violently  aroused. 
A  hand  from  the  midst  of  the  crowd 
points  out  the  council-hall,  and  a  harsh 
and  piercing  voice  exclaims  :  "  Let  us 
chop  off  the  heads  of  some  of  the  men 
who  sit  in  these  halls,  and  let  their  blood 


On  a  sudden,  grief  succeeded  to  rage, 
and  sobs  choked  the  utterance  of  the 
most  furious.  All  those  whose  relatives 
had  marched  to  Cappel,  imagine  that 
they  are  among  the  number  of  the  vic- 
tims. Old  men,  women,  and  children, 
go  forth  in  the  darkness  by  the  glimmer- 
ing light  of  torches,  with  haggard  eyes 
and  hurried  steps  ;  and  as  soon  as  some 
wounded  man  arrives,  they  question  him 
with  trembling  voice  about  those  whom 
they  are  seeking.  To  some  they  reply  : 
"  I  saw  him  fall  close  by  my  side. — He 
was  surrounded  by  so  many  enemies," 
they  say  to  others,  "  that  there  was  no 
chance  of  safety  for  him."*  At  these 
words  the  distracted  family  drop  their 
torches,  and  fill  the  air  with  shrieks  and 
groans. 

Anna  Zwingle  had  heard  from  her 
house  the  repeated  discharges  of  artil- 
lery. As  wife  and  mother,  she  had 
passed  in  expectation  many  long  hours 
of  anguish,  offering  fervent  prayers  to 
heaven.  At  length  the  most  terrible  ac- 
counts, one  after  another,  burst  upon  her. 

In  the  midst  of  those  whose  cries  of 
despair  re-echoed  along  the  road  to 
Cappel,  was  Oswald  Myconius,  who  in- 
quired with  anxiety  what  had  become 
of  his  friend.  Soon  he  hears  one  of  the 
unfortunates  who  had  escaped  from  the 


ascend   to  heaven,  to   beg  for  mercy  in  (massacre,  relating  to  those  around  him 


behalf  of  those  whom  they  have  slain." 

But  this  fury  is  nothing  in  comparison 
with  that  which  breaks  out  against  the 
ministers,  against  Zwingle,  and  all  those 
Christians  who  were  the  cause  (say  they) 
of  the  ruin  of  the  country.     Fortunately 
the  sword  of  the  Waldstettes   had  with- 
drawn them  from  the   rage  of  their  fel- 
low-citizens ;    nevertheless,    there    still 
remained  some   who   could   pay  for  the 
others.       Leo   Juda,    whom     Zwingle's 
death  was  about  to  raise  to  the  head  of 
religious  affairs,  had  scarcely  recovered 
from  a  serious  illness  ;  it  is  on  him  they 
rush.     They  threaten,  they  pursue  him  ; 
a  few  worthy  citizens  carry  him  off  and 
hide  him  in  their  houses.      The  rage  of 
these    madmen    is  not   appeased  :   they 
continue  shouting  that  atonement  must 
be  made  for  the  slaughter  at  Cappel,  by 
a  still  more  frightful  slaughter  within  the 
very  walls  of  the  city.     But  God  placed 
a  curb  in  the  mouths  of  these  infuriate 
beasts  of  prey,  and  subdued  them. 


that  Zwingle  had  fallen  If Zwingle 

is  no  more  !  Zwingle  is  dead  !  The 
cry  is  repeated  :  it  runs  through  Zurich 
with  the  rapidity  of  lightning,  and  at 
length  reaches  the  unhappy  widow. 
Anna  falls  on  her  knees.  But  the  loss 
of  her  husband  is  not  enough  ;  God  has 
inflicted  other  blows.  Messengers  fol- 
lowing each  other  at  short  intervals  an- 
nounce to  her  the  death  of  her  son  Ge- 
rold  of  Knonau,  of  her  brother  the  bai- 
liff of  Reinhardt,  of  her  son-in-law  An- 
tony Wirz,  of  John  Lustchi  the  husband 
of  her  dear  sister,  as  well  as  of  all  her 
most  intimate  friends.  This  woman  re- 
mains alone — alone  with  her  God  ;  alone 
with  her  young  children,  who,  as  they 
see    her    tears,   weep    also,    and   throw 

*  Dermassen  umbgaben  mit  Tygenden,  dass 
kein  Hoffnung  der  rettung  uberig.  (Bull  iv. 
p.  163). 

t  Ut  igitur  mane  videram  exeuntem,  ita  sub 
n'octem  audio  nuntium,  pugnatum  quidem 
acriter,  tamen  infeliciter,  et  Zwinglium  nobis 
periisse.     (Myc.  Vit.  Zw.) 


SWITZERLAND-CATASTROPHE. 


841 


into  their   mo- 


themselves  disconsolate 
ther's  arms. 

On  a  sudden  the  alarm-bell  rings. 
The  council,  distracted  by  the  most  con- 
trary opinions,  has  at  last  resolved  to 
summon  all  the  citizens  towards  the 
Albis.  But  the  sound  of  the  tocsin  re 
echoing  through  the  darkness,  the  la- 
mentable stories  of  the  wounded,  and 
the  distressful  groans  of  bereaved  fami 
lies,  still  further  increased  the  tumult. 
A  numerous  and  disorderly  troop  of 
citizens  rushed  along  the  road  to  Cappel . 
Among  them  is  the  Valaisan,  Thomas 
Plater.  Here  he  meets  with  a  man  that 
has  but  one  hand,* — there  with  others 
who  supported  their  wounded  and  bleed 
ing  heads  with  both  hands  ; — further 
still  is  a  soldier  whose  bowels  protrude 
from  his  body.  In  front  of  these  un 
happy  creatures  peasants  are  walking 
with  lighted  torches,  for  the  night  is 
very  dark.  Plater  wishes  to  return  ; 
but  he  cannot,  for  sentinels  placed  on 
the  bridge  over  the  Sihl  allow  persons  to 
quit  Zurich,  but  permit  no  one  to  re-en- 
ter. 

On  the  morrow  the  news  of  the  dis- 
graceful treatment  of  Zwingle's  corpse 
aroused  all  the  anger  of  Zurich  ;  and 
his  friends,  uplifting  their  tear-bedimmed 
eyes,  exclaimed,  "  These  men  may  fall 
upon  his  body  ;  they  may  kindle  their 

piles,  and  brand  his   innocent  life 

but  he  lives — this  invincible  hero  lives  in 
eternity,  and  leaves  behind  him  an  im- 
mortal monument  of  glory  that  no  flames 
can  destroy. j"  God,  for  whose  honour  he 
has  labored,  even  at  the  price  of  his 
blood,  will  make  his  memory  eternal." 
"  And  I,"  adds  Leo  Juda,  "  I,  upon  whom 
he  has  heaped  so  many  blessings,  will 
endeavour,  after  so  many  others,  to  de- 
fend his  renown  and  to  extol  his  virtues." 
Thus  Zurich  consecrated  to  Zwingle  a 
funeral  oration  of  tears  and  sighs,  of 
gratitude  and  cries  of  anguish.  Never 
was  there  a  funeral  speech  more  elo- 
quent ! 

Zurich  rallied  her  forces.  John  Stei- 
ner  had  collected  on  the  Albis  some 
scattered  fragments  of  the  army  for  the 


*  Ettlich  kamen,  hatten  nur  eine  hand, 
(-.ibensbeschreibung  Plateri,  p.  297.) 

t  Vivit  adhunc,  et  aeternum  vivit  fortissimus 
herog.  (Leonis  Judae  exhort,  ad  Chr.  Sect. 
Enchiridio  Psalm.  Zwinglii  praemissa.) 


defence  of  the  pass  :  they  bivouacked 
around  their  fires  on  the  summit  of  the 
mountain,  and  all  were  in  disorder.  Pla- 
ter,  benumbed  with  cold  (it  is  himself 
who  gives  us  the  account),  had  drawn 
off  his  boots  to  warm  his  feet  at  the  watch- 
fire.  On  a  sudden  an  alarm  is  given, 
the  troop  is  hastily  drawn  up,  and,  while 
Plater  is  getting  ready,  a  trumpeter,  who 
had  escaped  from  the  battle,  seizes  his 
halberd.  Plater  takes  it  back,  and  sta- 
tions himself  in  the  ranks;  before  him 
stands  the  trumpeter,  without  hat  or  shoes, 
and  armed  with  a  long  pole.  Such  is 
the  army  of  Zurich. 

The  chief  captain  Lavater  rejoined  the 
army  at  daybreak.  Gradually  the  allies 
came  up;  1200  Grisons,  under  the  or- 
ders of  the  captain-general  Frey  of  Zu- 
rich, 1500  Thurgovians,  600  Tocken- 
burgers,  and  other  auxiliaries  besides, 
soon  formed  an  army  of  12,000  men. 
All,  even  children,  ran  to  arms.  The 
council  gave  orders  that  these  young 
folks,*  should  be  sent  back  to  share  in 
the  domestic  duties  with  the  women. 

Another  reverse  erelong  augmented 
the  desolation  of  the  Reformed  party. 
While  the  troops  of  Berne,  Zurich,  Basle, 
and  Bienne,  amounting  to  24,000  men, 
were  assembling  at  Bremgarten,the  Five 
Cantons  intrenched  themselves  at  Baar, 
near  Zug.  But  Zwingle  was  wanting  to 
the  Reformed  army,  and  he  would  have 
been  the  only  man  capable  of  inspiring 
them  with  courage.  A  gust  of  wind 
having  thrown  down  a  few  fir-trees  in  the 
forest  where  the  Zurichers  were  encamp- 
ed, and  caused  the  death  of  some  of  their 
soldiers,  they  failed  not  to  see  in  this  the 
signal  for  fresh  reverses. 

Nevertheless,  Frey  called  loudly  for 
battle ;  but  the  Bernese  commandant 
Diesbach  refused.  Upon  this  the  Zurich 
captain  set  off  in  the  night  of  the  23d 
October  at  the  head  of  4000  men  of  Zu- 
rich, Schaffhausen,  Basle,  and  St.  Gall ; 
and,  while  the  Bernese  were  sleeping 
quietly,  he  turned  the  Waldstettes,  drove 
their  outposts  beyond  the  Sihl,  and  took 
his  station  on  the  heights  that  overlook 
the  Goubel.  His  imprudent  soldiers, 
believing  victory  to  be  certain,  proudly 
waved  their  banners,  and  then  sunk  into 
a   heavy   sleep.     The  Waldstettes  had 

brood.     (Bull.  Chr. 


in.  p 


Jungen  fasels,  young 
176.) 


842 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


observed  all.  On  the  24th  October,  at 
two  in  the  morning,  by  a  bright  moon- 
light, they  quitted  their  camp  in  profound 
silence,  leaving  their  fires  burning,  and 
wearing  their  white  shirts  over  their 
dresses  that  they  might  recognise  one 
another  in  the  obscurity.  Their  watch- 
word was  "  Mary,  the  mother  of  God." 
They  glided  stealthily  into  a  pine  forest, 
near  which  the  Reformed  troops  were 
encamped.  The  men  stationed  at  the 
advanced  guard  of  the  Zurichers  having 
perceived  the  enemy,  ran  up  to  the  fires 
to  arouse  their  friends,  but  they  had 
scarcely  reached  the  third  fire  before 
the  Waldstettes  appeared,  uttering  a 
frightful  shout.*  "  Har.  .  .Har.  .  .Har 
.  .  .Har !.  .  .  .Where  are  these  impious 

heretics  ? Har.  .  .  Har.   .    .Har. 

.  .Har  V  The  army  of  the  cities  at  first 
made  a  vigorous  resistance,  and  many 
of  the  white-shirts  fell  covered  with  blood  j 
but  this  did  not  continue  long.  The 
bravest,  with  the  valiant  Frey  at  their 
head,  having  bitten  the  dust,  the  rout  be- 
came general,  and  800  men  were  left  on 
the  field  of  battle. 

In  the  midst  of  these  afflictions  the 
Bernese  remained  stubborn  and  motion- 
less. Francis  Kolb,  who,  notwithstand- 
ing his  advanced  age,  had  accompanied 
the  Bernese  contingent  as  chaplain,  re- 
proached in  a  sermon  the  negligence  and 
cowardice  of  his  party.  "  Your  ances- 
tors," said  he,  "  would  have  swam  across 
the  Rhine,  and  you — this  little  stream 
stops  you  !  They  went  to  battle  for  a 
word,  and  you  even  the  Gospel  cannot 
move.  For  us  it  only  remains  to  commit 
our  cause  to  God."  Many  voices  were 
raised  against  the  imprudent  old  man, 
but  others  took  up  his  defence  ;  and  the 
captain,  Jacques  May,  being  as  indignant 
as  the  aged  chaplain  at  the  delays  o  his 
fellow-citizens,  drew  his  sword,  and 
thrusting  it  into  the  folds  of  the  Bernese 
banner,  pricked  the  bear  that  was  repre- 
sented on  it,  and  cried  out  in  the  presence 
of  the  whole  army,  "You  knave,  will  you 
not  show  your  claws  V>\  But  the  bear 
remained  motionless. 

The  whole  of  the  Reformation  was 
compromised.     Scarcely  had  Ferdinand 

*  Mit  einem  grossen  grusamen  geschrey. 
(Bull.  iii.  p.  201.) 

f  Betz,  Betz,  willt  dan  nicht  kretzen  !  (Bull. 
iii.  p.  215.) 


received  intelligence  of  the  death  of  the 
arch?heretic  Zwingle,  and  of  the  defeat 
at  Cappel,  than  with  an  exclamation  of 
joy,  he  forwarded  these  good  news  to  his 
brother  the  Emperor  Charles  the  Fifth. 
"  This  is  the  first  of  the  victories  destined 
to  restore  the  faith,"  he  had  written. 
After  the  defeat  at  the  Goubel,  he  wrote 
again,  saying  that  if  the  Emperor  were 
not  so  near  at  hand,  he  would  not  hesi- 
tate, however  weak  he  might  be,  to  rush 
forward  in  person,  sword  in  hand,  to  ter- 
minate so  righteous  an  enterprise.  "  Re- 
member," said  he,  "  that  you  are  the  first 
prince  in  Christendom,  and  that  you  will 
never  have  a  better  opportunity  of  cover- 
ing yourself  with  glory.  Assist  the  can- 
tons with  your  troops ;  the  German  sects 
will  perish,  when  they  are  no  longer  sup- 
ported by  heretical  Switzerland."* — 
"  The  more  I  reflect,"  replied  Charles, 
"  the  more  I  am  pleased  with  your  ad- 
vice. The  imperial  dignity  with  which 
I  am  invested,  the  protection  that  I  owe 
to  Christendom  and  to  public  order,  in  a 
word,  the  safety  of  the  house  of  Austria, 
— everything  appeals  to  me  !" 

Already  about  two  thousand  Italian 
soldiers,  sent  by  the  Pope  and  command- 
ed by  the  Genoese  De  l'Isola,  had  un- 
folded their  seven  standards,  and  united 
near  Zug  with  the  army  of  the  Five 
Cantons.  Auxiliary  troops,  diplomatic 
negotiations,  and  even  missionaries  to 
convert  the  heretics,  were  not  spared. 
The  Bishop  of  Veroli  arrived  in  Switzer- 
land in  order  to  bring  back  the  Lutherans 
to  the  Roman  faith  by  means  of  his  friends 
and  of  his  money .f  The  Roman  politi- 
cians hailed  the  victory  at  Cappel  as  the 
signal  of  the  restoration  of  the  Papal  au- 
thority, not  only  in  Switzerland,  but 
throughout  the  whole  of  Christendom.^: 
At  last  this  presumptuous  Reformation 
was  about  to  be  repressed.  Instead  of 
the  great  deliverance  of  which  Zwingle 
had  dreamt,  the  imperial  eagle  let  loose 
by  the  Papacy  was  about  to  pounce  on  all 
Europe,  and  strangle  it  in  its  talons.  The 

*  Que  se  perdo  deslar  i  camino  para  remedi- 
ar  las  quiebras  de  nuestra  fe  y  ser  Va.  Md. 
Senor  de  Allemana.  (Ferdinand  to  Charles 
V.  11th  November  1531.) 

f  Con  proposita  di  rimover  Lutheriani  dalla 
loro  mala  opinione,  con  mezzo  di  alcuni  suoi 
amici  e  con  denari.  (Report  of  Basadonna, 
Archbishop  of  Venice.) 

%  Ranke,  Deutshe  Geschichte,  iii.  p.  S67. 


SWITZERLAND— CATASTROPHE. 


84y 


cause    of   liberty   had    perished  on  the! indubitable  Christian    faith,   renouncing 
Albis..  all  evil  intention,  tricks,  and  stratagems. 

But  the   hopes    of  the    Papists  were  And,  on  our  side,  we  of  the   Five  Can- 


vain  :  the  cause  of  the  Gospel,  although 
humbled  at  this  moment,  was  destined 
finally  to  gain  a  glorious  victory.  A 
cloud  may  hide  the  sun  for  a  time : 
but  the  cloud  passes  and  the  sun  re- 
appears. Jesus  Christ  is  always  the 
same,  and  the  gates  of  hell,  which  tri- 
umphed on  the  field  of  Cappel,  cannot 
prevail  against  his  Church. 

Nevertheless  everything  seemed  ad- 
vancing towards  a  grand  catastrophe. 
The  Tockenburgers  made  peace  and  re- 
tired. The  Thurgovians  followed  them  ; 
and  next  the  people  of  Gaster.  The 
evangelical  army  was  thus  gradually 
disbanded.  The  severity  of  the  season 
was  joined  to  these  dissensions.  Con- 
tinual storms  of  wind  and  rain  drove  the 
soldiers  to  their  homes. 

Upon  this  the  Five  Cantons  with  the 
undisciplined  bands  of  the  Italian  gene 


tons,  agree  to  leave  our  confederates  of 
Zurich  and  their  allies  in  possession  of 
their  faith."*  At  the  same  time,  Rap- 
perswyl,  Gaster,  Wesen,  Bremgarten, 
Mellingen,  and  the  common  bailiwicks, 
were  abandoned  to  the  Five  Cantons. 

Zurich  had  preserved  its  faith  ;  and 
that  was  all.  The  treaty  having  been 
read  and  approved  of,  the  plenipotentia- 
ries got  off  their  horses,  fell  upon  their 
knees,  and  called  upon  the  name  of  God.  f 
Then  the  new  captain-general  of  the 
Zurichers,  Escher,  a  hasty  and  eloquent 
old  man,  rising  up,  said  as  he  turned  to- 
wards the  Waldstettes  :  "  God  be  praised 
that  I  can  again  call  you  my  well-be- 
loved confederates  !  "  and  approaching 
them,  he  shook  hands  successively  with 
Golder,  Hug,  Troger,  Rychmut,  Mar- 
quart,  Zellger,  and  Toss,  the  terrible  vic- 
tors  at  Cappel.      All   eyes  were   filled 


ral   Isola  threw  themselves  on  the  left  with  tears4     Each  took  with  trembling 


bank  of  the  lake  of  Zurich.  The  alarm- 
bell  was  rung  on  every  side ;  the  pea- 
sants retired  in  crowds  into  the  city, 
with  their  weeping  wives,  their  fright- 
ened children,  and  their  cattle  that  filled 
the  air  with  sullen  lo wings.  A  report 
too  was  circulated  that  the  enemy  in- 
tended laying  siege  to  Zurich.  The 
country-people  in  alarm  declared  that  if 
the  city  refused  to  treat,  they  would  treat 
on  their  own  account. 

The  peace  party  prevailed  in  the  coun- 
cil ;  deputies  were  elected  to  negotiate. 
"  Above  all  things,  preserve  the  Gospel, 
and  then  our  honour,  as  far  as  may  be 
possible  !;'  Such  were  their  instruc- 
tions. On  the  16th  November,  the  de- 
puties from  Zurich  arrived  in  a  meadow 
situated  near  the  frontier,  on  the  banks 
of  the  Sihl,  in  which  the  representatives 
of  the  Five  Cantons  awaited  them.  They 
proceeded  to  the  deliberations.  "  In  the 
name  of  the  most  honourable,  holy,  and 
divine  Trinity,"  began  the  treaty,  "  First- 
ly, we  the  people  of  Zurich  bind  our- 
selves and  agree  to  leave  our  trusty  and 
well-beloved  confederates  of  the  Five 
Cantons,  their  well-beloved  co-burghers 
of  the  Valais,  and  all  their  adherents 
lay  and  ecclesiastic,  in  their  true*  and 

*  By  ihren  wahren  ungez  wyfflten  christen- 
lichen  glauben.     (Tschudi,  p.  247.) 
107 


hand  the  bottle  suspended  at  his  side,  and 
offered  a  draught  to  one  of  the  chiefs  of 
the  opposite  party.  Shortly  after  a  simi- 
lar treaty  was  concluded  with  Berne. 

X.  The  restoration  of  Popery  imme- 
diately commenced  in  Switzerland,  and 
Rome  showed  herself  every  where  proud, 
exacting,  and  ambitious. 

After  the  battle  of  Cappel,  the  Romish 
minority  at  Glaris  had  resumed  the  up- 
perhand.  It  marched  with  Schwyt/. 
against  Wesen  and  the  district  of  the 
Gaster.  On  the  eve  of  the  invasion,  at 
midnight,  twelve  deputies  came  and 
threw  themselves  at  the  feet  of  the 
Schwytzer  chiefs,  who  were  satisfied 
with  confiscating  the  national  banners 
of  these  two  districts,  with  suppress- 
ing their  tribunals,  annulling  their 
ancient  liberties,  and  condemning  somr 
to  banishment,  and  others  to  pay  a 
heavy  fine.  Next  the  mass,  the  altars. 
and  images  were  everywhere  re-establish- 
ed, and  exist  until  the  present  day.§ 
Such  was  the  pardon  of  Schwytz ! 

*  By  ihren  Glauben.     (Ibid.) 

t  Knuwet  mencklich  wider  und  batket. 
(Bull.  iii,p.  253.) 

J  Und  luffend  ihnen  alien  die  Angen  uber. 
(Tschudi,  p.  245.) 

§  Es  wiirdent  mass,  altar  und  gotren  vieder 
uff  gericht.     (Bull.  iii.  p.  277.) 


844 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


It  was  especially  on  Bremgarten,  Mel- 
lingen,  and  the  free  bailiwicks  that  the 
Cantons  proposed  to  inflict  a  terrible  ven- 
geance. Berne  having  recalled  its  ar- 
my, Mutschli,  the  avoyer  of  Bremgarten, 
followed  Diesbach  as  far  as  Arau.  In 
vain  did  the  former  remind  the  Bernese 
that  it  was  only  according  to  the  orders 
of  Berne  and  Zurich  that  Bremgarten 
had  blockaded  the  Five  Cantons.  "  Bend 
to  circumstances,"  replied  the  general. 
On  this  the  wretched  Mutschli,  turning 
away  from  the  pitiless  Bernese,  exclaim- 
ed, "  The  prophet  Jeremiah  has  well 
said, — Cursed  be  he  that  trusteth  in  man  /" 
The  Swiss  and  Italian  bands  entered  fu- 
riously into  these  flourishing  districts, 
brandishing  their  weapons,  inflicting 
heavy  fines  on  all  the  inhabitants,  com- 
pelling the  Gospel  ministers  to  flee,  and 
restoring  everywhere  at  the  point  of  the 
sword,  mass,  idols,  and  altars. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  lake  the  mis- 
fortune was  still  greater.  On  the  18th 
November,  while  the  Reformed  of  Rap- 
perschwyl  were  sleeping  peacefully  in 
reliance  on  the  treaties,  an  army  from 
Schwytz  silently  passed  the  wooden 
bridge  nearly  2000  feet  long  which 
crosses  the  lake,  and  was  admitted  into 
the  city  by  the  Romish  party.  On  a 
sudden  the  Reformed  awoke  at  the  loud 
pealing  of  the  bells,  and  the  tumultuous 
voices  of  the  Catholics :  the  greater  part 
quitted  the  city.  One  of  them,  however, 
by  name  Michael  Wohlgemuth,  barri- 
caded his  house,  placed  arquebuses  at 
every  window,  and  repelled  the  attack. 
The  exasperated  enemy  brought  up  some 
heavy  pieces  of  artillery,  besieged  this 
extemporaneous  citadel  in  regular  form, 
and  Wohlgemuth  was  soon  taken  and  put 
to  death  in  the  midst  of  horrible  tortures. 

Nowhere  had  the  struggle  been  more 
violent  than  at  Soleure  :  the  two  parties 
were  drawn  up  in  battle-array  on  each 
side  of  the  Aar,  and  the  Romanists  had 
already  discharged  one  ball  against  the 
opposite  bank,  another  was  about  to  fol- 
low, when  the  avoyer  Wenge,  throwing 
himself  on  the  mouth  of  the  cannon,  cried 
out  earnestly :  "  Fellow-citizens,  let  there 
be  no  bloodshed,  or  else  let  me  be  your 
first  victim  !"  The  astonished  multitude 
dropped  their  arms  ;  but  seventy  Evange- 
lical families  were  obliged  to  emigrate,  and 
Soleure  returned  under  the  Papal  yoke. 


The  deserted  cells  of  St.  Gall,  Muri, 
Ensideln,  Wettingen,  Rheinau,  St.  Ca- 
therine, Hermetshwyll  and  Guadenthall 
witnessed  the  triumphant  return  of  Be- 
nedictines, Franciscans,  Dominicans,  and 
all  the  Romish  militia ;  priests  and 
monks,  intoxicated  with  their  victory, 
overran  country  and  town,  and  prepared 
for  new  conquests. 

The  wind  of  adversity  was  blowing 
with  fury :  the  Evangelical  Churches 
fell  one  after  another,  like  the  pines  in 
the  forest  whose  fall  before  the  battle  of 
the  Goubel  had  raised  such  gloomy  pre- 
sentiments. The  Five  Cantons,  full  of 
gratitude  to  the  Virgin,  made  a  solemn 
pilgrimage  to  her  temple  at  Ensideln. 
The  chaplains  celebrated  anew  their 
mysteries  in  this  desolated  sanctuary ; 
the  abbot,  who  had  no  monks,  sent  a 
number  of  youths  into  Swabia  to  be 
trained  up  in  the  rules  of  the  order,  and 
this  famous  chapel,  which  Zwingle's 
voice  had  converted  into  a  sanctuary  for 
the  Word,  became  for  Switzerland,  what 
it  has  remained  until  this  day,  the  cen- 
tre of  the  power  and  of  the  intrigues  of 
the  Papacy. 

But  this  was  not  enough.  At  the 
very  time  that  these  flourishing  churches 
were  falling  to  the  ground,  the  Reform 
witnessed  the  extinction  of  its  brightest 
lights.  A  blow  from  a  stone  had  slain 
the  energetic  Zwingle  on  the  field  of  bat- 
tle, and  the  rebound  reached  the  pacific 
GScolampadius  at  Basle,  in  the  midst  of 
a  life  that  was  wholly  evangelical.  The 
death  of  his  friend,  the  severe  judgments 
with  which  they  pursued  his  memory, 
the  terror  that  had  suddenly  taken  the 
place  of  the  hopes  he  had  entertained  of 
the  future — all  these  sorrows  rent  the 
heart  of  fficolampadius,  and  soon  his 
head  and  his  life  inclined  sadly  to  the 
tomb.  "  Alas  !"  cried  he,  "  that  Zwin- 
gle, whom  I  have  so  long  regarded  as 
my  right  arm,  has  fallen  under  the  blows 
of  cruel  enemies  !"*  He  recovered, 
however,  sufficient  energy  to  defend  the 
memory  of  his  brother.  "  It  was  not," 
said  he,  "  on  the  heads  of  the  most  guilty 
that  the  wrath  of  Pilate  and  the  tower  of 
Siloam  fell.  The  judgment  began  in 
the  house  of  God  ;  our  presumption  has 

*  Zwinglium  nostrum,  quern  pro  manu 
altera  nunc  multo  tempore  habui.  (Zurich 
MS.) 


SWITZERLAND— CATASTROPHE. 


845 


been  punished  ;  let  our  trust  be  placed 
now  on  the  Lord  alone,  and  this  will  be 
an  inestimable  gain."  CEcolampadius 
declined  the  call  of  Zurich  to  take  the 
place  of  Zwingle.  "  My  post  is  here," 
said  he,  as  he   looked  at  Basle. 

He  was  not  destined  to  hold  it  long. 
Illness  fell  upon  him  in  addition  to  so 
many  afflictions  ;  the  plague  was  in  the 
city  ;  a  violent  inflammation  attacked 
him,*  and  erelong  a  tranquil  scene  suc- 
ceeded the  tumult  of  Cappel.  A  peace- 
ful death  calmed  the  agitated  hearts  of 
the  faithful,  and  replaced  by  sweet,  tran- 
quil, and  heavenly  emotions,  the  terror 
and  distress  with  which  a  terrible  dis 
aster  had  filled  them. 

On  hearing  of  the  danger  of  (Eco 
lampadius,  all  the  city  was  plunged  into 
mourning  ;  a  crowd  of  men  of  every 
age  and  of  every  rank  rushed  to  his 
house.  "  Rejoice,"  said  the  reformer 
with  a  meek  look,  "I  am  going  to  a  place 
of  everlasting  joy."  He  then  com- 
memorated the  death  of  our  Lord  with 
his  wife,  his  relations,  and  domestics, 
who  shed  floods  of  tears.  "  This  sup- 
per," said  the  dying  man,  "is  a  sign  of 
my  real  faith  in  Jesus  Christ  my  Re- 
deemer." 

On  the  morrow  he  sent  for  his  col- 
leagues :  "  My  brethren,"  said  he,  "  the 
Lord  is  there  ;  he  calls  me  away.  Oh  ! 
my  brethren,  what  a  black  cloud  is  ap- 
pearing on  the  horizon — what  a  tempest 
is  approaching  !  Be  steadfast  :  the 
Lord  will  preserve  his  own."  He  then 
held  out  his  hand,  and  all  these  faithful 
ministers  clasped  it  with  veneration. 

On  the  23d  November,  he  called  his 
children  around  him,  the  eldest  of  whom 
was  barely  three  years  old.  "  Eusebius 
Irene,  Alethea,"  said  he  to  them,  as  he 
took  their  little  hands,  "  love  God  who  is 
your  Father."  Their  mother  having 
promised  for  them,  the  children  retired 
with  the  blessing  of  the  dying  servant  of 
God.  The  night  that  followed  this  scene 
was  his  last.  All  the  pastors  were  around 
his  bed  :  "  What  is  the  news  ?"  asked 
CEcolampadius  of  a  friend  who  came  in. 
"  Nothing,"  was  the  reply.  "  Well," 
said  the  faithful  disciple  of  Jesus,  "  I 


will  tell  you  something  new."  His  friends 

*Ater  carbunculus  quovis  carbunculo  in 
domo  Dei  splendidiorem  perditit.  (J.  J.  Hot- 
tinger,  iii.  p.  634.) 


awaited  in  astonishment.  "  In  a  short 
time  I  shall  be  with  the  Lord  Jesus." 
One  of  his  friends  now  asking  him  if  he 
was  incommoded  by  the  light,  he  replied, 
putting  his  hand  on  his  heart  :  "  There 
is  light  enough  here."  The  day  began 
to  break  ;  he  repeated  in  a  feeble  voice 
the  51st  Psalm  :  Have  mercy  upon  me, 
O  Lord,  according  to  thy  loving  kindness. 
Then  remaining  silent,  as  if  he  wished 
to  recover  strength,  he  said,  "  Lord  Jesus, 
help  me  !"  The  ten  pastors  fell  on  thoir 
knees  around  his  bed  with  uplifted  hands; 
at  this  moment  the  sun  rose,  and  darted 
his  earliest  rays  on  a  scene  of  sorrow  so 
great  and  so  afflicting  with  which  the 
Church  of  God  was  again  stricken.* 

The  death  of  this  servant  of  the  Lord 
was  like  his  life,  full  of  light  and  peace. 
CEcolampadius  was  in  an  especial  degree 
the  Christian  spiritualist  and  biblical  di- 
vine. The  importance  he  attached  to 
the  study  of  the  books  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment imprinted  one  of  its  most  essential 
characters  on  the  reformed  theology. f 
Considered  as  a  man  of  action,  his  mo- 
deration and  meekness  placed  him  in  the 
second  rank.  Had  he  been  able  to  exert 
more  of  this  peaceful  spirit  over  Zwingle, 
great  misfortunes  might  perhaps  have 
been  avoided.  But  like  all  men  of  meek 
disposition,  his  peaceful  character  yielded 
too  much  to  the  energetic  will  of  the 
minister  of  Zurich ;  and  he  thus  renounc- 
ed, in  part  at  least,  the  legitimate  in- 
fluence that  he  might  have  exercised 
over  the  reformer  of  Switzerland  and  of 
the  Church. 

Zwingle  and  CEcolampadius  had  fallen. 
There  was  a  great  void  and  great  sorrow 
in  the  Church  of  Christ.  Dissensions 
disappeared  before  these  two  tombs,  and 
nothing  could  be  seen  but  tears.  Luther 
himself  was  moved.  On  receiving  the 
news  of  these  two  deaths,  he  called  to 
mind  the  days  he  had  passed  with  Zwingle 
and  CEcolampadius  at  Marburg ;  and 
the  blow  inflicted  on  him  by  their  sudden 

De  Joannis  (Ecolampadis  obitu,  per  Si- 
monem  Gryneum.  (Epp.  (Ecol.  et  Zwinglii, 
libri  iv.) 

f  See  his  Commentaries  on  Isaiah  (1525),  1st 
chapter;  on  Ezekiel  (1527);  Haggai,  Zacha- 
riah,  Malachi  (1527) ;  Daniel  (1530) ;  and  the 
commentaries  published  after  his  death,  with 
interpretations  on  Jeremiah,  Ezekiel,  Hosea, 
Joel,  Amos,  Obadiah,  Jonah,  and  the  1st  and 
2d  chapters  of  Micah. 


846 


HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION. 


decease  was  such,  that  many  years  after  jlakes,  and  even  to  their  highest  valleys. 

'Now  the  noise  was  less,  but  the  effect 
greater.  The  Five  Cantons,  in  close 
alliance  with  Friburg  and  Soleure,  form- 
ed a  perpetual  league  for  the  defence  of 
the  ancient  christian  faith  with  the  Bishop 
of  Sion  and  the  tithings  of  the  Valais  ; 
and  henceforward  carried  their  measures 
in  the  federal  affairs  with  boldness.     But 

deep  conviction  was  formed  at  that 
period  in  the  hearts  of  the  Swiss  Reform- 
ed. "  Faith  comes  from  God,"  said 
they  ;  "  its  fortune  does  not  depend  on 
the  life  or  death  of  a  man.  Let  our 
adversaries  boast  of  our  ruin,  we  will 
boast  only  in  the  Cross."*  "  God  reigns," 
wrote  Berne  to  Zurich,  "  and  he  will  not 
permit  the  bark  to  founder."  This  con- 
viction was  of  more  avail  than  the  victory 
of  Cappel. 

Thus  the  Reformation,  that  had  devi- 
ated from  the  right  path,  was  driven  back 
by  the  very  violence  of  the  blow  into  its 
primitive  course,  having  no  other  power 
than  the  Word  of  God.  An  inconceiva- 
ble infatuation  had  taken  possession  of 
the  friends  of  the  Bible.  They  had  for- 
gotten that  puv  warfare  is  not  carnal  ; 
and  they  had,  appealed  to  arms  and  to 
battle.  But  God  reigns:  he  punishes 
the  churches ''and.  the  people  who  turn 
aside  from  his  ways."  'We  have  thus 
taken  a  few  stones,  and  piled  them  as  a 
monument  on  the  battle-field  of  Cappel, 
in  order  to  remind  the  Church  of  the 
great  lesson  which  this  terrible  catastro- 
phe teaches.  As  we  bid  farewell  to  this 
sad  scene,  we  inscribe  on  these  monu- 
mental stones,  on  the  one  side,  these 
words  from  God's  Book  :  "  Some  trust  in 
chariots,  and  some  in  horses  :  but  we  will 
remember  the  name  of  the  Lord  our  God. 
They  are  brought  down  and  fallen :  but 
we  are  risen  and  stand  upright."  And 
on  the  other,  this  declaration  of  the  Head 
of  the  Church  :  "  My  kingdom  is  not  of 
this  ivorld."  If,  from  the  ashes  of  the 
martyrs  at  Cappel,  a  voice  could  be 
heard,  it  would  be  these  very  words  of 
the  Bible  that  these  noble  confessors 
would  address,  after  three  centuries,  to  the 
Christians  of  our  days.  That  the  Church 
has  no  other  king  than  Jesus  Christ ;  that 
she  ought  not  to  meddle  with  the  policy 

*  Gloriantibus  adversariis  ruinam,  new  in 
cruce  gloriemur.  (Ad  GEcolamp.  29th  Novem- 
ber 1531.     Zurich  MS.) 


he  said  to  Bullinger :  "  Their  death 
filled  me  with  such  intense  sorrow,  that 
1  was  near  dying  myself."* 

The  youthful  Henry  Bullinger,  threat- 
ened with  the  scaffold,  had  been  com- 
pelled to  flee  from  Bremgarten,  his  native 
town,  with  his  aged  father,  his  colleagues, 
and  sixty  of  the  principal  inhabitants, 
who  abandoned  their  houses  to  the  pillage 
of  the  Waldstettes.f  Three  days  after 
this,  he  was  preaching  in  the  cathedral 
of  Zurich  :  "No!  Zwingle  is  not  dead  !" 
exclaimed  Myconius ;  "  or,  like  the 
phoenix,  he  has  risen  again  from  his 
ashes."  Bullinger  was  unanimously 
chosen  to  succeed  the  great  reformer. 
He  adopted  Zwingle's  orphan  children, 
Wilhelm,  Regula,  and  Ulric,  and 
endeavoured  to  supply  the  place  of  their 
father.  This  young  man,  scarcely 
twenty-eight  years  of  age,  and  who  pre- 
sided forty  years  with  wisdom  and  bless- 
ing over  this  church,  was  everywhere 
greeted  as  the  apostle  of  Switzerland.:}: 

Yet  as  the  sea  roars  long  after  the 
violent  tempest  has  subsided,  so  the  peo- 
ple of  Zurich  were  still  in  commotion. 
Many  were  agitated  from  on  high.  They 
came  to  themselves  ;  they  acknowledged 
their  error  ;  the  weapons  of  their  warfare 
had  been  carnal  ;  they  were  now  of  a 
contrite  and  humble  spirit ;  they  arose 
and  went  to  their  Father  and  confessed 
their  sin.  In  those  days  there  was  a 
great  mourning  in  Zurich.  Some,  how- 
ever, stood  up  with  pride,  protested  by 
the  mouth  of  their  ministers  against  the 
work  of  the  diplomatists,  and  boldly  stig- 
matized the  shameful  compact.  "  If  the 
shepherds  sleep,  the  dogs  must  bark," 
exclaimed  Leo  Juda  in  the  cathedral  of 
Zurich.  "  My  duty  is  to  give  warning 
of  the  evil  they  are  about  to  do  to  my 
Master's  house. "§ 

Nothing  could  equal  the  sorrow  of  this 
city,  except  the  exultation  of  the  Wald- 
stettes.  The  noise  of  drums  and  fifes, 
the  firing  of  guns,  the  ringing  of  bells, 
had  long  resounded  on  the  banks  of  their 


*  Decujusmortedoloremconcepi itaut 

eorum  casus  me  pene  exanimaverit.  (L.  Epp. 
t.  p.  112.) 

{  Ne  a  quinque  pagis  aut  obtruncarer  aut 
comburerem.    (Bull,  ad  Myc.  November  1531.) 

X  Haller  ad  Bulling.  1536. 

§  Ich  mus  bellen.     (Bull.  Hi.  p   321.) 


SWITZERLAND— CATASTROPHE. 


647 


of  the  world,  derive  from  it  her  inspira- 
tion, and  call  for  its  swords,  its  prisons, 
its  treasures;  that  she  will  conquer  by 
the  spiritual  powers  which  God  has  de- 
posited in  her  bosom,  and,  above  all,  by 
the  reign  of  her  adorable  Head  ;  that  she 
must  not  expect  upon  earth  thrones  and 
mortal  triumphs  ;  but  that  her  march  is 
like  that  of  her  King,  from  the  mango r 
to  the  cross,  and  from  the  cross  to  the 
crown  : — such  is  the  lesson  to  be  read  on 
the  blood-stained  page  that  has  crept  into 
our  simple  and  evangelical  narrative.* 

But  if  God  teaches  his  people  great 
lessons,  he  also  gives  them  great  deliver- 
ances. The  bolt  had  fallen  from  heaven. 
The  Reformation  seemed  to  be  no  more 
than  a  lifeless  body  cumbering  the  ground, 

*  Zvvingle's  Pear  Tree  having  perished,  a 
large  rock  has  been  placed  over  the  spot  where 
this  illustrious  reformer  died ;  and  on  it  are 
engraved  suitable  inscriptions,  different,  how- 
ever, from  those  in  the  text. 


and  whose  dissevered  limbs  were  about 
to  be  reduced  to  ashes.  But  God  raises 
up  the  dead.  New  and  more  glorious 
destinies  were  awaiting  the  Gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ  at  the  foot  of  the  Alps.  At 
the  south-western  extremity  of  Switzer- 
land, in  a  great  valley  which  the  white 
giant  of  the  mountains  points  out  from 
afar;  on  the  banks  of  the  Leman  lake, 
at  the  spot  where  tin1  Rhone,  clear  and 
blue  as  the  sky  above  it,  rolls  its  majestic 
waters;  on  a  small  hill  that  the  foot  of 
Caesar  had  once  trod,  and  on  which  the 
steps  of  another  conqueror,  of  a  Gaul,  of 
a  Picardine*  were  destined  ere  long  to 
leave  their  ineffaceable  and  glorious 
traces,  stood  an  ancient  city,  as  yet  cov- 
ered with  the  dense  shadows  of  Popery  ; 
but  which  God  was  about  to  raise  to  be 
a  beacon  to  the  Church,  and  a  bulwark 
to  Christendom. 

*  John  Calvin  of  Noyon. 


COL. COLL.  v. 

LIBRARY  ! 

L\  .    X  \J  jL\JfVEND    of    the    FOURTH    VOLUME. 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 


0315024857 


BRITTLE  DO  NOt 
PHOTOCOPY 


0WHC* 


*aPA 


